Can Conway Be A Cool Art Town?

If you had told me a year ago that I would be creating glass in this beautiful studio, I probably would have said, “I wish!” But, through planning, hard work (with the help of friends & family), artist collaborations, a SC Arts Grant, customer and sponsor support and a bit of serendipity, we pulled it off. The expanded studio is really better than we imagined. It’s a joy to work in the new space...the workflow and positive chi is inspiring. We now have an organized work area for everything we do.

This all began with a meeting in Myrtle Beach hosted by the Myrtle Beach Museum and the South Carolina Arts Commission. Joy Young, SC Arts Commission Coordinator for Horry County, presented an informative seminar outlining the grant opportunities available for artists and nonprofits. A few months later Joy sent me a link to the upcoming SC Artists' Ventures Initiative Grant. She thought this grant would be a good fit for our business. Had I not attended that meeting, I probably would have missed that opportunity. Joy’s email gave me hope, I was fired up!

The process of applying for the SC Artist Ventures Initiative Grant was at first intimidating...until I looked at it in a completely different way. I realized that the documents they were asking for were items I should have readily available anyway. So I did that part first. I struggled over and wrote my artist statement, I polished and updated my resume, I assembled my best photos in the required formats and I added the grant and upcoming art show deadlines to my calendar. I updated my portfolio as well. These are all the basic items I would need for grant applications and art show entries for the upcoming year. With that, half the job was done! I applied and was awarded the SC Artists' Ventures Initiative Grant in August 2014. I’ll write about how I tackled the program proposal and the budget part of the application in a future post.

Leveraging the money for the project matching funds proved to be the most challenging aspect of pulling my plan together. The SC Arts Commission releases funds based on expenditures. In other words “spend the money, then we’ll reimburse you.” The grant is for $5000. with a requirement for matching funds of $2500. When I applied for the grant I assumed the $2500. matching funds would be available through our business, Conway Glass. Unfortunately, we had an unexpected expense that took those funds. I didn’t want to postpone our renovations and our upcoming projects, so I decided to create a KICKSTARTER campaign. The campaign’s goal was to raise the matching funds. It was a super success!

The KICKSTARTER helped us gain new customers, raise over $3000 and create an art buzz in the community. With total funds of $8000, I was able to begin the installation of new technology, energy efficient lighting, advertising, fuel for the glass furnace, color and glass batch. We now had everything we needed to kick off the Conway Open Studio Project. In addition, we can now record our classes, demonstrations and other events, right from the studio floor. We’ll soon be able to live-stream our events. Yes, we are moving into the 21st century.

Tom Anderson Construction and John Isle Construction played a big part in making this all happen. We couldn’t have completed the renovation without their help. I left the demolition, bathroom, plumbing and electrical work to the experts and they did an excellent job. Tom Anderson Construction (our landlord) also installed a new firewall, which completely transformed the studio space.

In addition, this semester I am completing an Independent Study at Coastal Carolina University. The study documents art events, workshops, and artists collaborations in downtown Conway, SC. It also provides written analysis on how processes developed during the study could help other rural communities through the arts. My goals are to: 

1. Successfully coordinate new initiatives into existing Conway Glass Studio environment.

2. Collaborate with others to achieve successful marketing outcomes.

3. Expand and develop community involvement in the arts in Conway South Carolina.

4. Critically reflect on successes and disappointments during the South Carolina Arts Commission grant period in order to incorporate benefits into future initiatives.

Furthermore, the October First Saturday Glass Blowing Demonstrations were “standing room only” with over 400 visitors that day! Our Experimental Glass Theatre event held on November 8th was a huge success and glass blowing classes at Conway Glass are almost sold out for 2014! 

Overall, I heard many positive comments...the best being “I feel like I’m in a cool town that really cares about art!” I guess that sums up what we need in this sleepy little town. A little fun, cool art projects and lots of hot glass activity.

The Fire is Warming

Summer is our slow season, but this year it's been an eventful and busy summer for us. We have completed several large stained glass windows and we've been on the road visiting galleries, art shows and artist workshops. June began with a trip to the Chapman Cultural Arts Center in Spartanburg, SC to attend Artist U. Thank you SC Arts Commission, we are grateful for the opportunity to learn about professional development strategies and how we can make our lives as artists successful.

Also, this summer we rolled out our brand new website. Amazingly, we were prepared for the process. Last fall and winter I spent a lot of time photographing and documenting our glass blowing sessions and studio work. I feel it is very important to document our life as artists. If you are an artist, personal photos of the process - you creating your work - will build interest in your final creations and give your collectors a personal connection to your work. Furthermore, it gives your customers a better understanding of what you do - a glimpse into your life. 

I organized hundreds of photos and several narratives - bits and pieces from the previous six months into categories; work in process, glass blowing demonstrations, stained glass windows, blown glass and studio renovations.  From there, adding content and photos to the website went pretty smooth. The big payoff is that we now have visual elements for future art show submissions, marketing and publicity opportunities.

 Posting photos to Facebook is a great way of collecting feedback from friends and followers - a virtual sounding board - for marketing and product development ideas. It can also give you a visual calendar of your studio work. We love our Facebook community and value their input! Each month we post photos of work to our Conway Glass Facebook Page - documenting the most notable and ordinary, the functional and dysfunctional.

Right now, BIG projects are looming on the horizon! Our studio and hot shop are under major renovations and the Conway Open Studio Project fires up October, 4th with the First Saturday Glass Blowing Demos.

"The Conway Open Studio Project is funded in part by the South Carolina Arts Commission which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts."

Barbara Streeter Awarded SC Arts Grant

I've been awarded a $5000 S.C. Artists’ Ventures Initiative Grant by the South Carolina Arts Commission! It is a real honor and enables me to promote and produce the Conway Open Studio Project. 

The Conway Open Studio Project is a six month arts initiative featuring area artists working in collaboration to invigorate the arts in downtown Conway, SC. The Project will include an Experimental Glass Theatre component to be held in the glass blowing studio of Conway Glass at 209 Laurel Street in downtown Conway.

The goal of the Conway Open Studio Project is to raise the awareness of art-making as a career and to introduce visitors to entertaining, educational and fun art experiences in downtown Conway.

The S.C. Arts Commission grant also makes it possible for me to add video equipment, lighting and other improvements to our glass blowing studio, and to provide the public with an enhanced visitor experience. In addition, the funding will help us achieve our mission of providing free narrated, educational demonstrations of glass blowing to the public every First Saturday, October through May.

Conway Glass, Inc. is helping me meet my obligation of matching the Arts Commission grant with local dollars. Other artists are also donating their time and talents to the project, they are: Ed Streeter, Michael Gann, Laurie Brown, J.B. Chisnell, and Kim Clayton.

Local residents can see how the S.C. Arts Commission grant and local funds are benefiting the Conway Open Studio Project by visiting the First Saturday Glass Blowing Demonstrations being held at Conway Glass in 2014 on October 4, November 1 and December 6. In 2015 free demos are planned for January 3, February 7, March 7, April 4 and May 2. All First Saturday Glass Blowing Demos are free and held 10am – 4pm.

In addition, The Experimental Glass Theatre will be held in the hot shop at Conway Glass. This is a Saturday evening event and will debut November 2014. It's glass blowing like you've never seen before. Additional performances are scheduled for January and March 2015 (TBA.)

About the South Carolina Arts Commission

The South Carolina Arts Commission is the state agency charged with creating a thriving arts environment that benefits all South Carolinians, regardless of their location or circumstances. Created by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1967, the Arts Commission is working to increase public participation in the arts by providing services, grants and leadership initiatives in three areas: arts education, community arts development and artist development. Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., the Arts Commission is funded by the state of South Carolina and by the federal government through the National Endowment for the Arts.

For more information, visit www.SouthCarolinaArts.com or call (803) 734-8696.

About Barbara Streeter
Barbara Streeter is a visual artist and glass blower living and working in Conway, SC. She and her husband own and operate Conway Glass, Inc., a local glass company specializing in stained glass and blown glass.

About Conway Glass

At Conway Glass, Barbara and Ed Streeter have over 50 years of combined experience in the glass industry. Although they offer many glass products, they are quite different from most glass companies in that they design, manufacture, assemble and teach about this amazing material.

"This project is funded in part by the South Carolina Arts Commission which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts."

Book a Class or Make an Appointment

Conway Glass is located at 708 12th Ave.

Conway Glass is situated at 708 12th Avenue. At present, all classes are fully booked, and there are no spots available until April 2024. We will post new courses on January 15th, 2024. To stay informed about upcoming events and classes, please subscribe to our newsletter.