Spotlight On Augusta Artist Erica Pastecki
I love art! If my skill for art matched my love for it I’d be wearing all black and smoking in the corner wearing sunglasses and being judgy and aloof right now. Sadly, I struggle to draw stick figures so my career in visual arts came to a standstill in 3rd grade. Nevertheless, I enjoy checking out the art of my friends when they show around town and I will always encourage them to keep up the good work of contributing to our local art scene. And we have some fantastic artists in our local scene! Today we’ll be shining a spotlight on Augusta artist Erica Pastecki, director of education at 4P Studios.
Erica has been making art in the CSRA for years. She’s been a marketing specialist, she’s done advertising design and she has still managed to find time to teach art classes all over town, including with the Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art and with the Greater Augusta Arts Council. I can tell you, the local art scene would be a lot less fun without Erica.
Check Out Our Local Art Scene!
If you haven’t had the chance to check out Erica’s work, I highly recommend starting with her apron series. She’s so great at bringing a refreshing social commentary to a retro-vibed piece, you will find yourself smiling, I have no doubt.
I got the chance to speak to Erica about her background in the local art scene this week and this is what she had to say:
MM: When did you first get interested in art and when did you first realize you could do it for a living?
EP: I’ve been doing art for as long as I can remember. My first business transactions in the art world were long ago in elementary school. When I was in elementary school in South Augusta back in the 80s, it was like all the kids had a trade – everyone specialized in something. Some kids sold candy, some kids brought extra pencils and erasers, some kids made friendship bracelets, etc. and somehow, I became the kid that people wanted to buy drawings from.
I would mainly draw tiny horse portraits and never thought about selling them but the other students would see me doing it and would offer me quarters, dimes, nickels. So before long, I was making lots of coins which I quickly traded for other goodies like candy and bracelets. Come to think of it, not much has changed since then. I strive to do what I enjoy or what I crave to explore and if someone likes it, it’s always nice to hear. I am very grateful for all my collectors, patrons, and students.
Making Art The Main Focus
EP: Due to my grades, I was lucky enough to have the Hope Scholarship after high school. As long as I kept my grades up they would help me cover the price of tuition. I was able to take on many jobs to help pay for my college experience. I would take on non-paying jobs until I could work up enough experience to qualify for the paying ones, Newspaper photographer (to Director of Photography), Newspaper Circulation, Newspaper Advertising Assistant role, Newspaper Graphic Designer (to Layout to Production Manager), to Newspaper Editor-In-Chief.
Long, long days and long long nights but I basically learned how to run a newspaper to help cover my school cost. Newspaper work, along with taking on any freelance work that would pop up – event photography, drawing, etc. – and getting a small stipend for participating in my early morning military PT, helped to make college a reality for me. Then upon completing school, I ended up with two main career paths at the same time, working full-time for the Local Newspaper and working part-time Teaching Art Classes.
Find Her Next Show
You can check out Erica Pastecki’s work at both New Moon Cafe’s Aiken and Augusta locations. And you can also see her work at other downtown Augusta locations, including upstairs at the Fox’s Lair, and at the Central Buona Caffe where she also teaches “Coffee and Canvases” art workshops. Or you can find her work at 4P Studios. And don’t miss the Wet Paint Party and Art Sale at Sacred Heart Cultural Center on March 8th!
Unleash Your Inner Mastermind: 11 Hobby & Skill Starter Kits to Spark Your New Year Glow