Fellowship, studio artists at Crealdé School get showcase in ‘Emerge’
As we’re getting ready to head into the Showalter Hughes Community Gallery at Crealdé School of Art in Winter Park, artist Suzy Wilson turns to fellow artist Joan Sanchez. “I need your advice on these,” says Wilson, unfolding some early sketches she’s been working on.
Wilson and Sanchez are both part of “Emerge,” an exhibit of works by fellowship and studio artists at the school. And this kind of collaboration between the artists is both a common occurrence and something special.
Crealdé has offered the Fellowship Program since 1978, allowing students to exchange volunteer hours with the school for free classes and access to studio space and resources. Fellowships are initially for two years with an option to extend them to five.
In 1996, the school added the Studio Artist Program, which gave advanced artists and former fellows more free classes and studio access to help pursue professional careers. The two programs combined mentor an average of 25 artists per year.
Seven of the 11 artists featured in “Emerge” came out to to discuss their paths to getting art on the walls.
Wilson and Vera Gubnitskaia are both in their first year of fellowship. One common thread for several of the artists in bringing them to the school in the first place was retirement or the easing of outside pressures. Former librarian Gubnitskaia had already begun taking classes online when she decided to come to Crealdé.
“You come to the point where you want somebody to move you beyond,” she said.
Wilson, 50, had worked in retail while taking care of her family until recently. “My family was taking care of themselves,” said the New Mexico native. “I decided I would do what I’ve always wanted to do and I needed some instruction.”
Originally from the former Soviet Union — now Russia — Gubnitskaia acknowledged she was “a bit of an introvert,” so putting her watercolors into an exhibit was initially intimidating. “I have a little bit of an impostor syndrome,” she said. “I am just getting used to telling people I am an artist.”
Though the other artists have varying degrees of experience, everyone featured in this show is still in the early phases of getting themselves out there. “We are in that stage of our career,” said Sanchez, 47. “Since we don’t have too much experience outside, this was a nice way to showcase our art.”
“What I think about is struggling to have my website and just wrestling social media,” said fellow Diane Stapleton. “It’s such a great platform because you don’t have to have a gallery.”
Sanchez and Deborah Umphrey are two of the studio artists in the exhibit. Umphrey notes there’s more than one career this experience can lead to. “Part of me is a teacher, so I can see workshops in my future,” said the former Lake Brantley High School art teacher.
Questions of how to make art marketable can even enter into the equation of inspiration. “Another difficult thing when trying to decide what to paint is trying to understand what are people buying,” said fellow Linda LaCombe.
LaCombe, 69, has been working with Crealdé for the past five years. She notes that finding what you want to paint is one of the things the environment of the school helped with. “It was kind of seeing what everyone else was doing,” she said. “If you do get an idea from someone else, you put a twist on it and make it your own expression.”
“We share ideas,” said Gubnitskaia. “We help each other informally.”
The variety of classes and subjects available is one of the benefits Umphrey sees in working at the school. “It’s just so fun,” she said. “Why not take advantage of such a wonderful school that teaches so many things?”
Sanchez admits that getting out of his comfort zone brought him to a new passion. “When I started here, I was an acrylic painter,” he said. “They tried to introduce me to oils and I was very resistant until I tasted it. Now I’ll never go back to acrylic.” He says the next thing he plans to explore is ceramics.
A former art director for Nickelodeon, Stapleton created several abstract paintings for this show. “You start with a concept,” she said. “It’s joyful to paint. It’s also difficult.”
The dichotomy of the effort to create art and the desire to do it struck a chord with Wilson. “It’s not just relaxing,” she said. “It’s emotional.”
Ultimately, the recurring theme of the conversation was the support each artist gets from each other. “There’s just a warm feeling about it,” said Umphrey. “We don’t have any jealousies. We give constructive criticism. It’s a real good place to nurture your art.”
Ohio native Kathryn Brohl came to the school after retiring from being a psychotherapist. For her, the career aspects aren’t very important. “This is just the icing on the cake,” she said. What she loves is the community.
“I look around this room and see all the work of my fellow fellows who have all inspired me and supported me and instructed me and I feel like one of the most blessed people ever.”
“This … is a special group within the school,” said Sanchez. “This is a group that does a lot of volunteer work.”
At one point, Brohl noted that she would love it if Sanchez went into teaching. Sanchez responded that he had just made the decision to go back to college for arts education. The room full of artists clapped.