Interviewing the artist, Nicole Gagner.

Hello, Nicole. I have come across your work on Etsy.com recently, while looking for driftwood to use in a couple of my projects. I would like to thank you for accepting to answer to a few questions regarding your work.

"When I saw small pieces of driftwood, I instantly thought of using them as a canvas. They just feel warm and nice in your hand and they feel like they are part of the landscapes that I wanted to paint on them."

I liked how you’ve used so small pieces of driftwood and you’ve come up with the idea of converting them into minute pieces of Art. Could you share how you have thought of this particular idea?

I draw a lot of my inspiration from nature, so it was a very natural progression. I was applying to be an Artomat artist, which is an art vending machine with locations across the United States, so I was thinking very small, but I knew that I wanted to use an unconventional surface. A lot of Artomat artists paint directly on a block of wood that fits the vending machine dimensions, but that didn’t feel inspiring to me. So when I saw small pieces of driftwood, I instantly thought of using them as a canvas. They just feel warm and nice in your hand and they feel like they are part of the landscapes that I wanted to paint on them. It just fit.

Let’s talk a bit about how you were attracted by Art. Is there something particular that inspired you when you first started? How long have you been doing Art?

I honestly can’t remember not making art in some way or another. I grew up in a family of talented craftsmen and women, so I just thought that being handy and able to make and fix things was a part of life. I love everything handmade, from quilts to furniture to a home cooked meal, and I have always loved seeing the hand of the maker in the objects. So the evidence of an artist's hand has always been a thread in my work, even in college. I have always left bare brush marks evident in my paintings, obvious finger and thumb marks in my pottery, and intentionally left tool in sculpture. I don’t want to erase the rough edges that show how everything came together- I like to show the entire story. I have been producing art for sale for ten years, though I am only transitioning into it being my full time career now.

Now let’s talk about your driftwood pieces. How have you become passionate about driftwood at the first place? Is it something you find readily in your area?

The first time I painted on driftwood was when I lived within walking distance of the beach in Morro Bay, California. I have since moved to a landlocked state and miss the ocean terribly, so it is nice to feel connected back to that original source of inspiration. There is a large amount of driftwood in the lakes and rivers in this area, but it doesn’t feel as mysterious as the driftwood pieces that I would find on the beaches in California, where the wood may have drifted across half of the world before it reached me! Each piece of wood has it’s own unique story and texture though, so that is a lot of fun to work with.

Have you ever experimented with bigger driftwood pieces? Why did you choose small pieces over bigger ones? I have painted on bigger pieces and I have loved how they have turned out! However, there is something about a miniature piece of art that is irresistible. I started making them for Artomat and have absolutely loved it. They are fun to display too! A big piece of art can be a little intimidating if you aren’t sure how you want to hang or display it. A miniature can brighten up a little corner, dress up a shelf, or look great anywhere! No pressure!

Do you use them in your home décor? Is your home inspired by the beach?

My home decor is constantly changing as I create new pieces of art or find new-to-me items that I may or may not make over. I have a lot of handmade and vintage pieces in my house and a few things made from driftwood, but I wouldn't say that my style is beachy, per se. It is very eclectic and bohemian, so I just collect what I like and live with my art up and part of my decor as I am working on it. So sometimes that means a large landscape or beach scene, but other times that means brightly colored paintings of people, dogs or pickle jars. It just depends on the day! Where would you add them in a space? Some ideas of how a potential client could use them in their homes?

I love adding miniatures to a special little shelf or end table. They look great grouped with other things that have a similar feel or evoke a similar memory, like a jar of sand, a bowl of seashells or even one large shell! I have one of my prairie landscapes with a little jar of wheat, as another example.

Is Art on driftwood and especially on minute driftwood pieces a popular Art in your area/country?

I haven't seen anyone else doing landscapes like I am doing, with the natural wood shape left intact. There is a large culture of woodcarving, which is beautiful in its own right, but I really like the contrast of the natural shapes with the painted landscape. So in my area there is a lot more history of carving than painting on natural wood shapes, from what I have seen. Among folk artists and in some native American art they will carve wood and then paint it, but that is often figurative and will look like a person or an animal. I haven’t seen much of a tradition so far of painting landscapes on natural wood. Although I think it is beautiful and would love to see other artists' interpretation of it!

Do people purchase your miniatures as gifts? Which demographic group (gender, age and nationality) is mostly interested in them?

I have sold a lot as gifts or even little gift toppers for larger gifts. I have seen them used as magnets on fridges and metal file cabinets too, which was really cute. Anyone who wants to bring a little bit of nature inside would be the ideal customer. However, I haven’t really noticed a specific demographic that is drawn to my art. I tend to think that nature is a universal thing that a wide variety of people have a personal connection to. The packaging you use to carefully pack them feels very cute and sentimental. How did you come up with the idea of using small matchboxes?

Thank you! I needed to follow the dimensions of the art vending machine, so the size was originally picked for me and I worked backwards from there. I do love branding though, and so having the outside reflect the inside was very important to me. I wanted it to feel natural and handmade at the same time, just like the driftwood.

And one last question...How did you find Etsy.com and is this online marketplace helped you selling more Art? Tell me some more about how it affected your profile.

I had been shopping on Etsy for years and knew quite a few friends who sold their handmade goods through it, but I had always been much more focused on selling in local galleries and other means of selling in person. When I overhauled my art website I weighed the pros and cons of adding an e-commerce portion to my sight versus starting an Etsy. In the end, Etsy was more economical and came with the advantage of their own base of customers who might search for an item and not know my work to begin with. It has been easy to take commissions through it as well and I always enjoy collaborating to create new items in that way. So any new avenue to reach a new audience is a fun new adventure.

My custom-made order from Nicole.

At this point I would like to thank you for taking the time to share all this with me and everyone who read this interview. As a gesture of good will Nicole offers a special coupon to all of you who are thinking of purchasing one of her one-of-a-kind miniatures. If you go ahead and purchase one or more pieces, please use MOTOPY in the coupon box. You will find her Etsy hop here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/PainterNicole?ref=pr_shop_more