Meet Cece Cole: Artist and Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cece Cole and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cece, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I am an installation artist with a national and international exhibition resume. Recently, I branched out to highlight my creative collaborations and I have just launched an online art and design shop. My trajectory as a practicing studio artist has included careers in education, production design and film making. I have also consulted on arts programing and proposals, architectural and civic projects. In 2018, after being offered another opportunity to volunteer my time on a well-funded venture, I created ColeLab. Part manifesto and all business, ColeLab provides a place to direct clients seeking an informed artist’s perspective on projects big and small. It serves as a friendly reminder that the promise of exposure is not an acceptable form of payment. Our qualifications and experience should be appropriately compensated. In 2020, I started Good Company Contemporary. My gallery work is conceptual, temporal, and experiential. Good Company provides a platform for exploring my interest in design and propels me to generate saleable works. I am starting with a collection of affordable, hand-made pieces and prints. The rotating selection of products reflects the momentum, mood, and materials of the studio. Ownership makes it possible to by pass the percentage losses that come with selling through retail shops and galleries. Through February 2021, I have an installation on view at Tay Modern in Phoenix, AZ. I am in the process of developing new installation work and creating models for future design projects. I am taking time to explore my roots in photography and video and to learn new skills in marketing and branding.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
As a gallery artist, my name is my brand. I create mixed media installations that develop from a cumulative studio process. Experimental drawings and sculptural vignettes engage existing architecture to explore light, shadow, transparency and spatial ambiguity. I get excited when seemingly disparate elements come together in dialogue with the surroundings, activating lighting and kinetic effect. I am also energized by innovation and problem solving. For me, the shift to creating company names and products that might have commercial appeal gives me license to take some different risks, to feature my multi-faceted skill sets and to delve more deeply into my interest in design. I have tested a few concepts, websites, graphics and logos. I am aware of my limitations in marketing and branding and appreciate the value that a professional in the field can bring. Although my learning curve might present its challenges, I am gaining valuable insights that inform my overall vision and will help me to communicate my needs when I am ready to expand. Setting small goals has been helpful for maintaining focus and drive with the more administrative parts of a studio business. I am enthused and energized by new project ideas, my to-do list and exploring the possibilities!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My favorite spot to visit in Scottsdale is James Turrell’s, Skyspace located inside the Scottsdale Museum of Art. Just a short distance from the museum and worth a stop is an understated and underappreciated Vito Acconci building. My husband and I love to cook and entertain and can’t wait to do more of it when we can be together again. We live right next door to the Cattletrack Studios and frequently walk over for fun dinners, making stuff, and talking shop. The Cattletrack Compound is full of sculpture and art work, hosts an eclectic group of artists, studios and an ongoing list of events, talks, gallery shows, and live music. We enjoy riding bikes along the canal and the Green Belt, stopping for lake views and cold beers and love a visit to Taliesin West, even if it is just to sit for an espresso and to soak in the landscape. We take friends to Ocotillo in Phoenix for the fun, relaxed atmosphere and glam comfort food and always recommend a stop at Practicle Art for inspired, all local art works and gifts to take home. The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Many thanks to Kathy Taylor who picked me. She is so wonderful and supportive!! She gives the best pep talks:) I look forward to our future projects and collaborations. I have to mention my Aunt Helen who has always encouraged me and is my best customer:) I want to Shoutout to Janie Ellis. She runs the historic Cattletrack Studios in Scottsdale, AZ. Besides being super cool and fun to be around she is a tireless supporter of art and artists from all disciplines. www.cattletrack.org

Website: http://www.cccole.com/ https://goodcompanyaz.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cccolestudio/ https://www.instagram.com/goodcompanyaz/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cece-cole-81765b30/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cece.cole.33
Other: https://www.colelab.art/ https://www.instagram.com/colelab.art/ https://www.facebook.com/Good-Company-Contemporary-107854091072790/