We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cheryl Derricotte. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cheryl below.
Cheryl , appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
I took my first glass class at the Washington Glass School in DC. During my second class, I made a lighted sculpture about world poverty that was written up in the Washington Post. The co-director of the studio, Tim Tate, encouraged me to go to the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina as that is where he had learned to blow glass and develop as an artist. He found out that Therman Statom, the most famous Black glass artist on the planet, was teaching a class that summer so Tim wanted me to go right away to see someone who looked like me who had made it. Representation matters.
The next year I went back to Penland for two months to study Venetian-style glassblowing with Claire Kelly. I felt it was important to be rooted in my craft, as the studio glass movement in America was the direct result of Venetian glass masters who came to teach in the states. Although I loved glass-blowing, it takes a lot to keep a hot glass furnace running 24-7! I decided to settle into warm glass (kiln-fired work) as that kind of equipment seemed more attainable to me. Over the past 20 years I have continued to go to Penland periodically for classes to strengthen my skills, and I have also taken online and in-person workshops at Bullseye Glass.
Cheryl , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Hi! I’m Cheryl and I am the CEO of Cheryl Derricotte Studio. Located in San Francisco, CA, my studio makes glass art and work-on-paper that is well-suited to individual collectors, museums, public art and corporate collections.
My art has been featured in the New York Times, The Guardian, The San Francisco Chronicle, MerciSF and the San Francisco Business Times. In 2021, I was awarded the commission to develop a monument to Harriet Tubman at the new transit-oriented development Gateway at Millbrae Station. The sculpture will be 12 ft. tall, including a center section of glass tile featuring an 8 ft. tall portrait of the abolitionist; when installed in 2022, it will be the first sculptural tribute to Harriet Tubman in glass. To receive studio news and invitations, join my community here: https://www.cherylderricottestudio.com/connect
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
BOOKS Money Drunk, Money Sober by Julia Cameron and Mark Bryan (of The Artist’s Way Fame)
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King
Art & Fear: Observations of the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles and Ted Orland
The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield and Shawn Coyne
The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More w/Less by Richard Koch
Year of Yes: How to Dance it Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rimes
ESSAYS
The Death of the Artist—and the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur by William Deresiewicz for The Atlantic
1,000 True Fans by Kevin Kelly, https://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/
100 True Fans? Try 100 by Li Jin, https://future.com/1000-true-fans-try-100/
(Even Kevin Kelly loved this update to his theory! See his tweet Feb 6, 2020)
FILMS
Daughters of the Dust, by Julie Dash
(The first feature directed by a Black woman and distributed to theatres in the U.S. in 1991)
Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working with Time by Thomas Riedelsheimer
Amazing Grace: Aretha Franklin by Allan Elliott (realized by) and Sidney Pollack (uncredited, original director)
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I stand for art and liberation. I think a lot about the “isms” and “phobias” that sadly remain pervasive in daily life, so I work to foster a more inclusive society. I am known for putting historical and educational content into my art to fuel our contemporary conversations about thorny topics like race, equity, memory and place. I believe art gives us the space to confront society’s challenges; the gallery, the museum and the public square are the brave places that welcome our inquiry.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cherylderricottestudio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cherylderricottestudio/
- Other: Habatat Detroit Fine Art, June 2022 Featured Artist: https://www.notgrandmasglass.com and available works on Artsy: https://www.artsy.net/show/habatat-cheryl-derricotte-glass-boys-portraits-from-american-factories re.riddle San Francisco/Paris/London: https://www.reriddle.com/cheryl-derricotte
Image Credits
Artist Headshot, Nye’ Lyn Tho, Photographer Glass Boys: Portraits from America’s Factories, Donald Felton, Almac Camera, Photographer How I Crossed Over, (3-color screenprint), Courtesy of the Artist The Autobiography of the The Late Mary Ellen Pleasant, Courtesy of the Artist.