Artful Alchemy 052824

Jilly B, the host of Artful Alchemy, discusses her love for the creative arts and her journey as an artist. She talks about her inspiration from her grandmother and her experiences as a college professor and graphic designer. Jilly explains her unique monoprinting technique using a silkscreen and how she incorporates personal items and photographs into her artwork. She emphasizes the importance of finding inspiration in nature and everyday objects, and how artists can convey meaning through their work. Jilly also shares her love for drawing at the beach and encourages others to explore their creativity. Hello, welcome to Artful Alchemy. I'm your host, Jilly B at WDRB Media. Today we get to talk about the creative arts where we dive into an artist's life, the business of being an artist, and some inspiring artists of our time. I am a mom of three creative daughters. I've been a college professor teaching graphic design and media and visual arts with all the drawings and all the Adobe software. It's just awesome. I went and moved from New Hampshire down here to North Carolina and I absolutely love it. My daughter lives with me and we sit and we go through photographs because she's a photographer and I love being able to look out my windows, sit and I can draw. So it's been a whirlwind over the past three years and it is just absolutely love it. I am here because I absolutely want everybody to know about the art world. Not just how an artist deals with art, but also how they look at things. My grandmother taught me everything I know and then I went off to college and I absolutely went and studied all sorts of art stuff, but it's not the same as actually being and living in a house with a woman who did art every single time you turned around. She was painting, she was drawing, and I was right there with her. She'd hand me that pencil and paintbrush and I'd be covered up to my elbows in it. So I went and I talked to her about it and she showed me how to draw, how to hold a pen, how to use the ink, dipping that ink into the inkwell, using the paintbrushes and everything. And then I went to college and I learned this technique and I used my drawing on it. It is a technique using a silkscreen. It's not your favorite thing as in getting a silkscreen for your printing for t-shirts and things. It is using a silkscreen for drawing on. It's called monoprinting. So I draw on the thread on the screen, not painting it, not using anything, but it's using watercolors and drawing on it. Once I draw on it, I go through it and I get one beautiful print and then I get some light prints. And then I go and I take those light prints and I take ink and I draw into those light prints again. So it is like adding more details into it and I add more structure to it. And then I start using a pencil in it. And then sometimes I go and I add collage, which I add in old music note paper and I add in some old photographs. So my artwork is part of my personality because there's things that I see, there's things that I have touched, things that I've gone and used, like old spice jars or old paint brushes and an old hymn book or my old photographs from the family. Yeah, I make copies. I don't use the originals because they're too precious. I make those copies and I put them right into my paintings. And it is a way for me to put my heart into my art. And that's what many artists do. So on Artful Alchemy, we're going to make some of those discussions of why we do that and why an artist uses things in their life that they come across or why an artist may go and touch people through their art by getting them to look at things in a different way. My inspiration came from not just my surroundings and things I have, but my daughters. My daughters inspired me to go out and take the photographs and take the drawings that I use. And they are part of that inspiration because they show up with their faces and their actions in my work. I am also a graphic designer. I have worked as a graphic designer for over 30 years and I was a college professor for a while. And being a college professor, you see all these things that students do. And my experience as a designer has made me very much a person who looks at things not just as in balance and colors and for the technicality of it, but also through the student's eyes and seeing their personality come out. And when I did go and move from New Hampshire to North Carolina, my students said to me, why are you leaving? I'm like, I don't want to deal with the snow anymore. They decided that they wanted to go and give me a party. It was silly because the fact that they went and they made me this giant size card, big poster board, and it was all their artwork mushed together and they handed this card to me and they said, you're not allowed to leave because we don't want you to go. So it was a nice, nice day for me to say goodbye to them and no more snow. And the day that I moved, I had to shovel out about almost a foot and a half of snow to get into the moving truck. We came down here and I'm not moving back, not going back. There's too much here for me to draw, for me to be inspired by because it's all new things and that's what helps an artist overall to be continuously making work. You have to be inspired by new things and I love being able to see that, being able to be a graphic designer. I go and get to see all the new branding, all the new designs that people say, well, can you do this or can you do that? It's like, yeah, I can do that. What inspired you to get to that point? And they tell me about it and it helps me be inspired to make the designs for them. So as an artist, I am very glad that I made the move down here. Right after this break, we're going to make, we'll listen to some music and then I'll tell you some more. I used to spend my nights out in the ballroom I used to spend my nights out in the ballroom It was the only love I've known But you rescued me from reaching for the bottom And brought me back to being too far gone You're as sweet as Tennessee whiskey You're as free as strawberry wine You're as warm as a glass of brandy And honey, I'd stick on your love all the time I'd look for love in all the same old places And the bottom of the bottle's always dry But when you poured out your heart, I didn't waste it Cause there's nothing like your love to get me high And you're as sweet as Tennessee whiskey You're as free as strawberry wine You're as warm as a glass of brandy And honey, I'd stick on your love all the time I'd look for love in all the same old places And the bottom of the bottle's always dry But when you poured out your heart, I didn't waste it Cause there's nothing like your love to get me high And you're as warm as a glass of brandy And honey, I'd stick on your love all the time And you're as sweet as Tennessee whiskey Tennessee whiskey And you're as sweet as Tennessee whiskey Tennessee whiskey Tennessee whiskey Welcome back to Artful Alchemy You know, I wanted to let you guys know that I was in a gallery show up north And the place was at a beach and it was a very inspiring place to be But I had all my artwork there and in the gallery there it was not just my monoscreen prints of the watercolor paintings and stuff It was also all these other artists and they were artists that I didn't know So I would walk around that gallery looking at these things and think, how did they come up with this? Where did they find this information? What is that item that they were drawing? And then all of a sudden you look at it and you recognize it and it's like this light bulb goes on And people have had those moments of light bulbs, all of a sudden that aha, it's like, oh, I get it I understand it and oh, that's what they were meaning when they did that drawing So that's one of the things that we're going to discuss on Artful Alchemy Where the ideas come from What did I do to get those ideas? I know myself, I find my ideas a lot of times in nature Just looking at the beauty of what's around me and understanding that things in nature only last for so long Yeah, a tree may grow and grow and be 50 or over 100 years old for some of these big old trees But other things, they come, they die, they come back And you want to know the difference of looking at it and understanding that yes, a flower is going to bloom And the fact that grass grows, but what kind of grass is it? What kind of flower is it? What kind of tree is it? They're all different And when you start looking at those details, the nature of how they came about and with those details And then you start looking at, okay, people are making buildings, people are making cars, people are making objects How did they come up with those ideas? Where did those designs or where did those shapes come from? Well, an artist looks at how things are made, how things get put together And then they interpret those with meanings of what is relating to them And as a designer and an artist, the inspiration that artists come from give that also meaning So where that person's coming from, what they're inspired by brings out that artwork And the inspiration for that artwork gives it that meaning So talking about that is one of the things we're going to really get into I have gone and I've been a designer and an artist for many years And when I develop things for myself or for a client or for social media or for just the fun of it It is inspired by things around me What do you think inspires everybody? Are you inspired by what you see or what you do? I want you to think about those things when we are coming back next week We're going to talk about what inspires you to sit, to draw, to grab your sketchbook and pull that out and start working in it I enjoy sitting and creating My favorite place to sit? You wouldn't believe it Sitting in the sand in the beach with a cup full of salt water from the ocean A paintbrush, my pen, my pencil, and not just any pencil Your regular number two pencil that you can sharpen And just sitting with a sketchbook and drawing I draw the people on the beach, the people in the water I draw the water I pick up the shells on the ground Draw those shells I may draw them the size they are I may draw the size of the whole page for one little tiny shell I sit and I can do that because I'm inspired by what's around me I know that being able to draw Many people say, oh you can't draw, I can't draw, I can't draw And it's like, no, you can take the time to practice, you draw Yeah, okay, that's a stick figure But taking a stick figure, you start putting clothes on it Okay, now it's a 3D figure You start adding figures and shading to it Now it really looks like a 3D figure So it's a process of taking it step by step to learning to draw And once you learn how to draw, you can draw almost anything But the thing about it is that you may not want to draw You may want to just paint And painting doesn't have to be an exact Painting can be an emotion Painting can be just lines and dots and shapes Or splatters even Because that is your emotion getting out And that's what a lot of art is It's an emotion or inspiration from something To show people your feelings on that artwork And I enjoy doing this And I think over time, people would know how much joy Can bring people for doing their work If you've never been to an art museum or an art gallery It's time you get out there and look Because what's in front of you now may not be there 10, 15 years from now That representation of a vehicle may be here But it's not going to look the same now as it does in 20 years from now The representation of having things in your house Like an object of a vase or things like that Things change over time Well, an artist goes and does that painting or drawing Of those objects and vehicles and nature and things And they become almost a moment in time Preserved through that artwork And that artwork can either be abstract It can be extremely detailed and representational Or it can be an inspiration where it's a piece of work That actually looks like it But you're not so sure that's what it is It keeps you guessing and thinking about what's going on And that's the best way to do this When you start doing your artwork It's going to be questionable You're going to look at it You're going to go, I'm not so sure I did good I don't really like it Well, once you get past that hump And you say, yeah, I did good I like what I do I like that And that's where I'm at I like what I do I like what I create I want to show it And being able to have that in the gallery It was wonderful I have tons of artwork at home I have my studio My studio is filled with work I end up turning around and I go, I hang it I live with it It's on my walls in my home And I actually went and I got it in a gallery up north still And I have it And looking to get it in a gallery down here in North Carolina Being able to show your work Also gives other people the joy of looking at it And being able to see it And then they have feelings about it They may not be the same as what you have But those feelings give a representation of what you've done They also show people what you've done And being able to look at artwork And get the feeling of what the artist meant When they did it That's all the better I enjoy being able to tell people about art What is it? Everybody knows the word art But art can be almost anything It's not just visual It can also be a solid piece of sculpture It can also be Artwork can also be the design of something Whether it's your kitchen table and chairs Or it could be even that painting you have on the wall Do you know what it means? Your meaning for it can be different than mine But being able to have a meaning that represents it And say, oh I like that Okay, why do you like it? I like it because the colors are red Or I like it because the style is very comfortable That's different for everybody So let's go and we're going to talk about that In the next couple shows And I want everybody to get the idea That art is not just something that's a painting on the wall Art and design is everything you see You can have a feeling to it Yeah, that commercial or the advertising on the wall You may not agree with it Or you may absolutely love it But it's still a version of art I will be talking about the business of art Being an artist And some of the things that an artist's life would be like And at some point we're hoping to go And we're going to have a few people of artists That I'm going to talk to And being able to talk with others about art Because art is a very interesting way To see other point of views He can have my truck sitting out in the drive He can have his house and his thing inside My baby fishing hole and my old dog too But what he'll never have Is the love that I have for you Girl, I hope and pray You and me grow old Few lines on our face Few million stories told But if I leave this place Find another hand to hold It hurts like hell to say But make sure he knows He can have my truck sitting out in the drive He can have his house and his thing inside My baby fishing hole and my old dog too But what he'll never have Is the love that I have for you Oh, he's half a man as me But baby, there's no way he'll see what I see He can pile up my stuff Or burn it all down But girl, your love I'll take to the grave He can have my truck sitting out in the drive He can have his house and his thing inside My baby fishing hole and my old dog too But what he'll never have Is the love that I have for you Have for you www.imaginebeestudio.com www.imaginebeestudio.com Yeah, you talk about Getting even further south Somewhere where the summer lasts all year round Probably got a big old diamond on your hand right now Maybe a baby or a couple by now Gonna drive away to a big white house But I wonder when you're thinking if you Find yourself thinking about That boy from East Tennessee And I know we both knew better But we still said forever And that was seven summers Of cold blues and comfort Were we dumb or just younger? Who knows? Back then you used to love the river And seven on a sixer with me Does it ever make you glad to know That was seven summers ago? Yeah, I met your daddy so proud Of how his little girl turned out I think she dies a boy Of a good old boy like me Cause I still go drink and sing friends on Friday Bought a few acres, couple roads off the highway Guess you never thought things my way anyway But I wonder when you're thinking if you Find yourself thinking about That boy from East Tennessee And I know we both knew better But we still said forever And that was seven summers Of cold blues and comfort Were we dumb or just younger? Who knows? Back then you used to love the river And seven on a sixer with me Does it ever make you glad to know That was seven summers ago? Seven summers ago Seven summers ago Yeah, I wonder when you're drinking if you Find yourself thinking about That boy from East Tennessee And I know we both knew better But we still said forever And that was seven summers Of cold blues and comfort Were we dumb or just younger? Who knows? Back then you used to love the river And seven on a sixer with me Does it ever make you glad to know That was seven summers ago? Seven summers ago Seven summers ago She was sitting all alone Over on the tailgate Ten legs swinging by a Georgia plate I was looking for her boyfriend Thinking no way she ain't got one Soon as I sat down I was falling in love Trying to pour a little sugar In her dick And I know we both knew better But we still said forever And that was seven summers ago Seven summers ago Seven summers ago Seven summers ago Seven summers ago Seven summers ago Seven summers ago Seven summers ago Seven summers ago Seven summers ago Seven summers ago Seven summers ago Seven summers ago