Toolbox Success Stories

  • Jason Brockert
    Toolbox ‘06
    www.jasonbrockert.com  


    Rhode-Island based artist Jason Brockert has always been hooked on creating, but never shared the same zeal for career planning and self promotion. True of most artists who work tirelessly in their studios to create lasting masterpieces, the elements of entrepreneurship necessary to extend their work into the marketplace is less contagious. An art instructor at and graduate of The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) fifteen years into his career, Jason’s abilities as an artist speak strongly for themselves. His paintings capture the moods and shapes of suburban life and sprawl and ring both familiar and haunting to their viewers.  His atmospheric works expose the possibilities of vastness, isolation, and hint at a sense of hopefulness in this new American landscape. As Jason will be the first to admit, however, idealism is best served in paintings—not in career planning. At this epiphany, Jason applied for the Toolbox program.

    “Previous to the Toolbox, I had shown a lot of work, including a series of suburban mall paintings in Vermont. But I hadn’t been deeply considering my audience. There are no malls in Vermont! This was pre-Toolbox thinking in a nutshell!” says Jason, laughing.

    In addition to thinking about his audience, it was the goal-oriented aspects of the program that really stuck with the artist, such a creating long-term plans and actionable monthly calendars. Prompted in a marketing session to rekindle communication with previous clients, Jason began to sell work to repeat buyers. The tools he was acquiring had immediate application, and he grew increasingly more committed to dedicating a few hours a week to career planning, marketing and outreach.

    “I was encouraged by the fact that there was a more direct path to follow than just a shotgun approach to selling work.”

    While his sophomore students at RISD still bristle at the notion of career planning and prefer to embed themselves in a world of ideas, Jason hints to them that the road ahead requires not just creativity but tenacity. Tenacity has to become part of an artist’s daily practice. Beyond all else, the Toolbox served as a grounded reminder to Jason of what that really means. Networking, website updates, and the daily pursuit of opportunities.

    “I absolutely recommend the Toolbox to any artist who is ready to make that commitment—to asking themselves the hard questions. If you’re willing to apply yourself to the program, the resources are plentiful.”
     
    Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Xima has a degree in Art History and Fine Arts and a Masters in Architecture. She spent twenty years as an architect but continued to paint since college.  Transplanting to Boston in 2001, Xima attending the Museum School of Fine Art in Boston to refresh her skills and fine-tune her technique. Gaining a true understanding of what painting really means to her, she is now focused full-time on it.  And since the Toolbox program in 2008, she’s the busiest she’s ever been. At the time this essay was written, Xima was on her way to Arkansas, to see her worked mounted at The Museum of Contemporary Art in Hot Springs.

    Xima’s current paintings are inspired heavily by the work of vintage photographer from Arkansas by the name of Disfarmer, who captured the lives and emotions of the people of rural America between 1939-1945. Artists working in other media are also inspired by this somewhat mysterious portrait photographer, and shortly after the Toolbox program ended, Xima went to New York City to see a puppeteer who shared her muse. It was there that she met many other artists working off the same inspiration, from jazz musicians to filmmakers. 

    “Had I not done the Toolbox program I wouldn’t have been empowered to go network in New York in the same way. And it was through the participants in the program and my networking trips that I made the connections necessary to expand beyond my studio,” says Xima. In recent months she’s been able to make her work, which draws heavily on historical references and storytelling, relevant to a broader audience.

    As her frame of mind has expanded, so has the reach of her work. Not only were a series of her paintings purchased by the museum, but her trip coincides with a documentary film crew who will be including Xima in their portrait on Disfarmer.

    For Xima and her peers, the Toolbox was an excellent opportunity for support and has helped artists understand what is needed to grow, not only in terms of higher level thinking but also as regards the purely mundane.

    “Certain things need attention, like accounting and bookkeeping…and estate planning. I needed some level of control. Before the program, I didn’t even know what I needed to learn. It was all just one big looming landscape.”

    Xima is certain she wouldn’t have thought about accounting, or even branding, if it hadn’t been for the program. The classes were able to pull that big, looming landscape apart and reassemble it in a way that made her feel in control of the details.

    “I think my work would have suffered greatly if I didn’t learn how to tackle these other aspects. There is so much being attempted by all of us that it can feel overwhelming. But now I have confidence. I say, this CAN be done.”

    In addition to the tools acquired, Xima stresses that the camaraderie developed among her peers is an invaluable aspect. And at no point did she have a conversation without reaching a new level of understanding. Having a peer group has helped her feel part of a community.

     “Otherwise art is a solitary undertaking. Toolbox is how I’ve filled in the gaps.”

A participant in the 2007-2008 Arts & Business Council Toolbox program, Beth Krommes’ phone rings off the hook. Now enjoying a burst of fame, Beth’s artistic career had previously traversed many twists and turns, leading her to the Toolbox for a much needed year of perspective and skill building. It was shortly after graduating the program that she enjoyed her greatest artistic achievement to date, receiving the 2009 Caldecott Award for House in the Night, an honor bestowed annually to the “artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children” by the Association for Library Service to Children.

A New Hampshire based illustrator, Beth had previously taught art education in the public schools, managed a fine handcraft shop and served as an art director for a notable computer magazine, becoming a full-time freelance illustrator in 1989. Her first children's book, Grandmother Winter, was published in1999. When she entered the Toolbox program, she had been focusing on children's book illustration for the last ten years, and she had reached a crossroads.

Working in so many contexts in the arts but still struggling, Beth was unsure where to place her next step. She didn’t think graduate school was the answer because technique was not what she lacked—her wood engravings and scratchboard illustrations were highly perfected.

“I was no longer sure I wanted to stay in illustration. I wasn’t feeling like I was getting where I wanted, especially financially,” says Beth. “I was considering moving into the fine art world, where I had started when I first graduated school.” For Beth, the Toolbox provided a place where she could carefully consider her options.

As the program picked up steam and her peers began sharing their own experiences, Beth began to gain a sense of direction.
“Taking the course enabled me to see that illustration is where I belonged, at least a little longer.” The course encouraged her to finally launch a website—a tool that became invaluable to her when the press began calling. The moment the Caldecott Award was conferred Beth received hundreds of calls from libraries and the media. She even made an appearance on the Today Show, which you can view on her website.

“If I hadn’t taken the course I wouldn’t have done the soul searching, wouldn’t have had a website—which has had thousands of hits since the award—and I wouldn’t even be certain I was headed in the right direction.”

While Beth was the only illustrator in her Toolbox class, she felt a deep sense of connection with the goals and ambitions of the group. Staying connected through an email network, the Toolbox artists stay apprised of the group’s overall progress and the friendships are kindled.

For Beth, sustaining momentum means crafting marketing plans, keeping detailed monthly charts, maintaining mailing lists and documenting her work. All tools she acquired in the program.

“These small changes, for many of us, have made all the difference in world,” says Beth. Going forward, her goals now include signing a contract for a new book and creating calendars and other saleable merchandise. Whatever her plans, she has taken the lessons of the program to heart and focused on what makes her unique as an artist. From this effort has come enormous success and peace of mind for Beth, and she hopes that other artists will make the same commitment to their journey.