July 2, 2018

Art & Life with Erin Proctor

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Proctor.

Erin, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
It was 2002 when I started school at Cal State Long Beach as a photography major. Two years later, I took a required Intro to 3D Art class where we had to choose a household item and re-construct it in our choice of materials. The choices were paper, fabric or metal. I chose metal and the course of my life changed forever!

I recently found that very first piece I made, it was a Zippo lighter. First I made it in translucent vellum, then for the next part of the assignment I got to choose to make it in metal, and decided it would be cool to make it out of copper. I didn’t know how to solder and I had never even seen a jewelers saw before. It’s admittedly put together with plumbers glue, a few clever bends and the roughest little hinge you’ve ever seen, but you could actually fill it with lighter fluid and fire it up. It impressed the instructor so much that he suggested I check out the Metals Program the following semester. That’s how it all started for me. I changed my major to Metals & Jewelry and began my journey into the facinating world of metalsmithing.

I graduated with my B.F.A. in 2009, and I began teaching jewelry making workshops in 2010 on the grounds of the Sawdust Festival in Laguna Beach as part of their new year-round studio art program. I started with a Water Casting workshop, which is an experimental direct casting method where students melt and pour metal into water and over wet straw to form unique organic shapes that become pendants and earrings. As that class become more popular, I was asked to add more workshops in a range of subjects.

Fast forward to 2018 where I’m now offering six different beginner and intermediate classes in jewelry and painting! I love teaching more than anything. I always feel most excited and most inspired after I’ve taught a workshop. It has been eight years, and it just keeps getting better. My husband and I recently converted our spare bedroom into a quaint little studio space which now allows me to teach private lessons and small groups up to 3 people from home in additon to teaching at the Sawdust and at corporate event locations.

This year I also became the Vice President and Program Chair for the Metal Arts Society of Southern California which has members spanning from Santa Barbara to San Diego. My goal in this new position is to to bring more world class artists into the area to teach workshops for our members, and to develop a deeper connection to the metal arts community here in Southern California.

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
My work is usually very narrative and often functional and is centered around traditional metalsmithing/jewelry making techniques.

I often draw inspiration from aviation, space exploration, midcentury-modern aesthetics…and cats.

I love to work with vintage photos and imagery. I’m very nostalgic and sentimental, and I love to create keepsakes for my clients, whether it’s a custom birthstone piece or a pendant with a loved ones handwriting engraved into it.

I’m also really experimental, so when I’m not working on a custom commission I like to have fun melting and pouring metals in different ways, or mixing and pouring paint with various additives to see what happens. I encourage my students to play with materials and explore possibilities as well. When asked, “will this work?” I almost always answer, “I don’t know! Let’s try it and find out!”

How do you think about success, as an artist, and what do quality do you feel is most helpful?
I think everybody has their own definition of success.

For some people it’s the amount of money they’re making, for others it’s how well known they become or how big their company gets.

For me, I would consider myself successful if I’m able to make a living on my own terms. I don’t expect to be rich or famous, and I don’t really focus on aspiring to either of those things although neither would be bad!

I focus on doing what makes me happy, inspired and fulfilled. Right now I don’t make a ton of money, but I’m satisfied knowing that I’m working for me and not some corporate entity where I’m just a cog in a machine. Every year I struggle, but I also grow a little. That feels like success to me.

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
I sell mostly on Etsy currently, but I also have my own website where clients can contact me about a purchasing a piece or to book a class with me. I showcase a lot of my works in progress and new work on Instagram and Pinterest as well. I also do the occasional craft show, my favorite being the Patchwork Indie Art and Craft Show in Long Beach and Santa Ana. I recently suggested they look into having one down in San Diego.

www.saturn5studio.com

@saturn5studio

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