We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jules Koreman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jules, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I first knew I wanted to pursue a career as a studio artist when I was 19. Before then, I was always interested in art, but I was pursuing a career in chemistry and material engineering. My art professor encouraged me to apply for the New York Arts Program, a study away program that granted credit for working as an artist assistant in New York. While there, I gained incredible mentors from the director of the program, Emilie Clark, as well as the artists I was assisting, E.V. Day and Lee Boroson. I was able to visualize and understand the day-to-day workings and schedule of being a working artist. At the same time, my mentors were teaching me art making techniques and studio management skills. In exchange, they would look over my sketchbook during lunch break and offer me a space in their studio and their tools, such as an industrial sewing machine, to work on my own artwork after hours. Before then, I knew it was possible to be an artist, but the program gave me examples of how I could shape my personal and professional life to support an art practice. I also became confident in my skills as an artist while helping create work that went into museums and art fairs. I realized I had the technical skills and capability to learn how to create my own large artworks that were museum or gallery ready. Overall, when I look back at that time, I realize that being exposed to artist practices, museums, and readings amplified my motivations to become an artist. But what really sealed the deal was showing my sketches, ideas, and artwork to my mentors and receiving their encouragement. Ultimately, having the validation that my ideas were thoughtful and interesting from older artists was what made me confident to move forward into creating step by step goals to become a professional artist.

Jules, 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?

My name is Jules Koreman and I am an artist based out of my hometown, Chicago, IL. I work predominantly in sculpture — usually in wood or sewn form– but I also dabble in performance, mold-making, and assemblage. My sculptures are made of modular components that are rearrangeable. I’m drawn to rearrangeability as a way to question the stability of architectural forms, bodies, and memory. All of my works feature a tether of sorts – be it a realistic object, like a chessboard, or a literal anchor, like a homemade wooden hinge – to reconnect abstract components back to the real, embodied world.

Professionally, I just received my MFA at The University of Chicago and started teaching at the University of St. Francis. I also started working at Full Spectrum Features, a film non profit that produces and supports the work of women, BIPOC, disabled, and LGBTQIA+ filmmakers. Recently, my work was exhibited in “things, us” at The Plan in Chicago, IL and I came back this summer from an All-Staff session at ACRE Residency.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My first goal as an artist is to ensure that I am allowing myself to cycle through different stages of creativity. When I was younger, I was critical of my ability to produce art consistently. As I’ve met and formed deep relationships and community with other artists, I’ve learned to let go of my association of success and productivity. Residencies, such as ACRE residency or Field Work at the Chicago Artists Coalition were key turning points in which I was able to talk about and witness the creative cycles of other artists. I learned that very few artists are constantly making art. Additionally, My MFA program allowed me to talk about and problem solve through artist block artists whose careers I had always admired. Speaking honestly and candidly with other artists about working through many stages of making changed my entire mission as an artist.

Slowly, I began to prioritize identifying and allowing myself to work through different eras of the creative cycle. I identify those eras as: Building roots (prioritizing the basic needs of myself and my loved ones), Observing the world (reading, viewing art, witnessing life), Gathering (research, collecting material samples), Imagining (sketching, making models), Testing (material tests, measuring installation spaces), Planning (drawing up models, creating task lists, ordering materials), Enacting (building, sewing, making), and Sharing (installing work, going to residencies, going to openings, applying for opportunities).

Currently, I’m going between the building roots, sharing, and observing the world stages. I graduated from my MFA program six months ago and I’ve felt a real need to rest after a period of heavy planning and enacting work. Now I’m prioritizing setting up a new studio space as well as a career to support my studio practice. I’m also spending some time observing my own life for inspiration and visiting galleries and museums to discover what other artists are invested in.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I had known more tools to professionalize my art practice when I was younger. Right when I came out of school, I had no idea how someone actually got their artwork to be shown in a gallery. Most of the work I made ended up sitting in my parents’ basement or was re-purposed into new artworks. It wasn’t until I attended Field Work, a professional development residency at the Chicago Artists Coalition, that I learned about tools like artist statements, artist bios, or how to apply for an exhibition or residency. Other tools, such as working with curators, how to create a schedule working in a studio, or how to balance working a 9-5 job with a studio practice, were all learned through my job experience as an exhibitions intern at Hyde Park Art Center or as a Studio Assistant. I’ve also learned that residencies are a great place to ask other artists about resources and share my own knowledge. A great example is doing an artist statement editing exchange, or working with other residents to create a list of exhibition resources.

Contact Info:

• Website: juliakoreman.com
• Instagram: @jules.koreman

Image Credits
Image Credits: Amy Shelton Robert Chase Heishman Ben Kolak (please verify image credits for each image)