Photograph by Virginia Harold
ArtBar
ArtBar
Last year, when we caught up with Lana Camp and Jamie D. Jessop, we introduced readers of stlmag.com to the couple’s Ert Night event. Not content to host a run-of-the-mill, weekly party at their home, they decided to create a night for people to work on solo artistic projects in a collective space. A lot of painters are represented at Ert Night, but all forms of art have been represented in some form, including a fair amount of music.
By occasionally expanding their basement-and-yard-and-kitchen-based Ert Night to the larger environs of 2720 Cherokee, the pair wound up becoming involved in another effort just down the block. Though the project involves other principals, the look and feel of Cherokee’s new(ish) ArtBar Saint Louis is definitely influenced by the creative pair of Camp and Jessop, the latter of whom did much of the early build-out. To have seen the space in a former life and now today… well, artists were definitely involved in every aspect of the construction. The turnover’s nothing less than amazing, with yet another vibrant storefront added to the Cherokee blender.
ArtBar’s touched on the piece below, but so are quite a few other projects. As we do every other week, we asked seven questions—this time of two, connected artists.
Art school? Self-taught? Some variety of both? Or none of the above?
Lana: I did a bit of transferring: STLCC Meramec to UMSL to finally, Webster. I always did art as a kid. Grandma said I drew before I could walk. School doesn't really matter, though—I have seen the gamut of skills from both trained and outsider artists.
Jamie: I have no formal art training except for my 37 years of drawing, sketching, painting, doodling, making and basic experimenting on how to do it. I have taken a couple years of mechanical-architectural drafting and design classes in the past, and have several classes under my belt for graphic design with Photoshop and Illustrator, but all those have been around a decade ago at this point.
Regarding your creative habits, are you a night owl or an early bird?
Lana: I am a night owl. Around sunset is where most of my creativity ideally begins to flourish.
Jamie: Night owl. There is something inherently romantic to me about getting up at 5:30 am to begin my day, but I really can't seem to find a way to stop all the excitement later in the evening into the night to go to bed early enough to logically get up at an early hour.
In basic terms, can you describe the setup and vibe of your studio?
Lana: We have a shared studio in the basement—nearly the whole basement, though things tend to spill out wherever. We werk where the ert needs to be.
Jamie: Our basement is our studio. It does lack the wonderful sunlight that makes things feel so much more open, but in the summer it is wonderful to have the basement door open and be able to have this wonderful, cool space that is dedicated to making stuff. We've had so many people in for Ert Night every Monday for the last four years that there are always remnants of that strewn all about. I think the great vibe of Ert Night has seeped into our walls here at Camp Jessop and is both very relaxing and stimulating. That much seems to remain constant.
What are your thoughts on crowdfunding for the arts? And is that option any part of your own approach to creating and selling work?
Lana: Is that like how Amanda Palmer from the Dresden Dolls is making money by giving away her music to people who get it and pay her for the music directly? That is great. I would love to see people paying for art with a fair and decent price for the artist, but I am not sure that happens all the time. I haven't explored that crowdfunding avenue directly, but I always enjoyed a good art raffle.
Jamie: I think it is a good idea in the right time and place. I've never used it to create a piece of art but it seems like crowdfunding would be for some larger projects/studies that artists may want to experience. Craig Downs is a good example of that. I helped him with his Kickstarter video to go down to San Pancho to stay for several months to work on his art and produce a wonderful book of his experience. Now he is moving there permanently; he loved it so much. For someone who truly appreciates the help they get and will utilize it in a positive way, there can be no question that it is beneficial. I haven't tried the avenue of crowdfunding to produce any work to date, but if it were a large project that I wanted to see completed and I couldn't afford to do it on my own, I see no reason to not explore that option.
Do you have a dream project that lacks only funding (or time)?
Lana: Not specifically, past The Apartment-Gallery (mini-galleries that are also apartments that artists can live in AND show their own work in) but they are being worked on as we speak. I will be contributing more to that soon and expect things to get more on their way to completion; so, in a sense, I am living my dream. I definitely want to paint more, and I think I see that happening in my near future, too. Things are pretty good, to me.
Jamie: Yes, as Lana said, our four-family apartment complex is a dream project. I've been working on it for two years now, and it's getting to a basic completion point. They are apartments that I have put gallery lighting into, and will be mini-galleries for werking artists to live in and werk in. The only other dream project that I could think of: I just finished building at 2732 Cherokee. Art Bar Saint Louis. THAT was a dream come true, and I love that place only second to Lana Camp. The dreams came true!
To what degree do you enjoy having public contact, whether that means selling your work at a fair, a gallery opening, etc.?
Lana: I like to go out and see the people, chat it up, schmooze with acquaintances, catch up with friends, nosh on apps; yes. I don't like the awkward bartering, bargaining, and sales pitch to convince people to want to pay me a fair price for my work; no. I work hard on a piece, and it doesn't feel good to convince someone to pay what is fair to me, since they usually simply do not understand the time/labor it takes to make a piece, not to mention the long term and short term investments on our parts for supplies/software/travel/research/education, etc., and I am not great at selling my own work, anyway.
Jamie: Many may not realize it, but I actually get very anxious at public events. Sometimes I wonder if I can keep up with conversations, not having gone to art school or having had any formal art training. I really can't believe some of the opportunities that have come our way, and projects that we have been asked to be a part of. That may sound strange since we've had large groups of people coming to our house for Ert Night every Monday for years on end, but it is how it is. When I was the videographer at Home Nightclub at AmeriStar, standing there shooting in the booth with Nelly or The Crystal Method or DJ Jazzy Jeff or some Playboy model I would get so nervous! Not because of the talent, but because of the patrons. I'm not even sure I could explain why. I enjoy feedback on things I create, but I am really only intimate with an inside circle of amazing people that I've been blessed to have come around.
What other St. Louis artists inspire or motivate you?
Lana: Geez, so many! Nancy Newman Rice is technically amazing. I loved her work for years. I am in awe of her skills. David Durham, ever since I took Figure Drawing in community college. He made it look so easy. I wanted to be as good as him. At a B.A. Review in college, a couple of professors mentioned some of my work looked like I was trained under David, and I was pleased to hear he rubbed off on me a bit. He is a beautiful person, and a wonderful artist. Craig Downs for his whimsical imagery and vibrant passion for life, both on the canvas and in person. I love that man. My husband. I am amazed by his self-motivation to get done what needs to be done. I get to see it every day. His photography is stunning. His videos are super fun. His stained glass is beautiful. He made our home. He improves our neighborhood apartments and homes for a living. He made a bar (Art Bar Saint Louis) for us to hang out in. Together, we formed a gang of awesome, creative people that we sincerely love (Ert Night). We essentially created our own little werld since I met him. I love it. I love him.
Jamie: The Ert Night crew, of course. I've never known such a diverse, kind, approachable and open group of artists. Artists who werk at what they like to do, who do it at any cost, whether someone EVER buys a piece from them, who would lie, cheat and steal if they had to get the materials they need to make a thing. THAT is what inspires and motivates me. Wayne St. Wayne is to me, the best example of an artist like this that I know of with my own two eyes/ears. He rolls with the punches, is always in a positive mood and no matter what, loves making his paintings and is NOT going to stop... no matter if a single soul buys a single thing from him. Art in its purest form to me is made just for the sake of someone enjoying making the image/thing they want to make. If you consider yourself successful or unsuccessful because of sales, or your ego is bigger than your personality, you're not a true artist. That might just be “my opinion,” but I'll stand on it. I understand that it feels great to sell something you create, and it feels great because someone else thinks your thing is worth trading money for...but THAT has to come second to your pure passion for just wanting to get something out of your head. Last and certainly not least, my wife and friend for upwards of 32 years, Lana Camp. She is the most AMAZING portrait artist that I have ever personally met. Lana was in a severe car accident from someone else's negligence about seven years ago that left her unable to hold her hands and arms like she could before the accident (which as you might imagine can affect your ability to make art and pursue your passion). She does, however, keep on trying through daily chronic pain to make art, support art and support a vast community of artists across Saint Louis and doesn't complain too much about it. She has that passion for art. I love her for that.
