We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jamie Schwaba a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jamie, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

In 2020 during the height of COVID lockdown’s I was was the lucky recipient of a grant from Springboard for the Arts which allowed me to carry out my Sharing Creativy project. The goal of the Sharing Creativity project was to combat isolation, while also providing supplies and a bit of instruction to get the community engaged and creating. Over 50 participants received a free bag with art supplies and an instruction packet to help them create 4 projects that are designed to help them connect, create, & spread joy. The participants ranged in age from toddlers to older adults, hailed from the Winona and the greater Winona area including St. Charles, Dakota, Fountain City, Galesville, La Crosse & Minnesota City and also include participants from Home & Community Options (an organization that works with adults with disablities), Winona Friendship Center (a senior center), and Project FINE (a local orgnaization that welcomes immigrant families). The program was kicked off on with a Zoom gathering to unpack the supplies, virtually meet and participate in a fun warm-up drawing activity. The joy than spread with “Happy Notes” being left for family members, designed to be dropped off to be included in Thanksgiving boxes to Friendship Center Members who are currently isolated in their homes, snuck into books in a little free library and more. The second project was “Kindness Rocks” with the object of decorating rocks for others to discover in public spaces as well as tips on sharing and searching for rocks through in Winona County through a Facebook group, The third project was “Whimiscal Postcards” in which each participant was provided postcard blanks to decorate and enourcaged to send them to a long-lost friend, a relative, a teacher, a medical professional or hand in the cards to me so I could pass them along to The Winona Friendship Center so they could send it along to an older adult who could use a smile. The final project was to decorate a quilt square to contribute to a “community quilt” that was then returned to me via a no contact drop off, assembled, showed off during a Zoom and finally given to a lucky participant whose name was drawn.
During and after the project I loved hearing the stories about how people left surprise notes on a friend’s car, tried a new art supply, or spent time with a family member creating.
This project helped me stay connected, meet new community members and explore the power of visual arts both as a way to connect and as a way to escape even during the most challenging times. As a past theatre professional and arts administrator I had experienced the impact of live performing arts and in-person classes but COVID provided new challenges, especially for performing arts. I had been a longtime dabbler in visual arts, but it was in 2020 that I really became hooked and four years later I still find that my two favorite things about being an artist is that the time creating is one of the only times that I am able to fully relax and get into a state of flow and I love the connections I have made. I constantly connect with new people from small business owners whom I have created pieces for, other artists at meet-ups, and even passerby’s who stop to visit when I am plein air painting outside.

Here is a link to copy of an article in a local paper about the project:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nM3tULVAzLZElyfBZaYDXPah9DuWOUo8/view?usp=drive_link

Here is a short video I did of photos that were shared by participants:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rKz2dAuqOPJFFP5xrUw3Wm_39j53bYbz/view?usp=sharing

Jamie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a Winona based mixed media artist. I selected the name “Schwaba Drama” not only for the fun ringing sound but because my visual art is inspired by my lifelong love and work in theatre and music. My journey to selling art began in pursuit of funding a trip to New York City to see a piece of my work hanging in the new Museum of Broadway near Times Square (selected through a fan art contest).

Some of my favorite art mediums are oil pastels, watercolors, Pastel Pencils, and PanPastels. I have recently began to experiment with plein air drawing and painting (creating outside). This summer my work is being featured in the Artists of the Refuge exhibit at Elmaro Vineyard in Trempleau, WI and a whimsical piece of the Rock Island Lighthouse in Northern MN will be in the River Arts Alliance member show.

I am currently working on preparing for my third solo exhibit entitled “Driftless Past and Present” which will be held at Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts in Winona, MN Aug.12 – Sept.22, 2024. The exhibit will feature watercolors, oil pastels, and more, created on surfaces including vintage atlas pages & sheet music. The colorful exhibit will be tied together by the common thread of being connected to the Driftless Region.

The Driftless Region is the Midwest region comprising of portions of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, & Illinois, including Winona. Since moving to the area 10 years ago, I have become as enamored as so many who live here with the beauty, people, and places here and I have fallen in love with trying to create pieces related to this special place. I hope this exhibit will create a platform for conversations, education about the local flora, fauna, businesses, and history, sparking memories and capturing the beauty of the Driftless Region. In the spirit of the urban sketching movement I hope that my pieces tell a story of special places in the Driftless and serve as a record of time and place. This exhibit and two free visual art workshops are made possible thanks to a grant from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council (SEMAC).

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

As mentioned previously the two things that I value you most about artistic practice is:

1) Art gives me the opportunity to get lost in “flow”. On top of my visual art I work full-time, live with my amazing husband, teenage son, dog, and two grand-guinea pigs, and I am a Board member for the community theatre my son started, Sugarloaf Theatre. So though it can be tricky to find time, I find my day does not feel complete if I don’t find some time to squirrel away on creating art, it feels like one of the only times I can really focus and loose track of time.

2) Connecting through art. I am a full-blown extrovert and I love interacting with people and bringing joy through art. I have had the opportunity to create pieces for friends and strangers of beloved animals who have passed, helped commemorate special days such as anniversaries and graduations. I have reconnected with old summer camp and high school friends and more. It brings me so much joy to know that I have created pieces that hold special meaning to the owner, I never expected to being doing this, but I just LOVE IT!

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
The arts can contribute to the quality of life in the community as they provide opportunities for community members to connect, learn, and problem solve. When communities provide spaces for artist and arts organizations to create they provide opportunities for people to come together to experience unique things that can entertain and or educate. Having a strong arts program in a community can make a community a fun and great place to live.

Society can invest in artists to help solve community problems by utilizing artists to beautify communities through public art, to tell stories that need to be told, and more. We are lucky in Minnesota, but there is still some work to be done, especially in areas outside of the Twin Cities to resources. Access to free and low-cost resources such as artist consultations, training, and resources lab through Springboard for the Arts and the Innovation Lab at the St. Paul Public Library are amazing resources and examples of ways artists can be supported. Locally in Winona I am grateful for the opportunities that the River Arts Alliance and MN Marine Art Museum offer.

Individuals can help artists by attending events, liking/ sharing on social media when they see art or arts events they like and want to see thrive, and supporting funding for programs such as the Minnesota State Arts Board (including regional arts councils) and the National Endowment for the Arts.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

The arts can contribute to the quality of life in the community as they provide opportunities for community members to connect, learn, and problem solve. When communities provide spaces for artist and arts organizations to create they provide opportunities for people to come together to experience unique things that can entertain and or educate. Having a strong arts program in a community can make a community a fun and great place to live.

Society can invest in artists to help solve community problems by utilizing artists to beautify communities through public art, to tell stories that need to be told, and more. We are lucky in Minnesota, but there is still some work to be done, especially in areas outside of the Twin Cities to resources. Access to free and low-cost resources such as artist consultations, training, and resources lab through Springboard for the Arts and the Innovation Lab at the St. Paul Public Library are amazing resources and examples of ways artists can be supported.

Individuals can help artists by attending events, liking/ sharing on social media when they see art or arts events they like and want to see thrive, and supporting funding for programs such as the Minnesota State Arts Board and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/jamieschwaba
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamieschwaba/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086018207271
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamieschwaba/
• Other: https://riverartsalliance.org/members/artists/jamie-schwaba/

Image Credits
Caroline Walsh designed my logo (the line drawing portrait. (FYI since you are more Twin City based pieces- Caffetto & state outline with special places in the TC.