Today we’d like to introduce you to Frances Clark.
Frances, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve always been a creative person. Growing up, my mom used to tell me that she never had counter space because I always had a million projects scattered about. I went to UT Austin to study journalism but ended up switching to public relations and advertising and chasing money and success, which I had after college. I worked for several worldwide public relations firms and a large health care company, but I always felt like I was wearing a costume and slowly felt my creative self slipping away. During that time, I had picked up a camera and started a photography business and an Etsy shop as a creative outlet, and eventually, and quite suddenly, quit my job to become a manager at Anthropologie, as I needed a break from corporate and wanted to be in my happy place. There I met so many creative women and was pursuing photography pretty heavily, and I eventually decided to go back to school at UT Dallas to study Visual Arts and Creative Writing. Now I’m a working artist, and I teach high school art and photography at an all girls leadership school, which allows me to pursue my own artistic endeavors, talk about art all day every day, and spread my love and passion for the arts to my students. I also recently re-branded and re-launched my Etsy shop, Tour de Frances, and am making art and product that is finally, inherently me. I truly feel like I’m exactly where I need to be right now.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
My creative journey has most certainly not been a smooth road. Right after UT Dallas, I went through a divorce, which put a huge halt on my art and business. I almost moved to London, and had everything lined up to do so, but the universe had other plans, and I got my teaching job and simultaneously found a 1978 VW bus, which I lovingly named Judy Chicago. One could say that it was an erratic and perhaps emotional decision, seeing as it’s a 40-year-old vehicle with absolutely no AC in Texas, but Judy has brought me so much joy, adventure, and inspiration. So far, I’ve traveled to Marfa, San Francisco, Vegas, Colorado, and soon the Pacific Northwest and Canada, and am photographing my journeys along the way. It seems sometimes the best things in life come out of seemingly tragic events. I also suffer from anxiety and the inevitable self-doubt felt by so many creatives, which I have to push through pretty regularly. At age 34, I’m just now learning that I have to make art and product for myself, rather than to please other people, and honestly, it’s the first time I’m genuinely proud of my work. I’m also having an incredible time making it, despite those sometimes 16-hour work days. And I’m learning the meaning of that old and perhaps cliché saying, “Do what you love, and you’ll never work another day in your life.”
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Tour de Frances story. Tell us more about it.
My business, Tour de Frances, is a blend of fine art, handmade and vintage, which I sell on Etsy and am currently venturing into markets. I sell 35mm and digital photographic prints, fine art prints and original paintings, modern ceramics, fibers such as wall hangings and plant hangers, sage bundles, and brass jewelry that incorporates oil paintings. I also love mixing old and new. For example. I sell prints in flea market frames and vintage matches from hotels for my sage bundles, as well as another vintage, finds here and there. My shop has a kind of modern 1970s feel, which is a sort of homage to my VW bus. I tend to be known for my photography, as I’ve been a professional photographer for seven years and it was my concentration at school, but I put myself, my aesthetic and my everything into each and every piece I make. More recently I’ve been into ceramics, and I’m fully addicted. I like that in my shop you can find overlapping themes. I tend to gravitate toward certain colors, styles, and patterns, and you might see them echoed in several products, like in a photograph and then maybe in a ring dish. I’m someone who loves learning, experimenting and trying new things, a Jack of All Trades you might say, and my shop allows me the opportunity to express myself, continue to grow as an artist, and share my art and handmade goods with others.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I tend to be someone who experiences what you might call bad luck on a pretty regular basis. Maybe it’s self-fulfilling? But what can go wrong often does go wrong in my case. For example, I’m preparing for Renegade Craft in Seattle and Portland (my first major markets as Tour de Frances), and the other day my kiln wouldn’t turn on and ended up shutting off mid fire. But what I’ve learned over the years is to trust myself and my skills. In the past, I would have asked for help or taken it in, but I ended up taking apart my kiln sitter and fixing the problem myself. And just a few weeks ago, my bus wouldn’t start, and instead of calling AAA, I got my jump kit and started the battery up myself. I know this might sound small, but I’ve gotten to a place in life where I can rely on and trust myself when things go wrong. The same could also be said for my art and business. I also think teaching at an all-girls school has given me a stronger sense of empowerment. I want to be a role model, not just in the arts, but also in life, and to teach them how to be self-sufficient and trust themselves as well. Bad luck, if that’s what you want to call it, is everywhere. We just have to have the know-how to get out of it and come out better on the other side.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tourdefrances.etsy.com
- Email: francesannephoto@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/tour_de_frances
- Other: www.francesannephotography.com
Image Credit:
Frances Clark
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