Melinda Schawel

Background

Born in Illinois, USA, raised in Georgia, Tennessee and California. Currently residing in Melbourne, Australia.

I grew up in mainly small, southern American towns which taught me everything about where I didn't want to be. Racism, evangelism, conservatism - lots of isms - were rampant in these places which seemed to be breeding grounds for never-ending cycles of similar beliefs. It was quite suffocating and I knew from an early age that I would have to leave. I was also raised by a single mother who moved around a lot, which had its own share of challenges but I did acquire a certain resilience and a curiosity for new places, which no doubt impacted the type of artist I am today. 

Education and training

BA in Communication Studies and Art Studio at the University of California Santa Barbara, USA 1993 and Post-graduate, (Honours) in Printmaking from RMIT, Melbourne, Australia 1995. (participated in an Education Abroad Program at LaTrobe University in Australia in 1990-91).

I was always a very diligent student and my choices in high school were geared solely towards entrance into a good university in an interesting location, which would be my path to a different life. At the age of sixteen, I made the difficult decision to move from Tennessee to my father's home in California in order to establish residency there and avoid out-of-state tuition. I would first further my education, then travel heaps, meet fascinating people and find a career I was passionate about, and university was the first step in that journey. UC Santa Barbara was a coastal campus 1.5 hours north of Los Angeles, situated on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean and suffice it to say, I thrived in this setting.

I had some formal art training at UCSB as art was one of my majors, but my primary ambition at that time was to pursue documentary filmmaking or educational TV. However, my undergraduate painting professor, the late Ciel Bergman, was a standout inspiration and my first role model in the arts. One day she formally declared me a ‘colourist,’ which seems a simple thing but had a huge impact. She took a group of her more serious painting students to her studio regularly for discussions about art and was the first person to encourage me to take it seriously.

My ‘a-ha’ moment didn’t come until I graduated and spent 2 years in Japan, which I credit as the turning point for my career in the arts. I lived and worked in a small rice-growing town, teaching English and studying Japanese, and a wide variety of arts including sumi brush painting and ikebana. I developed a deep connection to the Japanese people and culture before returning to Australia in 1995 and becoming a citizen in 1998. Overall I think the experiences of travelling widely and living overseas (Japan 1993-1995, Switzerland 2001-2005 & back to the USA - Savannah GA & Brooklyn NY 2008-2012) have been my best teachers.

Creative space.

My current creative space is my studio on the lower level of my house in the bush burbs where I live in Eltham, Victoria, 20 km from the city of Melbourne. There is a plethora of native flora and fauna and no shortage of walking/hiking tracks to escape to every day, which I have been particularly grateful for during Covid.

Summarise your industry experience

While studying printmaking at RMIT in 1995, I was fortunate enough to get my first industry job at Port Jackson Press Australia (PJPA), publisher of original prints. I worked with artists, technicians and collectors in various roles, while learning about Australian art and critical lessons about art as a business. It provided unique insights into the art industry from multiple perspectives and gave me the confidence I needed to make the leap into pursuing my own art career. I believed I had a decent chance at success because of the specialised industry work experience I acquired over the four years at PJPA, in conjunction with what I was learning in my printmaking course. During that time, a confluence of events also influenced my decision. While I exhibited and sold my first works at the PJPA Gallery, an art consultant visited my studio at RMIT and purchased all of my final folio work, and I also received a number of commissions. So from the get-go, I had some early commercial success and was forced to consider and negotiate terms for my own work. Essentially it taught me what art schools rarely do - how to make a living as an artist. 

Every art school has a different approach but by all accounts, they seem to have one thing in common - a lack of practical knowledge about what it takes to survive financially as an artist. Some questions that I don't think get answered or discussed (or perhaps not asked either) are: 1) Do you want to go down the commercial exhibition road or academic path or try to do both? 2) What is the best way to approach a commercial gallery for representation? 3) What steps should you take before you do that? 4) How will you support yourself in the meantime? 5) What does a gallery contract look like? 6) What should you expect from your life as an artist and from your gallerist? 7) What are your short term & long term goals? 8) How do you write an effective grant application? 

I think there is a great deal of shortsightedness about the notion of art as a business, it seems to automatically take on a negative connotation, but what it should do is encourage artists to simply think about their art career in a professional manner and others will do the same. Accruing knowledge about invoicing, tax, GST, contracts, commissions, and insurance, whilst developing a strong work ethic, may not be the sexiest undertaking, but it will assist greatly in setting up a sustainable practice that will ease anxiety in the short and long term. It also usually means some amount of networking and self publicity is necessary. This seems to be a tough pill to swallow for many artists but the reality is, there is an incredible number of talented, creative people out there, competition is fierce, and you need to be able to articulate why you do what you do, sooner rather than later. Often it is a 'work in progress' and difficult to clarify, as I can attest to, but you need to chip away at it bit by bit until it comes into better focus.

You will also more quickly realise when someone does not have your best interests at heart. Over time, every artist will undoubtedly come across a gallerist or consultant who may not pay them on time or at all, may not return work or return it damaged, might try to undervalue their efforts when negotiating commissions (ie expect some work for free), the list goes on! Understand your contractual obligations, read the fine print, find trustworthy representatives. An artist friend of mine recently discovered that a real estate developer was using her images illegally on all of their marketing material. In this case, there was no fine print, she only found out because someone noticed and told her, she then collected all of the evidence and reported them to Viscopy, the copyright agency. Life as an artist not only requires an element of pragmatism, it also often requires artists to wear multiple hats, including solicitor and sometimes private investigator

What would you do differently now?

My varied experiences, mostly good, a few bad, have led me to this point so there isn't much I would do differently. There’s also been a fair amount of ‘right place in the right time’ luck involved and in a relatively small industry, so much is interconnected. For instance, my first exhibition opportunity at Flinders Lane Gallery in Melbourne, was directly related to my job at PJPA. The Flinders Lane Gallery Director at the time visited the PJPA gallery, saw my work and when there was a last minute cancellation from one of her artists, she asked if I would fill in. I had pieces available, jumped at the chance and the rest is history; they have been my Melbourne Gallery now for over twenty years.

Another less positive experience, was a big commission I undertook whereby the consultant involved changed the terms of the deal after the work was already finished. I was prepared to walk away from this project, but came back to negotiate and it was eventually resolved in my favour. For every win there have been multiple rejections/negative critiques along the way which initially stung, but over time have become motivating forces. A willingness to plug away despite the highs and the lows is critical.

Now that I have a reasonably established practice, my priority is to manage my schedule a bit better. It’s easy to get caught in the trap of saying yes to every opportunity in this industry because it’s so unpredictable. Although the pressure of deadlines can be an incredibly motivating force, it can also be detrimental to creativity. Too many back-to-back deadlines don’t allow for enough time in between to develop your practice and evolve as an artist. It takes a fair amount of time when you finish a body of work, to reflect on what you’ve already done, to experiment with new techniques, formulate ideas and find inspiration. If you don't have enough time, you can fall back on old habits instead of pushing forward and taking risks. On the flip side of course, without a deadline, it's difficult to know when to stop!

How have you changed the way you work due to the Corona virus pandemic?

Although I was initially worried about horrible outcomes for the arts industry in particular, a part of me was actually relieved to have an excuse not to work for a while. It was the first time in a long time that I stopped to reflect and appreciate what I have achieved to date but also to consider what I could do better or differently going forward. It also forced all of us in the visual arts to re-define the exhibition & gallery experience - virtual vs real spaces, zoom interviews, YouTube videos, etc and how technology plays a key role in all of it. Having said all of that, I did find completing works for my most recent show particularly challenging, perhaps because of the community angst I was feeling or maybe because initially it was on hold, then back on, then potentially off again. It was difficult to make decisions and stay focused. The jury’s out on the most recent lockdown!

What industry networks are you a part of?

NAVA, great relationships with my gallerists, framers, art shops, photographers, and an incredibly special network of artist friends, developed over many years. I may work in isolation day-to-day but am heavily reliant on a team of people behind the scenes for support, both mentally and professionally.

Melinda Schawel is an American/Australian artist living & working in Melbourne, Australia. She received a BA in Fine Art and Communication from the University of California Santa Barbara in 1993 and a Postgraduate Degree in Printmaking from RMIT in 1996. She has exhibited nationally & internationally since 1995, was recently commissioned by the City of Casey (Melbourne) & ​Creative Road to create a large-scale, integrated public art project. Her artworks have been included in Belle (Feb20), Home Beautiful (Apr20) & House & Garden (May19) and she has been a finalist in the Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing 2020, 2017 (People's Choice Award), Whyalla Art Prize 2017, Nillumbik Prize 2013/15/16 & Fisher's Ghost Award 2012/2015. She has been featured in ​Art Collector​, ​Art Guide​, ​Artist Profile Magazine & ​The Jealous Curator blog. Her work has been published by ​Murtra Edicions in Spain & Port Jackson Press in Australia and is represented in numerous collections including the City of Whitehorse, the National Gallery of Australia & Artbank.

Website: Melinda Schawel