16 May W.E.S.T. Final Wknd – Artist Interviews with James Leasure and The Pillow Goddess, Deborah Main!

Wow, was that ever an exciting kick off and 1st weekend of the WEST Austin Studio Tour!  We had 60 people the first day, which is more than we had the entire first weekend in 2017.  WEST is definitely growing and it’s all due to the top notch job that the non-profit BIG Medium does all year long and the hundreds of artists who participate. Last weekend of the tour is this Saturday and Sunday, 19th & 20th, 11 – 6 p.m. Please stop by our studio!

Please be sure to also stop by the Due WEST Group Exhibition at the Austin Central Public Library where you can see one piece by hundreds of artists. It’s a great way to start collecting, as all pieces are 12″ x 12″ and very affordable.

According to BIG Medium’s Executive Director, Shea Little, this year’s WEST Tour is the largest yet:

We’re thrilled to celebrate our most well attended Due WEST yet and to see the momentum from the event carry through the first weekend of the tour. It’s always encouraging to see support for the Austin art community and we look forward to the second weekend of WEST ahead. – Shea Little

Thank you so much friends for coming out to see our artwork and supporting Austin artists! It means so much to us and your thoughtful questions help us grow as artists.

Below are a few images from last weekend. This weekend, the WEST Tour again is both Saturday the 19th and Sunday, the 20th, from 11 a.m. till 6 p.m . It’s your last chance to see over 400 Austin artists up close and personal, and 6 of those at our studio, Deborah Main Designs. In case you forgot, here are our Tour STOP #’s:

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

I’m super excited to share that our studio, Deborah Main Designs, was selected for the Repurposed Tour, one of WEST’s three “Themed Tours”.  Curated by Robert Faires, arts writer for The Austin Chronicle, the Repurposed Tour features 10 artists who “work with repurposed or salvaged materials or found objects.”

We’re very honored our studio was selected!

This piece below, on exhibit at my studio (STOP #253), is an excellent example of “Repurposing” discarded materials. Selected for the 2018 IMAGINE Art Exhibition in Round Rock, it’s handcrafted from torn fabric and tattered antique Victorian beading.

Now onto the last two interviews with Guest Artist photographer James Leasure and myself. Yup, I figured since many people ask me “How did you get started making pillows?”, I thought it’s time to share my interview answers with you too.

Interview with photographer James Leasure, STOP # 256:

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

JL: I don’t think there’s any point when I “became” an artist.  I was recently gifted a box of childhood papers and such, and my mother had included a photograph I had taken when I was about 12 years old.  It was a silhouette of her baby grand piano that I think I had made for an art class, but what it told me what that even then, I enjoyed the process and the result of capturing light and form.  I guess I always have, and hopefully always will.

PG: What inspires you to create?

JL: The inspiration to create comes and goes, and for me it’s a feeling more than a process.  As a photographer I tend to “receive” creative impulses rather than push them outward, so it’s often a matter of being receptive to the world around me.  When “life” intrudes, it can be hard to allow those signals to penetrate the noise, so I find that my creativity waxes and wanes.

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

JL: To paraphrase the legendary street photographer Garry Winogrand, one image might take me about 1/100 of a second to create, or perhaps a little bit longer!   That’s not the totality of course – waiting for light, finding a composition, and traveling across the world – or just down the street – all take time, and the work the image requires after capture can still be extensive, or almost none at all.   Each image is different, but ultimately I’ve found little correlation between time spent and the ultimate success of the image.   Maybe one day I’ll crack the code and become much more efficient!

PG: Whats the best thing about being an artist? The most challenging thing?

JL:  The very best thing about being an artist is being able to find beauty in the world around us and then put my own vision on top of that.  I feel blessed to be open to seeing color, light and structure in a way that, hopefully, sets me apart.

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

JL:  I’m not sure I’m qualified to answer this, as I typically exhibit and create almost exclusively on demand and tailored to spaces or commissions. My process Is more akin to a designer than an artist in some ways – I see a space and then think about what image would best compliment the mood or feeling of the area, and then I try and show my potential customers how I could interpret their spaces.

PG: I know you run the Modern Home Tours across the country, so how did you get into photography and where do you exhibit your work? 

JL:  Photography is a family avocation!  Going back two generations, I was always surrounded by photos and film – even as a child I remember watching home movies (and this was before videotape!)  But where my grandfather loved filming family, and my dad loves documenting his and my mother’s extensive travels, I’ve developed a more impressionistic attitude toward photography.  I try to capture an essence or a detail of a place, and I’m not so concerned about the documentary aspect. 

The Modern Home Tours project, perhaps counter intuitively, is actually the RESULT of my interest in photography, not a precursor to it.   I’ve always loved images of architecture – the more abstract the better generally, and that led me to a love of modern architecture and a means to both indulge that love and to share it with others. In 2015, when I was a USA Landscape Photographer of the Year worldwide finalist, it was on the strength of a portfolio of abstract architectural images that I was selected.  Those structures still inform my favorite work – even the work that starts as a more traditional landscape image.

PG: Your pieces are very large scale.  Can you do custom sizes for those interested in your work?

JL: Absolutely!   Even though I consider my base images as best displayed at a minimum of 3 feet wide, for WEST I’ve created a series of square, 12″ x 12″, finished pieces with a more intimate, stark aesthetic.   They bring geometry and contrast into a smaller format and are part of my “Flora” series of black and white and abstract plant and floral studies.

Next up, interview of textile artist Deborah Main (aka The Pillow Goddess and founder of Deborah Main Designs). STOP #253.

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

DM: Many really, but one major life event lead me on this path. I got sick 3 months after graduating with my Masters degree. I couldn’t work any more and had to learn to “be” instead of “do”. Bedridden for many years, I began to notice the way the sunlight and shadows played across the wall. I started “seeing” beauty and details in the ordinary in a way I had never noticed before. Then, while taking an oil painting class, I thought, “I want to be an artist”.  I even had my business name, Deborah Main Designs. But the only problem was I had no clue what my medium would be.

Then it found me.  One day at a fabric shop, I experienced an epiphany and created a ribbon pillow design. Years later, I took a sewing class to learn how to sew and the rest is history.

PG: What inspires you to create? 

DM: Everything! Especially vintage, fashion, art, design and nature. I must have created 50 pillows in my first creative burst. I have a strong desire to make a difference in the world by making beautiful pillows. I also crave color and texture and love to mix it all up in unexpected ways.  Creating pillows turned out to be very healing for me, and continues to be so.

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

DM: It really varies, but I’m trying to carve out more consistent studio time. I get creative bursts, so I go with that. One time I had a gorgeous vintage green velvet textile and a champagne-colored “Julianna” vintage brooch. It sat on my cutting table for 6 months. Then one day I was in a local vintage shop and the perfect cocktail dress popped out at me. I ran home and made the pillow that day (see below). There’s something truly magical when a piece comes together for me. Its like solving a problem. Sometimes I can make a piece in an hour. Others take weeks to come to fruition.

PG: Whats the best thing about being an artist? The most challenging thing?

DM: The best for me is the creative process, being able to create something beautiful with my own hands. My work shares stories through the materials I use. I love it when my pillows bring joy to peoples lives. That makes me very happy to connect with people on that level.

The most challenging part for me, and I think many artists, is the business side. With Social Media now, there’s a pressure to feel like you always have to be “on”. I can’t create as well with that constant restraint. I do better when there’s more space and time, so that is a new challenge I think for many artists, balancing it all.

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

DM: When first starting out in 2004, the very first store that took my work on consignment displayed it as art. And the owner said “It takes time to make a name for yourself.” Boy, was she ever right! And it took time for me to gain confidence as an artist too. The problem was I had no idea what I was doing and the world wasn’t quite ready for pillow art. In fact, I remember clearly one showroom sales rep being quite repulsed by it, saying almost in disgust ” But they’re all one-of-a-kind!”. Thankfully, I believed in myself, others “got” my work, and I persevered.

1st tip: Keep creating, stay true to who you are, don’t listen to what others think, and keep making your art. I’m celebrating 14 years as an artist and entrepreneur and feel like I’ve only scratched the surface.

2nd tip:  Austin Fashion Week was a real launching point for me. Think outside the box and apply to juried art exhibitions, tradeshows and display your work everywhere you can. I’ve always felt like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. I finally stopped forcing that and I’m a lot happier and really enjoy opportunities to share my work with others like at WEST. It helps you learn to how to talk about your art, which was definitely a learning process for me.

PG: Why did you choose to create pillows? Why not create your art on a canvas or something that can be hung on a wall? 

DM: I didn’t really choose pillows, they chose me. I have family heirloom pillows and brooches from the women on both sides of my family and my best friend made me a ribbon pillow years ago. I’m a very tactile person and my love for color, texture, textiles and jewelry, and the stories that come with these materials, all contributed to my artistic expression coming out in the form of a pillow. I tried doing it on a 12 x 12 board once and it did nothing for me. I have a passion for creating beautiful pillows that I can’t really stifle. Thankfully, I have a very supportive husband who has put up with pillows and fabric everywhere.

PG: Where do you get your fabrics and vintage brooches? You must constantly scour estate sales and antique shows like Round Top, right?

DM: Actually, no, Ive never been to the Round Top Festival and I don’t do estate sales. I’ve collected textiles for the last 14 years locally and through my travels. It all started with my favorite vintage shop, Amelias Retro-Vogue & Relics, and one antique dealer. Both of these talented women opened up their vast private collections to me and taught me how to collect. The only one thing I do really look for now is 1950’s cocktail dresses and 1960’s gowns. I love repurposing the fabulous textiles of those eras into pillows. One pair of pillows is even made from 1960s hot pants!

We hope you’ve enjoyed these last two interviews. This weekend, 19th & 20th, from 11 – 6 p.m., are the final 2 days of the wonderful WEST Austin Studio Tour. Please take some time out of your busy weekend to slow down and enjoy some art. We really look forward to seeing you and sharing our art. Please click HERE to read Pillow Goddess interviews of artists Judith Simonds and Irmgard Geul and HERE for Denise Jaunsem and Kerry Christensen. Check out Big Medium’s recap and what to expect this weekend right HERE. See you this wknd! XO PG

NOTE: This is not a sponsored post. Images are by the artists, Big Medium and myself. Opinions and interview questions are my own.