The Art of the Personal Project: Cheryl Clegg

The Art of the Personal Project is a crucial element to let potential buyers see how you think creatively on your own.  I am drawn to personal projects that have an interesting vision or that show something I have never seen before.  In this thread, I’ll include a link to each personal project with the artist statement so you can see more of the project. Please note: This thread is not affiliated with any company; I’m just featuring projects that I find.  Please DO NOT send me your work.  I do not take submissions.

Today’s featured artist:  Cheryl Clegg

The Endangered Lobstermen

On September 8, 2022, the non-profit, Monterey Bay Aquarium put American lobster on its seafood watch “red list,” telling all to avoid buying lobster.  The reason was not because lobster is over fished, it is because of the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale.  There are 350 endangered North Atlantic Right Whales left and the non-profit believes less lobstering will save more Right Whales. The claim is that the whales are constantly getting entangled in fishing gear.  As a long time, Maine visitor for over 30 years, I know the fishermen have changed gear in order to protect the Right Whale. They have not only changed the type of rope but have put in weak links for the whale to break through. The last time there was an entanglement of a Right Whale attributed to Maine fishing gear was 2004, 18 years ago.  Immediately following the “red list” announcement of lobster, businesses such as, Hello Fresh & Blue Apron, eliminated lobster as one of their offerings.

In my new series, “The Endangered Lobstermen” I am putting the human faces that are at risk of losing their livelihood and their way of life. It is not just one person in the family who fishes, it is the entire family whose livelihood revolves around the lobster industry.

Lobstering is a family business. If you are part of a lobster fishing family, most likely your parents, grandparents, great grandparents and great great grandparents were also lobstermen. You started out on the boat in some cases as an infant sleeping in a crate, with Mom & Dad pulling their traps.  As you got older you were up before the sun with your mother, father, grandparent or Aunt & Uncle, filling the bait bags as the traps were hauled.  You learned how to fish responsibly, not keeping any lobster that wasn’t mature enough, and you notched the females, so the population would thrive.  You took the apprenticeship classes in high school and got your junior lobster fishing license to continue the family tradition.  You saved your earnings from your catch & bought your first boat, traps and worked the 9 years to get your full license. The early mornings continued as you started your family, and the cycle began again.

There are close to 5000 commercially licensed lobster fishermen & 1085 licensed student lobster fishermen in the state of Maine who are facing new regulations that will threaten their livelihood.  The impending new regulations are asking for a 90% risk reduction to the 350 endangered Right Whales that are left.  The lobstermen and supporting businesses are facing an uncertain future and the whole state of Maine will be impacted.

To see more of this project, click here

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APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s.  After establishing the art-buying department at The Martin Agency, then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies, she decided to be a consultant in 1999. She has a Twitter feed with helpful marketing information because she believes that marketing should be driven by brand and not by specialty.  Follow her at @SuzanneSease.  Instagram

Success is more than a matter of your talent. It’s also a matter of doing a better job presenting it.  And that is what I do with decades of agency and in-house experience.