June 19, 2025 • 29 mins
Meet Leslie Belk and Lindsay Dyess aka the Arts Council Ladies! Based at the Shelby County Arts Council in Columbiana, AL. Please visit www.shelbycountyartscouncil.com to find out more about this amazing organization and venue!
Conversations With Creatives is produced for the Shelby County Arts Council by Video Visions Media Marketing and Your Podcast Now
www.shelbycountyartscouncil.com
Video Visions Media Marketing
Your Podcast Now
Conversations With Creatives is produced for the Shelby County Arts Council by Video Visions Media Marketing and Your Podcast Now
www.shelbycountyartscouncil.com
Video Visions Media Marketing
Your Podcast Now
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Conversations with Creatives with the Arts Counsel. Ladies.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
I'm Lindsay, I'm Leslie.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
All right, today we are going to interview each other
about our what are we gonna we're talking about.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
We're going to talk about who we are, We're from,
our likes, our dislikes, our villain, our villain origin stories.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Yes, so you'll get to know the ladies of the
Arts Council. Two of the ladies of the Arts Council.
We have many, So let's start with you, Lindsay.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Let's let it rip.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Lindsay, when did you know that you had a love
for art? That's a little deep. Now, tell me, like,
when did you really start getting into art?
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Well, pretty much my whole life, Like even whenever I
was a kid, I coming out of the womb, coming
out of the womb, I wanted to like a paint
barsh in my hands exactly. Yes, I mean I loved
art always. I just like there has never been like
a oh I was in college and I took a
class and this happened. I mean, it's just always been
(01:20):
just a part of me, like creating, drawing. I remember
whenever I was a kid, my grandparents had a fine
collection of National Geographic magazines, as as all people that
looked through the depression do. And they were in the
room that like the guest room that me and my
sister always stayed and when we came to visit, and
so I would just pull those National Geographic magazines out
(01:42):
and I have never read one. I still think to
this day, I've never read Geographic magazine. And the fact
I loved the mohotos, but I like to draw the
pictures out of National graphics. So that was like my
favorite thing to do was just them through there. And
did you have a great many art teacher? Because I
was are so important, you know, yeah, kind of. We
(02:05):
we were a very small country school, so we had
like art every six months or something like that. But
whenever I got it, I was like, this was like
the best thing ever. It was really whatever I got
into middle school and high school that really started.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
You had art classes, they had art.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
I did, yeah, and especially my high school art teacher,
mister Lawyer. He was really like somebody that was a
big driving force behind really like refining my art. And
he was actually a printmaker too. Wait there you go.
So I painted a lot whenever I was in high school.
I started out like painting water colors actually, which people
(02:41):
are always scared of painting watercolor, right because it is
kind of a difficult medium.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Yeah, So I didn't really even like paint with oils
until I got to college. Okay, so I did learn
a lot more about painting. I went to University of Montipello,
so I did community college. I'm from South Alabama. That's
where I grew up. My parents still live there. This
whole family still lives there. I'm the only one here.
I have a couple of family members that pain or artistic, okay,
(03:07):
stuff like that, So I feel like some of it
runs in my family. My grandmother always sewed in crocheted,
and she would make stuff all the time. I have
a great aunt that weaves. She had one of those
huge looms that she leaves. So you know, there's always
creative people in my family. But it was just kind
of a part of me. And my sister's a little
bit artistic. My dad can draw a little bit, so
(03:30):
it was just the natural next step. And it's just
I don't know, I never had like I never was
like I want to go into banking or I want
to be a real estate whatever, you know. I was like,
I just want to be an artist. Yeah, Like it
was just always that was in me. And so I
went to Montovallo. I got my bachelor's in Fine Art
in studio in painting.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Oh okay, yeah, so there wasn't like a printmaking They
did have a.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Printmaking It was a it was a concentration and I
took a lot of That was really where I took
my print making class. Okay, so did Antolio printmaking, which
is like on a it's like on a piece of metal.
It's not what I do now because it takes a
lot more.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Well, you have the supplies, you have to have the supla. Yes,
that's what I would think. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
So I did a lot of printmaking classes at Mountavalo
did all the painting classes. So my senior show was paintings.
Okay yeah, and then after I graduated, I was like,
I'm real tired of painting. I do not want to
paint anymore. And that's whenever I turned to print making.
And I could do block printing in my apartment. Oh yeah,
it was easy to clean up, and so I just
started doing the block print making and it's kind of
(04:34):
gone from there. I used to make books. I used
to do some book binding.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Oh cool.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Yeah, so I started out kind of doing some book
binding and then I I've always kind of liked fiber arts,
like sewing and stuff like that. I sewed a little bit,
but I've kind of gotten into a little bit.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Yeah, she I should have brought my purse to show,
But she's into sewing now and she's made some beautiful purses.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
And yeah, do punch needle art, which is like a
form of rug making, like an old school form of
rug making. And uh now I kind of teach workshops
with punch needle or print making, especially like some of
the some of the school kids hold my own workshops
and stuff like that. So I think it's fun to
like share what you love with community, you know, absolutely,
(05:17):
you know that's always I feel like that's like the
most important thing.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Yeah. I love when you're teaching those middle school or
high schoolers. Yes, middle school especially love it when they
don't get injured. Yes, that was we had some we had.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Some workshops where we learned a lot.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
We learned what we could.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
Do and what we could not do. And I guess
always a it's always a little daunting to put a
sharp object in a middle school maybe and expect them.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
To not to follow the rules.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
Yes, And we gave out a lot of band aids workshops.
So that was that was, you know, we learned a lot.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Yeah, we did better the next time, right, absolutely.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
And I I mean I never really wanted to teach.
I kind of I didn't know what I wanted to
do after I graduated from college because for a visual artist.
I remember like asking one of my professors, I was like,
what do I do with this degree? And she was like,
I don't know, And I don't know either.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Wonderful. Wonderful and just finished college and I'm supposed to,
Yeah what do I do?
Speaker 3 (06:16):
And I mean I think a lot of college absolutely,
you know, especially art students, feeling like that. And I
think that's why they stopped making art after a while,
I know, right, And I was working at Starbucks at
that time. I worked at Starbucks for over ten years,
and I.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Didn't know it was that long.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
It was almost eleven years. Wow, that was a few
months shy of eleven years. Yeah, So I just kind of,
you know, drifted around for a while. Yeah, And I
actually met Bruce Andrews, the executive director of Shelby County
Arts Council. At Starbucks, we both worked there together, and
he always tells me that the first time he met me,
I was crying in the back room.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
It's told me that several times, and I.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
Do not remember that.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
It's probably because I cried at Starbucks, was ready to go.
I was just like, people hurt my feelings. They're constantly so, yeah,
I've gotten a lot better. I wouldn't survive. H my gosh,
it was horrible. I got a lot better.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
I feel like I'm a lot better now. I don't
cry as much, not over customers anyway, if I'm mad.
So I met him there, and I was actually already
volunteering in Columbiana at the archives that was right across
from the Arts Council, and it was a little barring.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
It was I love you archives, We love archives.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
It was not the most exciting thing to place to
be volunteering. I was like editing photos of marriage licenses.
Oh wow, yeah, so is that's moved now to like, no,
it's still there.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
I was still there.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Yeah, it's still in that scary roundabout okay, Yeah, where
people will just hit you right across the street. It's terrifying.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
I don't think people in America know anything about roundabouts,
No they don't. We struggle. Yeah, Chelsea Park has several.
Oh yeah, and we're not good at those. They need
to stop building them. No we do. We're not in London. Yeah,
this is a this is a roundabout podcast. Actually you're
about roundabout.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
We're exclusively going to talk about right, give us your comments.
But so I volunteered there for just a little while,
and then Bruce was like, well, I got this job
as the director at the Shelby County Arts Council. And
he had already been working there. He was teaching a
little bit, and so that's how he found out about
the position, and he was like, why don't you come volunteer.
I was like, well, that sounds like a lot more
(08:38):
fun than volunteering at the archives. And I was actually
volunteering because I needed volunteer I was thinking about going
to grad school and one of the grad schools I
was looking at, you needed volunteer hours. So I started
volunteering at Shelby County Arts Council and thirteen years later.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Yes, here we are.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
So I volunteered love it. It was a very small building.
I mean we still had a gallery, art classes and
an art a venue, music venue, but it was a
very very tiny building. Right, we were shoved. There were
three of us, Me, Sandra, and Bruce. We were shoved
into the smallest office on the planet with no air.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
All were in the same office.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
We all were in the same office. There were two
desks and I I would sit in a chair with
my computer in my lap sometimes and then sometimes I
would sit out in the black Box theater because it
was right outside the office. And that's also where they
taught music lessons. So wow, I got to hear all
those kids struggling through jingle bells and whatever. Taylor Swift
song was popular, that Mowana song that was popular, and
(09:41):
they I had doing one at a time because that
was surely had. Yeah, it was very how far we've come,
I know, Right, So I actually volunteered for free for
three years and then I eventually got hired. So it
got hired part time, and then eventually in twenty nineteen
it turned to a full time position. Then we moved
into our brand new facila, the big old Arts.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Are you still working at Starbucks until yeah, full time
up till twenty eighteen.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Okay, yes I had. I had done like a couple
of other little jobs I worked at. I was a
reading interventionist for a little while. Yeah, and then I
worked for Reliant Media for I was a first employee.
That's the only lady that worked there.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Yeah, so I did that for a little while, and
then uh, whenever I went full time, then I quit
all my other jobs. That's right, yes, yeah, one job,
one job. So now I am the arts and education
director and businessman exactly. I wear a lot of hats.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
We all do, don't we.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Yes, yes, we do team tiny tea tiny and mighty
hiney and mighty yeah. So I uh now I schedule
all the classes with the teachers, the music and the
uh visual arts classes, workshops. I curate the gallery, so
I work with all the artists. We'll have some of
(11:02):
those on this show as well. That we're going to
talk to.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
You and uh, you know, kind of everything else and
it happens some business stuff and uh, yeah, you're really
really good at that, thank you.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
I try.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
She's a business girl, y'all.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
I'm a business girl who knew who.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Knew Bruce thought you'd be a great teacher. A great teacher,
not so much. He never knew you'd be turned into
the business woman exactly.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
I'm just really organized, it's really all is and keep
up with a lot of details and uh.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
So I used to like to teach sometimes, but I
like to do workshops and stuff just to kind of
keep that creative flow going. I like meeting other artists
and you know, trying out new techniques and stuff like that.
So that's why I like to teach workshops, but not
as much, right. Yeah, Well that's Lindsay dies everyone. Yeah,
so now you know me. I'm also an artist too.
I forgot to mention that, Yes I do. Actually I
(11:54):
do some of my artwork at shows and I actually
curated my own gallery exhibit a couple of years ago.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Yeah, that's yeah, when I started working there.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
We could do a whole episode on that one.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
That was a great one.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
We should, we should, because I love that. Yeah, it
was so much fun. It was a tactile art exhibit
based off of the music of Dave Kringhall and he
wrote he wrote an album that was He's an artist
that experienced synesthesia and if you don't know what that is?
Do you know what that is? Leslie find that.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
One with us. Yes, it's like you see colors in music, right,
and then you create it something like that sort of
sort of sometimes whenever some people hear sounds, they'll see
a color.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
That's what I meant, yes, or something like that. There's
a couple of different ways they can experience. But Dave
has gone blind over the last couple of years, but
he's experienced synesesia since he was like a teenager, I think,
And as he started to go blind, he wrote this
album that was like it was songs based off of colors,
and I was like, well, that would be whenever our
(13:00):
album came out. Actually it was like I think maybe
twenty nineteen or twenty twenty album right now. I just
remember being in lockdown and do you remember lockdown?
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Do you remember Lockdown? I had a great Lockdown. I
had a great Lockdown too. I made a lot of art,
so as you know, talkative and as outgoing as I am,
I learned that I like being a home too. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
It was super fun. You know, made a lot of
art and that was great. But I started developing this
concept at that time, and I wanted to work with
other artists where they would create artwork based off of
a specific color. So we kind of drew colors out
of a hat. And so we created a tactile art
(13:43):
exhibit so that people who are blind or vision they
could comment and experience. They could touch the art. That
was the biggest thing. Yeah, because you know, you're not
supposed to always touch your art, supposed to touch the art,
but at this one you could. You could, you were
encouraged to touch the art. We had all of the
labels and brail on the wall. Yeah, and uh, it
(14:03):
was just a really fun exhibit because we had like
a couple of people that were blind that showed up
to the first opening, Yeah, and got to experience. And
a group came right had a couple of groups. I
think maybe ADDIE's Army Cage. Yeah, it's a group.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Awesome. Well, thanks for telling us about Lindsay. I love
that I learned things. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
So, uh, let's talk about Leslie. Oh boy, Well, Leslie,
my first question for you is what's your favorite color?
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Oh goodness, it's changed a lot, you know. I Mean
I've always loved blue, but I'm getting into my pink
stage too. I wasn't a girly girl.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
I wasn't either. I hated pink, Yeah I didn't.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
I kind of did. I don't think I ever hated it,
but like, I'm just loving pink. Yeah, and my favorite
combo is like almost like a rose gold pink with
a blue those two. So yeah, yes, i'd have too.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
So uh, let's see where how'd you get started? You're
a music I'm our sosual art. You're write a music person.
So you know, just my dad was a pastor and
growing up in churches, sang my first little solo as
a five year old, germs My Invisible Dog from.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Down by the Creek Bank. Yes, people, if you write germs,
germs my Invisible Dog, thank you? Was this awesome? Oh yeah,
it was a little you know, all those old school
church little kids musicals back in the day, Oh of
course you were.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
I mean, you know we like Sheep, Hans Bronson, those
were the ones I was in.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
I remember one like run Jonah or something.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
Go Jonah, Go, Go Jonah go.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Yeah. Yeah, I loved all of it. I mean I
got into music, you know, really quickly with that. The
only real musician in my family is my aunt Gloria,
who we all know and love. So she went to
Sandford as a music major and always did more opera
and I just remember love listening to her singing, and
I would go. She worked late Ganalusca in North Carolina.
(16:02):
I think it is for South Carolina. Sorry, Aunt Gloria.
I remember traveling there, but I don't remember which state.
So I go with my grandmother and grand grand and
my grandmother said once I heard an opera singer on
the radio and I said, oh, it's Aint Gloria. So
every opera singer to me was Aunt Gloria. So I
think she really definitely inspired me a lot. And then
(16:23):
just getting involved in music. The church where I in Jasper, Alabama,
Dad was pastor. The music guy there really helped get
me involved in music as a middle schooler. And so
we're in a great choir. I learned the state song. Yes,
I can sing the states alphabetically, and that's how I
(16:44):
know all our states. Knew them since I was in
middle school. That's how I know the preamble to the
Yeah I know, right, yeah, thank you school house right,
that's right, oh, school house, school house rock. So high
school really involved with my choir and and ensemble and
going to solo ensemble things and Blondel McAllen good Old
(17:05):
Blondel McGowan and Panama City, Florida, Go Mosley Dolphins. She
was my choir director and just loved her. She was
a spicy lady, sweet and spicy. So we really got
involved with that. And like you, I kind of was like,
I want to do music education. I wanted to be
(17:26):
a teacher kind of all my life, you know, I
taught my little dolls and stuff, and then of course
I did, and then when I got into music, I
knew immediately that I want to do music education and
did that at Sanford University and had the best time
and choir and all that stuff. I was never a
big solo singer. I'm an alto. Do you know what
alto is? What's an alto? Lindsay, It's the opposite of
(17:49):
a soprana, opposite, the opposite. Sure, it's a similar, It's
like a lower or higher. It is lower, definitely lower,
says the.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
Alto part the harmony alive.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Oh okay, So I'd rather sing with people and do
harmony than be shocking.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
That is shocking.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
As much as I look at me cos yeah, yeah,
solo spotlight here. I don't really like doing solos. I mean,
I'll do them, but you know, so anyway, out of college,
I actually did a lot of ministry stuff with college
ministry and did that for a while and went to
seminary in New Orleans. Very interesting time to live in
New Orleans. And then married before or after Katrina. It
(18:36):
was before, so yeah, I was there before, I know, right.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
A completely different couple.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Of years after is when it. Yeah, exactly so that
I married a minister and then but even though through
all the places we lived in all the churches, I
still did music stuff. So I taught music, you know,
probably about twenty years now, taught church music or children's choir,
did a children's handbo acchoire. Actually while I was in college,
(19:03):
I did lots of different music jobs and so it's
just always been part of my life since I was little,
and like you, it just kind of was a no brainer.
So anyway, so then moved to twenty nineteen, moved back
to Birmingham, and then we experienced good old COVID And
(19:23):
when I moved back, we moved kind of the middle
of the years, so I just subbed for a while
in the school system, and then after Covid was hired
as a music teacher again in Columbiana, which then was
let me be introduced to the wonderful Arts Council and
the wonderful Lindsay Nice and Bruce Andrews and Sandra at
the time. So then I started teaching voice lessons for
you guys. Then was asked to do a theater camp.
(19:47):
Whoo yes. So the first camp.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
Was an experimental theater camp.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Were very different and interesting. If we had performed the
whole show, it'd have been like five hours long. Wrote
a show, wrote way too much, shocker.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
But that year we put this play on in one week.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Yeah, we do it in one week. So it's a
little chaos. But I thrive in chaos, I do, and
I don't you know, I know you do shine, I
don't more chaos, So chaos, I know, So I know. Right,
So started doing that and then stopped teaching in twenty
(20:26):
twenty two, right about the time your color, color and sound,
so y'all needed some extra hands. And then you did
your in my internship, your artists, I did.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
My artist residency at Monopella, didn't even.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
Exactly and so that you were going to be out
a lot, so y'all hired me to come help, and
then from there you never left. I never left. I
wouldn't let it, I wouldn't lee.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
You just stuck, I know.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
And then they just kept giving me random titles but whatever.
Like you said, we just kind of do your arbitrary whatever.
Commune Engagement and Events manager. Sure, so I love it.
This is kind of a really a dream job. I
still got to get to teach, get to be around students,
students that want to be there, right, that's a big.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
That's the difference. Yeah, with our organization, it's like people
that want to participate in the art.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
It's great, you know. So I fell in love really
early on with you know, just motivating and teaching students
to build their confidence through performing and on stage. And
you know, you can have the shyest little person like
Lilahah are a little sweet Lilah and they get on
stage and they're like just shine and that's one of
(21:39):
my favorite moments. I mean, you know, you love seeing
the drama queens up there and seeing them shine and
keep improving. And but you know when it's really the
student that can't find their niche and at the Shelby
County Arts Council. I've had several parents say, you know,
she finally found her thing, and he finally found his thing.
DT's one of them that his mom would say, you know,
(22:01):
he wasn't really cared about sports, and once he started theater,
he started with Matilda, which was another crazy time. It
was a great place of many with many crazy and
Frozen or the Frozen Junior yep, And that was the
last major one I directed, and now I'm passing the
torch some younger ones. So it's just been it's been
(22:24):
great being there and meeting all the people and all
the kids that come through and then grow up and
start helping, like oh, Ruth, so now she's just shining
and directing. And we've got Sarah Elizabeth, hometown hero in Columbiana,
coming back to help direct.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
And it's cool because I've seen some of the kids
in our art camp, even at the old building. Yeah,
a couple of them they took art camp when they
were little bitty things, and now they're in college and
they come back and help us, right, and so it's
just so cool to see them grow up, you know.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
And you've seen a lot of these in fear camp tea.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Oh yeah, absolutely, yes, yeah, for years.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
Yeah, So I love being there. We have a great team.
You and I are you know.
Speaker 3 (23:09):
The what like the dynamic sea otters.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
Sure's at work. We're so different.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
And you know why we call ourselves that tell them
because whenever sea otters straight, yes, one of our sea
otters are floating in water, they will hold hands with
each other to keep from floating away. And we went
through a period of time that was difficult at work,
and so we ended up having I was like, we're
gonna hold hands. We're all gonna hold hands, and three
(23:40):
of us together and so you, me and Bruce were
the dynamics swellers. I was like, we're gonna hold hands
and get through this.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
And a few months it was just the three of us.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
Yeah. So yeah, but you know, yeah, everything's going good.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
I know. We love it. We love our team, we
love thriving. Bruce Andrews is the greatest possible all time.
He's just one of the most caring. Gosh, what can
you say about Bruce? So much, so many good things,
so many good talented knows like everybody and everybody that
knows him. Yes, So we're.
Speaker 3 (24:13):
In a great place and so yet to come down
to the Shelby County House if you haven't been there before.
We teach art and music class Art music class, they're
always changing. We teach a variety of art music classes.
We do. We have a metal foundry. Yes, we're the
only one outside of a Sloughs furnace, I believe. So
if you want to come see a metal pouring by
Nelson Grice or Ted Metz or right. And then we
(24:35):
have art competitions. We have the Robin Dance Metz Art Competition.
We have a statewide high school durid art show that
is free for high schoolers all across the state of
Alabama tenth through twelfth grade. You can enter your work,
you can win money. Yeah, right, it's great. It's free
to it's free. Yes, and we just we just wrapped
up out and it was I mean, those kids are
so talented, they're like my favorite. Yeah, they're sometimes are
(24:58):
better than the adults. Sorry adults, yeah, sorry, adults, these kids, yeah, yeah,
they kind of they kind of win. So we do
five gallery. We do five shows a year in the
EPSCO find Our.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Gallery is beautiful and I think you said, but it's
free to come.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
It's free to come in time.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Monday through Thursday ten am to five pm and then
a lot of events you know, of course you can come.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
And we have also have a music venue, the Song
for Your Song Theater.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
We host Goodness twenty ish shows a year, variety of artety.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
We have had the Red Clay Strays there twice right now.
They're too popular and they're about to tour Europe.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
Taylor Honeycut maybe one of those that's gonna move on up.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
Yeah, we've had Paul thorn Thorne. We're gonna come it
up again, coming up again, Abe Partree. We're even having
a ted X talk. We are in our theater, so
really excited about.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
And one of our favorites and everyone's favorites, Sean of
the South, One of the South, Shan Dee Trick, will
be in our Song Theater three more times this year,
so got to come see him. He's bucked to get
through his I wrote it down, so I didn't say
it wrong. Camino Deve, Santiago Walk being Jamie, So it's
interesting to be great to hear stories from that. And yeah, yeah,
(26:11):
and then we do some outreach programs, so we do
all kinds of different things. Come see us, come visit,
come take a tour. Yeah, it's a beautiful facility. You
get to see us, Yeah in person, in person. Ask
us questions, think about questions you want to ask us. No,
but we are gonna do one last thing. I did
(26:31):
ask you a term already, but I'm gonna ask you
another one.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
We have musical theater camp coming up, so be sure
and check out our website and art camp and art
camps in July. Musical theater in June, Art camps in July.
We're doing schoolhouse rock like you mentioned. So I want you,
as we are closing our podcast, to describe for us
in theater what is upstags downstage? Tell me how you
(26:55):
teach a kid.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
It is a location on the stage where you would
stand for certain things stage direction, shut, yep, blocking, absolutely,
I've heard this is what's what?
Speaker 1 (27:08):
Though? Where's upstate?
Speaker 3 (27:10):
I think upstage would be kind of towards the back
of the stage, lindsay.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
You're rocket and rolling. Oh the downstage is to the
front of the stage. Yes, oh my god, why I
was called that? Nationally, member theaters used to be kind
of slanted, and so it's literally walking up or down? Yep,
that's why I always called that, because I always got
confused with that. You know, you'd think up for you
(27:39):
was kind of moving up. But yeah, you got it.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
Right to me. See that's for me. That's from opening
all those curtains at your show. And oh and I
do have one thing for you, my one art terminology
for you.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
All right, done? Mine?
Speaker 3 (27:52):
That was another that was another episode.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Okay, give it to me.
Speaker 3 (27:55):
All right. Can you name the primary colors?
Speaker 1 (27:58):
I can?
Speaker 3 (27:59):
Okay, blue, red, and yellow awesome. Can you name the
secondary color?
Speaker 1 (28:05):
Yes, orange, purple, and green.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
Can you name the tertiary colors?
Speaker 4 (28:10):
Pink, peach, brown, black, gray, wrong, turqoise, fusia, it would
be more like yellow, green, yellow, orange, chat.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
They're the ones in between the there's more of them.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
I get kind of a bee maybe, yeah, like a
like a B plus.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
I give you a B plus two out of three.
I love it two out of three.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Good job. Well, thanks for being with us today. Please
join us for our other episodes. The next one we
get to interview our first artist.
Speaker 3 (28:49):
Tony Brock.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
That's right, who has a gallery exhibit right now that
you can come through the entergyne. Thanks so much Byetta Stet,
Product and Setting INT
Welcome to Conversations with Creatives with the Arts Counsel. Ladies.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
I'm Lindsay, I'm Leslie.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
All right, today we are going to interview each other
about our what are we gonna we're talking about.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
We're going to talk about who we are, We're from,
our likes, our dislikes, our villain, our villain origin stories.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Yes, so you'll get to know the ladies of the
Arts Council. Two of the ladies of the Arts Council.
We have many, So let's start with you, Lindsay.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Let's let it rip.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Lindsay, when did you know that you had a love
for art? That's a little deep. Now, tell me, like,
when did you really start getting into art?
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Well, pretty much my whole life, Like even whenever I
was a kid, I coming out of the womb, coming
out of the womb, I wanted to like a paint
barsh in my hands exactly. Yes, I mean I loved
art always. I just like there has never been like
a oh I was in college and I took a
class and this happened. I mean, it's just always been
(01:20):
just a part of me, like creating, drawing. I remember
whenever I was a kid, my grandparents had a fine
collection of National Geographic magazines, as as all people that
looked through the depression do. And they were in the
room that like the guest room that me and my
sister always stayed and when we came to visit, and
so I would just pull those National Geographic magazines out
(01:42):
and I have never read one. I still think to
this day, I've never read Geographic magazine. And the fact
I loved the mohotos, but I like to draw the
pictures out of National graphics. So that was like my
favorite thing to do was just them through there. And
did you have a great many art teacher? Because I
was are so important, you know, yeah, kind of. We
(02:05):
we were a very small country school, so we had
like art every six months or something like that. But
whenever I got it, I was like, this was like
the best thing ever. It was really whatever I got
into middle school and high school that really started.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
You had art classes, they had art.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
I did, yeah, and especially my high school art teacher,
mister Lawyer. He was really like somebody that was a
big driving force behind really like refining my art. And
he was actually a printmaker too. Wait there you go.
So I painted a lot whenever I was in high school.
I started out like painting water colors actually, which people
(02:41):
are always scared of painting watercolor, right because it is
kind of a difficult medium.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Yeah, So I didn't really even like paint with oils
until I got to college. Okay, so I did learn
a lot more about painting. I went to University of Montipello,
so I did community college. I'm from South Alabama. That's
where I grew up. My parents still live there. This
whole family still lives there. I'm the only one here.
I have a couple of family members that pain or artistic, okay,
(03:07):
stuff like that, So I feel like some of it
runs in my family. My grandmother always sewed in crocheted,
and she would make stuff all the time. I have
a great aunt that weaves. She had one of those
huge looms that she leaves. So you know, there's always
creative people in my family. But it was just kind
of a part of me. And my sister's a little
bit artistic. My dad can draw a little bit, so
(03:30):
it was just the natural next step. And it's just
I don't know, I never had like I never was
like I want to go into banking or I want
to be a real estate whatever, you know. I was like,
I just want to be an artist. Yeah, Like it
was just always that was in me. And so I
went to Montovallo. I got my bachelor's in Fine Art
in studio in painting.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Oh okay, yeah, so there wasn't like a printmaking They
did have a.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Printmaking It was a it was a concentration and I
took a lot of That was really where I took
my print making class. Okay, so did Antolio printmaking, which
is like on a it's like on a piece of metal.
It's not what I do now because it takes a
lot more.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Well, you have the supplies, you have to have the supla. Yes,
that's what I would think. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
So I did a lot of printmaking classes at Mountavalo
did all the painting classes. So my senior show was paintings.
Okay yeah, and then after I graduated, I was like,
I'm real tired of painting. I do not want to
paint anymore. And that's whenever I turned to print making.
And I could do block printing in my apartment. Oh yeah,
it was easy to clean up, and so I just
started doing the block print making and it's kind of
(04:34):
gone from there. I used to make books. I used
to do some book binding.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Oh cool.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Yeah, so I started out kind of doing some book
binding and then I I've always kind of liked fiber arts,
like sewing and stuff like that. I sewed a little bit,
but I've kind of gotten into a little bit.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Yeah, she I should have brought my purse to show,
But she's into sewing now and she's made some beautiful purses.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
And yeah, do punch needle art, which is like a
form of rug making, like an old school form of
rug making. And uh now I kind of teach workshops
with punch needle or print making, especially like some of
the some of the school kids hold my own workshops
and stuff like that. So I think it's fun to
like share what you love with community, you know, absolutely,
(05:17):
you know that's always I feel like that's like the
most important thing.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Yeah. I love when you're teaching those middle school or
high schoolers. Yes, middle school especially love it when they
don't get injured. Yes, that was we had some we had.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Some workshops where we learned a lot.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
We learned what we could.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
Do and what we could not do. And I guess
always a it's always a little daunting to put a
sharp object in a middle school maybe and expect them.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
To not to follow the rules.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
Yes, And we gave out a lot of band aids workshops.
So that was that was, you know, we learned a lot.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Yeah, we did better the next time, right, absolutely.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
And I I mean I never really wanted to teach.
I kind of I didn't know what I wanted to
do after I graduated from college because for a visual artist.
I remember like asking one of my professors, I was like,
what do I do with this degree? And she was like,
I don't know, And I don't know either.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Wonderful. Wonderful and just finished college and I'm supposed to,
Yeah what do I do?
Speaker 3 (06:16):
And I mean I think a lot of college absolutely,
you know, especially art students, feeling like that. And I
think that's why they stopped making art after a while,
I know, right, And I was working at Starbucks at
that time. I worked at Starbucks for over ten years,
and I.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Didn't know it was that long.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
It was almost eleven years. Wow, that was a few
months shy of eleven years. Yeah, So I just kind of,
you know, drifted around for a while. Yeah, And I
actually met Bruce Andrews, the executive director of Shelby County
Arts Council. At Starbucks, we both worked there together, and
he always tells me that the first time he met me,
I was crying in the back room.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
It's told me that several times, and I.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
Do not remember that.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
It's probably because I cried at Starbucks, was ready to go.
I was just like, people hurt my feelings. They're constantly so, yeah,
I've gotten a lot better. I wouldn't survive. H my gosh,
it was horrible. I got a lot better.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
I feel like I'm a lot better now. I don't
cry as much, not over customers anyway, if I'm mad.
So I met him there, and I was actually already
volunteering in Columbiana at the archives that was right across
from the Arts Council, and it was a little barring.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
It was I love you archives, We love archives.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
It was not the most exciting thing to place to
be volunteering. I was like editing photos of marriage licenses.
Oh wow, yeah, so is that's moved now to like, no,
it's still there.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
I was still there.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Yeah, it's still in that scary roundabout okay, Yeah, where
people will just hit you right across the street. It's terrifying.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
I don't think people in America know anything about roundabouts,
No they don't. We struggle. Yeah, Chelsea Park has several.
Oh yeah, and we're not good at those. They need
to stop building them. No we do. We're not in London. Yeah,
this is a this is a roundabout podcast. Actually you're
about roundabout.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
We're exclusively going to talk about right, give us your comments.
But so I volunteered there for just a little while,
and then Bruce was like, well, I got this job
as the director at the Shelby County Arts Council. And
he had already been working there. He was teaching a
little bit, and so that's how he found out about
the position, and he was like, why don't you come volunteer.
I was like, well, that sounds like a lot more
(08:38):
fun than volunteering at the archives. And I was actually
volunteering because I needed volunteer I was thinking about going
to grad school and one of the grad schools I
was looking at, you needed volunteer hours. So I started
volunteering at Shelby County Arts Council and thirteen years later.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Yes, here we are.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
So I volunteered love it. It was a very small building.
I mean we still had a gallery, art classes and
an art a venue, music venue, but it was a
very very tiny building. Right, we were shoved. There were
three of us, Me, Sandra, and Bruce. We were shoved
into the smallest office on the planet with no air.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
All were in the same office.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
We all were in the same office. There were two
desks and I I would sit in a chair with
my computer in my lap sometimes and then sometimes I
would sit out in the black Box theater because it
was right outside the office. And that's also where they
taught music lessons. So wow, I got to hear all
those kids struggling through jingle bells and whatever. Taylor Swift
song was popular, that Mowana song that was popular, and
(09:41):
they I had doing one at a time because that
was surely had. Yeah, it was very how far we've come,
I know, Right, So I actually volunteered for free for
three years and then I eventually got hired. So it
got hired part time, and then eventually in twenty nineteen
it turned to a full time position. Then we moved
into our brand new facila, the big old Arts.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Are you still working at Starbucks until yeah, full time
up till twenty eighteen.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Okay, yes I had. I had done like a couple
of other little jobs I worked at. I was a
reading interventionist for a little while. Yeah, and then I
worked for Reliant Media for I was a first employee.
That's the only lady that worked there.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Yeah, so I did that for a little while, and
then uh, whenever I went full time, then I quit
all my other jobs. That's right, yes, yeah, one job,
one job. So now I am the arts and education
director and businessman exactly. I wear a lot of hats.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
We all do, don't we.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Yes, yes, we do team tiny tea tiny and mighty
hiney and mighty yeah. So I uh now I schedule
all the classes with the teachers, the music and the
uh visual arts classes, workshops. I curate the gallery, so
I work with all the artists. We'll have some of
(11:02):
those on this show as well. That we're going to
talk to.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
You and uh, you know, kind of everything else and
it happens some business stuff and uh, yeah, you're really
really good at that, thank you.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
I try.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
She's a business girl, y'all.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
I'm a business girl who knew who.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Knew Bruce thought you'd be a great teacher. A great teacher,
not so much. He never knew you'd be turned into
the business woman exactly.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
I'm just really organized, it's really all is and keep
up with a lot of details and uh.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
So I used to like to teach sometimes, but I
like to do workshops and stuff just to kind of
keep that creative flow going. I like meeting other artists
and you know, trying out new techniques and stuff like that.
So that's why I like to teach workshops, but not
as much, right. Yeah, Well that's Lindsay dies everyone. Yeah,
so now you know me. I'm also an artist too.
I forgot to mention that, Yes I do. Actually I
(11:54):
do some of my artwork at shows and I actually
curated my own gallery exhibit a couple of years ago.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Yeah, that's yeah, when I started working there.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
We could do a whole episode on that one.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
That was a great one.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
We should, we should, because I love that. Yeah, it
was so much fun. It was a tactile art exhibit
based off of the music of Dave Kringhall and he
wrote he wrote an album that was He's an artist
that experienced synesthesia and if you don't know what that is?
Do you know what that is? Leslie find that.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
One with us. Yes, it's like you see colors in music, right,
and then you create it something like that sort of
sort of sometimes whenever some people hear sounds, they'll see
a color.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
That's what I meant, yes, or something like that. There's
a couple of different ways they can experience. But Dave
has gone blind over the last couple of years, but
he's experienced synesesia since he was like a teenager, I think,
And as he started to go blind, he wrote this
album that was like it was songs based off of colors,
and I was like, well, that would be whenever our
(13:00):
album came out. Actually it was like I think maybe
twenty nineteen or twenty twenty album right now. I just
remember being in lockdown and do you remember lockdown?
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Do you remember Lockdown? I had a great Lockdown. I
had a great Lockdown too. I made a lot of art,
so as you know, talkative and as outgoing as I am,
I learned that I like being a home too. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
It was super fun. You know, made a lot of
art and that was great. But I started developing this
concept at that time, and I wanted to work with
other artists where they would create artwork based off of
a specific color. So we kind of drew colors out
of a hat. And so we created a tactile art
(13:43):
exhibit so that people who are blind or vision they
could comment and experience. They could touch the art. That
was the biggest thing. Yeah, because you know, you're not
supposed to always touch your art, supposed to touch the art,
but at this one you could. You could, you were
encouraged to touch the art. We had all of the
labels and brail on the wall. Yeah, and uh, it
(14:03):
was just a really fun exhibit because we had like
a couple of people that were blind that showed up
to the first opening, Yeah, and got to experience. And
a group came right had a couple of groups. I
think maybe ADDIE's Army Cage. Yeah, it's a group.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Awesome. Well, thanks for telling us about Lindsay. I love
that I learned things. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
So, uh, let's talk about Leslie. Oh boy, Well, Leslie,
my first question for you is what's your favorite color?
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Oh goodness, it's changed a lot, you know. I Mean
I've always loved blue, but I'm getting into my pink
stage too. I wasn't a girly girl.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
I wasn't either. I hated pink, Yeah I didn't.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
I kind of did. I don't think I ever hated it,
but like, I'm just loving pink. Yeah, and my favorite
combo is like almost like a rose gold pink with
a blue those two. So yeah, yes, i'd have too.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
So uh, let's see where how'd you get started? You're
a music I'm our sosual art. You're write a music person.
So you know, just my dad was a pastor and
growing up in churches, sang my first little solo as
a five year old, germs My Invisible Dog from.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Down by the Creek Bank. Yes, people, if you write germs,
germs my Invisible Dog, thank you? Was this awesome? Oh yeah,
it was a little you know, all those old school
church little kids musicals back in the day, Oh of
course you were.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
I mean, you know we like Sheep, Hans Bronson, those
were the ones I was in.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
I remember one like run Jonah or something.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
Go Jonah, Go, Go Jonah go.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Yeah. Yeah, I loved all of it. I mean I
got into music, you know, really quickly with that. The
only real musician in my family is my aunt Gloria,
who we all know and love. So she went to
Sandford as a music major and always did more opera
and I just remember love listening to her singing, and
I would go. She worked late Ganalusca in North Carolina.
(16:02):
I think it is for South Carolina. Sorry, Aunt Gloria.
I remember traveling there, but I don't remember which state.
So I go with my grandmother and grand grand and
my grandmother said once I heard an opera singer on
the radio and I said, oh, it's Aint Gloria. So
every opera singer to me was Aunt Gloria. So I
think she really definitely inspired me a lot. And then
(16:23):
just getting involved in music. The church where I in Jasper, Alabama,
Dad was pastor. The music guy there really helped get
me involved in music as a middle schooler. And so
we're in a great choir. I learned the state song. Yes,
I can sing the states alphabetically, and that's how I
(16:44):
know all our states. Knew them since I was in
middle school. That's how I know the preamble to the
Yeah I know, right, yeah, thank you school house right,
that's right, oh, school house, school house rock. So high
school really involved with my choir and and ensemble and
going to solo ensemble things and Blondel McAllen good Old
(17:05):
Blondel McGowan and Panama City, Florida, Go Mosley Dolphins. She
was my choir director and just loved her. She was
a spicy lady, sweet and spicy. So we really got
involved with that. And like you, I kind of was like,
I want to do music education. I wanted to be
(17:26):
a teacher kind of all my life, you know, I
taught my little dolls and stuff, and then of course
I did, and then when I got into music, I
knew immediately that I want to do music education and
did that at Sanford University and had the best time
and choir and all that stuff. I was never a
big solo singer. I'm an alto. Do you know what
alto is? What's an alto? Lindsay, It's the opposite of
(17:49):
a soprana, opposite, the opposite. Sure, it's a similar, It's
like a lower or higher. It is lower, definitely lower,
says the.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
Alto part the harmony alive.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Oh okay, So I'd rather sing with people and do
harmony than be shocking.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
That is shocking.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
As much as I look at me cos yeah, yeah,
solo spotlight here. I don't really like doing solos. I mean,
I'll do them, but you know, so anyway, out of college,
I actually did a lot of ministry stuff with college
ministry and did that for a while and went to
seminary in New Orleans. Very interesting time to live in
New Orleans. And then married before or after Katrina. It
(18:36):
was before, so yeah, I was there before, I know, right.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
A completely different couple.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Of years after is when it. Yeah, exactly so that
I married a minister and then but even though through
all the places we lived in all the churches, I
still did music stuff. So I taught music, you know,
probably about twenty years now, taught church music or children's choir,
did a children's handbo acchoire. Actually while I was in college,
(19:03):
I did lots of different music jobs and so it's
just always been part of my life since I was little,
and like you, it just kind of was a no brainer.
So anyway, so then moved to twenty nineteen, moved back
to Birmingham, and then we experienced good old COVID And
(19:23):
when I moved back, we moved kind of the middle
of the years, so I just subbed for a while
in the school system, and then after Covid was hired
as a music teacher again in Columbiana, which then was
let me be introduced to the wonderful Arts Council and
the wonderful Lindsay Nice and Bruce Andrews and Sandra at
the time. So then I started teaching voice lessons for
you guys. Then was asked to do a theater camp.
(19:47):
Whoo yes. So the first camp.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
Was an experimental theater camp.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Were very different and interesting. If we had performed the
whole show, it'd have been like five hours long. Wrote
a show, wrote way too much, shocker.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
But that year we put this play on in one week.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Yeah, we do it in one week. So it's a
little chaos. But I thrive in chaos, I do, and
I don't you know, I know you do shine, I
don't more chaos, So chaos, I know, So I know. Right,
So started doing that and then stopped teaching in twenty
(20:26):
twenty two, right about the time your color, color and sound,
so y'all needed some extra hands. And then you did
your in my internship, your artists, I did.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
My artist residency at Monopella, didn't even.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
Exactly and so that you were going to be out
a lot, so y'all hired me to come help, and
then from there you never left. I never left. I
wouldn't let it, I wouldn't lee.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
You just stuck, I know.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
And then they just kept giving me random titles but whatever.
Like you said, we just kind of do your arbitrary whatever.
Commune Engagement and Events manager. Sure, so I love it.
This is kind of a really a dream job. I
still got to get to teach, get to be around students,
students that want to be there, right, that's a big.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
That's the difference. Yeah, with our organization, it's like people
that want to participate in the art.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
It's great, you know. So I fell in love really
early on with you know, just motivating and teaching students
to build their confidence through performing and on stage. And
you know, you can have the shyest little person like
Lilahah are a little sweet Lilah and they get on
stage and they're like just shine and that's one of
(21:39):
my favorite moments. I mean, you know, you love seeing
the drama queens up there and seeing them shine and
keep improving. And but you know when it's really the
student that can't find their niche and at the Shelby
County Arts Council. I've had several parents say, you know,
she finally found her thing, and he finally found his thing.
DT's one of them that his mom would say, you know,
(22:01):
he wasn't really cared about sports, and once he started theater,
he started with Matilda, which was another crazy time. It
was a great place of many with many crazy and
Frozen or the Frozen Junior yep, And that was the
last major one I directed, and now I'm passing the
torch some younger ones. So it's just been it's been
(22:24):
great being there and meeting all the people and all
the kids that come through and then grow up and
start helping, like oh, Ruth, so now she's just shining
and directing. And we've got Sarah Elizabeth, hometown hero in Columbiana,
coming back to help direct.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
And it's cool because I've seen some of the kids
in our art camp, even at the old building. Yeah,
a couple of them they took art camp when they
were little bitty things, and now they're in college and
they come back and help us, right, and so it's
just so cool to see them grow up, you know.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
And you've seen a lot of these in fear camp tea.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Oh yeah, absolutely, yes, yeah, for years.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
Yeah, So I love being there. We have a great team.
You and I are you know.
Speaker 3 (23:09):
The what like the dynamic sea otters.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
Sure's at work. We're so different.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
And you know why we call ourselves that tell them
because whenever sea otters straight, yes, one of our sea
otters are floating in water, they will hold hands with
each other to keep from floating away. And we went
through a period of time that was difficult at work,
and so we ended up having I was like, we're
gonna hold hands. We're all gonna hold hands, and three
(23:40):
of us together and so you, me and Bruce were
the dynamics swellers. I was like, we're gonna hold hands
and get through this.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
And a few months it was just the three of us.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
Yeah. So yeah, but you know, yeah, everything's going good.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
I know. We love it. We love our team, we
love thriving. Bruce Andrews is the greatest possible all time.
He's just one of the most caring. Gosh, what can
you say about Bruce? So much, so many good things,
so many good talented knows like everybody and everybody that
knows him. Yes, So we're.
Speaker 3 (24:13):
In a great place and so yet to come down
to the Shelby County House if you haven't been there before.
We teach art and music class Art music class, they're
always changing. We teach a variety of art music classes.
We do. We have a metal foundry. Yes, we're the
only one outside of a Sloughs furnace, I believe. So
if you want to come see a metal pouring by
Nelson Grice or Ted Metz or right. And then we
(24:35):
have art competitions. We have the Robin Dance Metz Art Competition.
We have a statewide high school durid art show that
is free for high schoolers all across the state of
Alabama tenth through twelfth grade. You can enter your work,
you can win money. Yeah, right, it's great. It's free
to it's free. Yes, and we just we just wrapped
up out and it was I mean, those kids are
so talented, they're like my favorite. Yeah, they're sometimes are
(24:58):
better than the adults. Sorry adults, yeah, sorry, adults, these kids, yeah, yeah,
they kind of they kind of win. So we do
five gallery. We do five shows a year in the
EPSCO find Our.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Gallery is beautiful and I think you said, but it's
free to come.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
It's free to come in time.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Monday through Thursday ten am to five pm and then
a lot of events you know, of course you can come.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
And we have also have a music venue, the Song
for Your Song Theater.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
We host Goodness twenty ish shows a year, variety of artety.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
We have had the Red Clay Strays there twice right now.
They're too popular and they're about to tour Europe.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
Taylor Honeycut maybe one of those that's gonna move on up.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
Yeah, we've had Paul thorn Thorne. We're gonna come it
up again, coming up again, Abe Partree. We're even having
a ted X talk. We are in our theater, so
really excited about.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
And one of our favorites and everyone's favorites, Sean of
the South, One of the South, Shan Dee Trick, will
be in our Song Theater three more times this year,
so got to come see him. He's bucked to get
through his I wrote it down, so I didn't say
it wrong. Camino Deve, Santiago Walk being Jamie, So it's
interesting to be great to hear stories from that. And yeah, yeah,
(26:11):
and then we do some outreach programs, so we do
all kinds of different things. Come see us, come visit,
come take a tour. Yeah, it's a beautiful facility. You
get to see us, Yeah in person, in person. Ask
us questions, think about questions you want to ask us. No,
but we are gonna do one last thing. I did
(26:31):
ask you a term already, but I'm gonna ask you
another one.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
We have musical theater camp coming up, so be sure
and check out our website and art camp and art
camps in July. Musical theater in June, Art camps in July.
We're doing schoolhouse rock like you mentioned. So I want you,
as we are closing our podcast, to describe for us
in theater what is upstags downstage? Tell me how you
(26:55):
teach a kid.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
It is a location on the stage where you would
stand for certain things stage direction, shut, yep, blocking, absolutely,
I've heard this is what's what?
Speaker 1 (27:08):
Though? Where's upstate?
Speaker 3 (27:10):
I think upstage would be kind of towards the back
of the stage, lindsay.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
You're rocket and rolling. Oh the downstage is to the
front of the stage. Yes, oh my god, why I
was called that? Nationally, member theaters used to be kind
of slanted, and so it's literally walking up or down? Yep,
that's why I always called that, because I always got
confused with that. You know, you'd think up for you
(27:39):
was kind of moving up. But yeah, you got it.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
Right to me. See that's for me. That's from opening
all those curtains at your show. And oh and I
do have one thing for you, my one art terminology
for you.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
All right, done? Mine?
Speaker 3 (27:52):
That was another that was another episode.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Okay, give it to me.
Speaker 3 (27:55):
All right. Can you name the primary colors?
Speaker 1 (27:58):
I can?
Speaker 3 (27:59):
Okay, blue, red, and yellow awesome. Can you name the
secondary color?
Speaker 1 (28:05):
Yes, orange, purple, and green.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
Can you name the tertiary colors?
Speaker 4 (28:10):
Pink, peach, brown, black, gray, wrong, turqoise, fusia, it would
be more like yellow, green, yellow, orange, chat.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
They're the ones in between the there's more of them.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
I get kind of a bee maybe, yeah, like a
like a B plus.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
I give you a B plus two out of three.
I love it two out of three.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Good job. Well, thanks for being with us today. Please
join us for our other episodes. The next one we
get to interview our first artist.
Speaker 3 (28:49):
Tony Brock.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
That's right, who has a gallery exhibit right now that
you can come through the entergyne. Thanks so much Byetta Stet,
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