Hard Work

"Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don't recognize them." 
– Ann Landers

It's not a fun concept...hard work. But I was raised not to shy away from it. My parents are both hard workers, and they have definitely passed that on to me. As a little girl, I worked hard at school; today, I work hard at the studio.

As an artist, I've always been somewhat surprised and slightly offended that many people think my job is easy. I first noticed this in high school, where weighted GPAs placed more value on AP math and science classes than on AP art classes. This continued into college. I would hear non-art school folks comment on how easy art school must be...how nice it would be not to have to work or study so hard. Meanwhile, I was spending three times the hours in my classes as they spent in theirs and doing just as much (if not more) "homework".

The idea of magically becoming a success overnight or simply having rewards fall into your lap is foreign to me. The journey, the hard work, is what prepares us for success and builds a foundation of appreciation. I value hard work. Despite my failures and times where it has not panned out, I fundamentally do believe that hard work pays off. Although, perhaps not always the way we think it will. I will continue to work hard at Pele Prints.

News from Pele Prints Artists

Pele wouldn't be the same without our great group of artists. I'm lucky to collaborate with such a diverse and successful bunch. In addition to creating prints with us, they all have active studio practices of their own for their primary work. A few of our artists have recently been busy outside of Pele, and we wanted to share what they've been up to...congratulations and keep it up, folks!


Carmon Colangelo
Storms
Solo show at Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO
4/4/14 – 5/3/14

Laura Berman
Pulsar
Solo show at Haw Contemporary, Kansas City, MO
4/11/14 – 5/24/14

Brandon Anschultz
2014 Great Rivers Biennial 
Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis, MO
5/9/14 – 8/10/14

Lora Fosberg
The Steamroller Printmaking Project
Community event, Michigan City, IN
8/23/14

Balance

Finding a balance in my life has been an ongoing lesson for me for some time now. In fact, I'm pretty sure this will be a life-long journey. As a natural "workaholic," I have to remind myself to slow down and take time for me on a regular basis. Work/life balance.

All of this said, I'm always looking for tips and ideas to help me along. Grace Bonney runs Design*Sponge (a great design blog) and hosts After the Jump (a super informative podcast for makers). In one of her recent episodes, she breaks down ten tips for being a more happy and productive business owner and person. Most of these we already know, but the reminder is crucial. So, here they are...wise words to live by:

1 - Collaborate
2 - Build a support system
3 - Time off is not a luxury, it's a necessity
4 - Stay inspired...go back to the well
5 - Trust your gut and feelings
6 - Be inspired by your competition
7 - Always be learning
8 - Ask for and accept help
9 - SLEEP
10 - Do a brain dump at the end of every day

Check out the full episode for all the details.

Changes at Pele

Happy Summer! In the midst of all the hectic day-to-day rigmarole at the Pele studio, I've been giving a lot of thought to how things are structured here...what's working, what's not. It's good to take stock and make better use of the time I have available. Side note: when someone figures out how to create a time machine that makes more time (instead of simply sending me backwards or forwards through time), I want to be the first to know. One of the biggest changes at Pele in the last few months is that I have two (yes, two!) part-time studio assistant printers on board. This is a huge step for Pele...many thanks to Holly Childress and Carly Kurka for doing such a great job. Without these lovely ladies, many of the great things we do at the studio wouldn't be possible. Another big change is that I'm restructuring Pele Workshops. Our popular Make & Take classes will still be available quarterly on a set schedule. But all of our other studio workshops will be available with a brand-spanking new flex schedule. This will allow more access and more affordability for folks who want to take classes. More to come on that soon... And finally, we are saying goodbye to the local outdoor/tent art fairs for Pele Projects. We had a good run at these local fairs, but it's time to move on to bigger and better things. I'm looking forward to a renewed focus on the prints and sharing them outside of St. Louis.

A Glimpse Inside

Every artist approaches their work from a completely unique perspective. We get to enjoy the final results of their ideas as viewers, but we often don't know how they got from point A to point B. At times, this can actually add to the mystery of a great piece of art. On the other hand, sometimes we want to know more.

This video features Pele artist, Carmon Colangelo, chatting about our collaborative project and the exhibit at Bruno David Gallery. It's the perfect chance get a glimpse into the thought process and concepts that he explores in his work. The Glocal Diptychs series is made up of nine monoprints...check out our online gallery to see them all!



Film by Eric Minh Swenson. Music by Sergey Drobyshevsky.

Collaborations: Works from Pele Prints

Collaboration is at the heart of everything we do at Pele Prints. As a fine art printshop, we invite artists to work with us at the studio to create limited edition prints and original works of art. Each project is a new adventure in printing. In the end, it’s the partnership between artist and printer that allows for some amazing possibilities and unique discoveries.

Collaborations: Works from Pele Prints is up at Mad Art Gallery in St. Louis through the end of April. If you won't have a chance to see it in person, there are a few images below from the show. And you can always take a look at the prints in our gallery on the Pele website. Enjoy!

Ben Pierce and Alicia LaChance

Gina Alvarez, Lora Fosberg, and John Wahlers

Amanda Verbeck

Grant Miller, Jessie Van der Laan, Laura Berman, Ben Pierce, and Alicia LaChance

Women and the Kemper Visit

Periodically we get the chance to entertain at Pele, and yesterday we had a lovely visit with the Women and the Kemper at the studio. Women and the Kemper offers its members opportunities to learn about and encourage women’s participation in the visual arts, and we were very excited to host one of the first "field trips" for the group.

With tea and pastries to celebrate the first day of Spring, we had a short printing demo for folks to learn and enjoy, and everyone was able to take home their very own Pele print. We ended the day with lunch and some great conversation.

If you're interested in visiting Pele with your group or organzation, just let us know. We'd love to have you!