Brigitte Martin currently has her hands full with several projects.  Besides being a jewelry artist herself, she also is the owner of Luke and Eloy Gallery in Lawrenceville.  Plus, she is the director of two social networks through Ning (Ning is an online platform for people to create their own social networks, launched in October 2005). The Luke and Eloy ning site has information regarding the gallery, as well as information about participating artists. The crafthaus ning site can only be described as the facebook for craft artists.  With more than a thousand members, online exhibits, and the ability for artists to sell their work, www.crafthaus.ning.com has become a new online haven for craft artists. (Note: Craft artists are artists who have traditional training in craft media such as ceramics, metals/jewelry, woodworking, fibers/textiles, or printmaking.  Using these skills, they create works of art that utilize function, concept, metaphor, or even performance.)

I asked Mrs. Martin a few questions about her cornucopia of projects.

-Let’s start with your background, tell me about your training, the artwork that you make, how you ended up in Pittsburgh, and why you decided to open a gallery?

I am a classically trained goldsmith from Germany, meaning that I underwent an apprenticeship with a Master Goldsmith in my native country. Today, I work in a variety of materials, such as precious metals, gemstones and pearls, but also various resins, and natural fibers, such as sheep’s wool and recycled horse hair !

My husband is from Pittsburgh, and we decided to move here to be close to family.

I previously worked for years in the contemporary art world, I love all things art and craft, and cannot imagine my life without it. I tremendously enjoy gallery work, especially the interaction with artists, art collectors and buyers.

-Tell me about Luke and Eloy gallery. What do you show?

At Luke & Eloy, I show a variety of art media.  Naturally, with my background, the big focus is on artistic, handmade jewelry, however, I appreciate other art and craft media as well, such as glass, wood, ceramics, fibers, mixed media and the like, so I try to give it all a fair shot during my regular exhibitions.  At any given moment, I have a themed exhibition going on, as well as a great number of art jewelry on display. Of course, everything is available for purchase.  My upcoming shows include a retrospective of the last 10 years in the artistic life of a wonderful fiber artist (Michelle Pajak-Reynolds, June 20-July 25, 2009), followed by 2 simultaneous Solo Shows in Sep/Oct (Furniture and Tableware by Brian Ferrell paired with Fine Jewelry by Chihiro Makio from Massachusetts), afterwards (Nov 09-January 2010) I will have a group show called “Paper or Plastic?” paired with Margaux Lange’s fun jewelry made from various Barbie doll parts. I really try to bring a fresh look at art and craft to the Pittsburgh gallery scene, showing a diverse range of unusual and high quality work.

-As both an artist and gallery owner, what do you think it takes for an artist to “make it” today? Many of my students are surprised to learn that galleries take a 50% cut.  What are your thoughts on the Artist/Gallery relationship?

For an artist to make it today it takes a lot of determination, a lot of networking and a lot of plain old LUCK.  There are many absolutely tremendous artists out there, they by far outnumber the available gallery spots and exhibition opportunities.

My approach to working with artists is that of an equal partnership. The artist provides me with something unique and precious, and I try to market and sell it for the artist.  That is how we divide up the work.  On top of that, I am also interested in helping the artist succeed in their career overall, not just at my gallery, and I will do my most to support them when they need me, and in general be a fair and good friend.

-What was your initial idea for crafthaus, and did you expect it to grow this fast?

I started crafthaus a few months before I was ready to open the gallery, and I did it really out of frustration.  I was sitting alone in my studio in the basement of my house working away by myself day after day, and I felt very isolated from other creative people and the input and creative energy they can provide.  I was listening to Diane Rehm on NPR interviewing one of the ning.com platform founders who described what they were doing, and it literally hit me like a ton of bricks.  I quit working in the studio right then and there, and started crafthaus. I absolutely never envisioned this becoming big at all, it really was just meant to be a small way to connect better with people I already knew. All that growth came over time and the development was natural. I never paid a dime for advertising, it was all word of mouth.  I kept adding various features to the site, and had lots of ideas that I thought were interesting to the membership.  Lucky for me, the membership thought they were interesting too.

-What are your expectations of someone who visits Luke and Eloy Gallery?  And Crafthaus?

  In both cases, I would like the visitors to enjoy their experience and come away with a feeling that they had a good time.  I sincerely hope that   visitors find something that is meaningful to them personally and that they can connect with in either the brick and mortar gallery or the online   environment.  If they form that connection, of course, I would also hope they will consider buying that work of art or piece of jewelry to takehome and cherish, or give as a gift.

-How has being trained as an artist prepared you for starting your own online artist network, as well as run a gallery?

The art training alone has not prepared me at all for what I am doing now. I also have a background in Hotel Management, have worked for the auction house Sotheby’s, and spent many years as a Director’s assistant at a contemporary fine art gallery.  It is the combination of these diverse fields that makes this work for me.

-Finally, what is your advice for someone who does not often visit galleries?  What should they expect from visiting a gallery?

 Expect to be amazed.  Keep an open mind towards unusual sights, and absolutely ask questions if you would like, don’t be intimidated or think  that you will be viewed as ignorant.  Nowadays, galleries are no longer snobbish havens for the few high-brow sophisticates amongst us, but fun  and interesting places where new experiences can be had in a relaxed environment. I know that this is definitely true for what is going on at  Luke & Eloy.