E88 - Hill City South Dakota Artists
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Here we go. Hello, my creative friends. Welcome back to another episode of Create Today with Beth Buffington. Today I have guests, very special guests that I met when I was on vacation in Hill City, South Dakota. They really resonated with me so much when I visited their store that I invited them to come on the podcast and talk about their unique take with how they do and become creative.
Without any further ado, I want to introduce you to the artists from the Art Forms Gallery in Hill City, South Dakota. So we are here talking to Gail McCain. And Nancy Teal and Pete Stock. And Pete, I forgot to ask you if I pronounced your last name correctly. Is that right? [00:01:00] Stock. You're close.
You're getting pretty close. It's Stack. Stack, okay. I want to, just chat with you real quick about who you are and what you provide to this unique store, and then I wanna talk about the store.
So let's, let's start with Gail. Gail, quickly tell us what you do in the store and what you do as far as creativity. Good morning. I do fiber arts, so my primary art is wet felting and needle felting. Wonderful. That's such a unique brand of creativity. I remember seeing your work in the store.
It was beautiful. Thank you. And Pete introduce yourself, please. I do. I'm Pete Stack and I do what behind me here. I take a whiskey bottle and make something out of it. I sandblast, I mount it on old Barnwood put lights in it. I take wine bottles and cut [00:02:00] the, I cut the bottoms off of everything and make wind chimes out of 'em.
Sandblast unique sayings on 'em, just it's a process. It's a thought process as much as anything. So that's what I do. Great. Great. And Nancy share a little bit about who you are and what kind of creativity you are making. Good morning. I'm Nancy Teal. I work with old s silverware. I work with old typewriter keys.
I repurpose items that need cleaning and polishing into jewelry. I do a few home items knife faces, that sort of thing. But I really repurpose items into jewelry, wearable art.
one of the things I do when I'm on vacation is find all the stores that I can go into that are the personality of whatever city I am visiting.
So we found Hill City and we were walking around.
And we saw your store and we went inside.
I love the fact that there were [00:03:00] so many artists in there.
So I, I'd love to have you spend a little time explaining how the store got started, What's the history behind Art Forms Gallery? Beth, we don't the three of us really don't know the roots of it, but we do know that it's been around for 26 years, and it was founded by artists like us.
who had stuff that they were making but had no place to display it. Got tired of saying, oh, this is so nice, and now give it to my cousin, or give it to somebody. In, in my case, it's like it was getting to be a very popular item and I thought maybe I should try and sell this. Yeah.
It started as a ga co-op and has remained that way, which I think is pretty extraordinary because it's 26 years. And [00:04:00] for the turnover of the artists that have been through this gallery I find it astounding that we are still together stronger than ever. And successful.
And successful. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. And we still do have a few of the original artists. Yeah. Yeah. So what I loved when I was there was how you supported each other, because I know the day I was there. I met Pete and I met Nancy, and while I talked to Nancy A. Long time about her jewelry, you were really good at explaining the artwork from any of the artists that were inside the store.
And I know you did the same thing, Pete, when you were talking to my husband and my cousin Keith.
And because of the way you run the store, you don't have to be there every day and yes. are you there even every week or how do you set that up? We all work about 20 days a year, [00:05:00] and it's an open calendar.
We all pick our own days. it works very well, and if something comes up, you put an email out and usually somebody's able to exchange a date with you. So everybody works well together. The one thing I will, I would like to say about knowing other people's artwork is every spring is we do have a show and tell where everybody comes in and talks about what they do.
And several of us have been here for multiple years, so we are familiar with it, but it's really beneficial if somebody else is wanting to do this, to do that. Show and tell, because you learn the other people's story, their history and how they create and what they use. So that's a handy tidbit.
I think that also refreshes all of us every year so we can talk about everybody's art. Somewhat intelligently. Yeah. I know The best part of art is not just that it is a product, but the story behind the product. And that is typically why art is bought.
And when someone has a piece of artwork, they're really fast to say, [00:06:00] let me tell you about this and this is why I bought it. And it's, the story is as important as the wearable that you might have or the piece that you're hanging on the wall or that coffee mug that you're drinking out of it is, that is something that you want to share and it is why you bring something home when you're on vacation.
So yeah, if you're in that store and your artwork is being displayed, it's important to have people there that can say if you like that, let me tell you a little bit about the artists.
What was the material there? Was I could remember exactly where it was. Not too far away from the cash register. There was a display of, I think it was wood material, but it was o of burled wood or something pine. The pine nuts. Yeah, the pine nuts. The pine knot Pine nuts that are off of our trees here in the hills that Joe Reinhardt.
Goes into the hills, cuts 'em and makes things out of them. So it's actually raw material that's, everyone's one of a kind. So pretty unique. Yes. And you had [00:07:00] actually one of the little pine nuts there. Yeah. You showed me what they look like before he got started working on them, and then what he turns them into.
And that was just such a great way to talk about the artist and their process. So I'm, it's not a surprise that your story is so successful. It creates a connection and something you can relate to and remember, yeah. It very beneficial. And also, you have to work with each of these artists in here on a daily basis, even though they're not present, but you gotta know their stuff and that creates kind of a bond in this gallery.
That's hard to. Hi you hire employees and they're, yeah, they're here working hourly. The people that work in here care about what's going on, and I think that is a key, very piece to the success of this community, this co-op. And it takes all of us to make it work too.
Yeah. So [00:08:00] everybody has an interest in it. Everybody has an interest in it. Yeah. And everybody has an interest in it succeeding for themselves and for everybody else. And it's great. It's great to be able to only work those 20 days a year. And yet your products for sale all the time. You don't have to own a store, you don't have to pay the rent by yourself, and you don't wanna, you don't have to work all the time, yeah. So it's a great concept. Oh, it's a win-win. How often are you into replenish your products and just check out displays, et cetera? It depends on the individual. And I think everybody who works is very good. If an item of mine sells, I will get a text or a call and say, your hat sold, you just sold 10 bars of soap, or whatever.
So then I know I need to come in. And I think that's again, how we all work together. Yeah. Yeah. That's nice. And it's just a good pick me up to know that something sold, even if you don't need to go in and replenish, you're like, Ooh, I get something out today. It's, that's nice. Sure. [00:09:00] Yeah. It's exciting.
Yeah. I try to come in about I schedule my work days like every seven to 10 days because in the summertime I need to be up here and I'm, I live 40 miles away, so I try to schedule my work days like every week. And then at that point I can bring up inventory and I don't call and say, you're out of this, or like you said, you're out of this.
So I know to bring it up, which is helpful so you don't get up here and not have it again, that's that communication. Yeah. Yeah. Communication between all of us. And if I speed, I can be here in 30 seconds. He here every day. Yeah. Pete gets our change, peace, our go to if our car don't start when we leave.
I check in date. It's it. I don't have to, but I enjoy it and I enjoy meeting people and talking with our people who came in like you. Yeah. And and then I look at my inventory and I can be home in, eh, I take my time going home, but it takes them 45 seconds.
45 seconds, no speeding tickets on your way home. [00:10:00] No. Yeah. And I'm only 15 minutes away, so whenever I'm in town or going through, we're here by ourselves all day and it's a long day. So I always stop in and say, do you need a break? Yes. That's kind so that's nice. Yeah. Yeah. So tell me if someone out there was thinking, I could set something like this up.
I have artist friends, maybe we could do a co-op. How, what is the basis of the co-op look like? Do you have a board of directors? Do you have like how do you set that up so that. It's gonna run smoothly like a real business. 'cause you have to have a real business Yes, exactly. In a structured area to make it successful.
That's a key to it, is that you have to have a business mentality along with the artist creativity. And we have a board of directors, we have a contract we sign every year. We have a system [00:11:00] for scheduling workers. It's set up and it's structured. Structured and it's run like a business.
Yeah. It's run like a business. Every piece is accounted for in that is sold. You just can't willy-nilly open the store and say, oh, okay. You go here, you go there. The board of directors come in and place all the artists where they are going to be for that year. Rotate them rotate everybody's cleared out during January and February so we can paint and fill holes and, do the maintenance for the year when we, so when we start in March.
We have a fresh feeling of a new look every year. And that even to the locals is something, yeah. Yes. I know when I was in your store that it didn't feel like one of the stores that you walk in where everybody has their own space and they're doing their own [00:12:00] thing. It felt like a store that was supporting artists, but as a community and and I don't know why, but that just seemed so much more inviting to be in the store and not think that I was in 11 different stores, but I was in one store that was celebrating just the craftsmanship of South Dakota. The other thing, and if somebody wanted to set one up, I think is important is that you have to have individuals who can work the store.
So we're all from the area. I live probably, like I said, 45 minutes away, but I can get here every day. I mean it, we all are local, well. Most of us are local, and we're all pretty good in working with the public and the money part of it.
It takes that type of individual that they're able to communicate with people and do that too, and be able location wise to get here to work. And I would imagine that you have some sort of schooling to have everyone understand how to run a cash register or whatever the money taking [00:13:00] materials are.
Yes. They have a training. Yep. Yes. All the new artists get a training day and they can come as often as they need to or want to watch it. How it's done in the morning, counting the cash. It's 1 0 1 stuff, but this point but still they as much training as they need but I come in every morning, I'm the enforcer.
You forgot to turn a light on. Forgot to turn a light on is an hot piece. Let's, we'll find it. But yeah. That's important. I try to do it in a way that, I could go over and turn the open sign on for Leah, who's great at not turning the open sign on, but I say it's not on, and pretty soon that becomes automatic for her.
You can't be. Belittling every mistake that's made, you have to encourage, if you will. That they remember to do the right things when they're go into their morning daily routine. And I come in because, [00:14:00] simply because the artist is here by themselves.
And they need money change, because inevitably the first or second customer of the day comes in and buys a $2 sticker and they have you a hundred dollars bill. Those are the things that you've gotta have, you've gotta have involvement in this community.
And if someone sees this podcast and likes what they see, have 'em give us a call. We'll, I'll send you a copy of our contract. I'll tell you what employee scheduling thing we use. We jury everything that comes into the store so that we know that we're not overlapping each other's work.
And it's, that's all on the board and it works, it just works. And I think people need to understand that there is a, there's a very definite structure here down to the fact that you look at the calendar. I'm working today, [00:15:00] so what's my cleaning job today? Okay. Dusting, mopping the floor.
So we all participate in the wellbeing of the entire gallery. We reach out to the person who works tomorrow as a reminder. And that way we can let them also know what kind of day it was, whether it was busy, whether you're gonna need change in the morning or that's such a smart way to make sure that you are handing off that baton successfully. That person is oh yes, I'll be there tomorrow.Really helpful.
most of the time we try to actually talk to the people, not just send a text or an email. And I have to say, no shows are almost non-existent.
For us. We're fortunate that way. Yeah. Yeah. It just works. 'cause I think everybody has that interest in it.
I have a Create Today membership where I help creatives figure out how they might want to start a business or map their way to success in selling something or finding clients or licensing their work or finding an agent to help [00:16:00] them find work.
And one of the things I always talk about is that if you want to make money with your art, that you have to do more than just make art. Because if you're just making art, then you have a hobby. But if you want to sell your art, then you really need to get in, roll your sleeves up and put on your business hat.
That's the only way to become successful as a creative professional
That is so important and clearly something that you are that poster child of 26 years later. Successful store. Yeah. Yeah. It, and it's gotta be that way because artists are artists, we've all got creative things going on and sometimes business is a background type of thing.
But you've gotta blend both of them to make 'em work, to make it really work. And if people don't choose one over the other. You are setting yourself up for [00:17:00] failure. Yeah. Yeah. I think what's important too is if you look at the artists that are here, this is our second or third act, and we're all coming from the business backgrounds.
Yeah. Yes. Good point. Yeah. I think that has a lot of strength in it.
But if you don't do that marketing, if you don't do that business, the accounting, the when we open, when we close, then you just have a hobby. If you aren't able to make that backend part successful, and Beth please, if someone is seriously considering this, don't have, encourage them to contact us because it is it's no use of trying to reinvent the wheel.
Yeah. We have a good wheel and it's nice and round and runs pretty good. So I think that we've done the, we've had some huge hiccup successes. We've had some hiccups. Yes. And, but we've survived. Yeah. Yeah. And I think with the fact of having 23 of us [00:18:00] that everybody's got different strengths, where everybody brings something to the table, which is beneficial as well.
Some more than others. Pete's got more than me, but No.
Why do I feel like a thorn between two roses? Because you are,
Okay. What I'd like to do now is go around our little table here and just talk a little bit about what was your past life and. And then how did you get started in the art that you're doing right now? So Gail, why don't we start with you and talk to us about what you were doing.
'cause your past life has nothing to do with felts nothing. Yeah, we moved here from New Jersey. So in New Jersey I was a town manager. I was also the township clerk, purchasing agent registrar [00:19:00] for three different municipalities. And that was the past 23 years of my career. Prior to that I was a management consultant.
When we retired, we were very fortunate and very lucky to pick Hill City. Like you said we were here on vacation. My husband looked around and said, I could live here. And at that point I'm like, are you nuts? He was absolutely right. So after we moved my husband and two dogs, we moved here seven years ago.
I just by chance took a class in wet felting. I made a scarf And now I'm making scarves and hats. I needle felt journals. I wet felt soaps. I make vessels. Baskets. Yeah. So it just took off. I think the texture of the [00:20:00] materials that I use really appealed to me and the colors that all come together.
IJI just did a podcast it was episode 84 and it's about handcrafts. And part of what I explored is that people who decide what handcraft they want to do, so much of it has to do with the senses, There's something about that material that just made you feel comfortable or brought calm to your brain,
And that allowed you to get into creative flow. And then suddenly that's all you wanted to do. You just wanted to go back and make more So that had to have happened to you during your class that you took right. And I, I think in starting with Nuno felting with, which basically is a piece of silk you start with, which has a very definite texture, and then you're adding wool roving to it, and making that come into one piece of [00:21:00] fabric is yeah, very interesting and very tactile and yeah, very challenging at times.
So much of what you do with handcrafts. Is setting up the senses for satisfaction. It's a smell that you that you experience. It's something in the texture of the materials. It's the sight that you see with the colors.
And if you look at the science there is an actual calming of the brain that allows you to settle down and
You, your brain has time to think while your hands are busy and it allows you to think about problems and solve them. Looking into your type of creativity, Gail, that is so unique.
So you just ran into a class, you just saw it like in a newspaper or saw it in the online or something? Yeah. There, yeah, there was a store down in Hot Springs that was, I saw online that was offering a class, and I'm like, okay, I really don't know [00:22:00] anybody here. And it was one of the first things I did when we moved.
Had you done anything creative before? No. It's amazing because I would consider myself to be a stick figure drawing. And I've found that I actually have more ability than I realized. And I never had the time. Being a city manager, I was working 60, 80 hours a week dealing with a lot of people, dealing with employees, and, police and, but she's better, but I'm better now.
Yes. But I, in, in talking about having the feel of what I do, I think that's a lot of it. If you think about what I did and all the problem solving and all the issues I dealt with on a daily basis, now I'm here and it's all nice and calm. So seven years ago you moved from New Jersey to South Dakota.
Yes. And you took that class. I want everyone to realize how quickly Gail went from, I think I'll just take [00:23:00] a class to being a successful artist selling her felt pieces that is like applause. Good on you. That, that might be slightly overachieving, but yeah. It's I have to say I've been in the gallery four years now.
This is my fourth year. Yeah. I definitely was very intimidated when I started because I didn't look at myself as an artist. But I went through the jury process and, everybody inspected what I had made and went, yeah, you can be in the gallery.
So I just. went for it. this is another thing I talk about on the podcast to grow as an artist. Yeah, you need to feel uncomfortable. And when you are feeling that icky feeling like imposter syndrome, I don't belong here, or you're judging yourself, You have to allow yourself to get into that awkward I'm uncomfortable feeling. Yeah. And that is where you grow. [00:24:00] That kind of a bravery is part of creativity.
I have to tell you, I don't even know what possessed me to even approach coming in here. I, it was a huge leap for me. Yeah. I love to hear stories like that When you feel uncomfortable, you have to think about that and say, actually this isn't a bad feeling.
This is a good feeling because this means I'm growing. Gail, if you have one of the pieces of your felt work that you could bring over to the camera, that'd be really cool.
Okay. So Pete tell us a little bit about what you were doing and that transition from your past life to your new creative life. That, I started out I grew up on a dairy farm, so it's work ethic that's not acquired. It's forced on you. Dad was always a hardworking guy and he instilled that in me.
And after college I joined Kmart when it was on the upswing. And of course, retail is unrelenting. [00:25:00] It just keeps going, whether you like it or not. And I did that for 17 years and then we'd come out here to the Black Hills from wherever I was working. Illinois, Indiana, and. It's just so peaceful and restful.
Even though there's millions of tourists running around, it's still a great place. It's a wonderful place. And so when I decided I didn't wanna work anymore with Kmart, I said, okay let's move to Hill City. Took us five minutes to decide where we were gonna move to. I got out here and I got a one year job managing a grocery store here, and they sold it and I wasn't needed.
And, at 44 I applied different places and you were overqualified and, a great way of saying, no, you're too old for this job. But I got into the hospital system, working in the budget and reimbursement area, [00:26:00] doing a budget for the entire system, Medicare cost reporting, which taught me a lot about numbers and,
I got 24 years in and I retired and it came down to I, I've still got this work ethic inside of me and I've gotta do something. And I was on the internet one day just looking at things and up pops this thing about sandblasting. And I thought I'm handy. I could probably do that, but I don't have a creative bone in my system.
I'm a black and white figures guy. But I tried it and And it all came together and I started making them.
And I'm going, dang, I'm making too many of these to give away. So I. Fortunately, this art gallery was here and one of the guys came and said, you've gotta be in this store. And so I came into it, this would be my [00:27:00] ninth year. And it's a matter of confidence too. Beth, you gotta have confidence in what you're gonna do.
Even though you have a lot of doubts, you have to have some basis of, I, I am skilled, I can do things,
just problem solving on how to make things work is a key part for me, I always look at what I gotta do next what's the next step up? You've always got to be looking, and I think the cases with both of these two beautiful women next to me they show that they're trying something new and different, and lo and behold it's working.
And you keep asking yourself what's next?
Yeah. But it's confidence and the ability to say, I can do that. Yeah, I, you're right. I think curiosity is a huge [00:28:00] part of keeping your creativity fresh, like you're saying what else is out there? Where can I go to find new ideas?
inspiration comes from the weirdest places, as you all know, right?
Yeah. You gotta see what's trending in colors and yes of course I have three daughters who are experts in telling me what to do, what, how, what color I should use and what I should say.
Yeah. And it just, things like that, you take chances.
Yes, exactly. Exactly right. Okay, so Nancy, let's talk about your lovely work and your background and how you started making things from. From old silverware and other things. Okay. I'm from Rapid City, so I've grown up, I've lived here my whole life.
I worked, I had a government job. I worked eight to five, Monday through Friday for almost 30 years. I was getting really burned out. I had always collected silverware. I had always collected doilies. I just like old things. [00:29:00] I like that. Patina like me.
That's why I like paint likes you more and more every day. Really old things. I don't mind a few scratches and patina on things. I think it, it's interesting. So I anyways, I always had collected all this old stuff and I had sold a little bit on eBay of the antiques. I dabbled a little bit and had a little booth in an antique mall selling old stuff.
I had all this silverware and just 'cause I thought it was pretty, it's way prettier than the new stainless stuff. Yeah. And I was working my job and my dad was elderly and he not doing well. I was trying to take care of him and it was a stressful time in my life. And I saw in a magazine, I saw a bracelet outta silverware and I said to my husband, I want to make one of these.
And my husband said to me. Okay. Don't hurt yourself. That was his exact words because I had not ever worked with power tools and I had to type, I typed for a living, and I don't think he wanted me to hurt, cut my finger or whatever. But anyway, so I got set up [00:30:00] in the garage with a clamp and a hacksaw, and I would work eight to five and I'd do supper and I'd be out in that garage pounding and hammering and creating something until midnight.
It was an escape for me. it was totally left brain, right brain from what I did for 30 years. And once I started I was hooked. And by God I was gonna get one of those bracelets made. And they weren't real pretty in the beginning, but I got seven of 'em made and I went to the little farmer's market and I sold all seven of my bracelets.
And I was hooked. And I think at that point my husband realized I was hooked. And so then he would show me how to, operate the saws or the drills or we did this one step at a time. So again, I wouldn't hurt myself 'cause I still have my job, but but confidence being a huge thing.
And of course when I sold those seven bracelets, then that was huge. And I kept going and I do a few craft fairs, where you set up and you sell. And my neighbors actually had were part of this gallery and they got me involved and I did the where you come and you, they look at your stuff and they accepted [00:31:00] me.
And yeah. And I, like Pete said, I think confidence is a big thing. And I think once I'm sold those seven bracelets, I have the confidence to. To move on. And I was ready to be done with my job anyways. I had 30 years in and I retired. And so here I am up here working today and I, it's good to be busy.
I enjoy doing what I do. I enjoy coming up with new ideas because I get bored doing the same things over and over. So we're always all looking for new ideas and we do get a lot of repeat customers, so you have to have some people say, me, what do you got new? Yep. And so my inspiration is antique stores.
I love antique stores. I love looking for different items that I can maybe make something out of. And yeah, so that's what my story and yeah I enjoy what I do and I'm glad that I have this outlet. And I enjoy the people I work with. Yeah. Couple things that you said that I think are just really worthy of unpacking for a second.
The first one was when you found that you [00:32:00] were enjoying trying to make this bracelet, you would work eight to five. That's a long day. And that you would go into your garage and you would work till midnight. And I'll bet you when you got in there, you'd look up and you'd go, oh my goodness, how did it get to be 10 o'clock?
How to get to be 11. Oh my, I need to go to bed. Exactly. 'cause the hours would just fly by. You were experiencing just a full blown creative flow that was such a beautiful feeling for you that you couldn't wait to get to your garage the next night and then the next night. And the next night.
And I think that Pete and Gail have felt that same thing with their products as well. And then talking about the confidence like Pete had brought up. It is such an important part of making that shift from this is just something I do for myself to I think maybe I'd like to try and sell something, making that leap from just doing something on your own and then being brave enough to open up yourself and show your [00:33:00] work to others and say, would you like to buy some?
So that confidence comes from being brave enough to show your work. And then,
how can I revise what I just did so that it'll be better next time? Even if you have success as you did with your first seven bracelets, Nancy, you then went back and learned how you could make them better, how you could make them faster, how you could make them with power tools. So you were continually going, okay, that was good.
What can I do better? And then what you do then is you're continually adding extra armor to that confidence.
And confidence also comes in the form of if you have a failure, you don't withdraw from it. You learn from it, and you try and improve it. Like you, you said. Yeah. It, so many people come in here and say, oh, I'm, I couldn't, do that.
And I tell 'em you, can. You just don't [00:34:00] know it. Yeah. Just gotta try. You gotta try. You gotta try, right? You gotta try you're gonna fail, but pick yourself up and move forward with it. I think all three of you in some fashion have said I never thought of myself as an artist.
I can only draw Stick figures. what so many people don't realize is that art comes in so many different forms. There are so many amazing artists out there who cannot draw.
And there's a lot of artists who can draw that can't make jewelry and they can't make beautiful sconces and they don't know what to do with felt right. And, but that doesn't make them any less of an artist. But it also doesn't mean that they couldn't have fun testing that out or trying it out on their own.
And occasionally I tell my creatives who are feeling blocked. It, maybe it's time for you to go and try something you've never tried before. You're a painter. Go do some pottery. You're a sculptor. Try writing in a journal. You're a musician. [00:35:00] Let's learn how to make sourdough bread.
What do you need to do that is maybe dichotomous from what you do all the time. And occasionally that'll unlock something that has put you in a box where you feel stuck. We're, yep. Yeah.
Yeah. Gail, were you gonna say something? Yeah, I just wanted to say, I know for me, you, when you get blocked, I think for me it's important, even if I'm not gonna create that day, it's important for me to go out and look at my wool, look at the colors, feel it and then walk away. And sometimes that just helps.
Bring something to mind. But I think it's important for me, I know to touch it almost every day. Yes. And Pete is holding up some of Gail's art. This stuff is the bottle. I felt this soap wrapped in wool is like an exfoliant, and I use it on my face around, my wife thinks I'm a little weird.
But this stuff, it's, it works. [00:36:00] Talk about unique. Yeah. And is that a journal cover or a book cover? That's a journal cover you. That is beautiful. Oh my gosh. Oh my goodness. That is. Absolutely gorgeous. Isn't that wonderful? Oh my gosh. Oh my goodness.
Look at that. You need to come back. You need to come back so you can see us again. Beth, for those of you who are listening to the audio and you did not just see that Pete is wearing this beautiful blue felt hat with a lovely, it's my color flower and it is, it matches his shirt perfectly.
So trending, this is the first scarf I made, this type. So this is what got me started is just, oh, that is beautiful too. It's red. So y'all need to come and check out the YouTube video so you can see that beautiful art. It was gorgeous. And Pete's work is in the background too.
And Nancy, are you wearing some of your jewelry today? Oh, I am. Yes, I am. I have, I'm not sure if you can see this, but this is, lift it up a little bit more. There you go. This is a fork bracelet.
Nancy's is [00:37:00] statement jewelry. So yes. Your jewelry is just a step up. Yeah.
I have an owl necklace on. I'm not sure if you can see this, but this is my newest little, these are owls. That's beautiful. Yeah. Yeah. I'm always trying to come up with something new, yeah. Yep. I love my bracelet. I wear it every day and I tell everybody I got this in South Dakota at this little great store in hill City.
It's you need to go there
Yeah. I was just wondering if someone had come out to your store, Gail, and they bought one of your soaps and then that soap had run its lifespan. Are they able to get more soap from you?
Do you have a way for them to reach out to you again, I put my card in every, with every soap so they can contact me. Okay, great.
And Beth, looking at the lives of the people who are in here, there's every walk of life in here. We have retired ministers numbers, people teacher, retired teachers.
We have retired art teachers, so if not, [00:38:00] it's not a, you have to have the genetics the DNA in you to do this. You are creative. Each and every one of you out there is just a matter of unlocking it, figuring out what it is that you can do. And yeah, it's not gonna be your best work at first, but you learn that the learning curve is what makes it special.
And as you get more experience, your product gets better. You're you feel more confident about what you're doing, which leads to other things. So it's an ongoing process. If you don't stop and if you stop, then you've got to restart and rebuild that confidence. Oh, I'm laughing because that's something I tell my students all the time that it doesn't matter how fast you go, just don't stop.
Stop. Yeah. I think a lot of it for us, because [00:39:00] it's also muscle memory. So if you stop, you're losing that innate feel for what you do. Exactly. Exactly. Everything has its technical part. You know how to run the saws and the drills and how to piece your felt together so that they look like a piece of artwork when you're finished.
It's like exercising. If you wanna, how quickly we lose that, right? Indeed. That is probably the best example. If you wanted to keep those muscles, you gotta keep at it all the time and then you do get stronger, but only if you keep at it. But it's, it is finding your niche that when you do it, you cannot help but go back to it.
I can't wait to get to my garage and work on my bracelets, because I imagine it was cold in your garage at times too. Oh, I have a heater, oh, that's good. That helped. But yeah we have a heated garage. We've since had. To build another shop because I've taken over most of the garage.
That's good. That's progress.
That's so [00:40:00] true. It's so true. I think most of us do some custom work too. Yes. I don't think we've touched on that. I know I had a friend get married and I had Pete make a wind chime with their names and their wedding date on it, I do, I've done work with the family silverware where I'll take the family silverware and make bracelets.
'cause grandma's got maybe one set and maybe there's multiple daughters and they don't wanna set silverware, but they'll wear a bracelet. Yeah. Gail's, I think I've done many pieces for grandchildren that are graduating or one that's going to art school. They wanted a sketch pad that I did a cover for or,
Yeah. I think you wrote in your questionnaire, Gail that once you get past the frustration of trying to figure out what they really want. Yes. I think that's how you wrote it. Yes, exactly. Yes. My, my last experience was I had someone come in, they called me and said, I really love your journals, but they're not me.
I'm like, okay, what does that mean? so sometimes it's tough to pull what people are [00:41:00] actually Trying to get out. So yes, a lot of people aren't really good at expressing what they want, but they know it when they see it. But and we just keep our fingers crossed that we hit the mark.
Yeah, I, you gotta listen to the customer and you can pick up a lot of different uhhuh hints from them when they're talking to you that it isn't me, this isn't me, but, you gotta be aware in the time, in the space with that customer and tailor to what they're saying to where you're gonna send them to in the gallery, right?
Yeah. To what's intriguing to them. Yeah. Super good point. Yes. So if people listening are wanting to know more about how to find you, what are the best way for them to reach out to the Art Forms gallery or to reach out to you individually as artists? And I know that we're only talking to three of, 23
artists. So you have so much beautiful art to show. So [00:42:00] how do people find Art Forms Gallery besides hopping in the car and driving to South Dakota? Or should we all just hop in the car and drive to South Dakota?
I highly recommend it. I had a beautiful visit when I was there. You can go to art forms gallery.com and that'll take you to our website, which we don't maintain that well, but to Facebook face. But it go, it's also tied into Facebook. Now, be aware that there's another Art Forms gallery in Kansas, so make sure you got the Hill City one.
We're the I'm not gonna say we're the good ones, but we're the better one. We're the ones in Hill City, we're ones in Hill City and someone, we monitor it and we can reply to you. However, you can call us people can email me.
Yeah I think we'll definitely get all this information in the show notes. And anyone watching [00:43:00] can hit reply on any of my emails you might be getting and I will make sure that I get you the information you might be needing, especially if you're thinking, yes, I would love to learn the wheel that's working over at Art Forms Gallery, so I don't have to invent that for myself.
And I am interested in getting a co-op in my area together. What would that look like? We'll be glad to help anybody outside of Hill City, right? Or the Black Hills or the Black Hills
Oh, you guys have been just a delight today. I had so much fun. I think I was in your store for close to an hour when I was there picking out a bracelet and just chatting with you and Pete. I, because I don't think I met you Gail when I was there. No. But now I feel like I should have because you're just, you've been a delight today.
nothing lights me up more than finding artists who are just bright, shiny people because they have [00:44:00] found creativity that gives them meaning and gives them a way to give back into a world that really needs original art in their lives. So sharing your artwork the way you do and then sharing it with me again today, this has been a gift to me, and I'm sure to everyone that will be listening to this episode today.
everybody should know that this it's a journey. When I first started, I could not call myself an artist. My cards say fiber homesteader because I couldn't take that leap to being an artist. Ah, yes. I hope you have changed that moniker since then. Yeah, I, yeah, have in my mind I have, yes, I have an episode that I talk about.
What it means to be an artist and that there isn't a certification, I did an interview it's been a while ago now. with a engineer who turned artist [00:45:00] and it, took years before she would say she was an artist because she just felt I didn't get schooling for this.
Yeah. How can I claim that I'm an artist, you don't have to have a degree from a collegeor a certification you can put in the window. It is just a spirit that envelops you, And that's what makes you be able to say, I'm an artist, and it has nothing to do with how beautiful your stick figures look.
the other thing that's really important about this gallery is we're part of this whole community, these artists are very generous. I'm on the board of a Humane society. When we have a fundraiser, people just give me art that we can do, or the garden club with a flower show. So that's also important, especially in a small town like this.
And your store was lovely because the experience inside there was just as inviting as the products that I decided to buy and bring [00:46:00] home with me.
that kind of memory is part of the souvenirs that you get when you are on vacation. So you are helping the people who are visiting get that full feeling of what South Dakota is, and then you give them that little slice of reality to take home with them so they can remember the trip they had and then move back after they retire.
'cause it clearly is the place to go. Go. Exactly. And we also act as tour guides too. It's have you seen this? Have you seen that? Pull out the map, give them directions. Oh yeah, we're full service here. Yeah, that's a good point.
Yeah. I know that the store is gonna open for you in about 10 minutes, am I right? Yes. Yes. So I will let you get to your busy day, but I want to say thank you again and to everyone that's listening to this episode, take a look at what you're doing.
Have you found? What lights you up so much that you [00:47:00] cannot wait to get to it every single day? And then if you have that little creative side hustle that you've been working on, are you curious about making it into something that could become an art forms gallery like we have just witnessed here in Hill City, South Dakota?
Think about what you could do with your creativity and no matter where you go and what you do and how you do it, my friend, I wish that you stay creative. Thank you so much for joining us today. I have loved our discussion. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Thank you. Bye-bye.
Alright, I'm gonna stop the recording. You don't, yeah. There we go. We got it. Got it. Yep.
Up there, Pete, you all right? Yeah. Okay. We're gonna get Pete's too. We're gonna get my card. [00:48:00] Okay, good. Now that's some of my work that I've done. Yeah. Oh my gosh, Gail, your work is so beautiful. Thank you. You're go up there. Back it up a little bit. There we go. Okay. Perfect. Yeah. Whoop.
Okay. Yeah. There we go. That's good. That's good. Thanks Pete.
