Artist Spotlight: Serena Boschert

Photos and story by Kim Carr

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with juried artist Serena Boschert. We met at Framations Art Gallery in St. Charles on Main Street, where she has been a resident artist since the gallery opened seven years ago.  http://www.framations.com/boschert.html

Serena is a Charter Member of The Best of Missouri Hands, joining in 1985 and has served BOMH as president. When you take time to visit Serena’s wall at Framations, you can tell her taste varies as far as subject matter goes, ranging from an oriental flavor, floral, nature and birds just to mention a few. She is juried in the category of ceramics/sculpture but enjoys working in a variety of mediums including painting and mixed media. http://www.bestofmissourihands.org/artisans/clay-sculpture/serenaboschert/

Having grown up in the shadows of the JB Bridge in South St. Louis County, Serena has been drawing since she can remember. As a child she would sketch on scratch paper and was always encourage by her parents to be creative. Her father worked for the government and when he had spare time, he would tinker with a little wood carving. Her mother was a nurse and always seemed to have a craft project underway. A specialty was making authentic doll clothing. Serena grew up with three brothers, two of which are visual artists and the other does creative writing. At the age of eight, Serena remembers shopping with her mother at the Lee Wards store which was decked out for the holidays. Staring at the sequined ornaments, stockings and other decorations she remembers asking her mother, “Wouldn’t it be nice to have Christmas year ’round?” It is no wonder that now, after 31 years as an artist, Serena is known as the “Ornament Lady.”

Her hand painted ornaments can be found across the United States and around the world. One commission came from the US Embassy in Albania. Most commonly Serena does hand paints custom portraits of homes and pets on her ornaments. Her commissioned ornaments have ranged from hand painting a cruise ship, private airplanes, or whatever is near and dear to the customer’s heart. Creating Christmas ornaments is very near and dear to her heart.

Serena can be found in her home studio a minimum of 30-40 hours a week working on different pieces, many of them commissioned work. Her studio is large and spacious inside her 100+ year old home. Plenty of cabinets for storage, lots of windows for natural light and a large drafting table to work on. Admittedly though, her actual work space is much smaller. More like 2 foot by 2 foot, due to her studio being filled with supplies, works in progress and other necessary artist stuff. The best advice Serena has ever received was “If you’re not feeling creative then organize your work space.” She said that cleaning brushes, organizing materials and putting things in their place helps her to refocus.

With a Bachelors and Masters in Media Art, Serena taught Junior High Students for six years and has a lifetime teaching certificate. She first started with the Best of Missouri Hands to gain business knowledge within the art world.  Initially she would participate in 26 – 30 shows a year but as her business has grown it has become more effective to exhibit and sell her work at Framations Art Gallery near her home. The hardest thing about not showing is she misses meeting the new artists and hanging out with old friends.

A couple times a year, Serena’s work can be found in local exhibits such as “Art Uncorked” which is presented by the library and she enjoys participating in the Chamber of Commerce shows which she has been a member for over 20 years.

Giving credit to the Best of Missouri Hands, Serena states the organization played a critical role in her business going nationwide.  Back in the mid to late 80’s she was contacted by Glamour Magazine and Midwest Living, both of which found her through the BOMH catalog.  From that word of mouth has been the biggest marketing tool in which Serena has continued to build her art career.  When she does a commissioned piece for a family it often results in another lead as they share her work with their family and friends and so on.  Serena states she remains a member of the BOMH for the continuing opportunity to learn.  When possible Serena likes to payback new artists with the knowledge she has gained over the years and through the BOMH.

The most important words of advice that she can pass on, “Do what you love” she said nodding her head, “Do what you love.” Also very important to her is for artists to treat their work as a business. Take it seriously; learn what you can about the business of art. We discussed the many hats an artist must wear and agreed it is very hard work but well worth the effort. Serena feels comfortable in doing and creating what she likes, which is a reflection of her. “You always hope the customer likes it,” Serena stated, and so far it has paid off.

Inspiration comes in many forms, nature, animals, her dreams and travel.  Recent travels include Botswana, Ireland, France and Japan. You can easily see a reflection of this inspiration in her current works at Framations. Serena is also inspired by trying new things and draws upon everyday life such as the doors to 25 businesses and homes located on Main Street in St. Charles.  Serena painted the doors which are a wonderful representation of the communities’ rich history. The doors are combined in a collage called “Main Street Doors” and currently are featured on the cover of the current issue of “Street Scape” Magazine. http://www.streetscapemag.com/

Most recently Serena was excited to accept the challenge of painting a larger than life sculpture of a dog for a fund raising activity with the Animal Protective Association. Twenty area artists were given a rather large dog or cat sculpture by the renowned Harry Weber and asked to paint/decorate them for an upcoming fund raiser. Serena’s statue is titled, “Blue” and is decorated in musical symbols, dog breed stamps and images of area attractions celebrating the history of St. Louis. All monies raised will go to support the efforts of the APA in celebration of their 90^th anniversary birthday bash in September. The statues where unveiled June 22, 2013 at Busch Stadium and then moved to area business’s for display until being reunited in September at the Clayton Art Fair then any statue not yet sold will be auctioned off at the APA celebration on September 14, 2013. Being an animal lover, Serena was more than happy to accept this challenge and is hopeful lots of money will be raised for the organization. All statues can be viewed at http://www.harryandhanley.com/the-sculptures.php