Meet Cheryl Derricotte: CEO & Visual Artist

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

Hi Cheryl, what is the most important factor behind your success?
The most important factor behind the success of my brand is authenticity. People trust me to be open and honest–even when dealing with difficult topics in my art. I am known for welcoming people into conversations and helping them identify their voice as art collectors and engaged citizens. 

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I stand for art and liberation. I am decidedly political and engaged with the world. This is reflected in my art and is what sets me apart from many folks working with glass and paper. I’m an ethical vegetarian aka vegan, who lives on a little mountain in the middle of a big city. It’s the perfect metaphor for a maker who straddles two worlds. I have one foot on the carpet in tech start-ups where I work a “day job” in operations and corporate real estate, and the other foot on the concrete floor with craft tools. I am a member of two art collectives in San Francisco (Three Point Nine Art & Collective Genus), and serve as the Chief Mindfulness Officer of Crux, a nationwide co-op of creatives of color who work in immersive story-telling (AR/VR). I got started in craft practice back in 2000. I learned how to make warm glass art (kiln-formed) at the Washington Glass School. I was encouraged by one of the co-founders, Tim Tate, to pursue further study at the Penland School of Crafts. At Penland, I learned about large scale sculpture composition, traditional Venetian glass-blowing techniques and mixed-media artist’s books. My first trip to Penland was in 2003 and I have enjoyed going every 4-5 years to sharpen my skills. I am proud of the fact that I have been showing work in museums for 15 years. In 2020, one of my artworks about police brutality was acquired by the de Young Museum in San Francisco – my first major permanent collection! The biggest challenge I have faced over the years, is balancing the demands of a “day job” while simultaneously running an art studio business. Art residencies have played a major role in my life, as they give me the time and space to work on new ideas that later become new series. When the pandemic recedes, I am looking forward to taking my delayed residencies to Paper Machine in New Orleans and the Vermont Studio Center. The biggest lesson I have learned is to set goals and then when necessary, how to say “No.” I can now rest in the fact that not every opportunity is the correct one for me and “No” is a complete sentence. I want the world to know that my studio offers a place for people who like their fine art & craft with a side of political activism. It doesn’t matter if you are a new art collector or a veteran, you can be sure that when we meet each other online or in real life, we will engage in meaningful dialogues about the state of world and how to make it a better, more equitable place through the lens of art. – – – – – – – Artist Statement for the Images I submitted: Pandemic Bookkeeping, 1-4, (2020). I created my own take on all of the “plague journals” that artists are making. From the new weekly mainstay in the Sunday New York Times, to many of my friends’ Instagram feeds, “plague journals” (and “protest signs”) will be the way history remembers 2020. We all seem to be counting. Counting the days, counting the stages of re-opening, and counting the number of Zoom meetings. Lot of counting. My reality always involves an art practice that brings historical images into contemporary dialogues. I keep a daily journal, and for the back-drop of these artworks, I was drawn to one of the blank journal pages of Clara Barton. A revered civil war nurse, often traveling with the Union Army, she is best known as the founder of the American Red Cross. I was also drawn to the images of the 1861 British classic “Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management.” Unlike Clara Barton, Isabella Beeton devoted herself to her husband and domesticity. It should be noted that a significant portion of this book details how to hire and manage servants! It is not lost on me that I would occupy the position of servant on either side of the Atlantic “pond” in the 1860’s. This year, 2020, has often felt like I woke up in a Dickens novel in the middle of the Civil War. And yet today, like many women, I am required to embody both Clara and isabella: focused career woman, (serving society) and a goddess of domesticity, (understated beauty with a well-appointed home). My new series, “Pandemic Bookkeeping“ shares an assessment of how I stack up against the standards of running a Victorian/Civil War-era middle class household that haunt us today. Like it or not, I am occupying the precariously demanding positions of mistress, housekeeper and cook. Clearly I have enough bed pillows, but really, only two demitasse spoons? This is my plague journal. I am counting.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
San Francisco is an amazing place, because it is a thriving city coupled with nature in almost every neighborhood. My favorite hiking spots during the day include Lands End on the Pacific Ocean and Twin Peaks for views of the whole bay. Evening walks must include the Embarcadero at night, to see artist Leo Villareal’s “Bay Bridge Lights.” San Francisco has amazing vegan food, which also appeals to omnivores who like vegetables. Shizen Vegan Sushi Bar and Izakaya is my favorite in San Francisco and across the bridge in Oakland, Vegan Mob for casual BBQ and Millennium for gourmet vegan fair can’t be beat. Last but not least, the boat ride to Angel Island is wonderful. Angel Island is great place to learn about the challenging history immigration to the Bay Area in the 1900’s, (this was our Ellis Island), and then have a nice picnic to discuss what you have seen and learned.

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?
Shout out to the Washington Glass School & the Penland School of Crafts! These are the studios that have nurtured and encouraged me as I have learned fine craft & grown as a creative entrepreneur. Shout out to the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco, for my first solo show in 2015 and the de Young Museum for acquiring one of my artworks in 2020–my first permanent collection acquisition!

Website: https://www.cherylderricottestudio.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cherylderricottestudio/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherylderricotte/
ClubHouse: @cdstudio

Image Credits
Courtesy of the Artist, Cheryl Derricotte