Piccalilli conference blends creativity and business
Sara Rosenstock, right, gives a presentation on how to build an authentic brand during the Parkersburg Art Center's Piccalilli Artists' Conference Friday morning. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
From left, Fairmont State University Professor Angelica Starcovich holds out a plate to hold her paint while Fairmont State University Studio Art Major Jenna Arco pours it for her during a mural making workshop at the Parkersburg Art Center's Piccalilli Artists' Conference Friday. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
Harrison Walker, a recent graduate from Fairmont State University, leads a workshop on how to make murals during the Parkersburg Piccalilli Artists' Conference Friday morning. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
Marietta College studio art and graphic design students Ella Smith, Hannah Perry, Carly Keller, Riley Anslow and Tia Arix work on painting their pieces for a mural during a workshop Friday morning at the Parkersburg Art Center. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
Sara Rosenstock, right, gives a presentation on how to build an authentic brand during the Parkersburg Art Center's Piccalilli Artists' Conference Friday morning. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
From left, Fairmont State University Professor Angelica Starcovich holds out a plate to hold her paint while Fairmont State University Studio Art Major Jenna Arco pours it for her during a mural making workshop at the Parkersburg Art Center's Piccalilli Artists' Conference Friday. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
Harrison Walker, a recent graduate from Fairmont State University, leads a workshop on how to make murals during the Parkersburg Piccalilli Artists' Conference Friday morning. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
Marietta College studio art and graphic design students Ella Smith, Hannah Perry, Carly Keller, Riley Anslow and Tia Arix work on painting their pieces for a mural during a workshop Friday morning at the Parkersburg Art Center. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
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PARKERSBURG -- Artists explored the business of art while making time to create Friday during the fifth Piccalilli Arts Conference at the Parkersburg Art Center.
Seventy people registered for the conference, which offered nine workshop options along with lunchtime activities, breakfast and a catered lunch, said Jessie Siefert, the art center's managing director and education director.
"It's for artists about the business of art, but it's also an art spa day," Siefert said. "So some people are here just to spend the day making."
Siefert said participants came from Athens County, Ohio, and the Beckley and Morgantown areas, among other places. The gathering also included students from Fairmont and Marietta College. One woman came from Oklahoma to visit a friend, she said.
Watercolor artists Rosalie Haizlett and Julie Zickefoose were among the workshop leaders, with Haizlett also serving as the keynote speaker, Siefert said.
During a presentation on building an authentic brand, Sara Rosenstock, an art professor at Marietta College, encouraged participants to consider how their personalities and preferences could translate into visual choices.
Participants suggested words including playful, whimsical and colorful. Rosenstock discussed how those descriptions could guide decisions about shapes, lines, colors and typefaces.
A playful design might use bold shapes and vivid colors, while a whimsical design might feature more delicate lines and less saturated colors, she said. She emphasized that artists could interpret those qualities differently.
Rosenstock also suggested creating a mood board by collecting images digitally or assembling a physical collage. The images could come from fashion, design, music or anything else that interested the artist.
By looking for patterns in those selections, artists could identify whether they preferred detailed or minimalist designs, organic or geometric forms, and traditional or contemporary styles, she said.
"Remember, you're not letting the world project onto you. You're projecting onto the world of what you want," Rosenstock said.
Another workshop focused on the process of creating and installing a mural.
Harrison Walker, a recent Fairmont State University graduate from Buckhannon, explained how to prepare a wall and paint on separate pieces of material that could later be attached to it.
Walker described cleaning and priming the wall before installation and emphasized making sure the painted material adhered to the surface, including grooves and uneven areas.
Participants could paint their own designs on triangular pieces, which Walker said would be arranged like puzzle pieces around an existing mural.
Siefert said the conference gives artists working in different mediums an opportunity to gather, exchange ideas and make connections.
Other professions have conferences and workshops through their organizations, but similar opportunities can be harder to find for people who make art, she said. Piccalilli offers a place for them to "share and play and network."
The conference has changed formats over its five years, moving from two days to one and shifting from midweek to the end of the week, Siefert said.
"We just keep trying to find the perfect fit, and we think the one-day Friday conference is probably what we'll carry on with," she said.