Author: jentucky

Creative Capital Professional Development Program at 21c

The life of an artist isn’t easy.  It may look glamorous from a distance or it may seem like we are always traveling or living the life of leisure.  But that could not be farther from the truth.  Being an artist in the modern world is a lot of hard work.  Not only are we responsible for the conception and production of our work, we must promote ourselves, get our work into galleries, elevate our status on social media platforms and constantly update our websites, oftentimes while we have a day job that pays our bills, our studio rents and our art supplies.  The life of an artist is not for the feeble either.  My work has been rejected for numerous juried exhibitions, fellowships and residencies…more than I can count actually.  But I’ve received my fair share of acceptances into shows, awarding of fellowships and selling of my work too…and thats why I continue to keep putting it out there (besides the fact that I simply like the process of making the work itself)!

So it was with sheer pleasure to learn that I had been selected to participate in the nationally renowned Professional Development Program of the Creative Capital Foundation of New York, which took place one Sunday this past October at 21c Museum Hotel in Louisville.  This was BIG!

Developed by artists for artists, the Professional Development Program provides career, community and confidence building tools to help all artists become successful artists.  The day long workshop was led by professional consultant Colleen Keegan and artist/educator/Creative Capital awardee Beverly McIver.

 

Spending a lot of time post-workshop with this workbook!

The Professional Development Program teaches artists about self-management, strategic planning and goal setting to attain increased satisfaction in your life and career.  Ummmm…yes please, I could use that!  Other topics included communication, with tips on improving verbal communications in negotiations and the importance of developing of a strong “elevator pitch” as well as descriptive written materials for promotion and fundraising.  After lunch we spilt into groups and addressed the specific topics of Time and Art Business Management and Financial Planning.  One hell of a full day!

Can you say inspiring…overwhelming…mind-blowing???!  I’m still processing it…and I think that’s the point!!

While I got so much from each part of the day, the one about financial planning hit home the most.  More than any other profession, artists go out of their way to accommodate their clients, reducing their fees to please and overextending their time without proper compensation.  This session in particular gave me the tools I needed to access a value to my time and work.  I now feel more confident knowing what my work is worth, taking into consideration the time and skill behind all of it.  I was also inspired by how far ahead the program motivated me to think about my life and career…what do I want to accomplish in 1 year, 5 years, 10 years?  What do I want my obituary to say??  This is something great for us all to think about!

 

The other KY artists I was fortunate to spend my day with. (From Left to Right) Back row: Gaela Erwin, Vian Sora, Carrie Neumayer, Rosalie Rosenthal, Cynthia Norton, Scott Massey, Carlos Gamez de Francisco, Matthew & Mitchell Bradley, Emily Sheehan, Jacob Heustis, Ewa Perz, Jennifer Palmer, Claire Pope.  Front Row: Ying Kit Chan, Letitia Quesenberry, Valerie Sullivan Fuchs, JZ (me), Aron Conaway, Thaniel Ion Lee, Julie Liedner

 

If you’re and artist and have the opportunity,  take a Creative Capital Professional Development course…you won’t be disappointed!  They also have webinars on their website that can be purchased and viewed on your own time.

Thankful for the opportunity to participate in this most productive experience!

~jz

 

Founded in 1999, Creative Capital is a groundbreaking organization that gives substantial grants and guidance to artists pursuing adventurous projects in a range of media and practices. The professional development program, which has been presented in cities all over the United States, is designed to help artists learn how to manage their artistic careers, fund and market their work, communicate effectively, and develop sustainable practices.

Member Monday Featured Artist at Louisville Visual Art

Loved being a recently featured artist on the Member Monday portion of the Louisville Visual Art blog!  Thank you again LVA!!  Member Monday is a fun and informative segment, which asks selected artists the same 10 questions, with wildly varying results depending on whose answering.

**Please note, this is the entire interview featured on the LVA website and all photos affiliated with this post are taken by Sarah Katherine Davis Photography.  She ROCKS and so does LVA!!  Check out other featured artists on Member Monday by clicking HERE.

 

How did you first get involved with LVA? 

Joining LVA was one of the first things I did upon my return to Louisville in 2011. I first showed my work in Louisville that winter at LVA, for the Month of Makers exhibition in conjunction with Makers Mark.

When did you first know that art was going to be a big part of your life?

I was a bit of a late bloomer when it came to art.   I didn’t connect with a particular medium until my last semester at University of Kentucky when I took my first photography class.  It was my first job out of college at the Haitian Art Company in Key West that solidified my life with art!

What does LVA add to your life?

LVA has been a huge source of support to me for many years.  They have promoted and exhibited my work, and provided teaching opportunities to me.  LVA continually educates and inspires me with the introduction of new artists, concepts, and ideas.  I love my weekly sessions with Artebella and PUBLIC radio!

How else are you involved in the community? 

Currently I’m working with the Louisville Photo Biennial, teaching photography classes at underserved community centers throughout the Louisville Metro area.  I am also a fixture in the local yoga community.

Describe your perfect Sunday afternoon.

My perfect afternoon contains little yoga, a lot of cooking with my NPR Sunday shows in the background, some quality time outdoors as well as with my stack of library books. The day would end watching a film that I think about the next day!

   

 

Who is your favorite local artist?

I love the work of collage and assemblage artist Caroline Waite.

Where would you like to see Louisville 10 years from now?

I would like to see Louisville competing on a national level for creative, artistic, and entrepreneurial opportunities.

What neighborhood do you live in? What are some of your favorite things about it?

I live in Irish Hill.  It’s a quick bike ride to most places I want to be in the city.  While the area is in a constant state of transition, many of my neighbors have lived in Irish Hill for 30/40 + years!

What three items would you bring to a desert island? 

A rain barrel, lacinato kale seeds and my citrus press.

What advice would you give your past self if you could? 

Trust your intuition.

In the Studio: ‘Cooking Metal’

Most of my work in the past few years has involved a metal substrate for which my images are printed or transferred onto.  In the case of Attempting Utopia, images were dye sublimation printed onto milled aluminum.  In my recent series, Luminiferous: Adventures in Metal, I transferred images onto large metal substrates, custom made from heavy duty aluminum foil, distressed in the dishwasher.  In Attempting Utopia, the finished product is smooth and clean but with Luminiferous the images are textured and appear aged.  But the constant in both series is the essence of light that is present and reflected by the metal itself.  There is a living, breathing quality to the images because they change as you moved around them, which is what compels me to continue working with the material.

No turkeys were cooked in this roaster!

 

But cooking metals in a turkey roaster with cleaning detergents?  Why not?  The picture above shows the basic equipment and specific cleaning solutions I used to “cook” and distress” the metal plates you will see in this post.

 

 

In the slideshow above you can get a sense of how I placed the metal plates into the roaster and then sandwiched a variety of items between the metal plates before adding water, detergent, heat and time.  As you can see I worked with items such as cardboard, bubble wrap, plastic stencils and textured fabrics to create one of a kind substrates.    Some of the metals were roughed up with sandpaper before cooking, while some were left smooth.    In the slideshow below you can see the varied results achieved during this particular cooking session.

 

 

Not really knowing how the finished metal will look allows accident and chance to play a role in my work.  It also ends up dictacting the images I choose to transfer onto them.  The areas with negative space are taken up with the texture created, bringing new dimension to the orignial image.

 

img_0489 img_0488

 

In the pictures above, I placed the same image (printed onto transfer film) on top of two contrasting metals to see how unique the image could look based on how diverse the metals were distressed.  In the slideshow below you can see the final results of this experiment.  And this my friends, is only the beginning!

 

 

I must admit that I did not come up with this idea myself.  I was inspired to try this process after reading “The Last Layer” by artist and innovator Bonny Pierce Lhotka.  Bonny has written several books that demonstrate new methods in digital printmaking that educate, inspire, and encourage her readers to take creative risks!  She has been at the forefront of technology and art since the early 90’s and has even developed her own product line for digital printmaking.   Go to dassart.com to learn more about her products, and to purchase the book (as well as metal plates for cooking) yourself!

 

Thank you Bonny…I owe so much to you!

~jz