For our fourth interview of the 2023 Delaware Fun-A-Day, we talk to former Newark Arts Alliance Executive Director and paper artist Linda Majewski about paper-crafting, digital design / technology enhanced art, the importance of having a web presence, Delaware resources for artists and her TWO dual art businesses! Thanks, Linda!

We like to know how people are connected to Delaware - are you a resident, born and raised? What brought you to Delaware Fun-A-Day (DEFAD)?

I first moved to Dover, DE in 1990 and after moving around the state, and out of state, I landed back in Newark in 2009. We’ve been here ever since. Although I was aware of it prior, I became more familiar with DEFAD when I was the Executive Director of the Newark Arts Alliance (NAA), as we served as a drop-off and pick-up point for participants' artwork.

You wear A LOT of different hats - and you’ve worn some very special ones here within the Delaware arts community - including, for a number of years, being the Executive Director of Newark Arts Alliance. It’s folks like you, who step into leadership roles, who help drive the arts onward and upward. We can’t thank you enough. So tell us a little about your roles and contributions over the years. Did you feel like you had a mission, and do you feel you accomplished it?

Thank you for your kind words! Prior to the NAA, I worked in disability inclusion and nonprofit management, particularly around volunteer involvement. While no longer employed in these fields, my life’s work stays with me. I’m now focused on the arts as the source of my income and I’m always aware of making my classes as inclusive as possible. I currently serve on the board of directors for two arts nonprofits. It makes me feel good to take what I learned in my professional life and help make the arts accessible in Delaware.

Photo courtesy of www.newarkpostonline.com

Along with all of the other important tasks you took on as a leader/director while you were at Newark Arts Alliance, in 2019 you also oversaw the design and implementation of a new website for the organization. This upgrade enabled new features and usability for the growing member community and its audience. In retrospect - it was crazy timing with the arrival of COVID in 2020! How vital (or not) do you think it is for individual artists and/or organizations to have websites, online shops, social accounts, etc?

I was glad the NAA had both an upgraded website to continue functioning online and had you (Meredith at Grunge Muffin Designs) to help them navigate the uncertainty of those times. Keeping a website up to date whether for yourself or your place of business requires a great deal of time. What you see on the website itself is the tip of the iceberg. There’s a lot of work required before the final stage of uploading information to your site. The cycle of gathering, formatting, and uploading content is ongoing in order to maintain an engaging site.

As people continue to shop over the internet, having an online presence can be important. How you choose to do that depends on your product, your purpose, and how much time and experience you have to make all the things happen.

Do you have recommendations for artists and/or organizations who are just now getting online with their work? Where do they start?

Websites, Facebook, Instagram—all of these platforms are tools. The first question to ask is, “What do I want this to do for me?” I’m a pragmatist at heart and know that if I don’t find it useful, I won’t use it. There are lots of reasons to put your work online—to share it with others, to sell, to use it to advertise your activities—and one is not better than the next. Just make sure you know why you’re putting in the effort and how you want it to work for you.

Once you’ve got your why, you can work your way back to make a list of everything you’ll need to get together. I highly recommend deadlines for accomplishing each task. Eventually is not a motivating timeline. And know when to seek out knowledgeable help. DIY is great but time is valuable and you only have so much.

Getting yourself out there as a full-time artist can be overwhelming and even pricey. As a Delaware artist with a wealth of experience working with nonprofits and applying for grants, would you care to share any resources or websites with the other participants?

Anyone in Delaware who is trying to make a living as an artist must get connected with the Delaware Division of the Arts. We are so fortunate in our state to have such a supportive and accessible state office of the arts. There are grants, fellowships, and the Artist Roster, as well as employment and artist opportunities on their website and on their events calendar, Delaware Scene. It can be intimidating to apply for a grant, especially if you’ve never done that before. Read all the requirements carefully. Have a question? Call or email! You’ll work with one of their great staff members who is there to help. Be sure to sign up for their newsletter.

Are there any groups you’d recommend for folks to explore in the tri-state area to connect with other artists and find their footing?

Last year I had the honor of holding an exhibition, Into a Paper Garden, with fellow paper artist Kelly Martin, at the Newark Arts Alliance. One of the best things about the NAA are the themed exhibition opportunities. Artists can submit 1–3 works for consideration, which is especially helpful for newer artists who haven’t yet created a body of work large enough for a solo show.

I’ve also been fortunate to have my work at The Palette and the Page in Elkton MD and as part of the 8th Annual National Juried Exhibition at the Oxford Arts Alliance in Oxford PA. And I’d be remiss as a board member if I didn’t mention that Jester Artspace, located in Brandywine Hundred, is looking forward to opening our doors by the end of 2023. Yet more opportunities for area artists!

Since 2020 you’ve been delving into and focusing on your own work as a full-time working artist. Tell us about Paper Greenhouse and working with paper as a medium.

I have loved working with paper since I was a kid. There was nowhere near the accessibility to all the kinds of paper the way there is today. My media were primarily construction paper and crayons, stuck together with tape or Elmers’s glue. When it was suggested a few years back that I find something to do just for me, not my job or caring for my family, I channeled that childhood memory and found hand-painted paper succulents. As an avid gardener, it was a match made in heaven.

Paper Greenhouse was born of the endless possibilities of paper in creating botanicals. I started out by hand-cutting each leaf, creating little plants, and potting them up individually. That eventually expanded into plantscapes in all kinds of crazy containers and eventually to designing and making paper flowers. I now use an electronic cutting machine as there is no way my hands would have survived all that cutting plus it was the only way to keep up with the volume of pieces needed to make multiples of each item to sell.

What’s your favorite flower to make? It is possibly one of the flowers featured in the Paper Greenhouse logos?

Oh that’s a hard one. Each plant or flower has its own charms and some of my greatest satisfaction comes from figuring out the mechanics of recreating a three-dimensional object from what starts as a two-dimensional medium. Creating a nasturtium, both the flower and foliage, was a particularly difficult challenge. I was pretty pleased with the result!

My main logo features a succulent, which will always be a favorite as its how I got started with paper botanicals. My logo has seasonal varieties as well. The winter/holiday season logo is based on a poinsettia I designed to use for ornaments. It was the first time I incorporated vellum into a botanical, which opened up a lot of floral possibilities, so I’m particularly fond of that one too.

Your DEFAD 2023 project is going to be “exploring the world of arts and crafts made with paper as the primary medium. The possibilities are practically endless”! What do you think we can expect to see in your collection at the end of the month?

Ok, true confession time. I over-promised with that theme. It seemed like a good idea—open ended freedom, endless possibilities—but there’s such a thing as too open. I didn’t know where to begin. And of course, life intervened. Just the regular stuff like taking care of my family, working on my business, and promises of my time made to others. I thought about giving up my DEFAD project but decided, nope, I want to make something! We’ve all got obligations that keep us from our creative endeavors. The challenge is in understanding that setting aside time to create is a promise we need to keep for ourselves.

As a teaching artist, I spend most of my days creating projects for my classes. It’s been a long time since I sat down and came up with a project I wanted to make for myself. It has been inspiring to work with no other goal in mind than creating something new. So for DEFAD this year, I’m working with new-to-me paper and paints that I’ll eventually use to create components for a larger, future project. Practice makes progress! What exactly I’ll present at the “Big Show” is still in the works. I will say that it’s inspired by music and the beauty of nature in autumn.

Where can people connect with you to learn more about what you do? Can they try their hand at your craft under your instruction/guidance?

I have Facebook and Instagram pages for Paper Greenhouse, for the creative artist side of my life, and Marvelous Makers, which is all about my teaching artist business. I do my best to regularly post class information on the Marvelous Makers page, so I suggest going there to see what I’m up to.

Tell us about your newest venture, Marvelous Makers! What’s it all about?

I started Marvelous Makers in early 2019 to separate my classes from my artwork. While my art focuses on paper botanicals, we’ll try just about anything with Marvelous Makers! When I left the NAA in November 2019, I was already teaching classes and had all sorts of things planned for 2020. Well, we all know how that went. Even though it’s taken way more time than originally planned, I’m still going for it!

I teach regularly in the Maker Lab at the Route 9 Library, occasionally at other libraries, and have taught four Creative Aging programs, which is an initiative of the DDOA in partnership with Delaware Libraries. I’m looking forward to expanding my course offerings throughout Delaware and have a holiday card making class coming up in November at the Blue Ball Barn at Alapocas State Park.

The Fun-A-Day tagline is “Make Art Every Day”. With all that you do, do you think those are words that you in actuality live by? Seems like it!

I’m certainly involved in something related to my art-based business every day. My best days are those when I’m designing, making, and/or teaching. But somebody’s gotta do the paperwork; those taxes aren’t going to file themselves. Fun-A-Day has reminded me that the best way to stay creative for others is to be creative for myself. I hope to carry that forward.

You’re also the mom of a creative kid! Your daughter has taken many classes and camps over the years, with a keen interest in game design which is a cross section of art and technology. Can you tell us about what she’s been working on and your influence as an art-mom?

Oh geeze, now you’ve done it—let a mom talk about her kid. My daughter, Grace, has been dedicated to a career in computer game design since she was in the 4th grade. Unlike her mom, who has done a bit of almost everything, she’s been steadfast in that goal. Her focus is on world building, character development, and all the other writing that goes into developing a role-playing game. Last year she released a demo of her game, Silver Lining. I’m one proud mom!

Grace decided to take a year off after graduating from high school only to run smack into the pandemic. She was a great assistant once we returned to doing shows, helping me assemble flowers and accompanying me to events. Grace started attending college full time this fall and is working towards her degree in computer game design.

If I’ve been of any influence, it’s been that I’ve always tried to support her in whatever she’s been interested in at the time. While dance and soccer lessons didn’t last, technology and art classes did. Finding and encouraging her to seek out opportunities for exploring her interests has been instrumental in helping her find her own way.

Do you feel like technology-driven art is the way of the future, especially for younger generations?

Technology touches all artists, even those who think it doesn’t. It’s not just computers, it’s everything we use that isn’t our own bare hands! We use materials and tools that weren’t around even a few decades ago. I think there’s enough space for everyone who wants to be creative whether it’s by applying paint to a canvas; writing with a pencil, pen, typewriter, or laptop; or creating whole new worlds to explore online.

Modern computer technology allowed me to keep teaching art classes through the pandemic via Zoom. It expanded my audience, taught me all kinds of new skills, and opened opportunities I plan to continue incorporating into my expanding teaching business. Whether or not you need technology depends upon how you want to make art and how you plan to make a living.

Speaking of the cross section of art and technology… What are your views on AI technology being used to create/generate art? IS it art because it’s not actually human-made with human consciousness? It’s a tricky subject and not one that many artists are comfortable tackling!

I have very little experience with creating art with AI although I’ve found it incredibly useful to fill the role of a “personal assistant.” I’ve used it to draft class descriptions, lists, and other written materials that would take me at least a day to complete. Of course, I edit them to ensure accuracy and that the writing is consistent with my own voice (AI writes some terribly stilted prose), but it gets the basics done so I can go back to creating art.

I don’t think that using only AI to create artwork—something from nothing other than an idea—is a particularly creative endeavor. While we’re all inspired by something, it’s that human process of taking our thoughts and experience, then expressing them through art that makes our work original. There’s a lot of doomsaying about AI but it’s not going away and we need to learn how to make it work for us.

A great article about Linda courtesy of www.CaughtByDesign.com (click to read)

In some ways there’s been a Traditional Artist versus Digital Artists battle that’s been waging for a few years now since the wave of personal computers and tools like the MS Paint, the Adobe Suite, and Digital Photography entered the scene… but do you really think it matters how art is produced so long as art IS produced? Your art seems to pull a little from both worlds… so what’s your opinion?

I’m able to do things because of technology that I could not do otherwise. To start with, researching flowers and plants. With the internet, I can find photos of any type of flora, almost always from any angle. This is crucial to my ability to create realistic work. I don’t intend to copy nature; it already does a good enough job on its own. My work is inspired by nature and being able to see the colors, shapes, sizes, of anything I want to make is invaluable.

I design the components of my botanicals both by sketching and in Silhouette Studio, which is the software for the machine I use to cut the paper and cardstock I use, a Silhouette Cameo. I don’t think one method is more valid than the other but I suspect some people do. I know people who don’t consider photography to be “art” and cameras have been around for over 200 years. I say do what brings you joy and allows you to express yourself.

Where can folks see or purchase your work?

I’m not currently selling finished pieces. This year and at least the first half of 2024 are going to be devoted to expanding Marvelous Makers, getting my website up to speed, offering more classes, and doing a lot more online. There’s a special project I’m working on that I’m not quite ready to put out into the world. If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you’ll be among the first to know! I look forward to getting all of that launched so I can return to making art for exhibition. That’s the plan, at least. We’ll see what the fates have in store.

How can folks connect with you?

Marvelous Makers: Facebook (@MarvMakers) and Instagram (@MarvMakers)

My website (coming soon): www.MarvMakers.com

Email: Linda@MarvMakers.com

Paper Greenhouse (it’s quiet in there for now but you’re welcome to have a look at all the pretty pictures!): Facebook (@PaperGreenhouse) and Instagram (@PaperGreenhouse)