Sculptor Mike Roig paints a horse sculpture made out of recycled steel with a lacquer sealant. Many of Roig’s pieces will be on sale to the public during the OCAG Open Studio Tours.
Marianna King photo

By Marianna King
Carrboro Commons Writer

Clay Carmichael and Mike Roig’s home is Heartworks Studio. It’s easy to find, located at 100 Hillsborough Rd., directly off Main Street. Roig’s directions include “looking for the house with all the sculpture in the front yard.” The couple shares a welcoming house, whimsical yard and a few roaming “art cats.” Their creative passion, however, is manifested in utterly unique ways.

Roig, a sculptor whose medium of choice is recycled steel, dominates the backyard. His welding and cutting tools spill out of a rustic barn and his creations perforate the flower beds. Carmichael, who jokes that she has “the clean job,” writes and illustrates children’s books in her studio off the kitchen.

The couple, who has been married for almost seven years, is gearing up for a busy few weeks. Both will be participating in the 13th annual Orange County Artists Guild Open Studio Tour which takes place Nov. 3-4 and Nov. 10-11.

“It will be nice for people to get to see two studios at once,” said Carmichael. “The tours can be quite exhausting with about 70 artists participating.”

Right now, Roig’s days are spent working on smaller pieces—though small might mean four or five feet tall—to sell to individual patrons during the tour. For the creatively challenged, coming up with fresh ideas on a daily basis might seem an impossible task, but Roig approaches each piece as adventure.

Roig fires up the blow torch to weld the finishing touches onto his latest piece.
Marianna King photo

“You have to follow your original idea wherever it leads,” said Roig. “Some artists have specific ideas and map out everything ahead of time, but that’s not really what makes it fun for me.”

Carmichael, the author and illustrator of Bear at the Beach, Used-Up Bear and Lonesome Bear, cuts foam board and prints archival copies of her illustrations in preparation for the tour. The delicacy of her pen-and-ink and watercolor creations sharply contrasts with the flying sparks of Roig’s welding out the kitchen window.

The OCAG tour reminds Carmichael and Roig of the collaborative aspect of their relationship. While their products are vastly different, the artists acknowledge the invaluable resource they have in each other.

“We bounce ideas off each other,” said Carmichael. “If I get stuck on something, I’ll go out back and ask Mike for advice.”

During tour time, Carmichael might help Roig paint the lacquer sealer on the finished pieces or answer a few extra phone calls for the studio.

“When you’re an independent artist you have to do everything,” said Roig. “We share the difficult tasks like keeping up with the business end or our work.”

Author and illustrator Clay Carmichael shows archival prints of her pen-and-ink and watercolor drawings based on her children’s books Bear at the Beach, Used-Up Bear and Lonesome Bear.
Marianna King photo

The couple also credits Carrboro with their success. Roig laughs, saying he “is the closest thing Carrboro has to a scrap-yard” but admits that supportive neighbors are essential.

“This area has a population that appreciates art,” said Roig. “Carrboro has been a really good place to actually make a living as an artist.”

Roig also notes that he is fortunate to live where immediate neighbors have no objection to the noise involved with cutting and welding or the sculptures in the backyard.

Carmichael says it is not unusual for mothers to knock on the front door and ask if their children can “play in the park”—the backyard.

“We love visitors,” said Carmichael. “Little kids really enjoy banging on Mike’s musical pieces. You really can’t hurt them.”

Many of Roig’s larger pieces are on loan to cities or exhibitions from Virginia to New York. Others have found permanent ground and become part of local landscape closer to home. Roig’s Pressure Release, a sculpture featuring cascading water and three giant birds unfolded from pressurized gas tanks, is the centerpiece of Weaver Street Market’s main lawn.

In addition to the upcoming studio tour, Carmichael is working on a middle-grades novel called Wild Things. Roig is the unofficial “award’s guy,” as Carmichael says, for Carrboro events. He created the trophy for the Music Festival as well as all the Kay Kyser statues that will be awarded at the Film Festival, Sunday, Nov. 18, 2 to 7 p.m.

For more information on the artists visit http://claycarmichael.com/ and http://mikeroig.com/

For more information on the OCAG Open Studio Tour visit http://www.orangecountyartistsguild.com/