Personal Pledge: Buying Local this Xmas

Posted on December 16, 2011 by April

First off —

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I want to take a moment to share a personal commitment I’ve made this season, which I believe will make a real difference in my local community (and the world), and make this holiday interesting and fun for me and those I’m giving to.

I believe that, as a citizen, I have a unique and inalienable power to make a difference in the economy and in the future of this nation with the choices I make every day. Based on that belief, this holiday season I’ve decided make a commitment to use my spending power in the best way I can think of:

** to buy my gifts ONLY from locally owned, independently operated businesses, artists or artisans. **

I’m no stranger to the last-minute present run to Target, Wal-mart… hey, even Walgreens!  But this year, I figured that with a little planning, research and discipline, I could feel better about giving by giving something to my community with each thing I purchase. I’m a big fan of discovering and better utilizing the incredible resources in my community, plus there’s so many reasons to buy local. Here’s a video ’bout it:


(thanks Don Hall and Transition Sarasota!)

I invite you to join me in making this commitment. Together, we can make a huge impact–and have fun doing it!

from Mommy Magazine article on Sarasota Farmer's Market

~

To help my friends carry out this commitment, I’ve pulled together a few resources for figuring out how to buy things locally that we might otherwise go to big retailers to purchase.

1. “Faves&Friends” ~ a list of my favorite local talent, goods and services you can use for buying gifts. Please comment with any of YOUR faves to improve this list.

2. Atomic Holiday Bazaar – if you missed it, you can still check out their many vendors and find awesome stuff via their blog/website. You can also see a little of what Uprise Art Collective had for sale at our booth, and hit us up for some.

3. You can buy my art and fun artsy products – I just got more stuff up online and have been on a merch-making binge for about a month!   Check it out: ONLINE – at Aprilart Studios website, locally at Five Points Collective, or order a super unique gift for 2012 of your loved one’s choice with a custom commission.

Sarasota Architectural Salvage - a great place to shop. Photo from same Mommy Magazine article.

WILL YOU JOIN ME? If you’re so inspired, awesome! You can just take the pledge yourself, or increase your impact by sharing this with your friends, neighbors, colleagues. The people themselves are the ones who make history — that’s us!!!

You can make your pledge ‘official in a couple of ways’–choose that which suits you best:

  1. Reply to this blog saying that you’re in. While you’re at it, please share few words on why you chose to join and any resources or tips you know about to help others make this shift.
  2. Join the facebook event page, or start your own event! (be sure to invite me)
You can also email this blog to your friends, or write your own personal statement and send it around.

Beautiful hommade candles from Sarasota's own LolaBlue


 

 

 

 

Random notes:

Have a gift / talent/ skill?  (everybody does)  I’m also counting “making it myself” as a legitimate present — using our own gifts and talents is a great way to build community and deepen relationships with the people in our life.  This is a great option if you’re not only gifted (which you are), but broke.  🙂

I’ve also taken to asking my friends to buy for ME locally, or to make me something themselves. My Dad ended up making me an awesome print display rack–he even made it a little early so I could use it for the Uprise Art Collective booth at Atomic Holiday Bazaar this year. Score!

Display Rack ala my Daddy, right hand side

What are YOUR favorite local folks and spots that are great for holiday buying?  

Comment below so we can grow this list even bigger and build a big strong UNIQUE local economy.

 

-A

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Who Says Sarasota’s Boring?

Posted on December 16, 2011 by April

Proof otherwise:

ONE

Too bad I missed it but thank god for stop-motion video, John Lichtenstein’s “White People” and local video-photo-capturing badasses Scott Braun, Stephen McFadden and John Lichtenstein. I ALMOST feel like I was there.

My favorite moment has to be minutes 2:08-2:09. I know I know that guy but can’t remember his name–clever use of stop-motion!

What’s yours?

 

TWO

Here’s something I DIDN’T miss:

“Not a Silent Night” — yet another explosion of local creativity and collaborative cleverness, incited by the good folks at Five Points Collective and Sarasota Music Scene.   They came up with a great concept which pulled together Sarasota Music Scene and Five Points’ large network of local musicians and bands and put Five Points’ recording studio to great use:  Create a Christmas CD by all local talent — and have a party while doing it!    (see photos here)

I was only able to stay for an hour or so but really enjoyed the warm energy, the great diversity of people coming together, and of course all the great music being played and abundance of locally produced art/fashion adorning every corner of Five Points Collective.

If you want to check out future events or get your hands on the Xmas CD I suggest you ‘Like’ Sarasota Music Scene and Five Points on Facebook.

What have you seen or been to this week that made you feel good about living in Sarasota?

Oh and don’t forget to post your favorite moment in the Spandex video.  🙂

 

-A

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Watching Ice Melt ~ Part I

Posted on December 9, 2011 by April

OK…. like most of my posts, this is WAY LONGER than blog posts are supposed to be, but here goes anyway. Any brevity-gifted folks out there, your advice is super-welcomed!

This last Friday, I took part in “Meltdown to Drummer’s Night” and got to thinking about how making art for money influences the art itself.

“Meltdown” was a unique temporary installation in the central park of Sarasota. The brainchild of local creativity catalyst John Lichtenstein, “Meltdown” as an experience was something to remember and write about.  At the same time, it sparked me thinking even more about a on topic about which I’ve recently mused repeatedly, heard passionate debates, and read some potent commentary:

As an artist, is it possible to remain purely creative when we’re also aiming to make a living at it? Or is “true creativity” only possible when one does “art for art’s sake,” all on its own?

The following is an attempt to unpack SOME of that thinking…

The notorious Ice-Block, housing the Drummer's Night poster, designed by talented local Nick Sirotich. Photo by Laslo Hollefield.

First, a little on “Meltdown to Drummer’s Night.”

In a carefully orchestrated act of performance/love?, John and some of his friends placed a block of ice containing a poster for “Drummer’s Night,” placed in Five Points Park to melt. They set up cameras in various locations and programmed them to take time-interval shots throughout the melting process and to simultaneously capture what happened around the ice-block. As John explained to me weeks before the event, part of this involved capturing what goes on in our public spaces–or, what doesn’t go on.

This is John Lichtenstein. Photo by Martin Feldman.

The day of “Meltdown,” John and Marty, a local photographer and friend of John’s, were on full-duty, talking to observers, keeping watch on the equipment, taking pictures themselves… for the full 24+ hours it took for the ice to melt. And before that, I know that countless hours of calculation and effort went into making the event happen–figuring out how and where to place a source of electricity near the ice-block, promoting the [promotional] event, transporting the block, etc.

John had asked me a couple weeks prior to capture the event with a pen and ink drawing of the scene. I agreed to volunteer. It would be a good chance to be part of an experiment and also develop a skill–live landscape/person drawing–without the pressure of delivering a professional product. So, I was there most of the day and got to witness a number of interactions–between people and the ice, John and the people, and the people and each other as they made sense of or just took in the scene.

Many of the people who wandered up had trouble grasping the project’s spontaneous, non-profit-making nature. One woman commented. “Some people will do anything to promote their project.” From what I’ve personally witnessed, this observation that seems to miss the mark of John’s actual motivation, both in this project and others like The End of the Dial Tone. That is, the motivation to do creative things for no other end than… to do creative things. To experiment, interact, play–to jump in with no more than a starting idea and question… “What would it be like if…” In fact, after the woman left there was a conversation about it among the crew, and John shared the thought that once you bring money into it, you lose the purity.

"Meltdown" Organizer John Lichtenstein, tired after many hours of unpaid creative dedication

~

All-in-all, I loved being part of this project. I loved being part of the “what if?” and getting that answered for myself. I enjoyed watching people marvel at the beauty of the ice both in day light and as the darkness came and the block was lit from different angles. I enjoyed  seeing how people chose to interact and pose with the ice–putting their faces behind it, sitting on it,  licking it (oh yeah, that was me!). I enjoyed trying my hand at drawing a landscape live and stretching my abilities… even if my picture didn’t get completed.

I wholeheartedly embrace the concept of a project designed with the experience itself as the primary goal. But, the one thing that keeps bugging me is a tension between my own sensibility as an artist and citizen, and the comment John made about money-motive ‘polluting’ creative projects…   So I ask:

When ‘money-making’ becomes part of a creative activity, does it kill the activity’s creative spirit? – or – What changes when money-making becomes part of the creative process/project? Is this change inherent in the inclusion of a profit goal in the activity, a habit we slip into but could avoid with practice, or something else?

– and –

 

What are the repercussions on working artists and society as a whole if we hold to the belief that a profit goal pollutes the spontaneity and creative freedom that most of us feel is the soul of good art–‘art for art’s sake’?

~

I’ll start with where I come from. For me, the decision a year ago to try and seriously earn money through making beautiful art has been a valuable step. It has also posed plenty of challenges and uncomfortable tensions, including clear encounters with a certain pressure once money is introduced to stay within traditional boundaries and not experiment too much. It’s also hard to summon up the courage and confidence to “sell myself” and to carry out the actions and sometimes very mundane tasks required to do so.

Despite these tensions, I keep concluding that aiming to make money with art CAN be a good thing…   it just takes an inner re-alignment of certain values and attitudes I’ve inherited.

Many months ago I got a free ticket to see a dance by Twyla Tharpe, performed by the Sarasota Ballet (of which two good friends are part).  I often have trouble resonating with a lot of modern dance, but this show got me. It lured me in, seduced, surprised, entertained and inspired me with highly creative and original patterns of movement, plays with light and setting, music-movement combinations, and that ‘something’ you can never quite put your finger on about a creative thing–the spirit of it went into me and made something buzz. I would personally label this “Great Art.”

I learned later that the choreographer has written a book called “The Creative Habit.” Curious about what the creator of such a stunning performance would have to say, I bought it. She opens by exploring what she calls the myth of the spontaneous artistic genius. Mozart, for instance, is commonly celebrated as a spontaneous genius, who produced timeless works of music from a magical, mysterious creative zone in unpredictable moments of great inspiration and epiphany. Yet, thanks to films like “Amadeus,” we rarely associate with Mozart the fact that his capacity to produce these timeless works was born of a child- and adult-hood of structured cultivation.

This structure was initiated by his father who was a composer and had the little musician practicing for hours from the time he could reach the piano keys. As an adult, Mozart created structure for himself as well, sometimes playing until his hands bled, and eventually they became deformed from constant practice. He was not always producing timeless works of genius during these routine sessions–rather, he was doing ‘the work’ with rhythm, intention, what some might consider dull, ‘uncreative’ consistency. This consistency became the soil from which truly creative ideas could not only emerge but grow into full-blown masterpieces that would move humanity for centuries to come.

What’s my point?  In a roundabout way, I’m saying, as Twyla says, that many of the things we associate with ‘anti-creativity’ such as structure, consistency and self-discipline are in fact the necessary soil for any artist to cultivate the skill and give birth to art (/music/performance/etc) that fully channels their inner creative potential. Making money fits into this as one of those things we consider anti-creative.  So if, as Tharp suggests, seemingly dull things like daily practice and prepatory ritual are helpful to the artist, might the profit motive in some instances help, not hinder us?

Artist coach Alyson Stanfield, offers another good point in her book “I’d Rather be in the Studio; the Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion.” She acknowledges the pressure experienced by artists who dream of making a living on their talent to “sell out” for the sake of money. We can easily slip into a mentality where we are “producing for” something outside ourselves, for what we expect people to like. In so doing, we let go of our authenticity.

Stanfield argues that artists don’t need to feel beholden to pleasing everyone. If we remain true to our innermost creative voice, what moves us will CERTAINLY move other human beings. That is the nature of art. However, it’s up to us (or, maybe, our agents if we hire one) to FIND those who are moved by what we do, and cultivate relationships with them so they can support us to keep creating that thing they, and we, love.

In the spirit of blog culture, I’ll continue this in another blog as “Part II.”

What do you think so far? Do you think a profit-motive and true creative spirit/product can co-exist?  Have you found a way to make this happen, or know someone who has?

~

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Youthful Musings

Posted on December 7, 2011 by April

*[originally posted in ABCD in Action]*

One theme that keeps showing up in the conversations I’ve been in among all kinds of people–in neighborhoods, spiritual organizations, nonprofits, government–is the lack of youth engagement in important local matters. This concern came up again and again when a group of practitioners of Asset-Based Community Development got together in Chicago a month ago. This morning I was talking with a colleague about our own experiences as the ‘youngest’ in certain rooms.

The following is a somewhat stream-of-consciousness musing on this topic that was sparked by a song I like very much.

First, this song, which came through my pandora music service just now.

“Handlebars” by Flobots

It begins,

I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handlebars
No handlebars

Look at me, look at me
hands in the air like it’s good to be
ALIVE
and I’m a famous rapper
even when the paths’re all crookedy
I can show you how to do-si-do
I can show you how to scratch a record
I can take apart the remote control
And I can almost put it back together

 

(…)

It starts out sweet, innocent and cocky all at once. It’s a kid enamoured of his abundant abilities, singing it to the world. A beautiful image of youth.

The confidence grows:

I know how to run a business
And I can make you wanna buy a product
Movers shakers and producers
Me and my friends understand the future
I see the strings that control the systems
I can do anything with no assistance
I can lead a nation with a microphone
With a microphone
With a microphone
I can split the atoms of a molecule
Of a molecule
Of a molecule

 

Then full volume on dominance, corruption, destruction and egomania–ambition with no morals, power with no reigns:

I can do anything with no permission
I have it all under my command
I can guide a missile by satellite
(…)

and I can end the planet in a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust

Finally he shifts back–innocent, pure, free:

I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handle bars

 


What strikes me first about this song is its skillfulness and its insight.

It’s a clever thumbing of the nose at how we’re seen by the older world while simultaneously criticizing that world and, I think, nodding to each young person’s own potential to give way to that world’s frequent disintegration into selfish dominance, manipulation and, in its final equation, full-blown horror.

To me this song communicates what I think a lot of us in Chicago kept arriving at…   that the “youth engagement” problem is not a problem of youth not caring, not being ready to do something, and not being capable. It’s not even an issue of youth not being ready to do something–many youth ARE doing something–it’s just that we don’t have the kind of conversations with folks in older generations that let this information slide over.  Or if it does slide over, it makes it halfway, and crumbles as our feelings, yearnings, ideas and efforts are appreciated halfway by older people who see us as ‘becoming’ rather than ‘being’ full citizens and full people, what we bring is often valued as such. Halfway, with a pat on the head. I know this because I do this to people younger than ME (and hate it!)  In this song, the singer is flipping this system saying clearly, “I can teach YOU.”
What this song says to me is what’s often lost in the conversation about “youth engagement” — that is, like anyone else, youth want to be viewed for what they bring to the table.Right now, not as who they’ll be in five or twenty years and how can everyone mentor them toward greatness. We need to hear what this guy is saying and demonstrating in this song:

– i CAN…, i CAN,… i CAN…

and

“Me and my friends understand the future

I see the strings that control the systems”

To take it a step further, in Chicago a month ago we talked about shifting from a mindset that tries to “involve” people in what WE’re doing and instead “involving ourselves” in what the PEOPLE are doing. It’s a subtle but mega distinction that I’m still wrestling to wrap my mind around. …So, the youth who’s walking down the street, not at the table–perhaps what’s important to find out is what they hold in themselves, or where they’re headed. Perhaps the most important question is what the incredible Judith Snow asked during our conversation in Chicago… [paraphrased] “How can I [a non ‘youth’] become a person to the young people on my community center’s porch that they will speak honestly to? How do I become a person that they trust?”

So, to return to a much-hammered point… maybe it IS all about relationships?

What I see around me these days is a vibrant, pulsating, conscientious, smart, creative and beautiful youth culture. It’s in my hometown, it’s probably in every town. But who’s checking it out? Usually, it’s just other youth. There’s been inspiring cross-over through the Occupy Movement from what I can tell. Yet in general, I understand that there’s barriers and don’t mean to sling blame in any direction. I know how freaky and often out-of-the-way difficult it is for older people to go to where the youth are.

Rather, I see an incredible potential for bridging this divide through places, spaces, groups or conversations that open up the creative capacities of young and older folks in each others’ presence. Something is freed up with culture–it comes from deep within and, for that reason, people can find and see each other fresh when it’s leaping forth.

How can music bring us together? Maybe what young people are into is not THAT different from their interests than older people think (and vice versa). Or maybe we could have a very entertaining and enlightening exchange of different thing, and realize that beneath is a compelling, redeeming human drive for self-expression and appreciation for creative expression in others.

Here’s a couple of examples.

First, These are images from “The Big Eclectic,” an event organized by Van Jazmin, a talented young artist who attends the RIngling College of Art & Design here in Sarasota. Van who blows me away with his energy to bring people together in creativity and support of local artists. He called together talented people of all ilks to perform at Big E’s, a little coffee shop much-loved by a diverse crowd for its dedication to community over profits. This event is an example of the good explosion of youth leadership I see.

I’d ask folks worried about the lack of youth involved in their groups or organizations to consider these questions (as I ask them to myself):

Where are youth taking the lead ALREADY in your community, who are acting on what you care about too?

How can you get to know them?

How can you support what they are doing?

Another example of spontaneous community-building across generations, sparked by art, is this scene from Realize Bradenton‘s ArtSlam this October. A truly amazing event, ArtSlam happened when this innovative organization recognized that it can make a big impact simply by doing what ABCD Faculty member Henry Moore called “Leading by Stepping Back.” They made a call to local artists and artist groups to “do their thing” at a huge outdoor event sponsored by a partnership of local arts institutions. It seems they were smart about connecting with young artist–or more likely, both young artists and this organization were smart about connecting with each other–because at least half of the street projects were led by young people. I love this video of my friend Fez igniting freedom on the “dance street” with his killer moves, followed by some nice fire-spinning by my friend Misha of Urban Spiral Dance Company:

To summarize,

The Flobots song and the following stories inspired me because:

– They epitomize the mind-blowing skill, sensitivity, insight and ambition present & overflowing in the youth of today

– They represents something I feel is a powerful doorway for bridging persistent rifts between the generations: CULTURE

Youth engagement is not about “getting youth involved” but about involving ourselves with each other across generations–as humans do naturally, through things that inspire and move them, with curiosity about what the other brings to the table that can be valuable, used, admired and respected RIGHT NOW.

I write this aware that I repeat the mistake of my elders with my juniors, and that to be powerful, my thinking must concentrate on what I can and am willing to do, as a young person, to make this shift (not what others are doing wrong). I’m committed to blurring damaging generational lines

  • through my active and unprejudiced enthusiasm for culture that moves me
  • by exercising with frequency my power to attend, enjoy, invite others to drink from what humans of all kinds feel moved to create in my vicinity.
  • making a point to celebrate great skill and effort that risks being overlooked, especially that of my age-peers.

…And, I’ll do my best not to get mad when I feel myself being seen or treated as ‘less than’ by elders After all, I DON’T ACTUALLY know everything…

I STILL can’t ride a bike with no handlebars…  🙂

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Watching Ice Melt ~ Part II

Posted on October 7, 2011 by April

Continued musings on a previous post that got too long — On money-making and being an artist…

My own journey into becoming a working artist included a realization that my initial resistance toward earning money thru my art had a lot to do with viewing money as something unpure.

I’ve come to see it differently. I’ve come to think of making art for money as a way to create a world where creativity is valued–and that appreciation, love, passion for creativity is expressed in monetary form. Sure, there are many ways to express our appreciation, but we declare what we value every day in monetary form as well–food, shelter, fun, causes.

I see that taking this step puts me at risk to fall into ‘sell-out’ mode where I create what I think people want to buy, rather than being true to my own artistic voice and the spirit of art itself. Yet, I choose to see this as a necessary challenge that, should I choose to accept it, can only serve to strengthen my artistic sensitivity, skill, expressive and productive power–because it has forced me to reach down through that inner wall of sell-out self-doubt and grasp doubly hold of what is real, buzzing, on fire for ME and to re-double my faith that there are other humans out there who will resonate.

Should I succeed in reaching that place and infusing into my work, all of the activities and thought processes involved in including money-making not a director of but simply a pragmatic supportive cog in the dominant drive of my own authentic creative/productive process.  And, the beautiful thing is that when I overcome the barriers a money-goal poses to being a good artist, I can spend more time developing my expressive voice and producing beautiful, compelling, authentic art because, quite simply, it is my job.

~

My “Meltdown” experience made me appreciate that although I do feel this way about money and the profit motive having the potential to be a friend to the sincere artist, there is also value in projects that involve no money-making whatsoever.

Meltdown was one of those things.   Would it have changed things if I was earning money to hang out at Five Points Park for 5ish hours watching (and drawing) ice melt with John, Marty, and the fluctuating gangs of Sarasotans who wandered by, questioning, touching, licking, posing in front of, and gleefully knifing their mark into the giant ice-block? Would I have felt the same electricity and pull to stick around for more than 15 minutes?  Would I feel the same strange sense of pride that I do now, two days later, for having been part of an endeavor that has no obvious purpose other than to try something outlandish, original, requiring hours of labor, planning, and money spent to accomplish?

I don’t know.

I think of money-offering projects like Realize Bradenton‘sArtSlam, which includes stipends for local artists to host grassroots, original public art installations this coming October.Are the performances and projects being created for ArtSlam somehow less authentic because someone’s receiving some money to coordinate it?

I’m curious what John and Marty have to say about this, as well as the others who were and will be part of this project. I’d also love to hear the perspective of folks like my friends and artists Steve McAllister, Misha Rubenstein, Lyndsay Gordon, and Cheeta who are all leading a project for ArtSlam…   and, of course, any person who grapples with or cares about creativity and/or how it fits into the making of a world where artists be artists, in all our irrepressible, sometimes weird glory, but artists who are also well fed.

Please, share your thoughts on this. I need help thinking it through.

~

-=O=-

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Breaking Down Artist Stereotypes

Posted on September 9, 2011 by April

(originally published in ABCD in Action)

This is really just the beginning of what I feel will be a long string of essays/blogs, but it’s been rolling around inside me for all these months and I have to let it out!

I have come to appreciate after half-a-year working on my own business as an artist and building up an artists collective with other artists, that we fall into that category of “Labelled People” that become hindered by the deficiency-shadow of their label.

You would think that “Artist” is a great label, right?

Well, it definitely can be. It implies creativity, often a unique sensitivity to both inner and outer patterns, and an ability to express in any myriad form something with which other humans can resonate, but not always express themselves. It’s a role and set of skills celebrated throughout history and drives some of the most lucrative branches of our economy.

Which is nice because it means we don’t have to go about asking people to call us something different like many groups do. (sidenote:  one of my favorite lines uttered by John McKnight: “The best kind of label is ‘John’ or ‘Mary.”)

However, I can’t begin to count how many times I’ve heard, in my life and even more in the past 6-8 months, the negative stereotypes about artists. Can you name them? Probably:

~ Disorganized  (and UNorganizable)
~ Eccentric
~ Isolated
~ Starving
~ (perhaps) Selfish
~ Horrible at self-promotion and money/business matters

One of the key goals in my life, now, is to deconstruct for artists and community members alike this over-inflated negative aspect of the artist image.

I offer my critique of the label from two angles:

1. There are as many kinds of artists out there as there are people.

2. Where these qualities emerge in artists, it’s often as much an environmental reason as it is connected to some kind of inherent quality of artists as creatures, as well as an internally-fed crutch that holds us artists back from realizing our true potential.

Two resources I’ve found super helpful, besides the ABCD framework and all my buddies out there doing ABCD, are the books:

“The Creative Habit” by Twyla Tharp (internationally-known choreographer)

“I’d Rather be in the Studio” by Alyson Stanfield  (arts biz coach)

Point 1 –

The more I do this work, the more I reaffirm for myself that there are as many different kinds of artists out there as there are people. I’ve met agrophobic artists, unorganized artists, super organized artists, businessminded artists, non-business-minded artists, eccentric and completely ‘normal’ artists. Plus, the fact that our town has not just one but about 8 developing artist collectives sure proves that there ARE artists out there that think about more than themselves, are capable of being quite organized, and can work together with each other.

an early shot of Uprise Art Collective - Jose, Pablo, Chris, Marianela, Chris B., myself. We each have a unique assortment of gifts and strengths--as artists, as people.

Additionally, one thing ABCD does is remind us that “Artist” as a label includes more than just those who self-identify as artists. It includes people who have a gift for creative expression and carry keepers of cultural traditions, or ordinary folks who can sing, play guitar, dance well, or draw/paint/sculpt but would never present themselves as ‘an artist’ to others, without prompting.  (Calling out these people as artists in public has become one of my favorite pasttimes, by the way 🙂  Try it!)   When we consider this, how much less does this stereotype hold true?  Of course, some would argue that an artist is one who makes it their identity fully, but for me the important thing is that the gift is there.  I’d go so far as to back up Picasso’s statement that we’re all born artists, and spend our lives trying to unlearn society’s message that we’re not.

Point 2 –

I think so many professions involve ‘training’ and the influence of mentors and just a community of practitioners of whatever you’re doing–most jobs provide a path of developing one’s skills in a variety of ways to either sharpen where you’re already gifted or ‘fill in’ where you’re challenged… artists are most often completely on our own. Not only that, we’re barraged with icons, images, opinions that tell us we are inherently unorganized, hopelessly ‘different’, and often irresponsible. No wonder a lot of us kill ourselves, or flounder, or never quite get on top of all that’s involved in really beeing able to contribute what we have to society and get back what we want for it.

So what’s the way to break down these stereotypes?   I think it involves a few things like

1. Building up a strong community of mutually supportive artists. this breaks down the perception that we are always isolated, selfish, and unorganizable, and we can complement each others weaknesses and strengths and show how many different traits artists actually have.

2. Promoting artists as full people in community

3. Holding artists accountable when they act like assholes because they think their label gives them license to

4. Seek out and celebrate those who don’t identify as ‘artists’ automatically to round out our understanding of what artists really are and capable of being

My passion in lfe, I’m discovering, is to help create that supportive structure for the kind of person I most understand because I’m one myself–artists!

I look forward to sharing specific stories and pictures to go along with these ideas. But for now I’ll put this out there and really want to hear your thoughts/ experiences /challenges etc.

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Rekindling Responsibility for our Elders

Posted on April 14, 2011 by April

(i want to share some writing done on April 14, 2011)

 

 

Today my dad called while i was busy at work to tell me that he had bought a house.

This is big news for two reasons–one, he hasn’t had a house in I think about 8 years, living as he has with his wife, happily, in a very nice snazzy motor home (I mean, really quite snazzy) out past 75 off Fruitville Rd. Two, this decision was made over the course of a week, immediately following the decline of my Great Aunt Ruth’s health.

 

What touches me and moves me as I get ready for bed is this — they have completely changed their lifestyle and finances to embrace the aging of our precious Aunt Ruth. Now 94, deeply spunky as can be and of course battling the inevitable deterioration that comes with her age, Ruth inspires all who meet her with her joyful way of living, her matter-of-factness and her friendliness and genuine care for others.

 

 

It hurts me that our community is so segregated… in many ways, including by age. And it hits home when I see my Aunt Ruth in an island of houses left empty for the summer, remembering what a connected neighborhood felt like but without the energy or ambition to weave hers together (she already did that back in Toledo!), missing the sound of kids around and anxious of her own frailty and vulnerability.

 

It hurt me several years ago to see one of the other significant elders in my life, my grandother (“Nana-goat”), put into a place where all the people were older and sicker than her… and tho I saw it was logically the ‘only way to go’ for all the family, with full time jobs, kids to raise, etc etc, it just felt wrong. I wanted her where she felt dignified, part of a group and surrounded by people who interacted with her not because they felt it was a chore or were going out of their way, not because they were being paid to, but because she was a real integrated, woven-in part of their world, and they of hers.  I’d walk down the hall to her room seeing the people zonked out in their chairs along the hallway thinking, “This is not the place for her.” — followed by, “This is not the place for anybody.”

 

 

Besides the feeling of wrongness, (and an accompanying vision of communities where ages live close to one another and look out for each other in the ways they best can), the other feeling that’s stayed with me is one of helplessness.  Never being able to quite convey to my family members how I felt, without fear of them feeling judged… not being able to temper my anger or direct it in a positive way… and not feeling I knew of any clear way I could REALLY move the world in the direction I dreamed about, beyond theory and ranting about the reality I hate.

 

 

So…    my father is truly my hero today. He has lifted up his ENTIRE life to embrace the dignity, well-being, and wholesome healthy aging of Aunt Ruth. (Side-note: my father isn’t who i’d tell you on any given day is the most ‘aligned’ with me philosophically, politically, emotionally, or who i feel closest to.  So, there go our assumptions about that stuff!)   He as one person (two, counting his wife) is shifting this segregation into integration.  He’s doing that with his actions, his choices…. by responding to what he feels deepest in his heart. I know this because when he talks about the sense of responsibility he feels to take care of her and make sure she’s not ‘put away’ where she’ll waste away miserably, this ever stoic man begins to choke up audibly.

 

I am so proud to be part of a family that is ignoring the trend and blazing its own path of real, not paid, care and re-integration of the ages. i love that my father sees it as repaying a debt of gratitude for all she has given HIM… not of just helping her as charity because she’s broken or needy, in some saviour kind of way. I want to challenge myself even more to spend time with my Aunt and with my family, and when the time comes, be as equally ready to adjust my life to accomodate my parents as they get older and require more regular care.

 

 

To me, this is such an important issue today… and I wanted to share this glimmer of hope that lies in those little and big things we can each do to shift it in a happier, healthier, more heart-felt direction.

 

I’d really love to hear of others’ experiences with aging in your life…  how you have dealt with the isolation of your elderly loved ones, or how you have witnessed their inclusion? what gives you hope?

 

 

With love,

April

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Kids have it all

Posted on February 18, 2011 by April

Awhile ago, I found myself driving behind schedule to the my hometown on East Coast of Florida to take on a huge schedule of social and faith-based activities. I ended up in a tight spot that made me learn, again, some very core principles about how to build community in my life and how to treat youth in a way that’s satisfying and fun for me and for them, and which builds community in a sustainable, non-hierarchical way.

One of the activities on my plate that weekend was a “Sayonara Party” celebrating my old high school friend Kate’s upcoming trip to Japan. The party was Japanese-themed and the best costume would win a prize. I’m a huge fan of dress-up, so my heart sunk when, while talking with my mom on my drive over, it hit me that I was out of time to gather dress-up materials. Hope returned, however, when Mom suggested, “Let the girls dress you up!” (the girls = my 9-year-old nieces Ariahna and Kendra.)

The next day at my brother’s (home to Ariahna and Kendra, time had flown. I was running late for the party. Assessing the situation, time seemed way too short to attempt a costume–but when I proposed the idea, the energy exploded. I was swept up in a whirlwind of delightful talent and creativity in action. In an amazingly short span of time, they gathered together the perfect materials and had me whipped together as a geisha. (pictured above)

The costume was a hit at the party. I didn’t win the costume contest, but I’m convinced it’s just because I left the party before it ended. I had to smile when, having failed to report this to my nieces, I got a very pointed phone message a few days later when I was back in Sarasota. “Auntie April, this is Ariahna. We want to know: Did you win the contest? And if you did, what was the prize? And if you didn’t, who did win, and what were THEY wearing?”

Apart from being a lot of fun, this experience it brought me home to me a few principles from my favorite community-building philosophy, Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD):

First, when you think you’re deficient, you’re usually not. I had apparently no time, no energy to spend on thinking this thing up, and no dress-up materials. But when I looked around (with Mom’s help) and invited the gifts of others into the picture, I learned I actually have abundance.

Second, getting creative about finding and inviting the gifts in others pays off… especially when it involves young people. It builds equality and creates that intangible richness that is relationships built upon mutual appreciation and shared creation.

I actually have a lot of trouble knowing how to connect with my nieces, and often feel like I’m torturing them over the phone when I try to ‘go deeper’ by asking what they’re up to, how they like school, etc. When I needed them, everything changed. It was genuine and it had none of the ickiness I have come to associate with token ‘engagement’ of youth that’s based on the assumption that adults have more to teach and give to children than children do to adults.

My first ‘aha’ on this theme came when I heard John McKnight‘s story of watching an adult friend get more and more frustrated with her daughter constantly ‘bugging’ her to let her do something in the kitchen. The girl wanted to help, but the mother was too occupied trying to get it done herself. “Can I help you mix?” No. “Can I help with that?” No. Like all of us, the thing kids “need” most of all is to be “needed” – not to have more stuff or have stuff done for them, or even to just play at being productive. This is a trap we fall into so easily as adults and I see it as a core barrier to really making headway on what people like to call the ‘youth problem.’

My favorite resource is ABCD-founder Jody Kretzman’s Ten Commandments for Involving Youth in Community-Building. I particularly like:

1. Always start with the gifts, talents, knowledge and skills of young people – never with their needs and problems.

5. Fight, in every way you can, age segregation. Work to overcome the isolation of young people.

10. In every way possible, amplify this message to young people: “We need you! Our community cannot be strong and complete without you.”

In my personal life it’s also not easy to shift out of “adult-doer, child-receiver” mode… until I’m up against a wall like i was that weekend.

What about you?  Where have you found or built spaces where adults and youth can act co-producers, or kids can take the lead as main “doers”?

In closing, here are a couple more links to this theme are:

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Why I Painted “Collective”

Posted on February 18, 2011 by michaelb

This painting is based on a photo shot from the audience at the debut of the music video, “BeAware.” The video was produced on the sweat, tears, and bond of friendship between a diverse collective of artists and musicians in the heart of Chicago.  What I saw and heard and felt there that night would impact my life immensely.  It all began with a lost wallet…

In February of 2010, I flew from Sarasota to snowy Chicago to meet for three days with other people who practice Asset-Based Community Development and to discuss the creation of an “ABCD Center.”

My friend Jessica, an old buddy from New College, was my gracious hostess.  She lived in the mostly Mexican neighborhood called Little Village. Jessica, a native Floridian turned huge Chicago and Little Village fan,  took me to her favorite local place as part of my “tour”–Cafe Cathedral.

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