Houston creatives show love for The Leader

Art Valet in The Leader, June 23 > https://www.theleadernews.com/the_arts/art-valet

So cool to read the notes I got on this one. I like to elaborate sometimes and include any extra photos.

Below are the stories I wrote about each of the artists in this week’s column.

• Lisa Morales & Stacy Gresell: Thought Hive’ brings buzz to Winter Street Studios
• Maria Elena Sandovici
• Liz Conces Spencer
• Camille Ellington (csellington.com) no longer archived.
• Johnny Van Slyke Summers

Stacy Gresell’s story about how she got started painting is one of my favorites. I love it when I’m talking to an artist and they tell me their profession outside of art, and my only response can be “You’ve got to be kidding me!”
Stacy is a communications professor, she teaches public speaking! Wow, one of my fears for some reason.

I did everything backward in terms of an art career. There was an art professor at the college who came to my house for a jewelry trunk show back when I was making jewelry in 2014. She saw a piece on the wall that I had painted and asked about it. We had a conversation about encaustic art she said you should do a show in the gallery and I was like haha yeah no problem. 

On Monday the next week, she sent me a schematic for the gallery and an application for a solo show. I called her immediately and said are you insane? And she said could you get me three more samples? The committee needs 4 examples. Somehow she convinced me to do 3 more encaustic paintings by that Friday! The following Monday she called and said congratulations! Do you want the may show or September? 

I spent the next 6 months painting like a fool. A solo show was my very first professional endeavor! "Mostly mixed messages" in 2014 which featured the 1st through the 33rd paintings I'd ever done.  Insane! That woman-professor Laura Fisher was entirely responsible for me ever becoming a professional artist. 

Wild right? Here are few more photos Lisa & Stacy sent me.