Thoughts about art and community.
I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed and learned from this conversation with Iowa State University colleague and fellow artist, Reinaldo Correa. It was one of those conversations that inspired me for the rest of the week. So much insight and wisdom - this is an interview I encourage you to read over and over, and take some notes.
Read MoreI’m happy to report that I am contacted monthly, and increasingly weekly, by someone in Iowa who wants to begin a community mural project. The smallest community to date was a call from McIntire, Iowa (pop 122). The fact that more and more communities are finding value in community art projects fills me with joy.
Read MoreGot 85 minutes to spare? Listen to me talking shop with friend and fellow artist, Earle Rock. I was delighted to be asked by Earle to participate in this artist interview series. We cover the gamut from my weirdo early life experiences, to painting practices, to the business of art, to asset-based community development.
Read MoreThis year, I decided to expand For the Common Good to include interviews with Community Arts Leaders, many of whom are also artists (but not always), as well as serving in more formal nonprofit or civic leadership roles. These folks have often done the arduous (and often thankless) work of fundraising, navigating local red tape, and building diverse partnerships within their communities, all while supporting and advocating for their local artists.
Read MoreIt’s present day and a child on a field trip walks into a gift store on Pennsylvania Avenue. Immediately, she confronts a wellspring of memorabilia adorned with the president’s name in bold letters and the year “2024” beside it. She is puzzled by the significance of the year. But … it’s only 2020? Bright-red hats embroidered with a popular slogan tower high. Bobbleheads depicting our nation’s leader, with emblematic wavy hair and carrot skin, sit in a row ten figurines deep.
Read MoreHappy 2021! We made it! I couldn’t be happier to start off this fresh new year with a Community Artist Interview with my friend, colleague, and fellow artist, Jordan Brooks.
Read MoreThe What’s Good Project has grown so much in 2020, thanks to your support. Thank you. I am beyond grateful.
Because of you, we’ve been able to support these organizations that are doing really great work in Mississippi, Michigan, and Iowa…
This is little embarrassing to admit, but anytime I read, watch, or hear something that really resonates with me, I get an immediate and short-lived lump in my throat. In and out. Like my body’s way of saying “Yo, you need to pay attention to this.” The weirdo throat response has happened so often and for so long and in such unexpected ways that I’ve really learned to trust it. All that to say, each of these projects, organizations, and episodes elicited the two-second throat lump in 2020.
Read MoreToday’s a very special day. Today is the day that my lovely friend and inspiring artist, Catherine Reinhart, is in the For the Common Good hot seat. Catherine and I have been friends and artist pals for years. We worked together at Iowa State University’s Design on Main Community Gallery while Catherine was the Artist-in-Residence and Gallery Director, and I taught a class for the gallery interns; she’s generously been a part of lots of weird community art projects I’ve instigated over the years (including this one), and best of all, she’s always up for talking shop about what artists can do with folks, and what art can do for folks.
Read MoreGreetings! In this final installation (see what I did there) of how to hang art on your walls, we’ll be going over the nuts and bolts (ha) of the hanging part, i.e. what tools you need, measuring formulas, and best practices for showcasing your work in the best light possible (it’s just too easy).
Read MoreNow that you’re purchasing art that you love, what do you do with it? How do you care for it? How do you create a meaningful visual experience in your home?
Read MoreI get a lot of questions from friends and family on the reg about where and how to frame and hang their art, so I thought I would share some insight. And as always, use what works for you. Ignore what doesn’t. Artist friends, I’d love for you to weigh in here as well.
Read MoreArt is small-p political.
It always has been. Thank God for that. And by political, I mean Merriam Webster’s definition. Art is “the total complex of relations between people living in society.”
Artists and art-experiencers know this intuitively. This is for the people in the back.
I credit the following three perspectives with wise artists and thinkers that I very much admire. They put to words the feelings that I have had for decades, and way more eloquently than I ever could.
Read MoreIn that spirit, I’m beginning For the Common Good, a new series of community artist interviews. Each month, you’ll learn how and why these artists work in communities, how their creative practice informs their lives, and tips for communities to better collaborate with artists.
Read MoreToday is a brief checklist on how to prepare for a potential disaster situation. This is a very general overview aimed to touch on topics that young, emerging, and/or procrastinating artists may not have considered or gotten around to. Next week, we’ll dive into what to do when you find yourself in catastrophe.
Read MoreI wanted to write a quick post about ways you can support artists experiencing catastrophic situations. Since COVID began, there have been many, many emergency grant opportunities for artists and creatives. Natural disasters require different navigation, and natural disasters + pandemic is overwhelming.
Read MoreIn prepping this final installment, I cast the net far and wide to all my artist friends, seeking their personal stories of all the ways we can better support artists. I opened a Pandora’s box of insight, hilarity, and cautionary tales, both from the perspective of collectors AND artists.
Read MoreArt in your home or office should reflect your values, not necessarily your sofa fabric. Knowing who you are and what you’re about can be an easy way to begin, and define, your collection.
Read MoreAbove all, your art collection should reflect your values. Only you know what’s important to you - social justice, sustainability, your hometown, your faith, your family.
Read MoreAccording to David L. Cohn, the Mississippi Delta begins in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, TN and ends on Catfish Row in Vicksburg, MS. The geographically isolated “Delta”, as called by locals, is an alluvial plain used historically for cotton plantations in northwestern Mississippi along the Mississippi River.
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