Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Durham.
Hi Nicole, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started my love for art back when I was a little person, creating entire cities and streets out of old cereal boxes and chalk on the hot sidewalk streets in El Paso, Texas. Now, I live in Houston, Texas and after raising two amazing young humans, I found myself with waaaaaaaaay too much free time on my hands! I had literally dedicated my life to my career, being a mom, and being a wife. Honestly, where would I have found time for much more is still a mystery. I tried all sorts of trending mom-things at the time: Mom blogging wasn’t for me and I quickly learned I was not cut for the influencer vibes that were appearing everywhere.
I can’t do 24 hours of happy! LOL…But drinking a great Pinot Noir and enjoying a charcuterie board was truly my favorite pass time for a very long time.
Life has a funny way of directing us back to what we love; to what calls us. One night while sipping, I found an old portfolio with my art from high school. The reminisce was real and then I found an unfinished piece; one that reminded me of a seriously painful moment in my life; followed by another piece that reminded me of a time when I was angry; and then a blank canvas and I forgot the pain, the anger, the boredom, and even the wine. I started creating again and forgot about time.
The process of re-finding myself again was frustrating at first. I wasted a lot of good art supplies but slowly it all kinda came back. I’ve never felt more alive and had such immense self-worth than I do when I’m creating. I genuinely feel like I leave a little piece of me, my contagious spirit, my bubbly personality, or my passionate soul in each piece I create; and I know I’ve done an a’right job when the pieces are hard to say goodbye to.
In addition to producing new art, I love love love taking old, tossed out, forgotten pieces, and refashioning them into something fresh, beautiful, edgy, and inspiring again. These refurbished pieces remind me of myself the most. No matter how long it’s been, there is always a little more life in all of us.
There is still passion, and strength, and vigor; you don’t have to drop these things just because you were, are, or want to be a mom, a wife, a boss.
I enjoy the raw creation that comes from using an uncommon resource like caulk; it’s malleable, it’s formable, it’s forgiving yet delicate and very similar to sculpting; combining my love for shaping, creating, and natural instincts to encourage.
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?
Ha. Define smooth again? LOL. No way. I think all moms can resonate with the guilt, the frustrations, the struggle with choosing ourselves, and what feels like we are not choosing our family or our kids. That internal battle is so real and then finding the time for everybody to include yourself. I look back now and wish I had pushed more to continue to paint and continue to create and nurture my artistic side as much as I did everything else. Today, we encourage other women to do just that. Don’t give up who you are or want to become. We truly can have it all, especially with the right support systems in place.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Well, my core material or choice is caulk, which is not on your traditional painting supply list. LOL. More like on your ‘to the hardware store’ list.
Yeah, it’s that 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 The CAULK artist.
Lots of jokes at dinners when discussing the name, product, and so many missuses of the often challenging to pronounce material…if I had known so many people had such a hard time saying caulk, maybe woulda thought about the handle a little more but it’s all in good fun and def a great ice breaker.
I first use caulk years ago while trying to multi-task between a DIY bathroom update and trying to paint a very contemporary and emotional artist self-portrait. At the time I was dealing with endometriosis and trying to capture my emotions on a canvas. I was literally frustrated. Frustrated with my body and with my acrylic products while trying to create depth, chaos, fear, through linear effects and nothing was working correctly. While lining the edge of the tub, because staying busy was the new therapy at the time, my aha moment struck, and I basically abandoned the bathroom to create like crazy into what is the Rot Frau followed by the first of my Chaos pieces.
Caulk it’s so much like life: It’s messy, it’s sticky, it’s heavy but light while still wet, it’s malleable. What I was using and working with was a much more dense and pliable material than traditional acrylic texture products and with some time, love, and care I learned to manage it. Using caulk on my creatives is more like sculpting on a canvas and I love the industrial feel that the caulk product gives to my creatives. I can leave it in its raw, matte, traditional form or I can jazz it up with a layer of color.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love love love Texas…Houston…even the burbs of Spring. There is a huge German community in Texas, which makes it feel a lot more natural when relating to my German-Texan heritage and while it’s been ages since I’ve gone back (insert a high school break where my family was stationed back in Kaiserslautern (K-Town) Germany for four years) the moments of familiarity are always appreciated. In addition to the food, culture, and fantastic nightlife, Houston is really a good time and a great place to raise a family, make friends, and actually live.
Contact Info:
- Email: nicole@thecaulkartist.com
- Website: www.thecaulkartist.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecaulkartist
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecaulkartist
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/thecaulkartist
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzG94wRqYz_yUs6w3jywhTg
