WAM! The Wesleyan Artist Market Goes Virtual in 2021- Carla Gignilliat Spotlight

Giving precedence to health and safety, the Wesleyan Artist Market is adhering to COVID-19 protocols.

But instead of having to cancel like last year when the pandemic took the world by surprise, this year they’ve had the marvelous idea of using technology to allow a contactless experience.

In the season’s spirit of renewal and rebirth, I present to you the Wesleyan Artist Market, reimagined.

We won’t be deprived of the fine arts, wares and jewelry we’ve all come to look forward to each spring, and 82 professional artists will be able to share their works while bolstering Wesleyan’s admirable art program. Win! Win! Win!

Mark your calendars for April 22 – 29. The show is being hosted by Shopify and will go live to the public at 4pm on the 22nd. Go to wesleyan-artist-market-2021.myshopify.com and enjoy the show!

Carla Gignilliat

A successful career change

After a 12-year stint as a speech-language pathologist, Iowa transplant Carla Gignilliat became a stay-at-home-mom for five years after her son was born. She and her husband also welcomed their daughter during that time.

Having fostered a love of art since childhood and continuing to dabble in art classes and festivals all her life, she decided to take a giant leap four years ago. When the guest bedroom art studio didn’t work out, Gignilliat began to rent a space at Urban Art Collective in Chamblee.

Rent a studio and the artistry will come

“My husband thought this would be a hobby. If I was going to have a space however, I wanted to sell my artwork so I could be self-sufficient,” Gignilliat said. At the same time, she secretly wondered, ‘What right do I have spending money to rent an art studio? I’ve never consistently produced art!’

Gignilliat started posting on Instagram and Facebook. Art walks hosted by the studio led to her connection with ACP Home Interiors in Highlands, North Carolina, a quality home furnishing and accessories store that carries her paintings.

“Every year I’ve grown. Here I am four years later. I’ve moved into a bigger studio. I officially have my own business, Carla Gignilliat LLC. It’s a dream come true,” Gignilliat beamed.

WAM

Gignilliat has participated in the Wesleyan Artist Market previously. “I thought it was a wonderfully well-run market from the moment I walked in the door, to loading my artwork at the end,” she shared.

“They cater to the artists. A room is set up with food and coffee all day. There were people who could watch your artwork if you needed a break. I was very impressed.”

Commissions

If a piece is commissioned during WAM, the school will receive a portion of the sale towards their fundraiser.

Sometimes a particular location, size or color scheme is requested. According to Gignilliat, recreating her own paintings is the most difficult thing. “There are magical moments that happen when you paint, happy accidents. They can’t be reproduced,” Gignilliat elaborated.

A recent commission was of someone’s house in Indiana, reflected on a lake. “I love when people provide photos. It gives me direction on their vision,” she said. “I always ask for their input because they might see something I don’t.”

Why acrylics?

Gignilliat paints with acrylic, charcoal and gold leaf. She showed me some of her gold dusted ferns underway.

“As a mom with a limited amount of time at the studio, I love the fact that I can paint fast and it dries quickly,” she said. “I also love that you can mix it with water to make it drip or mix it with other mediums like pencil and charcoal. I like the versatility, speed and the look of it. That’s exciting to me.”

Inspiration

As a novice, Gignilliat drew inspiration from photographs. Highlands, North Carolina is her favorite location. She’d sketch out paintings while looking at her cell phone pictures. “We have a vacation home in Scaly Mountain, just outside of Highlands,” she said. “That’s where I find a lot of peace and beauty.”

Her recent works have not involved any photos, however. She painted a golden canoe one day and the next thing she knew, four of them sold.

“Now that I’ve gotten in the groove and have some techniques under my belt, it’s easier to make up scenes in my head or look briefly at a picture and decide how I’m going to put it on canvas,” Gignilliat explained.

Size up

A 5’ x 6’ commission completed recently has been Gignilliat’s largest yet. Transporting the canvas required a U-Haul. Her favorite size to paint is 36” x 48”. She said she finds the larger canvases force her to be a little looser and covering more space allows for a little more je ne sais quoi to happen.

She also confided that it can be intimidating to paint small pieces. Something about taking out the tiny brushes causes her to feel confined in a little space. Yet Gignilliat “forces herself” to create smaller pieces, providing a variety of price ranges for her customers.

“I work on a handful of smalls at once. I might tape up six pieces of paper or put up four canvases at the same time,” Gignilliat said. “Working in between them helps me stay more spontaneous.”

Painting style

Gignilliat said that when she first started, she was all over the place painting figures, landscapes, abstracts. “I was concerned about what I was going to be known for,” she explained. “I had to specialize in something, and it evolved into painting landscapes. I love being outside. When I was younger, I used to go horseback riding. I’ve always been intrigued by nature.”

She said she’s a prolific painter, and she likes to use gold leaf or gold dust to make certain aspects of the paintings pop. Describing her style, Gignilliat said, “There’s always a subject matter. I would say it’s an impressionist style that teeters on the edge of realistic and a little bit of abstraction. I try to be a little loose and add abstract elements to my work.”

An artist’s advice

Gignilliat suggested that everyone should follow their passions even if it’s only a part-time thing. “Take a chance. You never know,” she advised. “When you’re doing something you really love, it doesn’t feel like work. The business can come to you because you put it out there. You have to share it with the world if you want it to grow.”

Purchase art by Carla Gignilliat

Anyone interested in viewing Gignilliat’s work is invited to contact her and arrange to meet in her studio. Visit her website, carlagignilliatart.com or Instagram, @carlagignilliatart. Her work is also for sale at ACP Home Interiors, acphomeinteriors.com.