Reflections on Biography and Handiwork

Meet the author:
Hi! I'm Caris (rhyming with Paris). I moved to the Chattanooga Valley to attend college 5 years ago. After a brief stint back in my tiny Virginia hometown in 2007, the scenic city beckoned again and they haven't been able to get me to leave since. I'm happiest anywhere there are people to get to know and beautiful things to create or study. When I am not chillin' at my sweet place of work, I love to spend hours making jewelry and analyzing life. Hope you enjoy my thoughts! Love,C

Two weeks ago this Saturday, the art-loving people of our fair city descended upon the galleries of Chattanooga. Most artists everywhere are nothing if not social beings, so I was not the least bit surprised to see faces of every color, shape, and size all aglow with the anticipation of viewing and purchasing new works, old works, even not-yet-completed works of art. The warmth of Gallery Hop night should not be attributed solely to lingering September heat, nor the stir of wine and good food. Instead, the atmosphere was one of barely contained jubilance at the sharing of this thing we call Art.

After the close of the evening, artist Shaun LaRose was packing up his paintings when a friend asked his eldest daughter if she had been the inspiration for his work "Talk to Me," which pictures a bird nestled in the hands of a young chesnut-haired girl. She replied with the admirable honesty of a 10-year-old, "Um, not really. I know it looks like me, but that tends to happen in Dad's paintings a lot." She had struck upon something big -- Shaun's work is what it is because of his life as a husband, a working father of five, as a student and entrepeneur. His own story flows through his glaze-laden brush.

A few days ago I received another confirmation of this incarnational essence of art. A new friend of Umbra had dropped in for some birthday gifts to herself. Our conversation built from discussing e-commerce and artists' cooperatives to a stirring question: How many craftspeople and artists must be waiting for their chance to share their creations with the world? To put it simply, my fascination with the stories behind each objet d'art in this shop was much rejuvenated within five minutes of casual chatting with her.

In short, the twin concepts of biography and handiwork are what could keep me at Umbra 24/7/365, poring over artists' webpages and catalogs. (I mean, this is what Jamie bases her entire business on!--the Umbra, the deepest part of the soul made available for others to see, touch, and taste.) I am constantly intrigued to discover the little things that have transformed regular Joes and Janes into the makers of the beautiful works you see in this store. I just can't get enough of these stories, so allow me to relate just a bit about two artists whose tales have been the object of my affection of late.

Judy Vilmain and Patrick Meyer are both making their marks in metalcraft. Though very different in approach, each is blazing a trail as a new pioneer of pewter -- a medium that has been in use for no fewer than 2000 years! A mere 10 years ago, Vilmain was an experimental psychology professor with an ache to turn her hobby into a lucrative operation and to turn that into a vehicle for philanthropy. Her full line of functional objects for the home perfectly evince her biography as the daughter of a handcrafter mother and a physicist father. Pick up an understated leaf magnet or a gently weighted trinket box and you'll find the meeting of one part geometry and rationality, one part heart and hands. Her cohort, Patrick Meyer's works are fashioned of the exact same medium, but oh what a difference of aesthetic! Meyer began in university too, but from the other side of the lectern. His first career as a jewelry designer for some of Paris' premier fashion houses began with studying design at the “Ecole des Beaux Arts de Paris.” He has thus always been involved directly in the arts, and it shows in the industrial/ ethnic appeal of his nature-inspired dishes and serving ware.

Hungry for more tidbits? For more biographical goodies on new artists, check out our monthly artist feature in the right-hand sidebar. September features jewelry artist Amy McClure. I would love to go on, but I would end up with reams about Shadow May and Thorn Ridge Studios and Bella Luz and Jen Burrall and Tabbatha Henry and...so, just be sure to check here soon for more artists' stories. Or visit the shop to see their beautiful works firsthand!