Career Area: Visual Arts

  • Michelle Bryant Griffin

    Michelle Bryant Griffin

    Audio

    Transcript

    00:00 Victoria Bartolotto

    Hello, everybody. My name is Victoria. And today we are talking with Michelle Bryant Griffin, a professional creative working from and within South Carolina. As we get started, can you tell us your current career and where you’re from?

    00:14 Michelle Bryant Griffin

    Yes, I am a business branding specialist, business developing specialist, and I am in the Charleston, South Carolina area. I service all over the United States, but I’m based in the Charleston area.

    00:33 Victoria Bartolotto

    Awesome. Before we go into the details of your profession, we have a brief section of our interview called One Career 60 Seconds, where you describe your job in 60 seconds or less, similar to an elevator pitch? Are you ready?

    00:45 Michelle Bryant Griffin

    I’m ready.

    00:46 Victoria Bartolotto

    Alright, you can go ahead.

    00:48 Michelle Bryant Griffin 

    So, I don’t just build brands.  I teach people how to see their vision, well, not people, dreamers, doers, entrepreneurs, how to see their vision, own it, and bring it to life. I do that through art strategy, speaking, real world guidance, and out of the box ideas. I create momentum that builds confidence and transforms passion into something powerful and profitable.

    01:14 Victoria Bartolotto

    Awesome. Thank you so much. That was really good. So, in your business, is there anything that South Carolina – you said you were mostly based in Charleston, but you do work worldwide – is there anything about Charleston or South Carolina in particular that brings uniqueness to your work compared to if you could do your job anywhere else?

    01:37 Michelle Bryant Griffin

    Not necessarily, I could do it anywhere else. I am an ex-military wife, since retired, but it’s something that even if I was still a military wife, I could do anywhere, wherever I lived. I think that gives me the flexibility to work with people, no matter where they are in globally, or in their journey, whether they’re just getting started or they’ve been somewhere. I don’t want to say business, and their brand for ten, fifteen, twenty years, and now maybe they’re stuck, so I get that transition mobility kind of thing.

    02:26 Victoria Bartolotto

    Is there anything about Charleston in particular that you’ve liked rather than any other place that you’ve lived before?

    02:34 Michelle Bryant Griffin

    Well, I have either lived in or been to all fifty states, and I love the beach, so I have to be near the beach. I do like that Charleston is a coastal town, and I love that I can be in Memphis in a day, I can be in Virginia in a day, I can be in Florida in a day. I can go anywhere and take a day trip and be in a whole other town or state, and that’s very cool. So, I like that.

    03:06 Victoria Bartolotto

    So, in helping people discover their creativity, or explore their creativity, or brand it in a way that represents them, was there a defining moment in your life that had an impact on your own personal creative journey?

    03:22 Michelle Bryant Griffin

    Yes, I grew up in a house full of creative intellects, and so I’ve always been in a creative household. It kind of set me back in that I didn’t think that I was ever as good, or there’s always people out there that are better. So, I just kind of was a wallflower. I just do this for fun, and it wasn’t really until later in life that I realized I did have a gift, I did have a talent, and started just stepping into those gifts and talents, and branching out, and offering that to the world.

    04:06 Victoria Bartolotto 

     Was there a particular project or client that you helped develop which showcased your creativity in a way that it never had before?

    04:17 Michelle Bryant Griffin

    Yes. First of all, I love what I do. I love when somebody comes to me with an idea and we birth it, we bring it to life, because especially when it’s they’re just getting started. So, they basically have ideas on a piece of paper. We come up with color, brand colors, and logo designs and everything, and it just starts to bloom, and I love that. I get so excited, like it’s my baby too.

    But I had one client, and she had a chicken salad recipe that was her mother’s, and she was certain it was the best chicken salad you ever ate. And before she even started, she did a blind taste test. She went to the grocery store. She went to farmers’ markets, and she had people test all these different chicken salads, so that she could really claim this was the best chicken salad you ever tasted. And we came up with a logo for her. It’s now been trademarked, and she’s in grocery stores. A logo that I created is now in grocery stores, and it was very, very cool. She has since passed away, but it was a very defining moment for me in my career to watch that dream of carrying on her mother’s legacy into carrying on her legacy and making that dream come true for her, and then it being a trademark, and seeing it. I did this, we did this. It was amazing.

    05:55 Victoria Bartolotto

    Yeah, especially that it’s something that you can touch too when it’s out on a product, and you’re like, “I helped create that.”

    06:01 Michelle Bryant Griffin   

    It’s like when you bring a baby, your very first child home from the hospital, and you’re like, “ We made this.” That’s exactly what it was like. It was very cool.

    06:11 Victoria Bartolotto 

    It’s a surreal feeling.

    06:13 Michelle Bryant Griffin   

    It really is. And even though it wasn’t my product, it wasn’t my business. I get so involved in what I do that it’s a part of me and so I was just as thrilled as she was.

    06:28 Victoria Bartolotto

    Yeah. Before entering graphic design or development, did you have any fears about becoming a creative professional, about having your income depend on creativity, and if there was that some kind of fear, what inspired you to continue beyond it?

    06:47 Michelle Bryant Griffin 

    Well, actually, yes. When I was in high school, I got three scholarships in high school. One was for journalism, because I’d already been published in writing, and I had won two art awards, and so I had all this talent.

    I didn’t know what to do when I’m eighteen years old, and it’s like, “what am I going to be for the rest of my life?” It was so overwhelming, and I went to art school for a while, and I lost my scholarship, and because it was very, very difficult, and I ended up pretty much doing nothing. Like I said earlier, art was just something I just kind of did for me. It was just a fun kind of fun. I’m not really that great.

    Then I started dabbling a little bit, doing logos and business cards and flyers in the eighties, when it was called desktop publishing, and I didn’t really make a living at it. I was just like, “Yeah, I can do that for you.” I worked for some print shops and some newspapers, and it wasn’t really until I moved to Charleston.

    I got divorced in my fifties, and was kind of like, “Okay, what am I going to do?” I don’t really have anything more than some college. I have a high school education and some college, but I have all this talent, and I became a CNA. I was working, doing elderly care, in-home care, and when I moved to Charleston, they wouldn’t trade my license over. I would have to go back through the whole nursing training again, and my ex-husband was like, “You’re an award-winning photographer. You’re in a beautiful place, do something with it.” So, I entered a couple photography contests and won, and so I started doing something with that.

    I had to find a niche, so I started doing boudoir photography for women over forty who kind of felt like they didn’t have it, and that led to a magazine called Focus on Fabulous. Before I started that, I looked and there was nothing like it. I spent hours at Barnes and Noble, and in the supermarket, and there was nothing. I mean, I had piles and piles of magazines, and these were real women, everyday women, and their stories of struggles and survival and successes, and I was tooting their horns, because as women we don’t do that enough, and that’s what this magazine was. For ten years, we found these stories, and we showcased these women, and I look back over these issues of thirty something issues, and some of these women are no longer on this planet and their stories are now told and shared with the world, and that I think is one of my greatest accomplishments.

    During the pandemic, of course we couldn’t go anywhere or do anything, so I was going through my websites. I was sitting at home with nothing to do, and I found some links that were broken, and a couple of things that didn’t work right, and I was like, “Gosh, I wonder if anybody else is so busy running their business that their online presence is falling apart?” And so, I just sent a message out to social media, “Is anybody else having this issue, I can fix it for you.” That’s when Fabulous Business Solutions started, and I started just reaching out and helping people with their online presence. It just grew from there to, “Hey, I’m stuck in this, or I’m having this event, and I need this.” It’s just one thing kind of morphs into something else, and that creativity is just kind of grown into this purpose that I think I was destined for all along, and didn’t even realize.

    10:33 Victoria Bartolotto

    It is kind of like that snowball [effect] where it keeps rolling and rolling until you got this huge amalgamation of networks and projects, and that must be such a fun feeling.

    10:43 Michelle Bryant Griffin   

    When you’re young and you’re looking, and you’re like, “I’m so overwhelmed, I don’t know.” You get older and you’re just like, “Uh, whatever. I’m just going to go with the wind. I don’t care, what the heck, what have I got to lose?”

    Yesterday, I went with some friends to Beaufort. We went to the kazoo factory, where kazoos are made. One of the kazoos on it, if you’ve ever blown a kazoo, they’re very loud, and it says ‘live out loud’ on it. I thought, “That’s me. I’m going to live out loud.” I think that’s something that comes when you get a little older, with little more years under your belt. You’re just like, “Yeah, what the heck, I’m just going to throw caution to the wind and go for it.” So, I don’t know if that answered your question. I knew that was a lot in there.

    11:32 Victoria Bartolotto

    No, no, that was great, because I know it’s hard to get yourself into it, and to just start it because, there’s the whole thing of, “Oh, what if it doesn’t work, what if I don’t make it?” But it always kind of works itself out, and I feel like that is what happened to you as well, is that it kind of just–you found where you needed to be.

    11:55 Michelle Bryant Griffin 

    Well, and that overwhelming feeling, at least for me, and I’ve noticed for other people too, sometimes that overwhelming feeling makes you end up doing nothing, which is what happened to me when I was eighteen.

    So, I’ve actually created a dreamer’s course, I call it the dreamer’s course, because whether you’re an entrepreneur or a business owner or an author or a writer, or a crafter, you’re a dreamer, you’ve got a plan, you’ve got something you’re trying to accomplish, and it can be overwhelming.

    Do I need this? Am I an LLC? Am I an S Corp? Do I need contracts? So, I created this course, and it’s not super long. You can do it in an afternoon, and it’s on my website.  I can do it with you. We can do it with a couple of people. I do it in classes with several people. I teach it, or I do one-on-one. That’s what it does is it answers some of those questions, it’s full of resources, and just kind of helps you walk through the process of where you need to go and what you need to do. I wish that I had had something like that when I was younger, just to kind of check some boxes, and okay, did that, got that. I’m kind of a list-maker and a note-taker.

    13:13 Victoria Bartolotto

    Yeah.

    13:14 Michelle Bryant Griffin 

    I love it. I think I was like, “Gosh, I think there’s a lot of people that could really use this.” Because they do. You get so wrapped up in your passion, then your purpose, that you forget the principles, the basics, and you’re like, “Oh, I forgot about that, you know?

    13:34 Victoria Bartolotto

    Speaking of the younger generation, and young adults wanting to get into creative fields, but feeling overwhelmed. Do you have any advice for possible young students or young college kids who have an interest in pursuing a creative path, but not really sure where to go with it? Are there any particular skills or mindset that they should have before entering the industry?

    13:57 Michelle Bryant Griffin 

    I do, and actually, I’ve written a book. I’ve written eleven books, but I have this one book that I wrote, but it’s called Rise High, Stand Tall.  I just did a book signing, so I don’t have one in front of me, but anyway, it’s on Amazon. It’s on my website. It’s a book basically, for that. It’s just ten little tips for anybody in business, and it’s all the things that I learned the hard way. The two biggest things that I can say, and, like I said, there’s ten basic things in there, but the two biggest ones for me were: don’t be afraid to fail.

    Michael Jordan failed a gazillion baskets before he made a lot, but if he’d have not gone into the NBA every time he failed, and he wouldn’t be the star that he is today. There’s a lot of people, Walt Disney and Henry Ford, and dozens of people who failed numerous times before they made it. Learn from your mistakes and your failures. And I failed numerous times. It’s easy to say, “Oh, I suck at this, maybe this isn’t right for me.” Maybe it isn’t, but don’t give up immediately. Kind of just address it, and so don’t be afraid to fail.

    And collaboration. Collaboration over competition is huge. Find somebody who does what you do; you can collaborate and not be a competitor. You and I can both do the same thing and still help each other, because we see things differently. We’re different ages. I mean, when I had my magazine, on my board, I had people that were old as my mother and younger than my daughter, because I wanted all of those viewpoints in the core of my magazine. We can learn from each other, and that collaboration is huge. We’re stronger together, and so there’s a lot of tidbits like that in there.

    The biggest one for me was delegating. I’m the oldest of eight, and so I was born a leader, and I know I talked to so many people, especially if you’re just starting out, like “This is my baby. Nobody’s going to love it like me. Nobody’s going to take care of it like me. Nobody’s going to be as passionate as I am.” That’s the way I was with most of my businesses. It’s like by the time I tell you what I want you to do, I could just do it myself. But truly, once I delegated, oh my gosh! I had so much less stress, and I had more time to do what I needed to do, where my talents and my gifts were. I could build my magazine. I could do InDesign. I hated it. It was awful. I pushed one wrong key, and then it took me two hours to undo whatever was I did, because it was just that.

    But I hired somebody, and I would just throw the words and pictures on a page and say “I want it to look like this.” She had little magic fingers, and she would make it beautiful, and that was wonderful. I had a vision. She stirred in the pot and made it beautiful. Once I delegated it, my vision came to life, and I didn’t have to stress about it, and it didn’t take me one hundred years to do it.

    So, don’t be afraid to delegate. That’s huge.  And then you can do what you need to do, without getting burned out. Yeah, those are three big things I would really, really encourage.

    17:53 Victoria Bartolotto 

    Well, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us today. I sincerely appreciate it. I hope you have a great day.

    18:00 Michelle Bryant Griffin 

    Thanks, you too.

  • Mana Hewitt

    Mana Hewitt

    “Challenge yourself to try new approaches and techniques.”

    Quick Facts

    • Undergraduate
    • 50 years of experience

    About

    Mana Hewitt is a jeweler and metalworker based in Colombia, South Carolina who specializes in sterling silver and vitreous enamel. She recently retired from the University of South Carolina where she was a Senior Instructor of Jewelry, which supplied her with a constant source of inspiration in the form of her students.

    Mana began her creative journey with clay, and her enduring interest in technique building led her to her love of metal’s many possibilities. She highlights the importance of challenging yourself while trying new approaches and techniques, believing in working every day and never giving up “the satisfaction of working with your hands.”

    Currently, Mana has been working with a series of commemorative medals honoring women throughout history and is currently up to 110 pieces. Mana’s goal is to create works that are aesthetically pleasing and conceptually interesting, finding the most satisfaction in sharing her ideas and works with others.

  • Melanie McClellan-Hartnett

    Melanie McClellan-Hartnett

    Interview

    Transcript

    Ryleigh Kelley  00:00 

    Hello, my name is Ryleigh, and today we are talking with Melanie McClellan-Hartnett, a professional creative working from and within South Carolina. So, as we get started, can you tell us your current career and where you’re from? 

    Melanie McClellan-Hartnett  00:14 

    Sure, so I grew up in McClellanville, South Carolina, which is the same as my last name. There is a lot of my family there. It’s a very small town, and I did go to school elsewhere, and I’ve lived elsewhere, but that’s my roots, and that’s where I’ve been from most of my career, which has been wonderful.  

    I will always support, when you have a community behind you, no matter how small they are, that’s just a wonderful, wonderful resource. There’s just less, just not as many opportunities in a small place as there are in a city.  

    So, my husband and I are empty nesters now. I have some very wonderful mentors, who said, ‘We love you, you’re doing great work. You’ve got to get out of your zip code. Listen, you can come back. We want you to come back, but you need to be where you can connect with people easily, and that just happens more readily in a city.” You can walk into an art gallery, and you’ll bump into somebody you know. It’s just different. 

    I am in Charleston, South Carolina, right now, and everything is just blown open. It’s incredible. It’s been the best year, and I just want to encourage people to go out on that limb and see what can happen, and especially I think that we feel like we’re extra connected sometimes because of social media, which we can be.  

    My daughter is in Europe, and I get to see her face. I love that, but we miss out on some of the people connections, and you really miss out on what can happen organically when people just come together and it’s not planned or scheduled. Especially because art, whether it’s literary or visual or whatever, means whatever, it’s a larger vision.  

    When you can come together and connect with other people in that larger vision, you’re going to see stuff you never would have thought of before, and so coming to Charleston has been wonderful for me. I just started painting. My husband was in my studio yesterday, and he’s like, “You have three exhibits here.” Which is a lot, because I have one currently hanging, so really, before the paintings were like four exhibits, but it’s because I realized I was so lucky to be in such a pretty place. I always thought of 1920s Paris with the artists. God, I was jealous, and now I’m not jealous, because we have that. 

    You live in a beautiful place. You want to paint it? Do it. You want to draw it? Do it. You want to write about it? Do it, and don’t be afraid to just connect with people who are doing what they love. You don’t have to be a professional. I didn’t start out as a professional by any means. I thought I was going to be a writer.  

    “Melanie, you’re going to be doing oil paintings.” Okay, another life, maybe. I like oil paintings, but I was scared to try, and I think getting over that fear, meeting a lot of people, and so right now I have an exhibit, it’s at the Healing Gallery, which is on Queen Street, and everybody laughs at me, so like, “Of course, this is your solo exhibit,” my debut one.  

    You have to go down a little path between hedges, very hidden, private, covered in vines, just the house I moved from, but it’s the best vibe, and so it has twenty-two oil paintings in it that they’re all full of words and symbols, intentions, mantras, anything I’ve kind of wrangled out, but then I’ll paint it out, or sometimes I will inscribe it with a lit incense stick, so because I feel like if you’re doing that and then you’re using the other end to inscribe, it’s like a prayer.  

    It just puts me in the right place, and people are always like, “Well, how do you know when you’re done when you look at these very abstract paintings?” I think that’s a fair question. I say, “Because I’m struggling with things in the paintings, and so I don’t sign it until I find the light.” I think you can do that with anything.  

    So, with this show, I’m really excited. It posits that if you put positive intentions in something, and then you tell people, because I don’t want to be sneaky, if you tell people and they are open to it, and they want to look for that immediately, your brain triggers positive neurochemistry. It’s psychological priming. It doesn’t even matter if you believe in the metaphysics of what is written, your brain will automatically reward you. So, this show is about what could happen if we just start putting positive things in everything, because I’m tired of microplastics, and all that. If we have to live with all the negativity, we need to learn to do more. It has been amazing, seeing so many different kinds of people come in and just be open.  

    It’s a great experience, and I have found that I was a little nervous moving here because I was very comfortable where I was. I just turned fifty, and you don’t always make friends very quickly, and I don’t know how this is going to go. I have started getting to know artists around here, and they’re wonderful, and we’re doing things together; we’re doing cool things together.  

    I don’t know if this is a little repetitive, if it’s not, but I will say that one of the biggest things that helped me coming to Charleston was somebody connected me with Beeple Studios, and they are so great about supporting artists and connecting artists. I’ve met a bunch of artists through that, and it’s like when you have somebody who’s willing to put that kind of support in, it’s fantastic.  

    Ryleigh Kelley  06:41 

    Yeah, absolutely. Community is so important, and I’m happy to hear that you’re finding that in Charleston, because you’re in your comfort zone for a while. It’s like you feel that peace and security, and then when that change comes, it can be scary, but it sounds like that it’s doing just wonders right now.  

    Melanie McClellan-Hartnett  07:05 

    It’s wonderful. I am working on the poster, or a competition for the poster for the 2027 Cooper River Bridge Run. I pretty much try to die then after a run, which is not my fate at all, but I have started entering more community competitions like that, because somebody wins, so why not try?  

    Also, I find it makes me really value things about my community, because you have to think about it, if you’re going to do something, have your vision, then you have to really engage with it, and it helps you value what’s there. I’ve started doing more little things like that, because those are all opportunities when you see things like that, I think a lot of artists think, “That’s not ‘angsty’ enough.”  

    Ryleigh Kelley 08:08 

    Yeah, the tortured artist aesthetic. 

    Melanie McClellan-Hartnett  08:10 

    Or serious, or whatever, and I get that, obviously, I want to do serious stuff. When you are forced to think about things through your medium, but they’re different things, that’s great. People [Studios], when he has live painting events, I’ve been lucky enough to paint at two of them. The first one was about crypto punks. I didn’t even know what they were. I had to learn about them. 

    That was fascinating. And then the second one was the future of art, which I was like, well, that’ll be the future of humanity. And for a moment, I was like, “that sounds kind of bleak.” And then I was like, “no, wait a minute, let’s think.” They say we’ll be living on Mars. And so, I spent three months studying Mars. It’s so cool. 

    Do I think that we should solve stuff here first? Heck yeah, but it’s great to give your mind new frontiers. New challenges. It doesn’t matter if it’s not your subject matter. I guess that’s kind of my point. It’s like take that risk, try it, it doesn’t have to define you. 

    Ryleigh Kelley  09:27 

    Yeah, and also, too, it gets into this aspect of play and art, and I love how you’re leaning into that. You said, there could be positivity, there could be play and I love that you explore that. 

    Melanie McClellan-Hartnett  09:48 

    Well, I feel like people need to tell artists that, because we need permission to be humans, and also we need ease. But I don’t know, one of my artist friends, actually, she’s the one that she’s from Japan, and she gave me this little guy, and one day we’re having a show in Japan, so I always wear this to all my art stuff, because it’s like a promise that we’re gonna be that.  

    But she is like one of those ‘extremely talented when you sit next to her’ people, and she told me that my gift to her was teaching her to make art without rules, which there are obvious rules like you can’t put acrylic over oil, like there’s things, yes, you have to pay attention to– 

    Ryleigh Kelley  10:34 

    Yeah, the practical, I guess, yeah. 

    Melanie McClellan-Hartnett  10:37 

    Right. Like, the physics rules, the chemical rules, but the people rules? No, that’s like one of the coolest things about being an artist is my job is to question why those are rules, and think about it,  

    Picasso is a mixed bag for me. Sometimes I don’t want to know about people’s personal lives, people are people, but he said to, “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” That is my favorite art quote. That is exactly what you need to do, because you want your work to stand up, but you also don’t want, I mean, if it’s your vision, nobody else can tell you how to do it.  

    I mean, I get our mentors who can say, “Hey, you could do this better.” One thing I did when I moved to Charleston, I joined the Redux Art Gallery, does figure drawing on Sunday nights. It’s expensive, and it’s just a great vibe, and all my lines immediately improved. I never draw naked people, but the human body is very, very beautiful, and if you can draw it, you can draw anything, and being around more artists who are just that’s all there, everyone’s just following their vision.  

    Then you’ll find, “Hey, I’m using this too, or I’ve been thinking about whatever.” I love it, especially, if it’s someone from another country, and you’ll meet, you’ll be playing with some of the very same things, and not from social media. Usually I don’t do a lot of scrolling while I’m thinking about stuff, because I’m afraid of it being too much. I’ll do it after I have an idea, because then I want to see what kind of variations there are, but I, but I think it’s really cool when you’re like, “oh my god, we’re all leaning into something so much bigger.” That’s so cool. 

    Ryleigh Kelley  12:43 

    Yeah, yeah, and especially, too, I love how you talk about that temptation to scroll on social media when you get an idea, because it fulfills our curiosity a little bit, but it’s that fine line of, okay, when it gets too much, and then you lose the idea. Finding and striking that balance in everything.  

    I kind of want to talk a little bit more about, what you just said about how even you’re meeting artists from different countries, and how you’re all collectively working to something kind of bigger, and I’m curious, you kind of already talked about this, but is there anything South Carolina, or maybe even your hometown, or Charleston, in particular, brings to your work, and does it have a unique influence on you compared to people in the same profession in different states, or even different countries? 

    Melanie McClellan-Hartnett  13:42 

    I might be too small to answer that.  I think that water is a huge part. I’m living in downtown Charleston. We feel flooding all the time. Also, where I grew up, McClellanville, South Carolina, was where Hurricane Hugo hit, which was devastating water. So, I’ve seen what water can do, and we know sea levels are rising. That is something – it’s not like everybody is painting water, but everybody’s talking about it.  

    Everybody’s talking about what kind of changes are we going to need to make, like architecturally, which, honestly, I don’t think that’s doom and gloom. I think that’s cool, because the world has been changing forever. That’s what it does. People have been adapting, that’s what we do, and that I honestly think is cool… like, I don’t know if you’ve ever read, they’re very old school, The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci.  

    Ryleigh Kelley  14:53 

    I feel like I’ve heard of it, but I haven’t read it.  

    Melanie McClellan-Hartnett  14:55 

    Okay, just skim it, that’s all I’ve honestly done, because they’re dense. But they’re so cool, because science is such a part of art and social stuff. You’re studying all kinds of different stuff. I think it’s exciting, I feel like there are going to be answers made. I think an artist is not afraid to completely fantasize. We fantasize about making it big all the time, but also, well, what do you mean you can’t have a house made out of a sphere?  

    I can, I’m gonna make it work, and that’s a little bit of a jump. I’ve gotten really interested in the fact that MIT has all kinds of open-source courses that you can study. I know a lot of artists and people who are kind of interested, because that was not them in school, but now just want to know more about this. 

    I think the dynamics of where you live, for sure, and South Carolina – it’s really not just coastal South Carolina, because I saw a map the other day, and it was kind of scary, but it was also cool. It was like from space, showing how the currents were changing the coastline again. But okay, we’ll adapt, so however that looks, maybe it’s relocating, maybe it’s completely different housing.  

    When you’re an artist or a writer or a musician, all of that is an opportunity to discuss that and to think about different ways you could do it, and to not really have a budget, like when you’re trying to produce it. Yes, but in your head with your idea, it’s free, so it’s a lot less limits. 

    Ryleigh Kelley  16:55 

    Great sentiments about that too, especially with Charleston, how there’s this issue of rising sea levels. You kind of take as an opportunity to be like, “we need to adapt, like we’re going to adapt.” I love too, about architecture, and how that may change being an artist and the opportunity to be included in that discussion.  

    Melanie McClellan-Hartnett  17:24 

    If you include artists in that discussion, then they’ll think of something radical, and then the person who knows physics better will say, “But…” I do love all the steam education stuff they’re doing? It’s fantastic. It’s so holistic, and I know that they put that label on some things; they’re like, “Where are you getting that?” But honestly, any connection you can make, you don’t know where that’ll go. So, try it. 

    Ryleigh Kelley  17:57 

    Yeah, speaking of that, kind of little bit of words of advice. Do you have any advice for young adults or students that have an interest, in pursuing a similar career, in your world, in the creative world? And are there any just particular skills, not just like artistry, but like people skills, one should practice or have before stepping fully into this industry? 

    Melanie McClellan-Hartnett  18:26 

    Artists are such a wide range of folks, you know? One thing that helped me become more professional, and because I was just working out of my laundry room-turned-studio, and then I ended up being the director at the McClellan Arts Council for a while, which was really cool, because that really connected me to the network that is in South Carolina. That’s where I saw Arts Commission, that’s where I saw the different universities coming together, and we did stuff with the Smithsonian.  

    That’s where you see people who just don’t know that you have all these resources, and so with that I think getting a working knowledge of the resources that are around you is invaluable. Also, I’ve done a lot of volunteer work with seniors and kids. I think the better your social skills are all across the board, like Queen Victoria said something about beware of artists, because they mix with all types of societies, so therefore they’re the most dangerous and good. 

    I think that that’s true, and I think that the more so, like social studies, a little bit of business sense. What I have done is find somebody who’s better at business than I am who I call my ‘business oracle.’ I think that’s fair, but you still want to have some idea of what the rules are, because I love her – she’s wonderful, but you can’t trust everybody. You need to know. You read stories about people with managers and things going wrong all the time, so get a mentor.  

    I love my mentors, and I think you should switch them up sometimes, because if you get a little too good, too connected, then it becomes more support, which is great, but you still need someone who will tell you if, “Nah, you’re going off kind of weird path, there.” So, get good mentors, and connect with your museums and your universities’ programs. They always need hands. They always need hands. If you’re good at that, doors will open. You’ll meet people.  

    We just had Piccolo and Spolito here in Charleston, and Marion Square is like one of my favorite places to get with all—I had a bunch of friends there. I do not have the stamina to stay in a tent for seventeen days in the heat, but I will come visit them when they do. I was really struck with; I don’t even know how they would do it, but this is such an opportunity for mentorship.  

    If you look at young artists who are just starting, or even not sure they want to do it, but they’re thinking about it, not for the whole time, just for a little bit of that time, it’d be so good for them because they need so much. This is going to sound kind of crazy, but most artists are doing food and bev[erage] anyway to pay their bills. I actually think that working food and bev[erage] was great, because you meet all kinds of people. You just don’t know where that’s going to go.  

    I did an arts program once where I specifically went and hired people from restaurants, because I knew a lot of creatives have that side. I wanted people who couldn’t do that full time, didn’t have room or resources to have it set up, but just still to do their work for a little bit, get into their groove. It was so cool, honestly, you could study anything in the whole wide world, but languages, social time, different age groups, and just plug into all the resources. There’s so many resources, I mean, goodness, and also– 

    Ryleigh Kelley  22:36 

    Emphasis on resources. 

    Melanie McClellan-Hartnett  22:38 

    No, like really, but they can help each other so much, and you can get two for one. If people are working together, there’s so much money. Well, what if we can do more with it? You know, not trying to shortchange people, maybe that same person could get two benefits. 

    I was thinking down here every restaurant should adopt an artist, because they’re so hot out there. Like, name a drink after them, put one of their pieces, so many possibilities. 

    Ryleigh Kelley  23:13 

    Really, there really is. There really is. Yeah. We are running a little bit out of time, but thank you so much for just taking the time to speak with me, and I really appreciate all of your sentiments, and just for you talking and articulating about your experiences. I think this was a lovely, lovely conversation. 

    Melanie McClellan-Hartnett  23:37 

    You’ve been really awesome. Thank you so much. I don’t really like doing interviews, and you have just been so human. 

    Ryleigh Kelley  23:44 

    Well, thank you. That means a lot to me. 

  • Carol Black-Lemon

    Carol Black-Lemon

    Interview

    Transcript

    Carol Black-Lemon 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  00:00 

    Hello, my name is Sarah Jane Thomas, and today we are talking with Carol Black-Lemon, a professional creative working from and within South Carolina. So, as we get started, can you tell us your current career and where you’re from? 

    Carol Black-Lemon  00:12 

    Sure. I’m originally from New Jersey, born in Newark, raised in Brooklyn, and my husband and I retired recently and moved to Florence, South Carolina. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  00:24 

    Wonderful. Before we go into details of your profession, we have a brief section of the interview called “One Career, Sixty Seconds” where you describe your job in sixty seconds or less, similar to an elevator pitch. And we can start whenever you’re ready. 

    Carol Black-Lemon  00:38 

    Okay. So I consider myself a solopreneur, and that I do pretty much everything on my own. I’ve always been that type of person where I multitask. But four years ago, almost four years ago, I retired, and from my job as a marketing administrator for a law firm. I was there for twenty years, and I built a lot of experiences working on web design and marketing.  

    So now I do that for myself, and my business is Black-Lemon Art, aka Carol Black-Lemon Art, and I am a multidisciplinary artist, where my mainstay is creating artwork and storytelling through my art, and that’s my passion. Always been, always will be, and now I represent a new generation of artists who are at a certain age point, and for me, I’m still becoming, and it’s me letting younger folks know that even when you get a certain age, it doesn’t end. It’s where your passion lies. Just keep going with it, and that’s what life is all about. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  02:08 

    I love the term solopreneur. I think that’s so fun and exciting. That was perfect. So, what would you consider your official job title? 

    Carol Black-Lemon  02:20 

    Creator. I’m a creator. I just feel very, very blessed to be creating whatever, whatever comes to mind. But painter, for sure, storyteller through my art. I love doing web design. They make it pretty easy today, so I don’t have to get into coding. But I can fiddle around with that as well. And what was the question?  

    Sarah Jane Thomas  02:55 

    I was just wondering what you would consider your professional job title, but creator just sums it all up. So, as a creative creator, is there anything in South Carolina that you feel you bring into your work, as opposed to people who may not live in South Carolina? 

    Carol Black-Lemon  03:17 

    Something that I bring into my work…I would say communicating with other like-minded or other folks that that want to tap into their creativity. I’m all about that. It’s like folks that I know work on nine-to-five jobs and under fluorescent lighting and the watchful eye; they don’t have freedom. They may be in a creative job, which is wonderful, but for a lot of people, they have their jobs that don’t really give them an opportunity to be creative. You have to follow the pattern and the hierarchy and so forth. But tapping into your creativity allows you to find your voice, allows you to be your authentic self. So, I like to help people to do that, and I founded a group called Creative Connection here in Florence, and it was a call out to anyone who wants to tap into that and talk about their creative process. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  04:33 

    That’s beautiful. Do you think that there was a defining moment in your life that really had an impact on your creative journey? 

    Carol Black-Lemon  04:43 

    A defining moment in my life on my creative journey….it’s a good question. Defining moment….I think I had many defining moments, and which was just letting me know that I can control my creative voice, so I had to find time for that. When I had a nine-to-five and raising a family, it wasn’t just about me. It was about what I have to give to my job, what I have to give to my family. But at some point, I’m like, well, what about me? Who am I? And I tapped into that little girl that was just curious about everything, and so that little girl still lives in me, and I keep reminding myself who she was. And now, I was proud of her, and she would be proud of me that I’m still doing that. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  05:45 

    You mentioned your own initiative, your own little startup. Do you think that there was a particular project that you worked on that allowed you to express that creativity in a way that hadn’t really been something that you’ve done before? 

    Carol Black-Lemon  06:03 

    I think that might be. There was a point where I was designing my own website, and I went with the DIY. I’m like, okay, I’m that type of person. I’m gonna figure it out, and I really enjoyed it. I had fun with it, and my website was great. And then I thought, “I can do this for other people,” so I looked at some other folks’ websites, some friends, or just people that I knew, and I’m like, “Would you like me to improve your website?” And I did like three of them for free. I’m like, “let me do this so that I can put it on my portfolio,” and that led to a client. So, I said after six months, I’m like, “okay, I’ll help you to navigate it.” Ultimately, and this is going back maybe twenty years now, but that led to fifteen website clients, and for me, that’s why I say I’m a solopreneur. I didn’t have anyone helping me, and by the way, I was doing a nine-to-five job. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  07:16 

    So, you mentioned this nine-to-five job. So, before you stepped away from that and became a creative strictly in your professional life, did you have any fears about that? 

    Carol Black-Lemon  07:34 

    Yeah, absolutely. I had to learn about just the business setup and taxes, all the accountability what goes with being a legitimate business and calling yourself a business. So, I had to learn all that, and I was always afraid if I was doing that correctly. My fears of starting up is just learning how to prioritize and not getting ahead of myself, and because then I became responsible for other people, and then I learned that people were counting on me. I’ll never forget a call on Easter Sunday because there was something that they wanted on their website, and I was like, “Wait a minute, it’s Easter. I didn’t sign up for that.” But that was when I understood that the criteria that I had to set forth and letting folks know this is a business, and you have to go by these terms and so that was a real learning experience for me to set those guidelines. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  09:00 

    Was there anything in particular that helped you move beyond these fears? 

    Carol Black-Lemon  09:07 

    Anything in particular that helped me move beyond these fears….what got me moving beyond the fears was this understanding the complexity of ownership and accountability, and that if I were to call myself the boss lady, that I needed to step up and take better notes and just be better at what I was doing, what I was being called to do. So it was that I need to step up. That was like pivoting to the next level of being a professional. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  09:59 

    Do you have any advice for young adults or students who have an interest in becoming a creative professional and maybe starting up their own business, as you have? 

    Carol Black-Lemon  10:08 

    Yeah, I would say tap into what’s already out there. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. The information is at our fingertips now. I mean between Google and ChatGPT and Claude, it’s all there. Like, what do I do? They can even build your own website. You know, push the button. There’s your website already. But I’m a hands-on kind of person, and I always want to make sure that if I do use AI to help me, which why not, it’s there. Make sure that it’s at least 80% you and maybe 20% AI, if that makes sense. Yeah, it’s a great tool and it really helps to get things done. But don’t let AI do more of your work than you, and then talking to seasoned professionals and talking to your peers, especially those that are transparent, that are willing to share.  

    There are some folks that they’re not maybe willing to tell you what they use. I’m like, well, those aren’t your people. If I find something that’s working for me, I’m going to tell my friends, “look, don’t waste your time there. This is a better tool.” But talking to seasoned professionals who are doing it, who will give you the real lowdown in terms of what you need? Make good use of your resources. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  11:50 

    So, you mentioned utilizing AI and utilizing the internet and just like all the information that’s out there now. Do you think that there are any particular skills, either within that or apart from that, that one should practice before trying the same things? 

    Carol Black-Lemon  12:12 

    Right, before trying the same things for sure, and that is having just being more hands-on with your own work in your own occupation, meaning taking notes. Every thought that comes into your mind, some of them are good, and some you need to trash. So, prioritizing your vision for yourself, like what do you need to do right now? And that’s doing your homework. So, and if you’re a student, that’s like the greatest place to be tapping into all the resources available to you. Because at a certain point, those resources and those mentors may go away.For me, it’s organization for sure.  

    Just you know, and there’s a lot of folks [who have it]. I don’t like the term ADHD. A lot of people are like, “I have ADHD.” It’s like if you got a lot going on in your head, there’s a lot of attention deficit because you’re managing so many different things that you are that you have to be accountable for. You’re a student, but you may have a part-time job, and you may have other responsibilities. So, time management is really key. And for someone like me, who’s a multitasker, which I’ve had to tone down. I’m at a certain age right now, and I can’t remember everything, but my mind is still going and going. I wake up with thoughts and ideas, and I don’t want to lose track of it. So having a wonderful calendar, I have this great, beautiful calendar that I use that may even have two years versus an annual calendar and files that I can reference. Organization is definitely key. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  14:16 

    Well, I want to thank you so much for just sharing your story and your experience and your advice and I really–listening to you talk is it just fills me with happiness for some reason. You have such a way of expressing yourself in a way that’s very genuine, and I really loved it. 

    Carol Black-Lemon  14:36 

    Thank you. I appreciate that. 

  • Aldrena Hicks

    Aldrena Hicks

    Interview

    Transcript 

    00:00 Victoria Bartolotto

    Hello everyone. My name is Victoria, and today we are talking with Aldrena Hicks. She’s a professional creative working from and within South Carolina.

    As we get started, can you tell us your current career and where you’re from?

    00:13 Aldrena Hicks

    Yes. So, my name is Aldrena Hicks, as she said. I am a maker, artist, creative director, and founder of Only Lovely Creative. So, I’ve spent the last 20 years working across higher education, nonprofits and cultural organizations, leading design work that blends strategy, storytelling, brand, and design thinking.

    My work ranges from large-scale public projects like the Briggs v. Elliott case. That’s a case that led to the big paved the way for the Brown v. Board of Education. Then to editorial work, like the stitch cover I did for Louisville Magazine, honoring Breanna Taylor.

    At the core of it, I’m always making, and it’s through Only Lovely. I do design weddings and experiences that feel personal and lasting. It’s things that people actually want to keep.

    So one of the things that is near and dear to my heart is also making sure I care deeply. I care deeply about who gets to be in these rooms. So, making sure the next generation of creatives, especially those that look like me, see a path forward and know that this space is a viable career.

    01:32 Victoria Bartolotto

    Wow, that’s awesome. That’s amazing work.

    Before we go into the nitty gritty details, we have a brief section of our interview called “One Career, Sixty Seconds,” where you kind of describe your job in an elevator pitch style.

    01:47 Aldrena Hicks

    Oh, that’s what I just did.

    01:49 Victoria Bartolotto

    Oh! Oh! It’s okay. If that was your script, that’s totally fine. We can continue, but that was great. I didn’t know if you had anything else.

    02:00 Aldrena Hicks

    No.

    02:01 Victoria Bartolotto

    No, okay. That’s perfect. Thank you so much. So as a graphic designer, as a maker, is there anything about South Carolina or your region in particular that brings some uniqueness to your work?

    Does it have any kind of influence on you?

    02:18 Aldrena Hicks

    Yeah, that’s a great question. So of course, I grew up in South Carolina, Somerville, Charleston area. Everybody knows Charleston, right?

    I come from a long line of makers. So, my grandfather was a brick mason. He’s actually paved some of the walkways with brick work in some of the plantations when they’ve needed somebody to redesign some or fix it up. Then also some of the walkways in the downtown Charleston area, I remember going. My dad would take us to visit him while he was laying bricks on those special pave ways and stuff. So that was nice. My grandmother was a seamstress, very well-known and well respected. Then of course, a family of musicians. All of that I bring into the things that I do.

    I’ve always been around creatives growing up. So just having that flair. What I try to do is then incorporate that identity into little nuggets here and there in the work that I do. But that’s why I’m hyper focused on when I’m doing stories, especially when I’m working with brides or organizations. I want to hear the story because that’s important, incorporating that into whatever we’re going to create for them.

    03:43 Victoria Bartolotto

    Definitely. I feel it really depends on who the person is in order to continue the project.

    03:48 Aldrena Hicks

    Yeah.

    03:50 Victoria Bartolotto

    Was there a defining moment in your life that had an impact on your creative journey, whether in education or just personal life? Was there anything that kind of marked that?

    04:00 Aldrena Hicks

    Oh, there’s so many. Which one do I choose?

    04:06 Victoria Bartolotto

    Any one! Any one!

    04:08 Aldrena Hicks

    I will probably say my experience with my graduate work. I am a graduate of Vermont College of Fine Arts, and I majored in graphic design. That was my concentration, of course, the MFA in graphic design. When I started there, I applied sight unseen.

    I was already in some other graduate programs. I bounced around a little bit, but nothing felt personal. Nothing felt like this is what I want to do. There was nothing wrong with those other programs, but I didn’t want to lean into the corporate world like that. I’ve already felt I was losing a sense of self because, as you know, when you’re designing and you’re doing work, it is about who you’re designing for. So, you kind of lose that, and I didn’t want that to happen.

    When I got to VCFA, I immediately fell in love because the school focuses on the work, the creative, who you are, and then that comes through. That typically doesn’t happen in this case, in cases of grad school work.

    So, the probably the pivotal moment is when, I was in a two-year track. Probably after my year and a half review, they’re like, “Aldrena, listen, girl, we love you, but we don’t see you. We don’t see, you’re giving us all the polish and that’s cute, but we’re here to discover the messy and you know, who are you?”

    After that little talk, I had my little cry and all that stuff. I realized, “Okay. This is the time where I need to shine and show and dig deep into who I am, my roots, my culture, and be proud of that.”

    From that came my thesis work, which has paved the way for other things that I’ve done since then. I will say that was probably the most transformative experience. I’m very proud to be a part of that legacy.

    06:08 Victoria Bartolotto

    That’s amazing. So, speaking of your thesis project, was that something particular that you produced that maybe showcased your creativity in a way that it never had before? What about it was different compared to previous work?

    06:28 Aldrena Hicks

    Yeah. So, I took the approach. I did weave in some research because that’s part of the requirements. I took the approach of creating a storytelling experience, because I told you storytelling is part of my thing. What I did was I explored how the media portrays black women and how we’ve influenced the media and culture. I wove certain pieces of history and then turned it back on to how it affected me personally, how it did as a creative.

    I studied and talked about hair, respectability, politics, and then skin, colorism and all that stuff. I then found ways to remember how those things affected me growing up and how I now advocate for, especially young black women and my daughter, to be proud of who they are.

    So yeah, the approach was different because I did a personal narrative, but I wove in some history and some research in that. It has won a few awards. I’ve written a children, a self-published children’s book out of that. So yeah.

    07:56 Victoria Bartolotto

    That’s really awesome. Especially just seeing that I’m a writer too. A lot of the times that I’m working on projects, it’s like seeing something grow from a tiny little seed into this huge thing. You have to step back and be like, “Wow. I did that. You know?”

    08:14 Aldrena Hicks

    Yeah.

    08:16 Victoria Bartolotto

    So before entering your field, maybe in your education process, did you have any fears about becoming a creative professional? If there were some fears, what inspired you to keep going beyond them?

    08:30 Aldrena Hicks

    I knew I wanted to do creative work. Like I said, grew up with musicians, makers and all that stuff. I never knew graphic design was an actual thing. I’ve been doing that, just didn’t know that’s what it was.

    So, I was at my undergrad, working at Columbia College, SC, not Chicago. When I discovered graphic design, I was like, “People make money doing this?” They’re like, “yeah.”

    So, I don’t think I was ever afraid of being a creative in this space. It was more of finding the right place to let that talent grow. Of course, through trial and error and all the careers and stuff, I quickly found out that advertising work is not my scene. I met some wonderful people and did a lot of things. But again, going back to the why behind things, the history behind things. So, then I veered into the nonprofit world. Now what’s scary now is that I’m doing this full time. So, it’s more like, “who’s going to get these invitations? Who wants to have brand work done?”

    09:53 Victoria Bartolotto

    Oh, wow. Do you have any advice for young adults or students who may have an interest in pursuing becoming a graphic designer? Are there any particular skills that you think someone should practice or at least have before entering the industry?

    10:08 Aldrena Hicks

    Yeah. One of the things I want to say is that, and I know people have different networks and all of that, all of that is great.

    I read a book along, I think I might have mentioned in my pre-interview, one of the books I recommend is reading is Talent is Not Enough, because a lot of people think talent will get you all the places, but it really is the soft skills, building these connections and learning how to relate with folks. It will show up in your work. So, make as many connections as you can.

    I know it’s hard because a lot of times you feel like people aren’t going to respond to you. But there are a lot of us out here who really love and want to reach back and help. I mentor. I’m still in touch with many of the students that I taught during my time as a professor.

    Do not discount your people skills. I know it’s hard when folks like love the internet, love being on Chat and all that stuff. That’s great. Still learning how to write with and without AI. Learning how to write, learning how to speak, learning how to read the room, that will get you further than just having a talent because you can be the most talented person in the

    world. If you don’t know how to relate to folks, you don’t know how to talk with them, get with them on a personal level or at least be professional about things; you won’t last long.

    11:45 Victoria Bartolotto

    Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today. This has been an amazing interview. Have a great day.

    11:51 Aldrena Hicks

    Thank you so much. You too.

    11:53 Victoria Bartolotto

    Bye.

    11:53 Aldrena Hicks

    Bye.

  • Cookie Washington

    Cookie Washington

    Interview

    Transcript

     00:00 Victoria Bartolotto 

    Hello, everybody! My name is Victoria, and I’m talking with Cookie Washington, a creative professional working from and within South Carolina. As we get started, can you tell us your current career and just where you’re from? 

    00:14 Cookie Washington 

    Hi, I am Cookie Washington, and I currently live in Goose Creek, South Carolina. I’ve lived in South Carolina for forty years, but I’m not originally from here. I came here and fell in love with the place, and I’ve stayed. 

    00:30 Victoria Bartolotto 

    Great, so before we get into the nitty-gritty details of your profession, can you give us a little elevator pitch about what quilting and ragging is? 

    00:41 Cookie Washington 

    You know how some people feel instantly comforted by a handmade quilt or a basket? You know that moment when your hands brush against soft fabric that has possibly lived another life? Well, I believe in a world drowning in fast fashion and waste; we’re desperate for things that last. Things that feel like home. That carry history, and that do not harm Mother Earth. 

    Futility is my line of handcrafted rugs, baskets, home goods, and totes rooted in the Gullah tradition of rag quilting, an indigenous no-sew method created from necessity. We transformed discarded textiles into soulful, functional art for everyday living. Each piece is made by me in the South Carolina Low Country using century-old techniques passed down by Black women who knew how to make beauty from nothingness. 

    I’ve been featured in some national press, and I’ve taught at the Smithsonian. Futility is redefining luxury as a sustainable, emotional, and ancestral craft. 

    01:52 Victoria Bartolotto 

    Thank you so much, that was great! 

    01:55 Cookie Washington 

    Thank you. 

    01:58 Victoria Bartolotto 

    So, as a quilter, is there anything that South Carolina, or the Lowcountry in particular, that brings some uniqueness to your work? What kind of influence does South Carolina have on it? 

    02:11 Cookie Washington 

    Being surrounded by water on three sides; I’m in the Charleston area, so we’re in a peninsula. The colors of the marshes, and the sky, and the beautiful birds that fly around in my neighborhood very much inspire me. I also try really hard to upcycle and reuse things that have gone before.  

    One of the ways that I got into this part of my career was, I lost my mother in October of 2023, and then I lost my brother 90 days later in January of 2024. I was obviously overwhelmed and in huge grief. I was both of their executors, and I didn’t know what to do with their clothing. I didn’t want to just throw it out. I’m a way different size than my mom was, so I couldn’t wear her clothes, and my daughters didn’t want clothes from their 89-year-old grandmother. 

    So, I was sitting, going through some things with my mom’s, and I found a really old picture of me and my grandmother, her mother, sitting on the porch, and we were weaving rag rugs together. I had kind of forgotten about that, and I thought, “oh, I know how to turn this into baskets.” So, I took my mother’s and my brother’s clothes, and I created a basket. For each of the cousins. My mother was the last surviving one of her generations. She had 16 siblings. 

    03:50 Victoria Bartolotto 

    Oh, wow. 

    03:51 Cookie Washington 

    She was very last one that passed. So, when the cousins came down for our memorial, I made baskets for the ones that I knew were really close and important to her. 

    I wove some things of my brother’s into that too. When he passed away, I wanted to present his son with a living memory, so I made him a beautiful basket as well. My brother had been in the military, and so I wove in some of his old uniforms, and he loved the beach, so there was beach clothing. I even ripped up one of his kites that he had used and put that all into a weaving to honor him. To make it as a piece of living memory that will hopefully last for a couple more generations. 

    04:39 Victoria Bartolotto 

    Yeah, wow, that is extremely touching and definitely personal. Is there a particular piece of clothing or cloth that you liked working with? I crochet, so I know a little bit about  handmaking stuff, and I know a lot of the different fabrics feel different when you’re working with them. Was there a particular one that you enjoy? 

    05:02 Cookie Washington 

    I use rag crochet, so I rip up old sheets or old clothing, into 1-to-1.5-inch strips, and I crochet with a size 7 needle. 

    05:13 Victoria Bartolotto 

    Mmm. 

    05:14 Cookie Washington 

    Because it’s really important to me because I found this statistic out, and it drove me crazy. There’s about one hundred fifteen pounds of textile waste that goes into the landfill for every single American every year. Think about it, there are three hundred fifty million of us. 

    So, one of the things that I do that I think is really important in my work is whenever I make something, I weigh it. And write it down so that I’m trying to get to zero. I have zero waste by the end of the year. I’ve made rugs that are 4 pounds, and 10 pounds, and baskets that are a pound and a half or something. I write that all down, and by the end of each year, I try to make sure that I have at least used my 115 pounds of textiles so that I’m taking them out of the landfill.  

    This is important to me because landfills are generally in the neighborhoods of people who look like me. It’s poisoning the land. It’s poisoning the groundwater, and I’m very concerned about that. Only about 15% to 18% of what you would buy from a thrift store or Goodwill is ever used. The rest of it is packed up and shipped to another continent to ruin their land. I’m trying in my very small way to help that. 

    06:39 Victoria Bartolotto 

    Before entering quilting professionally, did you have any fears about doing it professionally and making a living off of it, or was there anything that held you back? 

    06:51 Cookie Washington 

    Another great question, Victoria, thank you. Before I started quilting, I was making upscale wedding gowns. 

    I have a degree in nursing from Johns Hopkins, and I realized that I couldn’t do that. I was a neonatal nurse, and the first baby that died under my care, it was just devastating. So, I went home, and I’d just gotten married, and had my own babies, and I thought, “I have to do something.” It was easier for me to stay at home and take care of my children. And, I have sewn since I was four. 

    Being able to make beautiful upscale wedding dresses here in the Lowcountry, and as well as raise my children, I have three children, was very important to me. I did, at one point, get a little stressed about bridezillas, and I thought “I will do something different.” 

    I saw the most amazing exhibit; it was the Communion of the Spirits exhibit by Roland Freeman at the Gibbs Museum in Charleston. I had been gifted the book for Christmas the year before. To see those quilts in person, it was like…wow! I’m also a crazy activist. I realized that I was waging peace against people who were trying to wage war, and I thought. I have so much that I could say in cloth. It’s my voice in the cloth. 

    So, I could change the way that I was trying to get my point across in a more gentle, easy-to-digest way. So that’s how I started doing art quilting. I don’t do traditional [quilting]. This is not like your grandmother’s quilt. 

    08:45 Victoria Bartolotto 

    Oh, yeah. 

    08:46 Cookie Washington 

    I’m never gonna make a bed quilt that’s 9 patches or something. I work a lot with Black mermaids and African goddesses and queens in my work, and so that’s really important to me, because you don’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been. I want very much, especially now that I’m the grandmother of three granddaughters, I want them to know that the history of Black women in America or in the world did not start on a slave station somewhere in South Carolina or Mississippi.  

    We have been regarded as goddesses for four thousand years. We need to remember that and claim that. Whether it’s a myth or whether it’s the truth, just knowing that there is some scholarship around those stories. I think makes you walk a little taller, makes you feel a little more important, and so I love that. 

    09:43 Victoria Bartolotto 

    Definitely, yeah. That is so important. Do you have any advice for possibly young adults or students who would want to get into just either quilting, ragging, or just making with their hands in general? Are there any particular skills? Obviously, there are some skills that one would need. What would be kinds of those skills? 

    10:07 Cookie Washington 

    Other than having the technical skill of being able to sew, or crochet, or knit, or weave, the thing that I think you most need is patience. Decisiveness, and you’ve got to learn how to market. That is so important, and you need to know your worth. I’ve seen there’s some incredible people who are crocheting clothes, which is something I don’t do. 

     But they’ll make an entire wedding gown, or the most beautiful coat, and they’re like, “oh, well, $300.” It’s like, “no, no, no, there’s $200 worth of yarn in that.” 

    10:50 Victoria Bartolotto 

    Yes. 

    10:52 Cookie Washington 

    I usually keep a little notebook when I’m sitting in my studio. I’ll say, “Okay, I started working on this particular project at 9 AM, and I go through lunch, and I sign off. Okay, I did 3 hours.” At the end of the project, you’ll know how many hours you spent. I pay myself about $25 an hour or more, depending on the technique that I’m using. You add that up, plus the price of your ingredients.  

    I’m currently working on a really cool orange and pink, large tote bag out of tee-shirt yarn. And, I’m at hour five, and I think I’ll be able to finish it in about nine or ten hours. I need to know that for myself, so that I can price it correctly. 

    I would say to many, many people who are trying to get started in this, in any kind of arts career, find a mentor who will be very honest with you. Sometimes you think that you’re doing something fantastic, and it’s not quite there. Or you’re just duplicating something else. You want to be original; you don’t want to be a copyist. 

    The other thing I would suggest to people, especially in any kind of textile arts: go to the most expensive, like Neiman Marcus, or iMagnon or something, and look at what they’re selling their handmade, crocheted, or knitted goods for. Take that as a way to think about pricing your stuff. Everything that they’re getting is probably coming from overseas, and they’re probably not paying those people anywhere near what they’re charging. So I think that it’s important for us to, especially in America, at this time, where it’s so difficult to find work-work. As we’re becoming more hands-on. I think we’re switching back to analog work. Rather than an infection of AI or whatever.  

    I think we just need to know our worth, and we need to work hard to be successful. Some people think, “Oh, I’m going to start a business, and I’m gonna be able to have lunch with my friends three days a week, and I’m going to get to go sailing.” No, you’re gonna sit in your studio sometimes till two o’clock in the morning, but if you want it badly enough, it really will happen. 

    13:34 Victoria Bartolotto 

    I can totally empathize with the whole textile situation. I have friends who will ask me for sweaters, or for blankets, and they’re like, “Oh, well, can you get it to me by the end of the week?” I’m a full-time student, and I’m working two jobs. I would look at them like, “That’s gonna take me at least fifteen hours to do.” 

    13:56 Cookie Washington 

    Even if you weren’t, you’re not a genie. You’re a craftsperson. 

    14:03 Victoria Bartolotto 

    So, I can totally imagine. 

    14:04 Cookie Washington 

    When they ask you for something for free, I think that’s the hardest part. It’s learning to say no. 

    You want a blanket for the baby, and you’re always glad when someone is bringing a new life into the world, but if you spend ten hours on that, and they say, “Oh, I’ll pay for your yarn.” The yarn is the smallest part of it. It’s your labor, it’s your love. You need to be compensated for that.  

    I think telling people, “Oh okay, well, my crocheted baby blankets start at $450. My hand-crocheted or hand-quilted baby blankets start at this other price, and this is why.” 

    Then shut up, because people go “$400 for a baby blanket? I thought…” Let them talk themselves into it or out of it. No is a complete sentence. “No. I will not make you a baby blanket for $50. Unless it’s out of air.” Be very firm and confident in yourself. 

    15:20 Victoria Bartolotto 

    Yeah. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today. I am so grateful and honored to hear from you, especially from somebody who works with textiles as well.  

    15:30 Cookie Washington 

    You have a wonderful afternoon, hon! 

    15:33 Victoria Bartolotto 

    You as well. It was a pleasure speaking with you. 

    15:35 Cookie Washington 

    It’s a pleasure speaking with you too, hon. Bye-bye. 

  • Ismael Valentin

    Ismael Valentin

    Interview

    Transcript

    00:00 Victoria Bartolotto 

    Hello everybody! My name is Victoria, and we are talking with Ismael Valentin, a professional creative working within and from South Carolina. As we get started, can you tell us a little bit about your current career and where you’re from?  

    00:16 Ismael Valentin 

    Sure. So, my heritage is from Puerto Rico. Tyrannal Roots. That’s native to Puerto Rico. Born and raised in Farmingham, Massachusetts. And, went to school in, Chicopee and Springfield, Massachusetts. 

    What would you like me to get into? How I got into my art?  

    00:52 Victoria Bartolotto 

    Before we do that, can you talk a little bit about where in South Carolina that you’re from?  

    01:00 Ismael Valentin 

    Sure, we’re at the Wild Wings plantation and golf course in South Carolina.  

    01:09 Victoria Bartolotto 

    Okay. Before we go into the nitty-gritty details of your profession, we have the “One Career Sixty Seconds” portion of our interview, where you give an elevator style pitch. If you’re ready to go, I can set a timer, and we can start.  

    Okay. Alright. Ready? Set. Go.  

    01:36 Ismael Valentin 

    Basically, I went to a store, and they asked me to, sign up for a raffle. I must have been eight years old.  They turned around, and I said “sure.” So, I signed up for the raffle. They called me a week later, saying I won. They gave me an easel with all art products and whatnot.  

    I just had it lying in the corner of my room, not knowing what to do with it. My cousin comes over a week later, and he’s like, “Oh, you know how to draw? You’ve been drawing? Oh, I’m a better drawer than you.” I said, “Word? Let’s go.” Ever since then, I’ve been trying to find the best outlet to express myself.  

    02:29 Victoria Bartolotto 

    What kind of mediums do you work with?  

    02:34 Ismael Valentin 

    Acrylic paintings. I do glass blowing, and I do bronze work. It’s called the Lost Work of Wax.  I sculpt in wax, and then I cast the bronze. I also work in stone. I sculpt stone.  

    I do a little bit of welding. I’m no professional at welding, but I can at least weld my form and then build up on it.  

    03:11 Victoria Bartolotto 

    Wow, that’s a lot of different things! Jack of all trades.  

    03:14 Ismael Valentin 

    Yeah. Yeah, I have touched on a lot, a lot of things, trying to find the best way to express myself and my vision as an artist.  

    03:27 Victoria Bartolotto  

    Yeah, for sure. With being located in South Carolina, is there anything in particular that the state or your particular neighborhood or region brings to your creative work? Does anything about South Carolina have an influence on you?  

    03:42 Ismael Valentin 

    Yeah, so there’s something called the American College. They have a course there where they do a lot of stonework. I find that to be very attractive, and what got me out here to begin with. 

    04:04 Victoria Bartolotto 

    Was there a defining moment in your creative career that had an impact on your journey? I know from the form that you filled out, you mentioned that you had an artist residency in Italy. Was there anything particularly, maybe in Italy or in the United States, that kind of have an impact on you?  

    04:24 Ismael Valentin  

    Oh yeah. So, Italy is the reason why I got into stonework. I went out there and did a residency. I did a marble ram’s head. I just found that to be the best way that I could express myself in art. That’s eventually what caused me to move out here. It was because the college out here that does all the stonework. So, I can continue working on that.  Unfortunately, where I live, my neighbors wouldn’t necessarily like me working on stone. 

    05:12 Victoria Bartolotto 

    I can imagine it is very loud.  

    05:14 Ismael Valentin 

    Yeah, it is. It can get there. So, it actually gives me a perfect workplace. To be able to have space to do my stuff.  

    05:25 Victoria Bartolotto 

    Is there a particular kind of stone or material that you prefer working with over others?  

    05:32 Ismael Valentin  

    Not that I have found. I like dabbling in all of it. One thing that I have found a caveat to that is marble. Marble is kind of like granite. It’s kind of a little bit harder to work with. It’s a lot harder to work with, actually. The soft stones are more my go-to. Just because I can get the form faster and it’s easier to work with. It’s not as hard.  

    06:16 Victoria Bartolotto 

    Yeah. Was there a particular project, maybe the Ram’s head that you mentioned before, is there a particular project that you have done that really showcased your creative abilities in a way that it never had before? Was there anything that really spoke to you and is a proud moment of your career?  

    06:38 Ismael Valentin 

    Yeah, so I did a bronze ballerina foot. I feel like that was really my standout moment where I was like, “Oh wow, I could actually seriously get into this.” I could also, how you say, have this as an actual career. I just got so many compliments from it. I got so many praises for it, and it was literally my first piece that I did for sculpting. Since then, I haven’t stopped my toes. I haven’t dropped my toes, I should say. 

    07:25 Victoria Bartolotto 

    Yeah. Before entering stonework and working with stone, did you have any fears about having that being your profession? Was there anything that might have held you back from pursuing it?  

    10:40 Ismael Valentin 

    Definitely. There’s that stigma where the artist is a starving artist. So, everyone was always pushing on me, saying, “Oh artists, you don’t really make any money off of it.” 

    I feel like once you find certain people that love your work, they kind of stick with you. They follow you. I actually found that to be a stigma that really shouldn’t be stuck to us artists.  

    11:19 Victoria Bartolotto 

    I recently graduated from Coastal. I got my degree in English because I want to be an author, and I’ve heard that so many times. when people say, “Oh, well, writers don’t make any money. Artists don’t make any money. Why don’t you pick something else?” But it’s what you love, and it’s your passion. It’s hard to just tell some people that, “no, I want to follow my passion.”  

     Do you have any advice for young adults or students who maybe want to get into stonework, about things that they should know, or any skills that they should practice before getting into it? 

    12:03 Ismael Valentin 

    If anything, you definitely want to know how to do anatomy. Depending on if you want to do human figures. If you wanted to go abstract, then I guess you don’t really need to. Just dive right in. Keep an open mind and keep an open eye. Sorry, keep an open mind. Yeah.  

     So, by going to Italy, I learned how the old-timers used to do it. By hand and chisel, and I definitely would not suggest anyone doing it that way. That is grueling at best. This is very tiring.  

    13:10 Victoria Bartolotto 

    Yeah, I can imagine.  

    13:13 Ismael Valentin 

    If you can definitely get an air hammer. Get some air tools, that definitely would make it easier on you.  The chisel, you are eventually going to have to work with the hammer and chisel, especially when you start getting into those fine details. Try to be open to all of it.  

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  • Caroline East Harnish

    In painting and drawing, I travel towards a greater reality beyond myself, to open the windows of the unknown and unseen.

    Quick Facts

    Education: High School

    Years of Experience: 50 Years

    About

    Caroline East Harnish is a visual artist inspired by the ‘flow state’ seeking to manifest and embody the human spirit through her paintings and drawings. She lived and painted in Europe for over twenty years.  

    What started as a hobby of drawing with her mother as a child, her passion blossomed into a career that spans nearly five decades. “I enter into a state of ‘flow,’ and thereafter, work out how to manifest these ideas,” she says.  

    Harnish observes that there is a resurrection of meaning and beauty in the arts, with creatives revisiting the conversation between beauty and aesthetics. She encourages young artists to stay in touch with their practice, and most importantly, to keep creating because (as Stephen Roach said), “Keep creating, the world needs your art!” 

  • Cat Wondergem

    “Don’t only make the time to find your voice in your particular medium.” 

    Quick Facts

    Education: High School/2-year Technical College  

    Years of Experience: 20 Years

    About

    A linocut visual artist, Cat Wondergem dives into the rough edges and sparkles of humanity, one stroke of watercolor at a time. Initially introduced to linocuts during her middle school years, she did not return to the medium until her late thirties, highlighting “the simplicity and mobility of the tools needed to create this vibrant art form.”  

    Her process involves four multifaceted parts: drawing, carving, ink, and printmaking, before she can finally dip her paintbrush into a watercolor palette. Using a linoleum block, Cat aims to capture life’s vibrant flow of adventure and authenticity.  

    She encourages aspiring artists to become deeply familiar with their skillsets. “Take the time to learn what your tools and various techniques can do,” she says. “Learn how they can level up your work.”