Student artists market and sell to support their creative dreams
In a few short weeks, many of the students who presented their art and handmade items at Handmade Pop-Up will be college graduates entering the workforce, about to take on the challenges of earning a living as an artist.
And thanks to the hands-on experience they gained at Skidmore, they’ll be prepared.
A number of the senior art majors who presented their work at the fourth annual sale April 26 at the Tang Teaching Museum spoke about the process like seasoned professionals, aware of their strengths and the challenges ahead. They also showed eagerness to test out new approaches to marketing their artwork.
Emma Fritschel ’19 dyes and stitches fabrics to make one-of-a-kind items. Her environmentally conscious goal is to avoid textile waste. She uses scraps from other projects to create beautiful, functional items.
Emma Fritschel '19 talks to a customer about how she recycles fabrics to make items such as zippered pouches and bags.
She calls herself a Handmade Pop-Up veteran, having participated all four years at Skidmore. As a result, she spoke with confidence about what types of items her Pop-Up customers would like.
“I do a lot of clothing, and it is hard to sell in this sort of setting,” Fritschel said. Instead, she offers items like zippered pouches, wallets and pencil cases at the event. “People really like them.”
She used a papier-mâché technique to craft a bowl as she interacted with her customers. “I like being able to show people my process,” she said.
Monica Hamilton ’19 was selling her photographs in the form of postcards, a project she calls “Singularity.” She took a road trip to the American Southwest and Midwest last summer, funded by Skidmore’s SEE-Beyond program, and captured the landscapes like she would a portrait, tapping into each place’s “persona.”
“I’ve found that postcards are an easy, accessible way to have an art print,” Hamilton said of catering to her audience. She was selling at Handmade Pop-Up for the first time, but has sold at numerous other Tang events and student sales.
Ilie Lichtenstein ’19 hand-draws designs, scans them and screen-prints them onto T-shirts.
A student holds up a shirt designed by Ilie Lichtenstein '19.
“I do a good amount of sales and I have for a while,” she said. She was at Handmade Pop-Up to debut some new designs, as many of her customers had been asking for the same ones for a while.
Other students were at Handmade Pop-Up to sell their work for the very first time.
Evan Hasencamp ’20 creates jewelry, focusing on the sculptural elements as he cast and fabricates.
Evan Hasencamp '20 designs and fabricates sculptural jewelry.
“I’ve never sold my stuff,” he said, admitting that he had – perhaps not shrewdly – given it away as a means of finding out what people wanted in the past.
Matthew Neporent ’20 creates prints, larger-scale drawings and metal work.
“I want to learn how to accurately price my work and find my demographic,” he said.
Matthew Neporent '20 shows one of his drawings to a potential customer.
All of the students were from Elizabeth Dubben’s Marketplace for Artists class, which has been teaching artists how to market, package, promote and sell their work for the past four years as part of the Arts Administration Program’s Entrepreneurial Artist Initiative.
As instructor, Dubben has to stay on top of current trends and ways to reach different audiences.
The students “keep me on my toes,” she said. “We learn from each other.”
As the executive director of Troy’s Collar Works, Dubben interacts with the arts community outside of Skidmore as well, and she brings those experiences and connections to the classroom.
The class is “very hands-on and dialogue-based,” she said.
The Entrepreneurial Artist Initiative was the brainchild of Skidmore alum Molly Haley ’64, founder of Marblehead Handprints textile company. She continues to serve the students as “mentor-in-chief.”
Molly Haley '64 chats with Siobhan Lowe '21 during Handmade Pop-Up.
“I love working with the students. They bring so much energy to the classes,” she said. “I’m confident that they will use everything they’ve learned in the workshops, classes and internships to become successful artists and entrepreneurs.”
The Entrepreneurial Artist Initiative recently garnered attention from New York Makers magazine, which called the Handmade Pop-Up “one of the most exciting events for students, and for art lovers who want to support them.”
