Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Courtney DiMare. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Courtney, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I was lucky enough to be introduced to metalsmithing in high school. I was introduced to basic bench skills like using a jewelers saw, soldering, and even lost wax casting. It was obvious to me that I wanted to be a jeweler so I attended Maine College of Art in Portland, Maine for a Bachelors in Fine Art. Even with the experience I already had, I still struggled to keep up with everyone. I was determined and stuck with it and learned so much during the process. While I took classes in all the important techniques, I learned the most when I was working on my own and had the opportunity to experiment.
What could I have done to speed up the learning process? I do believe that learning a craft well takes time and practice and that there aren’t shortcuts. I did find that I procrastinated in the studio a lot because I was afraid to fail. Once I changed my mindset to embrace failure, I started to produce significantly more work of better quality.
I think that generally art degrees are undervalued. An art education is rigorous. The understanding of technical skills and material is just the beginning. We are taught how to research, and to make deep connections with critical thought. I like to tell my students that a BFA is a degree in problem solving. All these skills were critical to my development as an artist.
More often than anything I was the one who stood in my own way from learning and growing. Being an artist means that you usually live in a constant world of rejection. It takes a mental toll. To fight this, I just continue making because work makes work. Once you master your craft the possibilities are endless.
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
I’m an artist who works primarily with copper. My work consists of clothing jewelry hybrids that combine the sentimentality and materiality of jewelry with the coverage and protection of clothing. As a woman, I often feel vulnerable in my own skin. The expectations and the exploitations of the female body are hypocritical and problematic. I find myself conflicted with how to present myself. Should I be modest with my adornment to avoid the unwanted gaze? Or should I exhibit myself to celebrate female empowerment? My work explores these ideas through their interactions with the wearer. When worn as jewelry, the work acts as an additional protective layer. When worn as clothing the work is more precarious, providing coverage through the whims of the natural movements of the body. They act as accessories to the woman’s choice to reveal or conceal herself. This series romanticizes my memories of historical dress and elevates those memories to empowering pieces of jewelry.
The process of making these wearables is a conversation between body and material. The material is forced against the body to take on its shape and form. It is then electroformed, transforming the material from thin and malleable to rigid and strong. Electroforming is a process by which metal is deposited onto a surface using electric conductivity. This transformation flips the conversation, the work may now exert dominance over the body, constricting and conforming it to a proscribed shape. This making process captures a memory of a state of mind and shape of a body. This making process speaks to my sentimental practices in adornment.
You can find my work at various exhibitions. My most recent show was on display through the month of April at the Goldmark Cultural Center in Dallas.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
That is hard to know. I don’t feel like a lot of the work I make is sellable. I make most of my work as a commentary about my relationship to my body and they lack a universal wearable size. My dream consumer is someone like Lady Gaga and others like her who would like custom metal bodices specially fit to them. Until that happens, I appreciate commissions. I get a lot of requests for rings and jewelry that you’d find at any run-of-the-mill jewelry store, but if you look at my work you’d see that it’s not what I am well practiced in making. What thrills me the most is when someone commissions me to make something that is in the spirit of what I normally do, that makes me feel like what I love producing is what people want. Other than commissions, I appreciate when people just follow my journey and tell their friends about it. Social media is a special kind of beast that I’m still learning. But other than that it means a lot to me when people come to my exhibition receptions and talk with me about my work. The more you share and fan over any of your creative friends’ work the more likely that someone who can financially support their practice will find them.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
I just love to make things. Most of my daydreams are trying to construct and build random objects in my head. My mind is always busy, but when I’m working it finds moments of peace where I can just focus on what I’m doing and zone out the rest. My studio practice is very personal. It allows me the freedom to work through feelings and problems through my hands. I like the idea that I’m working toward something that is going to exist after I’m gone. Leaving something behind means something and hopefully someday my work is treasured. There is something romantic about communicating through objects with the hope that they can provide a new perspective to a viewer. Making art never gets boring. There is always something to explore and learn. Artists get to travel to research their inspiration. It’s a really unique purpose that comes with a certain point of view and an expectation that the work you’re making is meant to have a profound impact on people. At times it feels like a lot of pressure, but I can’t imagine a career more exciting or meaningful.
Contact Info:
- Website: CourtneyDiMare.com
- Instagram: @sparkleyCourtney
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-dimare
Image Credits
Stephanie Gerhart