Hometown Creative Q&A
Meet Artist and Author, Stacey Pilkington-Smith
By Megan Patrice Sheerey
Photos courtesy of Stacey Pilkington-Smith and Nic Milam
Stacey Pilkington-Smith talked with Hometown Magazine about her creative process, inspiration, and the challenges and rewards of being an independent creative.
Hi Stacey! First, can you give an introduction to our readers about yourself and your studio?
Hi, I’m Stacey Pilkington-Smith, owner of The Blue House Studio. I am a mixed-media artist and illustrator, who specializes in watercolor, oil, acrylic, and mixed media. Previously the owner of Gallery 27, I changed gears during the pandemic to create the studio.
During Covid, I had to close the gallery for several weeks and realized that my art and interests had taken a back seat to operate the gallery. Being someone who hates downtime, I decided to create The Blue House Studio keeping all the aspects I loved most about Gallery 27.
The Blue House is painted blue as a nod to Kahlo, and is filled with all the things she loves!
We offer art classes for children ages 8-11, youth ages 12-17, and adults 18 and older. At the Blue House, each student receives individualized instruction and a curriculum tailored to their skills and interests. Our college and portfolio preparation programs have supported many students in gaining admission to leading art schools, including Savannah College of Art and Design and other private art universities. Several of our students have also received awards. In addition, we now offer digital art and illustration classes.
In addition to operating the Blue House Studio and creating your own art, you have also written, illustrated, and published your own children’s book. What was that process like for you?
I’ve wanted to illustrate a book for years but it can be a hard market to enter. So with an Arts & Science Grant, I was able to write and Illustrate my own book! At the time, I had bees on the property and thought it would be cool to create an ABC book based on beekeeping and the Blue House. The art was the easy part, actually. Being an indie author is not as simple as some might think. There’s a lot of behind the scenes work to do.
As an artist, what are your main sources of inspiration?
The Appalachian Mountains and the history, folklore, and ecology. I love going on hikes and seeing what inspiration I can find. I have a greenhouse at the Blue House where I grow native plants that have also shown up in my artwork. I also love researching the history of the areas and seeing what folklore inspires my own art.
You’re also very involved in the local artistic community in Lincolnton, and have created some of the most well-known murals downtown. Which community art project has been your favorite so far?
The “Welcome to Downtown Lincolnton” mural. I had a great crew and support.
How would you like to see the art community continue to thrive here in Lincolnton? What are they getting right, and what could be improved?
Honestly, I am not qualified to say what a community should or shouldn’t be doing. The art world is always changing. I love the quote, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” So, I personally try to create events and shows in our community that reflect what I want as an artist within that community whether it’s here or in a different state, and/or now another country.
I purchased an RV last year allowing me to move and work in different markets. You can definitely tell which areas support the arts through the amount of galleries, music venues, privately owned restaurants, and public programs for the community. I usually sell and show well in those areas. If community leaders value art and providing artistic opportunities to its citizens, the community will also value art, which helps local artists residing in a valued art community.
In the past, I’ve often felt frustrated by the opportunities given by a certain community for artists. I met that frustration with creating my own place, and community in the gallery and the studio. While I can’t speak for a whole entire community, I can offer this advice to other local artists, don’t wait for someone to give you an opportunity, make the opportunity.
What would you say is the biggest challenge facing artists today, not necessarily in Lincolnton but overall?
There are three challenges I hear and see artists struggling with today. A lack of support in space for artist work as the galleries are almost a distant memory, public funding, and AI.
I’m fortunate that I’ve been able to find exhibit space since closing the gallery but it hasn’t been easy. This also affects public funding for the creation of new works if you don’t have gallery representation or space adequate to meet the many qualifications of public funding. So this kind of goes hand-in-hand with challenges artists are facing as galleries and public funding dry up.
The bigger cities get most of the money due to the size of their population, so sometimes I don’t think public funding is adequately distributed. Artists who have sole proprietor, or business licenses should reflect in those numbers and how the funds are divided. I think we could do a better job of this by state commission studies, analyze artistic work through income taxes, and or, Bureau of Labor Statistics to produce a more fair allocation of funds.
And AI is a great tool when used responsibly, but it should never replace the product. AI work is a creation but not by the hands of another artist, which is no longer hand crafted. It has no soul. I’m also seeing a trend where artists, graphic designers, and content creators are charging big fees for the same amount of work being done by AI. Ethically it’s not right, and that’s my opinion. I have seen so many artists at trade shows so frustrated by a person downloading AI onto cups, shirts, canvases, and jewelry passing it as their own to unsuspecting customers at the same price as a hand made item or for mere dollars that no artist could compete with.
Stacey Pilkington-Smith is an artist, art instructor, business owner, and children’s book author. She owns and operates The Blue House Studio in Lincolnton. To learn more about Stacey and her work, visit thebluehousestudio.com.