Living
Published: Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Lots can happen when a woman follows her urges to become a stay-at-home mom. She can discover a hidden talent. Make her mark on the world. What the heck, she can even forge a unique career. Case in point: Lucinda Bowers. Metal artist. She quit her job 10 years ago without a game plan. Today, she has carved out the niche of being an exclusive online artist working at her Lake Goodwin home. She doesn't do bazaars, galleries or art shows. Her only storefront is her Web page. Carie Collver, director of the Arts Council of Snohomish County gallery at the Monte Cristo Hotel in Everett, said she doesn't know any other artist who only sells online, though more are using the Web. "People seem to enjoy the convenience of not leaving home to shop and I guess that applies to art as well," Collver said. "With so many artists developing their own Web sites and linking on to other sites, it just makes everything easier than dealing with a middleman." While at her home computer, Bowers said that 50 percent of her time is in creating the art; the other 50 percent is in customer service. That breakdown has helped her sell more than 2,000 pieces of garden art last year. She has sold to customers in Australia, Canada and every state in the union, except South Dakota. Bowers boasted of a 30 percent customer return. Her Web site contains such testimonials as this one from Jennifer: "I love, love, love them!!!! Did I mention that I love them? I just got them today. I can't believe how much they look like my dogs!!!! I wasn't sure if they would, or how you were going to do them. But they really do look exactly like Flossie and Dougal! Thank you so much!" Besides the reward of return customers, Bowers will receive a national nod when Successful Farming magazine features her metal art in an upcoming issue. "I found my niche," Bowers said. "I don't have time to go to shows and if I did, I'm away from my family." Bowers, 38, and husband, Tom, 43, waited 10 years before having Olivia. Bowers quit her graphics artist job the day she was supposed to return. She recalled looking at day-care services and declaring to her husband that she just couldn't do it and that they'd live in a tent if they had to. About the time Olivia was 3, Bowers said she began to dream about metal. Her grandfather, great-grandfather and great-uncle were sheet-metal workers. They made big stainless steel stuff for kitchens. She sensed her grandfather in her dreams. And then it happened. She picked up a torch. "I was addicted to it," Bowers said. "The metal becomes molten and it melts away. I was totally mesmerized by it." From her torch, Bowers created a garden gong, a mermaid. The going was slow so Tom Bowers bought her a plasma torch. Now Lucinda Bowers is in her shop most days keeping up with customer demand. Like the archaeologist in Oregon who wants a custom-made sign of the artifacts she has collected. Or the guy in California who has ordered a dozen pieces to cover his house in metal to keep the woodpeckers at bay. "He's asked for really weird things like a Greek goddess and a scuba diver," Bowers said. "And he doesn't mind spending money for it and shipping it down there." Arts writer Theresa Goffredo: 425-339-3424 or goffredo@heraldnet.com.
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