One Step Away II
Jackson, Michigan
jackson
Jubilee
The Hot Air Jubilee is one of Jackson’s big annual events. Photos of hot air balloons are all over the Chamber of Commerce’s promotional materials, and for good reason: thousands of people head to Ella Sharp Park each July to watch the liftoffs.
For me, it never gets old. There’s magic in these giant sacks of hot air slowly inflating, and then leaving the ground, heading to Oz – or the outskirts of the county. It’s not just the balloons, either. The Hot Air Jubilee is like a small county fair, with junk food and rides and games of chance.
Tons of local photographers fight for the chance to get inside the launch grounds. I’ve been there, but it’s just as fun to sit on the sidelines and watch the show as a spectator.
These Never Never Land moments are rare, indeed.
In Conversation
This is what I miss about portrait projects.
The conversation, the sharing of experience, the laughing and joking around. Remembering local history. Swapping stories. Sharing a complete and consuming love of music.
Last time, it was about art and creativity, about the Jackson market and the struggles of being a small-city artist.
This time, it’s a lot of same, except you swap paint brushes and cameras for guitars and microphones.
It’s good to be back.
[Help the Musicians In Jackson project on Kickstarter!]
Let’s Do This: Musicians In Jackson on Kickstarter
Away we go.
I’m launching my new community portrait project, Musicians In Jackson, on Kickstarter today.
A week ago, I kicked off the project at my studio open house. But this project has been in the works for almost a year now. I’ve thought and thought about it for so long, and now it’s a real thing in the world that I’m working on.
It involves capturing local Jackson, Michigan musicians on black and white medium format film through the summer. I’ll capture our conversations, make portraits, and share the creative love in my hometown.
Why Kickstarter? There are film costs, and the studio space to rent, and photographic prints to produce. It’s also a way to preorder prints or the book when it’s released this holiday season. Really, it’s a way to support creative endeavors like these community portrait projects.
I’d appreciate it if you could help me spread the word, and make a pledge before July 16 on Kickstarter. I also hope you’ll join me for the ride.
Studio Open House
Tomorrow night I’m hosting a studio open house in downtown Jackson.
It’s partly to kick off my next portrait project, partly to test out the new space, and partly as a big “thank you” to folks around town who have supported my projects. Plus I have a few people whose portrait I’ve wanted to make for a while now. So, bonus.
Details at my Musicians In Jackson page. Hope to see you there.
Studio Space Unlocked
My long-sought idea for having a studio is now complete. I just signed on a summer agreement with a merchant in downtown Jackson, and am super excited to get started.
There’s a bit of clean-up and moving to do, and I’ll need to get comfortable with the space. But it’s mine for a few months.
Let’s get started.
Saturday In the Park
We wait all winter for days like this: sunny, decently warm, fresh breeze blowing.
In our new neighborhood, we’re surrounded by parks and playgrounds. Sparks Park – kind of Jackson’s own Central Park – is a block or two away, and we have several schools in the street next to ours, lousy with playground equipment. Our old neighborhood was very walkable, but it’s nice being so close to all this fun.
Now, when we go on walks around the neighborhood, the kids beg to go to one of the playgrounds. I have a feeling we’ll spend a lot of time here.
And that’s great. For today, we’re just happy to be outside.
Downtown Jackson, At Summer’s End
Toward the end of last summer, I took to the streets of my hometown for a solo photo walk.
I make lots of pictures of Jackson, but I hadn’t headed downtown with the intent to make a series in a while. With summer ending, and the light changing, I figured the hour near sunset would be fun to capture.
While downtown Jackson is on the upswing – lots of new restaurants, the brewery is booming, the road project is mostly done – you still feel like (as my grandmother would say) you could shoot a canon ball down Michigan Ave. after 5 p.m. and not hit a soul. The hope is that’ll change in time.
Here’s the first in a series of city photos focusing on Jackson, Michigan’s few downtown blocks.
Book Publishing Forum
My portrait project, Artists In Jackson, helped me to achieve one of my life goals: to make a book.
It was self published. And it was a small-time deal. But I got to see my name on a hard-cover book where I wrote the text, designed the layout, and made the photographs.
Arts & Cultural Alliance of Jackson County is sponsoring a book publishing forum featuring local Jackson, Michigan, authors – including me! – on Thursday, Feb. 16 at the Ella Sharp Museum. We’ll talk about our publishing experience, answer questions, and give tips to get others to publish their material. You should come!
My little book is a self-publishing story, but I’m sharing the stage with authors who have completed much bigger and more well-known book projects. It should be fun.
With all the tools at our disposal, it’s never been easier to publish your passion project. I hope to encourage more artists and writers to make a physical thing and get their ideas out into the world.
Audra
Awesome artist and overall sweetheart Audra Lockwood, at the Art634 gallery show from last summer.
Schlenker’s Sandwich Shop
If you’re a Jackson native, and you haven’t been to Schlenker’s for a hamburger, shame on you.
While I’m partial to the burgers at West Point Lounge, on the West side of town, a stop into Schlenker’s is never wasted.
Good, old-fashioned hamburgers and fries.
Renting Space
As I plan for my next portrait project, the idea of renting a studio space keeps popping up. Wouldn’t it be nice to have my own dedicated creative space, instead of relying on environmental portraits at other people’s studios or homes?
So I started shopping around, and asking friends and colleagues about potential studios.
The kicker is the set of conditions I’ve set on myself: strong window light, with an east or west-facing window, semi-centrally located in Jackson (for easy access), plenty of wiggle room for materials, and convenient availability to fit my work and family schedule. I’ve seen a few places around town that fit the bill, but another complication is that I’ll only need the space for a month or two. If I rent, I’m not sure how many landlords would be up for a 60 day lease.
But we’ll see. I’m starting to make phone calls and get my bearings. It’s a whole new world.
See You At Sandhill Crane Vineyards
Here’s something exciting: I’m hosting an artists reception at Sandhill Crane Vineyards on Friday, May 6 for my Artists In Jackson project.
My dear artistic friend Colleen here (one of the artists featured!) is helping me with event and art details. It’s a great location, and I can’t wait to throw a big party for all my new artistic comrades.
If you’re in Michigan this May, please join me!
Artists In Jackson: Doug Jones
“This place lacks confidence. That comes out in so many ways, and it’s important to me for people to recognize that they’re valuable.”
A few years back, while living out west, Doug Jones came across an art gallery in Sante Fe, New Mexico, and noticed the gallery was featuring a single artist.
Doug was attracted to the work’s bright and bold colors, so he walked in. After talking with the gallery director, he found out the artist – who was selling his work for thousands of dollars – was from a little town in Michigan.
The town? Doug’s town. Our town. Jackson, Michigan.
That discovery got Doug thinking.
“There was this fire inside of me that wondered, ‘Why do I have to move away from Jackson? Why can’t someone make it as an artist here?’”
Now, it’s almost a mission for him: finding untapped potential and creativity, and letting it loose on the world.
It wasn’t always that way for Doug, a corporate lawyer turned community developer turned painter and art community organizer. He was going to turn his University of Michigan education into big money somewhere outside of Jackson.
But a couple of things happened that brought him back. For one, a trip to New York during college switched on the aesthetic part of his brain. For two, working at Lifeways helped him identify with the needs of the community, spiritually and artistically.
“I found myself surrounded by incredible history and remarkable talent in Jackson,” Doug says. “And people here didn’t seem to recognize it. So I started to encourage people around me to paint.”
That encouragement came in the form of live painting and art events – bringing creative people out of the wilderness, in a sense. It all comes from understanding what the power of positive reinforcement and encouragement can do.
“I remember what it was like when someone first took notice of me,” Doug says. “If I can encourage someone to do something positive, I’m passing on the beauty and blessings that I’ve been given.”
Personally, art acts as an outlet for the suffering and pain Doug sees in the world. Working with Lifeways and other non-profits, he saw and heard gut-wrenching stories from clients about pain and loss. He saw a tough guy break down in front of him, and he helped a girl struggling with suicide.
“I saw things that helped me realize how fleeting life can be,” Doug says. “With all the stuff going on around me, I have to get it out and do something with it.”
Doug recognizes the pressures that a small, blue-collar town can put on up-and-coming artists. Helping artists realize that what they’re doing is valuable? That’s the goal.
“That self-actualization makes my entire world better,” he says. “It lets me know that the generations that come after us will be better because of what’s happening today.”
While there is more happening in the Jackson arts community – a Public Arts Commission, more and more shows popping up, collectives (like his own, The Singularity) forming – Doug sees a lack of self-confidence in town. One way to help is to bring in more creative professionals from outside.
“People recognize what Jackson has on the outside,” he says. “We just need people here to feel that, too.”
DougJones.art
Artists In Jackson: Melissa Morse
“It’s true for most artists, but I’m an extremely emotionally-driven artist. I want people to feel something when they look at it. I put my heart and soul into what I do.”
You don’t have to look far to find great talent, says Melissa Morse.
“All the real artists aren’t in the big cities,” she says. “They’re everywhere you go. And we have our own arena of talent here in Jackson.”
Melissa would know. As a painter and mixed media artist, she’s seen what it’s like to be an artist in the biggest city – New York. She traveled to the Big Apple in college and lived there for many years as an artist.
After several years in New York, she came back to Jackson wiser and embraced her home community.
“It was the best thing for me, to stay in Jackson and raise my daughter,” Melissa says. “Coming back here, you realize that you can run all over looking for a place to be happy. But if you have inner peace, you can be happy in Jackson.”
Melissa explores happiness, loss, and faith through her art. She’s also a bit of a self-made artist, stretching her own canvases and creating her own frames from recycled materials.
“I think it makes for a better product. You put more into it,” she says.
Putting more into her art is a goal, Melissa says, whether that’s trying out new styles or putting pieces together to make something new. It helps her express what’s inside.
“It’s true for most artists, but I’m an extremely emotionally driven artist,” Melissa says. “I want people to feel something when they look at it. I put my heart and soul into what I do.”
And as is true for most people, that heart and soul can go through dark times. That’s where art can help, like when Melissa lost her parents.
Melissa participated in Grand Rapids’s ArtPrize showcase the year after her mother died. Melissa doubted that she was even worthy of being there. But the year before, her mother encouraged her to participate in the event.
“There was so much healing in that,” Melissa says. “It was a difficult journey, but in the end, when I was there and sharing my story, it was just what I needed to do.”
Being an artist involves going through ups and downs. It’s true of creatives everywhere. But it is possible to be successful in Jackson, Melissa says. Artists just have to be willing to communicate and work together.
Take art shows. She notices that when there’s low turnout at an area show, it’s often because people are what she calls “touch lazy.”
“I see a little bit of procrastination,” Melissa says. “Someone will say, ‘Maybe I’ll go to it,’ and then not show up. Something needs to shake it up a bit.”
In her own creative life, Melissa is the opposite of lazy. Recently, she became an art teacher for kids at Ella Sharp Museum during their summer camp series.
“It’s the best kind of challenge, working with kids that age. But it’s so rewarding,” she says. “When you can learn as much as the other people are learning, I really love that.”