Arts & Literature

Wesleyan School Student Artists Talk About Their Artwork And What Inspires Them

Published

1 year ago

March 16, 2022

Peachtree Corners Magazine staff

Young Artists, Makenna Wazevich and EG Pickering, Participating in the Upcoming Wesleyan Artist Market

The Wesleyan Artist Market is back again for another year to celebrate incredible local artists. On this episode of Peachtree Corners Life, Rico Figliolini is joined by two young artists, Makenna Wazevich and EG Pickering. Today they’re here to share their artistic inspirations, aspirations, and presence at this year’s market.

Resources:

Wesleyan Artist Market
EG’s Instagram: @egg.illu
Makenna’s Instagram: @hearttohomemadeco

Timestamp:

[00:00:30] – Intro
[00:01:45] – About EG
[00:05:04] – About Makenna
[00:06:34] – Digital Art and Physical Art
[00:09:30] – Inspirations
[00:16:01] – Moving into Creative Careers
[00:19:34] – Fun Facts about EG and Makenna
[00:23:10] – Closing

Podcast Transcript:

[00:00:30] Rico: Hi everyone. This is Rico Figliolini, host of Peachtree Corners Life and publisher of Peachtree Corners Magazine, the host of these podcasts and the sponsor. We have special guests today. Wesleyan Artist’s Market is coming up soon and we’re going to be doing coverage on that in our next issue highlighting three different artists that live or work or are around Peachtree Corners. But two today that we’re talking to are student artists, that have a very different way they do their artwork. And I wanted to be able to bring them on. And we’re going to be talking about some of their artwork, their experiences, and we’ll be asking them questions about who they are, what they like, and what type of artwork they like to do as well. So let me bring them on. We have on the top left is Makenna Wazevich, and on the bottom is EG Pickering. Glad to have you guys on. So I did this last year with two other student artists, and we talk about the individuals. So I’m going to bring on, we’re going to do EG first, right? We’re going to bring on EG first and we’re going to let her talk about her artwork and the type of artwork you do, and I’m going to try to share some of that, if I don’t mess it up right now, on this podcast. So tell us a bit about what you do and why you chose to exhibit at Wesleyan Artist Market.

[00:01:45] EG: Sure. I’ve been doing art since, pretty much for my entire life. Doing art well into high school seemed a pretty obvious choice for me. I’m in AP art right now. So I joined the artist market just last year for the first time. But it was a really good experience, so I thought I’d try that again. So as for the kind of art that I do, I try to incorporate a few different styles just because I’m always learning. I’m trying to constantly improve my artwork. So I try to do a little bit of realism. I’ve tried to do some cartoon kind of stuff. And occasionally I try to do some like abstract. So it really kind of depends on what I’m feeling that day.

[00:02:33] Rico: So some of your artwork is the Carnation that we showed before.

[00:02:37] EG: I’m really proud of that one.

[00:02:38] Rico: It’s a really good piece. If I can remove my logo would be even better, I guess. I really like that piece. I think that that was a great realistic sort of piece like that. The other piece that we showed before was the Koy Pond that you did. But you also do a lot of fantastical type, if you will.

[00:02:56] EG: I do, yes.

[00:02:57] Rico: And those are inspired by different things? Different pieces of work, I guess? Here’s another one.

[00:03:03] EG: Yeah. So this one in particular was actually a part of my AP art project. So yeah, I really like that one.

[00:03:12] Rico: What was that inspired by? Almost feels like Harry Potter.

[00:03:17] EG: Actually I don’t, I don’t know that it was directly inspired by anything. Well, that’s not true. It was inspired by, oh my gosh, there’s a phrase. I cannot believe I’ve forgotten the phrase that I was inspired by for my own artwork, but it was inspired by a specific phrase. But yeah, I just, I tried to incorporate that. And tried to make it really fantastical and whimsical and just happy.

[00:03:38] Rico: Yeah, and you did a nice job up on that. Here’s another one that you did as well.

[00:03:42] EG: Yeah, that was last year. And this was, you know, when pretty much everything was at home. So I actually had a little bit of trouble creating this one at home, because mostly I didn’t know where I was going with it at first. You should have seen the canvas before I landed on that, but.

[00:04:02] Rico: Now you do everything in Procreate, you said on your iPad?

[00:04:06] EG: Most things, yes.

[00:04:07] Rico: So when you’re doing that type of work, are you able to change things up fairly quick? I don’t know how many people may know Procreate if it’s similar to photoshop or not.

[00:04:17] EG: Yeah, that’s one of the main benefits of digital art actually is that you can change things really quickly. You can kind of change the size, the color, the value. So if you know anything about like photo editing, that knowledge would be really helpful in digital art.

[00:04:32] Rico: Cool. Alright, so let’s also bring on Makenna Hey, McKenna. So tell us a little bit, as we do this one, I’m going to also share some of your artwork as well. Tell us a little bit about yourself, what type of work you do. You’re very different medium. You started out when you were nine years old sewing. And it’s an interesting, because not everyone does this, obviously. But it’s cool, right, because it’s also three dimensions. Feel it in your hand, fabrics and all that. There’s so much more to it as well. So tell us a little bit about that and I’ll bring on some artwork.

[00:05:04] Makenna: Like you said, I started when I was nine. I can’t remember like directly what inspired me to start sewing, but I got a sewing machine for Christmas and I took some lessons and I started doing it at home more. And just kind of creating my own patterns and kind of just going to the fabric store, and picking out different things and putting some of this stuff together. I’ve been doing the Artist Market for a couple years now. I can’t remember exactly how many years, but I started when I was in fifth grade. And I really liked doing it because it’s great exposure for like my business. And I’ve gotten a lot of customers from it.

[00:05:48] Rico: So you have a business doing this? You’re actually selling artwork that you’re doing. Here’s another one that you did that we want to share with people. You want to tell us a little bit about that one as well?

[00:05:59] Makenna: Yes. So these are my patches. I have three different sizes. And this is actually the large pouch. That’s the small one. I try to make them in all different like patterns and colors. So it’s kind of versatile for everyone. And that’s what I’m looking for when I’m going into the fabric store. And this is my Necessities Pouch, which is the smallest one.

[00:06:20] Rico: Alright, cool. And I think we have another picture.

[00:06:23] Makenna: All of my artworks are like different, things that I sell. So I have bookmarks, pouches, pillowcases, scrunchies, all that kind of stuff.

[00:06:34] Rico: Cool. Great. So I appreciate you ladies sharing the type of work you do. You know, it’s interesting going from, fabric sewing, because you’re looking at the outside, but there’s also an inside. There’s seamstress work you have to do. You’re actually creating a pattern before you do any of that work, correct?

[00:06:51] Makenna: Yes.

[00:06:51] Rico: So have you ever thought about doing outfits, skirts, dresses?

[00:06:55] Makenna: When I did lessons a couple of years ago, I made shirts and stuff. But it’s a little bit harder. So I prefer making like smaller stuff like this. I find like a lot more people find it more interesting, especially for younger ages.

[00:07:08] Rico: Gotcha. And you actually go to different places, or different home shows, I guess? To sell your stuff there?

[00:07:16] Makenna: Yeah, I’ve been to a couple of different shows. In 2021, I did the Wesleyan Artist’s Market, but it was online. And then I did a show at Marist, which is their, I want to say it’s their holiday tradition show. And then I did one at Lake Oconee.

[00:07:32] Rico: Oh, okay, cool. And people can always find your work online as well.

[00:07:37] Makenna: Yes. I have an Instagram, which is where I post pictures sometimes of some of the stuff I make. I do a lot of custom orders for people.

[00:07:46] Rico: Alright, cool. Now getting to EG, the work you do, obviously Procreate. Are you able to translate that? I know that as a publisher, I know that you could probably take your artwork digitally and actually put it on canvas electricly. You can put her on posters and stuff. Have you done that? Or have you tried the crypto art, encrypted art work?

[00:08:07] EG: Oh, NFTs?

[00:08:10] Rico: NFTs, thank you. I always mess that up. Sorry about that, yeah NFTs. Because that would be, that would be perfect, right?

[00:08:20] EG: I have not tried NFTs yet. Mostly because I don’t know much about them. To be honest, what I have heard about them, isn’t the best. So I’m a little wary of that. But otherwise there are a lot of transferable skills for digital art. So for example, before I was using Procreate, I was using Photoshop. And before Photoshop, I was using some free third-party software. And before that I was using like Kidpics when I was four, you know? But yeah, they’re the, you know, it just kind of builds up over time.

[00:08:53] Rico: Right. When you do these things, I mean, you’re going to be at the Artist’s Market so how do you sell the artwork there? I understand how a pillow can be sold there because it’s a physical item. So, but how would you sell your artwork?

[00:09:06] EG: So, I use a third party company to print them, print my artwork onto stuff. Because I can’t, I unfortunately don’t have the tools at home to print my artwork on a cup.

[00:09:19] Rico: So, is that what you print your stuff on cups? Or do you do other types of things?

[00:09:23] EG: That’s just an example. I’m not quite sure yet if I’m going to offer my artwork on cups this year, but I might.

[00:09:30] Rico: Okay. Makenna, which artist or filmmaker or author do you take inspiration from?

[00:09:36] Makenna: There’s not like a specific person. But I actually do remember when I started, got my interest in sewing was when I was younger, I used to watch Project Runway with my mom and that’s kind of like what got me into thinking to want to sew.

[00:09:51] Rico: Okay. And that’s good. I mean, you have your own sewing machine, obviously, right?

[00:09:55] Makenna: Yeah, I do it all from home.

[00:09:59] Rico: Right, cool. And that’s not easy, I’ve got to tell you. I mean, my mother-in-law used to sew and she had a sewing machine, old fashioned, electric. Just being a seamstress work, my wife’s whole family are pattern makers, seamstresses from New York and stuff. And they would make these beautiful dresses. In fact, we made her engagement dress from something I designed. That’ll never happen again, that’s a long time ago. And it’s difficult, so you can imagine, so you can appreciate that, I think. EG what about you? A specific person or artist or artwork that you find inspiration from?

[00:10:32] EG: Honestly I draw my inspiration from a lot of what I see on social media. For example like, Instagram, Pinterest. I know those are kind of basic sources, but I like following different artists with different styles. I just think it’s so fascinating to me, how many styles are out there and how artists can incorporate styles of other artists into their own style. So it becomes like a conglomeration of styles and I just, I think that’s so cool.

[00:11:01] Rico: That is cool. And I also on Instagram and Pinterest follow a lot of different artists. And the great part about that is that they’re from all over the world. I mean, and there’s another source that Adobe has, which is I think It’s a portfolio site. Yeah, you should look into that if you’re into Adobe and stuff, because it’s the same thing like Pinterest, actually their boards and stuff like that, right? But you’re following an artist and they keep posting, it’s almost like blog posts, with their art work. You’re right. I mean, you can find inspiration anywhere that way, and it can even be photography, I would imagine. That might inspire and illustrate a type of work. Is there any art that you identify most with? If you could pick a piece of art out there, is there any artwork that you would identify with?

[00:11:43] EG: Like, that I’ve done or?

[00:11:45] Rico: That’s out there or that you’ve done, whichever one is fine.

[00:11:49] EG: I don’t have a specific piece of artwork that other people have done that I identify the most with. But I do have a genre that I identify a lot with. Or just like a kind of feeling that, that I identify with. It’s just, art that has a lot of emotion behind it. I think when you have emotion behind it, it just, it automatically becomes a lot more powerful. And even if you don’t know what exactly emotion that artist is communicating, it’s still felt. And actually, I learned recently, well I saw recently a project that, a previous AP art student had done and I was so drawn to it. It was very illustrative, pastel colors, and very whimsical and fantastical. So it, it definitely drew me in. I kind of related to that style of art. But then I found out it had this very tragic source of inspiration that they had drawn from and all of a sudden it all made sense. I just, I really, I was really impressed by it.

[00:12:55] Rico: Artwork that comes with a story. I think it makes that artwork even more have feeling. I think that’s why some paintings are worth millions of dollars. It’s basically because of the artists and the pain, maybe that they felt as they were doing that artwork. Makenna, do you have an inspiration like that, that you draw from? Any favorite place that you work from?

[00:13:14] Makenna: Not really. Sometimes once I start one pattern or like project or a product, whatever you want to call it, I usually get ideas from more. So like in the past with my patches, I’ve done, obviously I’ve made different sizes of them and one time I even did patchwork. So I did different fabrics on the outside. So I just kind of like work with it and make different things and make my own inspiration, if that makes sense.

[00:13:42] Rico: It does. And what types of fabrics do you like working best in?

[00:13:46] Makenna: Cotton is the easiest to work in. I do a lot of flannel. And then when I make my pillow cases, those are flannel and there’s a border around them if that makes sense. And it’s a Minky almost, so it’s much softer.

[00:14:02] Rico: Do you go out, there’s fabric places I know, do you go out and look at all the fabric? I mean, there’s tons. You can go into one of these stores and there’s thousands of them.

[00:14:11] Makenna: Yes. I typically go to Joann’s because they always have good coupons, which helps. And they have, like a wall of all their cotton fabrics and all the different colors. And so it’s easy to like go in with what you’re looking for. But it’s also good to keep an open mindset, because there’s so many different options.

[00:14:28] Rico: Sure. I can imagine, you can spend hours doing that, just looking at, through all the fabrics. Then even the stuff that you put onto it, right? The accents that you put onto it or sew onto it, depending on the project. So the Joanne’s probably the store that you go to versus any other store I would imagine. But are there other stores that you might go to where, maybe Home Goods or something where you’re there and you’re noticing stuff and you say, Hmm that’s cool. I’d like that. Maybe that’s inspiring. Do you see that? Do you see yourself doing that? When you go shopping?

[00:14:59] Makenna: I do that all the time, yeah.

[00:15:02] Rico: Cool. EG what about, there’s inspiration that you can find in all sorts of places. I know that you said Instagram, Pinterest and stuff, and genres right? I know one of the things that you pointed out, I think you like whimsical artwork and stuff. Anime was one of the areas there or anime art, which has also varies, right? Because there’s a lot of different ways to do that. Are there any specific animes that you enjoy that’s inspired you or artists within that realm?

[00:15:30] EG: So, like you said, anime is a very diverse genre. So certain kinds of artwork from that genre, I’ll say. One that I really, really like is Studio Ghibli. Because I had heard about their movies and their stories and these beautiful, beautiful backgrounds that they’ve used. And so I started watching them. And man, I agree wholeheartedly with those assessments. They’re absolutely gorgeous films. But they do follow the anime style. So that’s one of my main inspirations.

[00:16:01] Rico: Cool. They’re fantastic movies. It’s a shame that, what’s his name? Miyazaki retired. Actually, he might be coming out to do one more movie, I think. But my kids, Disney movies and those movies. So studio Ghibli is a great place. Let’s go into a little bit of some other questions, as far as, you’re doing artwork. Some people do artwork like they do sports, right? Some people do sports and they realize they’d love to be in that sport, but that’s not where they’re going to be. So they’re going to study law or something else like, you know, something different. Or maybe even physical therapy, so something somewhat related. But people are different, right? But you’re getting into art and you want to stay there, right? I mean, you want to go on to college or, maybe SCAD even, to do studies in art. Is that where you want to head to? And what ultimately, where ultimately, would you want to find yourself in like five, six years after you get out of school?

[00:16:56] EG: That’s honestly a great question. I really have found that I really would like to stay in a creative field. Just because I think, you know working on an Excel document, I think, in an office setting. I do understand that that’s not an option for a lot of people. But I realized that there is just as much risk in doing that as following what you really want to do. I guess in, in your heart or in your gut. So I really, I do want to do something creative. Even if I have to go a long way to get there. But yeah, I’m also interested in like photography and writing. So those are also creative paths that I could end up going down.

[00:17:40] Rico: Alright, cool. Yeah, the world is changing, right? It used to be before, a decade ago, 10 years ago, if you were a graphic designer. Pretty much, you were a graphic designer and you weren’t doing other things. That changed. You know, obviously kids in school, even my kids, as they were going through high school, they were taking Photoshop actually in middle school, they were doing even Photoshop. So right. And HTML and programming even. Even if you weren’t in school doing it. For example, I remember my daughter she loves, I think it’s Horse Isle, which was a horse riding game. And you’d have to make your own sort of website within that world. So she learned HTML by herself. She learned how to use Photoshop by herself, different brushes and stuff. I was just impressed, one day when I saw her doing, I was like, where’d you get those brushes? Did you download that? She’s like, no, I made those. And I was like, what? Really? So if you want to do these things and you have that talent and she’s not going that way, she’s doing something else. But it was a good fun time for her to be able to do that. Makenna, you’re doing work that I know from my experience with my family seamstresses and stuff like that, that worked for large dress companies and design firms, fashion companies. We used to get dresses in the warehouses in New York. Sometimes they’d let us in and we’d go shopping. Your type of work is a bit different though. And you can sell that stuff on Etsy. I mean, you become your own business easily, just as well as illustration too. So tell me what you want to do. Where do you want to be when you leave high school? Where do you think you’ll be going to and where do you want to be six, seven years from now?

[00:19:10] Makenna: I have a long time since I’m still a freshman until I kind of decide where I want to go and what I want to do. But I’ve definitely thought about fashion designing or kind of growing my business, as maybe even if it’s just on the side. I’ve also, I’m a gymnast so I’ve also thought about doing something that relates to sports. So like sports medicine or physical therapy, like you said.

[00:19:34] Rico: Cool. And there’s nothing wrong with having a business on the side. Sometimes that becomes lifestyle money. What’s called lifestyle money, right? It adds to your other income. And who knows? It may take off and you might end up being full-time doing that. We never know. Let’s go through a couple of other questions that are not necessarily on the artwork, but sort of hopefully a little bit more revealing of the type of person you may be. And I’ve asked these questions of other people sometimes. What superpower would you have and why? And let’s start with EG on that one.

[00:20:04] EG: I’m going to be honest, I have thought a lot about this. I have not been able to come up with a complete answer. Because there’s a lot of super powers out there and choosing one seems, you know, you might choose one and then you’re like, ah, I wish I’d chosen that one. But, I think overall one of the best ones out there is flying. And I know that’s really like, that’s one of the more popular ones, but it’s for a good reason. Because being an artist specifically, I could just casually float up over Atlanta one day and sketch that. That’d be fun.

[00:20:40] Rico: That would be. What about you Makenna? What superpowers, if you could pick one, would you have and why?

[00:20:46] Makenna: I don’t know. Maybe super strength. And there’s not like an exact reason. Like, I don’t know. It just sounds cool. Just randomly like lift up a car or something.

[00:20:55] Rico: Alright, alright. Super strength is always good. What wouldn’t you do without? Let’s start with Makenna, maybe. If there was something that’s your favorite thing, I guess, that you wouldn’t do without. It could be anything. It could be time.

[00:21:09] Makenna: That’s a really hard question.

[00:21:10] Rico: It is. It’s more, really like life question, actually.

[00:21:13] Makenna: I’m not sure.

[00:21:14] Rico: Okay. EG, do you want to step in and say one? Do you have one?

[00:21:18] EG: I mean, I use my iPad and my Apple Pencil pretty much every day. I’ve actually started bringing them to school because I draw on them every single day. So pretty much my iPad and my Apple Pencil are essential to my life right now.

[00:21:35] Rico: Cool. Makenna, do you use anything to like sketch or keep a diary? Do you do any of that as well?

[00:21:41] Makenna: I do a lot of my stuff on paper. All my patterns are made of those either posterboard or cardstock. And so I’m able to like draw it out and like take measurements. I usually write it down in a notebook, what the measurements are and stuff. And like what I want it to look like.

[00:21:57] Rico: Alright, cool. So the next few questions are just the standard Q and A’s that I drop in towards the end of an interview. What’s your favorite food EG?

[00:22:06] EG: Ooh, as far as snack food, that would definitely be popcorn. I make popcorn a lot. So much so that we actually have a popcorn popper and we have to buy popcorn kernels, but it is really good. It is really good.

[00:22:20] Rico: Makenna what about you?

[00:22:22] Makenna: Favorite food is probably any type of Italian food. I love pasta or pizza.

[00:22:27] Rico: Okay. And what’s your favorite book or movie EG?

[00:22:31] EG: I actually have not ever been able to come up with an answer for this one. But I do really, really like the Marvel movies. I’m a big fan of those.

[00:22:41] Rico: How about your makenna?

[00:22:42] Makenna: That’s so hard. It always changes whenever I watch a new movie. I’m not the best at like keeping up and reading books, but I just like stick to the one’s we have to read for school. But movie, it’s really hard. But like she said, I also liked Marvel movies and like Disney movies.

[00:22:58] Rico: Do either of you speak a language other than English?

[00:23:01] EG: I’m trying to learn French. I’m in French classes right now, so.

[00:23:05] Makenna: Yeah, I’m the same. I’m taking French at school, but I’m definitely not fluent.

[00:23:10] Rico: Oh yeah, French is not easy. I spoke a little bad Italian and I decided to take French in high school, which was just a mistake. I should’ve stuck with an Italian, that would have been an easy A. So, let’s go for one last thing that I’d like both of you, one at a time, we’ll start with EG. Where can people, obviously the Instagram, your Instagram addresses are both below your names, above your heads on this video. But where can people find or follow you? Are there different places and where can they purchase artwork? Obviously, you’re going to be at Wesleyan Artist Market so they can visit that too.

[00:23:46] EG: Yes. Please come visit me at the Wesleyan Artist Market, I’ll have a lot of stuff out. But yes, obviously the Instagram. And then I also have a Red Bubble, if you don’t know what a Red Bubble is, it’s basically again, this service that you can upload your art onto and you can get that in pretty much everything. So I have uploaded just a few things to Red Bubble, but I’m hoping to upload more soon.

[00:24:13] Rico: I haven’t heard of that one, alright. What about you Makenna? Where can people find out about you and buy your products and stuff?

[00:24:20] Makenna: Definitely through my Instagram, like DM me. My email is also in my bio of my Instagram, for my business. That’s the main place. You can also find me at a boutique at Lake Oconee, it’s called the Artisans Village. And I used to be in a boutique in Atlanta, but they recently closed. But yeah.

[00:24:42] Rico: Cool, great. The Wesleyan Artist’s Market is happening in April. We’re going to have show notes to this video podcast. Obviously if you’re listening to this on Spotify or iHeartRadio, just Google Wesleyan Artist Market, and you’ll be able to find out the date and such. But we’ll have the link in the show notes on this. Feel free to look for other artists, but certainly EG Pickering and Makenna Wazevich. Check them out because they’re talented kids. I appreciate your time here with me Makenna and EG. My name is Rico Figliolini. I want to thank you all for listening in to this podcast and check out Wesleyan Artist Market.

Arts & Literature

Artists and Creatives

Published

2 months ago

April 14, 2023

Peachtree Corners Magazine staff

Peachtree Corners is perhaps best known for its technology and scientific minds, but it’s a proven fact that science and art go hand-in-hand. So it should come as no surprise that Peachtree Corners is also bursting at the seams with creative people who produce art at all levels, across all art forms and in every medium.

From the visual arts to the performing arts, you will find painters, dancers, actors, musicians, and yes, even photographers, who are brand new to their craft — and others for whom it has been a life-long quest for creative expression.

Enjoy these photos taken by the members of the Peachtree Corners Photography Club, who are artists themselves, taking photos of other artists in Peachtree Corners!

The monthly meetings of the Club are open to everyone, from beginners to pros. For more information about the Club, go to their website at pcphotoclub.org.

Arts & Literature

Wesleyan Artist Market Celebrates Its Silver Jubilee in 2023

Published

2 months ago

April 14, 2023

Patrizia Winsper

This spring ushers in the 25th annual Wesleyan Artist Market (WAM), our favorite local fine art, jewelry and fine wares show. It’s set for Friday, April 28, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., and Saturday, April 29, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Wesleyan School in Peachtree Corners.

Enjoy scrumptious beverages and snacks while taking in the talents of 85 professional artists from all over the Southeast and 19 student artists. This two-day event is open to the public; parking and admission are free.

Engage with artists as you hunt for works that you’ll treasure for years to come. “Come to the Table,” Wesleyan’s hardcover cookbook with over 200 recipes, will be available for purchase. Proceeds help fund Wesleyan’s fine arts programs.

This year, your support will facilitate the purchase of a new truck for the marching band, the refurbishing of a Steinway piano, new chorus risers and upgraded lighting in Powell Theater.

From casual customers to avid collectors, WAM always delights. To preview participating artists, visit artistmarket.wesleyanschool.org. Cheers to 25 years, WAM!

Spotlight on three artists

Wendy King — Poppy and Jewel

Inspirational jewelry that cuts the mustard

When Wendy King received a spherical, vintage charm containing a single mustard seed from her husband’s grandmother long ago, she had no idea it would be the catalyst for starting her own inspirational jewelry line one day, nor that it would have such a profound and far-reaching impact on others.

In the 1950s and 60s, it was apparently customary to gift such charms, alluding to the parable of the mustard seed. Some were set in brooches, many hung on necklaces.

King found it was very effective to wear the sentimental trinket she had received as a reminder to walk in faith every day. She elected to sport the bauble on a stylish new bracelet and realized that women today would be more likely to benefit from continuing this tradition if the cherished charms of yesteryear with real mustard seeds inside were set in more contemporary, fashion-forward jewelry pieces.

“A lot of the religious jewelry has a similar look. I wanted to elevate it, put a different spin on it,” King said.

She thought she could breathe new life into these vintage charms by using them to create contemporary jewelry pieces. “I went to antique stores, but it was like finding a needle in a haystack, especially to find them in good shape. That’s when I realized I’d have to make the charms myself too,” she added.

Today, her Poppy and Jewel pieces are made with natural gemstone beads like white lace agate, amazonite, aquamarine, pearl, tiger’s eye, labradorite, hematite and river stone and her perfected bezels with metal finishes in silver, polished gold or antique brass. Each one contains a solitary, immortalized, goldish-brown mustard seed suspended in the center of a clear resin-filled charm.

“You don’t have to see the whole staircase; just take the first step.” – Martin Luther King

It’s a powerful visual, to see how physically tiny a mustard seed really is. King painstakingly creates lovely earrings, necklaces and bracelets — vessels that spark the might of faith when worn.

Her jewelry line speaks with the promise that if you believe it, everything will work out for the best. Each distinctive piece comes with a card explaining the parable that inspired it.

Faith can move mountains — pass it on

Jesus says in Matthew 17:20, “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”

It’s a message that transcends all faiths and provides comfort whether you’re religious or not. We all go through low points when digging deep to find the strength to triumph is vital.

Even the smallest amount of faith in an all-powerful God, or an ever-just universe, results in great things. Sometimes life’s tests may seem insurmountable: divorce, job loss, infertility, illness.

That’s when you must believe in your heart, without a doubt, that God or the universe is bigger than those mountains. It’s hard to do in our we-have-to-see-it-now-to-believe-it society. Enter Poppy and Jewel. Cue “You Gotta Have Faith” (George Michael, 1987)

King has enjoyed witnessing the organic growth of the one-woman enterprise she started in 2016 named after her maternal grandparents who planted the seeds of faith in her. The ripple effect of customers sharing her pieces is special.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had people tell me they hear stories that grip their hearts and give their bracelets away to comfort someone in need. Then I get an email, “Well, I gave another one off my wrist. I need to restock.” That’s what it’s for. You hear somebody going through a rough patch and you pass it on,” King smiled.

The evolution of an artisan

A bachelor’s degree in government administration didn’t exactly allow King a creative outlet. Nor did her 12-year stint as a fitness instructor at Country Club of the South. She founded Poppy and Jewel when her kids were still in school, and she was able to ramp production up or down as needed. “Now that they’re grown, I can devote so much more to it,” King said.

Producing her pretty, handcrafted pieces took plenty of trial and error. “The first time I worked with the resin, I poured it, set the seed in and wondered why it was gooey. It took years of making charms that I can’t use. Those little boogers float around,” she laughed.

Lately, King has been working with a company to replicate the vintage charm that started it all for her. They are three samples into tweaking a spherical bauble with a metal band around it that should be available in a few months.

Behind the scenes

Removing air bubbles in the resin, stringing smaller beads one by one with a needle and thread, perfectly positioning the seeds — it’s tedious work.

If the resin mixture isn’t spot on and perfectly timed, it doesn’t cure correctly. It’s all part of learning what works. “I’m very methodical now. I follow the same steps every time. I don’t want any mishaps,” King explained.

This jewelry line is a true labor of love for King who has since fine-tuned her two-step resin pouring process. Still, every phase of a successful batch of charms has to be completed within a certain window. She purchases the bezels (the empty metal part), mixes the resin with hardener, pours it and positions the itty-bitty mustard seed in the center while wearing glasses and a magnifying glass.

King patiently allows it to cure, but she must also check on them at exactly the right time to be able to redirect any seeds that may have drifted. Once that stage has cured properly, a second round of resin is poured.

King prefers to work on small batches of about 100 charms at a time. “When inspiration hits, I’ll go to my studio down the hall and work while those juices are flowing and I’m in that creative mindset, whether it’s crack of dawn:30 or late at night,” she said.

Shop Poppy and Jewel

Shop King’s handcrafted jewelry in person at WAM, The Red Hound in Norcross and Alpharetta, Under the Palm Tree in Dunwoody, and Josephine’s Antiques in Roswell. Electronically, visit her website, poppyandjewel.com, or Instagram account, @poppy_and_jewel.

Customizations include requests for particular colors, smaller or larger sizes. Some people bring their own beads or a broken necklace to be used. If you find a vintage charm after rifling through your family’s jewelry boxes, you can have it added to Poppy and Jewel bijouterie.

“If it brings a sense of joy or hope to somebody, if I touch one person’s life, then I’ll keep doing what I’m doing,” King declared.

Shane Miller — Artist

Stumble into art

Maryland native Shane Miller did just that, and he’s been swimming since 2016. Miller transferred to Nashville in 2013. He always knew he’d do something creative full time, but he didn’t realize it would be painting until a chance encounter at an art crawl with Paul Polycarpou, then CEO of Nashville Arts Magazine, changed his instrument from guitar to paintbrush.

Miller had already hung up his physical therapist hat after six years in the field to pursue music. His father introduced him to guitar early. He took lessons at age 10 and was giving them by 15.

Strumming for a living wasn’t much of a stretch. For most, it would be a giant stretch. For musical Miller, easy peasy.

Touring on weekends with an independent artist, his year in the life of a professional musician allowed more time for painting. Eventually, the music volume decreased as the painting volume amplified.

A natural knack

“I had a watercolor tutor in high school. Before that, I’d draw on the back of my worksheets in elementary school. I have a natural knack for it,” Miller stated.

Miller clearly paid attention in watercolor class where he learned the fundamentals of color theory and composition. Through college and thereafter, he painted in his spare time.

After trying different styles, he settled on creating what most resonated with him: abstract, atmospheric landscapes influenced by tonalism like those one might recall from a reverie or a distant memory, using oils on canvas.

Miller took Polycarpou up on his open-door policy for local artists. The executive was open to critiquing artists’ work and had offered to introduce Miller to a gallery in town when he believed him to be ready.

True to his word, Polycarpou provided direction and in a short time, Miller signed with the Rymer Gallery. Others ensued.

Needless to say, the painter isn’t missing his regimented physical therapy days. He considers his flexible schedule a dream. “I’m happy with my career. It was an interesting road getting here,” he said.

The sway of social media

Curating a cohesive Instagram story and posting regularly paid off for the promising artist. The platform revealed a market for his work. Miller was both astonished and assured by people’s readiness to buy paintings online.

“I’ve shipped work all over the world: the UK, Australia, Japan, the Philippines, Germany — all through the power of the internet,” Miller said.

Studio space

Miller works out of his Germantown studio with soaring ceilings, a massive north-facing window and skylight in an old flour mill that’s been converted into a business collective north of downtown Nashville.

A believer in being disciplined, he reports to his atelier daily, inspired or not, “You have to be consistent with showing up. Diving in allows creativity to start flowing.”

The painter’s process

Miller finds inspiration in his travels. He doesn’t work from reference photos; he finds them restrictive. Surprisingly, he doesn’t aim to depict any particular panorama. He paints from his imagination.

More interested in expressing himself and capturing feelings, he seeks to take viewers on a spiritual voyage. “Painting is a subconscious process for me, like meditation,” he explained.

Miller paints bodies of water because, besides being visually interesting, they create lines leading the eye into the composition. It evokes turning a chapter, especially flowing rivers.

His monochromatic, non-specific landscapes act as a bridge to tap into emotions. He’s pleased when people feel like they’ve been to “that place” in any of his paintings.

A prolific painter, his preference is to juggle about six pieces at once. “I paint skies on different days than the foreground, working in batches. I’ll mix a certain color and carry it throughout multiple paintings so I’m not wasting paint. It’s a nice way to streamline things and jump around through different pieces,” Miller said.

Stepping away frequently when working on multiples allows him to avoid tunnel vision, “I can always reassess the direction.”

Most paintings are varnished once he’s done. He likes the subtle finish of satin varnish mixed with cold wax for a less reflective sheen.

Mystery blooms

“Recently I’ve been painting abstract florals. There aren’t many rules when painting florals,” Miller stated. One gets the impression he wouldn’t follow any if there were. He enjoys using brighter colors than he would in his landscapes.

“I don’t know one flower from the next. I just paint whatever shape looks great and my wife will say, “That looks like a lily.” For Miller, it’s about creating a composition that feels right.

A left-brained creative?

Miller has a penchant for numbers and organization. “I have systems to keep track of everything,” he said. His paintings have an identifier that correlates to a spreadsheet and an internal tracking system. He can trace any piece, whether it’s at the studio, at a gallery or sold.

Miller dove into the accounting cycle and relishes keeping up with his books. Documenting his endeavors makes him feel accomplished.

A logbook holds records of the colors and dates of every layer of every painting — all steps taken to achieve the end result. These come in handy when clients request something similar to one of his older works.

“Painting is a very subtle thing, especially working in layers. It could be hard to recall every step,” Miller explained.

Commissions

At shows like WAM, you might not find exactly what you’re looking for, but if you like his style, Miller can create a unique piece for you. One can request a painting reminiscent of a location — the Carolinas, a marsh, the coast or mountains — and any desired elements for the piece.

Miller then gets to work. A 20% deposit gets the ball rolling. Within a month, one can expect to see photos and videos of a piece for final approval.

Shop Shane Miller Art

Meet Miller and see his work at WAM. So that buyers can purchase with confidence, he is responsive to inquiries from his website, shaneartistry.com or through Instagram @shane.artistry.

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” — Pablo Picasso

Miller espouses Picasso’s sentiment. He feels painting or any creative outlet is an escape from the mundane and rejuvenates the spirit.

Jennifer Keim – JKEIM Fine Art and Lifestyle Design

Becoming JKEIM

Atlanta artist Jennifer Keim switches between oils, pastels and mixed media to best capture her subjects’ personalities. She’s been fostering her artistic talent since fourth grade at the behest of the late Jill Chancey Philips, a summer camp instructor at the Columbus Museum who noticed she had something special.

Keim studied under Philips until earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drawing and painting at Auburn University. Philips owned the gallery and studio where Keim spent her young adult summers learning the business side of being a professional artist.

She credits her mentor for emphasizing grit and form. “It’s so important understanding technique before you can evolve your style. You have to understand dimensions, perspectives and shading to bring a subject onto the page,” she said.

Keim worked in advertising for practical reasons until a successful solo art show convinced her she could do art full-time. She felt “suffocated” behind the computer, so in 2007 she left graphic design for a career as a painter.

Art therapy

An unfinished space in her home is Keim’s special place. Nails dot the walls where pieces have come and gone. Paint and resin splashes adorn the studio floor. Her beautiful work surrounds her on all sides.

Seeing how color and shadowing can bring the beauty of a subject up off the page has always intrigued Keim for whom painting is a creative outlet. “It feels good. If I’m a little cranky, my husband says, ‘You might need to go to the studio for a bit.’”

Off to the Races

The jockeys and detailed horses of the pastel-on-wood Off to the Races series feature clean lines and vibrant colors. Keim captures the energy of the horse races. “My favorite part is doing the kickup,” she said.

Fun fact: Mud can splatter up to 20 feet behind a galloping horse.

Starting with a pencil drawing is key as the nonporous wood allows for only one or two strokes of pastel. After 20 years of working with high gloss resin, Keim is still surprised by the chemical reaction that occurs when it’s poured over pastels on raw wood. It enriches the woodgrain, melts the pastels heightening the colors and creates an almost 3D effect.

The family is warned before a resin session begins with “Do not enter; mommy is pouring.” Then it’s literally off to the races. It takes two to three minutes to precisely mix the concoction of resin and hardener and another 15 minutes to pour the epoxy before it gets too sticky.

Keim releases air bubbles with a torch and walks away for three days, hoping no bugs land on the curing resin. The finished pieces, with their glossy sheen and beveled edges, do not require a frame.

Generation Wild collection

An African safari in 2009 left Keim forever enchanted by the way of the wild — how the animals communicate, the smells, the circle of life. “It makes your heart beat in a different way. I still get chill bumps from it,” she said.

Capturing animals is all in the eyes in Keim’s view. “Start with the eyes. If you don’t get them right, you might as well start over,” she explains. “I have to feel like they’re blinking at me before I can move on.”

Fly Guys

“My Fly Guys collection started from my husband’s grandfather’s fly box in the studio. I was up late one night and started tinkering around with it. Creative moments,” Keim said.

Textiles

Whose Booze? It’s what Keim likes to call her set of four hand painted linen cocktail napkins with a hemstitch, each in a different color for easy glassware identification. They’ll be available at WAM for the first time this year.

Keim also makes tea towels, scarves that double as cover-ups and more. The painted fabrics are durable and washable.

Shop JKEIM

Find Keim’s artwork and textiles at WAM, Marguerite’s in Brookhaven, B.D. Jeffries in Atlanta or visit her website, jkeim.com.

A day in the life

“I jump around like a ping-pong ball, which keeps me in the groove” is how Keim describes her workday. There are textiles drying on tables and on the floor, scarves on mannequins. It’s a carefully timed game of drying stations in anticipation of the next color. Snuck in between is a layer being added to an animal piece.

She prefers coastal and mountain pieces in oils with visible palette knife blade marks. “I like to work with oil on linen or canvas with a venetian red backing. I was trained to emulate the masters,” she said.

Keim keeps a supply of canvases painted with a venetian red basecoat in all sizes at the ready, in case there’s something she wishes to paint immediately.

Commissions

Keim completes commissions of all sorts. Even her textiles can be personalized. Pinpointing what the client is interested in comes first. Next, learning what the space is like.

She’s been known to bring an assortment of works to homes to see what size works best with the ceiling height and the environment. A 50% deposit gets a commission underway.

The best part

Keim wants her work to incite nostalgia, cheer and joy. For her, the best part about being an artist is having people connect to a piece she was inspired to create.

“You’re getting a little piece of me in every one of my original works,” she said. “When all those happy moments combine, that really is magical for me.”

See you at WAM’s 25th!

I’m positive you’ll enjoy meeting these gifted artists at WAM. The show is the springtime indulgence we’ve all come to expect. Exhibitors are looking forward to meeting you and sharing their zeal for art with you.

Thanks for one exquisitely imaginative quarter of a century, WAM!

Arts & Literature

Wesleyan Artist Market, Student Artists 2023 [Podcast]

Published

2 months ago

April 9, 2023

Peachtree Corners Magazine staff

On this episode of Peachtree Corners Life we take a deep dive into the world of young artists at Wesleyan School, featuring three talented individuals: Freddie Reinhard, and Anastasia and Juliana Lamas. From digital art to painted oyster shells, these artisans have created unique, inspiring pieces that showcase their creativity and passions. We explore their inspirations, hobbies, and future aspirations, as well as their involvement in academics and extracurricular activities. With the Wesleyan Artist Market approaching (on April 28,29, 2023), this podcast is the perfect sneak peek into the exciting works these artists will be presenting. Don’t miss this chance to discover the next generation of artistic talent.

Resources:

Wesleyan Artist Market Website

“I HAVE A FASHION ICON WHO I’M JUST OBSESSED WITH, AND SHE REALLY INSPIRES ME. HER NAME IS REBECCA COHEN, AND SHE’S THE OWNER OF THIS BRAND THAT I LOVE CALLED LOVE SHACK FANCY. AND SHE’S SO GIRLY AND FEMININE, AND I JUST ADMIRE IT SO MUCH ABOUT HER. AND SHE JUST MADE THIS HUGE BRAND THAT EVERYBODY MY AGE AND AROUND MY AGE LOVES, AND I JUST WANT TO BE HER WHEN I’M OLDER, AND I JUST LOVE HER DISTINCT STYLE.”
freddie reinhard

Timestamp (Where to find it in the podcast):

[0:00:00] – Intro
[0:01:48] – About Anastasia and Juliana
[0:02:58] – About Freddie
[0:05:40] – Other Interests
[0:06:19] – The Creative Process
[0:10:50] – Presenting at The Artist Market
[0:12:34] – Inspiration
[0:14:35] – Difficulties of Mediums
[0:19:32] – Art Courses and Extracurricular Activities
[0:23:50] – Closing

Wesleyan Artist Market 2023 — Freddie Reinhard

Podcast transcript:

[0:00:00] Rico Figliolini: Hi, everyone. This is Rico Figliolini, host of Peachtree Corners Life. And I have some special guests today. We are a sponsor of the Wesleyan Artist Market, and the guests I have here are student artists that are going to be presenting at the show this April. So let me introduce Freddie first. Hey, Freddie, thanks for joining us.

[0:00:18] Freddie Reinhard: Hi, how are you?

[0:00:19] Rico Figliolini: Good. Anastasia and Juliana, left and right, respective. Thanks for joining us.

[0:00:26] Anastasia Lamas: Thank you.

[0:00:27] Rico Figliolini: Appreciate it. So before we get right into it, I just want to say thank you to our corporate sponsor, EV Remodeling. I say corporate, but they’re a neighbor of ours, right? They live in Peachtree Corners. Eli is the owner of the place, and EV Remodeling does design to build and renovation work, and they’ve been around for a while, and they do great work. So check them out at EVRemodelingInc.com. They’re our sponsor and a great supporter of ours, so we appreciate them. So let’s hop right into it. You girls are exhibiting at Wesleyan Artist Market this April. I wish I had the dates in front of me, but do you remember the dates, Freddie?

[0:01:07] Freddie Reinhard: Yes, April 28 and April 29.

[0:01:10] Rico Figliolini: Great. Thank you. Just testing you on that one. Right? So we’re featuring it in the upcoming issue of Peachtree Corners Magazine as well. So we have three adult artists that we profiled in the magazine. So check that out. That’s coming out. Hitting the post office, I think Thursday. Mailboxes this weekend, hopefully. So check that out. But let’s get right into it. Juliana and Anastasia do artwork on oyster shells and a little different medium, right? They’re in 8th grade and 7th grade, and they’re working together on this project. So why don’t you two tell me a little bit about what it is that you do.

[0:01:48] Anastasia Lamas: So we take oyster shells from where we vacation at Hilton Head Island, and we paint them with a lot of different designs to be used as trinket dishes and decorations and gifts.

[0:02:04] Rico Figliolini: We’re going to flash one on. So when you paint these, I’m assuming you paint the background white, and then you use colors. What mediums, what actually are you using to do this?

[0:02:15] Anastasia Lamas: So first we bleach them to get any sort of, like, black spots off, and then we use acrylic paint. We do a few coats of that.

[0:02:25] Rico Figliolini: So what got you into that?

[0:02:28] Anastasia Lamas: We really loved the style, and I actually used them as nutcracker gifts for my dance friends as well, originally. And we thought that they would sell really well at the Artist Market.

[0:02:38] Rico Figliolini: Cool. Here’s another one that let’s pop that one in there too. So how many varieties do you have actually, that you’re using?

[0:02:46] Anastasia Lamas: Probably at the moment, probably seven. Like, seven-ish.

[0:02:49] Rico Figliolini: Cool. Freddie, you’re doing different stuff, so tell us a little bit about some of your work.

[0:02:58] Freddie Reinhard: So I have a button right here, like college buttons. And this one happens to be for Wesleyan. So they’re for, like, game days, and whenever you just want to support your team. They’re very popular at big SEC schools, especially. And then I’m also doing dorm room prints, so you can put, obviously, your dorm room, bathroom, wherever you want to show your team spirit. And I’m also making sweatshirts that have, like, a teddy bear design on them, wearing jerseys for Ole Miss Alabama.

[0:03:29] Rico Figliolini: So what medium? I know you said I believe you said before we started rolling on this that you use digital. So it’s digitally done? So what programs are you actually working in?

[0:03:39] Freddie Reinhard: I use Fresco. It’s, like, from Adobe, and it just is great. Definitely my go to. It’s pretty simple. I have, like, a button machine, and you just print out your pictures, and a pretty easy job to get done.

[0:03:55] Rico Figliolini: So some of the stuff, like, for example, Auburn, this would be on a button I’m assuming .

[0:03:59] Freddie Reinhard: Yes, that would be on a button.

[0:04:01] Rico Figliolini: Excellent. So leave that up for a minute. Freddie, have you done the Wesleyan Artist Market before, or is this the first time, or how long have you been doing it?

[0:04:16] Freddie Reinhard: No, this is my first time doing it.

[0:04:18] Rico Figliolini: Really?

[0:04:18] Freddie Reinhard: I thought it would just be a fun way for people to wear my art. I thought it would just be cool to see people wearing it. And I’m going to college next year, so I’m like, what better time to make college pins? I can even make some for my friends next year. And I just thought it was something unique that I knew would probably sell well.

[0:04:35] Rico Figliolini: Cool. Now, you’ve been, I understand correctly, you’re an AP art student at Wesleyan School?

[0:04:41] Freddie Reinhard: Yes.

[0:04:42] Rico Figliolini: And you’ve done about three and a half years of art in high school, I’m assuming. That’s a lot of years of art for a high school kid.

[0:04:48] Freddie Reinhard: It is.

[0:04:49] Rico Figliolini: Is this something that you want? Where do you want to take this when you go to college?

[0:04:54] Freddie Reinhard: Well, I’m hoping to do something in fashion, and so all this art is definitely helping me just kind of know my style in general, and I just love art. In the first place, I would like to do fashion, and I’m sure that if these buttons sell well, I’ll probably sell them in college. Yeah. It’s just something I’ve always loved.

[0:05:16] Rico Figliolini: Do you want to do a career out of this? What do you think your major would be in college?

[0:05:22] Freddie Reinhard: Well, currently I’m majoring in Southern Studies, which is, like, I can study the art of the south. So I really would like to tie in my Southern culture with my fashion. Hopefully, I could go into something fashion related would be my dream. All of this definitely helps out.

[0:05:40] Rico Figliolini: Absolutely. All right, let’s go to Anastasia and Juliana. I mean, middle school, 7th, 8th grade. Is that middle school? Yeah, that’s middle school. You’re way before college, right? Why don’t you share some of the interests that you two have? I mean, is art part of that, or do you have other interests besides that?

[0:06:00] Anastasia Lamas: I’m a dancer. I really do enjoy making art outside of dance and school. And Juliana?

[0:06:08 ] Juliana Lamas: I’m a gymnast, and so I really like that, and I really like just being creative and thinking of new ways to make something.

[0:06:19] Rico Figliolini: So when you’re doing the oysters and that artwork, are you both working on it at the same time? Do you collaborate? Does one of you say, no, I don’t think I like that, or how does that go? And do you sketch it out before you actually put it on the oyster?

[0:06:35] Anastasia Lamas: Yes, we have designs that we know we’re going to do on the shells, and we’ll put on the shell and do them together.

[0:06:44] Rico Figliolini: Cool. I guess there’s always someone a little bit more creative than the other right in a pair. Does anyone want to raise their hand? Which one’s more creative?

[0:06:55] Anastasia Lamas: I think we’re both creative in our own ways, like, different parts.

[0:07:01] Rico Figliolini: And where do you get your inspiration for what you do? Like, the artwork that you put on the shells, how do you come up with that?

[0:07:08] Juliana Lamas: For some of them, so we play the piano. So for one of them that we made, we put piano notes on it. I actually have it with me. And then Anastasia really likes flowers, so we made some with flowers on them, and then we wanted to incorporate something from Wesleyan into them. So it says Joy on it. It’s the joy motto. And then we have the ones that have the crosses on them.

[0:07:32] Rico Figliolini: Okay. Got a bunch of them up there now. Okay, so let’s go back to Freddie a little bit. So, Freddie, where do you find your creative process, your creative space, physical space or mind?

[0:07:53] Freddie Reinhard: Yeah, honestly, I do a lot of my drawings during class, which isn’t a good thing. I call it the doodlebug. My friends know it as that, and it’s just like, I’m in class, I can’t think of anything but just, like, drawing something on paper or my laptop. So, sadly, to my teachers, it’s definitely in class. And then also, I’ll draw when I get home from school, or if I just have some downtime, I’ll do some drawings then, and I get a lot of my inspiration from Pinterest. I see all these cute dorm room stuff, and I’m like, I could do that, but I want my Freddie spin on it. So I’ll do bows often. A lot of people know me for my bows because I just have bows in all my artwork. I just have practiced my handwriting for probably, like, four years now.

[0:08:47] Rico Figliolini: All right, well, the Pinterest, I’m surprised, actually. My daughter uses it. She’s 24. So is that something that you use a lot of? Do you create boards and put up your stuff that way too?

[0:09:07] Freddie Reinhard: Normally I’ll just go on there. If I need a pattern for this cherry background, maybe I saw something with cherries, and then I was like, that’s pretty cute. Or if I just see fun colors that I could incorporate in my art, I’ll do that. Or if I just need inspiration for something, I’ll definitely go there, because obviously it’s Pinterest. They have everything under the sun.

[0:09:30] Rico Figliolini: Okay. All right. Juliana, how about as far as inspiration? I think you said your family goes to Hilton Head, or is that correct? So when did that start? And I guess do you beach comb? Do you go searching for the shells on the beach, I’m assuming?

[0:09:51] Anastasia Lamas: Well, our grandparents owned some condos up at Hilton Head, and they’ve been going there since before we were born, definitely since my dad was a kid.

[0:10:00] Rico Figliolini: Okay.

[0:10:01] Anastasia Lamas: And so we kind of got the inspiration for the shells there, and we ordered them from a lady who cleaned them for us, actually, at Hilton Head. And we also sometimes when we go to restaurants there, we’ll ask the cook if they can give us some of their old oyster shells.

[0:10:21] Rico Figliolini: That’s ingenious. That’s a good way of recycling. That’s good. I would never have thought of that. My creative process runs a little different, but that’s cool that you did that. Okay, so now that you have your process and stuff, do you know where you’re going to be doing it at Wesleyan? Where you’re going to be presenting your products and stuff? Whoever wants to go first.

[0:10:46] Freddie Reinhard: Where I’m presenting them, do you mean, like, in Yancy?

[0:10:50] Rico Figliolini: Yeah, at the show. Well, at the show. Well, I guess people can find you when they go to the show. But will you have a variety of things at the show, I’m assuming?

[0:11:00] Freddie Reinhard: Yeah, I’m going to have my stand is going to be very obvious, I think. My mom’s trying to plan, like, a huge pink bow above my stand. So if you need to look for it, just look for the pink bow. And I’m going to have about 400 buttons there, 100 prints, 100 sweatshirts, I think, so there’s definitely going to be a variety. And I’m also taking commissions for the, I obviously can’t do every college I wish I could, but commissions for smaller colleges like Sanford and wherever else, I’m going to do commissions. So whoever’s going there, they can get buttons or prints or whatever they want.

[0:11:36] Rico Figliolini: Cool. So they can order from you, and then you’ll ship it. You can ship it later.

[0:11:40] Freddie Reinhard: Yes.

[0:11:41] Rico Figliolini: And Juliana and Anastasia, obviously, you’re going to have tons of product too, I’m imagining.

[0:11:47] Anastasia Lamas: We’re trying to do maybe ten to 20 of each design, but we’re definitely going to have made more by the time of the artist market. So far, it should start. I don’t know about you, but I want to keep selling them after the artist market when she goes to high school. Keep doing them.

[0:12:09] Rico Figliolini: Do you have an Instagram account? Do you have a place where you show off your artwork online?

[0:12:16] Anastasia Lamas: Not really. We all have just our personal Instagram account.

[0:12:20] Rico Figliolini: Got you. Freddie, the same for you, I’m assuming.

[0:12:23] Freddie Reinhard: I’ve decided that if these sell well, I’m going to make an Instagram account. So however well this art market goes, will decide if I post these on an Instagram account or not.

[0:12:34] Rico Figliolini: Got you. Okay, so a little bit about you all personally? A little bit, I guess. Let’s start with Freddie. Do you have a favorite artist or filmmaker or author that you’d like to share?

[0:12:51] Freddie Reinhard: Well, I have, like, fashion icon who I’m just obsessed with, and she really inspires me. Just so creative and so cool. Her name is Rebecca Cohen, and she’s the owner of this brand that I love called Love Check Fancy. I’m sure they probably know what that is. And she’s so girly and feminine, and I just admire it so much about her. And she just made this huge brand that everybody my age and around my age loves, and I just want to be her when I’m older, and I just love her distinct style.

[0:13:28] Rico Figliolini: And that’s called love. What is that called? Love Shack.

[0:13:30] Freddie Reinhard: LoveShackFancy.

[0:13:34] Rico Figliolini: Cool.

[0:13:34] Freddie Reinhard: She’s the queen of the world in my eyes.

[0:13:37] Rico Figliolini: Really? Okay. I haven’t heard of that one yet. My daughter tries to keep me abreast of things, but that one I haven’t heard. What about you two? Julianna, Anastasia. Do you have any artists or brands or styles that you follow that you like?

[0:13:54] Anastasia Lamas: Nothing in particular. I’m a giant bookworm, so I read, like, a lot. And a variety of genres.

[0:14:02] Rico Figliolini: What’s your favorite genre? Top two genres, I guess.

[0:14:08] Anastasia Lamas: Probably right now, fantasy and romance.

[0:14:10] Rico Figliolini: Okay. And your sister Juliana?

[0:14:14] Juliana Lamas: For me, probably someone I really love and look up to is Selena Gomez, because I’ve been seeing it on Instagram recently. I think she’s really inspirational and stuff.

[0:14:26] Rico Figliolini: She was the actress in Wednesday, right? On Netflix? Or am I thinking of someone else?

[0:14:33] Anastasia Lamas: Yeah, Jenny Ortega.

[0:14:35] Rico Figliolini: Yeah, that was Ortega. Sorry. All right, cool. So what do you want to share that we haven’t talked about yet, related to the artwork and stuff that you do, process or anything like that? What’s the most difficult thing? What’s the thing that you’ve done that you thought was great and all of a sudden you’re like, yeah, let’s try something else, and you start from scratch again. Let’s start with Freddie. She looks like she already knows something.

[0:15:05] Freddie Reinhard: Well, I think you’re probably asking something a little different, but through this button process, I thought it was going to be so easy. I thought I would just be, like, clamp and it would be done. My palms were sore after I was doing it. It’s actually hard work. And my mom kept trying to show me how to do it. We failed at, like, ten buttons in a row. So that’s definitely a lot harder than I expected. This whole artist market, I’m excited for it, but it’s definitely a lot of work.

[0:15:33] Rico Figliolini: But I know, yeah, the button machines are definitely I’ve done that before for political things, it’s not easy. What about you girls? Have you had stuff during your process that you found difficult or had to start all over again on?

[0:15:55] Anastasia Lamas: I think it’s just a lot of time to paint the shells with so many layers and just letting it all dry takes hours. Just keeping on going and going and going. And we’re trying to make all of them perfect. So that just takes a little bit of extra time. And then also, since we’re kind of working together on this, we both have our own different styles, so we kind of intervene and we both like, oh, but I think it looks better like this, better like that, or whatever.

[0:16:32] Rico Figliolini: Did you ever decide to okay, this shell is mine. I’m going to put my initials on it because do you do individual shells like that? This one’s my creative thing.

[0:16:43] Anastasia Lamas: Not really. I really enjoy doing the cross oyster shells, though, so I usually stick to those.

[0:16:46] And I really like doing the notes, the music notes and the joy one. So we each have our shells that we work on.

[0:16:59] Rico Figliolini: Okay. All right, Freddie, when you’re doing the work that you’re doing, I know you’re using digital, so is that easier to do that? I mean, when you’re creating patterns and all that? I imagine some of the process is easier, but also that gives you a little bit more creative space, maybe.

[0:17:15] Freddie Reinhard: Well, I prefer doing lettering on paper. I still enjoy it because it’s easier to just erase things and clear. But if I could, I would definitely prefer paper for just doing my lettering. But for the pattern and such. Like the cherries, I just have to draw one and then just duplicate a bunch. So it’s way easier than if I had to do every single cherry. And then for these prints, it’s so much easier when I can just kind of just fill this hat in with one click instead of, of course, drawing in the whole thing. So in some ways it’s easier. Other ways I feel, if it was all handmade, if it was all made on paper, I think it would have more of like I don’t know, I feel like it has your hand more in it. As my art teacher would say, you could tell it’s from me because you could tell it’s drawn on paper. So that aspect I kind of miss, but definitely easier for math, product, to do digital.

[0:18:16] Rico Figliolini: Have you ever thought about I know 3D printing is like, the big thing now, and I’ve seen artists use 3D printing, actually. Have you thought about that?

[0:18:25] Freddie Reinhard: No, I haven’t. I know we have a few at Wesleyan, but I didn’t even get into consideration. That is a really good idea, that would be really cool. Maybe I will start trying to figure that out.

[0:18:36] Rico Figliolini: It doesn’t take much on some of that. Some of that is just fed these templates. But you can feed your creativeness into that template. You can customize some of these templates. So that’s just another avenue of art. Same thing. I guess for that you could 3D print shells, but then what’s the point, right? I guess those shells might have been out in the ocean for like, 100 years before they got to you or whatever. However long. So there’s some history to that, maybe even that’s unknown to anyone. Have you ever thought about doing your work, girls, on other materials besides shells?

[0:19:20] Anastasia Lamas: We haven’t really. We’ve mostly just stuck with the oyster shells.

[0:19:26] Rico Figliolini: Okay.

[0:19:27] Anastasia Lamas: Yeah, it would be interesting to see how it would work on other mediums.

[0:19:32] Rico Figliolini: Yeah, probably. Well, I’m assuming you’re taking art courses or you’ve taken art courses at Wesleyan?

[0:19:41] Anastasia Lamas: We were both in digital art last semester, and we both really enjoyed that.

[0:19:45] Juliana Lamas: I took it in fifth grade and 6th grade. Just normal art. And then I did digital art, and now I’m in technology class.

[0:19:57] Rico Figliolini: Cool. And are you liking it? Is it everything you thought it would be? What about Freddie? Freddie, what about you? I mean, you’ve been in three and a half years of AP Art course. Because of that, you probably have done different mediums, different subjects and stuff. How’d that go? And did that help with what you’re doing now? Any of that?

[0:20:18] Freddie Reinhard: Yeah, I’m going to have to think back to freshman year. I think it was 3D art, and I got stopped midway because of COVID. But I like that, it’s not my thing. I enjoyed it because it’s fun to do, but I don’t know, I just prefer doing things too deep. And then I’ve been on digital art as well, which I love. That was like so much fun. And so from then I was like, yeah, I think this is my thing. So I started getting into that. And I do some digital art on my AP Art stuff now. I don’t know, I’ll doodle on some of my pictures and I do a lot of mixed media, so that also helped with my creativeness, I guess. Too much to count.

[0:21:04] Rico Figliolini: And doodling in the classrooms. That helps, too, a little bit.

[0:21:09] Freddie Reinhard: Yes, definitely does.

[0:21:11] Rico Figliolini: Let’s make sure the teachers don’t hear that. I’ve covered quite a bit with you three. If you want to share anything else with the audience that will be listening to this, want to start that with Freddie and we’ll go the other way.

[0:21:29] Freddie Reinhard: I don’t have too much more to share, but I’d say to you two girls that you should definitely take AP Art because it is just such a great way to really learn your style and just do so much stuff you’ve always wanted to do. And it just helps with who you want to be as an artist, definitely.

[0:21:47] Rico Figliolini: Have you done any, the girls do dance and gymnastics. Have you done anything along those lines? I mean, that’s one creative aspect. Right. Have you done anything similar?

[0:21:57] Freddie Reinhard: Well, this year I actually did the musical for the first time. I’ve never done musical theater, but it was just me and my two best friends, and so that was just a great experience. Overall, we had the best time, and I’ve never been in an environment like that, and it was just so much fun. And then right now, I’m doing lacrosse, and in the fall, I do cross country.

[0:22:16] Rico Figliolini: Wow. Okay. Busy schedule. Sounds good. What about Juliana and Anastasia? It’s gymnastics and dance?

[0:22:28] Anastasia Lamas: Our main things are gymnastics and dance, but we do other sports too. She’s in the musical, and I do lacrosse and cheerleading and all that stuff.

[0:22:41] Rico Figliolini: It’s amazing how much activity girls have. I don’t know how, so what do you do to unwind then? I mean, you have schoolwork, you have artwork, you have sports. What is it that you do that’s not associated that way, to sort of do something different? Anything?

[0:23:03] Freddie Reinhard: For me, it’s honestly just, like I really get my energy from my friends, so I’ll definitely try to hang out with my friends in the little free time that I have, because they just bring me so much joy. And also hanging out with my parents since I’m going to college next year. I know I’ve got to savor these last few months, so I just make sure if I’m home during a school night, I’ll definitely go and just hang out with them and talk with them.

[0:23:31] Rico Figliolini: That’s cool. That’s a good daughter. Thank you. My kids do that. What about you girls? Juliana? Anastasia?

[0:23:39] Anastasia Lamas: Well, we try to do stuff as a family. Like family movie nights and stuff on weekdays and weekends when we aren’t super crammed schedule.

[0:23:50] Rico Figliolini: Yeah. Wesleyan kids, Great Atlanta Christian, The kids that I’ve interviewed and stuff always busy. Norcross high school. I don’t think any kids that I’ve interviewed have had more than a night or two free because of academics and sports and everything else. They’re there. But you know what? Your future is secured when you do that. I think you develop a different way of looking at life and become more successful that way. So glad you three were able to spend some time with me. This took a little time to get this together. Mostly my fault on the scheduling, but I appreciate you three showing up and doing this interview with us.

[0:24:32] Freddie Reinhard: Yeah, it was awesome.

[0:24:34] Rico Figliolini: Thank you. Hang in there with me for a minute. I just want to say thank you to everyone that’s been watching this. So the Wesleyan Artist Market is at the end of this month, and you just Google Wesleyan Artist Market, and you’ll be able to find the schedule and everything else from there. Follow them on Instagram there are going to be 75 artists from around the country there as well, besides the student artists. So there’s a lot of stuff, a lot of mediums. Check out the latest issue of Peachtree Corners magazine. You’ll see three of the artists of the 75 that will be there. It’s some good feature stories. And there’s a podcast interview also with Jennifer Keim, another adult artist that is going to be showing there. So thank you. And thank you to EV Remodeling for being a sponsor of ours. So thank you all. Take care.