Jen Norton

Name: Jen Norton
Website: http://www.jennortonartstudio.com

What do you do?
I paint. My subject matter is the everyday moments that reflect our commonality. These days, I feature food, family recipes and food-related occasions in order to explore food as a means of fostering communication and to honor family traditions.

Where can we find your work?
a. Start with my website: http://www.jennortonartstudio.com
b. I also have an Etsy store, which you can also get to thru the shopping tab on my site:http://www.etsy.com/shop/JenNortonArtStudio?ref=si_shop
c. FB fan page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jen-Norton-Art-Studio/43248608987
d. twitter account: @nortonstudio
e. If you want to see my work life, it’s best to check the “show schedule” tab on my site. I hang work in local venues and do outdoor fairs and I post it all there. Right now I have work in Sherman Cellars tasting room in downtown San Jose, Wisteria Antiques & Gardens in Soquel and at the Presentation Retreat Center gift shop in the mountains above Los Gatos. I’m not in a permanent gallery right now...still looking for the “perfect marriage” on that one!

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
The joy of painting and putting all my thoughts down in tangible form is the beginning of the inspiration. Over time, the message behind what I paint has gotten more focused and personal, so I am now more open to various form factors and design options beyond painting. The possibilities of that add a whole new dimension of creativity. When things get tough creatively, I remind myself (perfectionist that I am) that I do not have to have all the answers up front to start...I only need to start. I switched from watercolor to acrylic years ago just because of this reason. I needed to know I could change my mind mid-stream. I will also go back through journals and sketchbooks to regain my focus. Usually whatever I put down there meant something to me at one time, and I may find meaning again when I’m unfocused.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
The most important thing to remember is that all art, including visual, is a form of communication. Therefore, your message, the content, is top priority. What are you all about? What do you need to say to the world? Your technique should fit the message, not the other way around. For example, the guys who draw “Life is Good” use very simple line and show simple, everyday imagery. Their simple message and simple technique match. You simply get it right away. I paint food, which could be a simple subject. But I want to show deeper meanings behind what we put on our plates and who we share it with. I love to make large, delicious, complex paintings of this simple subject so the viewer will look at it and say, “Wow...I never knew swiss chard was so beautiful!” I want to elevate something you may take for granted to eye-stopping Fine Art (with a capital “F”).

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
Gosh, where do I start...way to many to name. I love the post-impressionist painters because I think that’s where things started to get interesting. Cezanne, Van Gogh, Mary Cassatt for their use of color and texture to depict the everyday, ordinary; Milton avery for his use of simple shape (I wish I could be that simple), American illustrators like Gary Kelley or the Balbusso twins because their work is simply beautiful, writers Barbara Kingsolver and Laura Esquivel because I can feel their stories, singer/songwriter Amy Grant for expressing connection and common emotion so eloquently,Ketra Oberlander and Dorothy Varacel for leading inspiring lives after tragedy struck, my daughter Emma for being more amazingly awesome than I ever was at her age. Pour me a glass of wine, and I’ll come up with more!

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
Hmmm. Off the top of my head, the time-traveling heroine Claire from Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series because she’s like a medical McGiver who was drawn through time to find what clearly is the most awesome manly man who ever lived. :-) Although she’s had to survive some experiences I’d rather leave out of my life, given the choice.

When do you get your best ideas?
Waking up in the morning, while driving, falling asleep at night. The trick is to remember them long enough to write them down. I wish I could clear my mind enough during a normal day to get the same level of inspiration, but life is just too darn busy. Maybe when I retire...

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
Acrylic paint on canvas or paper, lots of texture-creating stuff like tissue paper, bubble wrap, rollers, old credit cards (they’re my #1 tool, and new ones come to me in the mail for free all the time!)

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I have a Fine Art degree from Santa Clara University, but honestly, my life since has really been what’s crafted my work. I was just too young and socially immature to take real advantage of what was offered to me in college at that age.

If your creative work was edible what would it taste like?
The most fabulous chocolate brownies ever...and you could enjoy the whole pan and not get sick or fat.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
Read, take my dog to the dog park, travel (when we can afford it), eat whatever fabulous cuisine my husband cooks up with a glass of wine.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
I was painfully, debilitatingly shy as a kid. My poor mother...they told her I was “retarded”, whatever that means. Thankfully, she didn’t believe it. I loved to sit and draw all day (safe form of expressions), so I was always encouraged to do it. I really don’t know how to NOT think like an artist. I spent the bulk of my earlier career as a graphic designer, which meant I had to learn to defend my work to clients who were paying lots of money. That experience really taught me a lot about having solid thinking behind your work and helped me develop a tough skin.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
First of all, create, create, create. Even if you have another job, don’t let laziness or fear keep you from making art because it’s the only way to break through your own ego-driven desires and get to the heart of what you’re meant to do. Art is not a get-rich-quick endeavor. You have to be called to it. As you create, in the back of your mind always be thinking, “why am I drawn to do this?” “what am I meant to express?”. We are content providers, and the world never has enough good content. Take that job seriously.

Laura Callin Bennett

Name: Laura Callin Bennett
Website: www.LauraCallinBennett.com

What do you do?
I make small acrylic paintings of rabbits, birds, and women. I am working on a series of one hundred paintings.

Where can we find your work?
The best place to find my work is at Kaleid Gallery. There is a wall of my art there, which continually evolves and changes as I add new paintings and drawings. I also show in different galleries in San Francisco and Berkeley. Two of my paintings will be in the Tiny Show at Studio Gallery in San Francisco, November 3 - December 23 2011. The paintings are called “Squirrel with Acorns” and “Love in the Forest.”

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
I don’t get blocked about art-making. I just like to draw all the time. If I am not drawing it is probably because something un-artsy has gotten onto my art-making space. For instance, there might be a pile of mail on my drawing table. So I have to deal with the mail first before I can keep going with drawing.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
I feel like the finished product is most important. I love the process of making art, but if the end result doesn’t look good, I will set it aside and move on to something else.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
The artwork of Margaret Kilgallen had a strong impact on me. When I was a student at Stanford, she was there getting her master‘s degree in fine art. I remember walking into her studio. It was like coming into a world of strangely compelling folk art, made by unknown folk. I stood there trying to memorize the colors. She had her own quirky color scheme - rust red, cream white, mustard yellow, sage green. In my work I see the echoes of her style in flat colors and strong outlines.

At that time I only knew that I really liked her art. It was only later, after her death - she had cancer, she was only 33 - that I found out about where she stood in the art world. She was part of the Mission School, she was married to Barry McGee, she showed at Deitch Projects in New York, her art was in the Whitney Biennial. Sometimes I get the impression that to be a successful artist you have to be a guy with a big ego, but Kilgallen was not like that. People remember her as a kind and selfless person. There are still traces and memories of her all around San Francisco.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
I sort of identify with Peggy Olson, the young advertising writer on Mad Men. I mean, I wouldn’t want to be her exactly. Some of the things that happen to her, I wouldn’t want those to happen to me. And I wouldn’t do some of the things that she does. But in general, as the story goes along she is figuring out how to interact effectively with people, in order to be successful as a creative person. That’s something I think about a lot.

When do you get your best ideas?
I often get good ideas when I am working on some kind of “assignment,” like making art for a show that has a specific theme. It’s interesting how having a bit of a constraint on the subject matter of the art actually leads to more creativity.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
I start with stiff paper, like cardstock or Bristol board. I paint the background and other colors with acrylic paint. To draw the black outlines, I use an old-fashioned pen - the kind you dip into a bottle of ink.

I am always curious about exactly how some artists draw their smooth fine lines, so here are the technical details about how I do it. I use a pen with a Speedball #100 Artist Nib. If you want to use the exact same kind, look for a nib that has these words engraved into the metal: 100 Hunt Artist Pen Round Pointed. I use Calli Jet Black India Ink. I get the ink and nibs at University Art. Sometimes they have to ship the ink from one of their stores outside of San Jose. I’ve also seen similar nibs and ink at that new art supply store, The Arsenal.

I actually draw with the nib rolled over so the concave side is facing up. That way, the two metal points of the nib don’t splay apart when the nib is pressed against the paper. The result is a smooth, consistent line.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
Formally educated. I have a bachelor’s degree in art from Stanford. My minor was Human Biology, so I took some biology courses that definitely influenced my art. I was able to take classes taught by some really interesting artists, like the printmaker Enrique Chagoya. And I gained some insight into how people like curators and art critics think about art - what kinds of books and articles they read, what their vocabulary means, what kinds of themes they think about.

If your creative work was edible what would it taste like?
Some of my paintings are little and sweet. Those ones would taste like mini cupcakes with pink icing. Some of my artworks are a bit darker, like the one shown at the bottom of this page (Peregrine Falcons Hunted Passenger Pigeons). The darker art would taste like black licorice.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
I like working at my job. It’s at a store that sells art supplies, picture frames, and custom framing. Between the job and making my own art, sometimes my time is artsy all day long. In my spare time, I like to keep up with biology news by listening to podcasts from the journal Nature and This Week in Science.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
I’ve been drawing forever, so accessing my creativity was no problem. What I lacked was practical, nuts-and-bolts knowledge about how to exhibit my art. That changed when Anne Sconberg sent me an email that led me to a class called “The Business of Art”. It was put together by San Jose’s Office of Cultural Affairs. I went to the class and learned answers to questions like “What is a call for entries? How do you find out about one, and how do you submit art for it?”

They don’t offer the class any more, I guess because there is not enough money to pay the instructors. I wish they could bring it back, because it was so helpful to me and many other artists.

It feels a bit weird to write about a government-sponsored art class as the tipping point in my little art career. Other artists might tell you origin stories that are decidedly more epic. But honestly, I just needed someone to give me some practical information about how to show my art, to de-mystify the question of how to get into galleries, and that opened the whole door for me.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
Vague advice is unhelpful, so I won’t tell you to “follow your dreams” or anything like that. Instead, here is a specific example of something that worked for me. The first time I ever showed and sold one of my paintings was at Works/San Jose Gallery, for their annual Benefit Auction. I found out about that opportunity by going to San Jose’s South First Friday Art Walk. On the walk I found a flyer for the Benefit Auction. I followed the directions on the flyer and submitted my art.

So my advice is: Go on your town’s monthly art walk, look at all the flyers and postcards, and pick up any that look interesting.

If that doesn’t work for you (for instance, if your town doesn’t have an art walk, or you are too young to wander around downtown in the evening) send an email to Laura at LauraCallinBennett dot com with the word “advice” in the subject line. You can ask me a specific question if you want. If you are shy you can just leave the body of the email blank and I will make my best guess about what advice to send to you. I am intensely aware of how ignorant I used to be about some art-related things, and I am grateful to the people and resources that helped me learn more. I’d like to pay it forward by helping other young artists learn too.

Peregrine Falcons Hunted Passenger Pigeons