As one of the many open studios site's at this year's East Bay Open Studios, FLAX has been working closely with Carolyn Quan, the new EBOS director. For those who aren't in the know, Open Studios are free self-guided tours of artist studios and exhibition spaces throughout the East Bay (Alameda County and Contra Costa County) giving the public the opportunity to connect with artists one-on-one and purchase art directly from the artists. Venues range from gallery settings, art studios, home studios, outdoor venues and other alternative exhibition spaces. We recently had the opportunity to pin down Carolyn from her busy schedule to ask her some questions and get an in-depth look at what it takes to put on an art show of this magnitude.

Carolyn, you’re an artist, you have your own art shows and fairs to work, yet you created, directed and produced the Annual Maui Open Studios Events, you were the Speaker and Creator/Facilitator of the Professional Development Workshop for Fine Artists here and in Hawaii , and then last year you took on the task of producing and directing the East Bay Open Studios. How did you get involved in all this?

CQ: I’ve always been ambitious and a bit of a Type A personality. I began my art career after art college, in Commercial Design and Art Direction and because of it was exposed to the business side of the profession. I’ve been self-employed all of my life and have had to polish my skills on the organizational and business side of the fence as well as the creative because of it. As a freelance Graphic Designer and Art Director with my own business I had to deal with budgets, deadlines, client relations, marketing, publicity and organization as well as the art direction and design.I feel very fortunate to have a good balance between creativity and business. And because of it I have been able to help other artists in the development of their own careers, through the open studios events that I produce and the workshops and mentoring that I offer. I am an advocate for artist and the arts and feel that it is important to contribute in a positive way to the community.

How are the EBOS shaping up this Year? Do you see any difference between last year and this year?

CQ: This is the second year that I’ve produced the East Bay Open Studios Event (EBOS) since Pro Arts handed over the baton to me. Last year being the big transition year, was very interesting and had its own challenges due to nature of the hand-over. Now that we are in our second year, the event is going quite smoothly and we are hoping that each year from here on out will bring more artists back to the event and also bring in a whole new fresh group of artists who are just learning about the event for the first time.

Artists have commented on what a positive change you have made with the EBOS, but if you could make any changes to the EBOS system, what do you wish you could do?

CQ: I wish that more of the artists who participated in the past would come back to the event and experience the new concept that we’ve implemented for the Opening Celebration / Preview Exhibition. I would also like to build up the artist participation in all of the East Bay cities. This year we have 17 cities represented, many with just a few artists in each. We hope for more critical mass in future years of both artists and patrons.

The fee for EBOS seems to me to be good deal, but I’m not sure the artists know what running an event of that size entails, any comments on that?

CQ: Indeed many artists, do not understand the amount of work and funding involved in organizing an open studio event like this and there are times when we have to explain. The artist registration fees are used to form budgets for all of the online aspects of the event including the website, e-newsletters, social media marketing, maintenance of databases, online artist directories, etc., as well as all of our print materials including the printed guidebook, posters, and postcards. And there is also public relations, event marketing/advertising (print and online), media relations, organization of the Opening Celebration and Preview Exhibition, hiring of vendors, distribution of the posters and guidebooks, design of the marketing materials and more. It is a lot of work.

For all the artists in the East Bay that only know you from directing the EBOS, tell us about your own art and how you arrived at mixed medium collage?

CQ: I have a degree in Communication and Design with a minor in Photography from Canada’s most renowned art college. For pretty much all of my life, since my teen years, my life has been filled with creativity. I come from a very creative family and have been exposed to the visual arts and the performing arts all of my life. After 9-11, I made the transition to fine art from commercial art and continued to use the tools that I used in my design career- my camera and Photoshop to create my work. After some time, my technique for creating my fine art photo collages was developed and refined. Since then, my work has evolved quite a bit. It has been a dream to be able to gain the recognition that I have from my art and travel the continent selling my work to people far and wide. I have had incredible experiences in my art career including owning two fine art galleries in Hawaii, gaining exposure in the media, building an international collector base and winning awards. It’s been an amazing journey so far.

I would be chagrined not to mention that you recently sold your house and downsized your belongings and studio to a huge RV and now use it as your home and studio, and run EBOS from the open road. Tells us about this new Nomadic lifestyle!

CQ:  It has been a dream of mine for many, many years to live a nomadic life in a motorhome and travel the continent showing and selling my artwork at art festivals. I am also able to create my artwork in my digital art studio which is my laptop. My travels allow me to photograph some amazing places and elements for my photo collages too. And because producing open studios is also possible using digital technology, the lifestyle also supports my work producing art events. As long as I have an internet connection, I am able to do the work I need to do. Last year I produced the Maui Open Studios and East Bay Open Studios from my laptop and spent 4.5 months on the road crossing the continent and back again through 15 states and 2 Canadian provinces. I drove as far as Montreal and lived for two months in Chicago to do 8 back-to-back art festivals. It was the trip that inspired me to sell my house and do this full-time. There is so much beauty out there to experience and capture. As an artist, it allows me the freedom to move about and get inspiration from so many different sources wherever I go.

Last but not least, what do you like about FLAX?

CQ: My favorite thing about Flax is their support of artists and the art community in the Bay Area and beyond

Carolyn, thanks for making time from your busy schedule and good luck with Open Studios this year.

CQ: Thank you for the opportunity to share some of my background with the community and for Flax’s ongoing support of the East Bay Open Studios Event. 

Start your studio tour at FLAX this weekend! We will be hosting seven artists in our back parking lot. Pick up your guide book, get your free cup of coffee and a treat, and plan out your tour!