Today we’d like to introduce you to Haley Cavotta.
Hi Haley, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in a creative family so choosing art as a path was nurtured and encouraged. I received a scholarship to The Columbus College of Art and Design, and from there, I earned my degree in Fine Arts. I absorbed all I could in the areas of painting, drawing, printmaking, and photography. After graduation in 1997, while struggling to stay productive in my own personal work, I easily fell into the decorative painting world, doing mostly faux textures on walls. Early on I thought of this as a short-term job, but I continued to get more and more work. Residential jobs turned into commercial jobs; small jobs turned into big jobs. Simple jobs turned into complicated jobs. Having not had any business training, I learned very quickly that this experience is what would help build the value of my work. With that came a willingness to work long hours and to do things in the best way possible. So, I expanded my scope and learned about all sorts of materials, surfaces, and applications. Adding challenging projects, complicated designs, and meticulous planning would make the work more rewarding than I could have planned for. I feel so fortunate; I stay open-minded and let the projects come to me. My creative method, which includes planning, patience, and presence, is what has enabled me to be so productive. Today, I’m nicely balancing my decorative and personal artwork. I feel fulfilled as a creative doer, a real arting workist.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I try to resist measuring my creativity. Creative living draws you into the details but rarely reveals the big picture. Because my decorative work is so demanding, finding the time or reserving the creative force for my personal work can be a challenge. But it’s a balance to work towards. There are times I feel creatively blank, that I’m just trudging along. And sometimes really I am just trudging. But I have been through the cycle enough to know you can’t have white without black. Early on, these creative deserts would come with a large amount of pressure to make up for it. I felt that if so much time had passed, I needed to create something monumental. That was intimidating. But it was also the catalyst for my Daily Bread series, where I created a painting each day for a year. Although a monumental idea, a little painting each day was not. It actually really took the edge off. I used new techniques and approached things in ways I never had before, and at the end of the year, I had 365 paintings.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Whether I am creating my own work or on behalf of someone else, I like to think that I’m a translator. Many people can’t pre-visualize and there can be a language gap in their trying to convey ideas. I gain their trust by learning their visual language. This is a process that can take some time. I take in what I can from their ideas, descriptions, and reference points and interpret them visually. Similarly, I capture the ideas and messages of my own and go through a lengthy process to extract them and bring them to life in my own art.
My personal works are primarily non-representational paintings. I’m proud to share this work in juried competitions and invitational shows. My decorative work is vast and ornamental, made up of fine architectural wall finishes, metal leaf applications, wood-graining, murals, and more. Often, projects feature a complicated marriage of several applications. I was honored to have earned an award for craftsmanship from the Cleveland Restoration Society for one of these more involved projects.
Really, I believe I stand out through my careful planning, versatility, and patience, and how I try to apply that to all that I do. It’s more of a philosophy of being rather than doing.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I have definitely had a lot of support along the way from my family. My mother, Maureen Cavotta, was my first great advocate on my creative journey. She was also my advanced art teacher in high school. When I was very young, she was a freelance artist, so I was able to see her example as a successful commercial artist and teacher.
A fellow fine artist, Raymond Bugelski, really helped me launch my business and work to help achieve a balance in my decorative and personal work. I was already creatively stable, but he mentored and helped me build methods that were essential to character building and good business. We became such great partners that we married in 2002. Although we are on separate creative work paths now, he’s still my biggest supporter, and we continue to make and show our own personal work together.
I am also very fortunate to have had so many wonderful clients and partnerships in business. Anya Rudd is an interior designer that really stands out to me. I have worked on her own design client projects and was also invited to be part of a team of craftsmen, all working together to restore her historical home. I was onsite for around 8 months, and together, Anya and I tackled each aesthetic meeting together. She valued my ideas and input and empowered me to take on exciting creative challenges. She has truly inspired me through her grace and attitude toward work and life.
But I believe the thing that deserves the most credit always, is an open mind.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.haleycavotta.com
- Other: www.behance.net/halewhy
