Ed Norman graduated from a prestigious art school. In his home studio on the Near Eastside, he
creates vibrant visual designs and collages. In his spare time, he dabbles in sketching,
sculpture and photography.

But he’s not an artist. At least, not according to him.

Norman, a 48-year-old graphic designer, straddles the line between art and commerce. He’s part of
a field that is highly creative but often not called “art.” Once referred to as commercial
artists, their work is not usually displayed in galleries or sold at auction, but commissioned by
a client to help get their message out or otherwise boost their business.

“I would consider myself more a craftsman,” Norman said. “Even though you use the same tools as
people in the arts, I think your motivation is usually not self-expression. That’s how I would
differentiate the two. I would not consider the activity that I do for clients as fine art. I
think it’s maybe fine craftsmanship.”

For Norman, it involves a lot of time spent at the computer creating brochures, logos,
newsletters and similar materials for clients such as the Historic Landmarks Foundation of
Indiana, Eli Lilly and Co. and the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. As a
self-employed graphic designer, nearly all of his contracts are with local companies.

Denise Etchison’s work, on the other hand, is distributed a bit farther out. The 46-year-old
silversmith from Frankton creates a wide array of hand-stamped silver jewelry.

Her work is on sale in boutiques and shops throughout Indiana, and soon will be displayed at
a.gallery in Chicago. She also recently co-wrote a.book on making jewelry called “Picture
Yourself Making Jewelry and Beading” ($19.99, Thomson Learning).

Etchison got her start in silversmithing literally on.a whim a decade ago. After a career in
retail, she was driving through Indianapolis and saw a sign advertising classes at the
Indianapolis Arts Center. She signed up for a ceramics course, and soon moved on to metal and
silver. Within a week, she knew she had found her new vocation.

Like Norman, Etchison considers herself more of a crafter than an artist, even though she creates
original pieces. Part of her reasoning is that she makes many copies of the same object for sale.

“You make it to make your living, and that affords you to be able to do whatever you want for a
day,” she said.

But R. Craig Miller, the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s curator of design arts, says the
distinction between fine arts and applied arts is dissolving. He notes that in Michelangelo’s
time, no one thought it odd that he would paint and sculpt but also be an architect and designer.
Only in the 17th century did the French Academy start to segregate painting and sculpture as a
“higher” form of art.

Over the past few decades, arts professionals have started to tear down that wall again. Miller
is finishing up a major exhibit on European design that will debut at the IMA in February 2009.

“All of the fields are becoming blurred again. You’ve got painters and sculptors who are
practicing as designers. You’ve got designers creating objects that are not primarily functional
in nature, but really carry an artistic aspect to them,” Miller said.

Just because someone creates a hundred versions of something, or does so for a steady paycheck,
doesn’t mean it isn’t art, he argues.

“There are painters and sculptors who are just as commercial. They develop a style that becomes
successful, and they keep grinding out the same thing because it sells,” Miller said.

##Starting with graffiti

Samuel E. Vazquez, 37, has embraced creativity throughout his life. As a youth living in New York
City in the late 1970s and ‘80s, he was a key player in the development of graffiti art. He’s
always been interested in photography and moved in artistic circles. After Hurricane Katrina, he
organized an exhibit of artwork, “25 Above Water,” that helped benefit victims.

But when he moved to Indianapolis in the early 1990s, the idea of making a living from his
artwork was daunting, Vazquez said. That led him to enroll in the Visual Communications program
at the Herron School of Art and Design.

If you’ve walked through Conseco Fieldhouse and observed the old-school signage and
paint-on-brick displays, then you’ve seen some of Vazquez’s designs. Other clients include
Indianapolis International Airport, Chicago Museum of Science and Industry and the United States
Grand Prix.

Though he’s worked both at local firms and on his own, Vazquez resists labeling himself a
designer. He doesn’t like titles on his business cards “because I feel it limits what I can do.”

“For any artist it would be ideal to get paid doing something that you just do to have fun. But
you realize that the client sets his own parameters and needs and goals,” he said.

Jim and Jon Sholly, both Herron graduates, also find themselves channeling their creativity into
the service of a client. The brothers run their graphic design business, Commercial Artisan, out
of Jim’s basement studio just south of Broad Ripple. They’ve done work for Hamilton County
Convention and Visitors Bureau and Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School, among others.

“Fine arts often are so self-generated. I feel like occasionally that comes into play, but I feel
we’re helping somebody else out,” said Jon, 36.

Jim, 42, agrees.

“You want whatever you’re doing to have style and to make some kind of statement. It should be
expressive. It should say something beyond what your client was anticipating. But it isn’t
necessarily about something I want to express.”

##Making connections

Christopher Vice, who chairs Herron’s visual communication department, says the distinction
between fine and applied art is starting to become trivial.

Students who enter his program are selected in part on abilities to convey abstract concepts
through visual imagery, and to see connections where others have not — both hallmarks of the
artist.

For the IMA’s Miller, the power of the creative act is something art schools should instill in
all of their students, especially those who end up working in a design firm.

“They’re not just an architect, they’re not just a graphic designer, they’re not just an interior
designer, they’re not just a landscape architect. They’re an artist. They’re creating a work of
art. It’s improving their culture. They’re leaving a legacy.”