One of our area’s most eligible artists, Michael Crouse has been making art for more than 30 years. He is a multimedia printmaker in LowerTown, and his art is exhibited all over the world — including in the ladies room at Doe’s Eat Place. Crouse earned his BFA from the Atlanta College of Art and an MFA from the University of Michigan.iList Paducah: Michael Crouse, you are just cute, cute, cute, no doubt about it. When did you come to Paducah?
Michael Crouse: I came for my first visit in April 2005. I saw an ad for the Artist Relocation Program in Art in America magazine and decided to check it out. I started building my studio in November 2006 and opened for business in January 2007.
IL: Congratulations! The name of your shop is so cool — BrokenStone Press. How did you come up with that?
MC: My specialty is stone lithography. The printing stones are made of limestone and come from Germany. Once while I was printing one of my stones, the stone cracked and broke into two pieces. I backed the two pieces onto another single element. However, the break between the pieces was still obvious. So, I used the two sections of the stone as a compositional device for creating new, two-part images. These prints have been well received.
IL: Your work is beautiful! Did you know that several pieces are on display in the Doe’s Eat Place ladies room?MC: Yes, I like showing in places where I have captive audiences. I also have a print in the Print Zero Studios: Print Exchange V Traveling Exhibition. The venues include Naestved, Denmark; Coral Gables, Fla.; Seattle, Wash.; Buffalo, NY; Portland, Ore., and Madison, Wisc.
IL: When did you first realize that you were an artist?
MC: I pretty much made the decision that I wanted to be an artist when I was 19 years old. I have been doing art seriously ever since.
IL: What are your favorite mediums?
MC: In printmaking, my favorite medium is stone lithography. I also like the other printmaking processes, along with pastel and mixed media drawings.
IL: What’s the most challenging part of being an artist?
MC: Still finding enough time to do my own work.
IL: What were you doing before you came to Paducah?
MC: I was a full-time professor at the University of Alabama-Huntsville. I’d been there for 26 years and wanted to retire and do my own artwork full-time.
IL: And you’re happy here?
MC: Yes. I like the growing arts community, that I can walk to most places, that Paducah is located on the Ohio River and the interesting architecture. Actually, it was a relief to get away from a few former girlfriends.
IL: Uh-oh! Are you a bad breaker-upper?
MC: I hope I am not a bad breaker-upper. But if I begin to feel too trapped in a relationship, I am not afraid to quickly end the relationship.
IL: Got it. So how do you spend a typical day as a free-spirited, full-time artist?MC: I get up early and ride my bicycle, then I have coffee at Etcetera. Depending on the time of day, I’m either at WKCTC teaching a class or I’m at work in my studio, or I help other artists here make their own prints in my studio. I prepare for my classes during the evening. I also like to go to movies, listen to live music and go for hikes and bike rides at Land Between the Lakes or in southern Illinois.
I am taking a beginning yoga class for the second time. I am one really stiff person. I like to cook and entertain. Read and listen to music. I also like to travel and visit new places.
IL: What do you teach at WKCTC?
MC: Introduction to Art as well as a Design class. I enjoy the mix of students and the small class size.
IL: What are they learning from you?
MC: I am not quite sure. Sometimes I think I learn more from them. I try to introduce students to new art forms and ways of thinking about art in ways they may not be familiar with. I like helpingstudents find new ways to challenge and engage themselves in a visual language.
IL: What’s the toughest part?
MC: Grading, of course.
IL: So Michael, I think you better ’fess up on this one. I know for a fact that you’re living with a gal.MC: Yes, Amber. She’s a Chinese crested dog. She looks like a powder puff. She’s 8. I’ve had her since December 2006. We seem to both have the same temperament and personality.
IL: Does she get jealous of the women you date?
MC: Well, I don’t really know yet. I have a number of female friends, but not in a romantic manner. She seems to like them all!
IL: Have you been married before?
MC: Yes, I have been married and have two grown and successful children living in Alabama.
IL: Would you consider doing it again?
MC: Honestly, I am not sure. While I long for the companionship of a female, I also value my independence and freedom. I would be interested in a monogamist relationship that valued independence and personal space for each partner. So I am very much open to dating — and not just other artists.
IL: Rock on, Michael Crouse! Is printmaking anything like dating? There’s an art to doing both well, right?
MC: Yes, of course. One must have patience in developing a print or relationship, be able to react in a positive manner when the unexpected happens and not be afraid to explore new territory to keep the familiar from becoming boring.
IL: What kinds of things do you like to do on dates?
MC: Going out to dinner, the movies at Maiden Alley, attending events at the Carson Center — also quiet times walking along the riverfront and drinking coffee. I have two tickets to the David Crosby and Graham Nash concert at the Carson Center on Oct. 4. So I’m looking for someone to go with me.
IL: Love them! You know David Crosby volunteered to father Melissa Etheridge’s children. Would you be up for that, say, if a good friend asked?
MC: If I were younger, I would. I am most always willing to honor a request and help out a good friend.
IL: That is so sweet! Michael Crouse, it sounds like you have a great life.
MC: Well, it’s almost a great life. I do not like to cook just for myself, and I would enjoy sharing quality time and activities with a special person.
IL: A handsome, athletic artist who cooks, enjoys movies, music, travel and long walks, who likes dogs, coffee and Crosby and Nash — geeze, that’s a lot of good stuff all in one guy! Get out your cookbook, MC, I think you’ll be setting the table for two in no time!
Brokenstone Press612 North 6th St.
brokenstonepress.com
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