Today, we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Durham.
Hi Nicole, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I was born in Beidigheim, Germany in and moved to the United States where I became a US citizen at 8 years of age.
Daughter to a German mother and African American father, my travels as a multi-racial military brat helped mold my creative soul and passion for art at an early age. When I was little, I would utilize any and all objects I could find to create, including the construction of miniature cities out of old cereal boxes, cans, and construction scraps on the sidewalk in front of our homes.
During college, my art took a back burner to become a wife and a mother of two and to pursue a very active career in marketing and event planning. I would find marginal time to create during that time because, as many women can relate to, we sacrifice our hobbies and interests to be the backbone for those that we love.
In 2020, the global pandemic and quarantine offered me the opportunity to rekindle my passion for the arts and aggressively pursue my artistic journey. Since 2020, I’ve continued to create multiple full bodies of work and collections that capture my experimental journey with caulk and continue to challenge me through multiple mediums, including collage and assemblage practices.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Challenges. I think I’ve created those on my own when I chose caulk as my core material, which is not on your traditional painting supply list. More like your trip to the hardware store. Caulk. Not to be confused with chalk (which happens quite often) is the stuff that you use to line your bathtub and sinks, etc.
“I get a lot of funny looks when I tell people my social handle is TheCAULKartist. Lots of jokes at dinners when discussing the name, product, and so many misuses of the often challenging-to-pronounce material…It’s all in good fun and def a great icebreaker”.
I first used caulk years ago while multi-task between a DIY bathroom update and trying to paint an Edvard Munch-inspired emotional self-portrait. “At the time I was dealing with endometriosis and trying to capture my frustrations on a canvas. I was depleted all over. Frustrated with my body, disappointed with modern medicine, annoyed by my male doctor and his lack of empathy, and just pissed with my inability to control myself. I tried to take my mind off of things with my art and was even more exasperated with efforts to create linear effects – nothing was working the way I envisioned”.
“While lining the edge of the tub, because staying busy was therapy then, my aha moment struck, and I abandoned the bathroom, which still needs updating to this date, to create like crazy into what Das Rot Frau, followed by the first of my Chaos pieces.”
Since then a lot of new medium products have come out and art supplies have evolved to offer all sorts of textured medium options, I choose to continue to work with caulk. I guess I’m just committed like that.
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?
In my recent collection, Behind The Blinds, I’ve been exploring the sexual identity of women in the modern world. The works from this collection accentuate the socio-political discourse of the middle-aged woman trapped between a revolution of emotional, physical, and sexual freedoms. We didn’t grow up in this evolved era and a lot of us are still struggling with an identity that we were raise to have versus the one we want to have.
The body of work analyzes how the current liberated LGBQT climate continues to influence middle-aged women who represent the evolving and changing boundary between female identity. It’s an opportunity to reveal how sexuality is present in our daily lives affected by visual politics such as: social media, the internet, and a desire to free the remaining fine lines of oppression.
Utilizing caulk as my unconventional medium for texture, these personas lift from the canvas and a silhouette is created capturing the female form.
By allowing these women to capture their most intimate and promiscuous moments behind the reflection of open blinds, I try to allow them to transport their true sexual selves outside the confinements of traditional morals, values, and cultivation.
What matters most to you? Why?
I’d love to chat more about women in the arts, especially women of color and women in the arts, and how we are such an underrepresented minority. It has truly become a passion for me, with an aggressive push to focus on ways I can help elevate women artists so their works and creatives are seen. Finding partnerships that speak to this regard has been a huge drive for me and has connected me with events such as the “I Am My Sister’s Keeper” presented by Tamara Gammon.
This Atlanta immersive experience (Expo Style’) will include dynamic original art from several women artists, fabulous fashion, and a variety of products from vendors all supporting the beauty of our beloved sisters. The experience will take place on March 15th at the George Piece Park Activity Center from 7pm until 10pm. Supporting these events, run by women, for women matter to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thecaulkartist.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecaulkartist
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecaulkartist
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicoledurham/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=thecaulkartist
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy6I-r_NxOE7lC636g3M3uw
