‘Piece of local history.’ Bluffton artist gives new life to relics found along May River
Kara Artman isn’t afraid of a little mud.
In fact, that’s where the Bluffton artist finds most of the inspiration and artifacts for her latest artwork.
Artman, who’s parents gifted her with the perfect name for an artist, graduated from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and moved to the Lowcountry in 2009.
She’s found a lot of things: marbles, whistles, old clay pipes, and historic glass bottles.
Now her collection has grown to about 80 bottles that have embossing on them, including from the South Carolina Dispensary, Bull Dog Gin, Chero-Cola, a Vaseline bottle from the late 1800s, and more. She estimates the oldest bottle in her collection is from between 1850 and 1870 and her newest one is from 1930.
Instead of keeping these rarities to herself, she wanted to find a way to share them with others.
This idea started her three-part trifle collection. The first was “Unconsidered Trifles,” which used the original bottles and was on display in the Spartanburg Art Museum in 2017; the second was “Reconsidered Trifles,” which are bright, bold ceramic pieces recreated using the original bottles, and the final was “Reincarnated Trifles,” which takes broken pieces of glass and turns it into something new and different.
Artman sells recreations from her latter two collections on her website and at local markets, like the Lowcountry Made Market, Root and Bloom, and soon at First Fridays at The Shops at Sea Pines Center.
“I thought, ‘If we take this bottle and make a mold of it then recast it, we can share this piece of local history with others,’” she said. “The original bottle is dirty and grungy, but I give it more of a modern flair.”
Artman’s ceramic bottles come in nine different colors. Most are bright and bold, but there are other options, too, because she wanted to offer pieces in colors, like white and whole wheat, that could fit into any home’s existing decor, whether it’s the typical beachy southern theme or more conservative.
Artman and her partner, Tate Hallquist, who is also a local artist, research the history of each bottle they find along the river. Sometimes searching the internet is enough, but other times they reach out to fellow members of the S.C. Bottle Hunters Club.
“If we can’t find information, we can usually ask some for the members there and they can point us in the right direction if they don’t already know the answers,” Artman said.
Besides making art and exploring the Lowcountry for new relics, she taught high school ceramics as a substitute teacher at Hilton Head Preparatory School last semester and works at the recently opened Full Spectrum Studio (a studio for adults with special needs) twice a week.
Artman’s work can be found on her website and social media, including pieces for purchase. Some will also be on display at the nine-day ArtFields event in April in Lake City, S.C.
This story was originally published February 3, 2022 at 6:00 AM with the headline "‘Piece of local history.’ Bluffton artist gives new life to relics found along May River."
