08 May WEST Kicks Off Thursday May 10th – 2 Wknds and 2 More Artist Interviews!

This week is the BIG Kick Off Opening “Due West” of the 7th Annual WEST Austin Studio Tour which begins THIS weekend!

What is WEST you ask? It is the premiere spring art event in Austin covering two weekends in may with over 400 participating artists. It is produced by Big Medium, a non-profit whose sole purpose is to support and promote contemporary art and artists in Texas.

“Big Medium produces the East Austin Studio Tour, the West Austin Studio Tour, the Texas Biennial, and presents innovative exhibitions throughout the year in the Big Medium gallery.”

The WEST Austin Studio Tour, of which we are honored and excited to participate in as an artist for the 2nd year, is a self-guided studio tour that kicks off this Thursday night, May 10th,  7 – 10 p.m. with Due West, the Official Kick Off Party and Group Exhibition at the Lawn at Seaholm and Austin Central Library.

This is the “not-to-be-missed” event if you really want a glimpse into the local art scene!

There is also a Big Medium Member & Preview Reception from 6 – 7 p.m.. Get your tickets for one or both events HERE and see over 400 artists in one place!

Now, you remember from last week’s blog post, our studio, Deborah Main Designs has 5 additional “guest artists”. Here’s our STOP list:

253 Deborah Main
254 Kerry Christensen
255 Judith Simonds
256 Jamie Leasure
257 Irmgard Geul
258 Denise Jaunsem

My home and art studio, Deborah Main Designs, STOP #253, and “Guest Artist” STOP #’s 254, 255, 256, 257 and 258.

Here are the maps below provided by WEST to give you an idea of the scope of this studio tour. Be sure to stop by the library and get a copy of the gorgeous catalog and map, and/or go online, to start mapping out your weekend HERE.

Front of map.

Back of map.

Do please take time to map out this weekend and next as just like with the Modern Home Tour (where I only saw 5 out of 15 homes!) this amazing studio art tour has 400 + artists participating so there is A LOT of art to see and purchase and artists to learn about and talk with.  Even James Leasure who heads up the Modern Home Tour across the USA is an artist, so you’ll need to come see his amazing photography!

Now let’s get on with 2 more interviews of the six artists at the Deborah Main Designs studio.

Interview with “Guest Artist”, mixed media sculptor Kerry Christensen, with samples of her sculpture below: Stop #254 

“Hope” by mixed media sculptor Kerry Christensen.

PG: You’re an artist in the upcoming WEST studio Tour, what events in your life prompted you to become an artist?

KC: I was in the Air Force when a childhood friend came to visit me in Montana and brought some polymer clay.  As we played that day a miraculous thing occurred.  A beautiful torso of a man appeared in my hands as if by magic.  I fell in love.  I knew that when I resigned my commission I wanted to study sculpture.  And I never looked back.

PG: What inspires you to create?

KC: The desire to communicate what is true for me.

PG: How much time do you devote in your studio to your craft? To one piece?

KC: Normally 4 hours a day.  The time it takes to create pieces varies widely.  A few are made in a few days, others I’ve worked on for years and they still sit in my studio waiting to be born.

“Firefly” by mixed media sculptor Kerry Christensen.

PG: What’s the best thing about being an artist? The most challenging thing?

KC: The best thing about being an artist is being able to speak your truth.  The most challenging thing is waiting for your audience.

PG: What one tip would you give other artists just starting out about creating and exhibiting their work?

KC: I would suggest you learn to do you. 

“Complimentary Colors ~ Conflicting States” by mixed media sculptor Kerry Christensen.

PG: You exhibit your sculptures all across the USA, what are you working on now?

KC: I’m working on a small 2 figure piece in plastilene called Tandem.

PG: Can you tell us about the mixed media you incorporate into your abstract pieces? 

KC: Usually it is clay and another material, but if necessary I’ll work in whatever material is needed to say what I need to say.

Interview with “Guest Artist”, pet and landscape painter Denise Jaunsem, with samples of her paintings below: Stop #258

“Happy Trail” by painter, Denise Jaunsem.

PG: You’re an artist in the upcoming WEST Austin Studio Tour, what events in your life prompted you to become an artist?

DJ: I grew up in a family of artists.  My grandmother was a painter and photographer,  My Dad is a painter and sculptor, and my Mom a weaver.  My parents collected art from many other artists, so I was always surrounded by many different styles of art.  I pretty much couldn’t help myself from becoming an artist.

PG: What inspires you to create?

DJ: I am very inspired by nature, the colors, the life, the light.  I am always seeing things I want to photograph and paint. I’m also inspired by looking at other artists work. Seeing great art makes me want to make better art.

“Higher Ground” by landscape painter Denise Jaunsem.

PG: How much time do you devote in your studio to your craft? To one piece?

DJ: I spend a lot of time in my studio.  I work a full-time day gig, then come home, walk the dogs, then paint.  Frequently until the wee hours, even though I get up before the crack of dawn.  This is a relatively new thing in my art practice. About 2 years ago I decided to get serious about my art career, and I’ve found the more I paint, the more I want to paint.

It takes me a great deal of time to create each work. I paint with many layers of color and things usually change during the process as I get new ideas.  Unless I’m working on a commission which needs to be very specific,  my original vision and end result evolves while I paint.

PG: What’s the best thing about being an artist? The most challenging thing?

DJ:  That’s a difficult one. The best thing I’d say is being able to use your creativity and vision to make something unique that didn’t exist before, and that others can appreciate, is very rewarding. The most challenging is making a sustainable living at it.  It can be done, but it’s a lot of work to get there.  I’m still working to achieve this goal.

PG: What one tip would you give other artists just starting out about creating and exhibiting their work?

DJ: Keep doing it.  Make time to work on your art.  Get out and see art and meet other artists.  And a really important thing is to learn the business and marketing aspect of it.

“Lemmy” by pet portrait painter Denise Jaunsem

PG: I notice you do commissioned pet portraits correct?  What do people need to do in order to get their pet painted?

DJ: I do a lot of custom pet portraits.  If people would like a portrait they can email me photos, preferably multiples so I can get a good idea of correct color etc. I take a 50% deposit of front and the rest upon approval. Some clients have specific background color requests I can do, but the majority trust me to figure out what best compliments the animal. I can ship anywhere or deliver if you are local.

PG: You also do some beautiful photography. Will you be exhibiting any of that this year?

DJ: I do plan on showing some of my nature photography as well. I have some small prints on metal, which can be ordered in different sizes, and some unframed prints on photo paper. 

Hope you enjoyed these interviews as we have a wide variety of artists at our studio.  Of course we want you to stop by and see all of us, but there are so many different art mediums represented and we want you to enjoy visiting as many artists studios as you possibly can.

And remember it’s TWO weekends so you have plenty of time: Sat 12th & Sun, Mother’s Day, 13th and Sat 19th & Sun 20th, 11 – 6 p.m. all four days. We had a blast meeting many of you last year and it was great fun meeting multi-generational families last Mother’s Day!

Till Thursday, when I do the last 2 artist interviews, make a trip to any Austin library branch to get the WEST catalog.  The catalog itself features one piece of art from each artist and if we have pretty weather like today, grab a water bottle and head out to see us and many more artists to get even more inspired! Look for the orange signs! XO PG

NOTE: This is not a sponsored posts. The interviews and opinions are my own and the artists interviewed. All images are courtesy of the artists and Big Medium.