Banking on KC – Rachelle Gardner-Roe: Bridging Nature and Artistry
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Kelly Scanlon:
Welcome to Banking on KC. I'm your host, Kelly Scanlon. Thank you for joining us. With us on this episode is Rachelle Gardner-Roe, a multimedia visual artist whose works are currently on display in the Country Club Bank headquarters at One Ward Parkway. Welcome, Rachelle.
Rachelle Gardner-Roe:
Thank you very much for having me.
Kelly Scanlon:
I don't know if most of our listeners know, but once a quarter, Country Club Bank does feature a local artist's works in the lobby here at One Ward Parkway. Let's talk a little bit about you. How did growing up in a rural setting shape that approach?
Rachelle Gardner-Roe:
I think in the long run, it really has shown in the imagery that I use, which does focus a lot on the natural world. My education is actually in interior architecture from K-State. So, it's been sort of a circuitous route where for many years I actually focused on the built environment. But I think it's come now full circle, sort of back to that era when I was the kid running around in our ponds catching frogs. And my mother gave me a lifelong love of birds, which definitely shows in my work. So, it's been sort of a long time coming, but the seeds were always there because of that role upbringing.
Kelly Scanlon:
Talk to us about some of the media that you use.
Rachelle Gardner-Roe:
Certainly. Well, when I very first started out in my career, it was actually all drawing. But because like I mentioned, my degree is actually in architecture rather than the fine arts, it gave me a real understanding of the process of design, which I think gave me comfort in working with a lot of different media. So, drawing is a foundation, but it tends to come out in a variety of ways. Whether that's working through fiber work, which is what is featured in the gallery at Country Club Bank, as well as sculpture, painting. But I've worked in a variety of media throughout my career.
Kelly Scanlon:
What's your favorite one? Do you have a favorite?
Rachelle Gardner-Roe:
Oh, that's like asking you to pick your favorite child. I won't say that I have a favorite. I think what happens is I get rather obsessed with one technique or one body of work for quite a while, and then I need time to sort of rest and reflect, and then another media sort of comes to the forefront. I guess I would have to say drawing because no matter the technique or media, drawing in some way that mark making the act of using the hand you create an image comes through no matter the media. So, I'm going to say drawing.
Kelly Scanlon:
Okay, so drawing. And one of the things that you use, and going back to the family farm and catching frogs in the pond and so forth, one of the things that you do is you use hand dyed wool that's from your family's farm in some of your work. What's it like working with materials that are so personally connected to your history? Do you find yourself recreating things about your childhood, especially when you're using those? Or you take it in an entirely different place?
Rachelle Gardner-Roe:
That's an excellent question. The wool that I use is from our farm. Strangely enough, my parents were city kids, but in the '70s they moved out to the sticks. And so, well, they've been lifelong professionals. The older they got, the more they became farmers. So, we ended up with a flock of sheep at some point. And so, the work that I now use as a blend of Shetland sheep and alpaca. And to me it's in a really incredible to be able to use this material because it's a true cradle to grave process from the sheep, the lamb being born through its entire lifespan, and then we basically have a sheep graveyard at our farm.
So, to be able to see the entire lifespan of material and for a material that is the result, not only of my work in processing it and dying it, but it's also the time and energy that my family has put into both caring for the land and caring for the animals on the land. So, that's one of the reasons I really love the material, is because it's not just me. There's a whole process of energy that has gone before it and into it.
And so, it's sort of natural that the imagery would then also reflect that process and might bring you on the farm. So, yes, many of the images do in fact reference specific memories or specific animals even. For example, in a work that I recently completed, there is a big beautiful rooster, but if you look closely, it has a club foot. And that is actually Ahab, a rooster that we had on the farm that he had to be separated from everybody else, and so he had his own little girlfriend and his own little hut. And so, I do like to mix in all these different references to whether it's specific to the farm or specific to my family and to the work. Yes.
Kelly Scanlon:
Where is this farm?
Rachelle Gardner-Roe:
So, it is about six miles outside of a small town called Adrian, Missouri, which is about an hour south on the Kansas City on the Missouri side.
Kelly Scanlon:
Okay, so not too far from here. One of the things I find really interesting is the way you describe your sewing machine technique. You've talked a bit about your drawing, but you say that your sewing machine technique is the inverse of drawing, which is, like I said, is a really interesting way to put that. So, can you explain what you mean by that?
Rachelle Gardner-Roe:
Oh, sure. So, when I say the inverse of drawing, if you can imagine that your pencil stays still and then you're moving the paper to make the drawing. So, that's how I draw with the sewing machine. The needle and thread is basically staying still. And then my sort of quilt sandwich, what I'm actually sewing on in an embroidery hoop, I am moving that hoop around and around to create the imagery. Nothing's computerized. I'm moving it all around. And so, in that way I consider it the inverse of drawing.
Kelly Scanlon:
Yeah. So, that is a technique that I wouldn't think just comes naturally to people. Is that something that you really had to work on or does it come natural to you?
Rachelle Gardner-Roe:
I would say both. Because drawing has always been one of my strengths, there is some sort of natural affinity. But certainly I have spent thousands of hours doing it. So, at this point, there is a certain level of muscle memory. And certainly over the years the technique has developed.
Kelly Scanlon:
When you're working with a medium and you're trying to make it visually engaging at the same time that you're trying to convey a particular message, how do you work that out?
Rachelle Gardner-Roe:
One of the things I have been focusing on for the last several years is native flora and fauna, so that when I do speak about my work, I am talking about the native species and the conservation efforts that we can use in our daily life to speak to those different species. Also, I'm a Maximalist, so there's always going to be a way for people to just keep looking and keep looking, and maybe find something that appeals to them or that sparks a question or a thought in them.
Kelly Scanlon:
You've done a lot of work. Gallery shows, large-scale public commissions. You're at this Kansas City airport, for example. Congratulations on that. What's different about working on something that big, a full-scale commission, like what's up at the airport, to some of your more personal projects?
Rachelle Gardner-Roe:
A lot of it comes down to the scale of planning. The degree in which project management is required is a little bit different. For example, I'm working on my first solo museum show, and so there's a lot of project management. And so, for something like say the airport work, which was a public commission where I had to plan out an individual piece, I'm now having to do that sort of across the board. It's grown over time to the point now where basically each work gets like a project file and I have to print it out. A way to focus in on the process and how to break that down, especially if a larger work or commission is going to be something that takes several months, I have to be able to break that down in a way that's more manageable.
Kelly Scanlon:
It's interesting to hear you describe it that way. I would imagine that some of our listeners are thinking, "Project management? Doesn't an artist just pick up a brush or a piece of clay or whatever it is, and they're just inspired and it takes on a life of its own?"
Rachelle Gardner-Roe:
Oh, sure. I'm sure many artists do in fact work that way. And maybe in some smaller works I have a little bit more freedom, but maybe this is just the way that my brain works. The media that I tend to pick and the work that I tend to create is very labor-intensive. It's very process-intensive, so it does require meticulous planning. That is not to say that there aren't unexpected challenges or unexpected results. One of the things that in my work actually, yes, everything has to be done in a step-by-step process. I can't really deviate from the process, but one of the challenges and where spontaneity does come in is the way that I lay out the wool, it's like painting with wool and drawing with thread.
Kelly Scanlon:
Interesting.
Rachelle Gardner-Roe:
And then the way that I end up having to sew it, I'm having to basically put a white layer of fabric on top of all of that wool, so I'm kind of drawing on white. And so, at the end of the day, I don't see that process, the result of that process until the very, very, very end. So, it's always a surprise in a way, hopefully a very controlled surprise. But still what I see and what the viewer sees tends to be a surprise despite that very meticulous process that I've had to follow.
Kelly Scanlon:
You are obviously very business-minded when it comes to your work. And recently you launched an online shop on your website. What made you decide to take that step? And has it changed the way that you connect with collectors?
Rachelle Gardner-Roe:
It's still very new. I mean, I just recently launched that over the summer. And it took me a long time to come to that decision. And I would say as an artist, one of the reasons is you're usually trying to find a way to diversify income streams. Whether that's through gallery sales, private commissions, grants and public opportunities. And so, this was just one more way to make the work, especially smaller work, more accessible to the general public and to a collector who might be interested in starting out with something smaller, and then maybe later coming and finding the studio, and getting to know my work more. The jury's still out on how it's going to go. I haven't had a lot of time to really focus on and push it because I'm working towards this big museum show. But I think it was a sort of logical next step.
Kelly Scanlon:
Let's talk a little bit about you and pursuing art as a business. You mentioned your degree from K-State. Was there ever any time where you thought you might work for an architecture firm or go a different route? What made you think or even have the confidence to move forward with your art as your business?
Rachelle Gardner-Roe:
Well, and if you had asked me what I wanted to be at the age of five, I would've very confidently told you artist. But it was sort of, I was encouraged to pick something a little bit more sustainable financially. By the time I got through my architectural education, my desire to make was so strong that actually my first job out of architecture school was working in a woodshop, building, designing custom furniture and working in the finish shop. So, working with my hands was just such a strong impetus. And then I just decided, well, I'm young. If I'm going to try and be an artist, now's the time to do it. And I've basically been doing it ever since. But I have worked in the architectural field. I have worked in commercial architecture for a couple of years. And there are certainly things that I took from that experience, especially as I was talking about the project management side of things. But I think really this is what I'm meant to do.
Kelly Scanlon:
Kansas City has a vibrant arts community. Has that played any role in your career? I mean, it's been central to my career.
Rachelle Gardner-Roe:
I don't know when I started out that I would've considered myself sort of a Midwestern artist, but I now take that proudly as part of my artistic identity. From the very beginning, sought out resources from organizations such as Arts KC Regional Council, the Charlotte Street Foundation, Kansas City Artists Coalition. All of those organizations and more have been so integral to many parts of my career and continue to be important to this day, not just for me, but for so many artists. And having organizations like those really, really have impacted positively so many artists emerging, and mid-career and lifelong professionals. It's difficult to overestimate how important these organizations are.
Kelly Scanlon:
What has been so instrumental that they offer?
Rachelle Gardner-Roe:
Well, I'll speak from personal experience, just to give you sort of a range. So, one of my very first two person shows was through the Kansas City Artist Coalition. My very first studio residency and group, and a major group exhibition was through the Charlotte Street Foundation. My very first public art installation was through the downtown council through Art in the Loop. Just for me, in terms of the first, the first this, the first that, were provided for through the resources of these really important organizations. And I would say for others, there's been so many other opportunities, whether it's individual grant opportunities. Oh, I've received several individual inspiration grants through Arts KC. And that's just me as an individual, and so take that and just multiply it by a thousand, and that's sort of the overall impact on so many artists in our community.
Kelly Scanlon:
You have this big exhibition coming up. You have a solo exhibition. It's the Albright Kemper Museum. Tell us a little bit about that, what you can tell us about it.
Rachelle Gardner-Roe:
My museum debut, which I'm very, very excited about also, I won't lie, also a little stressed because it's coming up opening May 9th, and it runs through August 10th at the Albright Kemper Museum up in St. Joseph, Missouri. It's not a retrospective because I'm not at the end of my career. But I am going to be referencing various past shows, past media, past references, but it's all going to be new work. And I'm going to be working in a variety of media. There's going to be certainly fiber work, but also painting, poetry, sculpture, engravings, I think, and possibly some prints. So, in a way, what I'm going for is the look of a very tight-knit group show, but all showing you the different facets that I work in and sort of the different facets of my mind. It's all certainly going to be focused on the natural world.
Kelly Scanlon:
What all goes into opening something like that, launching an exhibit like that?
Rachelle Gardner-Roe:
Well, as I've mentioned a couple of times before, the project management side, it's really a key point of getting something like this together. It does come with unique challenges. Regional shows like this, you get a little bit of institutional support, but basically you're having to self-fund most of it. So, there's planning, but there's also the fundraising aspect of it, which I've had to do some of that work as well. And also utilizing a studio assistant. I've got a studio assistant in now two days a week. So, there's also that aspect of I'm having to also manage an assistant in the studio. As I'm trying to work, I'm also trying to guide someone else at the same time. So, it is quite the balancing act. And as I said earlier, all of my work does tend to be labor-intensive, so I do certainly give myself a lot to chew.
Kelly Scanlon:
You do. You do. So, when you're in the midst of something like that, do you find that it puts a damper on your creative spigot, so to speak? Or do you find that because you're having to do all of that project management side of things, that you find yourself really looking forward to being able to sit down and create, and give you a reprieve from all of that?
Rachelle Gardner-Roe:
I would say it depends on how close the deadline is. The closer you get to a deadline, as I'm sure anyone in any industry will agree, you just start to be like, "Okay, I just need to just get this done." There are certainly moments when I've been so focused on a particular work or project that I've sort of let maybe another work sit off to the side for a couple of weeks, and then I open my notebook and run through my little project files and I'm like, "Oh, yeah, this piece, okay, I still need to do this and this. And like, oh, what can I do here?" So, there's always moments of rediscovery. There's also moments of like, "Uh-oh, deadline."
Kelly Scanlon:
Right. Exactly. When you look back on your journey so far, what advice would you give to other artists who want to make a living from their work, but also not lose that creative passion?
Rachelle Gardner-Roe:
There are several sort of business skills for artists programs through some of the organizations that I mentioned earlier, or through the Interurban Art House, which is one that I didn't, but also a very lovely organization. I would say figure out some of the business skills, which aren't really taught very... well, maybe they are these days, I'm not sure, but certainly wasn't a focus of any of my education, the business side of things. And then to looking at those resources. Try to find a way that works for you in a way that works consistently. If you can't take care of the business side of thing in a consistent manner, it's never going to work. So, finding a way that works for you.
And for example, the project files that I'm using, I actually got the idea from an artist. And it reminded me of some of the work that we did in tracking projects at the architecture firm. So, it took me a little while to actually get into the habit, but now it's a really great habit. I enjoy making the project file because it makes me think through all the different parameters, like, okay, what's the story? What's the concept? What are media? What's the dimensions? Okay, how am I going to think through this? And then it actually keeps me on task. So, that's a way that is both project management, but also creatively engaging. There's some other advice, and I think this is advice that a lot of artists are given, is to, if you're trying to make sense of the business side, how to diversify your income streams.
Kelly Scanlon:
Yeah, you mentioned that a little bit earlier. Yeah.
Rachelle Gardner-Roe:
Yeah. So, it might mean gallery sales, but what do you do if gallery sales taper off? Consistently looking at grant opportunities and setting calendar reminders to review some of these things. I have just a host of calendar reminders to review all sorts of things to try and keep me on task. But once again, not spreading yourself too thin, but find the few things that work for you and work for you consistently.
Kelly Scanlon:
When you're working in your studio, it's you, it's what you're using to create the piece. But then you put it out to the public. You put it out for others to see. And I would think that at that point, you're exposing yourself a bit. There's some vulnerability there as to how it's going to be received. What is it that you hope that the person who's engaging with that piece of art takes away from it?
Rachelle Gardner-Roe:
Sure. Apart from any particular message that an individual work or a body of work might have, at the end of the day, I just want to spread joy, and love, and awe and wonder of the natural world. It's why I use so much vibrant color. It's why my imagery is so densely packed, especially when it comes to the work with wool. And our modern lives, especially now, are so just stressful and there's so many things to worry about and concern with that. Finding a place to just rest and beauty is, I think, really valuable.
Kelly Scanlon:
On that note, Rachelle, what is your website? So people can go out and see the shop that you have online, see your gallery, find out more about you, perhaps things we didn't cover today. What is that website?
Rachelle Gardner-Roe:
Sure. It's just my last name, gardner-roe.com.
Kelly Scanlon:
So, gardner-roe.com. You can see some of these works for yourself, and you can also get to know Rachelle a little bit better. Rachelle, thank you so much for being with us on this episode and sharing about what inspires you and how you approach your work. We really appreciate it.
Rachelle Gardner-Roe:
Thank you so much. This was a lot of fun.
Joe Close:
This is Joe Close, president of Country Club Bank. Thank you to Rachelle Gardner-Roe for being our guest on this episode of Banking on KC. In today's episode, Rachelle shared how her background in architecture and a deep connection to her family's farm influence her artistic vision. Her approach to using [inaudible 00:16:46] sourced materials and integrating her personal history into her art reflects her commitment to sustainability, family and community, all ideals we value at Country Club Bank. Rachelle's mastery of the business side of her art for managing gallery exhibits to launching an online shop, reflects the entrepreneurial spirit Country Club Bank supports. Thanks for tuning in this week. We're banking on New Kansas City. Country Club Bank, member FDIC.