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PMA Contemporary Craft Show Series: Stacey Lee Webber · philly has heART

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This is Robert Marsh, and you're listening to
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Philly Has Heart Podcast. In this podcast, we
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sit down with artists, gallerists, educators,
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curators, and other creatives who comprise the
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Philadelphia art world to discuss upcoming performances,
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exhibits, and other events and initiatives that
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are not to be missed. The art scene in Philadelphia
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is so rich that it can seem daunting. Consider
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this your weekend cultural recommendation. With
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me always is my producer, Lucinda Dagerland.
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hola and today we have stacy lee weber hola that
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was amazing i was trying to think of a different
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hola i don't know is that thank you oh my god
1:00
that's so me i spent two years in kazakhstan
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telling everyone thank you instead of hello in
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russian No way. It's all about how you say it,
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not about what you say. There you go. Yeah, just
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give them a smile. And a wink. Yeah. They're
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like, you're an idiot. And their head. Stacey,
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Stacey, please take us through your journey that
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brought you to the visual arts today. What moments,
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both big and small, directed you? to there oh
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yeah I feel like I was like birthed into it because
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oh I love it I just have such working class traditional
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parents that did not think an artist was potential
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but I just was so drawn to like drawing and the
1:54
arts in grade school and I was like the artsy
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kid making stuff and just always busy with my
2:00
hands I remember there was like an assignment
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and grade school to like write a story and I
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spent like 90 % of the time just drawing the
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cover page of the story you know versus like
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writing the whole story out for pages and pages
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so I'm from Indianapolis like Midwestern and
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just kind of traditionally was like the art kid
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but I'm also like a good Catholic girl that I
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wanted to appease my parents And they really
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believed in getting a college education. And
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so I got a Bachelor of Fine Arts, which I didn't
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even know was a thing. I had really good teachers
2:41
in high school, a high school art teacher that
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encouraged me to just, like, go to art in college.
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Why not? And I don't even know if I knew that
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was a thing. And then my parents were supportive
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enough that they were like, sure, college for
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art. Well, okay. All right. And then I like fell
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in love with the metalsmithing class in college
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and intro to metals, which is like jewelry making.
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And it could be teapots and fabrication of sheet
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metal. And so I just love I think I was an inner
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like pyro is what I figure. I love the fire.
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I like the torch. I like it. Yes. And then and
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then I got a Bachelor of Fine Arts in metals.
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So that's a four year degree. And then you can
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get a Master of Fine Arts. which is a three -year,
3:27
and that's the terminal degree in studio art.
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So that would be metals, ceramics, painting.
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That's as high as you can go. I just was like,
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oh, I want to make more stuff. She encouraged
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me to go to graduate school. And my parents were
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like, oh, yeah, I think both my sisters went
3:44
to graduate school. Like, it was, like, the thing
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to do. So I was like, an art? Just, like, keep
3:48
rolling these dice. Let's go. You make an art?
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Okay, what else am I going to do? Be a bartender?
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I don't know. So then I did that, and I call
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them my, I'm their love child, but my professor
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from undergrad and my professor from graduate
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school are, like, best friends. I went to University
4:04
of Wisconsin for graduate school. Go Badgers.
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Bucky, here we go. And I just had such an amazing
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time there. The three -year program was great.
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And I had a solo show at the end. And it was
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more of a program of art making in that metals
4:21
program at Madison. It's based in craft and based
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in functional things. But really, we were being
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taught to make art. So having really strong concepts
4:30
and trying to speak a language to a broad base
4:34
of people. And so I learned a lot, a lot technically.
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And I had my solo thesis show, my graduate show.
4:42
And I was making coin work. And it was the downturn
4:46
of the economy. It was 2006. And my research
4:49
and my concept was like going back in my lineage
4:52
and kind of learning what my family did making
4:55
money for a living. Like what their labor was
5:00
to feed their families. And I kind of realized
5:03
like... farmers, printing press workers, everyone's
5:06
working with their hands. And I started to think
5:09
about, you know, hourly labor. And I was feeling
5:13
really privileged, like learning art in a graduate
5:16
school. Like, who am I? Like, this is wild. I'm
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like, what? And I had an assistantship, so I
5:24
was getting paid to be there. I managed to blow
5:26
through a lot of money, but you know, whatever.
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But also this Catholic guilt is following you
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as well. Totally. It just follows forever. It
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feels like a very traditional way to be an artist,
5:41
in my opinion, of like a Midwestern traditional.
5:44
My parents, like I can just say that they really
5:46
loved the academic system at the time and really
5:50
encouraged me to keep learning and growing with
5:52
what my passion was. And it had been art from
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like, Since I was little. So, yeah, metals came
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later, you know, in school. I didn't even know
6:00
what metals was or like. I knew I liked to physically
6:03
make things, structures. It came through great
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teachers. And then, yeah, in graduate school,
6:10
I met my partner, Joe, and we made a cool team
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together because I had gotten a teaching job
6:16
as a professor of metals at the University of
6:19
Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Like shortly after I
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graduated, everyone was dying for those jobs.
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You know, there's only I don't know if there's
6:28
under 50 programs and medals in universities
6:31
in the country. So you can imagine the jobs are
6:35
like very sought after. So I was feeling really
6:38
lucky. And then when I got to teach full time
6:41
at the university, I was like, oh, my God, this
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is so blood sucking is what I called it. I mean,
6:49
it was rewarding, but it was, like, I mean, people
6:52
just needed so much. All these young people needed
6:55
to learn how to do every freaking thing. Yeah,
6:59
yeah. Your blank canvases. And then they bring
7:02
to the critique, like, a piece of crap that I
7:05
had to look at and, like, talk about conceptually
7:08
and, like, this, you know, that some of them
7:11
didn't spend any time on. So it was, like, it
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felt really not very rewarding at that time and
7:17
at that stage of my life. And so Joe was, like,
7:21
really wanting to move to the East Coast. And
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we had been dating, like, a year or two. And
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I just knew enough to say, oh, let's try it.
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Like, a friend had an apartment open in Philly.
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And I just I just put it in my head that I'll
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just like jump in that U -Haul and go to the
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East Coast. And then here we are, you know, 16
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years later. And he's been a great a great visionary
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of believing that we can be full time artists
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and then working to build a gallery and sustaining
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a studio and getting commissions and like all
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the things that art fairs and all the things
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we've done to like be successful. I haven't had
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a part time job in like 12 years. That's the
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cliff notes. I love this journey. I love this
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journey. Before we move on, can we acknowledge
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that you had an assistantship for your entire
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graduate school education? And as someone who
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also went to graduate school and funded it through
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a part -time grad assistantship, third -party
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scholarships, and yes, general benefactors, thank
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you, Curtis and Diane Filimoli, a .k .a. my parents.
8:26
Going to grad school and getting out of it without
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loans is the only way to go. And we want to know
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how you got your offer for your full -time grad
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assistantship. I love that question. No one's
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asked me about that or maybe dug into my history
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enough to read that. Your mom's maiden name is?
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Yeah. Oh, my God. And then there's a stalker.
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I credit, like, that. Great relationship with
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my undergrad professor and my graduate professor.
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But I looked at different grad schools. Cranbrook
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is a really sought after graduate program outside
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of Detroit. Have you guys heard of that? No.
9:04
It's a two year program, but it's really respectable
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for the especially like more craft based art.
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I told my dad it's like the Harvard of like art.
9:13
Like if I get in, I don't know if I could say
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no, you know. But then. I did get in. And then
9:19
I was looking at the money of it and the two
9:22
years versus what they're offering in Madison.
9:25
I mean, I was like, I was going to pay all this
9:26
money. And then my dad and my mom are very practical
9:30
Midwestern people that, you know, save their
9:33
money. And so from an early age all the way through
9:36
high school, we had money talks, money talks
9:39
every Sunday. Just what's your job? What are
9:43
you getting paid? So I remember those talks around
9:45
grad school and college. of, okay, for college,
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they were going to give me, I think, $10 ,000
9:52
a year. And they did that to each of my sisters.
9:55
And that's what they had saved up for us. Well,
9:58
I decided to go to state school. So I didn't
10:00
have many loans from college because it was like,
10:03
I think it was under $10 ,000 at that time. Anyway,
10:07
so then grad school, I was like, oh, I could
10:08
spend a little more money. But then they were
10:10
kind of just saying, okay, if you get, you haven't
10:13
the assistant, I got offered the assistantship.
10:15
which was being an assistant to my professor
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in metals, which I didn't want to teach. You
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can see why after that story. I never loved teaching.
10:27
Like maybe for a day of a workshop, but my whole
10:30
life it was just, oh, so intense. I couldn't
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make the things I wanted to make in the studio.
10:34
But the assistantship was being her assistant
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in the studio, and I really adored her and loved
10:40
her artwork. And thought, oh, my God, that's
10:43
an amazing opportunity to be with her every week,
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helping her make. I mean, she's making museum
10:49
work, you know, and to know what that would be
10:51
like. So she was like she's a real art. Lisa
10:54
Gronick and Madison. She was a real artist, not
10:57
just a professor who got this job that's like
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barely making artwork on the side, you know.
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Anyway. This is like, am I getting off track?
11:06
But all to say, I got this great offer and really
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looked at the money. My parents helped me make
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the decision. Why I got the offer? I got offered
11:15
from Illinois, another place, some type of assistantship.
11:19
I don't know if art is maybe not as, I know it's
11:23
competitive, but not as many people. There are
11:26
only three or four people in the metals program
11:28
to get a Master of Fine Arts in Metals. I know
11:32
now in Madison, everyone is funded like as a
11:35
grad school in the art department. Yes. And I'm
11:38
sure that's not, my sister got a PhD and did
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a lot of schooling and was not the case for all
11:43
of her school. So I'm sure like, I don't know
11:46
if it's the art department aspect to it. I try
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to tell people for graduate school, try to get
11:52
funding. Like, because like it's for me, it wouldn't
11:56
have been worth all of those loans. It is like
12:00
this mutual relationship. They're offering you
12:02
something and believing in you and who you are.
12:05
And then in turn, you're believing in them. So
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it's a relationship that starts off in a good
12:11
place versus like. Some of the people I knew
12:14
that didn't have assistantships, I mean, really
12:16
struggled because it's not like those professors
12:18
the next year are like, oh, I really love that
12:21
person that didn't have the assistantship. Like,
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no, they really love the assistant they picked
12:26
that year, so they're just going to keep going.
12:29
Yeah, and I think something that people miss,
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people don't necessarily know about graduate
12:37
assistantships, and I believe this is across
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the board, that is if you... Move from Mississippi
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to Maryland to go to Maryland and you have a
12:47
graduate assistantship. You also get in -state
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tuition. Same? I don't know. I guess it was a
12:56
moot point for you. Yeah, I don't know. Yeah,
12:59
I do know like some of the students stayed there
13:02
for a year to get in -state tuition. Okay. And
13:05
so I don't know that to be the case. Things change.
13:08
Yeah. That was like 2000 and... Four. Okay. I
13:12
love a loophole. But yeah, that's a good loophole.
13:15
Yeah. So we pack the U -Haul up. We make our
13:18
way to Philadelphia. You and Joe own Bertrand
13:22
Productions at Globe Dye Works. For those who
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do not know, can you tell us about Globe Dye
13:30
Works and your workspaces there? And please include
13:33
the bit about the 1960s bathroom complete with
13:36
menstrual supply closet. Nice. Globe Dyrex has
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been such a great place for us. We moved to Philly
13:43
and we were not at Globe Dyrex for one year of
13:46
our Philly existence of 16 years. And an owner
13:49
found us at a studio that was like riddled with
13:52
mold and gross. And he was like, you need to
13:55
look at this building we just bought and are
13:57
renovating. And you can live there too. And I
14:01
was like, I don't know like who this guy is.
14:04
But his name is Matt Papa John, and he really—
14:07
I'm sorry, what? Not related to Papa John pizza.
14:11
I know. I love it. I love it. It's just like
14:14
a weird thing. Other people are named Papa John.
14:17
You know, he taught me. And I got the Papa John
14:24
scholarship in high school. What? They were following
14:27
me. Yeah, it was based in Indiana. Yes. This
14:30
is. That's how you do it. This is a story. I
14:34
love this. Love this. I mean, it was only like
14:38
$2 ,000. That's $2 ,000 that you didn't have
14:41
to take out. You didn't have to pay interest
14:43
for. At 8 .5 % interest. Are you kidding? For
14:45
years and years. Yes. We love that. We love Papa
14:49
John's. Yes. Eat your pizza. And now we love
14:51
Matt Papa John. Yeah, I think he's a. horrible
14:54
person. Moving on! Yes! He got cancelled. But
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I'm sure there's other great people in the company.
15:00
Yes! Celebrating artists. We like their scholarship
15:04
program. Moving on. Anyway, Coax is to look at
15:07
Globe Dye Works, and it was very much in its
15:10
infancy, the building, and being built out. And
15:13
so he is such a great supporter of artists and
15:17
art and still is. And there was a big space that
15:19
we were like, oh, my God, that's an amazing space.
15:22
But I don't think we can afford that. And he
15:24
gave us like a deal on this space. And that's
15:26
where we've been for 15 years. And the building
15:29
has totally it's 150 square feet of the whole
15:33
building at Globe Dye Works. And it was a dye
15:36
factory. So dye is. And it was a big part of
15:40
the textile industry in northeast Philly. And
15:43
so we've learned a lot about the history. They've
15:46
had historical tours, but we've gotten like friends
15:49
to move to Globe. And it's really been just so
15:53
important to the building of our own careers.
15:56
Not only is there artists there, but there's
15:58
also small businesses that we can talk what a
16:02
small business is to like Rival Brothers Coffee
16:05
that's roasted there. And seeing them grown so
16:08
amazingly. And the Bach building in South Philly
16:13
is modeled after Globe Dye Works. So we, like,
16:16
saw Lindsay Scanapico walking around looking
16:18
at our building. I mean, it's just so cool. Being
16:20
somewhere 15 years, you know, getting older,
16:22
it hurts my knees and things. But mentally and
16:27
creatively and seeing networking that can happen
16:31
in that way is so cool. We've helped, like, friends
16:34
move to Philly. Galen is a friend from University
16:38
of Wisconsin from graduate school that we didn't
16:41
cross paths there, but we have the Badger connection.
16:44
Nice. That we've helped move to Philly, and he
16:48
just got married, and seeing his life grow is
16:50
exciting. So we always think, oh, maybe... Maybe
16:54
we won't be here forever, but it's like, why
16:56
would we move from Globe to? We have all these
16:59
nice built -in cabinets. And we are just like
17:03
a machine, a well -oiled machine there. We have
17:05
two assistants, 9 to 5, Monday through Thursday.
17:09
And then Friday is like a flex day for all of
17:11
us. So we're working away, making stuff. You
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have a gallery in there. How much space is the
17:17
gallery? Yeah. So about eight years ago. The
17:21
gallery, we, Joe and I have worked with galleries
17:23
in different ways. And Joe has had a gallery
17:26
with his own artwork. And their gallery, like,
17:29
folded. That's so common these days is, like,
17:31
art galleries just closing every other week.
17:34
But we felt a real need for us to show our own
17:37
artwork and then other people's artwork. A core
17:40
group of, like, ten people. And so that started
17:43
like eight years ago and we segmented off our
17:46
studio space. So I would say it's like a thousand
17:49
square feet, maybe 800 square feet for the gallery
17:53
and put up drywall and then have the other studio.
17:57
So we kind of sacrifice and we, we did move a
18:00
little bit of our wood shop just to make like
18:02
it more of a clean space. Our other studio is
18:06
like 3000 square foot or 2 ,500. And then the
18:09
gallery is like a thousand and try to, put up
18:12
lighting and sound paneling and things to make
18:15
it look great. And it's in Globe Directs, which
18:19
is in Frankfurt neighborhood. And it's just off
18:21
of the lobby. It's Bertrand Productions. And
18:24
Bertrand is Joe's middle name. So it's a secret
18:27
family name that we thought, oh, it's like kind
18:31
of a strange name that we sort of like to be
18:34
ambiguous with. There was one time a guy at an
18:37
art fair, he was like, oh, you guys are Bertrand.
18:41
And Joe and I are like, yeah, why? And he's like,
18:45
oh, I just love Bertrand Productions. It's a
18:49
great name or something like that. I was like,
18:51
oh, my God, yeah. Meanwhile, Joe's from, like,
18:56
upstate New York. lumberjacks like it's like
19:00
it's bird you know it's like a long name for
19:04
bird so it's been fun to have the gallery just
19:09
like written on a little cocktail napkin one
19:12
day at a bar and then you're like let's try it
19:15
and now it's just like an entity of its own with
19:19
the art fairs we do and the exhibitions we try
19:21
to have and And then it's, yeah, it's a lot of
19:25
juggling. As you guys know, many different hats.
19:27
Yes. But it's fun to just be a person that has
19:31
a lot of different hats. Yes. And you're like,
19:33
hmm, what can we do creatively as a business?
19:36
Let's get into those hats, all right? Yeah. Let's
19:40
talk about the work you're known for. How would
19:43
you describe it? I have been primarily coin and
19:49
money -based artwork. Since that thesis show
19:52
at University of Wisconsin -Madison. That work,
19:55
my first sculpture was a penny hammer. So a hammer
19:59
that was hollow constructed, made out of pennies
20:02
soldered together. And I got really interested
20:05
in the penny in general. And this is like 2007
20:08
and 2008 is when I graduated. And just thinking
20:12
about like inserting my labor and technical skill
20:15
into metals and the penny being that metal disc.
20:21
representing value. But it's like, of course,
20:23
it's only worth a cent. But if I, you know, study
20:27
in diamonds, it's worth more than a cent. So
20:30
just playing around with value became really
20:32
fascinating and interesting to me using my labor.
20:36
So if I have like a ring or like a bracelet that
20:39
has like 10 pennies. Someone might come up and
20:42
be like, oh, so it's like 10 cents, ha ha ha.
20:44
And I'm always like, plus labor. And it's funny
20:47
to me because it's just like, yeah, it's like
20:49
all this skill I've built up and putting it into
20:53
coins is directly visible that it's just about
20:56
the skill and about the value of your time. But
21:02
that was the basis of it. And then through almost
21:05
20 years, it's... It's become fascinating, coins
21:08
and money in general. Just the interest of the
21:12
historic coins being silver, like that dawned
21:16
on me at some time that if you, 1964 and older,
21:19
coins were actually silver material. And so right
21:23
now the silver market is crazy. But it's fascinating,
21:26
like the image on the coin, also like the Lady
21:29
Liberty or the Indian head or Ben Franklin. It's
21:32
just these doors that keep opening. And like,
21:35
you know, you're Alice in Wonderland, like a
21:37
rabbit hole of doors. Like every piece that I
21:40
make seems to be lead me to 10 more coin pieces
21:43
or money pieces. And I was stitching on money
21:46
to like paper money. Even in school, I was stitching
21:49
on money. like as just a soothing meditative
21:52
process. And that was what embroidery was for
21:55
me. And then somehow I'm trying to be the most
21:58
efficient human in life. That's how I really
21:59
get like, you know, excited in life. I'm like,
22:04
how many projects can I have and get done in
22:09
a timely fashion? So I realized like that could
22:12
be artwork too. Like I could be on the couch
22:14
watching Netflix. the Mike Tyson documentary,
22:17
but it also could be while I'm making artwork.
22:20
Correct. And then I could be selling the artwork.
22:21
So that's how, it's a whole lifestyle. But the
22:25
embroidered money like has really become, at
22:28
some point I figured out how to sell it. Because
22:30
in the beginning, I couldn't figure out how to
22:32
sell it. I was putting like stitches on a dollar,
22:35
like ticks, like just lines, thinking about time
22:39
and labor and patterns. And then during COVID,
22:44
like 2020, Everyone was a little angry, me included.
22:48
And then I was like, I'm going to turn those
22:50
little dollar bills into like fires. And I was
22:54
like, I'm going to stitch some fires on buildings.
22:56
And then I couldn't freaking not sell one. And
23:01
so it's just interesting. Like it's been so helpful
23:04
to my metalsmithing that I have this other outlet
23:07
of soft work and like meditative work that I
23:11
can think while I make it. Um, that's only been
23:14
more conducive. And that work also has like a
23:18
whole different clientele of people that are
23:20
interested in like still pulling that theme through.
23:22
Yeah. Yeah. Currency theme still being pulled
23:24
through labor and time still being. Yeah. And
23:28
I'm always, I'm like, am I going to do other
23:30
pieces that aren't money? And, and think about
23:33
that. And I'm like, So many ideas still. Every
23:36
piece leads me to like 10 more ideas. And it's
23:39
like now I'm just like, OK, if I'm doing money
23:41
work for my whole life, that's that's cool. I
23:44
think it's awesome. Like I could get so much
23:46
further with a penny right now than I could 20
23:50
years ago. Like it's crazy. Right. And that's
23:54
like the creativity I think is fun and having
23:56
a team on it. That siphons through ideas like,
23:59
should we make this penny into, you know, a guitar,
24:02
a drum, a chain link fence of this? What's the
24:05
best idea for our time that we can come up with?
24:08
And what are we trying to say? Some pieces are
24:10
just fun, a clown on a dollar bill. And then,
24:15
yeah, others are more elaborate, like conceptual
24:18
thoughts of sculptures. So, yeah, it's fun to
24:22
have all the avenues of things going. That's
24:25
also fascinating about the kind of group mentality
24:30
you're using in creating this art, right? But
24:33
no, that's fascinating. It's fun. I love my assistants,
24:37
and Joe is a huge part of my own practice, too.
24:40
As my own work has gotten more and more popular
24:44
and selling bigger pieces, it's like he has just
24:48
as much influence as me, as everyone that's working
24:52
on it. It's more fun that way. Like, even the
24:56
embroideries, it's like, what's our next, like,
24:58
theme we're going to have for that embroidered
24:59
piece? Like, I'm really into this gravedigger
25:02
idea. Like, we were trying to take the president
25:04
to making them working class people. So I did,
25:07
like, a butcher's where it was all bloody. And
25:10
they were all butchers, like Ben Franklin on
25:12
a $100 bill. And then I'm thinking, I like the
25:15
darker, a little tone of dark. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
25:18
Then we did Christmas. We did, like, Santa Con,
25:20
but it was, like, dark, like heaven and hell.
25:24
So those are really fun to just, you know, what's
25:26
our, what's, like, a blue -collar job that we
25:28
could really visually, like, dig into that's
25:31
a little dark? Gravediggers are kind of top on
25:33
my list right now. And then it just depends on
25:36
the timing. Mining. Oh, mining's a good one.
25:39
Yeah, I've done, like, mining. You're also, like,
25:41
pulling out the silver. Yeah, right. I did a
25:47
set of penny mining tools, like the pickaxe and
25:50
the lamp. And yeah, some ideas and then some
25:53
could be, yeah, turn more sculptural. Like we
25:56
did a chain link fence and stitching, which was
25:58
cool. But it led to like the chain link penny
26:01
fence, like a 10 foot by 8 foot piece made out
26:04
of pennies. And that piece just got collected
26:07
by the Nelson Atkins Museum. Wow, congratulations.
26:11
Yeah, so that was exciting. And Kansas City.
26:13
Is Kansas City Missouri? Yes. There is a Kansas
26:16
City, Missouri and a Kansas City, Kansas. They're
26:18
on the other side of a river. Oh, my God. You
26:20
know how many times I've tried to commit this
26:22
to memory? Yeah. And Galen is from there. He
26:26
used to work at this Nelson -Atkins Museum. No
26:30
way. It's Kansas City. It has to be Missouri
26:33
because it's the chiefs, like Kansas City chiefs.
26:36
They're both the chiefs. It's the same city,
26:40
but in a different state divided by a river.
26:43
I think. Yes, I believe you. And then I'm going
26:46
to be wrong, and everyone's going to hate me.
26:48
Okay, so Kansas City is right. I always say the
26:52
St. Louis sometimes. I say St. Louis instead
26:54
of Kansas City. That is definitely Missouri.
27:00
And I did know all my state capitals at one time,
27:02
but it's tough. What are we doing to collect
27:06
all of these? materials. How are you finding
27:09
it? The money, the money, the money. How are
27:11
you getting the cash over? Well, I robbed the,
27:16
um, what's it called? The Federal Reserve. I'm
27:20
also into fountain diving. With my dolphin costume.
27:27
Diving with my snorkel. At Logan Square. At Logan
27:31
Square. Yeah, that's my favorite one. I wish
27:38
I had time. People are like, did you collect
27:40
all these on your travels? I was like, I freaking
27:43
wish I was traveling. I mean, I don't. I like
27:45
to make things in my studio. So I have worked
27:48
with, in the past like five years, in Jinkintown,
27:52
Pennsylvania, there's an amazing coin shop called
27:56
Edelman's Coins. Yes, he's amazing. Andrew Edelman.
28:00
It's a family business. His father just retired.
28:03
And he trades me sometimes art for coins, but
28:08
oftentimes I buy so much coins that I have to
28:11
pay for them. But he has a whole money collection.
28:15
He's just in Jenkins Town on the main strip.
28:18
You can open his door and see tons of my artwork
28:20
and other people's artwork that's made out of
28:22
money. And you can buy silver coins and old dollars.
28:28
He has a coin, stamp, and metal business. So
28:32
he'll buy your silver, whatever, or gold, and
28:35
then he'll also sell you anything you want. So
28:38
he's been amazing to work with, like just a fun
28:41
collaborator. Previous to that, I mean, I was
28:44
on eBay just buying, and their prices are crazy
28:47
on eBay compared to this great relationship I
28:50
have with Andrew. And he loves that we send people
28:53
to his shop. And, yeah, he has the penny chainsaw
28:57
that I made in his counter case, and he has the
29:01
piggy bank, the penny piggy bank. Oh, yes. Yeah,
29:04
he has some great pieces, and he's just such
29:06
a cool guy. So that has been, like, an amazing
29:09
evolution. But, yeah, I needed, I think, like,
29:12
20 rolls of Buffalo Nichols, like, a month ago
29:14
for the drum. I'm making a drum out of Buffalo
29:17
Nichols and pennies. And, yeah, he just shipped
29:19
them to me. Oh, here they are. Yeah, so he'll
29:23
get you anything you want. He's like Santa Claus
29:26
of coins. Are you ever baking in the price of
29:29
the actual currency? Like, you're like, okay,
29:32
well, my labor is worth this. Totally. I need
29:35
to put a premium for how much I pay. Well, yeah,
29:37
because those old coins that are silver are worth.
29:41
The value of the silver often is the ones that
29:44
I'm using, not like a crazy mint. Coins are kind
29:47
of like diamonds, how they have, you know, diamonds
29:49
have the five Cs, I think, color, cut, clarity,
29:52
all that stuff. And coins have, like, the same,
29:56
like, what's the impression, what's, has anyone
30:00
touched it, like, what's the, you know, the patina
30:03
on it. And anyway, but I'm buying coins for the
30:05
value of the material. Right. So yeah, this gold
30:08
coin is worth a lot. I don't know if it's a $1
30:11
,000 coin right now. So yeah, I got to factor
30:13
that in. I mean, any silver coin, a silver dollar
30:18
is probably worth like $50 right now or $60.
30:21
Yeah, I have a whole calculator. Does that change
30:24
the material that you want to use at the time?
30:28
Or is that not part of... No, it's part of it.
30:32
It's always part of it. I'm making a lot of stuff.
30:35
Like I could be making a lapel pin and a drum
30:38
and a bracelet and a wall piece. So it depends
30:43
like what level we're talking about, a $40 thing
30:46
or $10 ,000 thing or $50 ,000 thing. Yeah, and
30:50
the drum I'm making, the price we agreed to for
30:53
the commission of the snare drum is like not.
30:56
There is silver coins on it, but it's not, like,
30:59
all made out of silver. If it was all made out
31:01
of silver coins, it'd be, like, double the cost
31:03
that I gave him, you know? Right. And some people
31:06
are into that and will be like, oh, I'll provide
31:08
the coins for you, like the silver coins, because
31:11
I have a freaking Fort Knox of silver coins or
31:14
something. I don't know. So some people do give
31:17
me their coins, and then I would charge them,
31:19
like, I think of it like the penny price. You
31:21
know, if I was to make it out of pennies, what
31:24
would it cost? But I'm working on silver. Yeah.
31:26
Money is worth money. Money is funny. I do a
31:29
lot of art fairs and just people's just initial
31:32
reaction to coins, that it's a material they
31:35
recognize, that they have a story about a lot
31:39
of times. You know, oh, this dime. I find dimes.
31:43
They remind me of my past grandmother. I mean,
31:46
I've heard that story like 50 times. Maybe that's
31:48
true. I don't know. But if it reminds you of
31:50
your past grandma you love, that's amazing. Yeah.
31:52
But there's tons of like coin stories. I have
31:55
a whole bag of coins from my grandmother. She
31:58
would just keep them and stash them away and
32:00
stash them away. And then one day she was like,
32:02
take these coins. That's so sweet. I mean, I
32:06
just I love objects. So, yes. Right. And historic.
32:10
And we put stories to that. Nostalgic. Oh, yeah,
32:12
of course. And so sometimes I've done like a
32:15
whole set of silver dollars for the coins that
32:18
like grandma has, you know, kept for all the
32:21
sisters and brothers or like stuff like that,
32:23
like heirloom stuff or made a bowl out of the
32:26
coins and then it can hold your coins. It's awesome
32:30
working in metal too because metal has like a
32:33
permanence to it. It is more than working in
32:37
paper or something like that. Where they become
32:40
more heirloom pieces, what you're making. And
32:43
they're pieces that are often, like, the son
32:46
or daughter would be like, oh, I remember that
32:48
penny flag in my mom's house. Like, I'm keeping
32:52
that. And I find that because it's coins and
32:54
because it's metal, I am creating a lot of heirloom
32:56
pieces, which is so cool. Jewelry and sculpture.
33:00
What's the largest dollar amount you've worked
33:04
with? Oh, like. Not that I made, but that I worked.
33:09
Have you lit Benjamin on fire? Yeah. Duh. Yeah,
33:19
there was a $100 bill uncut sheet of money, which
33:24
is before the mint cuts them down into $100.
33:27
I think that sheet was worth like $3 ,000. That
33:32
was an exciting one. Like the sheet, and I stitched
33:35
it. And that was the butcher piece, one of the
33:37
big butcher pieces, which you can see at Edelman's
33:40
shop in Jinkertown. But that was a big one. But
33:43
probably actually just recently, this weird thing
33:46
on Facebook, someone contacted me. And you know
33:49
how that's always like. Questionable. We'll see.
33:53
Question marks, question marks. And he was talking
33:55
about gold coins. And I'm like, oh, red flags,
33:58
red flags. Like, can you make something out of
34:00
gold coins for me? I work with gold, but it's
34:02
like. What he wanted was six gold coins made
34:06
into a sphere like that. And the six coins are
34:10
just tapped a little in their sphere. And I've
34:12
made the piece not out of gold coins, but out
34:15
of every other coin, right? And it can be a necklace.
34:18
And he said he just wanted, like, it to hold
34:21
in his hand. Is that like a Sacagawea? These
34:25
were, what was it? I think they were $10 coins.
34:28
But these are from like the 1850s. And they had
34:31
the Lady Liberty on them. But it would be the
34:33
size of Sacagawea. Like a dollar coin size like
34:36
that. But this is like a vintage. So anyway,
34:39
so each coin was worth like at least like, I
34:41
think it was at least, I think it was $15 ,000
34:45
of gold. So divide that by six. Yeah, so I was
34:48
like. is that what? Like, I got it. Are we doing
34:52
something? Are we doing, what are we doing here?
34:55
And so anyway, he was, it was fascinating, but
34:58
that is literally, it was a real guy. He got
35:00
talked to on the phone, which even that I'm like,
35:03
are you real though? How are you? He was like,
35:05
are you real? Oh, well, good for him. Exactly.
35:11
And that's when I knew he was real. But I made
35:19
it and it's great. And I still have to give it
35:21
to him because I don't want to ship it. So I
35:23
have to drive it to him because I'm like, I don't
35:25
want this to go in the mail. Where are you driving?
35:27
I ship a lot of expensive things, but it's like.
35:29
Where do you have to drive to? I think it's only
35:30
an hour. So I'm like, that's worth my time. Sure.
35:33
Just like go out there. You know, people recognize
35:35
gold coins specifically as valuable gold and
35:38
it's a coin. But then it's in a pack. Any $15
35:43
,000 thing that you can put in your pocket, it's
35:45
like, I sell $15 ,000 things with a wall piece.
35:48
That's hard to steal. But anyway, so that was
35:50
kind of a fun one. So that was probably the most
35:52
expensive thing, the material I've worked on.
35:56
Yeah, and that just happened. So who knows? And
36:00
it was cool, and I think he just wants to hold
36:02
it in his hand. Yeah. He didn't want to chain
36:05
on it or bail on it or anything, just like a
36:07
ball. He's just going to put it on a desk. It's
36:09
a fidget spinner. Yeah. It's a fidget thing,
36:11
you know? We're celebrating the 50th annual PMA
36:15
Contemporary Craft Show this week of the episode
36:18
drop. It'll be running from November 6th through
36:20
the 8th. Tell us a little bit about what you
36:23
are going to be sharing at that show or what
36:27
you're working on now. That show is the Kickstarter
36:30
to my whole holiday fair season. So it has a
36:34
special place I've been doing. I actually moved
36:36
to Philly thinking of that show in mind and that
36:39
I could do this show if I get in, you know, because
36:42
it's so curated and hard to get into. So I've
36:46
been doing it since 2013. Wow, wild. Yes. 13
36:51
years. Wow. Yes. It's a teenager with an attitude.
36:59
Yeah. Oh, I get what you're saying. I was like,
37:02
I wasn't a teenager. But it's 13 years. Yeah.
37:08
I'm so far removed from having a kid. I'm like,
37:10
what? Yeah, it's amazing. So the women I've known
37:14
for 13 years, Nancy and this great women's committee
37:17
that is just. Oh my God, they work tirelessly
37:20
and they're amazing. And yeah, the benefactors
37:24
and just the vibe of it. And it's been so great
37:28
for me. So I've gotten more risky in what I'm
37:30
showing over the years. I don't need to sell
37:33
like 50 lapel pins necessarily. So I try to,
37:36
I'm actually trying to show bigger art pieces
37:38
that one might not see yet. any other fair that
37:42
I do. So I have a chain -link fence. I'm sure
37:45
the bigger ones are easier to get here. Yes,
37:47
well, that too. Down the street, purses, flying
37:49
to Miami. Yes, you're right. The gold ball will
37:52
not be on view. We'll just put it out one day.
37:55
Yeah, just, oh, my God, I will be so scared.
37:58
Where'd the gold ball go? Oh, my God, this whole
38:00
day. But, yeah, some bigger embroidery pieces,
38:04
like the Christmas one will be there, which I
38:07
love that one. I think I'm going to show the
38:10
clowns, which is my biggest embroidered uncut
38:12
sheet. It's a $1 bill sheet of all clowns for
38:16
George Washington. Yeah, it was the biggest uncut
38:19
sheet they've made, which I think is 52 bills,
38:22
but it's pretty big. And then sculptural stuff,
38:25
I'm probably... See, I'm hot in this drum commission
38:30
right now, so I need to finish it and give it
38:32
to him. And then I can't show it there. But I
38:37
want that guy to let me show his whole collection
38:40
because it's so amazing. But he just kidnaps
38:43
them right when they leave. Yeah, a bunch of
38:46
cool art pieces and jewelry. There's always like,
38:49
I have a new coin hinge bracelet that's like
38:51
escalating coins bigger to smaller. I love that
38:55
show because I'm just in it. Whatever I feel
38:57
like, whatever I want to. It's based on what
38:59
the best things are. And then just that same
39:03
week, I'm doing Grand Central Holiday Art Fair.
39:05
That opens just that following week, so it is
39:08
a really crazy time for us. And that show is
39:10
open every day until Christmas Eve, which Joe
39:15
is there mostly. Thank God for Joe. I always
39:17
say everyone needs a Joe. Yes, yes. He actually
39:20
likes to work the fairs, which is crazy. Talk
39:24
to people endlessly, and he's really good at
39:27
it. He's entertained doing Grand Central Fair
39:31
for three years now, and it's a six -week -long
39:33
fair. Yeah. But the PMA is amazing. I suggest
39:37
anyone. They haven't gone go. It's the amazing
39:41
quality of artwork. It's hard to get in. It's
39:44
very well curated, and you're seeing just very
39:48
high -quality art based, kind of rooted in craft,
39:51
but just as a special art fair. Stacey, where
39:55
can our audience find you online and in real
39:58
life? Yeah, everything online is under my name,
40:02
which can be misspelled every which way. But
40:05
it's Stacey, S -T -A -C -E -Y, Lee, L -E -E,
40:08
Weber, W -E -B -B -E -R. So that would be my
40:12
Instagram, my Facebook. I'm not really on TikTok,
40:15
but I think there's a profile. And then that's
40:19
my website, which has my shop and everything
40:21
and my portfolio of all the past things I've
40:23
made. And then in real life, I am at Globe Dye
40:27
Works. So that's in the Frankfurt neighborhood
40:28
of Philly. And that has our gallery, Bertram
40:32
Productions, which is all by appointment. It's
40:35
a big warehouse building that that front door
40:37
is just locked. Thank God. And so you just have
40:42
to schedule an appointment on BertramProductions
40:45
.com, the website. And that's also our Instagram
40:48
for the gallery. Or you can message me and just
40:52
say, hey, I want to see your studio and gallery
40:54
and we'll show you around. We try to have like
40:57
a nice half hour tour. Excellent. Excellent.
41:01
Stacey, thank you so much for sharing your story
41:03
with us today. You're having this conversation
41:06
and everyone check out Stacey and her work at
41:10
the 50th Annual PMA Contemporary Craft Show.
41:13
Thank you so much. We'll be right back with rapid
41:16
fire questions. And we're back with rapid fire
41:23
questions. Is there a certain music or reality
41:27
show or background noise or podcast you listen
41:29
to while you work? I am a murder girl. And a
41:34
Bravo girl. Okay. I'm a Bravo girl. Yeah. So
41:37
my favorite podcast that just makes me laugh
41:40
out loud in the studio and all the assistants
41:41
are like, what is she laughing at? Watch what
41:43
crap is. Obviously, Ronnie and Beth. Hello. They
41:47
are. Yeah. The bee's knees. I've seen them in
41:50
person. I just. Did you know Sutton Strack? I
41:55
gifted her a pair of earrings and she did wear
41:57
them on the show. Yes. That doesn't surprise
42:00
me. Of course she would. She's pro ballet, by
42:04
the way, guys. Oh, yes. She's got tiny legs.
42:07
That doesn't surprise me. She looks like a ballerina.
42:11
I think she actually did do dance. I'm sure.
42:14
I think it's so funny that she had a forensic
42:17
accountant dig into her husband's records upon
42:21
divorce, and she found out she was part owner
42:24
of a minor league baseball team. She's one of
42:28
the wealthiest on the franchise. Good for her.
42:32
I love podcasts. I'm a big podcast fan. We are
42:36
too. Of course. What are we doing here? Murder
42:43
stuff too. Murderino. My favorite murder. Different
42:50
ones like that. If you could pick any artist
42:53
dead or alive to produce a portrait of you, who
42:55
would it be? Dead or alive to produce a portrait
42:58
of me. I mean, probably Basquiat, right? Nice.
43:01
Just like a funky, cool one. Put a crown on that
43:04
girl. Yes. Yes. Favorite art museum outside of
43:09
Philadelphia? The MCA is pretty close to my heart.
43:13
Museum, wait, Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.
43:17
Grew up in Indianapolis, but have been to the
43:19
MCA many times and then lived in Chicago like
43:21
a year and a half. So I love, I just like the
43:24
size of it. It's like attainable and they show.
43:26
Big contemporary shows. That is really powerful.
43:29
Yeah. Beautiful. Set the scene. We're planning
43:33
a heist. What piece of art are we stealing for
43:37
your collection? Oh, well, I did dress up as
43:41
a bank robber one year. And I think, I mean,
43:46
I do consider coins art. So I'm just going to
43:48
go into Fort Knox and like steal all the gold.
43:50
Nice. And gold coins and gold anywhere. Yes.
43:53
A lot of old gold coins. Perfect. Where am I
43:56
going? I'd have to go to some old man's house.
43:59
I don't know. I'd have to get some intel first,
44:03
and then I'm robbing it. I mean, we can pick
44:05
a lock. We can pick a safe. Yes. We can get through
44:08
a safe. Yes. When I worked at the jewelry store,
44:11
I dressed up as a jewelry store robber. That
44:14
was really cool. Yes. That was fun. A round of
44:18
F. Mary Kill, PMA Modern and Contemporary Wing
44:21
Favorites Edition. Cy Twombly, Marcel Duchamp,
44:26
Pete Mondrian. Oh, my God. Duchamp with the naked
44:30
lady. Mm -hmm. What are you doing to him? Maybe
44:34
I have to kill him. Okay. Duchamp. We're killing
44:37
Duchamp. Yeah. That's an initial gut reaction
44:40
to that piece. But Annie was like a creepy old
44:43
man when he made that. Ooh. Okay. Okay, what
44:47
else? Oh, Cy Twombly. Mm -hmm. Oh, so poetic.
44:50
It just takes me into that room at the PMA. I
44:53
commend Mondrian. We're going to marry him, I
44:55
think. Okay. See, like, I don't know all the
44:58
stories. I just know moments of, like, looking
45:01
at the, what was the other one? Mondrian. Oh.
45:05
Did I say fuck one? Yeah, fuck that guy. Yeah,
45:07
yeah, yeah. Straight lines. I don't know why,
45:12
but sure. He's got to be exciting somewhere else,
45:15
right? I think so. Yes. He's cussing. That's
45:22
amazing. Amazing. Stacey, thanks again so much
45:26
for your time today. And everybody, continue
45:29
to check out Stacey and her art. Thank you. Thank
45:32
you, guys. into Philly has heart. Don't forget
46:11
to follow, share, and spread the love. I'll be
46:46
like, do I know the artist? I think not personally.
46:51
Not personally. Oh, I've said stuff about like
46:55
Jackson Pollock giving me a pearl necklace. Oh,
46:58
nice. That's awesome. Perfect timing with the
47:03
Krasner show. The inspiration. Bad. You have
47:11
to see if that's a necklace already. Yeah, they'll
47:13
probably see the gift store at the back. Because
47:15
if not, we need to find one. All right, all right.
47:19
I'm putting this in the outtakes at the end.
47:21
Yeah, I agree.