By Luann Jennings

This fall Creative Waco, our local arts agency, will debut an eight-week course in business skills for visual, performing, and literary artists and arts students, along with three special professional development workshops.

The course is based on Work of Art: Business Skills for Artists, developed by Springboard for the Arts in St. Paul, Minnesota. I had the privilege of visiting St. Paul in July (where the high temperature was 83…) to be trained in the curriculum, and I’m excited to share it with Waco’s artists and creatives. I’ve been teaching arts business development and entrepreneurship for a number of years, and the Work of Art program is a terrific framework for starting your creative career or moving it forward. Springboard’s instructors have taught the Work of Art content “at arts organizations, libraries and colleges in over 80 communities in the Upper Midwest, and [it has been] replicated across the country by artists, arts organizations, and colleges and universities.”

The eight sessions will cover career and business planning, goal-setting and productivity, communicating about your work, pricing, record-keeping, legal issues, and more.

We’ll also hold three additional workshops using the Work of Art material. The first will be a free introductory session on Why Artists Need Business Skills, to help potential participants decide whether Work of Art is for them (date and location TBA).

Then, in November, we’ll hold two special workshops. On Saturday, November 3, we’ll cover Marketing, Branding, and Promotion; and on Friday evening, November 16, we’ll talk about Fundraising and Grantwriting, with a special emphasis on the Creative Waco AMP Grant and Texas Commission on the Arts grants. Those registered for the eight-week course may attend the Marketing and Fundraising workshops for free, but registration will also be open to those not enrolled in the course.

Work of Art will meet weekly beginning the week of September 23 and will conclude the week before Thanksgiving. Participants may attend either a morning or weeknight session. The days and location are still being decided, but if you want to learn more when we have the info, sign up for Creative Waco’s enewsletter, follow us on social media, or write to me at [email protected] and I’ll send you the info as soon as I have it.

Luann Jennings is the Project Manager for Artist Professional Development at Creative Waco. She is a theatre director and has been working in arts leadership, entrepreneurship, and education for a long time. Luann and her husband Chuck, a jazz guitarist you can find playing locally, moved to Waco from New York City two years ago to invest in the arts community and cultural life here.

By Magen Davis

By the end of this summer, downtown Waco will be home to a new mural.  But unlike existing pieces in the area, this work of art will be crafted by an unlikely group of creatives: 10 Waco ISD high school students working alongside a team of professional artist mentors.

Here’s what you need to know:

• ArtPrenticeship is an internship program organized by Creative Waco, Prosper Waco and Waco ISD that will teach a group of 10 Waco ISD high school students, or apprentices, the ins and outs of managing a creative project.
• Four artist mentors will guide the apprentices from concept to completion, designing and painting a mural on the side of a newly completed building in downtown Waco.
• We’re in search of wage sponsors to serve as an accountability partner for performance throughout the summer and help provide compensation for each apprentice at the end of the program.

ArtPrenticeship has roots in the Cincinnati ArtWorks program that Waco leaders learned about on a Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce intercity visit in September 2017. ArtWorks employs professional artists and apprentices ranging from ages 14 to 21 to complete public art projects across Cincinnati, including hundreds of murals on the sides of buildings that are several stories tall.

Creative Waco has borrowed this model and shaped it to fit our own community. ArtPrenticeship is a unique opportunity for creative students to hone their artistic abilities while also learning professional skills necessary to thrive as an independent artist. Emphasis will be placed on safety while working on a mural jobsite, calculating costs, ordering materials, and the importance of collaboration and communication between artist, client and community.

The students will work between several sites across downtown Waco, with most time spent at the mural site at 315 University Parks Drive, the shopping strip next to Bicycle World.

For our program’s pilot year, the students were selected from a diverse pool of applicants through Prosper Waco and Waco ISD’s summer internship program. Two teaching artists and two assistant artists will guide the apprentices through the mural process. Between them are several years of teaching experience, as well as expertise in a wide range of artistic media, including mural installation and painting.

One goal of ArtPrenticeship is to pay all participating students a meaningful wage. Creative Waco has successfully secured wage sponsors for each apprentice at $600 per student. Sponsorships not only provide a financial reward for program completion, but also ensure accountability for their productivity throughout the program.

Creative Waco would like to extend a special thanks to our sponsors: Baylor Philanthropy, Cooper Foundation, Magnolia Foundation, Waco Public Improvement District (beautification grant), Mitchell Construction, Turner Behringer Development, Terry and Elaine Stevens, 1519LLC, and Langerman Foster Engineering. ArtPrenticeship would not be possible without the enthusiastic support and resources we’ve received from these businesses and community leaders.

Magen Davis is a Texas-born, graphic designer and “multimedia person.” Magen graduated from Baylor Journalism in Fall of 2015 from the New Media concentration and with a minor in History. Magen is in her first year as a student of Baylor University’s journalism graduate program. Her research interests include new media implementation for organizations, apologies in image repair, and user-generated content. Currently, she also works with Midway Independent School District as a Multimedia Specialist creating videos, taking pictures, and designing district communications.

The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.

by Steve Veracruz

Let’s go back to the year 1997 for a moment. I had just graduated University High School and, without even taking a summer off to gaze into a field of dreams, I immediately enrolled at TSTC in commercial art.  I felt like this would give me a snapshot of this particular artist community. I was intrigued to finally grow beyond my familiar borders and meet other like-minded creatives.

Unfortunately, the artist environment I expected of meetups or regular special exhibitions for our young demographic did not exist at the time.

Just as early settlers did what was necessary for their survival, the artists in the early days of my creative lifetime in this city did what was necessary to demonstrate and share their talent. There were different attempts to add pockets of opportunity, to share artwork in diverse locations across the city on an organic level. Outspoken and talented artists helped pave the way to the point of excellence we find ourselves in now.  I couldn’t be more grateful for those displays of bravery and showing what true creative freedom looked like.  This is what was needed to carry on the message of freedom, those early artists and appreciators testing their own strength to sustain imaginative work in a time when the city and its society were content with a stale status quo.

However, these patches of creative energy were still few and far between. We needed to pull them together. How do we make space for this idea or what do we want to do about this idea? More importantly, who do we talk to about this idea? These were questions that provided the incentive to move. This is why we founded the Central Texas Artist Collective (CTAC).

Back to the future…The city of Waco has grown in more ways than I could have imagined.  There are so many reasons to be happy about being a creative in this city, with so many places that have opened their doors to this expanding community.  There are now big shows in multiple annual events, big ideas in special exhibitions with a message, big dreams beginning in discussions during artist meetups, and big aspirations coming from each other from our own experiences. This is what a creative environment can produce! This is why it was necessary to build pillars for a strong artist community!

As a co-founder of CTAC, I had to identify the importance of what this role would mean, not just for myself, but for others as well. The three questions previously mentioned were at the base of a movement that was to develop. Another noteworthy point to make…one cannot go at it alone. I am a “co-founder.” The ideas to come required more effort than one person could provide and needed alternative perspectives. The other co-founders had to believe with the same amount of passion about what the goal was for artists in general. It is this positive reinforcement that created that right amount of energy to build something special.

One project often leads to another. Then that can also lead into something else. These multiplicities of creativity suddenly become a foundation with which to continue to build. Other artists’ groups began to appear. One group alone cannot bear the responsibility of being the sole provider. Sometimes the language from one group to another is different, or maybe a particular taste does not quite hit with one group, but catches on with another. Maybe it’s just about the journey until each group finds its niche. These are decisions to be respected and recognized with that appreciation of having yet more options that were built in light of a creative community’s skills.

The point is to build the creative community. If you build it, you can share the imagination and artistic energy that some perceive as fundamental and some simply admire. If you build it, you hold a place for assisting in someone’s growth. If you build it, you provide another stake for significant influence on a prosperous community. My question to you now is, if you build, will they come? And, how do we keep building and strengthening our creative environment? What next?

One of my next projects is to begin a small video series for Central Texas Artist Collective going into this subject further. I will begin by interviewing those movers and shakers around town that have stood and delivered. Definitely check out our Facebook page, as well as our YouTube channel for this material and more coming soon! We are creating.  Let’s keep creating. What do you want to create?

The Central Texas Artist Collective exists to foster creative expression throughout the Heart of Texas by:

• Unifying and growing arts and cultural programming;
• Enhancing arts education and access for all;
• Cultivating an organic, sustainable identity; and
• Celebrating the rich community of artists living, creating and investing in Waco and beyond.

 CTAC is comprised of: writers, musicians, visual artists, textile artists, theater artists, dancers sculptors, muralists, photographers, potters, singer/songwriters, poets/spoken-word, carpentry/woodworking, tattoo artists, graphic designers, jewelers, culinary artists, and more!

Centexartistcollective.org | facebook.com/CenTexArtist

Twitter: @ CenTexArtist | email:[email protected]

Steve Veracruz is CTAC Co-founder, executive co-director and communications created in 2015 with wife Angie Veracruz. He is a USMC vet and father of three. He sat on the Board of Directors in Waco Cultural Arts, serving now as an advisor. He is also curator to Ekphrasis Art and Words, a special exhibition which combines the visual artists with the writing community to express a message with meaning. He is passionate about collaboration in community.

By Gracie Arias

“This isn’t for the faint of heart” have you ever heard that before?

That’s what I feel like sometimes in this journey of supporting an artist. I have seen Carlos, my husband, also known professionally as “The Masterpiece,” grow in his artistic abilities in the 10 years I have known him. I feel blessed by that and I wouldn’t give it up for anything.

When I first met him, I saw a pair of shoes he was wearing that he had painted…the first pair, and now he’s done over 100! So then, The Masterpiece was created! That hasn’t always come easy. Sometimes it means staying up until the early morning hours completing an order, and waking up early for a full- time job. But, as they also say, “hard work pays off”! Since April 2017, The Masterpiece hasn’t had a break once, and that’s something we are more than ok with! That means people are seeing his talents and wanting a part of it. And not just shoes either, so many different things. Such as, murals and windows at Enve beauty bar on Austin Avenue, or a more recent one at The Chatterbox in downtown. Also, weddings and parties, baby showers, and signs. So much going on! It’s a very exciting time to be an artist in Waco, so much brewing and changing, art is in the air here.

One thing that Carlos has definitely shown me, is that when you have a dream, do your best and make it reality. Because of his encouragement, I participated in the first ever Central Texas Artist Collective (CTAC) exhibit “Ekphrasis: Art & Words,” and it reminded me why I love writing. So, that’s when Gracefulmess blog was born.

I wanted a safe place to put my thoughts, goals, and hurts down on. It’s opened a new door to healing for me, and others! I’ve received so many messages and comments explaining how it has helped them. Now I have so many goals to the direction that it’s heading and I’m so excited.

I say all this in hope that it will encourage someone. We are parents, we are young, and we are introverts. The opportunities that we have now did not come easy. We had to leave our little bubble of familiarity and comfort, and reach for it. Really jump into it, ok more like dive. There are so many opportunities here in Waco that will give you a chance for growth.  If you have a talent, no matter what it is, don’t let it go to waste. Plug in somewhere and flourish! Don’t wait for someone to give you that push but instead push yourself! Go and create!

Gracie Arias, wife and mom. Blogger. Future massage therapist. The feeling of accomplishment is one of the best feelings to feel. I’m working hard to reach my goals and to support those I love to reach theirs too. Life should be watched on the sidelines, but lived with all your heart and strength. Www.Gracefulmess.wordpress.com 

By LuAnn Jennings

I’m a theatre director, and recently I was talking with an actor who was suffering from stage fright. This actor is a person of faith, as am I, and I said something like this: Sometimes people will suggest combating stage fright by imagining the audience in some non-threatening way. But I suggest the opposite. If we think about the audience as people God has given to us to love and serve, then we can be eager to share what we’ve created even at the risk of failure and embarrassment.

People of Judeo-Christian faith are told in our scriptures that our job is to love others as God loves us. It makes sense that God would uniquely craft each of us with abilities to do the thing that God tells us to do. Artists are created with skills to make works of art.

So, in this month of February when we celebrate love, I want to use a well-known system of thinking about the expression and receipt of love, Gary Chapman’s Five Love Languages, to unpack how artists love through creating.

Words of Affirmation: When an artist expresses something in a painting, dance, story, or song that you relate to, and then shapes your experience into something beautiful, the artist validates and affirms you. “Beautiful” isn’t the same as “pretty” – sometimes the artist’s job is to find and communicate meaning in things that are anything but pretty. Remember that sad song you couldn’t stop listening to in high school? Didn’t it make things seem better and more bearable somehow?

Quality time: Art takes a great deal of time to create. When I direct plays, I try to plan an hour of rehearsal for every minute that you see onstage. That doesn’t include the time that goes into costumes, lights, scenery, and more. Great musicians and dancers practice daily. You might think a painting looks like the artist created it quickly, but there were many sketches and plans that happened first. In return, you give the artist quality time as you engage with the work she created for you.

Giving Gifts and Acts of Service: Artists don’t do it for the money. In most cases your purchase of an artwork doesn’t begin to pay for the time it took the artist to learn to do it, prepare it, and present it to you. Art isn’t free to create – artists have materials costs and they’re taking time from other paying work to create art. They may need you to share in the cost. Think of it this way: if you brought me a sack of groceries and I used it to make you a truly amazing meal, the meal is a gift and act of service to you which is far more valuable than the materials I started with.

Physical touch: If you’ve ever been to a great museum and seen a painting in-person that you’d seen photos of before, you know that experiencing the real, physical work of art in a special place made for it is entirely different than seeing it in a book or online. It’s the “physical touch” of the artist. Live, local arts experiences require presence. Receive your neighbor’s creative gift of love to you in the way he made it for you. Go to galleries, plays, and concerts as well as experiencing art that was recorded so you could engage with it on your own terms (TV, iTunes, etc.).

If you want to share an expression of love with someone special, check out all of our live, local opportunities here in Waco! Visit Creative Waco’s Creative Directory for suggestions on venues and check out our many local arts calendars.

Luann Jennings is a local theatre director, arts educator, and advocate. She juggles several part-time arts-related jobs including projects at Creative Waco, the Good Neighbor Settlement House, and Waco Civic Theatre, where you can also see her upcoming production of The Three Musketeers. You can reach Luann at [email protected].

The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.

(Last year the Central Texas Artist Collective (CTAC) organized an exhibit downtown called EKPHRASIS. It was an exhibit of art and words.  Local poets and artists were paired up to create art and poetry together that was then placed on exhibit in downtown Waco. 

This year the EKPHRASIS theme is An Exploration of Mind, Body, Soul.  It takes a deeper look at mental health and illness, grief and loss, trauma, recovery, and healing. The hope for this mental health exhibition is to encourage dialogue stimulated by the 19 Artists and Writer’s ekphrastic displays, to destigmatize misconceptions, and to cultivate an empathic understanding of one another. 

In today’s blog post, our blogger, Gracie Arias shares her thoughts as a writer participating in EKPHRASIS.  “Steve and Angie” she mentions are Steve and Angie Veracruz, two of the organizers of EKPHRASIS.  – ALW)

By Gracie Arias

I met Steve and Angie through my husband, about 3 years ago. When they first approached us with the idea for Ekphrasis in 2016, my husband asked me to pair up with him and be the writer for his piece.

I used to write poetry in high school and even competed a couple of times, I reluctantly said “yes.” This has been so wonderful for us as a husband and wife. We were able to team up in a way we never have before and now we are doing our second Ekphrasis.

I’m so excited to see the community gather once again, especially with a topic such as this one. Mental illness runs rampant. It has no specifics of gender, race, age or religion and belief.

Since I was a small child I’ve dealt with these issues first hand. It was somewhat nerve racking to submit this poem. I write about my hurts and experiences first hand. No denying, no third person. ME! Many people close to me don’t even know some of those things about me. But I felt I had to be raw and honest, vulnerable. This was my chance to use my hurts and my depression, my being suicidal and feeling alone, as my platform.

If my message can help at least one person know they aren’t alone and that there is hope, then it’s worth it. I do put my beliefs into the mix because it’s who I am. I know not all share those beliefs and I’m respectful towards that, but I have to share it because it’s a part of my story. It has been the only thing that’s helped me make it through.

I am grateful for this opportunity and I believe people should make the effort to come support all the artist and writers. It’s hard putting yourself out there, but when there is a community willing to open their hearts and minds to these issues, it makes it so much better. What better experience than using your talent, your ability to bring a light to such a dark topic.

EKPHRASIS is a FREE walkable art exhibition.  The works are on display in 14 storefront windows of Downtown Waco’s newly established Cultural Arts District, between 6th and 8th streets on Austin and Washington Avenues.  The art and words will be on display starting First Friday, November 3. Saturday, November 4 from 5pm – 8:00pm, at the Austin’s on the Avenue Patio (719 Austin Ave.) there will be an Opening Event with poetry readings, performances, and mental health talks from organizations in our community.

Gracie Arias is 27 years old. She is a stay at home mom and wife, who is still chasing dreams and supporting her husband through his dream chasing.  She has been married for 9 years to her wonderful, supportive husband, Carlos Arias. They have three beautiful children, Serena(8), Anabella (5), and Jose (1). She says of her writing, “After writing poetry to help with some of the painful things I experienced as a child, I realized how much it truly helped me in my healing process.”

he Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.

By Jeanne Dittman

Have you ever stopped in a store to appreciate a handlettered sign simply for its beautiful artistry and not just for what it was selling?  Do the shapes of letterforms intrigue and delight you?  Do you have a favorite pen that you must use for certain special occasions? Then the Waco Calligraphy Guild may be your kind of people.

Founded in 1988, the Waco Calligraphy Guild is a group of creative people united by our love of letters.  Some of us hang our shingles out as professional calligraphers, whereas some would just rather write and doodle on old shingles (or paper).  Some of us have mastered many different lettering styles over the years – from classical Roman capitals to contemporary pointed pen script – whereas some have just picked up a calligraphy pen for the first time in recent months.  Some of us teach calligraphy, some of us attend calligraphy workshops and conferences, and all of us are lifelong students of the lettering arts.

The guild currently has a membership of around 40 people, and we gather on the second Saturday of each month at 10am at St. Matthew Lutheran Church (800 North New Road in Waco).  We always serve snacks, since some of us are excellent bakers and some of us are excellent buyers of baked goods.  We begin with a short business meeting, share our 3×3 artwork response to a monthly prompt (a small “canvas” that can be chock-filled with inspiration), break for some conversation and treats, and then proceed with our educational program.  This hour-long program is usually led by one of our members, and most often is a hands-on lesson in something pertaining to the lettering arts.  We are sometimes writing a new lettering style or using a new tool.  We are sometimes learning a new book or card technique on which our lettering can be placed.  And, we are sometimes introduced to an entirely new art form to which letters may be added later.  No matter the topic, we leave inspired for having done something creative with a room full of creative people.

The calligraphic arts trace their roots to the medieval scribes who labored over their parchment and quills creating the exquisite manuscripts that now lie in museums and continue to inspire artists worldwide.  Their techniques with broad-edged pens and inks have been studied through the centuries, and many of our lettering styles (and typefaces and computer fonts) are based on the elegant combinations of strokes that they first created.  Even as technologies have changed the book arts – first the printing press and ultimately the computer – the elegance of hand-lettered artwork still holds a special place in the artistic world.  Calligraphers have served queens and presidents through the years, as well as institutions conferring degrees and brides mailing wedding invitations.  In recent years, the newest visual technologies of Instagram and Pinterest have sparked a renewed interest in the lettering arts.  Pointed pen and pointed brush calligraphy have taken on a contemporary feel that can be widely seen in advertisements, home furnishings, and even the offerings of Magnolia Market.

If any part of this expansive history of lettering intrigues you, you are not alone.  We invite you to visit the Waco Calligraphy Guild and find your people already gathered.  You can see what we are up to each month by viewing our colorful newsletters and other goodies on our website. We have participated in the Waco Cultural Arts Fest for years – perhaps you have stopped by our booth at the end of the Suspension Bridge and had your name lettered by us on one of our giveaways.  We also produce a full-color calendar each year with original artwork by 12 (or more) of our members – they are $10 each and available for a limited time through a guild member.  Feel free to visit a guild meeting on us – membership is only $25 a year, but you don’t need to be a member to attend the first time.  And please never let a lack of supplies prevent you from attending a program – we always have plenty to share. (calendar)

We hope that you will feel welcomed and inspired when you visit.  I have been a member of calligraphy guilds in several parts of the country, I’ve attended several calligraphy conferences over the years, and I have found calligraphers everywhere to be genuinely gracious and generous artists and delightful human beings.  We would love to have you join us.

Jeanne Dittmann is a calligrapher and graphic designer who has worked as a freelance artist in Waco for over 14 years.  She serves currently as President of the Waco Calligraphy Guild, and she teaches calligraphy through Baylor University Continuing Education.  Her day job is the Box Office and Marketing Manager for the Baylor University Theatre.  Jeanne and her family attend St. Matthew Lutheran Church, where she and DeAnna Toten Beard started the Fine Arts Ministry 8 years ago.  For more information, please contact her at [email protected]

By Luann Jennings

During August 2017, Creative Waco is hosting a temporary “pop-up gallery,” Waco 52, at 712 Austin Avenue (two doors up from the Hippodrome).  Waco 52 had a blockbuster opening weekend, with around 1500 people stopping by between Thursday evening and Saturday afternoon.

If you weren’t one of them, I hope it’s not because you feel uncomfortable going to an art gallery. Here are a few thoughts that might make a new arts experience easier, whether in a gallery, theatre, concert hall or elsewhere.

Photo: Austin Meek looks at “Sleep Painting: Bach,” by Travis Tarver, at the Waco 52 exhibition.

It’s okay to like some things better than others. We’re all constructed differently, and we all have different tastes and experiences. Our job as viewers, listeners, and audience members isn’t to judge how “good” the work of art is – instead, focus on your experience and what’s coming out of it. I’ve equally enjoyed Broadway plays and high school plays, not because they were the same in objective quality, but because each one provided me with a different and valuable experience.

You’ll get more out of any work of art if you take some time to process it. This is true whether you’re standing in front of a painting or contemplating something you read or listened to or saw in a theatre. What comes through strongly? What else is there that unfolds more slowly? What does the piece make you think of or remember? What do you feel? Does it make you want to take any sort of action? You don’t have to deeply consider every piece of art you run across; but if you make a habit of really thinking or talking about works that attract or move you, you will build the “muscle” of appreciation and will get more and more out of each arts experience.

Experiencing art is always more fun with a friend. One of the main reasons people report for not going to arts events is that they don’t have anyone to go with. If you have a partner who isn’t interested, which of your friends might be up for a new experience? Who could have a good conversation with you about it afterwards? What else could you do that would enrich the experience even more? Dinner beforehand or a drink in a club with live music afterward?

Learning about an art form will help you understand it. When I met my husband Chuck, a jazz guitarist, I knew nothing about jazz. Sometimes when I went with him to a jazz club it sounded to me like each musician was playing a different song. But as I learned about the history of jazz, and what jazz musicians are doing as they improvise, I came to appreciate it. I don’t tune in to the jazz station when I get in the car, but I can listen to jazz today and enjoy it – and, more importantly, it’s caused me to hear all music differently.

Learning about artists will help you understand their work. Every artist is showing you the world as she sees it – and by looking through her eyes, you expand your own vision. If you like one piece an artist created, check out others. What ideas, colors, sounds, shapes, or images recur? What do the artist and others say about her work, and is that the same as what you see? What in the artist’s personal story is reflected in her work? What is it about this artist’s vision of the world that appeals to you or stretches you?

You won’t be the only “beginner” in the room. Come to a new arts experience with an adventurous spirit. There’s a reason why “play” is what we do with a musical instrument or in the theatre. It’s supposed to be fun! As you would in any social situation, watch what others do, and do the same thing. Ask questions. Artists love the curiosity of people who are new to what we do. If you’re not sure what’s available to you, do some research. Check Creative Waco’s Calendars page to find places to get more information. Also visit our Creative Directory and click through to the websites of organizations and artists that sound interesting. Many have email lists you can join or Facebook pages you can follow. Don’t assume that you can’t afford the arts. Many events are free, and some organizations have free or discounted admission on particular days, or for volunteers.

If you’d like to learn more about the arts, I’ll be teaching a class this fall on “The Arts in Our Community” through Baylor’s Continuing Education program. We’ll spend four class sessions learning about visual art, music, dance, and theatre, and we’ll get to hear from artists in those areas about what they do. We’ll visit a museum and attend a play and concert together, and we’ll have plenty of time to talk about them afterward.

The Waco 52 Pop-Up Gallery will also be holding some educational events. Follow Creative Waco on Facebook  to see announcements, or check the calendar on our website.

The gallery is open from 10am-6pm Monday through Saturday, and some evenings for special events, until September 2. In addition to the exhibition, we have a retail shop where you can purchase prints, postcards, jewelry, ceramics, CDs, books, and other products created by local artists. Stop by with your laptop or a book and work or relax with a Luna Juice, cup of tea or Pinewood Roasters coffee.

If you have any questions or suggestions, ask for a Creative Waco staff member while you’re at the gallery, or write us at [email protected]. We’d love to talk with you!

Luann Jennings is an arts educator and advocate who works with Creative Waco (our arts agency) and other local and national arts organizations. She worked as a theatre director in Atlanta for a dozen years before moving to New York City, where she enjoyed experiencing, learning about, and teaching others about all kinds of art forms. Chuck and Luann moved to Waco last summer, and they live at the Good Neighbor Settlement house in Sanger Heights.

By Kimberly Trippodo

I moved to the Waco area from Austin two years ago July 1. Prior to that, I lived in Washington DC and other similarly large cities. I saw urban centers as a sort of adult playscape, featuring subcultures to try on for size and see if any stick as community. I care deeply about non-judgement and respect for people’s self-determination, and large cities provided me with a huge range of culture, identities, and backgrounds to embrace.

When I moved to Waco, I was at the peak of a life that was quintessentially Austin. My first home in Austin was an art commune, which I shared with a writer, a couple painters, a photographer, and a carpenter. My favorite pastime at that home was playing my violin in living room jam sessions. My calendar was always packed to the gills with Austin art and nature events. On any given weekend I might participate in a hill country camping trip, a spontaneous concert in abandoned buildings and drainage piping to enjoy the acoustics, a warehouse dance party, a spoken word coffeeshop, an aerial art production, a hula hoop drum circle, an art or music festival, an effigy burn with glorious pyrotechnics, a costume birthday party, a city bike ride, a hippie swim in a natural watering hole, a hike or spelunking adventure, and more. I loved having such an arrayed tapestry of easily accessible events.

Austin was a place I felt more accepted & more free to explore, while connecting with closer community and chosen family than anywhere I lived prior. At the same time, city subcultures have the luxury of choosing exclusivity because there is a vast number and personalization of the alcoves for each talent, interest, and identity label. There is a collective acceptance that one may try a subculture on for size and be met with, “You’re not exactly what we are looking for here. You’re not ____ enough.” I experienced that exclusivity from time to time. I believe in safe spaces for specific identities to experience cohesion, and I believe there is always someone out there more talented and/or fitting, so I was very understanding of this exclusivity.

Probably one of the moments this exclusivity was the most vivid was when I was trying to learn to play bluegrass fiddle in Austin. I played violin most of my life, from first grade through my senior year in college, and I was trying to learn a new style as an adult in Austin. I carefully prepared a piece to demonstrate my abilities and went to Fiddler’s Green to take a lesson. My instructor was someone who played multiple instruments in many bands locally, who wore a leather jacket, who had a kind of hungover, tragically hip presence. He listened to me play and without a moment’s pause mumbled in a raspy voice through his thick beard I was “too classically trained,” to be able to play bluegrass. I remember having a moment of, “Who are you to tell me that?” An internal rebellion, which would prepare me for my life in Waco, was emerging.

My move to Waco was not the most graceful of transitions. I found people I connected with right away, but I struggled to find experiences I craved. I tried to stay positive and find purpose, but it took a lot of effort and focus to land in Waco. My then fiancé, now husband was more than patient as I constantly edited our schedule in, “Let’s try this,” fashion. Fortunately, my stepson has an adventurer’s heart like me and enjoyed all our community explorations.

At the start of this year something clicked for me. I made a New Year’s Resolution to “be a good neighbor” and figure out exactly what that meant in my current home. Mostly lately, that means contributing my abilities to create a vibrant artistic and culturally diverse home. Waco is an up and coming city. People from all walks of life are moving here. My husband and I hope to create a venue and possible living space in which artists can gather. I just began bluegrass lessons with Tabitha Hymer, in hopes of creating music again and collaborating with other musicians. This year will mark my second year of participating in Ekphrasis, a downtown display of the paired works of visual arts and musicians. Jenuine Poetess, host of In the Words of Womyn and Shay MacMorran, Graphic Designer at the Waco Tribune are the lovely friends who connected me to this event. I recently took an interior design class with Leslie Myrick and a bed & breakfast class with Rick Allen, through MCC’s Adult Continuing Education program, which expanded our horizons in considering spaces for artists to gather. My mother-in-law, Lee Trippodo, is helping me learn to sew. She recently gave a sewing machine to our church, in support of an effort to teach women how to sew in third world countries as a form of economic independence for them. These are just a few of the examples of beautiful people and inspiring efforts everywhere.

Yet another example, a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend the Public Deliberation Initiative Conference at The Mayborn on Baylor Campus. Ashley Bean Thornton was the opening presenter at the event, and she said something which represents my experience now perfectly. She invited us to not be mere consumers of Waco, but to “live in a state of optimistic discontent, with the constant inquiry of ‘how can I make my community even better?’” In one sentence, she encapsulated the journey I am embarking on, in my new home.

Living in Waco caused me to grow up and “do” in my artistic participation. While in the past I would often wait to be “voluntold” or would step meekly aside if I was not seen as perfect for the job, in Waco I am learning I must be brave enough get in there, try my best, and actively support the growth that is happening. We need to figure out how to use our gifts to make it go, whether or not we can create the most perfect version. I am learning to participate more widely, instead of limiting myself to the alcoves of subculture which most reflect my identity, and in shedding those limitations, I feel challenged to expand outside my comfort zone, more myself, and happier. I am learning a new form of inclusive volunteerism here. I am not pretending I have the time to attend everything Waco has to offer, but I am a vocal supporter of events, an optimist about what is next for our city, and one who will devote as much creative energy as possible to get efforts off the ground. There is an amazing bouquet of everything from nonprofit to small business, from secular to faith-based, from antique to modern grassroots initiatives. We have so much potential, so many newly emerging and smaller scale opportunities which need our support to get going. It takes our collective enthusiasm to make community thrive.

Kimberly Trippodo is a social worker in the Waco area. She always had a passion for writing. She writes fiction, poetry, creative prose, policy analyses, and blog posts. Her other modes of creative expression are playing her violin and participating in art collaboration events and festivals. She assisted in founding Journal to Save Your Life, a nonprofit providing an online therapeutic art outlet to youth. She loves the connection and closeness of the art community in Central Texas.