Career Narrative

Durant’s work ranges from mono-type prints, marbling on sailcloth to mixed media, gourd assemblages to wheel thrown pottery. During graduate school, her focus was in printmaking, painting and art education. Olive is an arts educator/artist and continues to work as a Teaching Artist with Tennessee Arts Commission.
* credits her grandmother, Olive as a mentor
* her mother, Anne for her love of nature
* the Southern Appalachian culture for inspiration
* Periscope, Artist Entrepreneur training for motivation

The Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville, TN initiated “Periscope” in the Spring 2014. Twenty-five Tennessee artist were selected to receive professional development, entrepreneurial resources and mentors.Olive applied and was accepted as one of the 25 selected artist.
* Periscope, small group helped her refine her vision & to focus on marbling on cloth
* Set a goal to launch her business plan in 2016
* copyright her surface designs & intellectual property
* Research and develop a marketing plan to fabricate her surface designs into yardage

Claim It! The act of signing one’s name is defined as something that serves to identify. I find that signing “lolly” on the bottom of my pottery in red iron oxide along with my imbedded characteristic mark,”tags” my handmade vessel. The same is true for branding my one-of-a-kind, hand-printed marbled cloth with an embroidered “green olive”.
* develop promotional materials for marketing
* set-up exhibitions
* calendar vendor sales events
* organize a plan with measurable objectives for retail marketing and production