Daily Inspiration: Meet Charlene Waggoner

Today we’d like to introduce you to Charlene Waggoner.

Hi Charlene, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
My story. I was born…. OK, let’s skip a few chapters… I am the proprietor of the WaggonsWest Traveling Chicken and Monster Show. WaggonsWest comes from the years I spent traveling back and forth between the Midwest and Colorado. I always wanted my wagon to be headed West. The Traveling Chicken and Monster part had a longer evolutionary path. I started making the original traveling chickens when my three boys were young. These original chickens were small little broody hens made out of scraps of fabric and felt. They earned the name traveling because they could travel into your brother’s face without knocking over the lamp and making your mother crazy. Over time, they became larger and some were made out of scraps of fleece. But that same simple design has persisted. One day, while helping my son and his friend set up for a show where they would be selling some of my art along with their own, I said “chickens never sell.” By the time I was halfway home, I started getting frantic text messages.

Need more chickens. No really. We need MORE chickens. NEED MORE CHICKENS. They had taken my casual statement of fact as a challenge. And they sold all the chickens. That is still known as the year of the chickens at that event. The chickens persist. Over the years, I have added many characters including several variations of monsters, and the Traveling Chicken and Monster Show was born.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Has my journey been a struggle? It is never smooth when you travel around in a wagon drawn by three unruly llamas and filled with a diversity of denizens who sometimes don’t get along. I think perhaps the biggest struggle has been finding my place in the world of art. What I create sits at the boundary between fine craft and art. It was difficult to find my audience. I knew they were out there. I just didn’t know where to look or how to break into the clubhouse where they all hung out.

My first craft show experience was a complete disaster. I was making things I called Victorianimals. They were well made and I don’t cringe when I see them on the shelf today. I decided to participate in a local craft show and set up what I thought was a very elegant display. I was at a complete loss as I watched eager customers rush past my table to crowd around the lady who was selling Happy Meal toys glued to painted wooden plaques. She sold out. I didn’t sell a thing. It took me ten years to get over that disaster. After life circumstances gave me the time and space to start making again in earnest, I started showing my work again.  I eventually found my niche.

Talking to customers who love my work feeds my soul. In addition to some specialty shows  I have found a wonderful audience at fine art shows. It is a struggle getting into shows like that because I don’t fit the standard mold. I find that jurists either love what I do and want to own it all or they don’t want to have anything to do with it and don’t think it belongs with the “real” art. I have persisted and learned. Over the years, I have developed a following at shows like Foothills Fine Arts Center Artsweek in Golden, Colorado. I was stunned and amazed to be awarded Honorable Mention in Fiber at River Clay Arts in Decatur, Al. (Yes, the Traveling Chicken and Monster Show really does travel around.)

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I make things that make me laugh. I draw each character. Sometimes in my sketchbook. Sometimes digitally. I use an old-school digitizing program to convert the features and things from my sketches into embroidery files. I have to pay close attention to the placement of the stitches because the angle of the thread affects the way it plays with light. A slight change can take an eye from dull to sparkling.

I also have to pay attention to the fabrics and how they stretch. Stretching wide versus tall can make the difference between awkward and adorable. My pallet consists of scraps, remnants, upcycled materials, commercially available fabrics, and embroidery threads. Unlike most artists who can add a touch of dark or a swirl of color, I am restricted to what I can source. This forces me to be more creative in how I achieve a desired outcome. I have many sketches waiting for the perfect fabric to bring them to life. Conversely, I stood in front of a bolt of fabric and immediately saw the character it would become.

What’s next?
Last year, my sister challenged me to start writing the stories of the characters who inhabit WaggonsWest.

The first book in the Traveling Chicken and Monster Show Adventure series “Gracie and the Llamas” is currently available on Amazon. “Ralphie and the Chickens” is in the hands of my sister, the illustrator, and should be out by mid-2023.

The story of the Very Shy Monsters Who Live Under the Bed is taking longer. Those monsters are very shy and getting them to talk takes time.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://waggonswest.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/waggonswest
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggonswest