How We Archive Clara Woods's Original Artworks

Guys, I want to show you something we never really talk about. How we archive Clara Wood's original artworks.

We've been tracking every single piece since 2015. Every one. Right now we're at CW1360. If you have a Clara Woods original at home, flip it over and look for the serial number starting with CW, for Clara Woods. You can also see whether she did it before the 1000th piece or after! 

(This is my spreadsheet with all the artworks since 2015 until today)

It takes so much behind-the-scenes work to keep up with this. We photograph everything and log it in a spreadsheet, piece by piece. We take high-resolution pictures, then create square, low-resolution versions for the shop. We also use a mockup app to hang the artwork on the wall and create an environment for it. 

(Example of a mockup - to show the art hanging on a wall)

I'm trying to give this part of the work to Carlo, but he is not methodical at all, and the times I tried, all my German archive was a mess. So it came back to my tasks.

It is also super complicated to take good pictures (for prints and other products) because of the lighting. Especially the ones with a dark background (like black, blue, or metallic). It is shooting one and praying that it will work!

When a piece is ready, Clara signs it on the back, and we add the title, the serial number, where it was made (HB = Huntington Beach - NB = Newport Beach), and the year.

And now we've started adding a little message too. We write it before the piece even sells, but I always pray before I write it, because I want whoever ends up buying that specific painting to get the message they're actually meant to have. I don't know who it is yet, but I trust it finds the right person.

Then we have the story of the collection, and each artwork has its own story. This is the part that takes a lot of creativity from my side. Watching Clara paint, how she developed the collection, taking insights from day by day in the studio, and building it up. Sometimes I look at websites from other artists who are selling, and they just have the material and size. And I'm like: what? No story, no one phrase, no title? How???? 

For us, the storytelling is super important, not just Clara's one but yours. After the artworks are sold, know your WHY! Why you chose that piece, why now, why... This brings so much more value to our days, and it helps keep us motivated.

So, just because it is you reading it, here I go, with sharing my tears! Saturday morning we always have a painting session. Clara and I. Clara needs someone to help her organize the studio, move the canvas, open the paints, clean, and now that we are working by collection, we are also studying new techniques, new artists. This is one of the things I like most: to spend time with her in the studio. 

Two days a week, she has the help of Najat, which has been a blessing and brought Clara to do incredible stuff that I thought she would not have been able to. They are working on a FRUIT collection; it is more than amazing.

In any case, on Saturday we cried a lot because I was trying to explain to Clara how blessed we are, how incredible it is that people are buying her art and the impact she has. And that she needs to stop feeling sorry for herself and taking the wrong decisions (especially with food). Sometimes it would be so easy to let things go, but I just can't. It was a great time together, crying and talking about things. It is building a relationship that will last, and I hope it gives Clara the confidence to believe in herself, not let her disability define her, and shine her light.

It is a process, and I know it. I can't even imagine everything that goes through her mind every day, or the difficulty of being so smart and fully in a body that doesn't follow you! 

Ah, I was forgetting the last step. Make the pictures of Clara with the artwork! We are trying to be more creative and find new scenarios and cool clothes to make the shoot. But sometimes it is too much at once, and we do what we can. Some days Clara does not want to do these pictures.

Can you imagine how hard it is? But she rocks every time. I'm always amazed at how good she is in front of the cameras!

So when we launch an original collection, please click the links in the emails and take a look at the website to see all the love and care we put into everything in the Clara Woods Collection. 

So if you have one of Clara's originals, go check your serial number! And tell us, why did you choose that piece, what was your unboxing like? We love to hear your stories!

And if you want one original click here and see the collection!