AN ART CAREER: Walking the High Wire (without a net)

Over the years, I’ve had many concerned friends and family (even complete strangers) ask me, ‘How is it possible to make a living as an artist!?

I’ve given many snarky answers over that time, mostly because I’m playfully snarky most of the time, but when in the right mood, I give the correct answer, or at least *A* “correct” answer. The answer is “priorities”, although other words can follow such as frugal, networking, Friends, and a large set of balls (metaphorically-speaking, my readers of the fairer sex!).

To be honest, it’s scary. . . or at least unnerving much of the time.  I’ve had amazing years as an artist, and I’ve had plenty more Good than bad, but I’ve had a string of bad in recent years. Since the Great Recession it’s been extremely difficult. I lost my home 5 years ago and had to move away from my large circle of emotionally-supportive friends; it’s AMAZING how much a simple hug and bit of love can help us artists through the bad patches.

If you know any artists, reach out to them so they know they’re not alone.

But I digress!

Priorities. Yes. . . Nearly everything is a choice.

• One dinner out can be 3 or 4 dinners at home.
• A nice 3-day vacation can be a month’s rent!
• The $180/mth cable TV plan vs the $60/mth saves $1,000 a year, right?

Priorities.

My Law of Priorities, of course, doesn’t really exist when it comes to SUPPLIES.  I am an artist after all. My justification is that any and all Studio Costs are what MAKE ME MONEY (even if it’s years after I’ve invested).

Even NOW. . . today, right now as I’m writing this, I have to decide:

Do I replace the pickup truck I sold over a year ago (for living expenses) or do I purchase Big Shiny Balls? ( BSB’s are my mirror-polished spheres for some of my sculptures. I just like how dirty it sounds when I say ‘My Big Shiny Balls’). Forgive me.

Priorities. . . Sigh. I suppose I’ll keep riding my motorcycle in the soggy Pacific Northwest for another year. Of course I will, because why have a truck if I don’t have any SCULPTURE to deliver with it, right? The year is YOUNG and my hope. . . well MY HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL, so there will be another day for a truck.

Did I answer my question about how I’ve managed to walk my High Wire (sans net) for the last 21 years without plummeting to the ground?

No… I don’t think I did, at least not to my own satisfaction. I’m loathe to say it comes down to “luck” because luck isn’t a magical thing. I can add that I give Significant Credit to some friends and collectors (sometimes one in the same); they have been so generous with their Love & Support and in some cases with their money. I KNOW at least 2 or 3 people in my life who (knowingly or not) bought a sculpture mere weeks before my account was to reach Zero. Life Savers!

But this leads into the topic of my NEXT blog post about Patrons, so I’ll wait.  As always, this post is too long. 

-James Kelsey

Okay, a bit of a rant this week, and I want to begin with a quote from John F. Kennedy: “The life of the arts is far from being an interruption, a distraction in the life of a nation,  it is close to the center of a nation’s purpose — and is a test of the quality of a nation’s civilization.” 

With THAT in mind, who in the HELL decided that “STEM” should be the focus of our schools to the forsaking of all else?  I agree that “Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math” are important, and I even agree that each should have GREAT programs in our High Schools, but it seems “ART” has been relegated to the “if there’s time or money” category of education.

BY ALL MEANS, teach the STEM classes to those students who excel at them, but what about the BRILLIANT creative class?  What about our future Culture: Music and Dance and Performance and the Visual Arts? What about those of us whose forte lies on the right side of the brain?

I know how it happened of course.  Those in charge who created the idea of STEM, are all left-brained people. They all excelled at those subjects and became teachers who felt that THOSE subjects, THEIR SUBJECTS were the most important. But they are NOT!  Yes, we need them and they will help America prosper, I give them that, but there is MORE to life than profit! More to Culture and Civilization than profit and the bottom line!

Even more basic- What are we as a society telling our budding ARTISTS when we tell them that THEIR interests… their Loves… aren’t important?

What do we really say when we tell them that their dreams are silly and nice hobbies, but “get a real job”?

When we make profit and money the defining factor which indicates Success or Failure and then strip all of the money out of teaching the arts as well as making it painfully difficult to BE an artist, what are we REALLY SAYING about what’s important to us as a people?

We’re telling the Creatives that The Arts are insignificant and unworthy of pursuit.

THE ARTS are close to the center of a nation’s purpose, said JFK. When we look back on previous cultures, we look back on their Art and Culture! Art, Writing, Music and Architecture are what endure the test of time.

So anytime you hear or see someone Talking about the STEM curricula, please, consider interjecting that ‘A’… consider telling them it should be ‘steAm’, so we don’t lose our culture to history.

The below opinion piece was submitted to The Chronicle, the local newspaper for Centralia and Lewis County.  For those of you not living here, it’s a VERY conservative county and this is the first of my multi-pronged campaign to introduce the concept of Public Investment in Art.  I will also be giving talks to local schools, business groups, and City Councils as permitted.

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Art can boost our local economy

A local artist recently opened a new art gallery downtown Centralia. Her name is Jan Nontell and the new space is “Rectangle Gallery”. This is an amazing collective endeavor taken on by many of the artists who are also involved with our annual ARTrails Studio Tour.

I’ve known Jan for many years and she is not only a wonderful woman, but as a ceramicist, jewelry-maker, and visionary, she has the ability to create amazing things (both in her studio and for our area).

But I’m not writing this to brag on Jan or her wonderful art.  I’m writing th is to verbally scratch my head and wonder aloud why.  Why are there so few signs of Art in Centralia / Chehalis?

It’s not as if art doesn’t exist here. Centralia is book-ended with The Fox Theater to the south and the Hub Bub and Evergreen Community Theater to the north. We also have evidence of past attempts (the faded, peeling murals come to mind). We even have our ‘Weird Washington’ Artist, Richard Tracy as you come into town!

You can say l have a bias.  I’ve been an artist for over 20 years, but you may also say that that makes me  an expert on the topic. I’ve explored many towns, large & small, both dying & thriving, and with all visits, I seek out art; it’s my way of exploring a new place.  I’ve also read many studies that reflect in research what I’ve discovered in my explorations:

ART SAVES CITES

I’ve literally talked with 1,000’s of people about Public Art over the years. The one question I’ve heard a lot has been, “my taxes paid for THAT??” Oftentimes the answer is yes, but people mistakenly equate the purchase of public art to be the same as buying a piece of art to decorate their own home using extra money.

Public art serves an entirely different role though!

Public art isn’t something successful cities add like crowns to show off their success, public art serves as a foundation on which to build.  Public art is a foundation on which we can build revenue, excitement, and civic pride!

We are Perfectly Situated between two, massive, art-loving urban centers!  Art gives people an excuse to come to a city and just wonder around. People visit shops as they wonder around; these people then buy things, hit local restaurants, and if we do it right, they spend the night in our hotels.

All of this activity adds to the tax base and then our cities can afford to add more art, or parks, or infrastructure, all of which attracts even MORE people.
Public art is an economic engine that helps to create a virtuous upward spiral of prosperity!

I wish Rectangle Gallery all the best with their new endeavor.  I think they will succeed because the artists involved understand something. They understand that Art is important and a beautiful way to attract visitors (and hopefully sales) for them and the area.

We have a good start: Beautiful Downtowns in both of the Twin Cities, wonderful restaurants, hotels, and independent shops; some even sell original art themselves! We need to begin a conversation about how our future success can include public art.

James Kelsey is a native Pacific Northwesterner & artist who has lived in Centralia since 2011.

*Frequently Unasked Questions about Art

Edgy Sculpture!

So one question I’m Never asked is, ‘How do I get all of the edges on a sculpture so perfect’. It’s never asked because the corners don’t stick out as anything special, which is by design!

Every artist is different, but for me, I want the actual welding to be invisible. . . but for you, my gentle reader, I’m about the Throw Back the Curtain and EXPOSE  how it’s done!

(Lucky you, right?)

1. THE BEAST OF GRINDING WHEELS:

So… it starts with a Huge & Heavy grinding machine (“The Baby” (cuz that’s how James holds it to contain its awesome Power (and it makes a lot of whinny noises))) You can SEE The Baby in the upper-right of this image.

YOU READ THAT RIGHT! Triple-nested parenthesis! #MadGrammarSkillz

2. THE 13cm (5″) STAINLESS WHEEL

The Beast of wheels is not designed for Stainless and can overheat it, so you can only get so close with it. THIS wheel is used to take the welds down to around .4mm (1/64th inches (a quarter of 1/16″)) WITHOUT touching the base metal itself.

3. Welding adjustments at this point. (Below)

4. CUTTING WHEEL

Sometimes the weld didn’t go deep enough so while grinding a hairline of a crack can be exposed. I mark the small imperfections as I grind. After a round of grinding, I then cut a wider opening for new weld.

5. Welding cut gaps and other small spots.

6. STAINLESS BLENDING WHEEL:

This one takes the remaining .4mm weld down to the surface of the sculpture while taking off a minimal amount of material.

7. Last minute welds to make everything perfect. (These are very small welds).

8. FINISHING DISC:

This is the Disc used for putting the final pretty finish into the Stainless steel and the final step.

AND THERE YOU HAVE IT!  The magic (and amazing amount of work) behind the finished sculpture! In the above photo you are looking at a 5cm (2 inch) section of what can be more than 27m (90 feet) of welding on one sculpture! So remember, with every edge you see you are actually looking at a WELD.

Amazing.  I know.

• James Kelsey, January 30, 2017

  

I remember!

I remember when “Blogs” were called “Web Logs” (way back in the mid 1990’s!) and nearly everyone made fun of bloggers (‘cuz most of them deserved it), but people on the bleeding edge of tech are often mocked and scorned!  Now. . . I’m mocked and scorned, but it has nothing to do with being on the edge of anything!

This is a test blog post just to see how all the whistles and bells blow and ring.

I’ll probably delete it. . . it’s not as if there is anything enlightening or profound in these words. On the other hand, if you happened to run across my ‘about me’ page, you’ve probably figured out I can write a lot. . . A LOT.

Have you noticed my abuse of the ellipsis?  Oh. . . I abuse the hell out of that particular piece of grammar, and I’ve never figured out why. [shrug]

Well…. for a test blog post thing, this is more than long enough (you probably thought THAT back at sentence #2.