'Love, is the spirit that motivates the artist journey'
Eric Maisel
In the fall of 1993, Christopher and Carol met at the California Art Education Association conference in San Francisco, California. Christopher was a high school art teacher in Modesto and Carol taught middle school art in Spring Valley, Southern California. Their meet-cute happened because of a problem at the registration desk at the conference that year, where all the registration information and payments submitted through their school districts were lost. It meant a really long line and teacher’s patience was waning. On the bright side, Carol remarked to friends about a very good looking man with a ponytail who was working at the desk. The line didn't seem so long at this point.
Carol presumed he was either married or into men. On chatting with him, she discovered he was neither. He was alone, new to his art teaching career and in need of experienced company.
'My friend and I made it our mission to befriend him and included him in all our games and fun.'
Carol Webb on meeting Christopher.
Carol talked him into joining her at a conference planning meeting in San Diego the next month. She had invited the members who lived out of town to stay at her home since she had room to spare. That weekend was the beginning of their budding romance. Carol remembers him calling when he got back home to let her know his feelings for her. Thus began their long distance relationship, which was hard but they kept meeting for art workshops around the state. Doing what they loved together, it became apparent that they needed to be together.
Christopher proposed in a very traditional and romantic way at a patio restaurant in Carmel. Every waiter was aware of what was about to happen. Carol was pleasantly surprised and said YES. They got married in 1995 in their neighbor’s backyard. All her friends and their art friends helped with the wedding. Carol made ceramic art vases as wedding favors, each styled after 12 different artists famous paintings and they gave them to guests as a thank you gift for attending the wedding.
Marrying Christopher was really a match made in heaven. When Christopher moved in he suggested that they take two bedrooms, knock out a wall and add a skylight so Carol wouldn’t keep painting on the bed as she had been doing for years. They, who are an avid D-I-Y couple, did the work themselves and had to buy some countertop material at a local builder's supply company now Home Depot. As the clerk wrote up the order, she asked their business name. They had none. Christopher told her 'we were just two artists in love'. She wrote it down and later shared the name and address with other building supply companies. They started to get mail addressed to Two Artists in Love and now call themselves, Two Artists in Love Studios.
'We were just two artists in love.'
Christopher Webb inspires the business name
Why studios? After Carol got her space, it became clear that Christopher needed his own space and the garage wasn’t working out. Ideal as her studio was for painting and printmaking, It had to be clean always and Christopher needed room to work on clay and stone, which not so clean. They ended up building a separate studio in the side yard...goodbye lawn! Except for the foundation and tile roof, they did all the construction themselves. Now they have the perfect spaces where they can both work separately or together.
Christopher and Carol have now been married for 24 years. They love to take trips where they are actively creating art. Some but not to name a few are; summers in Vermont at Bennington College where Christopher studied ceramics and Carol studied printmaking, a three-week workshop in Tuscany, Italy sculpting with Carerra marble, 14 summers in Marble Colorado working with the famous marble used for the Lincoln memorial.
'We ended up buying a cabin there and have been sculpting marble that comes from the quarry 11 miles west of Aspen, for 14 summers.'
Christopher Webb on their art making adventures
It’s a wonderful outdoor experience that provides space, power and compressed air so artists, new and accomplished can sculpt under towering pines and next to a river. Over 50 sculptors from all over the world participate in three 8-day sessions. The experience has been life changing for the love birds and they participate every year. Although they both have our own favorite art mediums, Carol and Christopher often work together to create pieces. Carol likes to print on clay and carve low relief into some of the pots Christopher throws. She also likes to do finish work on pots and stones.
'He is always there for me when I work with stone. He can look at my sketches and then make a few cuts into my stone so I can find my image. His gift is seeing into the stone. Christopher usually begins a sculpture just looking at the stone and rarely rely on a maquette. He just starts removing stone and viola! Soon everyone can see it.'
Carol speaking admirably about her husband Christopher.
They sold their cabin a year ago because they wanted to travel in the United States And now in 2019, they are beginning a new camping adventure with a teardrop trailer. As they travel around the United States and Canada they will be sketching, painting, carving and creating new work.
Carol has been retired from teaching for 9 years and Christopher just recently retired. They are excited to begin a more focused and relaxing exploration of their art with a work schedule that isn’t tied to a school district calendar. They constantly research the internet for art experiences in parts of the world they want to see, leading workshops such as one in Baja, California for artists. (Baja Rancho Art) where Carol did two workshops in Printmaking and Christopher led two workshops in Raku firing and pit firing.
Christopher has a BA in Fine Arts, Chico State MA in Computer ed. from National University and Carol has BA and MA in Art San Diego State University. They are etched in the history of art education in San Diego and as more people promote the case for art in schools, one simply has to speak to the Webbs and be inspired by their life, their love and their art as a justification for this wonderful form of learning and as an important part of life.
Abstract edited by Adesola Akindele for Two Artists in Love Studios.
