Making Art Work

Editor's note: There has been ongoing conversation in Northeast Ohio about artist support in recent years but little examination how artists support themselves on a day-to-day basis. Through this series, ideastream highlights a sampling of area artists and the various ways they make their finances work.

Cleveland Heights resident Debbie Apple-Presser never shied away from trying new things and following unexpected paths. She made coats out of vintage fabrics, opened one of the first art galleries in Little Italy and worked as a lecturer and instructor at the Cleveland Museum of Art. 

These days, in addition to making clothing, Apple-Presser is also heavily involved with the annual Parade the Circle in Cleveland and runs a studio in Medina for people with developmental differences.

As a small child, Apple-Presser knew she wanted to be an artist.

“I was born this way. I always knew, I didn’t know, but I knew. This was the path I was put on. I remember going to the beach with my family at Mentor Headlands. There were all these bathing suits with different patterns. I don’t know why, but I was just drawn to them. I went home and I had these rocks that I just started painting the colors and patterns I saw on people’s bathing suits,” Apple-Presser said.

Painting led Apple-Presser to explore other art forms.

“I found wood, cement and nails and yarn, made my own loom and wove patterns,” Apple-Presser said.

Apple-Presser, who grew up in University Heights, said her parents encouraged her interest in art and helped foster it.

“One of my first art memories was going to the Cleveland Museum of Art with my dad. One of my favorite paintings was (Thomas Cole’s) ‘Vision of Shroon Mountain.’ It’s a mountain scene with a lot of Native Americans hidden in it. My dad would point out that there is other things going on beyond what you see. He pulled me in with the curiosities,” Apple-Presser said.

Apple-Presser attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison with the intention of becoming a print maker, but her career path changed.

“I took a class in ceramics with a very dynamic teacher, and fell in love with it. I graduated and in 1981,  I opened Earth Works (in Little Italy), a gallery and ceramic studio that I shared with other women. I was successful, but not enough that I didn't have to get that waitress job,” Apple-Presser said.

Apple-Presser married her husband Steve in 1984. They had three children, who required her attention, but it didn’t stop her from making art. In 1986, Apple-Presser started a business she called “Wear It Out.”

“I made coats out of vintage fabrics while my kids took naps,” Apple-Presser said. 

As her children became older, Apple-Presser began volunteering at the Cleveland Museum of Art, which led to her next job in the art world.

In 1998, a friend who worked at CMA told Apple-Presser there was a part-time job available that might be a good fit for her. Presser said as soon as she went to the office to be interviewed for the position artist/educator, something clicked.

“I took that job when my son was in kindergarten and totally loved it. I worked at the museum for a long time. I taught art classes and gave talks about the collection,” Apple-Presser said.

Following her maxim of “put yourself out there” helped Apple-Presser find her next job.

“I left the Cleveland Museum of Art last year without a job, but I knew I would find something. I'm not afraid anymore. You hear when ‘one door closes the other one opens,’ you kind of want to roll your eyeballs, but you know it's true. A friend who is in the world of creating art with people with mental and physical differences came out of nowhere, though I’ve known her for so long, and surprised me with the offer of this job in Medina. I realized because all these connections that I have accumulated through my life that I have these opportunities,” Apple-Presser said.

The job Apple-Presser’s friend offered her was to be the artistic director at Planet Joy Studio in Medina, which provides Apple-Presser with her main source of income as an artist.  Planet Joy offers people with mental and physical differences the opportunity to create art. Some of the work is offered for sale, which provides a source of income for the artists.

“I work at Planet Joy three days a week. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday usually I leave the house at 8:00 a.m. I get there by 9 and we paint and work on dog bandannas that we sew. We do silk screening. We have a lot of dance parties. We joke a lot, and I have the best time. While I am teaching, I’m also learning from the people that are in the studio,” Apple-Presser said.

When Apple-Presser isn’t working at Planet Joy, she’s making sweaters from afghans. Apple-Presser started the project when she was trying to come up with a birthday gift for her husband.

"What do you get for a husband who has everything, doesn't really want much and can probably buy it wholesale? Steve had a collection of afghan blankets sitting around and I thought 'why not a sweater?" Apple-Presser said.

The gift grew into a business, which is now Apple-Presser's second source of income.

Apple-Presser is also both a featured and outreach artist for Parade the Circle, which provides her third paycheck.

As a featured artist, Apple-Presser comes up with concept and choreography for her group of parade marchers. She then designs costumes and guides the 15 members of her ensemble in making their own outfits.

In her work as an outreach artist, Presser and members of the ensemble go into under-served neighborhoods, who haven’t had the opportunity, direction or means to form a parade group.  Presser and her colleagues work with these groups over about 10 visits in designing costumes and choreography so that they too can be part of Parade the Circle.

Apple-Presser’s life is a busy one, but that’s what it takes for her to do the thing she wants to do: make art.

“I'm just used to the hustle. I could never do a 9-to-5 job. I just couldn't. I like the variety. My dad always said: ‘Love what you do because you spend the majority of your life doing it.’ It's just doing what I love and finding it. Sometimes you don't love it, but I call that ‘discipline.’ It's a way to learn that you could always add to your repertoire,” Apple-Presser said.

Apple-Presser’s life now includes three grown children.  There’s also a new granddaughter and another on the way.

“I always say that my children are my best creations, and they come first. My two daughters live in Columbus. One just had a baby and the other daughter’s baby is on the way. I just fit it in. I have a son here who is also an artist, which is really nice. He’s the one I can bounce ideas off. He's got a great sense of color. I feel like I am teaching him what I was taught by my parents. My dad was a very big supporter and I feel like that's what I'm trying to do for my son, because we're taking different paths than people expect,” Apple-Presser said.

Apple-Presser’s husband’s job provides her with health insurance, but retirement isn’t on her radar.

“I always look at it as this is something I will always be doing until I can't, and then I'll still do it until I really can't. I don’t really think about that time, but when I do, I don’t have the answer,” Apple-Presser said.