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Author Archives: Aprilart Studios
The Keepers & the Makers
The tradition with me and my folks is that, come Mother’s / Father’s Day, Xmas, and sometimes birthdays, I draw them something. The themes vary… sometimes, it’s a drawing based on a meaningful photo. More often, it’s my own drawn … Continue reading
“Close enough”
Today as I was running errands, I caught some of Terry Gross’s “Fresh Air” on the radio. In today’s installment, Gross interviewed Lynsey Addario, a photojournalist who has been shooting in war zones for over 10 years and, after surviving … Continue reading
Posted in Being an Artist, Building Community, Photography
Tagged closeness, connection, Fresh Air, Lynsey Addario, photography, photojournalism, Terri Gross, work
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Polka Rising / Our Leadership Lens
I love when a new generation grabs onto old traditions and swings them back into life. I love even more when they don’t grab it so hard that the older generations get left by the wayside. I was stoked, therefore, … Continue reading
Posted in Building Community, Local Events, Music, People Who Inspire Me, Public Space
Tagged change, cleveland, complexity, culture, dance, grassroots, Grassroots Grantmakers, leadership, Ohio, polka, revival, tradition
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Nowhere Bird
Today’s blog is brought to you by Friendship and Spontaneity. About a month ago, I got excited about a little doodle I’d done absentmindedly while listening on a conference call, took a quick shot of it with my handy new … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Being an Artist, Collaborations, Poetry
Tagged art, bird, collaboration, doodles, florida, poetry, randomness
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Tweet! Awakening to Twitter
Woohoo! Day Two of my Blog-a-Day rhythm. So here’s something hopefully very useful: my learning from a learning session about using Twitter for social change I attended earlier this week. Ironically, the reason this blog is happening is because of … Continue reading
The Season for Waiting is Over
Well, Happy New Year, friends! In February? Yeah…a bit late, but better late than never. Late as it may be to do it, I want to open this year of blogging/writing by trying to put into words the big, clanging, stinging-yet-freeing … Continue reading
Posted in Being an Artist, Building Community, People Who Inspire Me
Tagged ABCD, blogging, indianapolis, inspiration, life, neighborhoods, purpose
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Ferguson, Pt.II: On the Ground
The trip to Ferguson made me deeply confront and reflect on my own role in creating and supporting others to create a more equal, just and loving world. That confrontation began before the trip even began… TO GO, OR NOT … Continue reading
Posted in Current Issues, Kids & Youth, Public Space, Social Justice / Equality
Tagged activism, democracy, equality, Ferguson, Michael Brown, Mike Brown, Missouri, race, racism, social justice, U.S.
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Ferguson, Pt. I: My Conundrum
This blog is hard to write, which is in part why it’s taken me one week to do it… And, I’m taking my discomfort and sense of being overwhelmed by this task as a sign that it must be … Continue reading
Posted in Current Issues, Public Space, Social Justice / Equality
Tagged Darren Wilson, dialogue, Ferguson, Michael Brown, peace, race, racism, social justice, U.S.A., unity
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Ferguson: First Batch (thoughts + photos)
A few images from our trip to #Ferguson yesterday. More to come (including video interviews). For now, I wanted to get these out there before too much more time went by. To briefly summarize my experience: Safe to say that many views … Continue reading
Posted in People Who Inspire Me
Tagged democracy, Ferguson, human rights, justice, Missouri, protest, race
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Heading to Ferguson…
heading to Ferguson tomorrow… After a lot of thought, reflection, and conversation about whether it’s even appropriate or helpful for me to go, I’ve given in to my deep urge to hop in the car with friend-of-a-friend Ellen, along with … Continue reading
Posted in People Who Inspire Me, Public Space
Tagged action, dialogue, discrimination, documentation, equality, Ferguson, impact, justice, Missouri, public, race, racism, social change, white privilege
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