We were lucky to catch up with Charity Hall recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Charity, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I majored in biology as an undergraduate at Colorado College, where I became fascinated with field botany and rare plant studies. I also wanted to fulfill my creative drive, and when I discovered that my college offered a variety of non-credit art classes, I signed for a jewelry class taught by Dindy Reich, even though at the time I had no particular interest in making jewelry. Learning metals techniques was mesmerizing – everything from sawing, soldering, and forming metal. I continued taking classes in metals, weaving, and paper making over the rest of my time as a student. Every winter, the Colorado College Arts and Crafts program held a craft fair, in which professional artists would sell their wares alongside the students. That was my first experience with marketing and selling artwork.

Years later, after working professionally as a botanist and biological surveyor, I received a scholarship to attend a ring-making workshop at the Penland School of Crafts. Bob Ebendorf and Tim Lazure co-taught the class and were also professors in the Art Department at East Carolina University. They told me about their M.F.A. program, and I entered that program a couple of years later. It was a fantastic opportunity to expand my skills and concepts in metalworking and enameling —both of which have been absolutely essential to my work— while also exploring printmaking and woodworking.

Charity, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a metalsmith and enamelist in Blacksburg, Virginia. I make jewelry (both one-of-a-kind pieces and everyday wearables) and small scale kinetic sculptures, inspired by insect and plant biodiversity. As a former botanist, I am interested in the intricate relationships between art and science. I completed my MFA in Metal Design at East Carolina University in 2008 and taught Metalworking and Design at Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona. In 2013, I moved to Blacksburg, VA. The allure of science remains strong, influencing every piece I create, and I still roam forests, collecting specimens for natural history museums. I also teach jewelry and enameling workshops at Penland School of Crafts, John Campbell Folk School, and for many other craft schools and guilds around the United States. In addition, I work as the communications manager for CERF+, otherwise known as the Craft Emergency Relief Fund, a wonderful non-profit organization that supports craft artists throughout the United States and its territories. While these three facets (science, art, and working for CERF+) might seem disparate on the surface, in reality, they are constantly overlapping. For example, when I travel to teach jewelry workshops, I will often point out the local flora and insect fauna and how they can inspire art –sometimes taking students on impromptu nature walks. Teaching workshops also allows me to connect with other artists and engage in conversations about their artistic practices and the work that CERF+ does to support the craft community.  

Artist Statement
My exploration in metalwork and enameling illustrates a diverse array of entomological life. However, dissected, manipulated, or scrutinized, these organisms remain elusive and woefully unappreciated. Anthropomorphically biased, we focus only on the exasperations specific to the human condition—the blood thirsty mosquito, stinging wasp, or menacing cockroach lurking beneath the stove. So ready to smack, squish, and spray, we fail to appreciate the evolutionary aptitude and anatomical brilliance of these savage bugs. From intricate venation patterns within glassy wings to microscopically formidable tarsi, complex microcosms of line, form, and texture abound. Despite our cultural aversions, insects are the successful progeny of millions of years of evolution. They will continue to flourish or perish, irrespective to the blinds of human perception, long surpassing our own evolutionary blip. Perhaps the real aggravation then is not the pesky mosquito to the human, but the human as the ephemeral vexation in the eternal reign of the insects.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think a lot of non-artists assume artists are not professionals, except for those who are in in the rare, top tier. There is an assumption that artists are always struggling, that we don’t know what we want to do, that we are hobbyists. These are true for some artists, and NONE of these are bad things. But a lot of artists are also resourceful, savvy, successful, and annoyed by the ‘starving artist’ assumption. Like any other group, we are multi-dimensional.

Making art is difficult. It is far easier (economically, emotionally, logistically, and intellectually) to work a 9-5 job. Over the years, I have tried both and everything in between —working full-time as an artist, having a normal 9-5, and seeking a balance somewhere in the middle. I have tried to balance what I want to create to appease my own creative interests with what is “sellable,” but as I get older and know more about what sells well and how to do that, I recognize that sometimes succeeding in making my work sell comes at the expense of expanding creatively; this is the antithesis of why I became an artist. My goal is to make more time to work on the kinetic sculptures that I am most intrigued by, even though they take exponentially longer to make and may never sell. I care more about the process of making those sculptures than the income I might derive from it. It helps too that my part-time work with CERF+ is something that I care deeply about since CERF+ helps so many artists. Being passionate about my work outside of the studio also benefits my artistic work.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I was lucky in that I actually learned of CERF+ when I was a graduate student. A lot of craft artists know CERF+ as the organization that gives grants to artists facing emergency, career-threatening situations. But many don’t know that CERF+ also offers a ton of information available to support artists’ careers, such as how and why to obtain business insurance – these are resources that artists of any discipline can use. Thankfully, I have never needed to make any insurance claims, but having the peace of mind that my artistic practice won’t fall apart should something unexpected happen is a huge relief.
I also highly recommend looking into artists residencies, which are an excellent opportunity to refresh and refocus on a project. There are many programs out there now that are grant-funded. Organizations are increasingly recognizing how important it is to reach historically underserved populations and are really working hard to improve their outreach and inclusivity.
Finally, in a lot of places, local arts organizations are a great way to get to know other artists and people who support them. Working as an artist can often feel isolating, so it’s always great to know other artists in your community. Being around other artists is refreshing because you don’t have to explain yourself all of the time – something that many of us feel we are constantly doing around non-artists.

Contact Info:

• Website: charityhall.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/metalbug00/

Image Credits
Charity Hall