We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Charlecia Joy Cole a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Charlecia Joy, thanks for joining us today. Innovation comes in all shapes, sizes and across all industries, so we’d love to hear about something you’ve done that you feel was particularly innovative.
Stapledon Arts is revolutionizing the Art Supply Industry by championing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. We accomplish this through our three pillars: Representation, Art Education, and Professional Development. Oftentimes when thinking about representation in the arts we think about the artists that are being amplified and included on the walls of major museums and galleries. We may also think about what artists are being talked about in schools. However, rarely does the conversation include what types of materials/tools young and emerging artists are exposed to.
Throughout my 10 years in art education I have served thousands of students and portraits were the most requested assignment. So I set out to find skin tone paints to meet the needs of my diverse students but options were few. I had to resort to helping my students mix their own complexions, which took up half of the class period and left us exhausted. I knew that there had to be another way to not only serve diverse students but also create resources to better support the art educators engaging them.
Overall, innovation in the visual arts is about pushing the boundaries of creativity and exploring new ways to express the human experience. Our product Melanin Series is a set of acrylic paints featuring 12 inclusive skin tone colors with artists of color in mind. Melanin Series is a tangible way to combine both representation and material processes. Our colors are suited for all races. This product makes it accessible for young, emerging, & professional artists to represent themselves, their identities, and the diverse communities in our world.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Charlecia Joy. I am an artist, art educator, and entrepreneur. I began refining her artistic skills at Parkway Middle School of the Arts and Dillard Center for the Arts in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. I then went on to earn a BFA in Theater Production: Scenic Design from the University of Florida, a MA in Art and Art Education from Columbia University, Teachers College, and also holds a K-12 Visual Arts Teaching Certificate in New York State. Throughout my career I have designed sets for community theater, facilitated community art and mural projects, and have taught high school visual arts in the South Bronx with NYC Department of Education for many years. All of these experiences inspires the work that I do through Stapledon Arts and informs our inclusive art materials.
Stapledon Arts addresses the lack of representation in the visual arts through inclusive art materials. To make our mission tangible we have created a line of custom acrylic paints with people of color in mind. Melanin Series is a set of acrylic paints that feature a variety of 12 inclusive skin tone colors. Beyond offering our products we also provide youth workshops and professional development for emerging artists and art educators. Our vision is that Black & Brown communities are empowered through seeing representation, having access to quality art education, and receiving support in activating their creative skills to impact the world around them.
We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.
Author Toni Morrison says “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” There wasn’t a set of acrylic paints with an authentic range of hues to represent my beautiful students; so I set out to make what I couldn’t find! First, I tried to create paints on my own. After a year of trying to create the paints on my own while simultaneously teaching full-time I realized that there was a huge learning curve, limited time, and lack of resources. I took a three year hiatus before getting back to it.
When I approached this again I decided that using a manufacturer to private label the paints was the best route. I began by calling architectural paint companies within the US; most were unable to help because it was not their industry. Yet there were a few who were interested in my mission and were kind enough to point me in the right direction. After speaking with a few companies I realized that I did not have the funds to produce the minimum amount of paint in the USA.
Next I started exploring overseas companies. I watched YouTube Videos on Dos and Don’ts, joined Reddit groups and asked questions, as well as asked within my network for advice. After learning as much as I could I had to take a leap of faith and invest in creating samples. There were multiple pre-production pilots with my diverse students, a select group of BIPOC art educators, as well as kind BIPOC artists all aiding in creating this product.
What I have learned is that manufacturing takes patience, persistence, and faith. There is a true disadvantage without the capital to hire formulation scientists, build a manufacturing plant, or travel to many overseas locations. Yet, community is what motivates this work, my students inspire this work, and my belief that I belong in this space keeps me going!
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I’ve been in the art space for my entire life. I began as a devoted student of traditional visual art practices and after reaching a level of mastery I became bored with engaging the arts in the academic and traditional sense. This led me to explore Scenic Design, Mural Design, Community Arts, and finally Art Education in the K-12 classroom. I would say that my journey took me full circle. What I have noticed along the way is the divide and constant tensions of art philosophies; some value art as a primary form of expression and act of social justice awareness while others favor the building of skills and techniques. As a Black Woman and my work is intersectional and takes on a holistic approach that marries individual experiences and materials processes. This is what made me interested in using art supplies as a way to provide inclusion in a highly subjective and segregated space. Through our inclusive art materials we are making a greater impact one classroom, art studio, and community at a time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.stapledonarts.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stapledonarts/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stapledon-arts/