We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jessica Schimpf. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jessica below.
Jessica, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?
Are you happy as an artist?
I was once asked this a few years ago at a public event for KNPR Reno, affiliated with The University of Reno (UNR). I think the public was quite shocked at my answer. I didn’t realize that so many people were so hopeful to hear that art was everything for the artist. I didn’t realize that so many people wanted to be professional artist’s themselves because it seemed admirable, and inspiring. I also didn’t realize that artist’s do a great job of pretend that this job is ONLY wonderful – I think we are a bit scared to tell the truth about what it takes to bring your art to life.
It’s a double edged sword making the love of your life your day job, and beyond that an even deeper crazier journey to then own a company and put your work out there for the world to see. Art is a vulnerable career with many perks but it also takes an unfortunate toll on your body, your mind, your relationships, your life, your family, your everything. As a professional glass blower I can’t tell you how many times during the week I feel exhausted, defeated, and misunderstood. There are times my family and those close to me simply cannot understand why I’m so physically tired, can’t think straight or do not want to go out and be around people.
There are tons of times that i’ve been told that my job isn’t important or necessary. And it isn’t – making pretty chandeliers and lighting certainly isn’t critical but it does light up my customers lives a little bit. The memorials I make from ashes brings peace on some level to my customer’s families and that does bring me immense joy. There were also countless times in my career I have been asked “to speak to the male owner” or “where’s the man who makes this work?”
During lessons I have had students consistently ask what my “real job” is, or “you can’t make that much doing just THIS”. The assumptions are incredible and are in the back of my mind every day. As a female I feel like being the face of my company has been a real eye opener in the terms of understanding this male dominated industry and our nonexistent representation as female glass makers.
When you are 100% committed as an artist you also become obsessed and so driven that you solely focus on your career. That is truly what it takes to get huge commissions and the type of bids you want for projects you never dreamed of. There is something really beautiful though about making your dreams come to life. And though there is huge risk there’s a great reward. Every day I get to step into my beautiful shop and know that every dollar spent on my property came from my hands alone. As a creator there is no greater gift than to feel financially stable and secure – and to share this gift with others. I do feel incredibly lucky to do this every day when for years it was only a crazy dream I had.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Jessica Schimpf, the owner and lead glass artist for Mantra Glass Art LLC. MGA was brought to life the year after graduating from The Maryland Institute College of Art for sculpture in 2010.
In 2010 I was working for Grounds For Sculpture & The Sculpture Foundation. We made incredible building sized metal sculptures for cities and collectors around the world. I was one of the welders on our team and was making million dollar works for the company but being paid around 20k a year to do all of the very hard labor. I suddenly realized after meeting a few famous artists at the studio that this was not okay anymore and that my career was worth far more than me than to be paid poorly and to risk my health with the welding fumes and issues I saw there.
I walked into my first glass studio around 2010 and never looked back. Though I loved pouring bronzes, welding and doing metal work I knew the first time I saw liquid glass that this material would forever be my thing. It was the most difficult art form I ever tried and was so beautiful to my soul. I felt something i’ve never felt sculpting glass and I still have that amazing feeling every time I touch it.
What sets me apart from others – BEING BOTH BRAINED has been a godsend. Where most artist’s cannot focus on the business side that is where I thrive. I talk to every customer, handle every order, built my website, take 99% of my photos on the website and edit them, write all of the content, schedule everything, pay every bill, run financial statements etc. I absolutely love that my ability to focus on the create and analytical side has helped propel my business to a level that I always wanted!! I saw a huge issue in my industry where chandeliers and lighting were being made for an astronomical amount of money. So I made work slightly more affordable for builders, interior designers, companies and home owners which benefits both parties. By creating variable pricing for my products, I capitalized on working with people from EVERYWHERE in the world.
After I interned and did several apprentices with glass artists I noticed that they were also having issues with NET 30 terms for customers. I immediately made my business made to order and this keeps business booming and customers wanting our products even more. We have 8-10 week lead times on most lighting and customers are willing to wait because they know our worth. I couldn’t believe that artists bend over backwards to try to collect payments and ask for money on items already sent to customers!
What am I most proud of?
My history started as seeing glass at local events, then working for trade time in studios to gain hours in the shop. From there I assisted a few artists and was hired onto several teams. Then I moved onto renting studio time solo which is very hard to get time at studios and very costly – they will give you approx 5 hrs a week of time which no one can make a career out of. If you can even make it through that process which is highly doubtful about 5% of us get to own our own studio.
Out of that 5% maybe 1% is female who make it to the top where they own their own company AND shop. I realized very early on women were not included in the boys club of glass and they made it very hard for females to rise to the top. In recent years however we’ve seen a massive shift in women in glass thankfully! They still however rarely get to own their own shops.
Glass studios are run by 2-4 people and never alone, I knew that this endeavor would be difficult but I knew I could do it by myself. My family pushed me to this level and never gave up on me, I’m so proud to share all of this with them every day. I still cannot believe I own my own facility with everything I need to create anything I want right nex-tdoor to my home.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
1. Society should stop telling artists that they’re born with a gift or have some magical gift of creativity they were born with that others don’t. First this leads to artists having insane egos and second – I have had so many students tell me they are not born with the gift, then shortly realize that with time, perseverance and believing in themselves that anything is possible. I was so horrible at glass blowing when I started that I had artists telling me to please not pursue this career path because of how clumsy and generally non-gifted I was. I almost didn’t follow this path because of those people. I have been told that I “just don’t have it” but now everyone tells me how talented I am.
That is because of the 20k hours of glass blowing you didn’t see me doing in the past 15 years. It’s also because of my Mom, Dad and Sister who pushed me to succeed even when I told them I knew I was not talented enough to do this. They told me to keep going and that I had to, for them. Imagine what you could do if those around you believed in you when you didn’t believe in yourself? Could you imagine how many more artists there would be in this world if we were encouraged to be artists as adults and told that you can make incredible money? Imagine if we spoke about artists the way we speak about doctors and lawyers?
2. Buy from your local artist. It’s simple but spending money on a local artists not only benefits the artist it benefits the community. Why are we spending money on cheap products overseas when we can shop local or in the same region and have incredible hand crafted works? I think that we are on the right path to valuing hand made items more, there has been a big resurgence in glass, pottery, metals and woodworking – but painting and printmaking for example still has yet to have its massive resurgence in society.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
1. Take every local class you can on business, ecommerce, SEO, and how businesses work on the internet and research the heck out of it. The best thing I ever did in college was take every after class program on business, finances, photography, how to build websites, design your own business cards etc. This did wonders for my company and now I am in control of all of my branding, marketing and design for my company saving me so much money over the years!
2. The best resources i’ve found for finances are online – make sure you understand taxes for artists because they are different. The internet is free and open for you to use – so sincerely, use it to your advantage and spend your time researching JUST AS MUCH as you do creating.
3. Ask artists you look up to about how they run their businesses, most of the time people are very friendly and willing to help. When I started my company, I spent years researching other companies and also called glass studios across the country about how they operated their businesses, how they managed their expenses and how they could afford to make glass art since it’s so insanely expensive to make. I was shocked at how many people called me back and gave me valuable advice I could not find elsewhere.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mantraglassart.com
Image Credits
Jessica Schimpf, Mantra Glass Art LLC