Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kay Curtis. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kay, appreciate you joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I decided to be an artist before the age of 10. When I left college at 18 after two years I had already been producing hand block printed greeting cards to buy books for my courses. I jumped coasts from Vermont to California and spent the next 25 years supporting myself and eventually 3 children with the cards, soft sculptures and paintings I made in my home. The various Cooperative art Galleries and Craft Fairs gave me a community of like minded artists. Most of my income came from the over 150 wholesale accounts that carried my work. These included Museum gift shops and Galleries.

At 48 I decided to move back to Vermont knowing that a post office was all I needed to earn a living. However I had a moment of doubt that my work would not be as successful and so I opened a Reggio Inspired art school in my two car garage. For the next 17 years I watched children make art and form friendships. The solitude and isolation of working alone on my art had been interrupted. Little did I know at the time this was essential for the next step in my creative work.
I formed friendships with parents who longed to make art but saw no avenue to make this happen.

In 2019 I rented a very large space that was very conveniently located in downtown Brattleboro.. I used my new connections in the community to fill the 33 memberships for the Collective. I will not pretend this was easy because it took many sleepless nights. The $5000 I invested was the last of my retirement savings from the school and so stakes were high.

The algorithm worked. By the end of the first year, even with a COVID epidemic we had more people wanting to join than we had spaces. Artists wanted their work to be seen, and they wanted a community of other artists to spend time with. It was the perfect formula. An artist/bookkeeper showed up and she shored up the finances. If an artist could not meet the monthly rent there were others willing to pay to have their work spots covered. When I was unable to navigate the Facebook, Instagram and website hoops there were others for whom this was their favorite place to play.

We are now in our fourth year and stronger than ever. I think of HARMONY COLLECTIVE as a school for artists. Just as the children in my school were able to become confident of their art making, now the grown ups have the perfect place to gain skills and inquire about their own making. The artists who have been making art a long time are able to offer help to those who seek advise. We all marvel at the customers and which work they chose to take home.

And yes at 71 I have made art my whole life. I always liked “Do what you love and love what you do.” I must add I am grateful to all the patrons who purchased my work over the years to make my dream possible.

Kay, 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 call my business Smile: Art Makings and work in a 10X20 foot studio in my back yard. For most of my career I put in a solid ten hours a day on the floor cross legged sewing sculptures or designing cards. My style is whimsical and recognizable and the handmade quality is always evident. I have let go of the sculptures and the working on the floor and now my work is found in HARMONY COLLECTIVE and other galleries behind a frame. The gouache and India ink resist method I use mimics the skills I acquired in carving linoleum block prints but is performed with paint and a brush. I work in sets on a theme and tell a story with my characters.

I also participate in many community activities that shape the world around me. This year I began giving art classes to children all ages in multiple settings. Children have always been the best teachers for artists. Ask Picasso…

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Being an artist has allowed me to understand the value and the gift I have had to be able to always be in an inquiry about how to make this a better world. My idealism is able to play with my images to constantly reinvent what is possible.

I often speak to other people about their lives and am impressed with how they work in order to one day get to do what they most love. I think we have it all backwards and should focus on what we love and then work to have that be our means of support. We live only once and if we teach ourselves to suffer through our days because there is a reward at the end we are using a model that usually fails.

Let us redesign the schools to have children explore what brings them delight? Then the studies can be about how to acquire the skills to do this for a lifetime.

Perhaps we can teach children to need less stuff, live on less and to find value in doing what they love.

“Someday is Today.” Corita Kent

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I thought my success would always come from an effort I made alone. Create a line of cards that are in demand. Gather loyal accounts by going gallery to gallery. Sit for hours and focus on completing the work promised. All mostly a monologue for many of the years I called myself artist. I thought this was my way and who I was.

In 2000 when I was forced to open a school in order to channel my art energy into teaching I did so with great reluctance. At least 50 adults or children entered my home each day expecting my attention and help. However something shifted and I became aware that I was being taken to the next level of understanding by understanding teams. There was the team of educators I worked with, and the children were learning to be on teams. The parents considered me to be part of their team for whatever their child was experiencing. The State sent in teams to assess my performance. There were other educators for whom I advocated on behalf of, and we were a team.

At the end of this stent I could return to my own art making 100% knowing that one is successful if one can form teams. The HARMONY COLLECTIVE is a team of 33 artists. This invention in our town is perhaps my most successful achievement to date.

Contact Info:

• Website: Kaycurtis.com
• Other: My work can be seen at HARMONY COLLECTIVE: Artist Gallery 49 Elliot St. Brattleboro, Vermont 05301 I can be emailed at curtisk@together.net