Conversations with Samuel McCormick

Today we’d like to introduce you to Samuel McCormick. 

Hi Samuel, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
As a young child, I was very interested in nature as our family spent much of our time outdoors. My grandfather taught me to work with my hands from a very young age. He was a master mason and carpenter so he has a wealth of knowledge to pass on to me. I have had several mentors to take me under their wing and teach me the tricks of their trade. I learned about the value of salvages materials from a very dear friend named Richard V at 10 years of age. He also expanded upon what I learned in middle school and high school shop class by teaching me how to work with specialized materials such as leather and antler. I had several other craftsman mentors as well. I enjoy learning new ways of creating things. Inspiration for my artwork comes from the world around me. I call what I do “Recycling the Old way”, I take things that others would normally discard and I make usable things from them. I work with leather, wood, bone, fossil, stone, shell, fur, and vintage items. In 2020 I decided to become and artist full-time. I started my business Art by Samuel McCormick in January 2020 and I have been steadily increasing the amount of shows and festivals that I attend each year. My other half Riley Jones helps me with lots of tasks of running a business such as collecting and processing materials as well as making artwork for our booth. This year will mark 24 years of creating artwork. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Owning a small business is very challenging. Selling artwork full-time is not always taken seriously. My business is the main source of income for my family. I love what I do and I hope to bring joy to others through my work. The pandemic was also a big challenge for me. I travel to sell my wares, I could not travel for several months, and was very concerned about keeping my customers and my family safe. When working with some natural materials, it takes lots of research on the legal laws of both the states we are vending in as well as following all federal regulations. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a natural medium artist. I take the scraps of others, things that I find in nature, and objects collecting dust on junk store shelves and give them a new purpose. I make walking sticks; tobacco pipes; carved antler, bone, and stone pieces; jewelry; dream catchers; curiosities bottles; solder work; leather and fur bags, pouches, dice trays, and keychains; wooden bowls, trays, tables, and jars; Viking garb; drinking horns, mugs, and cups; and metaphysical tools. I am known for making salvaging materials and for my larger-than-life pieces. I am proud of my artwork and how much my business has grown. I hand-make everything in my booth. I do as much of the processing of materials in-house as I can. I do a lot of custom orders, if you have an idea for something made of natural materials, I can usually make it happen (as long as your idea involves legal parts). 

What’s next?
I have shows planned all along the East coast up until December of this year. There are many shows that I participate in every year. We plan to keep traveling to various states attending Viking festivals, renaissance festivals, art shows, oddities expos, music festivals, and many others. Our plan is to one day to open a shop where we can sell our artwork and teach art classes. 

Pricing:

• Our pricing varies, most of my artwork is between 5 and 200 dollars

Contact Info:

• Website: www.samuelmccormick.com
• Instagram: artbysamuelmccormick
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/ArtbySamuelMcCormick