Mother Artist: Greta Coalier
Greta Coalier (Painter, Textile Sculptor, Mother of four)
Website: www.gretacoalier.com
Social Media: IG @gretacoalier FB Greta Coalier Artworks
Where to Shop: Union Studio
What should you listen to while reading this MA story?
Podcasts: My Favorite Murder, Haunted Happenstance, Even The Rich, Spooked by Snap Judgement, Ghosts in The Burbs. Anything with ghosts!
The Family
Greta lives in Rock Hill with her four kids, Charlie (10), Poppy (12), Ruby (14) and Sadie (16). So, in case you’re not paying attention to the math here, at one point Greta had four kids under seven years old! Raising her children with her husband, Sam, was what forced her to go all in with her art making. Sam, a medical sales rep, had no predictable schedule and was the primary breadwinner. For Greta, it didn’t make sense to continue working and pay for childcare, so she decided to stay home. I think we all know the tune to that song, right? She retroactively questioned whether she was a “full time” artist when her children were young, to which we say, with great fervor, YES! What does full time mean anyway? As a Mother, if you devote whatever precious time you DO have to making art, then you are a full time artist. Even if it’s only five hours a week.
All four of her ridiculously cool children are back in actual school, although she found virtual school to be somewhat easier for her family. “I didn’t have to worry about getting my kids to all these different places every day. It bought me a lot of time to work!”
“Margaret’s Cat”
The Early Life
Greta grew up in an old home in Webster Groves. “It was the kind of house where you couldn’t take a bath in the bathtub because it might fall into the basement.” A fixer upper, indeed! Creativity was an encouraged value in her household, with art supplies readily available and a mother who made room for it all to happen. In 6th grade, she met her husband Sam and although their path to marriage and kids was long and winding, they’re still going strong in 2020!
For college, Greta did what every 18 year old SHOULD do (but probably won’t) and attended community college before attending a university. “That was one of the BEST decisions I ever made, to go to community college”. After two years at SLCC-Meramec, Greta was off to The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. “I visited the Art Institute in high school and from that point on, my whole goal was to get there”. There, she studied textiles. What does that mean? Fabric, robes, tassels, drapes, blankets, weaving, fashion. How incredibly cool would it be to study tassels in college?? TASSLES!!
“I visited the Art Institute in high school and from that point on, my whole goal was to get there”.
The Art
When I arranged to speak to Greta via Zoom, she mentioned she would be “at” her studio, not “in”. This may seem like a relatively unimportant distinction to note, but it suggested Greta had a studio that is NOT in her home, a Mother Art first! Greta has a beautiful studio on South Broadway, thanks to an arrangement by an artist friend who rents the space. “It's a huge old 18th century building and I'm on the ground floor in a storefront. I love it more than I can say.”
Greta’s Studio (swoon)
To appreciate Greta’s art is to appreciate the 80’s, and I’m not talking Member’s Only jackets, Gordan Gekko and neon leotards. Think chintz. Think waverly and Laura Ashley. Crazy, intricate florals that actually seem to grow and invade whatever item or space they exist in. The intense amount of time and detail textile work requires has certainly informed her current work. Much like one would weave to create a beautiful fabric panel, Greta incorporates layers upon layers to develop a rich final product with a painting history you can actually see. She uses color in an intense, but thoughtful manner. When I look at her paintings, they almost appear to glow; a testament to how talented she is at developing her palettes.
While her paintings, prints, and work on fabric is what sells, Greta is fully committed to her textile sculpture roots. On her website, you can see her exploration of sculpture with her series Agriculture Adventure Series.
“These sculptures are a study on the beginnings of development. What happens above and underneath the ground when things begin to sprout and grow.” -Greta Coalier
Like most Mother Artists I’ve had the pleasure to talk with, Greta has made her art her business. “"The past year I’ve been focusing on prints and social media marketing, which takes up a lot of time but has been really helpful for selling my work.” Prior to this, she relied on word of mouth and casual posts on Facebook. She dabbled in galleries, but recognized the disadvantage of working in a gallery in modern times. Historically, galleries would generally take 50%, but also took on the marketing and sales aspect for the artist. Huge! With social media and accessible website building platforms like Squarespace, artists can manage their own brand (if you’ve got the gusto to learn!) Greta has fully committed to this path and is learning that, while uncomfortable, putting yourself out there as an artist is entirely worth it.
“Casual Alien”
So now that you know where the work is made, how about we tell you where you can get it! Greta has a beautiful website loaded with gorgeous bodies of work that can suit any price point. Be sure to peruse and check out her decadent pieces! If you’re shopping in stores and want to support a local shop, check out Union Studio in Webster Groves.
“Disrupt Apathy”, available at Union Studio
The Takeaways
-Don’t sleep on community college. Love, your future self with must less student debt
-”Full time” doesn’t mean 40 hours a week. It means devoting your full self, no matter the time, to what you love to do
-The history of the tassel is actually quite interesting
-Consider your own studio space. It’s more in reach than you think!
-Even with four kids, you can Art to your Mother heart’s content
