Rethinking the Arts: Arts Spending in Wisconsin and the US
Arts Spending in Wisconsin Wisconsin ranks 48th out of 50 states for public funding for the arts. In 2018, Wisconsin's state budget for the arts is $811,800 (14 cents per capita), which…
Rethinking the Arts: Calling for a Paradigm Shift
Whenever I tell people that I'm a (full-time) artist, they generally have one of two reactions: "Oh, for a living?" When I answer yes, they ask, "Full-time?" When I answer…
Designs by Boon Mee, Yim Laj, and Yee Lang, student artists on the Patterns of Passage project, members of Bayview's Community Arts Crew
Patterns of Bayview
Bayview Foundation is an affordable housing neighborhood in the heart of Madison. Their residents represent 12 different nationalities, constituting one of the most culturally diverse neighborhoods in this city. Over…
Creativity, Connection, and Consciousness: Our Survival Strategies
2018 has been a whirlwind, to say the least. There hasn't been quite as much space between things as I would like, but I'm loving the work I get to…
Writing “The American Dream”
Happy birthday to my dad, who would have been 67 today. I'm about the same age now as he was in this photo, in his first year in the US,…
Photo from community paint day at Trinity Lutheran Church. Photo credit Daniel Stout.
A Letter to My Creative Community
To my fellow creators: In 2016, we experienced one of the most critical elections of our time, an election that regardless of your politics, regardless of whether you woke up the…
"I fought the law..." ink drawing from Heartwood series, by Jenie Gao
#MeToo, #YesAllWomen, and Men Who Can Do No Wrong
#MeToo and #YesAllWomen tell a common story. A man wronged a woman and got away with it. I'm grateful, of course, for the courage and camaraderie of women to be…
“Independence Day”
Today is my third anniversary since I quit my corporate job to throw myself into my art career. It's been more than a year since my business turned its first…
Learning by Doing: Summer Edition
The best way to describe my life right now is dense. Busy doesn't quite capture the feeling, but dense. Different projects at different stages. I'm doing the types of things…
Politics and the Environment: The Good, Bad, Complicated, and Promising
The Good Fact #1: The Clean Air Act was passed in 1970 with a unanimous vote from the Senate and only one nay vote from the House. This is just one…