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Apr 7, 2026
The Open Studio Interview - Sarah Miller
The Open Studio Interview - Sarah Miller
00:00
36:59
Transcript
0:00
One, two, three.
0:25
[upbeat piano music] Hello, and welcome to the Open Studio Newsletter.
0:39
My name is Ali Marcus, and I'm sitting down today with Sarah Miller, the artist and creator of Show Your Art, the website and guidebook that is dedicated to empowering new and emerging artists to, yes, show their art all around the Pacific Northwest.
0:54
Sarah, thanks for being here today. Thank you. I'm happy to be here. I know with work like yours, it's so detail-oriented and spread out across now 200 venues around the region. Mm-hmm.
1:06
Uh, I know it can be hard in the day-to-day to step back and consider the big picture, but I think you have single-handedly altered the landscape for emerging artists in the Pacific Northwest, and I'd really like to talk about how that came to be.
1:20
Wow, what a [laughs] what a beginning. [laughs] Single-handedly, that's- We're gonna start out strong... [laughs] that sounds good. [laughs] So tell me about your work. How did it start? Yeah.
1:32
Uh, I started this project, let's say, officially in, uh, January of 2025. I don't really have a cool origin story. Uh, I thought long and hard about how to succinctly say h- how this started and where it all began.
1:48
But, um, I felt that...
1:51
I did start asking around whether or not a resource like this existed, and it was clear to me that there wasn't, like, a succinct, all-in-one place where a list of venues that work with new and emerging artists was, is.
2:05
And so I just started the process quite deliberately and slowly, reaching out to venues one by one, see- gauging their interest.
2:14
In my 20s, I worked as a full-time greeting card artist, uh, and taught classes, uh, in creativity in the past. So I kind of used the knowledge of, like, reaching out to a bunch of different places, uh, in a way that,
2:30
uh, understandably, there will be some rejection, there will be some pushback, um, and kind of t- took that into account in figuring out how to best, uh, present this to artists.
2:42
Artists who are worried about the rejection. That's right. Yeah. Yes. Please know, dear artists, if you're listening, [laughs] I have been rejected so many times. You do start to get used to it.
2:52
I can chime in on that as well. I'm going on, like, 25 years of rejection. So I get it. That's right. [laughs] You become a little weathered, a little older from it, but...
3:02
[laughs] Well, I first heard of you on a Facebook group. Oh, nice. Yeah. Okay.
3:08
You posted about the fact you were making the book, and I, I was like, "Heck yeah, I'm gonna tell you about my venue so people can show their art." That's right, yes.
3:16
You were one of the very first people that caught onto my little- [laughs]... uh, project, uh, before, probably before it really wa- became a project, um- Wow... to what it was today. So thank you.
3:27
You were one of the- [laughs]... the first people. [laughs] So your first edition had 100 venues in it last year, and you've just published your second edition that has doubled in size. Yes, just over 200 venues.
3:41
I believe 204. Did those venues create a waiting list, and that's why you did it? Or did you go out and seek more? How did that happen? I, I did more research. I expanded.
3:51
I reached out to the old venues and asked them if they wanted to be a part of the project again. Uh, this whole process has been such a experiment. There's an experimental nature to it, like art, to see what comes of it.
4:07
But a- after a year of doing this work, there is still so much energy around this project, not just with venues, but with artists and community members, and, uh, people reach out to me all the time.
4:19
And the shift has happened where venues are now reaching out to me, and I'm not doing all of the outreach, uh, which is lovely. That means it's working. Pretend I've never heard of Show Your Art before.
4:29
How would you describe it? I would describe it as a resource center for new and emerging artists to find venues that personally speak to them and their, their artistic sensibilities and goals.
4:42
I try to, um, engage venues in a dialogue that gets them on board with me posting about them and what they're looking for.
4:53
A lot of venues don't have access to artists, and a lot of artists don't know where the venues are. So I did notice a gap in that, and I'm trying to bridge that in a community-focused, uh, way.
5:05
So you've built relationships with venues and artists all over the place. Yes. How far geographically does it go? This book, uh, in particular, though the focus is still mainly on Seattle, so I w- if...
5:21
I'm not great at math, but [laughs] let's say 70% Seattle, and then 30% from Olympia to Everett, and then, um, east, uh, to Snoqualmie.
5:35
The reason why I decided to expand beyond Seattle is if you want to... let's say you want to be an artist as, like, that's your main, that's your goal, is to be a full-time artist,
5:46
keeping yourself solely in a cityscape, I think, is not beneficial to you to reach new audiences and to, like, get out of your comfort zone.
5:57
And there are so many, oh my gosh, in this experience, there's so many cool venues that aren't directly in the city.
6:03
So-Seattle has a bunch of amazing venues, but going outside of Seattle too, you really get to experience all types of, um, different environments, which I think is great for an artist to grow.
6:15
Yeah, and also there's a lot of well-known affordability issues with, you know, prime real estate in Seattle or in city centers in the suburbs as well.
6:24
So I'm sure when you go farther afield, you become more accessible to different populations. Totally. I mean, there's artists everywhere, right?
6:32
And, and all, not just artists, people in general, they wanna connect with their communities.
6:38
And so I think that this project, whether this was my intention or not, kind of gets you to look at, like, your own neighborhood and your own, uh,
6:48
nearby areas as a way to engage in community-building that maybe you ne- you might have walked by this place a million times, but never been inside, so. Yeah.
6:58
And the book, the guidebook is split into regions and neighborhoods to help you do that, right? Yes, correct. And there's also a new map. There is. [laughs] Great segue. [laughs] Yes. So within the book, it is, uh...
7:14
I, I put it in different regions to kind of get your bearings on, like, if you live in North Seattle, this is where things are, or, um, South Seattle, Central Seattle.
7:24
And then within that, that's where the smaller neighborhoods are for Seattle. And then outside of it, I, um, categorized it by, uh, city or town. And then the map is just this... You know, artists are visual people.
7:37
We need to understand, like, where are we in relation to other places, right? Especially if you're, especially if you've just moved to the city or you've just moved to a new area, you may not...
7:48
Sometimes neighborhoods go by three different names, right? So you just need to, like, visually [laughs] see where these places are. What is Uptown? Yes. [laughs] Yes.
7:57
The other cool thing about the map is that, you know, in the process of doing this project, I have physically been driving to most of these venues and dropping off books and introducing myself.
8:09
The book, to me, is this, like, offering I can give venues as, like, a way to, like, say thank you and a way to be like, "Hey, I'm building something here," and it's a physical object.
8:21
Your guidebook reminds me of the reference books that you could buy in the '90s.
8:25
Like, if you were looking to get a record deal or a publishing deal, you could buy these huge guidebooks that listed alphabetically the names of record labels or publishing houses, and it would have the name, the mailing address, a phone number, maybe the name of a person, and you would just go through it one by one and mail stuff out.
8:47
Um, and so it's, like, kinda retro in that way. And
8:52
you do digital work, but also you have the analog guidebook, and I'm just curious why you chose to do both, versus I think most people's knee-jerk reaction is to put things online. And so you went analog first. I did.
9:06
[laughs] I did do analog first. You know, that's a great question. So because of my background in working, you know, printing greeting cards and things like that, I'm... I would say I'm a very tactile person.
9:18
I love collage. I love doing papier-mâché. Like, I need to feel this... I need to feel something with my hands to know that it's, like, a real thing.
9:26
Um, and also frankly, we're always on our screens all day, every day, and I think having a physical thing that you can actually interact with, right? You can write in it. You can fold pages over.
9:38
You can work with it as, like, an actual tool if you're an artist to figure out, you know, what spaces work for you. It was, yeah, just a response to not everything needs to be online. [laughs] Right.
9:52
Different learning styles too. Mm-hmm. That kind of thing. Mm-hmm. And also, I really wanted to work with, like, local publisher.
9:59
I wanted to go in person to printing house and talk to the people and see some examples of what kind of books that they make and...
10:07
I just, I have a vivid memory of them spreading out all the paper on the table [laughs] and me, like, walking by and touching them.
10:14
And so yeah, it's, it's, it's a ex- it's a experience for me to, to print something and, and put it out into the world. For, for all the books that I print, I write thank you notes, uh [laughs] Of course you do.
10:27
Well, 'cause it's, you know, it's, it's, it's all, it's all of our projects, you know? So it's, it's very, um, yeah, it's a very meaningful thing for me.
10:35
I also love the idea of meeting venues, going in person, giving them a gift as part of this project.
10:42
Also, I think one of the things I've been reflecting on, especially a year in, and especially as I got to see how this book has transformed and grown, is that a book is more of, like, a slow burn.
10:54
So if I were to post, let's say, a venue online, they would get a lot of responses really quickly, um, especially if it was, like, say, a call for art that had a deadline.
11:04
The book is the slower, expansive thing where artists can, like, reach out to venues over a course of time and start to build relationships with them if they weren't ready yet to, like, apply for a call for art that day or something.
11:18
It's a, it's a slower, more intentional, um, tool. I know it's a really core part of your mission to speak directly to people who may not know where to look, right?
11:27
And so that could be, you know, maybe they're new to the area. Maybe they're new to the arts. Maybe they live in a rural area.
11:35
Maybe they're from some other kind of underrepresented population that maybe doesn't have access to, you know, central resources, or maybe English isn't their first language or anything like that.
11:47
So I'm curious, um, how do you reach artists who might not know how to find you? Since the beginning, this project has kind of exceeded my expectations in terms of community support. Without venues
12:02
being interested in this project-There's just not... Otherw- it would just be me yelling into the void, right? Mm-hmm.
12:09
So it is venues and artists that are boosting the signals of me sharing specific venues online or whatever, and it reaching a population that maybe I would not otherwise have access to just by myself.
12:25
The other thing that is interesting that I'm learning as I go is part of the process of me just... I'm not just sharing venues, right?
12:33
I am also sharing, like, educational, a dialogue, you could say, of, like, back and forth about, like, what are people looking for? What are the arts really about?
12:43
What's this vocabulary word that all of these venues use? Like, what does it really mean? And so- So you can pick up on the trends of- Oh, yeah...
12:51
questions people have and the things that are sort of unknown in lots of places, and how to make it palatable or understandable to people who it's maybe their first attempt in this world. Totally. Totally, yes.
13:03
Just truly by gathering all this data, right? Mm-hmm. Uh, I see patterns and trends, and also artists reaching out, like, reaching out to me directly like, "Hey, what does this mean?"
13:12
Or all of that stuff that I, um, I'm able to share in kind of this open-ended, conversational way that I think helps artists understand, like, "Okay, there's space for me here, too.
13:24
There might be this weird long vocabulary word, but what it actually means is something that we can all have, um, access to." The other, uh, aspect of this question, uh, that I am actively trying to address, too, is
13:38
the reason why a physical book is so important
13:42
is that beyond social media, getting the book into as many locations far and wide as possible has the opportunity of people finding this resource randomly in a bookstore or, or in their, like, local community area that would open up a whole new world to them.
13:57
Can you give an example of, like, an educational topic that you put on your social media? So some examples, um, you know, I was learning more about creative districts. Mm-hmm.
14:11
Um, different neighborhoods and cities around Washington have creative districts, um, and what does that mean and how can people get involved?
14:20
Uh, another thing I wanted to talk about that I think is useful for artists are tool libraries in your area.
14:28
You can rent tools for cheap and work on your projects that you, maybe you only need the tool for one time only type of use, and it's a really cool resource in a lot of neighborhoods.
14:39
Of course, I'm posting about different art walks around cities and neighborhoods as well. Th- there are a lot of new art walks that are popping up- Mm-hmm...
14:48
that are looking for artists and looking for venues to be a part of it. So I think that that's important. That's cool because it galvanizes the people to show their art, but also the venues to become a part of it.
15:01
Totally. You know? Which is a core part of what makes a good art walk, is that you've got the businesses who will participate- Absolutely... in a meaningful way, yeah. Yeah.
15:10
Um, and, and a lot of businesses, you know, the day-to-day grind of a business, they may not know that an art walk has popped up, like, literally in their neighborhood. Yeah.
15:18
One of the ones that did interestingly well is Artists' Secrets. [laughs] You know, gotta make something enticing.
15:26
[laughs] And it's, and it's truly just a reflection on tips that I hear from venues that they would like to see more from artists, and that is, you know, things like sub- if you see an art call for art, submit early.
15:41
Mm-hmm. It gives the venue more time to look at your art. Mm-hmm. Don't wait until the last seconds. If they do an extension of deadline, it is because they're looking for more people. [laughs] Yeah.
15:53
[laughs] Which you may or may not have experience with. I don't know. [laughs] I, I see those a lot. Great news. Right. [laughs] Yeah. And so things like that.
16:01
I, I just- You're like the, the friend someone can call up and be like, "Help me do this," you know? Yeah. "I would like to show my art in that coffee shop, but I don't know how." Right. Right? Right.
16:13
I, I, I would say, and this could just be this is my personality, but
16:18
I am friendly, and I am approachable, and I think that there are other institutions that do a lot of really great work, but they do seem more intimidating. Mm-hmm. Um, they may offer some similar things.
16:29
They may help artists tremendously, but by virtue of them being, like, an institution, [laughs]
16:36
it feels inti- it might feel intimidating for these, like, brand-new artists that are trying to f- figure out and navigate the world, so. Yeah.
16:43
There's something about building community in a very grassroots way that has a really significant role and a different role than a larger institution with a staff, you know, that turns over sometimes and, and changes their programs and things like that.
16:57
Right. Yeah. Right. I, I- That's important. Absolutely. Yeah. We both exist, and we're existing kind of in harmony. 'Cause I'm always telling artists to go to these institutions. Like, this is where the information is.
17:08
So if you're up for it, I'd like to talk about cost for a project like this, because, you know, lots of people might like the idea of a project like this and be like, "Yeah, I could do that," you know?
17:20
But I think very few people would be resourceful enough to really go for it and persist in the way that you have and grow in the way that you have.
17:29
I just would like to hear you talk about what the cost of committing to something like this has been like for you and how you anticipate managing that. Are we talking emotionally, [laughs] financially, all of the above?
17:41
[laughs] Open to you, yeah. I'll say, I'll... I do have some numbers here that I would love to share, but I'll say just quickly emotionally, I threw myself into the deep end on this. This has taken up
17:55
thousands and thousands of hours of my time. So this is well beyond, like... I never approached this as, like, a, um, this is gonna be... my next job or something like that.
18:08
I approached it really as a desire to be a part of my art community. I've lived in the greater Seattle area for almost 20 years, and I'm an artist, and I was never actively a part of my own community.
18:21
Um, so it came from, like, this really deep-rooted desire to, like, get out there and, like, push myself and my social skill boundaries.
18:29
[laughs] That's part of it, but, um, financially, yeah, I've got some facts and figures.
18:36
So for, uh, the second book, uh, my goal was to raise $5,000 to get the book printed, and that translated to approximately 250 copies, um, be mailed out into the world. But the
18:52
printing was for 700 copies total. So I now have a stack of books in my house [laughs] that I will, you know, be buried alive with, so [laughs] There are much cheaper ways to do this. Yeah.
19:08
I went the route of, like, working with a local printer, and you could go, you know, the large institution route that I s- will not name, right? Mm-hmm.
19:18
You could outsource to, there's a bunch of, you know, different printing companies that are in other countries that you could print from, and those are valid in their own ways, right?
19:26
Like, if you're working on a budget and you feel like that's a way for you to go, no judgment. But I chose to go this way, and it was harder but also fit with, like, my personal ethics.
19:37
It also just fit with, like, the community spirit of, like, I work- working with all these small businesses and venues. I might as well work with a small business, right?
19:46
But you do hope to grow the project beyond crowdfunding the publishing? Absolutely. I mean, my greatest wish if th- if this could just be my full-time job. I love this. This is, like, so fun.
20:00
I have, even though it is exhausting work, uh, I have a lot of excitement around it, unlike other projects I've done.
20:07
[laughs] This one, it feels different, and I have built a lot of really wonderful connections, and my heart has grown, you know, three times bigger [laughs] in this process.
20:19
So yeah, my, my wish would be for this to be my job, and I'm figuring that out. Well, when you talk about return on investment, it's more than just the financial, right?
20:29
So it's good to be able to recognize those things as well. Totally. Absolutely. Um, which brings me to my next question. You must have to get to know so, so many people. How do you keep track of it all?
20:43
[sighs] [laughs] Are you, like, one of these people that always remembers a face and a name? I always, always remember faces, and I always remember stories. Never remember names. [laughs] That's funny. I'm the opposite.
20:57
Really? I can always remember the names, and I don't recognize anybody. That is so funny. [laughs] Our powers combined. [laughs] I consider myself a personable introvert.
21:08
Uh, I spend a lot of time alone, a lot of time ruminating, thinking, trying to rest, [laughs] things like that, which I think help me be thoughtful about this project, right?
21:20
I need, as much as this is community-building and, like, putting yourself out there, it is also equally as important, es- especially as a creative type, to kinda be with yourself and create in your own little bubble, in your own little world.
21:34
I feel like, and this maybe resonates with the people that are listening, but going to an open-ended networking event without, like, a real purpose is absolutely terrifying. Mm-hmm.
21:49
So I like having a focus, and I like having this, like, thing that I can talk about to put myself out there.
21:56
Something that fascinates me about your work is the treasure trove of data that you're amassing through Show Your Art.
22:03
I've been working in the arts in this area for over 20 years, um, and I don't know everything, but I have never come across a database that contains an actively managed list of art venues across such a wide area.
22:18
I know this wasn't created as a research project or data collection. It's not, like, a UW study or anything like that, but the infrastructure is there in your work.
22:30
And you're the person who is positioned to spot trends or go at it more analytically, and I'm just curious, what have you noticed? What are the trends? Right. This is a really interesting question.
22:46
First of all, I know you're a, a data girly, [laughs] and I do love- Full disclosure- [laughs]... I wanna see the spreadsheets. [laughs] I love that for you. Um, yes, there are trends that I've noticed,
23:00
and it, you know, it spans from, like, phrasing around how people talk about artists, you know?
23:04
For i- for instance, you know, at the beginning of this interview, you've used the word new and emerging interchangeably, and for some venues, that's not the case. Mm-hmm.
23:16
I've also noticed, like, the frustration of venues working with artists.
23:20
I've seen s- I've seen very, like, very similar grievances when artists, you know, don't show up for their own events or don't market themselves, and venues actually take notice of that and put it in their processes.
23:33
Um- So you're saying venues see it as a, as a two-way relationship, right? 100%, yes. Mm-hmm.
23:39
They wanna work with artists, but they also want ar- artists to advocate for themselves and to show up, uh, confidently without, you know, stepping over what the venue is trying to do as well. Mm-hmm.
23:49
It's, yeah, it's a relationship-building experience, for sure. Mm-hmm. I noticed that regionally, uh, people have preferences.
23:56
Uh, for instance, when I was reaching out to different venues on Vashon and Bainbridge, some venues are very specific. They want only artists that are on islands.Yeah, the word local artist- Right, the word local...
24:10
means whatever you want it to mean. That's right.
24:12
That's right, and that's actually one of the things I've a- tried to accomplish in this book is to establish what does local mean, and how would you approach that for each space? So I've laid it out.
24:24
[laughs] 'Cause it does, it means different things for different, um, businesses. I also noticed, and this is actually me speculating, okay? This is not, like, real data. [laughs] Or maybe it is. Maybe it is.
24:36
It's definitely anecdotal. Anecdotal. It doesn't mean it's not valuable. It's anecdotal.
24:39
There were not a lot of Tacoma venues that got on the list, and my suspicion is because I used the word greater Seattle area, and I don't know if they wanna associate- Mm... being a part of Seattle, right?
24:53
Um, understandable. There might be a world in which I build out different books for future projects, but we'll see.
25:01
The last bit of data is that there is not an insignificant amount of businesses that go under over a course of a year. When I was- Not, there is not an insignificant amount. There is a- So you're saying-...
25:13
significant amount. [laughs] You're saying a lot of businesses didn't make it past the year. Correct.
25:19
When I was reaching out to last year's venues to collect, you know, to refresh their data for this year's book, 11 went out of business. So 11 out of 100. Mm. It's 11%. Mm-hmm.
25:30
And it was some n- not long after they opened. As we know, it's expensive to live in Washington, and it's heartbreaking to see small businesses to go under.
25:40
And then I also noticed the ones that do a very similar thing as the other ones that went out of business, they tend to pivot into doing a lot of different things and diversifying, [laughs] Diversifying to remain afloat.
25:53
[laughs] I'm laughing 'cause we're sitting in Happy Time- [laughs]... which is like eight businesses in one. That's right. [laughs] Were there...
26:00
I mean, you doubled the size of your guidebook, so were there a lot of venues in this second edition that are brand new? Yes, there are a few that are brand new. It's kind of an interesting
26:12
thing to think about because the ones that are brand new are desperately looking for artists, right?
26:17
They're the ones that don't have the connections yet, and so I think that this book is pivotal in helping them find connections.
26:23
However, statistically, right, it's harder for a brand new business to stay in business [laughs] versus the ones that have been around the block longer, right? Right.
26:33
So yeah, I, I tried to pick a nice balance of the two. Mm-hmm, and what kind of information do you know about how many art displays have happened because of your book or your resource?
26:44
I know that's something you kind of track. I've tried to track. It's really hard to track.
26:48
I've reached out to all the venues in the book or specifically the ones I've, like, promoted on social media 'cause that's kind of the most concentrated amount of things.
26:57
And I believe the past year for sure over 200 artists got their art into spaces because of my work. And that's reported by the venues.
27:08
That's reported by venues and by the ar- by the artists when they reach out to me, right? Yeah. Um- So known. Known is about 200. This is known. Wow. This is known, yes. Unknown, un... Who knows?
27:18
[laughs] 'Cause I'm always online sh- resharing stories, you know, resharing venues.
27:25
Um, so that was from the first year of doing this project, and since then, even last night, I, I did an art event and two artists came up to me talking about their first shows ever- Oh... for my project.
27:35
Like, they just randomly walked up to me, and I was like, "I'm gonna cry. Stop." [laughs] This is the sweetest thing I've ever heard. [laughs] So asking for a friend- Uh-huh...
27:44
would you ever consider an intentional research project through this work? If you wanna write it with me- [laughs]... yes, I would. I would love to do it with you. Yeah? Yes. Oh.
27:53
But alone, I don't think I have the analytical mind- [laughs]... that my, my interviewer is. [laughs] Which is deeply, deeply curious. Yeah. I would lo- if you would love to w- I would be- Mm... delighted, yes.
28:07
We should, we should talk more about that. Yes. So a big part of your professional background is in marketing, which is obvious from all your work.
28:15
Uh, I always really admire your approach to the way things are presented online.
28:21
You can do things, I don't know how you do them, but you're clearly doing something intentional because it's just really polished but really approachable. It's really professional but casual.
28:32
It's like all of the things that appeal to people who don't really wanna be online all the time [laughs] Uh-huh. But, like, really appreciate the resource, right? You've even taught marketing here at Happy Time before.
28:46
So I'm just curious, like, what's working really well from your perspective in your expertise in marketing? Like, what about your social media or newsletter or website is, like, the highlights? Why is it working so well?
28:59
Yes. Uh, I do have a background in marketing.
29:02
I have a background in marketing and, uh, grant writing for, specifically for small businesses, and I think that absolutely has influenced the way that I approach my online persona.
29:16
[laughs] However, I think the thing that's different about Show Your Art specifically versus, like, other marketing jobs that I've had is I'm following my whims a lot more. I'm following my little intuition, [laughs]
29:29
intuition fairy. Your instincts. My instincts, my muse, my...
29:33
[laughs] There's a steady flow of, like, organic information that is coming to me that I wouldn't have access to with other marketing jobs, and that, and the reason is I'm working for somebody else, number one, and number two, like, they have the rules, regulations, things that they want promoted.
29:52
Mm-hmm.
29:52
And so that does kind of limit my scope about, around, like, what things I can talk about, um, and what things bring me, like, that little just, like, little interest that sparks, you know, sparks my own interest.
30:04
So this, unlike other marketing jobs I've had, I'm like, it's like Sarah unleashed, you know? Yeah.
30:09
[laughs] I'm able to just go down rabbit holes and explore all these different avenues and ways, whereas if it was, like, a job that I was doing, I would be keeping somebody else in mind. Do you know what I mean?
30:22
The things that work best are... I mean, of course number one's going to be posting about really cool spaces, right? Like, people wanna know, like, where are these places?
30:30
Oftentimes I'm taking pictures of the space myself.Talking to people, making sure what I'm posting is accurate to how they wanna present themselves, um- So you're out there, you're personally on site, you're having conversations, you're getting approval from venues.
30:46
I think that's all part of the secret sauce. That is a little bit of the secret sauce, yes. I'm not al- I would say not always on site, but I'm definitely communicating with the venues.
30:55
B- there's a lot of emails back and forth, or even phone calls- Mm-hmm... um, to ensure, like, I'm representing them correctly.
31:03
Once in a while they'll work too well, and I have been asked to take posts down because they're inundated with artists- Oh, wow... that they cannot, uh, handle.
31:13
[laughs] So that's actually something I wanna navigate too, 'cause it... if it's making, like, venues, like, "Oh my God," like [laughs] Yeah. Maybe you could refer them to nearby venues or other similar ones. You know?
31:24
That's, that's a great idea. Yeah. Yeah. What have you learned about the arts since you started this that you didn't know before? Hmm. I'm going to s- shift the...
31:36
I'm gonna shift this question just one, 1%, and then I'll answer it. Okay? [laughs] First, the thing I've noticed about myself
31:46
during this process with interacting with artists directly, is that I do not wanna judge other people's art. I've asked... I've had a lot of people reach out to me, being an art critic, like they want me to- Wow...
31:57
critique their art, which that shows that there's a need for that, but I don't want [laughs] to be the person to do it, right? Sure, I love art. I have opinions about art, but I'm not an art critic.
32:09
But it does, you know, th- they think I'm a person of authority to give that kind of critique, right? Mm-hmm. So it's lovely.
32:15
It's very flattering, but [laughs] but that's a, that's a boundary that I found out about myself. I d- I'm not the person to do that. Okay. What I learned about artists is that people really
32:29
do come from all walks of life.
32:31
I think when you first start out in this, like, local scene, you might be thinking that you have to get into, say, the Pioneer Square Art Walk, but that is a very small slice of, like, this much broader community and, uh, types of artists that come from all different backgrounds and ages.
32:51
People often will come back to art after retirement, uh, which is lovely to interact with people figuring out the art process during that time of their life. And yeah, stepping outside of, like,
33:06
the cool parts of the city. [laughs] And you'd really get to see, like, all types of communities and artists with, like, different points of view.
33:17
I always like to ask, do you have a memory from childhood where you have, like, a strong connection with the arts as a feeling for the first time? I mean, I am from Southern California.
33:30
For a school field trip, we went to the Getty Museum. Mm-hmm. Um, talk about a... I mean, I guess I'm going back to venues, but [laughs] Talk about a venue. Am I right?
33:40
[laughs] And you know, that place is like a dream, you know? And to see art in a space like that and to... I don't know, you're just, like,
33:50
w- wi- witnessing, like, the top level of what makes art so magical and creative. Pairing art with a venue, right, it adds that, like, extra- Yeah... magic and spice. [laughs] Yeah, that place in particular. Mm-hmm.
34:06
Yeah. So I don't want this to be a traumatic question, but are you planning a third edition?
34:12
[laughs] I'm not planning, like, a s- like, very specific third edition, but what I have been thinking about is how to move forward with this project in a thoughtful way.
34:26
I don't just wanna keep making a bigger and bigger book where it's like a 500 pound, you know, giant tome. I, I thought about, yeah, figuring things out regionally. I would love to do all of the Pacific Northwest, right?
34:40
And what does that look like for real, and w- and, and I need to slow down. I need my chaotic brain to slow down and really
34:49
focus in on how to move this project forward in a thoughtful way that makes sense for artists to c- engage with it in a deliberate and meaningful way.
35:01
For people who want to support your project, what is it you're seeking? How can people engage in a way that keeps it going?
35:09
So at this time, there have been a lot of people that have reached out with a lot of really amazing ideas. Love it.
35:16
I love the enthusiasm, and they, you know, they wanna, like, full on collaborate with me, which is really cool, right? I, I love that people are excited about my project.
35:26
But I'll be honest, I'm a radically honest person, all right? I need fi- foundational financial ground, the foundation first.
35:35
I need a foundation first before I'm able to nurture new relationships in a way that would actually make sense, or, or the way that I would feel comfortable doing that, right?
35:45
Well, that sounds like someone with a long-term vision. For sure. [laughs] For sure. But that being said, like, as far as, like, what artists can do, engage with my social media. Ta- you know, reach out.
35:58
Tell me, tell me things that are missing in the arts community that I can s- you know, discover together.
36:05
Um, come to events that I put on, uh, that are free or low cost, where I introduce artists to new venues around the area. Buy a book.
36:15
I love being a part of this community and, and I hope, I hope for it to grow how it's meant to grow, and I will keep at it as long as humanly possible. Well, it's clearly catching on.
36:28
[gentle music] It's been really great to have you here, and thank you for sharing all of this information. Thank you. I really appreciate your thoughtful questions, and I'm just...
36:38
I'm happy to be a part of your community, Ally. [laughs] We're all in it together. We are definitely all in together. Thank you.
36:47
[laughs] [gentle music]
The Open Studio Interview
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