Every once in a while we have the good fortune of working on a project that we feel truly matters, a project that we’ll still be thinking about years from now. Maybe even something we can imagine telling our grandkids about – surely you’ve had moments like that where something you did in your professional life really mattered?
Pamela Machala
Right now I am working on an EP titled “Taboos” due to release later this year. It will be a collection of songs about topics that are common to the human experience, but aren’t considered “polite conversation.” There’s a song that explores fear of death, another that explores jealousy, and another that is way more explicitly sexual than anything I’ve written before. It feels really important to me to record and release these songs, both to honor all facets of myself and also to let others know that they are not alone in their experiences. Read more>>
Nicholas McGhee
One of the most meaningful projects I’ve had the pleasure of participating in was taking a repertory piece from our dance company LitvakDance, “Ritual” to a dance festival in Orlando, FL in June 2021. There were many reasons this project was so meaningful to me. For one, throughout my dance training, I always dreamed of traveling specifically for dance and to perform. Seeing new places, traveling with fellow dancers, and meeting other like-minded artists has such a profound way of placing a very pivotal marker of time in your life. It was so inspiring to share a stage with incredibly talented individuals, it was a cornucopia of different perspectives. Read more>>
Ebony Lewis
One of the most meaningful projects I have ever done was a project with YMCA Park South, Mayor Star Council and Neiman Marcus. I had been working in the Queen City neighborhood on another project and decided to continue the work in the area. I spoke with the Director and we secured a location as the children’s learning center on site. I then was able to secure a sponsorship for the project through Neiman Marcus “The HeART of Neiman’s”. Read more>>
Tessa Crownster
During September of last year, my friends and I envisioned a photoshoot which would bring together cosplayers and photographers for common goal. The focus of the meetup was to create photos and videos that highlight a series of custom made special latex suits created by the Russian artist Andromeda Latex. These suits are the most accurate and realistic versions of the main character’s plugsuits from “Neon Genesis Evangelion”. This series heavily features the concept of characters having cloned versions of themselves, which meant we could all pose together and it would fit the show’s narrative. Read more>>
BoogieLo
The most meaningful project we’ve worked on is actually our upcoming project titled, “Luv Life” as of right now. It’s a double meaning, the process of enjoying everything life has to offer good and bad, but also dealing with an actual romance factor in terms of one’s love life. Two things which we believe shape individuals into certain beliefs and lifestyles. It not only serves as something that the majority can relate to but it’s also stories from our actual lives that organically came together by simply… living life. It means a lot to us because as artists we’ve always wanted people to get to know us through music and we feel like this project came together organically through life experiences allowing us to piece it together and form it into this project in which we feel does a good job at representing what life for people in their 20s could be like as well as these personal stories that we’ve experienced that also fit the narrative. Read more>>
Nilsa Noel
It’s actually the project that I am working on now. Over the past couple of years, I’ve completely changed my lifestyle. I use to have poor eating habits and a slew of health problems, including hair loss. Since I started living a healthier lifestyle, my hair has grown back, my health has drastically increased, I am no longer on any medication, and I feel so much better overall. I made a YouTube video talking about my journey, specifically the hair loss, and it now has over 150,000 views! I received so many questions and have helped so many people since then. I started a blog (iamnilsa.com) and decided to create a course to help other people transition to a healthier lifestyle. Read more>>
Deirdre Denali Rosenberg
From the time I was a very little kiddo up in my parent’s hiking baby backpack, I can remember being enamored by all things alpine. The scents, the colors, the feel of the air and the sounds. All totally unique to these wondrous landscapes above the clouds. There are many moments from those earliest memories that stand out to me as things that have influenced the trajectory of my life, but one is a real stand-out. Hearing the mighty squeaks of the American Pika, greeting me as I arrived at their talus homes, as the sun was juuust popping over the mountains. I found magic in that. And three decades later, I still do. Read more>>
David Barker
A project that began in 2018 focused on the love letters between my parents during World War II. My dad died in 2005 and my mom in 2010. After she passed, my siblings and I went through the process of clearing out every room and closet. And boxes of letters were found on a shelf in my parents’ bedroom closet. I quickly recognized the historical value of the letters, and I scanned each of them, labeled and categorized them and placed them all in a large zip file which I made available to all family members. But the idea of a play did not happen for years. “It is a true story. A genuine love-at-first-sight story. It all began in 1941 as the war in Europe was growing and the US was training people to deploy and fight for freedom and crush the advances of Adolf Hitler. Read more>>
Bjorn Bengtsson
The most meaningful project I’ve worked on and I am still working within is the project of sharing God’s love through art. In my early days I felt creative and free, self reliant, and inspired to express the truths I felt within myself in art. I felt the love of God almighty within me, Who saved me from separation, bringing me into the sacred embrace of Love. I laid under a tree on the coast, praying for God to come to me, that I’d feel loved and be love. Just then a leaf landed on my heart and with it the full heartbeat of the Creator. My life belonged to Love itself. A few years later I sat beneath a tree in my backyard, the wind blew through the leaves and through my hair all the same, I leaned my head to the tree. Read more>>
Michelle McGinty
Without questions, DRA Collective’s most meaningful project is First Place (www.firstplaceaz.com) The Collective was started by Denise D. Resnik in 1986 prior to her having children. When her youngest son was diagnosed with autism many years later, Denise become more than a young entrepreneur, she was now a mother on a mission. Doctors, at the time, told our founder “to love but plan to institutionalize your son.” Fortunately, for the rest of the world, that was not an option for Denise’s family. She launched the internationally recognized Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC) in 1997, SARRC continues to help families navigate diagnosis and interventions through adulthood. Read more>>
Jennifer Steidley
I recently designed and self-published my first Tarot Deck, called Tarot Disassembled. Tarot has been a lifelong hobby and interest for me, so being able to create my own deck and see it brought to life in print has been an absolute dream come true. To back up a bit, I have always been fascinated by the language of symbols. That is what drew me to my career in graphic design as well as sparked my fascination with Tarot when I discovered my first deck in college. Tarot itself has a long, complex and somewhat mysterious history that can be traced back to the 1400s in Italy. Read more>>
Campbell Crates
Back in December I recorded my next project which is a conceptual EP covering topics of mental health. I had written a song last spring called May Flowers that’s about the concept of spring cleaning your brain. I liked the song but didn’t know where it fit yet. In November of last year I was starting to fall into the old habit of seasonal depression. That inspired me to write a song called Ice Age which is about getting into seasonal depression and how you feel once you’re there. Something within me clicked and I knew that the two songs had to fit together. That’s when I had the idea to make a 3 song EP with the final song being a cover of Summertime by Sam Cooke. The project starts with Ice Age, moves into May Flowers, then finishes off with Summertime which I plan on looping back to Ice Age once again so that the project represents the fact that seasonal depression always comes back. If people choose to listen to the project multiple times in one sitting they can experience my emotional journey in the true way in which I experience it and perhaps relate to it on their own. Read more>>
Ryan Buynak
I have been working on a novel for over ten years, and it is finally close to actually being unleashed into the world. As a labor of love, persistence, patience and life, seeing the release on the horizon is an indescribable feeling. Just like the book itself, it is visceral and real. It is meaningful for the hard work that has gone into but also the subject matter: it is about a writer written off; a sub-culture, blue-collar creative who tasted a little bit of success, and then – for a mysterious reason you discover in the book – disappeared, and now he is trying to get his life back on track. It is called Eating Dirt, and it is a funny, heartbreaking, cinematic story of redemption. Read more>>
Alexis Faille
Working in the wedding industry, every weekend is a meaningful project. Providing my craft in the form of flowers for couples on their most important day is the greatest reward. I really do love love and love my work. The bridal bouquet is the first task done when working on a wedding. It sets the tone for the entire rest of the florals for the event. A lot of thought, intuition, love and process goes into that bridal bouquet. When I arrive at the venue with that bridal bouquet in hand and deliver it to the bride I have hopes that they see that bouquet and feel truly “seen” by their florist and vendor. I have made an investment into their love that is translated into flowers. Watching the rest of their wedding day unfold and sharing moments of laughter, tears of joy and friends and family moments shared – those memories last a lifetime. I am truly blessed to celebrate love every single weekend. Read more>>
Kristen Hess
In recent years, I have started doing live event paintings, mostly at weddings, but also for fundraisers or other occasions. This year I was invited to paint at a women of influence retreat hosted by my church. The girls in the church came with their moms, grandmothers, or mentors to enjoy a weekend to connect and grow together. The whole weekend had a creative flare to it, with a collaborative painting activity, and a time of worship led by one of the youth girls, her mother and grandmother. I painted while the pastor’s wife taught about unexpected events happening in Israel’s history, and the tendency to not be able to see God’s purposes. Over one hundred times, the Bible describes God as the potter and us at the clay he is molding and shaping. The imagery is meant to be a comfort when we cannot see God’s end vision for everything that happens to us, and also a reminder that he is the Creator and we are the creation. Read more>>
Janina Scarlet
As a survivor of trauma, abuse, and assault, it is very important to me to support other trauma survivors in every way I am able. As a trauma specialist, I work with clients who experienced trauma. As an author, it is very meaningful to me to support people via books. I focus my writing on letting people know that they are not alone in their struggles and that they will get through the challenge that they are facing. One of the most meaningful projects I’ve ever worked on was writing the “Super-Women: Superhero Therapy for Women Battling Depression, Anxiety and Trauma” book. This book is my letter of support to all women who have ever experienced trauma, abuse, or prejudice. I intentionally designed the book to read as group therapy, so that as a reader, you can interact with the characters in the book and feel supported by them. Read more>>
Ivy Guild
The Keeling (2021), my MFA thesis exhibition, is one of the most meaningful project I have ever completed. The work represented the end to a rigorous graduate degree, which was made longer by the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in the middle of my three-year program. This exhibition represents the largest installation I have ever undertaken and was included in an article by Hyperallergic. The following is an excerpt from my written thesis “The Encyclopedia of Sublimation” (2021) about the exhibition and some of its backstory: “The Keeling (2021) is an amalgamation of aloe corpses, fictional prosthetics, speculative organisms, and contemporary fossils, among other things. After months of relocating rare plant specimens from the UCI Arboretum to help them escape demolition, why did I find myself renting U-Haul vans to haul dead plant limbs to my studio? To me, these artifacts are loaded with meaning and potential. You say organic waste, I say found objects. Read more>>
Bennett Litwin
Frackers, a feature film, was created with my son to inspire and entertain while delivering a subtle, deep point of view. We wrote, produced, funded, cast, the film. My partner and son Adam, delivered a wonderful, comedic, yet real performance along with a beautiful cast of real humans and aliens. Read more>>
Harry Eaddy
Starting DBFF is one of the most meaningful efforts I have ever undertaken. I am not a Creative in the sense most people think of someone that is a visual artist or musician. My life was spent in high tech working with engineers, scientists and researchers. I always spent most of my leisure time being involved in the arts and being a supporter financially and volunteering my time. DBFF does 2 things 1. shares Black culture 2. builds community and these 2 things are very important to us. We allow filmmakers and creatives to showcase their stories and we put them on center stage so they have a platform and brand that is aligned with their values. Culturally our stories have not been told by us and DBFF allows creatives that opportunity so there is no misrepresentation. Usually it is a very joyful and celebrative story and even if it is about pain there is an audience that understands it. Read more>>
Cass Wyant
The most challenging and meaningful project I have ever taken on was the “Dove of Peace” mural for a church in Plum City, Wisconsin. The ceiling’s pitch, angle, and curves made it extremely difficult to paint an image accurately as well as proportionally. I had never painted on this type of pitch, let alone on this type of surface at 40-50 ft in the air. There was a lot of reaching, straining, neck bending, and head tilting during the process. Needless to say, I have an even greater admiration for the Sistine Chapel. Most people ask me what the most difficult thing about painting large scale or painting a mural is. My response is that when you paint on a canvas or something on ground level, it is easy to step back frequently and look at your progress. When you start working on a large scale, are up high, and so close to the wall, you cannot see how something is truly looking. Read more>>
John Cutrone
There have been so many meaningful projects, but some end up having a more lasting impact than expected. This was the case with one of my internships in grad school; it was at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Community in Maine. It’s the only active Shaker Community left, anywhere. I went there to work with Brother Arnold Hadd to create a book about Deacon James Holmes, who was the first printer at the Community. He lived there in the late 1700s and early 1800s. The project itself was amazing, and it was one of the best summers of my life. I spent my days researching original documents and Shaker Gift Drawings in the Shaker Library, then writing, setting type, printing, and later binding and even learning about natural dyes. Read more>>
Linda East
Because of COVID, ECHOrchestra sought to provide additional methods of offering music to our community. We knew that many people would not feel comfortable in a crowded space, so we created a new series of small concerts with small ensembles of musicians and called it “ECHOes in the Area.” These have included outdoor events at Parkway Plaza and CityCentre and other limited seating musical evenings at local restaurants. The popularity of these events has resulted in a decision to keep this series in our season offerings for now and the foreseeable future. The other benefit to these events is that they have actually shown a profit, as opposed to many arts events that are possible only because of large donations from the public. The development of this addition to the ECHOrchestra image has been very gratifying to me. Read more>>
Dr. Chris McDaniel
The most meaningful project I’ve ever worked on is a documentary I made called MUSIC CITY USA. I lived the first 7 years of my life in a tiny little town in South Central Kentucky called Park City. Sure, sure, Utah gets the fame, but Park City is pretty great too, It actually used to be called Glasgow Junction because of a train stop there, but my grandfather owned a show cave tourist attraction and felt that our little town was the gateway to the neighboring Mammoth Cave National Park, so Park City was born. Anyway, when you live in a town of 520 people, you have to go to the big city for everything; airports, shopping malls, nice restaurants, concerts and even new shoes. Nashville was our big city. Read more>>
Ginger Walker
I grew up in Dallas and my Dad worked for a printing company called Williamson Printing. I grew up running in between the huge reams of paper and clacking printing presses…playing capture the flag and raiding the vending machines. I started painting with inks several Years ago when my Dad was sick with Pancreatic Cancer. Something nostalgic and healing happens when I work with the inks. My Dad passed away the first few week of the pandemic and I started painting rainbows as a sign of hope. The rainbow art has been an ongoing project that has helped me heal and get through some of my grief and anxiety of the pandemic. Read more>>
Julie Cohn
Throughout my creative life I have studied artists who are multi-disciplined. They make their art but also foray into the design of everyday objects, architecture, set design, and other collaborations. Collaboration is at the root of my creative process. Two years ago we were approached to design a collection of jewelry inspired by the work of mid century designer/artist/sound artist/jewelry designer etc. Harry Bertoia for a retrospective of his work at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas. The themes in his work often dealt with natural forms which mine do as well. Collaborating with my staff on this project was like jamming with a beloved musician. Read more>>
Karen Edgerly
“Enhancing Art through Metalsmithing” is a project that started nine years ago at a board meeting at Boulder Metalsmithing Assocation (BoMA). During the meeting, I expressed my interest in educating teachers about metalsmithing. And that we should start a program where BoMA trained art teachers in metalsmithing and after the training teachers could borrow kits with enough materials and tools to take to their own classrooms to teach their students. BoMA jumped on the idea and applied for funding. Well, eight years later we have four school districts involved, have trained 25+ teachers, and reached over 1000+ students. Since the projects we teach vary yearly, many of the teachers have come back for more training. Read more>>
Lovejoy
The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is the one I am currently nurturing. Teaching people to enjoy the painting process, showing adults that they are creative, and encouraging them to bring creative outlets into their lives. I taught first-time and beginner painting in San Diego for over a decade. Many of my students would lament how they wished their friend or family member could take one of my classes. That planted a seed in my brain and I started making youtube tutorials with the intention of making my popular “Paint your Pet” class into an online version so anyone in the world could take my course. In the manner of 4 years, I have produced over 400 youtube videos, completed the Paint your Pet online course with 8 other courses for first-time and beginner painters. Read more>>
Mason Adams
Funny you should mention, “projects.” This whole thing has been a project, HA! Mason Adams Project formed as the full late in 2017, this lineup was not solidified until early 2018. From the beginning, I was teaching myself to play guitar while simultaneous writing new material. That was a project all by its self. After finding the right guys for the job, it took us a while to fully capture the sound that we wanted to achieve. Finding our sound was a project. We have this gritty, folky, punky, grungy, rocky, dancey thing going on and are pretty unique in that sense. We learned so much early on when recording our first Ep, that we actually called it ‘Lessons.’ Each step of the way has presented us with a whole other challenge or project to manage. Read more>>
Ruben Chato Hinojosa
Selected as the Official San Diego International Film Festival Awards Artist 2014-2020mI had recently survived a brain anyrusem surgery in 2012. Some people would have given up and take it easy, but that has never been my path in life. I’m an Apache and a military warrior of foreign wars. I was invited to an actors party at a beautiful home in Rancho Santa Fe, CA. I met actor Randolph Mantooth and his Film Producer sister Tonya Mantooth. They invited me to the 2013 San Diego International Film Festival as an American Indian Actor. I invited more American Indian actors, Saginaw Grant, Alan Tafoya, Sam Bearpaw, Marisa Quinn, Bella King and local Tribal Leaders. Read more>>
Jamison Weddle
The most meaningful project I have ever worked on happens to be the album I am currently working on with Nils Lofgren. (Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young) This is my 6th full-length album I have worked on with Nils. We have become great friends and it is such a pleasure to work with such amazing talent and such a kind person. We just recently recorded a song that RIngo Starr (Beatles) played drums on. It is such a thrill to be able to work with such a legend and pioneer in music. It is not only the caliber of musicianship but also the complete attention to detail that makes a project like this so meaningful. Read more>>
Alessandra Bosco
After several years of being in front of the camera, and dedicating my free time on doing photo shoots while living Stateside, I have worked on my own photographic project . I did decide to put together a calendar that would be distributed among military members, due to my affiliation at the time with the military. I was able to talk about my ideas with a famous Italian photographer who has worked with a few national celebrities over the years. I have coordinated the photo shoot, wardrobe, timing, locations and other important details in order to achieve the best results. Read more>>
Anel Anaya
Dia De Los Muertos. It’s been elleven years since my lovely Mother GRACIELA took her last 3 breaths in my mouth, and rolled her eyes all the way to never see the light on earth and put me as her makeup artist after her passing for the last goodbye. She always told me I had a gift and that one day she was going to need it, and I was going to understand. To me, every day is dia de los muertos every day people die, and they put me as their last wishes and what better way for your love ones to remember you looking beautiful and not like the walking dead.. I do make-up to the soul and all in loving memory of my Beautiful Mother R.I.P. Read more>>
Thomas Helton
I have a number of projects and they are all meaningful. I think The Core Trio was pretty meaningful. The Core Trio started after another group I was in disbanded. I put together a three piece band with Richard Cholakian on drums, Seth Paynter on sax and myself on bass around 2009. I had been playing “free improv” for awhile at that point and although I was enjoying exploring this genre, I wanted to do it differently. Or at least differently than I had experienced. So we began improvising in a more “structured” format. Giving each other space and support. Read more>>
Ernestine Hopkins
The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is Women’s Empowerment Coaching in which my mission is to empower girls and women to overcome adversities and trauma and become the best version of themselves. A few years ago, I lost someone who was sexually abused as a child, was in a physically abusive marriage, and as a result battled with drug addiction, depression and anxiety. She was unable to see any other reality other than what she experienced and was not properly equipped to fight. Becoming a certified Women’s Empowerment Coach and a trained trauma debriefing specialist was important to me because it enables me to equip women to breathe, laugh, love, and live again, despite any of their life experiences. Read more>>
Michelle Noah
The Topic of Enneagrams kept coming up with my adult daughters. One daughter is a Marriage and Family Therapist and the other daughter works as a marketing director of a Museum. I felt very left out and could never understand what they were talking about much less remember my Enneagram “Number”. So I decided to learn and research Enneagrams… That began a 2 year project. I started by creating a notebook of information about Enneagrams that I thought was useful and inspiring. I read books and went to workshops. I decide to create a series of paintings based on the 9 Enneagram personality types. Read more>>