The Life and work of Sara Cron of the Ten Women Gallery of Santa Monica

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Cron MA, LMFT.

Sara Cron MA, LMFT, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
26 years ago, I thought my life was pretty settled. My husband and I were raising two kids, then 4 and 1, and art was my hobby. A way to blow off steam, to be creative, to stay sane. On a lark, I’d begun doing a few craft shows. No big deal. So when a friend told me that a new artist’s gallery, run as a co-op, had opened on Main Street in Santa Monica and was holding “a jury meeting” – where local artists show their work in hopes of being invited to join – it was scary, but I decided to give it a shot. I gathered together a collection of my work and went to the meeting. I wasn’t sure what I was doing or what was expected of me, but I was excited and yes, nervous. Especially when I saw how many other artists were presenting their work.

As I watched them talk about how they’d become an artist, where they’d studied, where else they’d shown/sold their work, I felt intimidated and wondered if I had made a big mistake. I was mostly self-taught, having only briefly attended Parsons School of Art and Design. When it was finally my turn, I took a deep breath and told myself I could do this. I presented my work and told the group a bit about who I was—that I grew up dyslexic at a time when there was very little known about dyslexia, and that the art room at school was the only place I felt safe, and that art kept me kept sane and grounded. After everyone had presented, the group thanked us and told us that someone would be calling in the next day or two to let us know if we’d been accepted. I left having no idea how to feel, except that I was proud I’d made the attempt. I felt that my work held up against the other artists, crossed my fingers, and found myself to getting more and more excited about the idea of joining Ten Women and starting a new chapter in my life. For the next two days, I jumped every time the phone rang.

Finally, two days later I got the call. A very nice woman told me that I was not being accepted into the gallery. She apologized, telling me that they appreciated my coming and that my work was very good, but that they only had one opening and it had gone to someone else. I was devastated. And inspired. Sitting in a room full of women artists, showing my work, feeling proud, had fired a determination in me I’d never experienced before. From that point on, I dedicated all my free time to my art, I began showing at art fairs, enjoying a significant amount of success. A year later, I got another call from one of the members of the Ten Women co-op. She told me that the gallery was doing very well and that so many talented artists were interested in joining that they had decided to open a second location and asked me if I was still interested in joining them. I was, I did, and it’s been 25 years and I’ve never looked back. Ten Women is more than a gallery and a co-op, Ten Women is my home away from home, where I grew as an artist as well as a person. I have made lifelong friends, I cannot picture what my life would’ve been had I not been brave that day 26 years ago.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The Ten Women gallery has succeeded in a way that is rare: we’ve always been a true co-op. Each artist has the same amount of space, each artist works one shift a week, we split the expenses, and so each artist gets 100% of what their work sells for. There’s no boss, no corporation behind us, and so nowhere to turn for extra capital when things go wrong. And in 24 years nothing did, we were one of the longest standing businesses on a significant stretch of Main Street. Then, on Valentine’s Day 2018, we were suddenly faced with our biggest challenge. A city official walked in slapped a paper on the counter and told us they were shutting us down. It turned out the studio the gallery was housed in had myriad building code violations that the property owner could not fix. Overnight we lost our home, but we decided not to give up. We were determined to find a new location determined to stay on Main Street. But it wasn’t going to be easy. Especially since three artists decided to call it quits, so we were down to seven. We met weekly at my home to try to strategize, broke into groups and assigned jobs. But didn’t take long to realize that because we had no financial backers, it would be nearly impossible to find a place that we could afford.

Just when we were about to give up, we learned that Clouds, another iconic long-standing business on Main Street, was shutting its doors, just one block south of our old home. We knew it was a long shot, the space was six times bigger than our original location, so clearly it would be far more expensive. That meant we’d need many more artists to join the co-op if we were going to survive. That is if we got the lease. We did, in no small part because our new landlady, who knew who we were, was amazing, kind, understanding, and willing to work with us. The lease signed the work was just beginning. We met weekly, juried in new artists, who then rolled up their sleeves and got to work with us. Together, with the help of family, friends, and a few hired hands, we started painting, removing walls, installing new lighting, pulling up carpet, restoring the original floor and more. It was a true group effort. We reopened nine months after we were shut down. The community support when we opened our doors was overwhelming, it was humbling how many loyal customers returned, telling us how much they missed us and how happy they were that we were back. I have experienced many challenging things in my life, and there are many things I’m proud of, but being a part of the group of seven women who refused to give up is truly one of the accomplishments I am most proud of and most honored to have been a part of.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Being a member of Ten Women, surrounded by amazing, creative women, changed my life, allowing me to grow as an artist, growth continues to this day. What I bring to my work is a passion for color. I am an image pack rat. I have what some have called an obsession for retro images—and they are correct. I love retro images because they are so evocative; they’re as close to time travel as we are likely to get in my lifetime. I am also a collector of Mid-century Modern kitsch, and after years of collecting gravel art, I decided to bring them back and make them my own, along with paper cut collages and mixed media pieces. Several years ago, I branched out and began designing jewelry to which I also incorporate my love of color. When creating a piece of jewelry, finding the right bead shape and color combination is visceral.

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I’ve learned to follow my gut, my instinct. In the past when I thought, oh this is what people will buy, I’ll make something like that – it never sold. Copying trends doesn’t work. You have to create something original, you have to dig deep and trust your own vision. Will you succeed? Maybe, maybe not. I learned to have the courage try new things that could fail. And best yet, when I’m really unsure, I have all those other amazing artists to bounce ideas off of. Creating art can be lonely, you’re in it alone. Having such a supportive, nurturing, savvy group makes all the difference. Working with them gave me the opportunity to become a professional artist while I was at home raising two kids. Through the years, I’ve learned to be comfortable calling myself an artist, to be proud of my work, to own my failures as well as my success.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.Tenwomengallery.com
• Instagram: Ten_Women_Gallery
• Facebook: Ten Women Gallery Main Street

Image Credits
Sara Cron