Movin' On Up (or Down)

When I moved to North Carolina eight years ago, my family and I visited Artspace. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that four years later, I would have a studio space within the centerpiece of Downtown Raleigh's vibrant art scene.

Four years ago, I was juried into Artspace. About two months later, I moved into the building, sharing Studio 217 with fabulous fiber artist Sharron Parker. When I first moved into Artspace, I was first exploring image transfer techniques on polymer clay. Over the last four years, partially inspired by the creative energy that surrounds me, I have ventured into metal clay, enameling, porcelain, and mixed media. In the process, I have outgrown my shared studio space.

So, this month, marks my last days in Studio 217. As of the middle of July, I will be moving into my own studio, on the first floor of Artspace in Studio 109A. The new studio has been the office of Raleigh Ensemble Players (REP) for over 10 years. REP is moving to 213 Fayetteville Street, becoming a visible resident fully invested in the Downtown Raleigh renaissance.

Although I welcome the opportunity to put my mark on a studio space of my own, I will miss Sharron Parker. She is one of the original Artspace Studio Artists, having been in the building since the beginning (that's over 20 years). She has been a friend and ally for the last four years, and I will miss her company. I wish fiber artist Addison Paige of Raven Rock Artworks the very best in Studio 217. She will be surrounded by the creative energy of not only Sharron, but also of Linda Ruth Dickinson, Max Halpern, and another newcomer to Artspace, Shaun Richards. I hope Addison will be as happy as I have been at the end of the second floor of Artspace.

I must admit that I am a little nervous leaving the comfortable (and messy) nest I have made for myself in Studio 217. Converting Raleigh Ensemble Players office into an art studio and showcase for my jewelry presents its challenges, but I know in the long run it will be well worth it.

So, come visit me for my last First Friday in Studio 217, this Friday, July 3rd, and be sure to mark your calendar for August 7th, my first First Friday in Studio 109A. I look forward to seeing your there!

The Bain Project

Last weekend my family and I had the pleasure to step back in time. For the last two weekends, the Ernest Bain Waterworks Plant was re-opened. Originally built in 1939 in true Art Deco style, the plant closed in 1987. After twently years of neglect, 12-artists, including Marty Baird, Luke Buchanan, Jen Coon, Tim Kiernan, Stacey L. Kirby, Lee Moore, Lia Newman, Sarah Powers and Dana Raymond, "cleaned out, dug up and revamped areas of the Bain plant to convert it into an installation art exhibit, using the whole location as one big found object." IndyWeek.com

An electrical engineer, my husband's favorite part of the exhibit was the power distribution and the controls. My favorite part was the filter gallery and the hidden rooms up the winding stairs that housed much of the installation. In some of the rooms it was hard to tell what was art and what was the result of age and neglect.

My only critique of The Bain Project is that it only lasted two weekends. We were there on the last day, along with hundreds of people and I felt like the word was just getting out. Apparently there are plans to renovate the building and turn it into shops and restaurants. For at least a weekend though we had a glimpse into the past.

The Lives Our Mothers Leave Us

“Even if our mothers are gone, they are never gone from us. If we search our internal landscapes, we find them—sometimes etched as delicately as a watermark, sometimes as deep as an engraving.” Patti Davis, The Lives Our Mother’s Leave Us

Over the last few years, I have had the pleasure of meeting a number of fabulous artists. The one common thread amongst them all is that they all credit their mothers for inspiring their creativity. So, on this week when we honor our mothers, I felt it was only appropriate to dedicate this week’s post to my mother.

If you read last week’s post, you know that I credit my grandmother for my love of ephemera. The creative gene, however, comes solely from my mother. As a kid, she empowered me to try, while giving me the permission to fail, always reminding me that she would be proud of me either way. When I wanted to host my own teenage talk show at the age of 16, she told me to go for it. As a junior in college, when I wanted to go to New York to intern for a network television show, she encouraged me to apply. So, it should have come as no surprise that when I became an artist, she was right there cheering me on. She was there for my first art show five years ago, braving the freezing rain under a flooded tent as we celebrated selling my first bracelet. Two years later she accompanied me to my biggest show to date, the American Craft Council Show in Baltimore. As a kid, she never missed a recital. As an adult, she never misses an opening. Even if she can’t be there in person due to the miles between us, she always lets me know she is there in spirit with a bouquet of flowers and a perfectly penned note to calm my nerves.

I remember as a child, my mother’s paintings hanging on the walls of our house. When I was a little older, she converted our garage into a studio and dabbled in stained glass and photography. When I was a teenager, she started her own party planning business and designed custom invitations using the finest papers, ribbons, fabrics, die cuts, and foils. She designed her own line embossed papers long before the scrapbooking world made embossing trendy.

My mother always told me that when I win my first Academy Award I should remember to say that I owe it all to her. The fact is, I do owe it all to her. She not only inspired my creativity and my entrepreneurial spirit, but more importantly, she taught me how to be the mother that I am today. So, Happy Mother’s Day to a great mom! I love you.

“We form inside our mother’s womb, far from her arms but right beneath her heart.” Patti Davis, The Lives Our Mother’s Leave Us

More About Me....

Last week, a senior at NC State asked to interview me for a report he was doing for an art appreciation class. He asked some very good questions, so this week I am posting his questions and my answers.

What is your medium?
Although I make jewelry, I would consider my medium to be mixed media. For most shows, I am juried in as a jeweler, but last year into the Coconut Grove Arts Festival in Mixed Media and won second place in the mixed media category.

What is the process necessary to produce it? What can you tell about the famous polymer clay?
Polymer clay is a synthetic modeling material which bakes or "cures" at a fairly low temperature to a hard surface. You can sculpt it, carve it, stamp on it, texture it, sand it, buff it, or paint it. Most people know polymer clay by the brand name “Sculpey” or Fimo. Sculpey is primarily a kids’ clay. I use Premo, which is the artist grade form of Sculpey for my work. For my process, vintage images are transferred to polymer clay (using alcohol and a color copy) and formed into beads. The hand-formed image transfer beads are then cured, sanded, and buffed to a satin finish. The finished beads are woven and twined with crystals, pearls, vintage glass beads, and found objects to form one-of-a-kind pieces of wearable art. A couple of years ago, I started incorporating Precious Metal Silver Clay into my work to create one-of-a-kind clasps into my designs. Precious Metal Clay results in objects containing .999 pure silver or fine silver. Last year, I started incorporating porcelain clay into my designs and started experimenting with bronze clay, which like its silver counterpart, results in a metal object.

[Right - Darfur Nightwalkers, example of Precious Metal Silver Clay; Center - For Frida, example of bronze clay; Left - Criss Crosswords, example of porcelain clay]

Why jewelry?
I never thought about it before, but I think I initially started making jewelry because of the scale. It was easier for me to wrap my mind around making a piece of small jewelry than a painting a large canvas or something. I also like jewelry, though interestingly enough I don’t wear a lot of it. The interesting part of making jewelry for me, which I didn’t know at the beginning, is the connection I make with my customers and the connection they make to the jewelry. There is something very personal about a person putting on a piece of jewelry that you have designed, connecting with it in a personal way, falling in love with it, and then making a decision to buy it. The person, in essence, becomes my “frame”, similar to a fine artist finding the perfect frame for their painted canvas. While I am designing and making a piece of jewelry, I typically don’t know who I am designing it for, however, when the right person puts on the right piece, I instinctively know. The other thing about my jewelry is that each piece tells a story. Typically, customers will project their own story onto a piece which is part of their personal connection to it. For example, when I first started making jewelry, one customer fell in love with my Cigar Label Necklace. She explained to me that it was so meaningful to her because her grandfather used to wrap the cigar bands around her finger like a ring when she was a little girl. She ended up buying it. It was the second piece I ever sold. The first was purchased by Nicole Kennedy, a local artist and gallery owner. [Below, one of my first pieces, The Cigar Label Necklace]

Would you make jewelry with other media or use ephemera to do something other than jewelry?
Probably not. I think like a jeweler, and I love creating wearable art. Last fall I did experiment with some mixed media wall pieces. My customers were telling me that they were leaving their jewelry pieces out so that they could look at it and enjoy it even when they weren’t wearing it. One of my customers even bought a leatherette bust from me to display her necklace. So, last year I created a series of pieces called “Out of the Box”. These were mixed media wall assemblages in which an element could be removed, worn, and then put back on the wall. Artistically, I think that these pieces represent my best work, however, none of these pieces sold. So, this year, I have gone back to basics and I am focusing on making beautiful, one-of-a-kind, polymer clay jewelry. The interesting thing about the wall pieces, however, is that they have opened me up to a whole new audience. Audiences who never took an interest in the jewelry before, really like the mixed media panels, and vice versa, my customers who have liked my jewelry from the beginning, have mixed feelings about the wall panels. [Below - Skinny Bitch Brooch, example of mixed media wall panel]

What is your main artistic inspiration?

I would say my Grandma Betty. She saved everything… every menu, every photograph, every matchbox from every restaurant she and my grandpa ever went to. When I was in college, I interviewed my grandmother to do my family tree. I asked her about her any my grandfather (who had already passed away). She took this big Burdines department store box out of the closet and in it were all of these things… all of which represented the story of their life together. I didn’t know the name for it at the time, but I suppose that is when my fascination with ephemera began. In fact, my first art project when I moved to North Carolina six years ago was a tablecloth covered with image transfers of my grandmother’s photographs and artifacts. I reproduced this tablecloth for Home and Garden Television a couple of years later, and the response was tremendous. I had people from all over the country e-mailing me how to make their own heirloom tablecloth, and to think that it all started with that department store box full of memories. [Below, Grandma Betty and Grandpa Ralph on their wedding day; Heirloom Tablecloth as seen on HGTV (click on the HGTV link for directions on how to do this project)]

When/how did you decide to do this as your full-time occupation? Did you study art in a formal capacity?
I guess four years ago when I moved into my current Artspace studio. That was the catalyst that transformed me from being a kitchen table crafter or hobbyist to a professional artist. In many ways, it was the start of my professional career and being there has opened doors for me. As far as formal training, I am a self-taught artist. I was a journalism major and theater minor and never took an art class (not even an art appreciation class) until after I moved to Raleigh and became a professional artist.

How hard is it for you to sell your work (in a “normal” economy)? How much marketing do you do?
In the beginning, it was hard to sell my work because I was an unknown. Using my journalism background, I launched a public relations and marketing campaign. I sent out a press kit to every magazine and newspaper I could think of. The first article landed in Lapidary Journal in 2004. Since then I have been lucky enough to be featured in Ornament, Our State, American Style, Cary Living, The News & Observer, Southern Living, and on Home and Garden Television (all of which except for one were the result of a press release I sent). I think that is one of the hardest things about being an artist… that is that you have to wear many hats. You can’t just be a designer. You have to be a business manager, sales person, and marketing professional. In fact, I work much harder now than I ever did when I had a “real job.” Even in a bad economy the jewelry sells. You have to be more creative at marketing in a bad economy.

Arts Stimulus: Ten Small Action Steps You Can Take Right Now

The economy is bad. That is a fact. Many artists, including myself, are struggling to make ends meet. In fact, the arts as a whole are suffering.

Renee Phillips, Director of Manhattan Arts International writes: "Although historically the art market is far less sensitive to economic crises and geopolitical events than other assets, we are currently living in a new global economy... Jill Conner keeps a close eye on the art market. A critic based in New York City and a Contributing Editor to Contemporary magazine and other art publications, Connor points out that sales in the third tier galleries started to dry up in the summer of 2008, followed by the second and first tiers. She reminds us that numerous galleries in major cities like New York City are facing demise, and several art magazines have had to delay their publication schedules due to a drop in advertising revenues. Art museums are reacting with freezes on hiring and spending cutbacks. Yes, it’s just the tip of the iceberg, and it’s going to be a long, cold winter." Art Calendar / The Business Magazine for the Visual Artist

So, what can you do to help? Here is a list of ten small action steps you can take right now.

1. Participate in your local, regional or state arts councils. Here in North Carolina, we have The United Arts Council and the NC Arts Council. The United Arts Council lists volunteer opportunities on their website.

2. Whenever possible, wear or carry something handmade.

3. Buy handmade from local retailers.

4. Go to a craft show. This Saturday, I will be showing at Spring Daze in Bond Park in Cary, NC. On May 16th and May 17th, Artsplosure takes over Moore Square in Downtown Raleigh. Admission to both Spring Daze and Artsplosure is free.

5. Expose your children to the arts. Your children are our future art collectors. Take them to the North Carolina Museum of Art. Bring them to Artspace. Visit the Rocky Mount Art Center. Admission to the Rocky Mount Art Center and Artspace are free. In fact, on August 23rd, Artspace hosts Family Fun Day, a one-of-a-kind carnival for the whole family.

6. Join an arts organization. Many arts organizations offer memberships for families for under $100 annually. Two organizations I belong to are Artspace and Piedmont Craftsmen. Family membership at Artspace is $60 and includes priority registration and discounts for classes (including the Summer Arts Program), workshops, and special events. More importantly, membership support ensures that Artspace continues to be one of the region's leading and most unique cultural institutions. Established in 1963, Piedmont Craftsmen represents the highest standard of contemporary and traditional craft. Over 400 exhibiting members from throughout the Southeast have been juried into the guild. The organization conducts workshops, mounts exhibitions, and operates a gallery and shop at 601 North Trade Street in Winston-Salem, NC. Supporting membership starts at $50.

7. Donate to the arts. You don't have to donate a lot to be a patron of the arts. On April 2nd, Artspace hosted a "Give and Take" event in which 50 works of art were donated by local artists and sold for $50 to support The Summer Arts Program. The event raised over $5000 ($50 at a time).

8. Host an open house. When I first went into business, I hosted an open house just in time for Christmas. I created a display in my dining room featuring my work and the work of several other artists. I provided a comfortable, casual place for my friends and the neighbors to socialize and shop. It was a fun and successful event.

9. Take a class. The City of Raleigh Parks and Recreation (Sertoma Arts Center and Pullen Arts Center), The Town of Cary, and Artspace all offer adult arts education programs (in addition to their children's programs and camps). I have had the pleasure of taking three jewelry classes at The Pullen Arts Center, including enameling and two other metals classes. These six week courses (all of which cost under $100) helped me explore new techniques in a safe, comfortable, and casual atmosphere. In August, The Crafts Center at NC State will re-open its doors. The Crafts Center at NC State University functions as an art school specializing in crafts. Classes are offered each semester in various craft media such as pottery, photography, woodworking, fiber arts, lapidary, glass, jewelry, metals and more. Classes are offered for all skill levels from beginner to advanced and are open to NCSU students, faculty, staff, and the general public. The Fall 2009 class brochure will be available in July. Visit The Crafts Center at NC State online for more information.

10. Get involved. Make sure your state and federal representatives know that the arts are important to you.

So, for the rest of the week, I will be in my studio getting ready for Spring Daze. I hope to see you there on Saturday between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. in Bond Park in Cary. Have a good week.