It was late winter in 2004 when four of us met at the Red Barn Café south of Baldwin for breakfast. Potter John Turula, painter Sheralyn Barnes,  musician Brian Barnes and myself  began to throw out ideas of how we could work together on a small spring art event. Our goal was to promote the work of local artists (ourselves at that point) and create a community art event that was fun for us and the public. It was unturned land and we just threw out seeds of ideas with no idea of where it was going to take us and which ones would grow. 

It took a few more breakfasts, lots of emails and phone calls, but we slowly began to see our plans take form. For the first Creative Drive we settled on three open studios, a few guest artists at each one, and an evening jazz concert  followed by the showing of a vintage film in an old theater.

What we didn’t have was a name and we needed one before we printed a few hundred invitations. Spring was now starting to pop out and we were running out of time. One warm spring day Brian and Sheralyn were driving the back roads, taking in the beautiful western Wisconsin scenery. They started brainstorming names and Sheralyn threw out “The Creative Drive.” She knew immediately that she had a winner and I got an excited cell phone call. We had what we wanted.

The first Creative Drive wasn’t much. The studios were too far apart and we didn’t have much promotion. The jazz and film was fun for all ten of us that attended. Basically that first year was a big flop. But it was a fisrt step and we did get an enduring name for our annual spring event. Since then the Creative Drive has grown tremendously, but the name still means the same thing – artists sharing the best part of themselves with the community.

JLK: What are you working on these days?

CC: I just finished an edition of 310 cell phone holders. Oh no, there are 320! The cell phone holders look like little sculptures on the desk but then when you come to work, you just set your phone in the holder and the sculpture has become functional. I do a variety of kinds of work, everything from production, like the 320 cell phone pieces for a marketing company, to one of a kind pieces. The company that commissioned the cell phone holders prides themselves on being very creative. Every year we design an interesting new kind of piece – they have input and I have input.

What inspires you?

When I’m working I always have more ideas than I can make. Because the glass process is so fluid when I’m making a piece, other shapes appear. There’s a specific set of steps to get to a certain shape. In between, serendipity steps in – I have to make a note and say, “that is a really cool shape.” At that moment, I would like to stop and follow up on that new idea, but then I realize I have to make these bowls right now. So, it’s an ongoing process and one piece always leads to 3 or 4 more so I never have enough time to make all my ideas.

Is there any one artist that you feel influences you a lot?

No. I think all artists have influenced me because they all have such different reasons for doing what they do. You take from one and you take from another and you put those parts together and mix them up. I’m interested in what motivates artists and where they came from, so the artwork is really just the tip of the iceberg. What’s fascinating is the rest of the iceberg. That’s what I hope people at the Creative Drive will step into and spend some time asking questions like – why this shape? Why this color? The Creative Drive can be an experiential time for customers – you get to see the object, but also the maker, and hopefully there’s an exchange so you can get a sense of why the artists makes what they make.

Are you a messy or an organized person?

You can already see! Most people would say messy but I don’t see it that way. There are glass objects that are important to me that I have lying around because I’m either working on them or thinking about them and I want to keep seeing them to continue the dialogue with the work. For example, this black and gold piece has been in process for about a year. It’s gold leafed on the bottom, so the light comes in from the top and reflects off the gold so it appears there is a light inside; I want to continue meditating on this concept.

What do you like about the Creative Drive?

The name of this show “The Creative Drive” is something that I’m committed to. I’ve come to realize that artists study how to manipulate different media, such as glass, clay, wood, but there are no classes that talk about the creative process. I think it’s one of the important things about this show because people have a chance to meet the artists and realize these are normal people – they have simply chosen to focus on this creative process, and they are a lot like me.

In many cases, people think there are creative people and non-creative people. When I was teaching in Cambridge, I had students who would look me in the eye and say, “I’m not creative.” I think it is unfortunate when people say that, because it comes from one side of your brain and you need both sides to exist fully. Frequently people think creativity is an aptitude you are born with. From my studies I see it ain’t true! It’s all about practice. If you want to be good at something, you need to put in 10,000 hours. It’s a simple thing and it works out that way with athletes, musicians and writers – everybody really.

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Craig will have his glass pieces this year at the Silver Bison location. Feel free to make your way to Craig and ask him how he arrived to the pieces of glass work that you will see! I guarantee you will come away with some good food for thought. You can see more of Craig’s work at CampbellArtGlass.com

“Looking forward to spring already!”

Spring seems like a long way off as I write this. It was dark before 5PM and the temperature is heading towards zero tonight. I just want to eat and drink coffee and then go to bed. Right now spring seems farther away than last August. It is easy to put off today what we can do tomorrow and winter seems like a great time to live by that axiom. I know I can fall into that frame of mind.

But is spring really that far away? Not for an artist.

As a potter I have been surprised by spring many times. The production cycle of making pots runs six to eight weeks for me. A hundred or more pieces must be made, then given time to dry. This is followed by the firing process, which can run several weeks. In all from start to finish, with a few interruptions, I have to remember that it takes a long time to make a bunch of pots. The same goes for the other art mediums. I need to start making new work two to three months ahead of when I need it.

Theresa’s comment could mean that she is already tired of winter and is trying to “think spring.” But I don’t think so. I took her comment as a reminder to me that I cannot wait for the signs of spring to start making new work. I have to anticipate spring in the dead of winter if I am going to have some great new work done by the first weekend in May in time for the Creative Drive. I have a feeling that Theresa is way ahead of me on this.

If you would like to know what dragon eyes, writing books and leather have in common, then please join me in getting to know Charles Smith. Charles is an author and leather artist who has been living in the Baldwin area since 1990.  I met him one evening at his home in the woods of Western Wisconsin.

Jenelle:  What is the first piece that you remember making out of leather?

Charles:  A book binding.  I had written a novel, titled Dryad, for my kids.  My daughter, Soleil, who is now 16 years old, said she would like it in book form so I printed it out and stitched it together.  Then I bought some leather and made a binding out of it.  Soleil thought it was so cool, she helped me sign up to take some classes and learn more about working with leather.  I got started slowly and enjoyed it very much.  Every month I would buy a new tool and learn how to do something different.  That’s how I got started.

What pieces do you enjoy making the most?

I guess the pieces that I design completely.  I enjoy making the ones that I tool, where you put a design into the leather and create a 3-dimensional picture.  I like it when I can tool something and include that design into a larger piece, like a bag or a briefcase so they are a part of a whole concept.   I also like the final touches, adding hardware so it looks older and creates its own feel.

Has any particular leather artists influenced you a lot?

I’ve been taught by different people but there’s no one in particular that has really jumped out at me.  I just look at every leather artist I see and try to understand and get a feel for their techniques.  There are some truly great artists out there and they all have their own techniques and styles.   I really like the western styles that have been popular for 40, 50, 100 years but I also like to look out there and do something in a science fiction style or mix science fiction with the western style so it’s something that most people aren’t used to seeing.

Do you think of yourself in general as a messy or organized person?

Hum,  a little of both.  At the beginning of a project, I have to have things somewhat organized so I know where to find the different tools but once I get going on a project things will just pile up and then I have to stop, re-organize everything and get started again.

Is there any one piece that you’ve made that you really cherish?

I made a dragon bag that is one of my favorites right now.  It has dragon eyes looking out of a portal on both sides of the bag.  It has steam punk style where you have gears and flowers.  Then I used rivets around a portal and created a Victorian pattern, like a wall paper.  I hand stitched the whole thing, using pig skin on the inside with cow on the outside.  I like it because it feels good.  It hangs at the right height from the shoulder and I like the look of it.  So fortunately, I haven’t been able to sell it yet!

Do you see any of your work taking new directions?

I want to do more bag type pieces.  I like doing things that are functional and yet really jump out at you.  I’d like to do more murals and I would like to do a lot of my original art work and maybe mix it in with stencils so that I can create scenes on bags.  Designing is half the work on a piece and I really enjoy that process.

Charles Smith will be joining the Creative Drive for the first time in 2012 and will be at the Silver Bison Farm location.  He sometimes makes pieces collaboratively with his daughter, Soleil.  They have a stamp for their pieces with the name Cuir de Sol, leather of the sun.

Jenelle: What is the first thing that you remember making?

Nancy: I feel like I’ve been sewing forever!  The very first thing that I made was an apron when I was 9 or 10.  It was for 4H and my teacher was Mrs Kimble.  She was a very good teacher and insisted that every stitch be perfect, which meant things were torn out several times before they were right.  Ever since then, I have always sewn.

What are you working on these days?

Lots of neck ties for one thing.  My brain is full of them.  A bazillion ties were donated to the studio so I’m thinking about ties.  I’ve made jackets with ties before and I’m in the process of hopefully making a coat for myself with them.  What I really want to do is make sure that my art is functional as well as hopefully unique.

What kinds of pieces give you the most joy to make?

I really like making things that people will wear.  The trick is then finding the person who is willing to wear them!

Do you feel like you are mostly an organized person or do you like a bit of clutter?

Oh, in some ways I’m organized but in some ways I’m not.  My work area is really a mess right now.  At home, I have a sewing room where I quilt.  There, on the walls, all the fabric is bunched by colors and then topics.  Fabrics are in tubs so things can be found.  But, there’s no door on the room because I get kind of claustrophobic. Sometimes you can barely get in the room.  I would say it’s organized confusion.

Have you made a piece that you especially cherish?

This particular jacket.  I don’t really know what I’ll do when I can’t wear it anymore.   I’ve worn it 150 times.  It’s probably the first thing that I made that used all sort of little pieces of fabric that is wearable.  After this jacket I’ve made 4 or 5 more just because I’ve figured this pattern out.

This is great.  What a good environment to be in, right?  There’s just so much creativity going on here.

Color Crossing is a great place. People here are encouraging and helpful and lots of ideas get shared.  So if you have started a project and not quite quite sure where to go with it, someone else will certainly tell you. So someone left this skirt on my table the other day. I don’t know who left it here and I’m not going to throw it away but I have to figure out what to do with it. With something like this, I might cut it into pieces or use it as it is, but you know, this is how thing happen around here.  Somebody drops it off at your table and you go from there.  And if I hold it up and we are all working here, someone might say, “Well this part reminds me of…” and ideas grow from those kinds of things.

So has the Creative Drive been a good venue for you?

Oh yeah. The Creative Drive is early enough so people are looking for things to wear for the Spring and Summer and looking for Mother’s Day gifts and that sort of thing.  And you just meet new people.  I especially like the people, they are the best part of it all.  It’s a nice time to reconnect with people that you don’t see very often.  I’ve met a lot of great folks at the Creative Drive who just care about the surroundings and tend to be very caring individuals.

So please join us at Color Crossing during the 2012 Creative Drive and see what imaginative way Nancy has devised to give those neck ties an honorable second life.  Color Crossing is a yarn shop and weavers studio in Roberts, WI.  It is one of four sites in the Creative Drive and will feature about a dozen artists with work from various mediums. Color Crossing has been a part of the Creative Drive since 2005.

This is the new Creative Drive Blog and we have some great stuff planned for it. Every month until the Creative Drive we will be featuring a Creative Drive artist on the blog. Jenelle Ludwig Krause is interviewing and photographing artists at their studios about their lives and artwork. We’ll put out a new interview at the beginning of the month, and send it to our email subscribers as well. This way you can find out a little bit more about the artists and where to see their work during the Creative Drive. We hope that you enjoy these new interviews. Sign up for our email list to get the monthly email. You can also sign up to receive our official Drive Guide in the spring if you don’t already.

Photo: Andrea Cole

John Onkka is interviewed about the 7th Annual Creative Drive.

Listen to the interview here.

Spectrum West – WPR 88.3

Listen to the interview here