Monica Cook
Untitled, 1999, mixed media on board, 2 x 3 feet.
A native of Dalton, Georgia, Monica Cook graduated Summa Cum Laude from Savannah College of Art and Design in 1996, where she studied painting. Monica received several scholarships and grants while an art student, and since graduating, has participated in two solo and eleven group exhibitions. A co-partner of a mural business in Savannah, Georgia, Monica has also worked as a special education substitute teacher and has been trained in art therapy. Her work is held in corporate and private collections throughout the South.
The interview was conducted by Ilana Stanger of TheArtBiz.com.
You earned your BA in painting from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in 1996. What made you decide to go to art school?
When I was in high school, I took a pottery class that got me excited about doing art. I decided that was where my direction should be. From there I started getting into painting and drawing. Some people from Savannah [SCAD] came to our school and told us about a summer program that they had. I went to that during the summer of '91, and I fell in love with Savannah. I decided SCAD was where I wanted to go.
Did your family support that decision?
Yes, my family was 100% supportive. And I got art scholarships, so that helped finance it. My parents have been supportive of everything I've done.
You've belonged to two collectives, the Red Threads Collective and the Catalyst Collective, which you started with your partner, Scott Griffin. What draws you to collectives?
Until I met Scott I'd always worked by myself and had never had a support group. When I met Scott our work was very, very similar. We fed off each other's work and were inspired together and even started working together. Working with him I realized how much faster you could grow working with other people. My friend Shannon Paris, who is a musician and fine artist, wanted to get to get together a variety of artist--musicians, jewelry makers, photographers, ceramists. So she organized a group of people. She tried to choose people whose work she admired and respected--work that she thought was spiritual and really strong. She got us all together and she was the backbone of the group. We were together over a year and we created a gallery space in Shannon's loft and held several group shows there. We also had a show in Atlanta at the Eye Drum Gallery. But Shannon moved away and the group dissolved.
Shortly after the Red Threads had died down, I started working with a group of artists who just sort of came together from mutual friends. We decided to form a support group for one another and took on the name Catalyst. We have musicians, a sculptor, a photographer--a whole bunch of different people. It's a really inspiring group. When you're working with a group of people who do different things they all influence each other and feed into each other so much.
Does the experience of being in a collective impact your art?
A group of people can create something bigger than any person alone can. Members of a group offer each other inspiration and motivation and connections that are hard to generate by oneself. I don't know anything about photography, so collaborating with a photographer, or with video, is almost like being in school again because it gives you an outlet for different forms of expression.
What was your first job out of school?
In 1993, while I was still in school, Scott and I started a mural business and we've held on to that. The Career Planning office at our school [SCAD] posted requested work in something called The Freelance Book, and we got our business off its feet through that. At first it was really hard to get the work, but we've done really well with it. Savannah's a really supportive city so we've been real busy and had a lot of luck with that. We decided to do murals to free us up so that we'd have time to paint. It's been a really freeing job--on the days when I'm not working on murals I do my own painting.
In 1998 I took a little over a year off. I did a summer therapeutic enrichment program for mentally and physically handicapped children. I fell in love with the children and almost decided to go in that direction. I started substitute teaching, but eventually decided to do it on a volunteer basis, because the work took a lot out of me. The murals allow me a lot more time to do my painting, and I can still volunteer to work with children.
Does the mural business support your artwork?
That and selling work at shows supports us. People assume that Savannah is too small a town to support work, but this year I had two solo shows and I did really well. There are a lot of little venues where I can get my work out and sell it. So I have my art, the mural job, and odd jobs painting portraits--I paint a lot of pet portraits.
Where was your first show? How did you get that opportunity?
My first show was in the Hunter Museum gallery in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1992. I rented a studio from John Quinn, an artist in my hometown, who taught classes in Chattanooga. He got me involved in figure drawing classes at the University of Tennessee and then the group show at the museum gallery. He was very encouraging and supportive.
I've been in a whole lot of group shows. Mostly it's been through friends or the school or the collectives. I've had shows in lots of places in Savannah and Atlanta and Texas. I entered an art competition juried by the Texas Fine Art Association, and my paintings were accepted. It was a group show that traveled between five different galleries in Texas, so that got my work around a whole lot.
What are your current art career goals? Do you have any plans to enter an MFA program?
My ultimate goal is to be able to support myself off my fine art. I don't feel like I'm ready to go back to school because I have a really strong direction I'm heading in with my work now. I don't feel like I have any questions and I'm learning so much on my own just by producing. But I do see myself going back to school eventually, because I love being in school. I just feel I need to get my work out a bit before I go back.
What would be your advice to recent grads or people looking to break into the art world?
Find a way to support yourself that is flexible and gives you the time to be able to work on your art, so that you don't lose sight of your direction and dreams. Keep shows lined up to stay motivated.
What is the hardest thing about making a living as an artist?
I don't have any complaints about doing murals because it is good work. It helps me refine my skills and makes other people happy. I would prefer to be just doing my fine art work, but I'm really happy with the mural work. The only thing that's frustrating is that, along with my art work, it's a roller coaster. Some months are good and some are hard--you just have to know to ride it out.
Do you have any further advice for working artists?
I think it's good to experiment with all different types of art forms. If you're a painter then working with video, photography, and sculpture can be really inspiring because they all bleed into each other. I think it's very important not to just call yourself a painter and stop branching out. It's also important not to be scared to make mistakes, not to make anything too precious. Just play and enjoy it. If you can do lots of small pieces for awhile or even some big ones that aren't so precious that can free you up, because you can learn from accidents. Play with the materials and let them create themselves. With my portraits I try to let the character create itself instead of having a strict idea of what I want to do. Let it form itself. It's so much more exciting.
This article was originally created for TheArtBiz.com. It appears on NYFA Interactive courtesy of the Abigail Rebecca Cohen Library.
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