I plan to do a project of Columbia local artists. My possible subjects include:
Paula-Allen Thomas (nicknamed PJ), freelance painter and wedding photographer. She was in the army before she enrolled in school and studied graphic design; after a few years she found her passion in photography and painting. For PJ, art is her career.
Gloria Gaus, manager of a landscape maintenance company and freelance landscaper painter. She has a business career so art and painting are merely her personal hobby and minor income source.
Marilyn Cummins, freelance magazine editor, painter, bass player in a jazz band. She is also a mother of a fifteen-year-old boy who is a young talented musician. For Marilyn, art is both a personal pursuit and a bond linking she and her friends and family together.
I am also contacting a young girl who does clothes design in Atlandish Gallery, downtown Columbia. She does the whole process of designing, making and selling women clothing, including handmade skirts, sweater dresses and small accessories.
My story is about how the local artists live their lives and how they see their own art. Since art is only part of each of them's life, what do they think of this part? Is it a method of delighting themselves when under pressure, a passion or dream which makes their lives more beautiful, an opportunity for them to know friends and getting well with family members, a life pursuit that pushes them to become better persons, or simply a way they make a living? How does it feel to be an artist in small town like Columbia, and how those different feelings change their lives? I think it may be an interesting story to tell.
