ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: JENNY PHILLIPS

Studio IX:

First things first, tell us who you are and what it is you do.

Jenny:

That's the hardest question for me to answer, which I think is probably true of most people who recognize their creative being first. We’re always trying to pull eight different threads into a cohesive elevator pitch.

So, my name is Jenny Phillips. By day, I'm an executive coach and a writer, and by night I'm a poet and a reader. I finished my second year of hospital chaplain training in May of last year, and I'm busy weaving that into my coaching approach. I'm not doing spiritual work with clients per se, but a holistic approach towards work and life is grounding for my practice. I also am a parent—a mom of three, which has been important this year--and a wife.

Studio IX:

What do you love most about what you do?

Jenny:

I love creative expression, so anything I'm doing where I'm writing or coming up with ideas is super exciting to me. I also really love digging into what it means to be human. I think that's why I've been so interested in how people work, why they work, what makes work meaningful, and how they can be supported. That brought me into coaching eventually—and chaplaincy. It doesn't really get more raw and human than what you see in a hospital from day to day. So that experience really drove things home for me. That is something that is motivating and exciting because it's just very real.

Studio IX:

And how did you arrive where you are now? What’s the backstory?

Jenny:

I have an educational background in religious studies and ethics, and a professional background in business, but more recently, coming out of August 12th and processing that experience led me to apply for hospital chaplaincy because I learned that I am someone who is able to be calm and show up in really difficult situations. I wanted to explore a path and gain some skills for doing that in a meaningful and responsible way. Chaplain training was a whole process of learning and spiritual formation—and more change. It’s like trying to move towards a center that was always there, but that got covered up by a bunch of muck and grit and grime of culture and experience and difficulty and what not.

Jenny:

The combination of the Trump presidency and the events around August 12th made me more aware of problems that had been right in front of my nose for a long time. it was a call into awareness and participation. There is a partisan element, but I don't feel called to run for office or campaign for people. I don't really want to have partisan arguments. I want to be able to influence people towards humanity and human rights and love and kindness and justice.

Studio IX:

So those were very pivotal moments, light switch kind of moments for you.

Jenny:

Yes, and my experiences in the hospital. All of those were moments where I came into awareness of the depth of suffering that's everywhere. That sounds so bleak, but it is, I think, an awakening.

Studio IX:

How has the pandemic impacted that?

Jenny:

The most direct impact was that I was finishing up my second year of chaplain training when COVID began to limit what I could do. Because I was a student chaplain, I was sent home. I didn't get to finish in the normal way and had to process through the ending of that in the absence of a space where I could serve and in the absence of my cohort. I was invited to apply for a residency, but I couldn't really consider it because my kids were going to school in our house. I wasn't willing to leave my husband alone with that responsibility.

Studio IX:

Good call.

Jenny:

Yeah, it was the right call. Also, because I'm agnostic, there's always this tension about whether “the ministry” is the right place for someone without a traditional faith community. COVID gave me the space to explore what else that might look like and push some boundaries. That's been good, and I've enjoyed it. It hasn't all been bad for me, which I know is a lucky thing to say.

Studio IX:

Do you have a sense of where you're headed, generally speaking? Do you have a sense of how the work evolves or is that something that's more intuitive and responsive for you?

Jenny:

I am a super intuitive person. That's kind of my superpower and my Achilles' heel. That being said, I've gotten better at paying attention to what I like doing, and I really love creating. To a degree that has been wonderful and surprising. I love to be by myself with ideas and kind of work them through—synthesize them and then bring them out to the world.

Jenny:

So I think where I'm headed—I hope where I'm headed—is to a place where I have space and time to do more of that with intention. I have a small group of interested folks who appreciate what I do, and I’d like to grow that audience. My main vehicle for that right now is a newsletter.

Studio IX:

Is there any particular moment, memory or story that stands out to you?

Jenny:

Again, August 12th and summer 2017 were pivotal.

Studio IX:

What was it about those events?

Jenny:

What I experienced on August 12th was a little bit different than the dominant narrative around it. I organized with Congregate Charlottesville and was responsible for helping to create a sanctuary space at First United Methodist Church. So, what I experienced that day was sanctuary in the middle of the violence and chaos and conflict and hatred that were swirling all around. Right in the middle of that hell, there was a space where people were taking care of each other. People across all kinds of difference were taking care of one another in the ways that they needed and that was responsive. It was spacious and inclusive and real.

That was a moment that changed me forever because I realized that such spaces are possible, and I  want to be a person who's creating that kind of space. I say that with deep gratitude and appreciation for the folks who showed up to counter protest white supremacy in the streets, people who were resisting in the swirl. The sanctuary part of the story doesn’t get a lot of air time, and I understand why. There is a danger in only seeing the squishy, nice parts of things. We have to be real about all of it. But that was a pivotal moment for me.

It was also a rare moment of clarity in my life where I thought, “I don't know how I ended up here, but this is where I'm supposed to be. I know what to do. I know how to be. I don't feel conflicted. I am just here.” And it was hard. It was very difficult, but also it was really beautiful in an important way.

THE GREENROOM SPOTLIGHT: JENNY CASAS & SEBASTIÁN HIDALGO

Studio IX:

Jenny and Sebastian, thank you both for being here and for taking the time. Let’s start with the basics. Who are you? And what do yo do?

Jenny:

My name is Jenny Casas. I am a reporter for a show called The United States of Anxiety out of WNYC. I am an audio producer who cares a great deal about Chicago. I’m currently based in New York, though deeply in love with the city of Chicago. I do a lot of stories about municipal inter-workings, black and brown history, and reflections on concepts that I personally find interesting. So those are my big thing. I am a bad liar. I love people and my favorite thing to do is to jump into Lake Michigan in the summer.

Sebastian:

My name is Sebastian Hidalgo. I am an independent visual journalist from Chicago. A lot of my stories focus around housing insecurities, mental health, high property taxes, everything related to inheriting whatever land trauma Chicago has imparted upon people who weren’t born there, especially those who are newly arrived.

My work is inseparable to the way that I live because in most cases I have a huge stake in everything that I cover—in the topics that I cover. I believe that that makes me a good fit. Instead of being too involved, I'm always trying to look for growth in every story. And for the people who are reading it as well.

Studio IX:

How did you get into it? Tell us a bit of the backstory of how you arrived at what you're doing?

Sebastian:

Every time I'm asked that question, it's super complicated. But in the very short form of things, I got into it by witnessing the passing of my grandfather, which was in the northern part of Mexico—in Obregón. I am the youngest of three children, so my mother would take me around and was always carrying me in her arms. I was the baby, so I was just always around. When I witnessed my grandfather's passing it wasn't super sad or traumatizing in any way, but I learned so much from him, from the man who had just passed, more than I did in his life. I grew curious from that, hungry to explain, to understand where our life—our generational trajectory—took us. Why we were in Chicago and not Obregón, Mexico. Throughout the years, it just kind of evolved and I started denormalizing a lot of the things that I had normalized growing up in Chicago. I returned back home. I started questioning why I was the only one dealing with a severe case of asthma in my neighborhood. Why do we have to sleep on the living room floor on the weekends? I started questioning it. I realized that there was something much deeper to all of it. That's where I started.

Studio IX:

What about you, Jenny?

Jenny:

I wanted to be a long-form magazine writer. That was my big dream when I was growing up. And after college I had an internship at a magazine and lived in my car in Los Angeles. I wasn’t making any money and I thought, "This is it. I'm living the dream. I'm working for a magazine." Then somebody told me that I needed to diversify my skillset. So I applied for an internship at a public radio station in San Francisco. I had never listened to public radio. I had never listened to radio at all. Working at the station, I thought: "This is so useful"…as a medium for sharing people's stories. I found myself completely moved by different stories which, in print, would never have impacted me the same way. I thought, "This is the thing I need to do." And that desire took me out of California and to the Midwest. It was that realization—that there was a lot of power in audio…in hearing people's voices. We are such empathetic creatures, and I think being able to hear it from somebody makes such a difference.

Studio IX:

What do you value most about the work? I would say ‘what do you enjoy most,’ but it might not necessarily always be enjoyable.

Sebastian:

I think there's a balance there because in journalism I don't really like what I'm seeing most of the time. And at the same time I have this unwavering love for people—a desire for them to really enjoy the work that I'm doing. But that balance is probably one of the most difficult things to do. And there's a bit of both in a lot of the work that journalists do. And I think that's a healthy way of looking at it. "This stuff is kind of messed up and I don't like to see it and I want to do something about it."

Jenny:

I'm just deeply curious about lots of things. Part of the thing that I enjoy the most or value the most is being able to be professionally nosy. Asking questions can sometimes be rude, but as a journalist, it's just…"You're getting to the bottom of it." And I agree completely with Sebas, I have a really hard time with a lot of the things I see in the industry right now. And so the thing that I value about working in this way is trying to create information that is useful for other people…that there is a service component to it…to all of my work.

I think our news media in general is so obsessed with scarcity. Everything is about how bad things are. And so, another thing I value is the opportunity to reframe around abundance and reframe around where things are working—what people are able to do despite whatever is happening.

Sebastian:

What Jenny’s talking about. That's tough work. Just to be in that mindset, I feel like it takes so much out of you.

Studio IX:

Have you guys worked together before?

Jenny:

Yes. When I first moved to Chicago I used to be a team leader for a fellowship at City Bureau, which is a hyper-local civic journalism lab. I met Sebas on the street. One of my friends introduced us and we ended up getting to work together. He was the photography fellow. I was the team leader and we worked on this piece about a new restorative justice court that was opening on that side of Chicago. I'd only worked with photographers in a very limited way before that, but working with Sebas was different.

I had never interacted with somebody whose professionalism was so deep and so thoughtful. He was so committed to doing everything that needed to be done, to be able to tell the story accurately, tell the story with care, tell the stories safely. To not put people in danger, reveal their identities if they didn't want to be identified. And since then we've collaborated on some things here and there.

Sebastian:

Yeah. That was 2017. And when I met Jenny I was really considering leaving Chicago. I was in a space where I was creatively—or just professionally—unhappy. When I was selected to be City Bureau's photographer I spent the most time with Jenny's piece because she was really open to my being around, asking my own questions, working in a way that was refreshingly collaborative. I learned so much just in working with Jenny and Sarah. When you have that form, that spirit to collaborate, you want to collaborate with one another and your sources want to collaborate with you. And for me that's what makes really good work. And that's true with photography as well. It's hardly ever just a person with a camera. There's always a shared agreement between people. And that's something that I took away from watching Jenny report on a story and the way that she asked questions. She knew how to get through that point to that point, which made my job a little easier.

Studio IX:

So let’s talk a bit about the piece you two are presenting for The Greenroom. How did it come about? What drew you to want to make it, Jenny?

Jenny:

Yeah. So I was in New York. I had only been there for about six months. Sebas and I had left Chicago at the same time, driving in opposite directions on the same freeway. He was going to California for a fellowship with CastLight; and I was going to New York for this job. As soon as it became clear that the pandemic was not going to be safe or good for anybody in New York, I knew I needed to go back to be with my community. So I returned to Chicago.

That summer, while enjoying time with friends by the lake, one of them pulled out this poem of 45 questions…“45 Questions to Ask While Waiting”. And we just went around, picking up and asking each other these questions. They're so linked, just…each of the questions are intense. I love intensity, so I was like “this is great.” You can get right to how people feel and who they are. You also learn a lot about people's instincts. That's exactly what journalists or journalists like me are looking for. Questions that really force people to say, "This is my line in the sand."…“This is what I care about.”…“This is what matters to me”.

So I was thinking about all this waiting that we were going to be doing; how all of our relationships were changing. The people we might be stuck with or the people who we're interacting with. People we're trusting to keep us safe. Everyone is reevaluating how they’re interacting with others. And so I thought, "This is what I'm going to do with my time in Chicago.” I'm going to talk about these 45 Questions and how we’re all doing in this pandemic. And, of course, Sebas was one of the people I called.

“Please answer the phone. I'm going to interview you and ask you some questions."

Studio IX:

Beautiful. Thank you both.

Jenny & Sebas:

Thank you.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: LAURA JOSEPHINE SNYDER

Studio IX:

Laura, good to see you.

Laura Josephine Snyder:

You as well.

Studio IX;

So tell us a bit about yourself.

Laura:

My name is Laura Snyder, Laura Josephine Snyder, for art purposes. I am a woman from Charlottesville, Virginia. And I am an artist. And I'm pretty much solely focusing on that for the first time since graduate school.

Studio IX:

And when did that start? When did you commit to this path?

Laura:

Well, I lost my job because of COVID and was happily receiving unemployment for a time. And I have done some side gigs and seasonal work, but I haven't gone back to a formal restaurant job, which is what I've done for as long as I can remember to support my art making.

Studio IX:

How's it working out? Does it feel like you're starting to get some traction? Is it supporting you?

Laura:

Maybe not technically, but I happily was able to save a little money up in the past few years, and I feel good about giving myself the time to really lean into my art practice at the moment and see where that takes me.  And I'm open to having to find part time work again at some point. I do appreciate the freedom having a part time job gives me in my practice to do research and to experiment with what I am called to do at any given moment. It gives me the stability that I need to work through ideas without having to focus too strongly on an outcome. But at this moment, I have a lot of ideas that I have been engaged with over the years, and it feels good to have the time and space to really explore those and to be producing work.

Studio IX:

Where are you from originally?

Laura:

I'm from Charlottesville.

Studio IX:

And you have Mexican ancestry?, is that right?

Laura:

I don’t, although it is a place that I have deep ties to, chosen ties. The first time I went to Mexico was in 2005, through my art school, for a study of art history and ceramics.  I have gone back ever since, and I did my masters in Mexico City in 2009 to 2011 at the UNAM in the historic center of Mexico City in printmaking.

Studio IX:

What drew you there?

Laura:

I think at the time when I first went to Mexico, it was so much of what I felt I was missing in terms of a certain warmth of feeling and a... It's hard to put a finger on it, but I would say that the way that interpersonal relationships are, is something that I'm very drawn to. And being there definitely influenced who I am as a person. It has been many years now, but at the time, all of the normal things like the food and the music and the language definitely contributed to me wanting to go back. And the art- from the contemporary art scene in Mexico City, the modernist architecture and design of people like Barragán, to the incredible wealth of tradition and craft of places like Oaxaca. There's one place on the coast of Oaxaca where I first arrived in 2007 that's really the only place I've ever been where I immediately fell in love with the place itself. Some of my closest friendships were formed there.  And that's been a strong pull ever since.

Studio IX:

Yeah. I felt a similar thing in being there. It was refreshing — so much more alive and open and welcoming than the states. The colors, the landscape, the warmth of the people. And to think that it it is so often framed in such a negative light.

Laura:

I don't know why we have all of those notions here, but I think that it has a lot to do with capitalism and the mindset that goes along with that. And I think that there's so much fear in the way that this country relates to anything ‘other’, to anyone unfamiliar or foreign. 

Studio IX:

What's a day in the life look like for you?

Laura:

Since COVID, it’s been a lot of me preparing food for myself. it's amazing, as a human how much you have to cook and clean. (laughter) I usually wake up somewhere around seven.  Most days, I do my morning practice, which is a combination of meditation and movement, and that's something that really centers me and allows me to focus for the rest of my day, which looks a little different, depending on the season. In the winter tends to be more research oriented, being inside, reading on the computer, coming to the studio, putting work-time in. I live in walking distance from my studio so I'm able to walk everywhere I need to go most days and not have to drive. I like to walk the same routes and notice new things every day and for me, this is also a kind of meditation.  I live with four other people, so despite the pandemic, I do have this community of people and in the evenings we often spend time together.  In some ways, this sort of slow rhythm has been really great.

Studio IX:

What's your process look like? I know that to be a significant part of the work itself.

Laura:

So, for this exhibition, I have been delving into making natural pigments. I have been acquiring some earth pigments as well as indigo. I have a little bit of purplish earth that I collected in Oaxaca, the last time I was there. I have yellow ochre from around the house where I'm living, which was the jumping off point for this work, discovering that I have all of that in the ground around my house. I've been doing some grinding of pigments to make the watercolors that I'm using. I have been drawing geometric forms and painting them.  I do a lot of looking and discarding of forms that don't quite sing the note that I'm looking for. And yeah, experimenting.

Studio IX:

What informs the imagery itself?

Laura:

I think that I work in fast intuitive leaps, and then I go back to try to understand what brought me from one point to the other. I do research and then I go back to the work and continue.

That’s happening right now with the work for this exhibition.  I've been drawn to these colors- the deep red and the yellow ochre- for the past couple of years and have made other work with these same colors using conventional watercolors. Only recently have I started making watercolors out of earth pigments, prompted by discovering yellow ochre in the ground around my house. I made the red watercolor from a concentrated pigment made from the mineral hematite.

 In terms of imagery, the red is related to blood, grounding, sensuality, sexuality, and the earth. I think the forms also speak to these ideas. At the same time there is, for me, a kind of tantric process going on in this work because I consider the elemental geometric forms to be masculine, hard edged, and the combination of the geometric forms with the red earth pigment, which is feminine, invites a transformation. There is also transformation happening in painting with dirt as is the case with the yellow ochre pieces. If you think about it, painting is something we elevate and by making it with dirt, which is a substance that we often shun or seek to erase, I’m disrupting that system of value-making. I have been using the yellow ochre in a different way from the red, it is a slower process to create those pieces and they grow into their forms over time. I recently read that when yellow ochre is heated it actually becomes red hematite.  As I look more into the significance of working with earth pigments, many potential layers of meaning surface, related to place and history, especially red clay here in Virginia. That is where the work is taking me at present.

 Studio IX:

What are your interests outside of the studio?

Laura:

Well, I'm very much of a homebody, so I like to spend time at home. I started gardening last year and I have really enjoyed that. I think that gardening relates to the making of earth pigments in the sense that I am situating myself in a place by growing the food that I'm eating or grinding the stones around my house to make paint. I've been lucky enough to spend time in the woods and learn a little bit this past year about foraging for wild edible food and mushrooms. I've even made some tinctures out of mushrooms. And all of that has been really interesting for me in terms of understanding place and the cycles of nature in a different way, in a sort of visceral way. 

Studio IX:

What's your favorite color?

Laura:

I don't know. It changes. It changes all the time.

I'm interested in the potential of each color and their emotional resonance- that's of course a pretty well-known thing and is used by designers and people working in advertisement. I think that's something that I feel really deeply.

Studio IX:

What's next for you?

Laura:

I'm not really sure. I have some interest in making my way back to Mexico this year. But those plans are all tentative and travel is still not possible the way it used to be, at least not for me. And I think that's an okay thing. But, yes, I would like to make my way back to Mexico, to Oaxaca at some point this year. And until then, I will be working in my studio and probably on some other part-time projects.

Studio IX:

Thanks so much, Laura.

Laura:

Thank you.

PRODUCER SPOTLIGHT: HANNAH BOOMERSHINE

Studio IX:

Good morning, Hannah.

Hannah Boomoershine:

Good morning.

Studio IX:

Thanks for taking the time. So tell us a bit about yourself and what it is you do.

Hannah:

My name is Hannah Boomershine and I'm an Audio Producer—a freelance Audio Producer based in Chicago, which is where I grew up, where I'm born and raised. I've had experience working for various NPR stations. Most recently I was at WBEZ where I was working on Motive: Season 3.

Studio IX:

How’d you get into radio & podcasting?

Hannah:

I got interested, like a lot of people, because I was a really avid listener. During the summers while I was in college I worked in retail at a clothing store. I was on my feet all day except for my lunch breaks, when I would sit down and listen to Radiolab—or the little bit of it I could listen to during my half-hour breaks. Looking back, that was a really transformative time. I was in school and didn't really know what I wanted to do with my life. When you’re interested a lot of subjects it's hard to narrow it down to one, which is honestly why journalism and podcasting really made sense for me. You can explore something new with every project. I remember sitting there and listening to Radiolab every day and thinking, "This is what I want to make,” and “I don't know how they're doing this."

Studio IX:

I don't think anyone knows how they do it. (laughter)

Hannah:

Yeah, what does the script even look like for them? I was trying to visualize that…and it just seemed like magic— how they were able to piece stories together…stories that were about science, but also very existential and poetic…stories that left me, at the end of them, feeling much better about humanity. That’s not something you really feel when you're working in retail, to be honest. You’re like, "Man, people at their worst." But then you listen to an episode of Radiolab and you are like, "No, there is meaning in all of this." It was a really important show for me to hear at that time—when I was still a teenager. And it was part of the reason I decided I wanted to be a producer and get my foot in the door.

Studio IX:

Was storytelling something that appealed to you early on?

Hannah:

100% yeah. I was the kid growing up who would check out 20 books at a time. The librarians all knew me and I was really into fiction and nonfiction as well. And that just continued. I'm really lucky that I was encouraged at a young age. To me, it was always the most entertaining and powerful way to connect with other people. Especially as you get older. When you’re a kid, you don't experience as much, but I did experience loneliness and wondered "What does it all mean?”…and then you listen to a piece by Bianca Giaever, for example, who really dives into all those topics about ordinary life and existential anxiety and boredom, and you feel less alone. The fact that what I was listening to…the story that I listened to…brought me that sense of connectedness made me want to create that for other people.

Studio IX:

Absolutely. How did you first start working? What was the entry point?

Hannah:

So…in 2016 I was in college and I was a neuroscience major. I was studying psychology. I was really interested in how people think and work, but then I was like, "I can't see a career in this for myself…I think I'm studying it just because I'm interested in it." So I decided to call up someone at a local radio station named Cassandra. She and I had a conversation. I told her, "I have no experience in radio. I just love it. And would you let me work for you for free?" And she was incredibly generous and said, "Yes, of course." She ended up paying me, too, which was the right thing to do. She was my mentor at WFIU, which was the NPR affiliate in Bloomington, Indiana.

I was given a lot of free rein to create features for this show called “Cafe Indiana” and to create longer profiles, too. I remember the first story I did. I went to an amusement park my family founded in Indiana way back in the twenties, which had long since been sold. I went back there with my grandma because she remembered working at the amusement park when she was growing up. We walked through it together and I got her reflections on it. It was a really powerful moment for me to realize that not only was I learning a lot from that experience but it really meant something to my grandma.

I got a lot of feedback from the community after the piece came out—about how moving it was for people to have this nostalgia and this feeling of returning home…to a place that no longer really existed. It was those experiences that made me feel like, "interviewing people is super nerve-wracking…but it's rewarding because it’s connecting me to a community…and I want to keep doing it!”

Studio IX:

What do you love most about the work?

Hannah:

I love how it connects you with other people…that it opens up conversations. I can think of stories that I’ve created that really meant something to the person I interviewed. I was telling their story. They trusted me with that. And that's a really vulnerable position to put someone in. There’s a power dynamic when you’re holding the microphone.

It's really beautiful when people trust you with their stories. And when their stories then resonate with many, many other people who are listening. I don't think people who make stuff get a ton of feedback. I think that should happen more. But I think about the times that I did hear feedback from people who had heard something I made…It made them question something…or it made them more curious. That was really meaningful and I feel really lucky to have had the experience of being able to do that—the opportunity to make something that would impact others.

Studio IX:

Who are the best interviewers?

Hannah:

That's a really good question. I have to think about that for a second.

Studio IX:

How about an interview that stands out to you?

Hannah::

I think it’s because I mentioned Bianca Giaever; but she's a producer that I've really admired for a long time and someone who has a career that I would love to emulate. I’m thinking about the first episode of Constellation Prize, her podcast for The Believer Magazine, during which she has an interview with a woman who lives alone and is dealing with a lot of loneliness and is a crossing guard. The way that Bianca is able to spend time with people and really gain their trust…and do so not only by being a good listener, but I think by offering some of herself…I think that's really important if you're asking people to be really vulnerable and dig really deep and maybe share things that they don't even realize.

“A lot of people are going to hear this”…that's a risk. To ask someone to take that risk is something that I think requires you as an interviewer to offer a little bit of yourself as well. To be vulnerable with them and make it a two-way street. It's a delicate balance, but just from hearing Bianca's pieces and the way she interviews—especially in that one episode—I feel like she’s really conscious of that. She’s really aware that this is an important story to this person and that she needed to be really careful with how she told it. Bianca also gave this woman the space to get out a lot of stuff she wanted to talk about before asking more questions.

At least that's what I imagine her processes is like. And I think it comes through in her stories because she’s able to get in there with people who are perfect strangers…but you’d never know it because she sounds like she’s known them for 10 years based on what they're telling her.

Studio IX:

Yeah. She is really exceptional in that way. I’m also reminded of a piece like Two Years with Franz. Her immersion…the hundreds of hours of tape…that she never met him…And yet, when you listen to that piece it feels as if they were hanging out. There's some sort of strange magic she works—creating an intimacy between what she learns of him, the obvious and real connection that she feels with him and how it echos her own experience. She’s able to make it feel like a real conversation. A real connection.

Hannah:

I think that element of her work is interesting, too. It's not plot-based…and I do really like narrative stories…but it’s interesting and maybe something I want to explore in my career…work that isn't plot-based. It's non-linear, but it's more character focused. Even how she inserts herself, a little bit, into the work she does, in the narration she does, I think it is really important.

It doesn't follow a plot with a typical story…the narrative structure we’re used to. It’s really interesting how she gets outside of that…but of course, there are still stakes, there's still tension, and you're still exploring a person…which is why it's really important that you get it right. Because this is someone's life.

Studio IX:

Do you listen to WTF?

Hannah:

Yeah, I do. He’s a fantastic interviewer, too.

Studio IX:

Did you hear the Larry King interview?

Hannah:

No.

Studio IX:

It’s amazing to me. One of the most uncomfortable, awkward introductions to an interview I've ever heard. So bad that I thought to myself, "I don't know if I can keep listening to this," But then Maron works his magic, disarms King with an apology and a bit of laughter and “boom,” the whole conversation just opens up from there.

Hannah:

He really does have a way of disarming people and breaking tension. He’s able to get people to feel really comfortable and familiar with him in a way I think is really challenging—especially with famous people because they’re used to interviews and they’re used to having their guard up, being prepared with canned answers. It's a skill to be able to get past that, to have people open up, to be more vulnerable and genuine without just saying the same thing again and again.

Studio IX:

Outside of radio, was there a light switch moment for you?

Hannah:

I'm trying to remember the title of this book.

Studio IX:

Yeah? Let’s find it.

Hannah:

Let me look it up real quick.

Okay. I have it. It's called, Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World. I alluded to this earlier as something that I’ve struggled with. As an emerging producer and someone who's new to her career, it's been hard for me to feel like I can narrow down onto something. And maybe I don't want to. That was something I struggled with in school. It was like, "What is my one passion?" I always had trouble figuring out what that was because I had so many different interests. So this book was really validating.

The author, David Epstein, gets into all these people in history who have been really successful, but they have been successful because they're able to merge many different worlds together and create connections in ways that someone who's a specialist might only be able to get a really deep dive into one topic.

I feel like a lot of creativity is taking unrelated subjects and unrelated findings and putting them together. For example, I studied neuroscience in college and that was something I went really deep into and then later I was like, "Oh, why did I do that? I didn't end up having a career in that field. Was that a waste of time?" My radio and podcast knowledge came from work experience outside of school—but I've come around to saying that it isn't the case at all.

This book has given me permission to say “It's never a waste to keep learning and to keep going into areas that might seem irrelevant now.” Maybe that hobby could one day connect back…and it's okay if it doesn't. It was helpful to read that book because I’ve often felt like I’ve needed to specialize super early on. But that's not even the way most people have careers.

Studio IX:

Do you consider yourself an artist?

Hannah:

That's a tough question, but yes, I would consider myself an artist.

Studio IX:

You sound like one.

Hannah:

Thank you. It's hard to admit that, though, because it feels really self-aggrandizing—or like I need to be like a painter or something. But I think there's something to thinking creatively and thinking artistically. And if you feel that, if that's what you do, then you're an artist.

To be an artist…the barrier to enter should be really low. Everyone who wants to be an artist should be one. And so that's something I've slowly come to accept over time—that even embarking on creative projects is being an artist.

Studio IX:

Yes. I'm an artist as well. And there are all these other things I've done that surround that—but that's the central thing that I am. And so much of it is how I think and how I perceive and experience and engage with the world. It's not: “did I make a painting? Did I make a pot, did I make a photograph? Did I make a podcast?” That's all secondary.

It’s exciting that that awareness (& practice) seems to be more and more prevalent in the business world; in the tech community and in other sectors. That gives me hope because imagination is the key to real change.

Studio IX:

So where do you see this going ultimately?

Hannah:

I think for me the experience of working on Motive, Season 3 with WBEZ, was a pretty transformative learning process. I had never worked on a long-form documentary style podcast and I worked really closely with some amazing people. Colin McNulty is the senior producer on that. Odette Yousef was the reporter and host. And Kevin Dawson was the director who oversaw all of what we were doing. Working on a really ambitious project like that—with hundreds of hours of tape and storyboarding the entire show, episode by episode, and figuring out that it's almost more of a process of what doesn't go in, as opposed to what does…that's really challenging because I think you have to have a nose for it.

The whole podcast was about a really important subject…Neo-Nazis Skinheads in the 1980s in Chicago and how you can really trace a line from them to the rise of far-right extremism today. Working on a project that really confronts social issues and has an impact on how people are thinking and examining history—that nothing we're dealing with today is 100% new—is really powerful.

I like the idea of contributing to a project that challenges the way people think and asks them to look at themselves and question, "How am I helping this issue? How am I contributing to the problem and what can I do better?"

So, working on projects that I realize I have a social impact is really meaningful to me.

Addressing topics that I think people are uncomfortable talking about… We're very divisive in this country. That’s no secret and we can't ignore it…And at the same time we need to be careful about what voices we're giving power to versus what voices are we leaving out…What voices are we marginalizing? What voices are we not even thinking about? I think that's really important when making work. And I think that was something that I learned a lot about while working on Motive.

Studio IX:

Any regrets thus far?

Hannah:

Maybe one. It’s not a big regret because I learned from it. I used to get really nervous interviewing people. I remember I was interviewing Alice Waters for a piece for WFIU. She’s a famous restaurateur and founder of the slow food movement. I was going to go with her to the farmer's market and we were going to talk. I was going to interview her that way. I remember being so nervous though, thinking: "She's a big deal. I'm a big fan of her’s. What is this going to be like?"

And it was fine. She was the sweetest and she taught me so much.

But yeah...I would get so intimidated by people…but they're just people even if they're famous. So, if I had any regrets, I think it would be that I didn’t just tell myself, "You're fine. You can handle this and there's no need to get really stressed out about talking to people." And, like I said, having the microphone is powerful. Editing is also powerful. The more confident and comfortable you are in yourself, the more comfortable you can make the person you're interviewing feel.

Studio IX:

Perfect note to end on. Thanks so much, Hannah.

Hannah:

Thank you!

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: MEGGAN THOMAS

Studio IX:

Good morning, Meggan.

Meggan Thomas:

Good morning.

Studio IX:

So tell us a bit about what it is you do.

Meggan:

I’m Meggan Thomas. I work at Virginia Humanities, which is a non-academic center of UVA. And my role is in fundraising. I’m part of a small advancement team. There are four of us and we're hiring a fifth to be our director. We raise money for the operations at Virginia Humanities. I work specifically with companies and foundations, so it's a lot of grant writing and proposal submission and partnership development across the state.

We have a lot of different programs and then we have more broad, overarching goals, so I have to stay on top what's going on, so that when I'm talking to people outside the organization, I can figure out how to fit them into the puzzle. It's a place in fundraising that I've come to really enjoy. A deeper strategic role, which I love and Virginia Humanities is doing great work, particularly right now. So, it's really gratifying.

Studio IX:

How did you come to find yourself at Virginia Humanities?

Meggan:

I moved to Charlottesville in October 2019. My husband took a position at UVA, so that moved our family here from Nebraska. I had been working in nonprofits pretty much all of my career. I began in the Peace Corps out of college and most of where I’ve worked since has been more traditional non-profits like Habitat for Humanity and food banks and places like that. It was not until my most recent position at Habitat, back in Omaha, that I really got into the corporate foundation side of things., because I have found that I'm too sensitive to other people to really be good at individual fundraising.

So, the corporate foundation stuff, I really like for that strategic element. So that was what I was looking for when we moved to Charlottesville. I started at Darden. And Darden is phenomenal, but ultimately that environment was not the right fit for me. I worked on corporate sponsorships and partnerships there. I did that for a couple months and then found the role at Virginia Humanities, it's a new position.

When I went in to talk to Maggie (Guggenheimer), who was there at the time and Matthew Gibson, their new executive director, I just felt I could pick up on the culture and where the organization was going, which has not let me down. I started in March 2020, which was hard. I started March 16. That afternoon I came into the office. Everyone was frantically packing up their desks and it was like, "Peace." And at the time I was like, "Oh, two weeks, three weeks, whatever." And I'm like, "Oh, okay. This is cool. I'll just grab my laptop and be on my way." And then, here we are. But I'm a silver linings person and so, what I feel has been helpful is that I just have very intentional conversations, one-on-one with people across the organization all day. When you can do it in a more intentional way, I think you gain clarity. We could just keep certain things moving a little quicker, because we didn't have the side chatter of other daily happenings.

Studio IX:

What are you passionate about?

Meggan:

I'll always work in nonprofits or in public service in some capacity. I'm very much an outside the box person. So, it'll be interesting to see how my life progresses. I think there's a lot of inefficiency in the way that we do things and it would just be really great to see nonprofits become more of advocacy outlets, to better utilize their platform.

Seeing people think differently about how and why they give out money and to whom and what that process looks like. Who’s at the table for that and on, and on. The power dynamics. That really interests me.

In prior iterations of life I've been, like I said, really involved with affordable housing and that is something that I definitely see myself returning to, whether it's through a city/state group, non-profit or just in my personal life.

It’s been interesting to learn more about that here in Charlottesville, obviously a critical issue. It leads to worlds combined, because Virginia Humanities hosts the Festival Of The Book, and just last month they had Matthew Desmond, who authored Evicted. It's been expansive to see how different organizations have a role to play in different causes. My prior thinking had been more rigid: “Oh, I have to work at Habitat for Humanities to impact affordable housing.” I'm not ruling that out, but I think it was interesting to see how that talk sparked a bigger conversation and a melding of minds. I'm passionate about affordable housing.

I have two little girls and in prior cities that I've lived I've been part of the women's groups to think about pay equity and messaging for young girls, grants for girl-focused SEM groups of youth groups in town, and things like that.

I also love to cook and running's been a saving grace this year. So, I'm really trying to find the mind body connection as well.

Studio IX:

Was there a light switch moment for you? Something that drew you to service work—to social justice?

Meggan:

Well, two things come to mind. One is that I had a fairly comfortable, middle class upbringing in a conservative household. Although I'll give my mom credit as she's very engaging and curious. I went to a private school and there was a lot of comfort. And then I went to Boston College. Boston College is Jesuit so a lot of the service work that I did in school was very impactful. I think I went into my undergraduate being a brat and I came out being like, "Holy shit! The world is really big and I don't know anything."

During that time we toured a homeless shelter and I was just blown away. I remember the woman who was the coordinator walking us around. She explained to all of us that we were going to stay for the day and do a number of projects that they had lined up for us and I was like, "You mean to tell me that you can do this for a living?" I didn't verbalize these thoughts, but I thought: "That is the coolest thing of all time…You can earn a paycheck just running a place like this and figuring out how to get the quilts donated and who cleans up things?" My operational brain, my soul, everything was just clicking. I was like, "Oh my God, this is what I want to do forever."

So that was impactful.

I went into the Peace Corps thinking I wanted to do something in international type work, international development or something. I was stationed in a little village in West Africa. And people were just so connected with each other. A totally different culture. I don't know quite how to describe it. They had almost nothing by our standards, and somebody walks into their yard and they just come sit down. And the pot doesn't grow but there's no question. So, I got hooked on local development from that experience…and from having seen a number of international nonprofits at that time come in and just screw shit up.

Studio IX:

It sounds as though that exposure pulled you out of something.

Meggan:

Yeah.

Studio IX:

Into a broader world. Having these direct experiences. Being in a place with those people. In their world.

Meggan:

Totally. Actually, I think that's a really fair thread.

I'm grateful for you pointing that out because I think that that is a concrete example of what has made all the difference.

Studio IX:

Where do you see yourself moving forward? It sounds as if you have a measure in your mind…that you can see the next step and the next step. What does that look like right now…in light of Covid…social unrest? Amidst such uncertainty?

Meggan:

Yeah. Well, I have been proven wrong almost every time I've tried to do this. (laughter). Lay out a plan, that is.

I can get stuck in thinking "I haven't done enough"…“Haven’t contributed enough.” It's easy to compare myself to other people. And then I think, "Oh man! Five years ago I was in a totally different place.” Things have changed. I've evolved.

As for the current state of things, I think that if I stay in philanthropy I'll have a lot more grappling to do—choices to make. I would love to see myself contribute something in that space. I think fundraising people need to join in these larger conversations and be the bridge between the need for people to raise money and keeping the lights on.

But also to hold space for that. To say, "This is complicated and messy and what are we going to do?" But I think there's a whole different track that may unfold for me in a different organization. I don't know what that looks like, but I'm not closing the door on it.

Studio IX:

You could run the Department of the Interior.

Meggan:

There we go.

Studio IX:

Or just be Secretary of State.

Meggan:

That would be awesome.

Meggan:

Honestly, I guess to put a point on your question, 2020 gave me a renewed vigor for somehow being in the political space—whether that's through a nonprofit that I'm in and figuring out how to further our advocacy, or even in my personal life in a different professional capacity. I mean, there's been a long period of time where I'm just like, "That is a dirty, ugly business and I don't want any part of it." And if we continue to do that we're putting out the fires but not addressing how the fires are starting. You know what I mean?

Studio IX:

Absolutely. We could use more good minds and hearts like yours in Washington.

Meggan:

It feels privileged at this point to be like, "I don't want to be part of that—that's messy."

Studio IX:

Yes

Meggan:

So that could be another point.

Studio IX:

You could serve in Abrams cabinet.

Meggan:

Can you imagine?

Studio IX:

How has it been working here at Studio IX?

Meggan:

I have always been an ‘offsite’ person. I don't work from home. I'm very sensitive to people in my environment and that could either help or drain me. So it's been really positive and it's something that I knew I needed and I was grateful to find this environment. A place that mentally feels clear and energetic and I have my routine. My productivity has increased by folds here.

In a year where I feel my employer was very supportive and flexible with me, I just felt I needed to do everything I could, to be honest with myself, where it's almost self-care. 2020 has been a year where I'm thinking more openly about what a work day looks like. If I can come in and I can get four to six hours of productive work done, I'm good. When I'm here, I'm not getting co-worker interruptions. I can just get my stuff done and then I can carry on with my day.

The environment is critical.

When we go back to the office I think that I'll be able to make some more informed decisions for myself. Typically you just go along with the flow of what's expected and what's normal. When you’re forced to step away from that you realize, "Okay, there are positives and negatives." — I'll definitely be seeking a more hybrid approach in the future. I would assume most people will if they can.

Studio IX:

We think so, too.

THE GREENROOM SPOTLIGHT: JESSE DUKES

Studio IX:

You’re currently based in Chicago but are originally from Charlottesville. You’re a writer, journalist and radio producer. Could you tell us a bit about how this came to be? 

Jesse Dukes:

I grew up in Eastern Albemarle County, near Cobham. Sissy Spacek was my neighbor. We never hung out with her or anything. She never gave me Halloween candy.

We were out in Keswick between routes 222 and 231. That's where a lot of my dreams take place, out there with the Southwest mountain range. I went to Albemarle High School. And I went to UVA. I studied anthropology and history, and I graduated without much of a plan. I realized I was really interested in long form journalism and documentary. I really loved film documentaries, and long form New Yorker type magazine articles but I didn't really see a path to doing either of those. But then I started hearing This American Life and Scott Carrier and Sarah Vowell stories. This was in the early 2000s. And I thought, "Oh, I could do that."

I had been a rock DJ at WTJU in college. I had a 3:00 AM to 6:00 AM shift, so I liked radio and understood microphones and mixers. I used to collect old tapes you'd find on the ground and try to play them back. We would go to yard sales throughout Albemarle County and buy old records and old tapes.  I thought that maybe I could do audio documentary because you could be a one person shop. All you need is a microphone, and a computer, and a recorder, and you could basically do the whole thing. Which is true, but it’s a lot harder to make GOOD audio documentaries than I thought.

In 2005, I went to the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies and studied documentary radio. That year I started freelancing. And within a year I got a part-time job at With Good Reason, a show produced by Virginia Humanities. I was in my late twenties at this point. I worked that job, paid the rent, and was experimenting with, writing, multimedia documentary, and audio... and trying different things.

This was before podcasting really broke open. Along with many of my peers, I used to think about the possibility of documentary podcasts — things like Serial, or In the Dark, or even The Daily— but they didn’t exist before 2014, and I didn’t have the wherewithal to actually make one. I worked for the program Backstory for a while, wrote some articles and produced multimedia for VQR, but by 2013, I was feeling very stuck in my career.

In 2014 I applied for, and amazingly got, the This American Life fellowship. I would have been thrilled to get that a few years earlier, but at the time I just felt like an old intern. The fellowship really taught me where I had had some weak spots as an audio producer, a writer, a journalist. You think you’re pretty good at something, and then you spend some time with people who are REALLY good at that thing. It’s uncomfortable, but it’s a good way to learn. And coming out of that, I felt like I had a lot of momentum.

I wanted to find somebody who was doing documentary podcast work, as ambitious as This American Life, but locally oriented. I had this crazy idea to try and get funding to do an audio story about every county in Virginia, each idea voted on by the residents of the county.

But I needed a salary and benefits, so  I took a job at WBEZ's Curious City, and I've been there for about five years. And while I was doing that, I also had this kind of nutty idea to document the Trump presidency in real time through a diverse group of people, inspired partly by this Seven Up series and Richard Linklater's film Boyhood. This idea of using time to tell a story rather than plot. Just sort of paying attention to the same story over time and seeing how it unfolds.

This was a collaborative project between a core group of 6 or 8 audio producers. We  just started doing remote interviews with people across the country every few months, and we were able to produce two documentaries from that material, made in partnership with KCRW.

Very recently, I applied for and got a Senior Podcast Producer job at WBEZ. So I've actually kind of left Curious City, and my role now is developing new podcasts for WBEZ.

Studio IX:

Due to the events of August 2017, Charlottesville has come to be seen in a very particular light. As someone who was born and raised here, do you have any thoughts to share about that?

Jesse Dukes:

Well, I think to understand the history of Charlottesville, and what got us to August 2017 is to understand America.

I think Jamelle Bouie expressed this beautifully in his essay in VQR: “On the weekend of August 12, 2017, Charlottesville, Virginia, became a metonym, thus joining that select fraternity of cities whose meaning is tied to singular events.”

It’s like Nanking, Chernobyl, Mei Lei, Birmingham, Charlottesville. Weird. It’s very strange to be in Chicago and hear people say things like “And then Charlottesville happened”. I want to tell them: “Charlottesville has been happening a long time.”

I think what’s happened in Charlottesville SINCE August 2017 has been very important, and I’m trying to stay plugged in remotely. It’s not as if the legacy of slavery, segregation, and white supremacy has been hidden in C-ville exactly, but more people are engaging with it, I think. More white people certainly.

And there’s new public history: I’m thinking about the tours by Jalane Schmidt and Andrea Douglas, photography exhibits by John Edwin Mason, all the work Jordy Yager is doing to help understand how housing policy shaped and scarred the city.

I’ve felt for a long time you could tell a powerful story about America by looking at central Virginia. I think about growing up in Charlottesville and being a Boy Scout, where we had a mixture of UVA professor's kids, and rural white folks who grew up hunting and fishing. Some of their grandparents had been evicted from the Blue Ridge to make Shenandoah National Park. We played capture the flag under Robert E. Lee’s statue.

I remember my parents signed me up for the the City’s parks and rec summer school programs when I was 10 (I think it was free or cheap), and being one of a handful of white kids on the bus heading out to Mint Springs, 10 or 15 years after Massive Resistance to School Integration ended. That was a lesson in class and race.

I had a Black second grade math teacher who likely started his career in an integrated school. My elementary school was probably 90-95% white, the city schools in the 80s were majority Black. I think about being raised to admire Thomas Jeffferson and how I still find myself admiring some of his work, despite his embodiment of the worst of white supremacy.

Maybe there’s an audio documentary podcast to be had, just focusing on race, power, class, and central Virginia, amplifying all the tremendous scholarship that’s ongoing making sense of that story. I’d like to make that documentary podcast.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: ALLYSON MELLBERG & JEREMY TAYLOR

In September of 2020, Studio IX members and artists, Allyson Mellberg & Jeremy Taylor hosted an exhibition of their work in The Gallery here at Studio IX. On the eve of their return to the space, an exhibition this August, in collaboration with artist, Laura Josephine Snyder, we present here an interview with them from that earlier time.

We wish to express our deep gratitude and appreciation for Jeremy and Allyson’s continued presence at Studio IX. Their many contributions to our community, from design work, to beautiful bouquets from their gardens, to their palpable love for and support of JBird Coffee and Studio IX, continue to be a constant source of inspiration and joy around here.

Thank you both!

And now, without further ado, here is their interview from September of 2020.

Studio IX:

Let’s talk a bit about your upcoming show. What are you guys working on right now?

Allyson:

We're in the beginning of a harvesting season in our gardens. Pretty soon it'll be time to process indigo and create raw materials. It's about time to harvest walnuts for ink. We’re doing a lot of things that are process-oriented so that we have what we need later to produce new work. We're working on drawings and paintings now. Not a lot of sculpture going on now but Jeremy has some in progress.

Jeremy:

Yes, they're on the back burner right now, just because things are more challenging with everything that's going on.

Allyson:

You’ll see a lot of drawing and painting in our show. It’s all on a smaller scale, which is nice on the one hand…though, for Jeremy, maybe harder, because he is really great at working super big. Being at home so much has made it a little bit easier to work smaller, and you can make more and get more done.

Jeremy:

For openings we’ve usually shown a big salon-style grid of our works. We're going to do a similar thing this go-around with smaller works, but a large quantity.

Studio IX:

Your process is a big part of your work. Could you share a bit more about that?

Jeremy:

In both of our work, though in different ways, we deal with ideas of how humans interact with nature. Many of our works deal with environmental issues.  Allyson’s work is more in a kind of Sci-fi alternative reality, and mine is in these awkward situations with animals and plants.

About 15 years ago, both Allyson and I decided to start making work with materials that were completely made from natural materials and things that were also nontoxic and wouldn't harm the environment. So, along with making work that deals with humans interacting with nature, we've made materials that are more symbiotic with nature and our content.

Allyson:

We both had a focus on printmaking in college. There were a lot of toxic materials being used. Many of our teachers, who were basically in our parent’s generation, were having pretty serious health problems from that. Two of my teachers got really sick, then recovered and changed the way they worked. I transitioned to all nontoxic before grad school.

When I met Jeremy he was painting with all sorts of plants, and I had been painting with egg tempera. It was a great meeting point. It was inspiring to see the plants/natural pigments that he was working with. I realized that I could replace all of my toxic pigments in egg tempera with natural ones and it would still work. And it was the same thing with oil painting.

Jeremy:

I'd never done any egg tempera, I'd only painted in oils. Egg tempura was a vehicle that was natural to paint with and also non-toxic. Allyson also brought all these pigments that I didn't know about, like indigo and rose madder. My pigment groupings shifted to more natural materials, and I started to use egg tempera with her.

With the craft revival movement in the early 2000's and the revival of drawing, we shifted our work into working with drawing materials and having a little bit of paint in there to accent thinks, but it's really mostly drawing.

Allyson:

The elevation of works on paper from like the late 90's on was really good for printmakers because we got to break some of the rules of printmaking and making editions—trying to make multiples of the same thing as close as possible. Shifting to works on paper allows you to play. In grad school I had stamps on some of my drawings or paintings, depending on what you want to call them. The umbrella of works on paper allows you to combine watercolor, ink, egg tempera, elements of printmaking, elements of collage, and others. We would even sew onto our drawings… It felt really “open.”

Jeremy:

Allyson and I both worked really big as younger painters. Storing all that large work is really difficult without a large studio space. Storing the work becomes a burden. We started to make works that were smaller, but in greater quantities.

Studio IX:

In addition to the inks and pigments you produce your own paper, right?

Jeremy:

Yeah. There was a steep learning curve getting started and it's taken a while to figure out what to use.

Allyson:

And “do we have enough space to grow this or that plant?”

Jeremy:

Yeah, and do we have enough time to harvest and process and still make our work? We had to make a decision: be a person who processes art materials or be someone who integrates it into your own work/research.

The bulk of our art materials come from things that we generate. All of our walnut ink, a lot of our pigments, like our indigo and our madder, we generate. We generate a lot of paper. We also work on a lot of hot-pressed paper, but we’re conscientious about where the paper comes from.

Allyson:

Yeah, that's a problem, because I really like smooth paper.

Jeremy:

Drawing paper needs to be hot-pressed. A lot of our homemade paper is cold-pressed, so it has a little bit of texture. So it's great for printmaking and you can paint on it, but it's not really great for drawing. But we have grown flax and cotton to make paper.

Allyson:

The growing season runs alongside our studio time. We have different timelines. We're teachers, also, so we have the facilities at both of our schools as resources.

Jeremy:

We have the community garden at PVCC, which provides growing space that we don’t have at home. To make paper you have to have a lot of raw material. A lot of people think "Oh, I can grow a few plants." You need to grow several rows of crop. Then it takes time to process it. It's fairly laborious.

Allyson:

It’s a lot of work.

Jeremy:

Yeah. And so it's important for people who get into natural pigments, or making their own materials, to know that it's very time consuming and labor intensive. It’s a labor of love. We love gardening. We love making the materials, but it's hard work.

Studio IX:

It also adds an interesting dimension to your work. You’ve been collaborating on a book as well, right?.

Jeremy:

Yeah. It keeps evolving. When we first started it was more of a materials book. A "Here are all the materials that can be used for non-toxic and sustainable art making" kind of thing. It has shifted into more of a guide for the process of growing and learning to process these pigments into a usable material.

Allyson:

It has made me think a little bit more about the "why.”

We’ve both been approached by students and other artists who are like, "I want to make my work ecologically sound," and we're like, "Cool. So, you have to invest this time—possibly years—into growing. It's not like you could just go to the eco art store." And a lot of times when we talk to people we can see their eyes glaze over. It’s just a lot of effort. Not everyone wants to do that or has the space to do it.

Jeremy:

The book is trying to make it so that people realize that they can integrate natural, non-toxic materials into their work. We think of it more like farm-to-table, or the green-washing movement—approaching it from a grassroots level. People have been making pigments like this for hundreds of years. We want to bring that to the forefront. To show how accessible it is, and how to integrate it into your work. The book is geared toward the fine artists who are trying to change their materials to be more natural/non-toxic.  A lot of the books that we're seeing are more geared towards craft or project oriented things. We would like to give readers a breadth of information so that they have the tools. Not everybody who picks up our book will be like, "Oh, I'm going to do that." But there's enough information that even if they don't want to process rose madder from the root they might be able to say, "Okay, there's this material and it exists out there," and maybe they’ll get it and make it part of their practice. For example, they might go to Kremer Pigment or NaturalPigments.com and get the supplies. Then maybe they’ll reference the parts of our book about egg tempera and put it all together.

Studio IX:

What was the light switch moment for you, Jeremy?

Jeremy:

I got asthma in graduate school related to the solvent's and artists' materials. For me it was more of like "Oh crap. I can't do all the things I love." I also had an "Aha!" moment when I realized that I can make the same things without nasty materials. Interestingly, I was already making work about the environment. Ironically, I was making it with all these really gnarly materials. The shift was natural in that regard, and I don't feel like I've given up much for changing the way we make art. We’re still able to screen print, we're able to etch, we're able to draw and paint.

Allyson:

There's a lot of room for innovation and creativity. The moment Jeremy said: "No way, I'm still going do all my stuff," opened up huge room for discovery. I think that's really exciting.

Studio IX:

There are momentous things unfolding environmentally and culturally. We're all a part of those things and you guys couldn't be more on time with what you’re doing.

Jeremy:

It's timely, but, from my perspective, it's been timely for 30 years.

Studio IX:

Absolutely.

Jeremy:

I think that a lot of people have yet to experience the changes dramatically enough in their lives to make them really think about it—whether it's a natural disaster, a virus, or whatever it is that might have an impact.

Our work isn’t directly political all the time, but we're fairly politically minded in the sense that we're thoughtful about what we're making and how it relates to nature and the environment. That's a huge aspect of our interests: how what we do as humans affects the planet. Farming is one of my interests outside of art, and gardening and growing.

I don't know if you've ever read that book One-Straw Revolution, but he often talks about the energy output to grow plants and creating this cycle of energy output to energy input. It's really important to think about that cycle. Often we'll just be like, "Oh, we need batteries for this thing." We'll throw batteries in it. And I’m thinking: "Well, where did that battery come from? Where was it mined?"

Allyson:

"Where does it go when I get rid of it?"

 Jeremy:

And I know that sounds like a weird hobby, but that's what we're interested in.

Allyson:

Jeremy mentioned earlier the science fiction thing… I’m very much interested in science fiction that deals with these issues. I'm not really interested in fantasy. The science fiction that I like is always talking about "How do you deal with the world we live in?” or “What have we done to our world? and “How do we treat each other?" So Ursula K. Le Guin is someone I revisit a lot, books like The Word For World Is Forest or The Lathe of Heaven. Blood Music by Greg Bear. Octavia Butler’s “Xenogenesis” series… All of these books address social and environmental issues that are important to me.

Jeremy:

We are in late stage capitalism. We can buy anything at a whim on Amazon and it is delivered to our front porch. Just thinking about what goes into it: extracting the raw materials to make the object, then manufacturing the object, the labor, then the transportation of the product to our homes…it’s crazy.

I think we are seeing the effects right now, especially in the way the virus is affecting poor people and people of color. We're seeing it with natural disasters as well. That’s why we are thinking about the battery or maybe even where we get things or what happens to them…the life of the object after you purchase it.

Allyson:

I just want to say, I think it's important to always state in these conversations, that we are part of the system, too. We were born in the 70’s into “better living through chemicals.” We can’t get away from wasteful capitalism completely. We have a kid, we're teaching from home right now, and you can order all kinds of stuff from Amazon, and it sucks. We try to get things locally and at other places but yeah, we aren’t above it all.

Jeremy:

Yeah. That's a good point.

Allyson:

It's not like we’re holier than thou. We're stuck in it.

Jeremy:

For us it’s more of a process of seeing where we can make better, more sustainable decisions and ask: “What can we do ourselves?”

Allyson:

We grow food for the winter that we can store.  Jeremy did a really good job planning our garden for the Summer. I feel like it was a different approach this year, because we were like, "Will there be food shortages?"

Jeremy:

And “will we have enough food to share?” Every year we shared to “Loaves and Fishes,” and we really try to get the food out there that we can't consume because certain things don't last long. We're only three people. It has been a way to do our part.

Allyson:

I hope what we are doing can be encouraging though, because it's like, "Well, yeah, we were born into this stuff, but we can try to make sound decisions in our lives that go against that.”

Jeremy:

It’s about raising awareness. If you go on Instagram you find a culture built around influencing other people—Like “what can I portray about myself and how I appear…to ‘sell’ something.”

I think it's good to “sell” thinking about where things come from and how they're made.

Allyson:

And “This is what your food looks like when its actually growing.”

Jeremy:

Yeah. Being aware that we are part of this virtual, synthetic world, but trying to shift it, too.

Studio IX:

Ok. New question: What's your favorite color?

Allyson:

Light blue.

Studio IX:

It's light blue for both of you?

Jeremy:

I would say a blue-green for me.

Allyson:

I like the blue we get when we fresh-process our Indigo. Not dark Indigo that requires fermentation, but the fresh one, a bright “robin's egg” blue. Because it's an oxidization process, it's green in the bath and then turns blue when you take it out into the air and it oxidizes. It's like magic. Whenever I see that color, I'm just like, "Oh, it’s so beautiful."

Jeremy:

Right. I agree a hundred percent. It's weird. It's its own color. When you garden and you grow things and you participate in nature more, you see these colors that are just like, "Whoa, that color doesn't exist anywhere."

Allyson:

That's a cool thing about growing—not just pigments, but anything—I get really excited about stuff that I might not pay attention to otherwise. And because we're parents our kid is also part of that and it's magical. That's been really great in this summer specifically. We couldn't go anywhere and we're really much more isolated than normal, so we’ve been like "Oh yeah, we had a good day today because we saw a praying mantis, this plant bloomed or that plant fruited.”

Jeremy:

It might seem hooey speaking about this, but I feel like I've been really much more in touch with the cycle of nature and gardening this Summer because when I'm not working on zoom and teaching graphic design or something I'm in the garden. So I know when it's going to rain, and when to plant something, or when to harvest something, and when to rotate. It's been great to feel like I’m really “in it.”

Allyson:

It’s definitely kept our morale up.

Studio IX:

Thank you both for taking the time and for all that you’re doing. Always good to talk to you.

Allyson & Jeremy:

Thanks, Greg.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: MEREDITH McCREIGHT

Studio IX:

Meredith, good morning. How are you?

Meredith McCreight:

I'm doing pretty well.

Studio IX:

Big question these days.

MM:

It is. It's weird times.

Studio IX:

Everybody in your circles doing well?

MM:

Everybody's good, yeah. Healthy. Safe.

And you?

Studio IX:

Yes. Feeling very grateful.

MM:

Me too. It's really nice to be in Charlottesville where things haven't been so bad. I’m grateful to be able to come here to Studio IX and to see friends in outdoor backyard settings. I feel for my friends who are in cities where you just can't do that. I just moved back to Charlottesville in February.

Studio IX:

Where were you before?

MM:

Boston.

Studio IX:

Did you like it?

MM:

I did! I liked a lot of things about it. I think the biggest thing that was lacking for me though was that I didn't feel a great sense of community there. Because it's just so spread out, it didn't feel like home. I just didn't feel like I had a real place there.

Studio IX:

But you feel that here.

MM:

For sure.

Studio IX:

Could you tell us a bit about what you do?

MM:

Oh gosh. Yeah. I have trouble explaining what I do because I feel like it changes and morphs so quickly. I started my business (Create Without Bounds) a little over two years ago. It really kind of started out of a place of reactivity. I had just left a job that I was very unhappy at and I did it without a plan, so the first few months of my business were really me just kind of taking any freelance design work I could get and that worked out really well at first. I didn't have any picture in my mind of what I wanted my business to be but it gradually evolved into the business it is today, which is helping women who are solo entrepreneurs, who own their own small businesses, and who help other people or important causes through their services. I work with them on branding, design, and web development.

Studio IX:

That’s great. What were you doing before that?

MM:

I worked in design for a long time. I was working at an agency in 2008 in Phoenix but I wasn't really doing design at that point. I was trying to get into the creative department at the agency, so I took a job in business development to get my foot in the door. But it was 2008, so after only a few months there, I got laid off along with ya know, everyone else. I started waiting tables at a wine bar, which I actually really loved, and I also got a part time job as a graphic artist at a print shop. It was this little tiny shop, but it was probably the best job I've ever had because I learned so much. My creative director had come from this huge magazine publishing world and was such a great designer. He taught me about design principles and best practices and just went above and beyond to mentor me.

From there I went into design and web development, and always a little bit of marketing in there. I was always doing social media stuff, email campaigns, copywriting. I worked for the Arizona Humane Society for a while and we had an account with a company called Blackbaud, which services nonprofits. They helped us with our donor database management and integration with our website. Our account rep from there kind of poached me and got me to come work for Blackbaud.

They're headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, so I bounced yet again. That was unique job because I got to be half visual designer and half web developer. I got to use my creative brain and my coding/ logical brain.

As a side hustle, I had been helping a friend who started her own agency with design and web dev work, just a few hours a week, and it had scaled up to where I was doing 20-30 hours a week for her on top of my job. And I was like, "Do you think this is legitimately something I could do full time, if I quit my job?" And she said, "Yeah, we have enough work and I can get more!"

So after two years at Blackbaud, I quit and started working for her pretty much full time. There wasn’t much keeping me in Charleston at that point and I was ready for my next adventure, so I moved up to Boston where I had some friends and often visited.

After a couple of years working with that friend, her life was changing a lot. She had gotten back together with an old boyfriend and things were moving very quickly. She moved out to San Francisco to be with him and they were going to get married and start a family, and she just wanted to scale her business back and not be working so much. That obviously is awesome and I couldn’t have been happier for her, but clear wasn't a fit for me. I needed to make money living in Boston!

I ended up going back into the corporate world and took a job as a Design Director at a big marketing technology research firm. The first six months, I really liked it. I felt challenged in new ways. But after awhile, I just realized I never ever want to work for anyone else ever again. I don't know if that is just part of being in your mid to late 30s and just having a realization that you no longer want to spend your time and energy on something that doesn't serve your passion and light you up, or if it was just that place, but I just couldn't do it anymore.

Studio IX:

What are you passionate about?

MM:

As far as work goes, I just really enjoy helping other people. I love seeing a transformation in someone and seeing them be able to overcome something that they didn't think was possible.

There is a coaching arm of my business. A lot of that is helping people remove self-limiting beliefs and get out of their own way. Change the narrative in their heads so that they can accomplish more than they thought they could.

Studio IX:

That seems quite helpful at this moment. So many of us are thinking about matters a lot more deeply, about what we actually want to be doing and how to get there.

MM:

There's definitely a lot of fear right now, too. I believe that fear is always the reason that we make decisions that are not good for us, on some level, but I think now it's especially pervasive in the sense that people think, “If I’m going to take a leap and do something different with my career and my life, well now it's definitely not the time,” so they're slamming on the brakes. Although some people are doing the opposite which I think is really cool and so brave. But I do think it's scary for them still.

Studio IX:

Is the coaching piece something that just emerged or did you have past experience with it?

MM:

While I was at my corporate job seeking other ways to be happy without leaving (because it did pay very well so it was hard to convince myself to leave), I started taking a coach training program. It wasn’t really my intention to practice as a coach, it was really more to just learn about myself and be a better listener, be a better communicator, be able to hold space for people and just understand a little bit more about my own strengths and how to leverage those.

I'm a certified life coach. I didn't think I necessarily wanted to do something with it, but I just realized that in working with my design clients, coaching is just a natural part of it anyway. It definitely helps guide those conversations.

There's an art of selling—your product, but also selling an idea. It’s really just getting someone to come along with you on the journey of what life can look like for them. They will come to the conclusion on their own if you hold space for them and ask the right questions. I was terrified of promoting and selling my services before, and I never would have gained this skill had I not gone through coach training.

Studio IX:

Is there a particular client or story that stands out to you in your memory?

MM:

Let's see. I think probably the client that had the biggest transition was oddly a coaching-only client. I didn't do any design work for her or web development. She is an artist, she used to live in Manhattan and would be in shows all the time. She was commissioned to do sculptures and she was taking classes, teaching classes… just really active in her community and feeling like she was living in her passion every day. She's married and has two older boys that she adopted a long time ago, but she and her husband had a new baby and everything just kind of went full stop. Obviously, there's a lot of amazing things that came along with that. She got to spend a ton of time with her son and they got to grow their family, but her artwork just fell completely away from her… she felt like she really lost that.

I met her four years later. She was just desperate to figure out a way to get back into some sort of routine where she was painting and just flexing that creative muscle again. She had some pretty ambitious goals. I typically book my clients in three months so we can track progress. She wanted to finish a series of 20 paintings in our three months together.

Studio IX:

That's ambitious.

MM:

Yeah! She wanted to do 20 paintings in a series. She also wanted to publish a children's book that she had an idea for, and she wanted to apply to grad school. She applied to grad school, she finished the book, and she finished 60 paintings in three months!

Studio IX:

Wow.

MM:

I know! I think the coolest thing was watching her body language and the words that she used to talk about herself in the beginning had drastically changed. She was so much more confident. She held herself highly. She was really proud of herself. She didn't get into one of the grad schools that she wanted to get into and that didn't crush her like she thought it would. She was like, "I'm okay. That just isn't the school for me." It was just very cool to see that transformation.

Studio IX:

Absolutely. How has the pandemic impacted things?

MM:

I think there've been some dark moments. There've been some low points for sure. I think COVID coinciding with a move, a giant life change, definitely made things a little bit more complex, but it also showed me that I have a lot to be grateful for. I was really, really glad to be closer to my family and be here with my parents and be able to keep an eye on them because they're older and not always taking the best care of themselves. Making sure they eat right and are safe.

From a business perspective, I had wrapped up a lot of projects right before moving here and I hadn't really gone after more projects to put in the queue necessarily. It was just a giant pause button in my life. But I do think that a lot of good came out of that, too. My business seems to always be evolving, not who I'm serving, but how I'm serving them and coming up with different ways to do that more effectively and impact more people.

This time has really given me some clarity that I want to have an education arm of my business, where I'm offering courses and self-serve information and guidance to people. If I create something once, and can just teach it once but reach more than one person, why wouldn’t I do that? That clarity has been a giant light bulb, and a relief really. I'm excited about it. I haven't seen the fruits of that idea yet, but I am excited about it!

Studio IX:

Have your clients needs changed? What’s the general tone, in light of everything?

MM:

That's an interesting question. I have several recurring clients. It's been interesting because two of them in particular seem more fired up than ever, like this is the time where they need to be there to support people, which is just super cool to be a part of. But I do think there's this sense of urgency to get stuff out there while people are still in this place of need, as if they won't still need those things when things go back to normal.

Studio IX:

How has it been being in here at Studio IX? Has it been helpful?

MM:

I don't think I was here long enough before COVID to really see any results of that. But I do know that coming back here, I just feel like a human again. I feel like an adult again, getting out of the house and just having a routine, taking a shower in the morning, putting on not-yoga-clothes. It has been really, really good for my mental health.

Studio IX:

That’s great to hear.

Thanks so much Meredith. Appreciate you taking the time.

MM:

My pleasure.. Thank you.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: JAMIE GRANT

Studio IX:

Jamie, hey. Thanks for taking the time.

Jamie Grant:

Of course. Happy to do it.

Studio IX:

So tell us who you are and a bit about what you do.

JG:

I’m Jamie Grant. I work with a consulting company called Accenture. I work in the eCommerce space on SAP platforms, helping groups to sell their goods online. Our big project these last two years has been with Signet Jewelers, a big mall jewelry company with eight brands. They're in all the mall stores: Kay, Jared, Zales. We help them to sell jewelry online, which is not particularly exciting in itself, but there are exciting things about the project, like dealing with performance issues and other hurdles. Signet does so much revenue, it's unbelievable. I was telling Jon (owner at JBird Coffee Supply), I think December last year was something like $160 million in revenue.

So yeah, it can get exciting. Typically the year goes that we build up various projects all the way through September, October, and then we stop new development work and focus on the big holiday period, which is November, December, and then again in February for Valentine's Day and for Mother's Day. It can be fun. Yeah.

Studio IX:

What are you passionate about?

JG:

I remember getting this question in an interview before. I went in for some tech job in Australia and they said, "What about technology are you passionate about?" And I was like, "Nothing." They're like, "Right. Get out."

Studio IX:

Ok ok (laughter). So let’s talk big picture. How about “outside of the office”?

JG:

Well, outside of work, I get passionate about a lot of things. I love taking holidays, spending time with the kids, cooking, hiking, camping. Yeah. You name it. Anything's easy to get passionate about.

Studio IX:

Does any piece of that come back into the work that you're doing?

JG:

Yeah. I was thinking about Tom Tom. They do their annual thing, and a few years ago, one of their first sessions was on conscious capitalism. Rather than having the corporation fill this role where profits are its main motive, you’ve got to look at more of the overall picture of the way that the corporation sits in its ecosystem, taking into account not only stakeholders and profits, but how it interacts with their employees and the community and everything beyond.

And with work, it kind of feels like it's how it fits into your larger life, you know? How it fits into not just the work you're doing, but the right balance for making sure that you’re able to do all of those other things, to get out and travel and spend time with the kids and see other places as well as challenge you mentally? And it's more of how it fits into the big picture, the big ecosystem picture. Work does that for me. Not necessarily the things that I do with work, but all of the other kind of intangibles that come with the work. It gives me the independence I need. I don't feel like I've ever got a boss cracking the whip. I never have to be anywhere.

Studio IX:

And you've worked remotely the whole time?

JG:

Yeah. Pretty much, last eight years or so. They're pretty generous with the amount of time you get off. They give us almost six weeks a year of vacation, which is unheard of in the US. Six weeks is a lot of time to get the hell out of here and really disconnect and kind of find yourself and spend good quality time with the family. We always get away. We just say, "All right, no bloody internet, no devices, no nothing."

Studio IX:

That’s great. Such a gift.

Technology aside, what do you enjoy most about the work?

JG:

The problems I get hit with every day, the difficult to solve problems. The things that require more detective work, where you say, "What the hell is going on here?" You've got these super complex systems, millions of messages passing back and forth, then something trips up somewhere and everybody throws their hands up and says "We have no idea what's going on." And you’ve just got to put your head down and focus and say, "All right, I've got to find that missing piece of information that's caused this whole thing to screw up." I like doing that kind of thing. It's like a crossword puzzle, a word search, a complicated puzzle.

Studio IX:

What led you to the work you’re doing now?

JG:

Well, I graduated with a degree in zoology. And I worked as a wildlife biologist for a bit, tracking owls, wanting to get a job in biology when I got out of school, but there wasn't a whole lot out there. I kind of had this vision of working in the forest and doing population studies and things like that. Not a whole lot of paying jobs in that area.

After college I got involved with a band for awhile, a lot of drugs and alcohol, then found myself kind of out on my ear with nothing. And so moved in with the parents and said, "All right, I got to regroup here and try and find something to do." Picked up the newspaper and it was like a hundred pages of tech jobs and nothing in the biology space. So I said, "All right, I better get involved in this, figure something out." So I bought a whole stack of textbooks and a laptop and got down to work learning it. Created a website of this fictitious company that I said I worked for and went out to an interview and they gave me a test. Passed with flying colors, and I was off to the races.

Studio IX:

Amazing. (laughter)

Studio IX:

Any memorable moments along the way? Moments that stand out?

JG:

Well, there's the time we were in Beijing and we got into a bar fight with our client. That was a good one. (laughter). I used to be a little more cavalier and ended up doing some things that I probably shouldn't.

You've just got to adapt. And that's kind of how life is. Everybody ends up in shit at one stage or another. And it's like, how do you reinvent yourself to go with the flow? And that's the way it is with technology as well. You know, I'm an old has-been and if you're not continually reading new material and staying up on top of things, forget it. The young punks are waiting to displace you.

Studio IX:

Yup.

Studio IX:

How’s your world changed in light of Covid?

JG:

Work wise, we've gotten busier just because the business that we're with now, they've closed all their brick and mortar stores and the digital space is what I'm in.

Aside from work, it's been super interesting. For me I've had to reevaluate the way that I lived life before. How we kept filling things up and not necessarily by choice. Just busy, busy, busy. Consequently, my wife and I would never see each other and we would struggle to have a night. We'd have to plan a night where we had a family meal a week, which was shit. And now we have a family meal every night and it's great.

We're not doing anything now and just spending that additional time together without having entertainment put in our face or being told what to do. It's been wonderful and I don't think I can go back, back to that lifestyle of having to be a busy body.

I’m not traveling anymore for work. It makes me wonder why we like to travel in the first place. You know, it's stupid. You send all of these consultants halfway across the world. The amount of pollutants that we put in the atmosphere from air travel to show up at a client's spot for two days or three days. And for what purpose? You could have done all of the meetings remotely. Sure, it's important to put a name to a face and all the rest of it and establish some part of a rapport, but a lot of, especially a lot of the junior consultants at work, they get excited about the prospects of travel and just travel because. Everybody's trying to get their frequent flyer miles up or establish status at their hotel. And it's bullshit. You should feel guilty about that. You should feel guilty about the amount of damage, I think, that you're doing to the environment by living that lifestyle.

Studio IX:

Well said, J.

Thanks for taking the time. Greatly appreciate it.

JG:

Thank you.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: MIKE SNYDER

Studio IX:

Mike, thanks so much for the taking the time. We greatly appreciate it. So let’s start with the basics. Could you tell us who you are and what it is you do?

Mike Snyder:

I'm Mike Snyder, I’m a photographer and filmmaker, and I've been based in Charlottesville for about five years. I run a production company called Interdependent Pictures. I partner with nonprofit organizations and I work on environmental and social justice stories. Sometimes that's producing short documentary films. Sometimes it's producing stories for more traditional editorial outlets, newspapers, and magazines. And a lot of times, beyond the focus on environmental and social justice issues, I'm really looking for stories about agency, action, solutions, and hope, and a positive look on what can be done facing some of the biggest challenges that we have as a society.

Studio IX:

And how did you get into it? What are you passionate about? It seems the two may overlap.

Mike Snyder:

Well, I'm super lucky in that what I do is exactly what I'm passionate about. So yeah, it's really the same question. I mean, in sort of a deep time travel sense I got into this because my dad was a photographer. So I learned from him the core of the craft when I was a kid, but I didn't study or intend at all to become a photographer. I was a wilderness instructor for years. And I that love of being in the outdoors principally led me to study environmental science, which is what I did for my undergrad and my masters.

Mike Snyder:

And so I did my master's degree at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. And I think when I graduated, I just became convinced that the truth is we already have so much of the science that we need to define environmental issues. We've got a lot of the policies we need to be able to work on them and resolve them. We have a lot of technology that we need to be able to solve these things.

It's not that we couldn't improve in all of those categories, but the truth is that a lot of the solutions are already there. And more often than not, we're just not doing enough with what we have. So, I made a career transition to working on storytelling.  And the kind of stories that I want to tell are stories of people that are picking up the solutions and are making use of them.  Stories about what it means to live well on this planet without destroying it.

Studio IX:

What do you enjoy most about the work itself?

Mike Snyder:

Well, I mean, selfishly, one of the best parts about this is when I was a kid or teenager, my early twenties, I always wanted a job that would afford me to be able to travel around the world on somebody else's bill. And not that this is a lucrative thing and I get to stay in fancy hotels or anything like that, but it has allowed me to keep traveling and exploring and doing things that no other line of work is going to afford me.

Personally that's just been a huge, huge blessing. The other part of that is that it isn't like tourism at all. One of the things that's so wonderful about this, particularly when you work on human focused stories and you really work on intimate, long-form projects, which is mostly what I do, you really get these wonderful vignettes into other people's world that you have no business seeing otherwise.

So it's just a real blessing to get to vicariously and some ways directly live in other people's lives. So I absolutely love that, that part of the job. I think beyond that, it's just the hope that what I'm doing has some sort of impact. I think it's very, very difficult to measure that, granted you make these things, you put them out into the world, and it's very difficult to see if you've moved the needle on anything at all. And probably, broadly, you don't, but the hope is for a few people, you know, maybe just a handful of people you do. And so that certainly keeps me going in this line of work as well.

Studio IX:

Is there an experience that stands out to you? A particularly memorable project, person, place that you encountered in the course of your work?

Mike Snyder:

So I recently got to go on an expedition, on a winter expedition, into the deepest part of the Arctic. And there's really only a handful of people in the world that are equipped to be able to do those kinds of expeditions and also have any business being there because the Arctic is in winter is turned away from the sun, so it's black there for practically six months out of the year, four months at least.

So it's black and it's cold and it's windy and you've got to get up there. It takes three weeks just to get up in to the ice. And it's a multi-million dollar expedition to be able to do that. And so for me, I'm getting this amazing experience and this backdoor entry into this world that otherwise would have taken years and years of expertise to be able to access.

So, while we were up there, we were probably the Northern most people on the planet. The story that I was working on was about light pollution. Right now light pollution is the fastest growing sources of pollution in the Arctic. Not just because of shipping - shipping lanes are opening up with ice melts - but also because with less ice over the ocean, more light is able to penetrate into the water before it would have reflected off. Now it's going in. Which is fascinating. And the researchers that I was working with were trying to figure out what the long-term impacts of this light pollution may be.  That research was recently published as a major paper in Nature. We had a feature in National Geographic and the film we were working on is out in film festivals now.

The most memorable part of it was that to be able to do this research they had to put you in this tiny little dingy and drop you over the side of the boat. So they put you in this thing, they drop you over the side of the boat, and then you'd go out maybe 300 yards away from the main vessel. And that's so your equipment didn't get smashed against the hull of the boat. But then to be able to make the measurements they needed to make, because the environment there is so light sensitive, they had to shut down all of the lights on the dingy, all the lights on the boat and you just go to complete darkness.

Studio IX:

Wow.

Mike Snyder:

It was probably the closest thing I'll ever do to a spacewalk, I mean, just entirely unworldly.  Like staring into the void literally at the end of the world, you know?

Studio IX:

Yeah.

Mike Snyder:

And I will say it was beautiful in it's own way and terrifying in it's own way. And kind of magical in it's own way. It's experiences like that that really are just enormously gratifying in getting to do this work.

Studio IX:

Yeah.

Studio IX:

Is there something about your work that might surprise people to know?

Mike Snyder:

Maybe this is a surprise. I'd say with photography mastery over the machine, mastery over lighting, all that sort of stuff is foundational. It's absolutely fundamental.

I teach a fair amount of photography courses and I am a big believer that you don't start into concept, you start into fundamentals. If you don't understand absolutely intimately the way a camera works, there's just no way to be able to do anything meaningful with it. So I'm a big believer in that. But the truth is that's just the beginning. And once you've achieved that, you're ready to do the real hard work of photography, which is all interpersonal stuff. It's all soft skills at the end of the day. It's about being able to make people comfortable enough that they can be vulnerable.

It's about finding human moments. It's about asking just the right questions. It's about having a feeling for what a good story is, what an interesting story is for other people. And then of course, you know, beyond the elements of producing a story in the field, you've got to get it out there. And the way that the landscape is set up right now for journalism, particularly as an independent journalist, which is that, you're one among millions of voices clamoring to get published. There's not much money in it and everyone wants to get published.

And so you've just got to be incredibly persistent and persuasive to be able to get your name out there and a lot of that, again, is just soft skills. It's just networking, knowing who to talk to, what to say, and just never giving up. So much of my work is really that, rather than pressing the shutter at the right time. It's really just working with people.

Studio IX:

Where do you see yourself and the work headed in the next 5 to 10 years?. Is there an arc to it or is it something that feels more responsive and open?

Mike Snyder:

Yeah. I am open. I do love what I do. And so I think this skill set, storytelling at large and then specifically photography and film are things that I want to keep doing. I'd love to have that integrated in to my working and personal life in the long term. But again I think for me, because I come to this not as somebody that always wanted to be a photographer or film maker but I come to it as a person who's really passionate about certain issues and want to use this as a way to affect those issues.

If I was called to do something else that was another way to affect these issue then I would move in that direction. So I think this skill set's going to come with me but I'm open to other lines of work. I considered going back to get a PhD for example. I've considered going back and teaching. But I think in the short term my goals are really to keep honing the craft. It's true with photo and it's really true with video, with film, but the bar is just so high, no matter how good you get there's always more that you could be doing. You can get in the top 5% of photographers or filmmakers, not to suggest that I'm there, but if you were to get to that bar that remaining 5% is a whole universe to itself.

So for me right now it's really still, I'm still growing, I'm still exploring, I'm still just building a lot of connections and really trying to make the projects that I'm working on the best that they can be. So I've got a few more years of that and I'll think about what the long term places in the world might be for me.

Studio IX:

Because your work is focused on the environment, and this is something you're passionate about, do you have thoughts about that in the context of what we're going through (Covid-19 pandemic) and what we could potentially gain or come out of this with?

Mike Snyder:

Yeah, I do. I'll say first that I think for me at present and I'm lucky in a lot of ways. I realize not everybody can do this. But one of the things I've learned being self-employed for almost 15 years now is that the way that you stay alive in that field is to be incredibly adaptive and resilient. Over the years I've hit a lot of waves I've had to adapt to. But this is a really big one, so I don't mean to say it's just like anything else I've had that's come along my way. But I think I've been very well practiced at asking myself, "Okay, where's the opportunity here?" Or, if there's not an opportunity, it's just a loss, it's "What can I be doing to get myself set up so that when I'm going again, I'm going in the best possible way?"

So I feel lucky that my job allows for that, but also that I've been well practiced at thinking about how to be adaptive and responsive. So I'm writing a lot of grants. I'm networking with a lot of editors and production companies and distributors. I'm doing a lot of writing and background work for projects. So it's actually been a really busy time.

Beyond our personal experiences, I think a lot of people in my field are thinking about what the long-term impact of this will be on environmental issues.  I think if we're going to be optimistic about this and be hopeful about this, what I would say is this is an incredible moment in time. We've hit the pause button and hopefully we can really think about the way we conduct our working lives. We can think about our priorities in life. We can think about our relationships with people. We can have a better, a clearer and a very immediate understanding of our incredible interconnectedness and interdependence. We can see very clearly now that you pull out certain strands in the web and what the fallout is and it impacts us all, some of us more than others. Hopefully we're thinking about more vulnerable people more now than ever before. And I think if we do those things, we take a step back and look, there are so many lessons that we're gaining here.

Mike Snyder:

And I can say more about what I think those lessons are, but there's so many lessons that we're gaining here that are directly applicable to a lot of environmental issues, which are fundamentally similar to international health issues. They have a lot of parallel elements to them. So if I'm being hopeful about it, I say, we come back stronger and we come back more focused. And we come back with a kind of messaging, particularly in my world, things about storytelling and messaging that is resonant with people having gone through this. And we really get to work.

That's me at my most hopeful. I think when I'm not as hopeful, I realize that times like this, psychologically, they're, scary. When people are scared we protect our self-interests first. And my worry is we'll pull inwards. And rather than thinking about broader needs, we'll become more oriented towards protecting ourselves. And a bit like the 1920s after the first world war and after the pandemic then, people went back to jazz and partying once it was over. And all that's fine. I believe in jazz and partying. After this is over, I'm going to jazz and party like everyone else will.

But I think when the good times hit again you have to hold in mind what you learned through the heavy times. And it can't just be a return to hedonism. It can't just be self interested stuff. It has to be getting back to work, doing the work we need to do to prevent these sort of issues from happening again as much as we can. I'm hopeful but again I don't think it's a given that we just improve from here. I think we improve from here if we're intentional about it.

Studio IX:

Thanks so much, Mike. That's all I got. Wonderful talking to you.

***

Interdependent Pictures > https://www.interdependentpictures.org/

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: CHELSEA BLAKELY

We recently sat down with artist Chelsea Blakely to talk about her work and current exhibit, which on display in the Studio IX Virtual Gallery this month. All proceeds of sales from Chelsea’s show will go to support the C’ville Restaurant Fund. More information can be found HERE.

Studio IX:

Good morning, Chelsea. Thanks for taking the time.

Chelsea:

Thank you. It’s good to be here.

Studio IX:

So how are you doing this morning?

Chelsea:

Well, yeah, it’s an hour-to-hour thing. I think that sometimes it's easy for me to be optimistic and focus on the good things that are happening. Then, some hour will hit where I start ruminating and I'm like, "Oh my God, this is going to ruin us. We're all going to get sick, and then there's going to be a World War III, and then an environmental catastrophe and then..."

Studio IX:

I hear you.

Chelsea:

I don't actually think that's going to happen, but that's just where my neurotic mind tends to go when faced with uncertainty, which is essentially what we're dealing with right now.

It's a huge, huge lesson. I feel like a lesson of being a human.

Studio IX:

Yes.                                                                      

Chelsea:

Gazing down the abyss.

Studio IX:

Yes, the mortality piece is there. The existential. I think it's cracked something open internally too, that this is good.

Chelsea:

Yeah.

Studio IX:

That it’s getting at the essence of things.

Chelsea:

Well, your values become clearer and you get closer to yourself and to what actually matters when faced with what it means to be in a body and be vulnerable.

I think that's what's happening. We're trimming the fat.

Studio IX:

Well said.

Chelsea:

Yeah.

Studio IX:

Well, you want to talk about art?

Chelsea:

Yeah, yeah, that sounds good. I feel like people want to hear about things that gives us agency, stuff that reminds us that we are creative beings and we do have some potency.

Studio IX:

Yes! Potency and purpose are good. So tell us who you are.

Chelsea:

My name is Chelsea, and I am a person in a body who likes to connect and make things and tap into the universal between all of us. I feel like that's who I am, but there are a lot of things that I do and I've lived in a lot of places and travelled to a lot places and learned a lot of things.

Studio IX:

And what kind of artist are you? What mediums do you use?

Chelsea:

I work primarily with collage, printmaking, watercolor and ink. I do a lot of drawing and painting too, but I think it’s all just the product of something deeper that I'm trying to get at. It's just the byproduct of my process.

Studio IX:

Are you formally trained? or has it always just been there? Something that evolved on your own.

Chelsea:

That question has always been difficult for me to answer. I feel like that alludes to the indeterminateness that I've referenced in my description of the show and the ideas that I've tried to approach because I could never really pinpoint when it started. My mother was an art teacher and she was technically my first instructor. Growing up in the three locations where we lived, there was always a studio, there were always supplies, and she just had a generosity of spirit. I think she really believed in the power of putting a blank piece of paper and some colored pencils or paint in front of a person and something happens. You get to work, but it works on you a little bit too.

It was always there. But I guess the formal training per se started when I went to college. I studied art history, so I developed the eye, and when that happened, I was able to turn that eye intentionally to what I was doing and what I had been doing. I took drawing classes while I was there too because I had toyed with the idea of doing a studio art major, but I eventually decided on art history and Classics. In addition to art, I had a preoccupation with ancient cultures that was pervasive throughout my childhood, so I decided to put that into action and studied to be an archeologist.

I feel like it influenced me aesthetically and also tapped into this basic fundamental aspect of being human that I was always really interested in. And after I graduated, to be honest, my creative practice had fallen by the wayside. And I noticed that gap, that there was something that needed to be fulfilled in me. I think I was also a little lost after I graduated because my plan didn't work out, which is what tends to happen.  So, I just started with the basics and really started to look around me and figure out what mattered to me, to pinpoint what was in my immediate environment. I was working at the C&O Restaurant at that time, and I started noticing all of the beautiful patterns in that building. I had my sketchbook with me, and on my breaks, I would draw the things that I saw, not necessarily the things as objects, but patterns. Wood patterns and brick patterns and gravel and patterns on sidewalks and in the walls and stuff like that. And I became really preoccupied with the repetition of those patterns in other places.

I felt like it provided a link between disparate parts, and I gained a sense of structure and unity and solidity that I think at that time I was looking for. And then I started to experiment a little more intentionally with watercolor and printmaking. The watercolors were gifted to me by my family and then, Thomas Dean, sweet man that he is, gave me access to his studio, and we experimented with screen printing. And I really enjoyed that process and decided to investigate printmaking more closely. And then it just spiraled and snowballed over the years. I've done workshops in Charlottesville and Richmond, and then the pinnacle was the workshop I did at Penland School of Craft last summer. I think the things that I was doing during those years up until then were really focused on technique, refining my process, figuring out what it was I was wrestling with, and what are the aesthetics that I'm creating. It was really maturing all of that.

Studio IX:

I’m always curious.

To my experience it seems that most of us are born artists and then we are told we are not, so we stop or we unlearn it in some way. It sounds as if it was supported and nurtured — something that was always present in your world.

Chelsea:

Yeah. And to be honest, a lot of the growth process was a process of unlearning, like you said.

Studio IX:

What is your process like? Maybe you can talk about it through that lens.

Chelsea:

Well, it was a lot of unlearning what we're told art is supposed to be or what we're told you're supposed to do in order to be called an artist. And of course, there are different levels of technical skill and that should be respected. But I think an artist is just someone who can tune out all the noise to be able to speak life to whatever experience it is that they are observing. And if their vision is clear and resounding, I think that that is really the practice of art, what it really means. I think that maybe people's reception gets more of a premium than it should. It is an engagement with the public and there is something to say for that. But one of my favorite books actually, called “Art and Fear,” talks a lot about unlearning that emphasis on how your work is going to be received. If you try to pander to your viewers, your work might come off as watered-down or condescending or arrogant or worse, like a culmination of all three, and you're sacrificing your vision and what you see.

But as far as my process goes, typically what I'm doing is trying to approach this place of indeterminateness, a kind of a liminal space where I’m disengaged with the prospecting, over-analytical, hyper-articulate part of the brain in order to get to something more essential and fundamental. And the way that I do that is by tapping into my senses, what I’m experiencing. A lot of times I tend to bombard my senses a little bit. I will engage with sound, with music, with texture, with writing. I’ll submerge myself in smells. I'm really just trying to have an intentional conversation with what it means to be and to recreate that experience, to communicate that visually rather than trap it in words, like I'm doing now. And maybe it's why it sounds a little clumsy. I try to communicate what I experienced from that space visually, and it comes out as indefinite in the aesthetic. When I have talked to people who have looked at some of the pieces in this collection, they say that in their experience of looking at it, they're trying to figure out what it is or why it is that they like it. There's something there, something vague, ineffable, that just communicates to you, and you know what it is but you might not be able to put words to it. That means I'm doing it right.

Studio IX:

What questions guide your work?

Chelsea:

Why this color? Why this combination? Why this composition? That’s more the analytical part that comes after, but when I'm in the process of making something, the question might be, what are my instincts telling me? Can my experience of a state of mind or an emotion or a texture or a sound be communicated in another medium? I'm really preoccupied with synesthesia, so I try to engage that metaphoric thinking whenever I'm creating something.

Studio IX:

What inspires you?

Chelsea:

Textures. Music. Writers who stir something in me. Movies that speak to the human condition. Disjointed phrases. Agitated voices. Those things that tickle your nerves a little bit. That's what I'm inspired by.

WELLNESS SPOTLIGHT: Liz Reynolds

“These are extraordinary, unprecedented times that we're in right now – and so wellness can look very different. And it’s important to give ourselves permission for that.”

We took a moment this past week to sit down with our dear friend & colleague, Liz Reynolds (a Charlottesville based Wellness and Movement Coach) to hear her thoughts on wellness in a time of crisis. We wish to thank Liz, Susan Mackinnon, Emily Keenan, Ann Dunn & so many others who generously contributed their expertise and insights to the resources provided here & throughout our online newsletter & website this month.

Studio IX:

Good morning, Liz. Thanks so much for taking the time.

Liz:

Of course.

Studio IX:

Business aside, it’s great to see you, even at the far end of this rather long table. Such a treat.

Liz:

Agreed.

Studio IX:

Because this is not a typical spotlight & the questions are a bit more in depth, I’ve given you a printout to refer to if need. As we’re talking, if anything comes to mind, anything at all, just pipe right up.

Liz Reynolds:

Will do. You want me to start up here at the top?

Studio IX:

Yep.

Liz:

Great.

Liz Reynolds:

So, I'm Liz Reynolds and right now I call myself a movement teacher and a wellness coach, specifically through the lens of Ayurveda. But I don't like to use the word Ayurveda too much because I think that that puts me in too small of a box. I'm interested in overall wellness, and I use a lot of practices from Ayurveda to guide my clients.

Studio IX:

Can you tell us a bit about Ayurveda?

Liz Reynolds:

Ayurveda is as old as yoga.  You could consider it sort of like the sister practice to yoga. So, it was developed in India thousands of years ago. And it focuses on lifestyle and health according to each persons unique mind/body type, called a Dosha.  Its a holistic practice; body, mind, spirit health. An Eastern style of medicine and it mostly works on prevention, but there are Ayurvedic doctors, so you could go to see an Ayurvedic doctor for a more holistic approach to healing and dealing with chronic disease.

The biggest thing that's changed for me with this whole coronavirus thing is not being able to teach public classes and meet clients face to face. A big part of what I do is I teach about six hours of group classes a week and then I have probably just as many private sessions, sometimes more. And what I do through movement and obviously through our Ayurvedic counseling or coaching requires being in front of people and helping them move through their bodies and help heal imbalances. And obviously that's not happening now with all the restrictions.

So, I've had to move a lot of my clients online. I had already developed an online membership as sort of a part-time business. I started that back in October, it's called Vari-Move. Since I've been stuck at home and haven't been able to teach group or private clients in person, I've been focusing more on that business, which has been really great for the business because obviously people are looking online for ways to keep moving. Fortunately I had that platform already set up and a big library of prerecorded classes ready for people to take.

Most of the classes are between 20 and 40 minutes. So, it has the busy person in mind. There were plenty of people before this pandemic that didn't have time to move their bodies every day. And so, this was kind of an outlet for that. And now that we're all stuck at home, I feel like Vari-Move is even more valuable.

Studio IX:

So what do your days look like right now? How are you adjusting?

Liz:

Personally, my life at present is focused on sticking to a routine because like I said, I know my tendencies to sort of get lost in procrastination. To sit at home and get stuck watching the news or watching a TV show. What do you call that when you just...

Studio IX:

Binge?

Liz Reynolds:

Yes, Binge watch. I could do that with all this free time. So, I'm really focusing on keeping a routine. I meditate in the morning, I do my Ayurveda routine, called Dinacharya. I scrape my tongue, I drink warm lemon water and I sit quietly, whether that's in meditation or not, I sit quietly by myself and focus on what’s present now, sounds, body sensations, breath, my field of vision. it’s so healing for my nervous system. I make sure I eat a really vitamin packed breakfast so my brain and body are fueled and then I start working on the business or do stuff around the house. Like, okay, what can I do to keep myself inspired today?

A big thing that's coming up for me right now is connection. Because my work relies so much on connecting to others face to face, I'm doing a lot of FaceTiming with folks. So lots of communication with people over the past two weeks for sure. A lot more than normal. And I think we all need that. In a way, we are more connected now than ever, because we are making the effort. 

Studio IX:

It does feel that way.

In regards to wellness, I've noticed that I’m struggling a lot with not having the gym any longer. Not seeing my people, having the collective incentive, connection & community of it.

Liz Reynolds:

Most people that I know have a hard time motivating themselves to do movement practice on their own. Some people prefer it, but most people I know want the community aspect of working out with others. That's why they go to a yoga class. That's why they pay the money to go. Because there's a sense of family there, there's a community, and they want to practice with other people. People are meant to move together. 

The best thing I know right now for that is lots of studios are offering virtual classes through Zoom & other platforms, rather than an on-demand prerecorded class, you can actually see the other participants and you can live chat. People are talking to each other before and after the class. And I've done a few of those.  it's been the best substitution. It's the best we’ve got right now. So, I would definitely recommend that to people who are missing their gym experience.

Studio IX:

Can you talk a bit about Wellness? How it's evolved for you — your understanding and practice of it.

Liz Reynolds:

I think maybe the biggest difference for me is just the holistic approach to it.  We are culturally bombarded with messages that wellness is about your physicality. How you feel in your body. But that’s such a narrow outlook, and frankly, I think a dangerous one. The body is not separate from the mind — and we are missing that piece. 

If you stop and you hold out your hands and close your eyes and you just pay attention to your hands. If you just concentrate and focus on your hands, what do you feel?

I'm feeling tingling, I'm feeling different sensations. Now I feel it in my wrist and it's going down my arms. My mind is doing that. So, I think the biggest difference for me now with wellness is adding the emotional and mental components into my movements.  Why am I working out- what’s my intention?  Is it to get six pack abs and fit into those jeans, or can we look at exercise and movement in a bigger way? 

There's a Sanskrit word called Svastha. And it means deeply seated in yourself. It's the Ayurveda word for ‘health’. I just love that. 

Studio IX:

And it’s just so easy to not feel that way. To literally be out of the seat, running full speed each day.

Liz Reynolds:

Yes.

Studio IX:

Breathing like a rabbit. Eating whatever’s at hand.

Liz Reynolds:

And it speaks to the fact that Wellness looks different for everyone.

How I work with clients is first and foremost by saying to them “You don't have to be perfect”. It's okay. You don't have to be eating kale salads and exercising hard every day and meditating every day, and doing all of the things that we're told that we need to do to be healthy. Wellness could be, I feel more comfortable looking in the mirror. Wellness could be, I can poop every day!

Studio IX:

Go girl. (laughter)

Liz Reynolds:

Wellness could mean, I don't feel anxious anymore when this situation comes up.

Studio IX:

And that feels connected to that voice, to that self-critic which is in all of us.

Liz Reynolds:

Yes, absolutely.

Studio IX:

The benefit of taking away the guilt, taking away the shame, taking away anything that stands in the way of ease — of being “seated”, as you say.

Liz Reynolds:

Yes.

Studio IX:

If I'm in the middle of a workout and my body says “stop”, I stop. It’s become less about ‘hitting the mark’ or pushing through pain & much more about listening.

Liz Reynolds:

Right. I'm so glad you brought that up, because that has been the critical piece for me in terms of my view of wellness. You can be exercising, following a protocol, “I need to exercise every day to be healthy, to be well” and your body is telling you the opposite of that. Is that wellness? No, that's ignoring the signs that your body's giving you. That's ignoring your body's wisdom. I’ve realized that my body is much smarter than my mind.

I'm learning to listen. To trust that it knows what it needs. It's like this beautiful complex orchestra. Instead of trying to conduct it, one can listen to it.

The concept of wellness for me right now, during the pandemic is about granting myself permission to do things that I really feel I need. Permission to start ugly crying. That if you need to break down and sob, if you need to scream and yell into a pillow, if you need to eat a fricking gallon of ice cream, let yourself do it. Give yourself permission to feel the hugeness of this whole thing, without judgement.

Liz Reynolds:

These are extraordinary, unprecedented times that we're in right now – and so wellness can look very different. And it’s important to give ourselves permission for that.

Self compassion. The article you shared (Michael Maddaus | Skills for Optimal Performance ), again and again, it points to self-compassion. I think that's so key right now.

Studio IX:

Yeah, I love that line right at the beginning, about that voice in our heads. That restless, crazy maniac that's following you around the house all day. 

Liz Reynolds:

YES. I love that too. I'm going to steal it. (laughter)

Here it is, Sam Harris, says, "The voice in your head is the most rambling, chaotic, needling, insulting, insufferable person you will ever meet. And it's like having some maniac walk through the front door of your house and follow you from room to room and refuse to stop talking." And that’s a huge reason why I've limited my news intake to 10 minutes a day.

The news is like having that maniac walk through the door of your house and follow you from room to room and refuse to stop talking.

And the relationship to that maniac can sometimes be one of codependency and even fusion. That’s when we get into trouble. When we sync our mind up with, are dependent upon the hamster wheel. When we get caught in that cycle.

And most of the time this cycle is “what's wrong”.

Studio IX:

Say more.

Liz Reynolds:

One of my teachers calls it the “what's wrong” attention. You get caught in everything that’s negative.

Studio IX:

You get a negative thought in your head and it just goes.

Liz Reynolds:

And at four in the morning, it can wake you up in a sweat.

Studio IX:

So what are some practical tools to break out of that?

Liz Reynolds:

Well, you’ve heard it before, but yoga is a great place to start. And I don’t necessarily mean the yoga poses. I wrote down earlier, the second yoga Sutra which is pretty much, what yoga is. It is says yoga citta vritti nirodha and it means that yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind. The stilling of the mind. And there's lots of ways to get there. But really, the main tool I use is the practice of letting my mind, body and emotions feel this big crazy experience without getting caught in it.  Becoming a witness to my experience instead of a slave to it.

Studio IX:

So it's the physical manifestation of meditation in a sense? That yoga is essentially a more holistic means of quieting the mind — and the body?

Liz Reynolds:

It is meditation, yes. The whole point of the asanas (physical postures) that we do is to help tone, strengthen and open the body, in preparation for meditation. So you can sit your ass down and be quiet and still. Open the spine, open your hips, open your shoulders, and then you'd sit. And that was the original intent of yoga. That's why every asana has the word asana at the end of it, which means “seat”. All the poses are seats for meditation.

Studio IX:

One of the things I notice that a lot of people are struggling with is the uncertainty & disruption of the work world. That those who are still working are doing so in a very different way. Hustling to adapt. Adjusting moment to moment. And for everyone, this is so pronounced.

Liz Reynolds:

Yeah.

Studio IX:

As a result it seems these practices are less of a luxury and more of a practical and critical foundation right now.

Liz Reynolds:

Yes, they are & I think that the notion of slowing down is so crucial as well. Both for our nervous systems, but it's also crucial for emotional processing. Feeling our feelings is one of the hardest things we can do as humans. And slowing down creates space for that. Because it's so scary and hard, people are resisting. They're resisting slowing down.

Studio IX:

I thought that was amazing. That piece in the sleep section of Maddaus’ article. That the very last stage of the REM cycle, around hour seven, is where we process our emotions. I had never heard that before.

Liz Reynolds:

When you sleep you digest your food, your gut resets. And yes, you also digest your undigested emotions. You digest the news, you digest anything that you've put in through the gateway of your five senses, everything. And as far as practical tools / best practices for sleep, doing anything stimulating, especially a screen, an iPhone, a TV, a computer, two hours before you go to bed, at least two hours, can be detrimental. So disruptive. 

Studio IX:

That’s hard.

Liz Reynolds:

It can be really hard. Some people go to sleep watching TV, checking their feeds.

Studio IX:

Have to confess, I've actually dropped my phone on my face before.

Liz Reynolds:

Don't do that Greg!

Studio IX:

I know. Not good. (laughter)

Liz Reynolds:

If you're struggling with sleep, cut out the stimulus before you go to sleep. 

Studio IX:

So let’s talk a bit about Social Distancing.

Liz Reynolds:

Oh, God. For me, that has been the hardest.

Studio IX:

I hear you.

Liz Reynolds:

I was thinking on the way over here: “What’s the first thing you're going to do when all this is over?” And I didn't even have to think - I'm going to hug everyone.

And right now I (we) can't. I can't be there to hug my dad. He's 72, it's not worth the risk. I can't hug my little brothers.

Studio IX:

Yeah. It’s been a bit unbearable, so counter-intuitive. 

Liz Reynolds:

I mean, talk about feeling helpless and isolated. There are so many of us riding it out alone.

Studio IX:

Yes. And no one is really, ideally, positioned. Those who are sheltering with partners, or family. You’re all just trying to stay sane, get things done, ride it out together. “I love you” , “Go away”.

Liz Reynolds:

Right. I mean, you've got to think we're all each other's spiritual teachers right now.

You have to put yourself on a higher level. Reframe the situation. I'm not stuck with my family (my partner) but rather, I get to spend time with them & this may never happen again in my lifetime.

Studio IX:

And harder still, split homes & the kids that depend on school to be their only meals of the day. A reprieve from neglectful or abusive homes, etc.. There are just so many challenges with it.

Liz Reynolds:

So many.

Studio IX:

So let’s talk about diet & eating habits.

Liz Reynolds:

I think for me that goes back to that notion of self-compassion. Taking it easy on ourselves. Who cares if what you’re eating doesn’t perfectly line up with what you typically know to be ‘healthy’. Just eat! & enjoy it. Now is not the time to stress over eating a perfect diet, whatever the hell that is anyway.

Studio IX:

That dovetails nicely into what we were talking about earlier. The importance of letting expectations soften, letting things be messy. No judgment.

Liz Reynolds:

Yes.

Studio IX:

And I suppose that holds on the emotional front as well. We are going to need to flip out, to vent, cry, get angry — have some release.

Liz Reynolds:

Yeah, I talked to a friend this morning and she was just like, “I've been waking up with nightmares every morning. I don't know what's wrong with me.”

Sounds perfectly normal to me. Let yourself digest that shit sister!

Studio IX:

Yes.

Liz Reynolds:

Someone said to me the other day, I feel like I haven't felt this sense of heaviness since 9/11. And I was like, this is so much heavier.

Studio IX:

It does feel heavier & I’m not sure that we can go through the world in a guarded way right now and feel that connection that we’re needing, that release. It’s just not possible. It seems to be dissolving those walls, whether we like it or not.

Liz Reynolds:

Yes. We need to bare witness to each other’s stories. The article talks about that as well. If people don't have anyone to tell their story to, they lose their minds.

Studio IX:

A great many of us are struggling with loss right now as well. From something as simple as our everyday routine all the way up to our financial security & god forbid, the potential loss of loved ones. Could you speak to that a bit?

Liz Reynolds:

Yeah. Loss is a part of all of this. We are experiencing a collective loss. I'm probably going to lose my stepmom from cancer in a matter of days, maybe even hours. I can't give her a hug. I can't really be with that side of my family right now.

Liz Reynolds:

And wellness looks very different when you experience loss in that way.

Studio IX:

I’m so sorry to hear it, Liz. Please continue.

Liz Reynolds:

We have to adapt to what's happening right now. What’s right in front of us. 

Studio IX:

I feel that. Prior to COVID there was, for me anyway, this everyday, ‘regular world’ way of distancing myself from these things. That I could think about it conceptually without confronting the reality of it. Looking to books, Buddhist philosophy, reflections on impermanence, etc. Then there’s the emotional reality of when it comes to meet you. When you have to surrender to something that is completely out of your control, which can be in some cases, unbearable. Overwhelming.

Liz Reynolds:

Yes.

And as the person experiencing that, we really just need to be listened to. Zach Bush talks about that in the podcast I shared with you. (Food Independence & Planetary Evolution | Rich Roll Podcast Ep.414)

Studio IX:

It was great.

Liz Reynolds:

He talks about all these people who were on their deathbeds and who he brings back to life, the common thing that they all say is "I finally felt accepted for exactly who I am." In that space, that in-between space from living and dying, that was what they all had in common is that they finally felt like they belonged. 

So what does that tell us? It tells us: fuck all this petty bullshit. Who cares who you voted for? Who cares, where your kid goes to school? Whatever. Thank you, coronavirus, for reminding us that this shit doesn't matter. You know what I mean?

Studio IX:

I do. Very much so.

Let me read something that was sent to me the other day. “This virus is a leveler. It's bringing our world to its knees. It is a unifier and does not discriminate. It cares not for social status, skin color, political affiliation, religious identification, or geographic region. We are, all of us, ideal hosts.”

Liz Reynolds:

Yes. Yes.

Studio IX:

And because of that fact, we all need to step up for one another. Now, more than ever.

Liz Reynolds:

Yep, absolutely, and that could mean whatever. It means different things to different people. Some people are going to just reach out to their friends and their family more, and some people are going to take school lunches to kids who are hungry and some people are going to lead fundraisers. It doesn't matter what you do. There's a ripple effect to every single one of those things. It doesn't matter how small. 

Studio IX:

So that empathy piece is critical?

Liz Reynolds:

Yes. We all have to get a little bit more enlightened. 

If I were to give one piece of advice, in the tool box of practices that I have, I would say one of the best things people can do right now is have a gratitude practice.

Studio IX:

What does that look like?

Liz Reynolds:

You can say it out loud first thing in the morning. Really, first thing in the morning is so great because it sets the tone for your whole day. The yogis would say that the space right around when the sun comes up,  before you get out of bed to put your feet on the floor, ask yourself what are you grateful for? It doesn't matter what it is. You can say it out loud. You can say it to God. You can write it down in a journal.

That’s the catalyst for your day. You take a seat of gratitude before you even begin your day, and then you're starting off in the space of your heart. Your gratitude comes from your heart. If this were different, if we were in a different time in history right now, I might suggest a different practice, but the gratitude practice right now is just so key.

Studio IX:

It brings that quote by Brene Brown to mind “What separates privilege from entitlement is gratitude.”

Liz Reynolds:

It reframes it, yeah.

If I may just offer, from the Ayurvedic lens, when things feel complex, in Ayurveda, they would say the more complicated the symptoms, and you think about all the symptomology of what's going on right now, of mad chaos and uncertainty and anxiety ,whatever is coming up, the more complex the symptoms, the more simple the healing protocol.

So, I think what that looks like is everything we've talked about. Self compassion, connection to others, gratitude. But also consider things like get enough sleep, limit the stimulus that you take in every day, especially the "What's wrong" attention, eat a diet that's simple. Simple. Try eating the diet that your grandma cooked you to soothe you. Eat the chicken noodle soup. Eat the casserole, whatever. Whatever you ate growing up as a child, eat that, even if it's Spaghetti-Os. Give yourself a break and nourish your soul. 

Across the board, with your diet, with your relationships, with your children, with your parenting skills, with your job, you're just not going to be able to sustain perfection. You won't be able to ‘execute’ every day. Your kid will make you insane. Your partner will get on your nerves. Ride it. 

Liz Reynolds:

And make sure you get in nature.

Studio IX:

Yes.

Liz Reynolds:

Yeah. That's part of the simple healing protocols: sleep, simple diet, move your body every day. It doesn't have to be a high intensity interval training or running a marathon. Just walk. The most gentle nourishing movement you can do is walking, and you can open up your senses, especially if you're outside.

Studio IX:

Somebody recently shared the acronym STEM: Sleep, Talk, Eat, Movement.

Studio IX:

Any closing thoughts?

Liz Reynolds:

Just be kind to yourself.

Studio IX:

Thanks so much, Liz.

Liz Reynolds:

You're welcome, my pleasure.

Café Spotlight: Jon & Cheryl of Jbird Supply Coffee Roasters

We recently sat down for a quick chat with the owners of JBird Supply Coffee Roasters, the new espresso bar, here in the Café at Studio IX. Jon & Cheryl had some great things to share about how they got here & where they’re headed. We couldn’t be happier to have them with us.

Studio IX:

Ok, so let’s jump right in.

Jon: What you got, Greg?

Studio IX:

First things first, tell us who you are, what it is you do, how it all got started.

Jon:

Okay. Well my name's Jon. I am one of the owners of JBird Supply Coffee Roasters. The company started selling in the summer of 2018. It was an idea that I had, based on previous work history and my love of coffee.. Cheryl and I had been talking about finding a way to make the family unit into a business. How can we progress as a family and spend more time together. So that started our roasting business. Been doing it for about two years now.

Cheryl:

My name's Cheryl. I'm the bird.

Studio IX:

Cheryl the bird?

Cheryl:

Mm-hmm (affirmative)

Studio IX:

So let’s talk a bit about what drives you. What are you guys passionate about?

Cheryl:

I'm really passionate about connection, and a sense of community, about not taking anything for granted. And so I feel like anything that I'm doing, I'm going to put everything I have into it and use it as a bridge, in a way, to connect with other people. Whether it's the person in front of me, or in this case with the coffee, the farmers that are growing the beans. Even to the graphic designer on the other end of the computer. I don't know, I just feel like we're all in this together and we've all got shit to do, so we might as well drink good coffee and try to take care of each other in the process.

Studio IX:

Well said.

Jon:

I'm passionate about starting something on your own and having independence in your life. I've worked for a lot of corporate jobs. I've worked for a lot of small business owners, and I think it's important to have some kind of control over what you do in your day. Coffee is a great way for me to develop our own system, our own way of being. I feel like coffee kind of has a lot of pretension to it these days, and there's ways to go about it where you don't have to have that stigma attached to it. Production, independence, artistic expression — these are the things that drive me.

And like Cheryl said, the coffee growers, they're the ones that do all the work. We just get paid to have fun with it. It’s really important for us to convey that there is this whole other side to it. Where it comes from and the people it affects. It's important that others learn about that process.

Studio IX:

In the short time that I've gotten to know you both, it’s very clear that you’re extremely personable, community driven people. There’s a kind of old-world hospitality about you, that’s rare anymore. Taking a real interest in people. Getting to know your customer base, developing those relationships. — I'd love to hear a bit more about what that means to you.

Jon:

Yeah. I think we're kind of in-betweeners, generationally. Being born in the early eighties and we're not super techie people. We're not like the millennials that are obsessed with being seen or videoed or recapped or whatever it is. You know? And it's kind of like a coffee house, or a fucking punk thing, or whatever it is. It's all about communicating with people and spending time together. So for us to come in here and have a space where you're not just seeing the same faces every day, which you could do at any coffee shop, but people are actually doing their creative work here. You really want to connect with them and you get ideas from them, you get energy from them, and you can give that back, too.

Jon:

And I think on a day to day basis, that's just who we are. You know? It's like, if we're out in the world, we're going to open a door for somebody, say thank you, make eye contact, and just be personable. Life's short. You don't have to be a dick every day. You can open up a little bit and find a way to make somebody happy.

Cheryl:

I think for me, I grew up in a bar. Multiple bars. My family, my parents, I'm an only child and they were very young and they drank a lot. If you spend hours and hours in a bar, you learn the art of shooting the shit and grow an appreciation for honest conversation.

It’s important that we slow down and just talk to one another. Who knows what's going to come out, who knows what you're going to come up with. Who knows what you have in common. I think coffee bars can have that same rejuvenating kind of effect that as maybe a bar can. Although that's not very rejuvenating (laughter), — but it's a place where you can feel like your family in a way.

Studio IX:

Can you guys share a memorable moment with us, — a turning point? Anything that stands out.

Jon:

I've been doing coffee for 15 plus years and helped open numerous cafes, ran and managed all sorts of places, and this has been an entirely new project. Once we started producing coffee and it tasted great and we got good feedback, I felt like that was a big turning point for us.

We have an eight year old son and his involvement, I just think it's going to be a really cool memory for him. Looking back on it, however long this lasts. That part of his upbringing has been in being part of this family business. Being involved with it.

Studio IX:

Yeah.

Cheryl:

I think a major turning point has been coming into Studio IX. I still had a full time job up until two weeks ago. So having the ability to go all in and really focus on things has been huge. I don't know which way we're turning... I don't know if we're turning left or right or making a U turn. I don't know where we're going, but we're going in a different way so you can call it a turning point. That's for sure.

Jon:

Yeah, it's a big change. Being here, having an everyday interaction based around the coffee, the people, the interactions, and stuff like that. This is kind of been our goal for a while, so it's nice to get this started.

Studio IX:

We're excited to have you guys.

Studio IX:

On that note, what does the future hold for you all. For JBird? Things you’re looking to?

Jon:

I mean, for me, I had two goals when I started the company: to roast coffee and make the Black Flag t-shirt. And after I did that, Cheryl's like, you can retire. So everything's a bonus these days. I look at every day as an opportunity to learn. I'm not afraid to fail, which is good. I keep telling myself that it's okay if it doesn't work and I don't want to make this into some juggernaut. No attempts to take over the world here. That's not my goal with it. It's just to be respectful with it and take care of our community, and be respectful of the environment. There's much bigger things out there than our little coffee company. We're just trying to make our little mark, get by and have a family.

Studio IX:

And you, Cheryl?

Cheryl:

I'm not very goal oriented? I just wing it?

Studio IX:

You're in the moment.

Cheryl:

Yeah, I am. And I mean in general, I don't want any more out of life then really to be able to pay my bills and enjoy my family. So as long as we can make that happen with Studio IX and continue to do whatever we want creatively with coffee, I’m good.

Studio IX

Would be so nice if more people had those values.

Jon:

I guess in America, to feel like you're on the next level, you have to have these gargantuan ideas of, if I'm not at this benchmark in this amount of time and the company's not... But I don't want to get to the point where there's shareholders involved and stuff like that and I don't want to work for anybody. That's the whole reason why I started this. We talked about companies like Stumptown a lot as a nice, mentor to look at it for specialty coffee because they did what they wanted and then they got to a point where they could sell, and the owner sold, and he didn't have to deal with all the corporate crap that came along with it. He got out at that point. So I think if it ever got to the point where something like that could happen, I would stop doing it. I would do something else.

Studio IX:

Last question. What are you guys excited about that you're serving right now, that you want everyone to know about?

Jon:

I mean, I love the hidden gems that are just like... I think this time of the year, our chai is really fun and it's not our coffee we're just planning to talk about, but for a drink in February, we have such brilliant chai called Prana, and it pairs really well with our espresso. So you could get that. And then just trying any of our coffees on pour-over or Chemex, where you really get different notes in the coffee, compared to just actual dash brew. That's always fun too.

Cheryl:

Jon says he’s going to do something with strawberries this year. It will be totally badass.

Greg:

Yeah. I love that you guys do that too. You and I were talking about it. Just that you switch gears and go with what's fresh and like... Coffee-wise, garnishes, additives, and everything like that. You can stay fresh and stay in season with anything you do really. You just have to work at it.

Cheryl:

We kind of hope to do the same thing with food here at Studio IX. Again, trying to get different food trucks in here on a rotating but consistent basis. And then trying out different pastries, seeing what people like, but it doesn't have to be the same thing every day. And that's kind of the cool thing when you're the boss. It's like, I'm sick of that and I get to stop. I can do something different. As long as people will buy it so I can pay my bills. Yeah.

Greg:

Thank you guys. So good to have you here.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: ROBIN MACKLIN

Studio IX:              So tell us who you are & what you do.

Robin:  My name is Robin Macklin. I'm  a principal member of Myth-Talent, a team that matches people with jobs that are a good fit for them. We support the local tech community. We meet with individuals, find out what makes them tick professionally, and then help them to find a way to achieve that.

Studio IX:              What are you passionate about?

Robin:  I love photography, I stepped back from it years ago, professionally, though I still have some photography clients and I love the work. I do a lot of volunteer photography to support organizations in town. I also love to exercise, bonfires, hosting a good gathering of friends. & I give myself my own haircuts, which is good.

Studio IX:              You do a very nice job. (Laughter)

Robin:  Thanks, it’s the fiscally responsible thing to do.

Robin: I think most of all I love to write. That’s really my thing.  I'm making it a steady and regular part of my life for the first time ever. I've had a few essays published, but I really want to finish a novel. I have a screenplay I'm working on as well, so yeah.  I’m fine tuning a structured approach to it, one that I can realistically stick to.

Studio IX: Do you see a connection between your passions and the work that you do?

Robin Macklin:  Yeah. You know, I have an introvert's set of hobbies, but I actually love to communicate with folks and I enjoy free flowing conversation and the conviviality. So it makes sense that I would be doing this. My work benefits from my natural ability to move from one thing to another.

Studio IX:              Yeah. It's all connected.

Studio IX:              What's the best mistake you've ever made?

Robin Macklin:  Most people who are in a service industry have at one point probably had an unhealthy client relationship.  Long ago, I learned that some checks just aren’t worth it. Early in my career, there was a period when my most profitable client relationship was with someone who was pretty abusive, but it was a lucrative contract so I just endured it. And then one day I ended up firing her by accident, with a misdirected email. It wasn't great. But after about 60 seconds of panic, relief really washed over me. The lesson I learned was that enduring a relationship of that kind is toxic to all the other aspects of life. It was a seed and from that seed grew this sense that I wanted to be doing things in a different way, be intentional in relationship development, and to be doing work that really benefited everyone involved, including myself.

Robin Macklin:  And here we are, Myth Talent does exactly that. Every single thing we do passes through the lens of, does this help an individual to thrive? Does it make them happier? The idea is that a thriving individual leads to a more energized company, and more energized companies lead to a prosperous community. So we're trying to help everybody, one person at a time. And honestly I could point to that mistake, that email, as the point at which I just started acting on my convictions.

Studio IX:              Such a great story.

Studio IX: Where do you see yourself and the company in 5 to 10 years?

Robin Macklin:  I mean we’re aiming to be the most powerful company in the world. (laughter). But how do we get there? That's the question.

Studio IX:              That. is the question. (laughter)

Robin Macklin:  But in all seriousness, we’d like to continue to grow in our capacity to deliver the services that we do. To improve people’s lives, build a healthier business community and community at large.

Studio IX:              Love it.

Studio IX:              Last question. What do you like about being here at Studio IX?

Robin Macklin: I love Studio IX just for the fact that it exists in the way that it does. It's been absolutely invaluable to my career, my presence here. I've met so many great people. And the coffee is great.

Studio IX:              Thanks.

Robin Macklin:  Yeah, the coffee is really good. It's so much better than the coffee I make at home.

Studio IX:              It's Virginia's fault.

Robin Macklin:  Yeah, I saw that in the last Spotlight. You can put it in this one, too.

Studio IX:              We certainly will. Virginia’s the best. (laughter)

Studio IX: Thanks for your time, Robin.

Robin Macklin:  Thank you, Greg.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: ELIZA EVANS & VIRGINIA RIELEY

This month we sat down with exhibiting artist’s Eliza Evans & Virginia Rieley to learn more about their work, their long standing collaboration and their current exhibit in The Gallery at Studio IX.

Studio IX: Who are you?

Eliza Evans: My name is Eliza Evans. I am a mother, a portrait painter, a permaculture farmer, and an amateur herbalist . My identity is rooted firmly in the place I make my home.  North Garden is where I’m planted and its where I do my planting. 

Studio IX: What type of artist are you? What medium/s do you work in?

Evans: I paint acrylic portraits from life.  Usually on wood but sometimes on other surfaces.  

Studio IX: How do you approach your work?

Evans: Generally in a relaxed way. But I’m quick. I don’t want the person to get bored or tired sitting there.

Studio IX: What is your process? 

Evans: To do the portraits I set up my palette and sit across from the person/people I’m painting and ask them to look at me.  If it’s a wiggly kid I tell them that if I whistle they have to look at me.  I think I usually start at the forehead but generally I spend the most time on the eyes.  I try to give every eye a sparkle.  I try to really see the colors in the shadows and light. When I’m done I let them pick whatever background color they want.  I always do that last before signing in the middle on the bottom (I like symmetry) and dating the back.

Studio IX: What inspires you?

Evans: Rainbows.  I know that sounds corny but is there anything more visually pleasing?   Also trees growing, birds, finding cool mushrooms, good food, St. John’s wort and comfrey and nettles and red clover, funny things my kids say and do, really good smells like garlic cooking or honeysuckle or the orange tree that’s blooming in my room right now…

And we just got high speed internet in the last week out here on Wild Orchard Farm and there’s this permaculture lady in Australia named Morag Gamble and I’ve been binging her Youtube videos.  She’s an inspiration.  My goodness!!  Also I’m inspired by my parents who are so active and productive and engaged and helpful and loving.  It’s amazing!  I’m incredibly privileged to be their child and to be able to raise my own three wonderful children next door to them.  They take such amazing care of us all. 

Also Greta Thunberg and all the Indigenous  people and activists who are standing up to the bad guys to protect this precious Earth.

Studio IX: When did you & Virginia first meet?

Evans: In kindergarten.

Studio IX: When did you start working together as artists?

Evans: Second grade.

Studio IX: How do you go about making work together?

Evans: For the last 15 years we’ve made a calendar together: “Every Day is a Holiday!”  We write all the holidays and content together and individually I paint the portraits and Virginia puts it together with collage and hand-letters everything.

Studio IX: How did the idea for the calendars come about?

Evans: We were just joking around in the kitchen of the organic farm where we used to work together, and came up with it and starting laughing uncontrollably at the holidays we came up with.

Studio IX: Could you share us a story?  Something that stands out in your time working together.

Evans: We always notice when our holidays come true and it’s pretty often.  Like on “Republicans Are People Too Day”, the Republican Congress finally ended the government shutdown after many weeks of people not getting paid a few years ago.  We also decided to take out Life Sucks Day after a few years, because many bad things were happening on that day.

Studio IX: What do you hope people take from your work?

Evans: To find little things to appreciate and celebrate every day.  Remember to laugh.

Studio IX: What’s next?

Evans: Lots more holidays! 

***

Artist Spotlight | Pt 2 : Virginia Rieley

Studio IX: Who are you?

Virginia Rieley: Virginia Rieley. Artist, writer, lifelong Charlottesville resident.

Studio IX: What type of artist are you? What medium/s do you work in?

Rieley: In recent years I have been working as a mixed media collage artist, using a combination of original photography, watercolor, pen & ink.

Studio IX: How do you approach your work?

Rieley: My goal is to capture everyday beauty in both iconic, recognizable scenes as well as the hidden, lesser known ones.

Studio IX: What is your process?

Rieley: The first step is taking the photographs, which usually happens on long walks around Charlottesville and the surrounding areas. I usually paint the skies in watercolor, then I cut out my photographs and impose the buildings and landscapes over top of these paintings. Sometimes I fill in small details like power lines using an ink pen.  Also, I worked as a framer for many years, so I like to incorporate the frame as part of the collage as a whole, often covering the frames in colorful  handmade paper.

Studio IX: What inspires you?

Rieley: The abundance of beauty in the everyday. Flowers, trees, the changing seasons, architecture, cityscapes. Everything!

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: GUIMING XIAO

Studio IX:             Good morning, Guiming.

Guiming: Good morning.

Studio IX: So we typically kick things off with an easy one.

Studio IX: What did you have for breakfast?

Guiming:             I had Bodo's bagels. Normally it's nothing, and I just have coffee but today I had breakfast with some friends. So this is a 5% breakfast rate and today happened to be one of that 5%

Studio IX:              Are you an early riser?

Guiming:              Today was also unusual in that regard. I got up at 7:00, to have breakfast at 7:15. Normally, it's probably 8:00. Then I get here (Studio IX) at 9:00.

Studio IX:              So tell us who you are and what it is you do.

Guiming:              Yeah. My name is Guiming Xiao. I graduated in 2012 and moved to Charlottesville right after. I did a program called the Fellows Program where I interned at Trinity Presbyterian church here in Charlottesville for a year and really fell in love with the area. I really like the culture and the geography of this area along with the big-small town vibe. I randomly joined a marketing startup called RKG to stay in the area after the program ended and now, 6 years later, I work remotely for New Engen, another startup in Seattle. New Engen is more software and consulting focused than my previous company but both are in the same field

Studio IX:              What's your exact title?

Guiming:              So I'm tasked with building a new capability right now, so it's honestly ambiguous and can change every 6 months based on how we grow. Right now, would say something ambiguous like Strategy Lead or Strategy Manager. Maybe Manager of Client Strategy. It'll be different probably by the time you post this.

Studio IX:             What are you passionate about?

Guiming:              I am passionate about a lot of things.

Studio IX:              Do tell.

Guiming:             I really love the church I go to-it’s a very important place for me and a very important community in my life where I feel unconditionally accepted and loved. I enjoy listening to music and playing music. I have also dabbled a little bit in writing music and playing, but not in any kind of serious capacity—mostly just a hobby enthusiast. I love playing golf, playing volleyball, and generally being active.

Studio IX:              Yeah.

Guiming:              I do also like Charlottesville a lot – I think it’s a special place.

Studio IX:              Do your passions play a part in your work?

Guiming:              I think somewhat. A big part of my role is helping with sales and marketing. Some company needs help with some problem and I get to come in and help them reimagine what they have and their current way that they're solving it, whether it's how they're physically executing their campaigns or imagining them. I then get to help bring to life New Engen’s vision for how to solve that problem. I generally enjoy mixing tasks that are creative and analytic. And so I get to do that more. I think I’ve enjoyed being able to make visual to bring New Engen’s vision to life as well as generally creating something that's visual. I do some of that. Otherwise, I’d say largely no on the specific hobbies. Golf is almost entirely unrelated to work, writing music's unrelated to work at all, same thing with anything active.

Studio IX:              What do you enjoy most about the work?

Guiming:              I enjoy that it's new. I'm a very curious but also scattered person. What that means is, though I was an econ major in college, I really did not want to do something where I joined a really established giant company with a really clearly defined ladder that you climb and a very predetermined methodology of how to accomplish whatever they're doing. I love the digital marketing space because it's entirely new and no one has any perfect answers for solving most of the problems. So it's a true playground in that sense. I like the creativity that is both the new problem solving as well as in marketing in general. I love helping solve problems and investigating things that have no blueprint.

Studio IX:              Yeah. That makes sense to me too.

Studio IX: What's the best mistake you've ever made?

Guiming:              Hard to say. One time I accidentally overspent a client's budget. This was when I first started in this field, so I was first time managing an account. I spent way too much money for them on accident out of just a pure execution error. What I learned in it was, if you're in a services industry, a professional services industry, people value you and your work more than they value the specific results much of the time. The client was of course upset when this happened, but also was okay with it as long as we created a solution for preventing the error in the future. I also got a real live example that when you make a mistake, its important to own up to it, to the client and that ultimately, the truth of whatever happened is the truth.

Studio IX:              What's a good day look like?

Guiming:              I would say that it is a full day that is also not too full that I have to do anything outside of normal hours. So a good day is, maybe I have a client meeting in the middle of the day. I prep for it. I put in the prerequisite work, it goes well and then I get to leave at 5:00 and go home. I think it's a great day because I think well-run client meetings come from a lot of preparation. And so if you prepare well, you’ll have run through the presentation many times, and you'll really be on the top of your game come live presentation time. I firmly believe you can get a lot done in normal hours and add a lot of value as long as you plan and are efficient with your time. On the flip side, I think a bad day would be a day that's both not full and there's a lot of meetings or something that I have to do outside of hours because we didn't prepare well. Sometimes that happens and there really wasn’t anything we could do to prevent it, but I find that most of the time there was simply better time management or more effective communication/planning that could have prevented it.

Studio IX:             Do you have a memorable story you could share? A turning point? A light switch moment.

Guiming:             Light switch moment. It's hard to say. We are, background on us, 210 people now. We were fifty people two years ago. I joined a year and a half ago and it was in the low hundreds. So it feels like every day there's a turning point where something clearly pivots.

Studio IX:              What's an aspect of your work that might surprise people to know?

Guiming:             I feel with the territory of working for a marketing startup in Seattle, people expect everything to be super techy and data science from there. What surprises my friends a little is that most of my work is actually pretty creatively oriented and very relationally focused. I will say my grandparents are generally surprised that I manage people, but that’s because a part of their mind still thinks I’m a cute grandchild

Studio IX:             Where do you see yourself & New Engen in the next five to ten years?

Guiming:             It's like this is a really fun experience job. I would imagine that I would probably try to not do a remote startup thing again just because it's a really big strain on travel end and then weird hours sometimes. I would imagine company-wise, we’ll be acquired at some point in the next 5-10 years. Once that happens, I think I'd love to pivot from being in the professional services/vendor space and more on the client side. In the sense that right now my job has really helped lots of people with whatever their problems are & I'd love to just find a product or a company mission that I really care for and to be directly involved, basically choosing as opposed to whoever comes in the door. I could also see myself doing something completely unrelated and random.

Studio IX:              Let’s jump back to storytelling for a moment.

Guiming:              Yeah.

Studio IX:              It’s obviously is a big part of marketing, but what does that look like? What are you trying to do? Are you trying to create a world around something that people can drop into?

Guiming:              Yeah. You have digital marketing specifically, which is our focus. I think the name of the game is, there's just a complex set of things out there that no one really understands all of. First I think you're inevitably storytelling for a marketing team at the enterprise level, if you work for a vendor as I do. So we're talking to companies that spend a large amount of money and with their teams the story you tell has to captivate a wide range of people and invigorate them and get them to go and make progress. So it's their plan that you are putting in place.

Guiming:             So you'll put a plan in place that tells a high level story for the CMO. But you also have to talk to someone about the details of how we're going to reach each of the individual channels like Facebook, Google, Amazon, Pinterest, whatnot. And then there's also going to be a tech person. So you have to weave all that together into a clean 50 slide or under deck in an hour and a half.

Studio IX:             Wait, what did you just say?

Guiming:             Deck.

Studio IX:             A fifty slide or under deck?

Guiming:             Fifty slide deck.

Studio IX:           What is that?

Guiming:             A deck is a euphemism for a PowerPoint presentation.

Studio IX:              Got it.

Guiming:              Like a deck of cards.

Studio IX:             Yep.

Guiming:             And so it's fun because really what it is, imagine if you were describing to someone how you build a house for them or plan their wedding. There's a lot of details and ultimately the details are what can get in the way, but the best wedding planners are going to be people who really get to know the people they're working for. And then it’s how they communicate, how they tell the story of what's happening on this day, how they even take the vision and they cater to it really well. And it’s the same thing for us. That's also what we do. Figuring out what all of the personalities care about and how to make them feel heard? What gives them value and then pulling that together into a story.

Studio IX:             Last question - What do you enjoy about being here at Studio IX?

Guiming:             So we have an office in New York now that has its own dedicated space but used to be in a co-working space and honestly that space, along with most spaces, feel very cramped or soulless. I think Studio IX on the other hand is very vibrant and definitely creates a collaborative environment. Theres a “we are here together all trying to be creative and add something in the world” vibe that isn't well executed in most co-working spaces, at least the ones I’ve been to in other places. I love the art on the walls and I love that it changes, that you can see a variety of work all the time. I think the space itself in terms of the physical architecture is beautiful and then there’s always a variety of people walking around that makes it feel like there is somewhat of a community in this area, which I like.

Studio IX:              Yeah.

Guiming:             Good coffee that Greg makes. Great coffee.

Studio IX:             I wish I could take credit for the blend, but Virginia (Milli Roasters) did it.

Studio IX: That's it!

Guiming:            That's it?

Studio IX:            Yeah. Thank you.

Guiming:             Thank you.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: HENRY BORGESON

Studio IX:             Hey, Henry!

Henry:                  Good morning.

Studio IX:             Ok, let’s jump to it. How about an easy one to start? What did you have for breakfast?

Henry:                   I had peanut butter toast with a banana.

Studio IX:             That's good. I didn't have any breakfast.

Henry:                   You're eating a muffin right now.

Studio IX:            It's about to go in. (laughter)

Henry:                   But yeah, peanut butter toast almost every day.

Studio IX:            Chunky or smooth?

Henry:                   Smooth.

Studio IX:             Yeah?

Henry:                    Yeah, smooth. Sometimes I like to get chunky.

Studio IX:            Really? You switch it up?

Henry:                     Maybe 5% of the time, I'll do chunky.

Studio IX:             Yeah?

Henry:                   95% of the time I'll do smooth. You don't appreciate the smooth without the chunky.

Studio IX:            Surely there’s a gem of business wisdom in that comment. (laughter)

Henry:                  Yeah.

Studio IX:             So next question. Who are you?

Henry:                    Who am I?

Studio IX:             ... And what do you do?

Henry:                    Okay. I’m Henry Borgeson. I’m the President and CFO of Roots Natural Kitchen.

Studio IX:            Could you share a bit about what that entails?

Henry:                     I'll speak to the CFO piece first.

That's really just making sure there's money in the bank account and making sure everyone understands how it got there. I think a lot of people like to dress up and imagine that finance is going out, finding big bags of money, and stashing them somewhere. Really it's just that everyone needs to know what the operation did in financial terms, and I try to make sure that happens. Then as we go forward, make sure we have the money we need to continue to do what we want to do.

Then on the president side, that role is new, but it almost exists in a similar vein. It’s holding us accountable to the promises we make to our people.

Often times I think any failure in an organization really comes down to mismanaged expectations. People think you're doing one thing when you're doing something else. Making sure everyone is in a lane where they can succeed and thrive, and they feel good about what they're expected to do, and what they're expected to accomplish – that’s what’s meant to be represented in the role of the President. It's that presence that is supposed to help make sure that happens within the organization. And I take that quite seriously and I enjoy it a great deal.

Studio IX:             Have you been around from the inception of the business? When did Roots start?

Henry:                     So, Roots Natural Kitchen started in 2015, Albert and Alvaro, our two co-founders went to UVA and they had the idea, a simple idea really, there's no place to get healthy food on the corner. Albert, in particular, he gets itches, sees something and thinks, "I need to solve that problem." So, that was the one itch that he had to scratch. He needed to put that restaurant on the corner. And it's grown from there. I knew both of them at UVA and they reached out to me.

Studio IX:                 You were at Darden?

Henry:                     UVA undergrad.

Studio IX:                 Oh, okay.

Henry:                    McIntire, the Undergrad Business School at UVA. Albert and Alvaro reached out to me about three years ago now. Then they slowly roped me in, and my role has grown from there.

Studio IX:                 What are you passionate about?

Henry:                      What am I passionate about?

Studio IX:                 And that's not exclusive to just Roots or your career.

Henry:                     I do find that most of my brain power is committed to the role within Roots. But everything I'm doing within Roots really does resonate with what I'm passionate about. I feel kind of silly saying this because I am rather young, but I'm very passionate about what I alluded to within the context of the president role. I'm very passionate about helping people get to places where they feel like they can succeed. Something that I find very disappointing is that when you survey Americans, over 50% of them say they are dissatisfied or unhappy with their job. That’s very disappointing.

Henry:                          We're supposed to be the pinnacle of society. We're better off than we've ever been before in economic terms, yet people who are going out to work, over half of them say they don't enjoy it. I think that's a failure. Most people look to their place of work to be a community. I am passionate about making sure Roots can be that community, and making sure people feel like Roots is really a place where we say, "Yes, you can go out and do that thing. You've identified a challenge within our organization that you want to take on. I want to help you do that, and make sure you feel good about taking that on." I think that approach has really helped us over time.

A lot of our managers in the stores are people who started on the line, or in the dish room, and have worked themselves up to General Manager roles. That's awesome. Taking on challenges within the context of the restaurant, developing into leaders. One of our corporate team members, Hannah for example, she started in the restaurant as well, then started processing payroll, and has worked into her Director of Employee Experience role. It excites me to help people get to places that they feel good about what they're accomplishing.

Studio IX:                    I think you've kind of answered this, but what do you enjoy most about the work? What gets you up in the morning to make your peanut butter toast?

Henry:                          What do I enjoy most? The chance to be with all the people I'm with every day. In the context of Roots, I very much feel like we're all working in the same direction. Being around people who are working in the same direction, who believe in the outcome we’re striving for - many restaurants that help empower people through natural food. Just being around people who want to do that is inspiring. And being around the good things that spin off that is inspiring. Being with people who feel good about the same mission is rewarding. So I get up because I get to be a part of it.

Studio IX:                Yeah, I feel that with you guys. Absolutely. That's pretty amazing. I’m just inventing this question in the moment, but what does a great day look like?

Henry:                          I get up pretty early. Around 5:00 AM. A great day is an eight-mile run, good breakfast, peanut butter toast, two fried eggs. That's a great morning. I like to spend three to four hours by myself in the morning. That's my introverted time.

Studio IX:                I can relate.

Henry:                          I don't know exactly what a great day within work looks like, but it's one where everything feels like it's clicking. Whether it's working with external vendors, external investors, our accounting team, our HR team - it's being able to feel like we're making progress in the right direction. Not like we're slogging through the day, but that we're actually setting ourselves up to succeed today, and for the next week, the next month, the next year. So, as long as there's positivity in those conversations, that feels good.

Then getting home and still having the chance to make dinner. I like to cook. Usually with no recipe, just with whatever's in the fridge. So as long as there are enough vegetables in the fridge to cook, that gives me a moment to be creative in the kitchen. That’s good too.

Studio IX:               Yeah. All I've got right now is roasted potatoes. It's pretty bad. I need to get to the store.

Studio IX:            Could you share a memorable story? A turning point for you? It could be part of your experience with Roots, or just be your own life and work. Something that really mattered. For instance, was there a moment when you guys were like, "Oh shit!"?

Henry:                     I'm almost always supposed to be the voice in the room that isn't reacting that way. So I end up staying very level.

Studio IX:           The pragmatist?

Henry:                The pragmatist. But when we were opening up Penn State this summer, it was awesome to see the first line. There were six construction workers in line, ready to eat our food in State College. This was the first restaurant that I had the chance to be a part of from start to finish. There was a point in time when we didn't know if we were going to be able to even open that restaurant. I love seeing people that you wouldn't necessarily expect to be eating our food. Not saying construction workers can’t eat our food, but often times there are these moments when it's validated that we're serving food that everyone really can enjoy. And to see that in a place that we thought we might not be able to pull it off.

Henry:                     And then seeing Albert walking around the store, looking at everything.

Studio IX:            People reading this cannot see what you just did. But you just did a perfect impersonation of Albert. (Laughter)

Henry:                     That Penn State restaurant open, was really one that represented us turning a corner, being able to do that.  A big moment from when we first embarked on growing from two restaurants. The first one was in Charlottesville, the second one was in Newark, Delaware. Then we took on this very ambitious growth plan where we were going to try to open one in Austin, Texas, one in State College, one in Richmond, and one in Pittsburgh. To try to go from what was really two small businesses to a company of six integrated restaurants, it was too much. So Austin, we had to let that one go. And then we thought we might have to let Penn State go, too. But we hunkered down, secured the financing.

Peter joining our team was instrumental in making sure we could pull off building the restaurants, and organize in a way that would allow future growth. Penn State was almost like the flag on the moon.  "Yes, we can plan for growth. We can manage restaurants." So, that day was special to me. I woke up quite early and went on a run around State College, and then when we went and opened up at 10:30 and people started lining up, it was like, "We can do this whole thing. And we should do this thing, we should do it many times over." That was a good one.

Studio IX:             A great lead in to my next question. What's the five to ten year view look like? What do you see for yourself and also for Roots?

Henry:                     I think people often imagine that there is this moment when the work is finished. But there's always work to be done. Really, as you grow, there are many more roles to be developed, and there are many more people that you need to teach to be part of it, and you need to reshape the organization many times over. It will continuously look different as we go, as there are more restaurants, there are more people supporting those restaurants, and more specialized roles that need help coming into the organization.

It's never about finding the stuff you need to get done and throwing it on someone else's plate, it's about finding the pathways to create jobs that people will want to do. That will always be a challenge, whether you have one restaurant, and you're trying to figure out what the jobs are in the store, or you have hundreds of restaurants. Those are similar organizational challenges. I don't really think very well in terms of a long-term vision, like one day we will have a thousand restaurants. What I more so think about is doing the right things today, over the next year, over the next two years, that will potentially lead us down a pathway where that is possible.

So in the next year, we plan to open five more in Virginia and Pennsylvania. Solidify the brand here in the Mid-Atlantic. Develop our off-premise sales channels. We have a great in-store model, people lining up outside the door to get food in the restaurant. But we’re also working on ways to bring food to people, dropping off food at office buildings through Hotspots, executing a catering business, executing third-party delivery through partners like Uber Eats. We’re developing an integrated, multi-channel approach to getting people food. Developing that over the next year, the next 18 months, and solidifying our presence in Virginia and Pennsylvania. That will give us the opportunity to think about expanding further. Everything about what we've done thus far feels positive. So anything working towards continuing to expand feels positive.

Studio IX:            What's an aspect of the work you do that people might be surprised to know?

Henry:                     So we only have a two person finance team. So it’s me and Laura, who joined us in February, who has been an absolute joy to work with. I can't really express how thankful I am for her joining our team, and everything she's done. But it's still only two of us. That's pretty lean from a people working in finance standpoint. So I still end up handling a lot of what I would consider to be entry level finance roles. I end up paying a lot of bills still. Which eventually, as the CFO, you’d hope I’ve managed things in a way where we have other people taking care of that responsibility. But it's something that's still on my plate, just within the context of how we've developed.

But I have so much fun being an accounts payable accountant. I love calling accounts receivable coordinators on the phone. Most people that I call, they expect it to be a frustrating conversation. I love to get them to diverge and have a conversation about their day. So something that people don't know is, I have wonderful relationships with random accounts receivable clerks. Really all over the Mid-Atlantic. There's Jean from Monteverde’s in Pittsburgh, we have an email exchange every Friday.

There’s Dale from Kegel’s in State College & Delaware. No one really knows that I have these great pen pal relationships with accounts receivables clerks. They're wonderful.

I think that's something I almost try to instill in all the things we do with external vendors. They're part of the Roots community, too. If they feel good about the work they’re doing, that makes everything run more smoothly. So just going out of the way to develop those relationships, just a step further, to make sure everyone really is enjoying the work that they're doing. It's fun. So I still get to do that with some of the more day-to-day accounting and finance roles. I really do enjoy doing those things well.

Studio IX:            That's great. Last question is what do you enjoy about working here at Studio IX?

Henry:                     So we got our first office, it was actually this time last year. It's been a year. We were working all over the place, working remote, with some space in the back of our second Charlottesville location. And me and Hannah were looking for a space to work in, and we walked in here and it was just, "This is it! This is where we need to be." I don't know, I think it's a combination of everything in the studio, it just feels right. To me it strikes me that everyone working here is aligned with that feeling of, you should enjoy what you do and it shouldn't just be about the work

It's a co-working space. So I think the first thing you think is that people go there to work, which is true, but why I feel great about Studio IX is that it's a little bit more than that.

I think that’s really true with all work - yes it's good to be productive, it's good to get things done, but there's always a little bit more than that. So maybe it's having an art gallery, where you work, that feels right. Having great music playing throughout the day, all over the space, that feels right. Having people around who you can stop and have a nice conversation with about what they do. That feels right. Good coffee. That feels right.

For me personally, I spend most of my day trying to figure out how to be as productive as possible. I like being in a space that makes me pause and reflect. We can still enjoy the moment when we’re working. As long as you're pausing to reflect that you can be enjoying that moment. That's a good thing. I think Studio IX does that well.

Studio IX:             Boom! That’s it!

Henry:                 Times up?

Studio IX:             Yeah. You nailed it.

Henry: Yeah?

Studio IX:            Yeah.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: PHILLIP PEGELOW

Studio IX:                                          First question-

Phillip Pegelow:                       Yeah.

Studio IX:                                        ...what'd you have for breakfast?

Phillip Pegelow:                        I didn't eat breakfast this morning.

Studio IX:                                         What do you typically have for breakfast?

Phillip Pegelow:                       Depending on how much time I do, or do not have. I have either two eggs, over easy and a piece of toast. Or cereal and milk.

Studio IX:                                         You like the yolks, the runny yolks?

Phillip Pegelow:                       I do. I'm into the runny yolks.

Studio IX:                                           Me, too. I'm a fan.

Phillip Pegelow:                        If my wife is off, sometimes she adds hash browns to the mix-

Studio IX:                                           Aww.

Phillip Pegelow:                      ...and it's a special morning, when that happens.

Studio IX:                                            That's great.

Phillip Pegelow:                        Yeah, and lots of coffee.

Studio IX:                                         Yeah, lots of coffee. Constantly, coffee.

Studio IX:                                           All right, so our listeners know, who are you and what do you do?

Phillip Pegelow:                        I'm Phillip Pegelow:. What I do is, I work for a digital marketing company, based in Seattle, called New Engen. Our mission is to help marketers more effectively advertise their products or product.

Studio IX:                                  So this could be related or totally separate, but what are you passionate about?

Phillip Pegelow:                        To the extent that it relates, I'm passionate about software engineering. I like building things. I like to see how things work. It can take many forms. It's taken different forms over the years.

It's been beer brewing, at some point. Not just focused on creating the perfect beer, but creating systems and things that make the process of brewing beer different, or more precise. I work on my vehicles at home and friends' vehicles. Basic maintenance and things like that.

Then sometimes, getting in too deep, and doing more stuff. I enjoy that. How can you design and build systems to solve problems? That's how I ended up where I am. I think segwaying that into the realm of what's true, or what's good and beautiful.

I think we're all kind of on our own quests, to understand the world and how it works, and where meaning is found in it. That has been through faith, specifically Christian faith, so I'm really involved in church kind of community, on that quest, or that journey, to understand what is true and meaningful. Most people agree that the answer to that question revolves around this word “love”.

Studio IX:                                           Yes.

Phillip Pegelow:                        So the Christian faith is kind of where I've found that to be most revealed, in my own life, so yeah.

Studio IX:                                        What do you enjoy most about the work that you do for New Engen?

Phillip Pegelow:                        I work closely with two guys, here. We compose an engineering team, and I enjoy working closely with them. Just imagine with me, a culture where the company presents us with a particular problem, or design for a feature. It's this cool process from designing a solution to it, to coding it out, to testing it, validating that it'll meet all of the requirements that it needs to meet, and finally delivering it. And deploying it, in the form of a server, somewhere in the cloud.

That process is really enjoyable to me. I like sitting down with them. I think the culture that we've kind of organically grown there, has been really sweet and enjoyable. To talk through different solutions, working together to identify what's going to be most effective. What's going to be easiest to deliver? What's going to be, kind of taking into account all these different factors, being on this journey together to find a solution.

There's also an individual component where you're head down in your code, solving the problem, or executing the plan that you've collaborated to come up with. Every step along the way, checking in. It's a unique environment that not every programming shop has, but that we found works really well for us.

I think it's a little bit more human, than maybe a lot of other places might practice, so. Just being able to have that community aspect. I wouldn't necessarily say it's like, we did that in the name of efficiency or to increase productivity, by any means. But it does happen to have that effect, as well, despite maybe it being a little counterintuitive.

Studio IX:                   Was that a deliberate choice, or just an extension of your personalities and values, or both?

Phillip Pegelow:                       Yeah, it's both. It's kind of organically grown from that.

Studio IX:                                   How old is New Engen?

Phillip Pegelow:                       Our company is a little over two years.

Studio IX:                                     Exciting.

Phillip Pegelow:                      Yeah.

Studio IX:                                        Is there a memorable story that stands out to you?

Studio IX:                                        It could be with the history of the company, it could be within the history of your work, your own personal path, a turning point?

Phillip Pegelow:                        Let's think about that...(long pause)

Studio IX:                                        Can I ask you another question?

Phillip Pegelow:                        Yes another question.

Studio IX:                                          We’ll return to that one?

Phillip Pegelow:                     Great.

Studio IX:                               How about an aspect of what you do that might surprise people to know?

Phillip Pegelow:                        I don't know that there's any particular surprise with our business. I've worked at other marketing companies, where maybe some people would be surprised to hear certain things that we did.

Maybe the biggest thing people would be surprised to hear is that New Engen is a robust company. We have a startup mindset, that's where our roots are. A lot of companies have that as well. What comes along with that, is kind of a scrappy mentality. In terms of how you get things done. Just quick, all hands on deck, scrambles to resolve particular issues, to prevent impacting clients, and things like that.

By in large, we have incredibly smart people that can resolve pretty much any issue that could ever arise. We've made an intentional choice to design systems in such a way that our people can intervene when they need to, instead of over engineering. Integrity checks, and things like that have been a key to fast growth, but it's probably something that will transition overtime.

Studio IX:                                          How did it start? How did the company start?

Phillip Pegelow:                        The company has its roots in New Zealand. One of the early online retail shops. The founders of New Engen had reduced that world to a science, applied data-driven principles to budgeting and managing our advertising accounts. Some of the principles they developed there have been a key to our success in this retail world, and there doesn't appear to be solutions like it on the market. Like why can't we solve this same problem that we solved for Zulily for all retail corporations that are out there, for all the varying marketing companies that exist.

So that's exactly what they set out to do. They started developing software that made that process more optimized and easier. As you're probably aware, there's so many different advertising channels that come and go, on the day to day basis. Being able to apply all those principles across many different channels has been really valuable.

Phillip Pegelow:                       Seattle is where the bulk of our company is based.

Studio IX:                                   Where do you see yourself and the company in five to ten years?

Phillip Pegelow:                        From my experience, a little over a year ago, we were half the size that we are now. And we're continuing that growth trajectory. Feels like we've still been getting a recognizable client name, and growing all the time. We're becoming self funding. That's our goal by the end of the year. Over time, I anticipate us to dramatically grow in size. I think one of the tough parts of starting a business, especially in digital marketing, is it's really hard to import experience, because it's a relatively new field.

That's where and Nate has come in. We have really unique backgrounds in digital marketing, but you're starting out and you're getting people in different client accounts. You have to grow them, and that takes time. You really are limited in how quickly you can grow your knowledge base. I think New Engen has struck a good balance, between hiring what they've needed to and growing what they're able to. They also take a more conservative approach to growth than most startups do. In that they grow carefully, instead of throwing stuff against the wall and seeing what sticks. Just being able to prevent some of the more volatile aspects of growing a startup has a been a key in remaining successful in the marketplace. Our world also requires a degree of stability all the way through the business, that maybe other startups don't require. Startups that are managing all these fortune 500 companies, advertising assets has a little more luxury of being wildly optimistic.

Studio IX:                                           Yeah. It sounds like relationships are pretty important to you guys.

Phillip Pegelow:                        Yeah, for sure.

Phillip Pegelow:                        When I started, they have these small scale training opportunities, maybe once a month. In terms of how leadership approaches and communicates with the people that work there, they're just present, available, and quick to come by or see how things are going and chat. Sometimes it's about the work, and sometimes it's not, and they're always interested in both aspects of it, the people and the work. Our people are by far the biggest asset, and it's prioritized accordingly.

Studio IX:                                          Smart.

Studio IX:                                          So let’s talk about Studio IX for a moment. What do you enjoy most about being here?

Phillip Pegelow:                      Well there's people that do similar work to us, so it's been interesting to connect, and see what other people are doing in the same world. There's people that do things that are completely different from us, so that's been really cool to connect with them, and see things that people are doing that I never thought of.

There's a degree of synergy around here that makes working so much better than working in a regular office environment. In my opinion, that’s because everybody's not doing the same thing. You have very different people, from different backgrounds, and it creates an atmosphere that's unique in this world of corporate America. It makes it a lot easier to come into work and be able to work in that kind of an atmosphere.

Studio IX:                                         Last question-

Phillip Pegelow:                       Yeah.

Studio IX:                                            What's the story behind the coffee mug? (laughter)

Phillip Pegelow:                      Story behind my coffee mug, I don't really know, honestly. My coffee mug is this guy, he's hunting, and all the wildlife in the world is around him. But he's asleep, gun in his hand, at his stand.

Studio IX:                                            And what is this sign on the tree say?

Phillip Pegelow:                        It says “Stand #13”, so he must have his stands marked out. It's probably from like, I don't know, 1998. There's your answer.

Studio IX:                                        I love it.

Phillip Pegelow:                       But yeah, I don't know.

Studio IX:                                         It's just a mug.

Phillip Pegelow:                       It's just a mug.

Studio IX:                                          That's it, Big Man.

Phillip Pegelow:                     Cool.

Studio IX:                                          Thank you.

Phillip Pegelow:                        Thank you.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: HANNAH CORBIN

Studio IX : What’d you have for breakfast?

Hannah: I actually haven’t eaten yet. I thought I was gonna be late, so I got over here as fast as I could. But I did find, I think, some egg on my shirt this morning. I think that’s what it was, egg.

Studio IX: Hmm. (laughter)

H: I do have egg packed in my lunch. It could be that.

Studio IX: There’s evidence of egg.

 H: There is evidence of egg.

 Studio IX: Okay. First real question. Who are you, and what do you do?

H: Who am I, and what do I do? I’ve always considered myself a listener and a people watcher, and I think those two identities work in tandem. I’ve been fascinated by other people for as long as I can remember. In fact, I’ve probably been more interested in other people’s lives than in my own. But sometimes it’s stifling being the “observer,” rather than the “participant,” so I’ve worked in recent years to be more of the “participant.” I have a lot of things I want to do in my life. Even still, I love being quiet—just kind off doing my own thing and figuring out how I think about the world. There’s a balance there somewhere.

As for what I do, I’d say that I serve people, and I try to do it with a good attitude.

Studio IX: What is your actual title, and who do you work for?

H: I’m the Director of Employee Experience at Roots Natural Kitchen. I get a pulse on how our people are doing, how they’re engaging with their peers, their managers, and their work, and figure out how to improve their experience—before, during, and after their time at Roots. The goal is to make this the most fun, fulfilling, and empowering place to be, and be from.

 In short, my work is figuring out what it is we’re promising our people, and how we plan to deliver on that promise throughout the course of employees’ careers.

Studio IX: Awesome.

H: Yeah, it is.

Studio IX: Well, I’ll just ask it—you may have answered it, but what are you passionate about?

H: I’m really passionate about food and our relationship to it—including all the emotional, physical, cultural, political, and environmental ties to what we eat. I think I’m angsty, or let’s say, convicted, at my core, because I find a lot of injustices in the world, particularly in the food industry, and I feel a deep-rooted personal responsibility to right them.  

In college, I used to joke, though mostly seriously, that I was a poet and a “muckraker,” which was a term coined to describe the investigative journalists who exposed the evils of leaders, corporations, and political systems around the turn of the 20th century. Think people like Upton Sinclair, who wrote The Jungle, and revolutionized American food safety with his words. It’s a lovely thought: these “muckrakers” digging up crap and exposing it. Bringing it out into the light, out into the open, to get some fresh air. So I would say that I was, and still am, a poet and a muckraker, because I believe that you can dig up truth and illuminate it in such a way that it is useful, invigorating, and beautiful.

I’m also drawn to healing, all kinds of healing. I think any profession can be a “healing profession” if you approach your work, and your people, with care, thought, and a sincere desire for wholeness and restoration.

 And I’m passionate about people. I’ve heard it said that loving others is the most creative thing we could ever do. I’ll add that I also think it’s the hardest, and the most worthwhile.

Studio IX: I feel that—

H: Yeah.

Studio IX: Does this play a part in your work?

H: For sure it does. Right now, I’m uniquely positioned to advocate for people. Something that I love about Roots is that we offer opportunity—a fresh start for a lot of people in this industry. I, or really, we as a collective company, are able to put under the microscope most jobs in the service industry and say, How can we make this work better, more humane and worthwhile, for our people? So in that sense, I’m taking the injustices that I see and doing what I can to right them, to offer people enriching work and translatable life skills. I often say that I feel experientially “rich,” especially at Roots, and I want others to feel the same. I want to make a tangible difference. One that others can hear, see, and touch.

Studio IX: Yeah. What do you enjoy most about work?

H: Word on the street is that this is everyone’s favorite aspect of work—but of course, the people. My coworkers are creative and wildly entertaining to work alongside. They play with words, and ideas, and norms, and to me this is the most fun. Being a somewhat recent college grad, I thought I was going to miss school, but this past year, I’ve found that my curiosity, my need for intellectual stimulation, is met in our corporate office. My mind has been changed and twisted and teased countless times—it’s been cool to have the boundaries of my brain just stretch. Not only have I gleaned a lot of professional experience in this role, but a lot of cognitive and relational experience as well. I really love that.

Studio IX: I mean, that’s a good segue to jump off the regular kind of scheduled programming and just talk about the show for a minute. So you have an exhibit here at Studio IX, in the gallery in September.

Can you talk a bit about it?

H: Yeah. It’s funny, because when I was talking to you earlier, I mentioned that this gallery exhibit was not the way I thought I was going to be “published.” This whole project started because one of our co-founders, Alberto, wrote an email one day—and the thing you gotta know about him is that he is very direct and succinct in his writing—and I was so struck by the cadence of his words. I don’t know if he intended his email to be that way, but it rhymed, and overall had the right tempo. I thought it was brilliant. So I wrote it down and played with the spacing and the line structure, and I was like, Shoot, this is poetry.

After that, I kept my ears perked. I started recording more and more quotes from my coworkers, and playing with them, thinking, “Oh, if I work with them, shape them this way and break down the words that way, I can recreate the experience of hearing them for the first time.” I started identifying as a scribe, a preserver of our open-office culture. You think of ancient cultures that tell their stories on wax paper and stone tablets—I happen to tell ours electronically. I had everything written down on a word doc. Like any other scribe worth his salt, I felt compelled to remember, and at some point, pass along, these conversations and comebacks. Each poem, then, encapsulates a very specific creative moment.

But the thing is, even in their specificity, these poems are broad enough where you can read them, relate to them, and think, “Oh, I see where you’re coming from with that.” Or, “You know, I’ve been there. I resonate with that.” That’s powerful.

Studio IX: Yes.

Studio IX: Could you share a memorable story?

H: Memorable story. hmm—?

Studio IX: If we take your writing, your love of the word, your love of people, your work with Roots—is there a memorable story that comes to mind?

H: I feel like there are a lot of memorable stories.

Studio IX: Something that stands out to you.

H: Let me think on it. I’ve been with Roots now for three and a half years, and for two plus of those years I worked in restaurant operations. Anytime you deal directly with the public, you get a lot of good stories. I’ll have to circle back on that.

Greg: What’s an aspect of what you do that people might be surprised to know about your job?

H: Hmmm. I’m on hold a lot.

Now I don’t mean that to sound diminutive. I work on a several “big picture” projects, and I love it when people say they’re different because of Roots. But a lot of times, I’m responding to emails, waiting on hold, doing “little” things well. Because when you pull back the curtain, you find that the little things are actually the big things, the world-changing things, if you do them proficiently and consistently. So I do my best to approach the little things with the same sense of faithfulness, and reverence, and joy, that I do the big things. I’ve gleaned a lot of this wisdom from my coworker Henry, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to experience it, and make sense of it, in my own way.

Studio IX: Well said, Han’

Studio IX: Any sense of where you’re headed, where Roots is headed?

What’s in the future for the company, or for your role in it?

H: In 2015, as you know, we opened the doors of our flagship location here on the Corner—and since then, we’ve opened five more restaurants. So we’ve grown quite rapidly in the first few years of business. I know the plan from a strategic perspective is to continue that growth. In 2020, we’ll have several new locations opening, and obviously, with more growth comes more opportunity.

Going forward, my role will look slightly different, in that I’ll be hiring, and working closely with, somebody new to ensure that the more technical tasks of my current role, including compliance, payroll, and benefits administration, are handled. All of us here wear a lot of hats, but for most of the time, the “humans” department is a one-woman department, so I’m thrilled to get some help in this area. I’m excited, also, to step into more of a managerial role, and work on my professional parenting skills, if you will. So my medium-term plans are to keep doing what I’m doing and then help our new humans department hire become acclimated.

Studio IX: Then, save the world.

H: Then, yes, save the world. Those are my long-term plans. (laughter)

Studio IX: What do you enjoy about being here in Studio Ix?

H: Something that drew me to Studio IX in the beginning was the atmosphere. I remember when we were touring office spaces, looking for our company’s new corporate home, I left Studio IX thinking, Yes, this is it. The space was so bright and warm, even in late October. For me, Studio IX was an aesthetic attraction and a gut sense.

Think of how you fall in love with a person. Maybe you’re attracted to someone because you’re a sucker for crow’s feet, but once you spend time with them, and you get to know them, you become enthralled with the other parts of them: the lines of their handwriting, the patience they have in traffic, the sun-burnt backs of their ears when you walk behind them.

That’s how it was with Studio IX. At first, I was drawn to the general appearance and atmosphere. But as I got to know the space, I found that I was drawn to its people, those I met by the printer and passed in the hall and learned by first name at the fridge making breakfast; drawn to its habits; drawn to the Van Morrison on Tuesday morning over tea; drawn its many Thursday happy hours. These characteristics and quirks come with a space once you spend time getting to know it. All of these things equally become it.

 And I don’t want to forget Sicily Rose, which, even after it no longer greets us here in the mornings, still has a home in my heart and my mind. The friendships I’ve formed with those at Sicily Rose, and the perspectives I’ve gained from having this place as a part of Studio IX, I consider not transitional, but pivotal, in my own personal development.

Studio IX: We’re honored to have you and the team here with us, Hannah.

Thank you.

H: Thank you.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: JONATHAN ELDRIDGE

Studio IX: Good morning, Jonathan.

Jonathan:             Good morning.

Studio IX:             So let’s break the ice. Tell us who you are and what it is you do.

Jonathan:            Yeah, I'm Jonathan Eldridge. I'm a product manager at a financial software company called SS&C technologies, which is a conglomerate of software. They purchased a bunch of companies, so my company was purchased three years ago by them. Previously, it was called Advent Software, based in San Francisco. It's the only job I've ever had, since out of college, so I've been there for 18 years.

Studio IX:             And what brought you to Charlottesville?

Jonathan:            Two kids.

Studio IX:             Gotcha.

Jonathan:              So I was in San Francisco and then New York and then once we had our second child in New York, in Brooklyn, our apartment became too small, and life became too tough. I knew the area (Charlottesville). My brother used to live here, but my best friend, and his family have since moved down here and I have some friends from college who live here as well. We had a good little circle of people trying to sell us on Charlottesville, once they heard we were wanting to move out of New York, pitching the Charlottesville dream. 

Studio IX:             Glad they did, it's good to have you here.

Jonathan:              Yeah.

Studio IX:             What are you passionate about? It could be work, could be life related, ..could dovetail.

Jonathan:             I'm pretty passionate about my job. I like working with my clients, with hedge funds and smart individuals that are overall pretty cool.

Jonathan:              I'm passionate about travel. We travel a lot. I travel a lot individually for work but then also as a family.

Studio IX:             Does that take you all over the world? Or is it mainly in the states?

Jonathan:              It’s primarily international. I go to Dublin every year. I went to Amsterdam this year. Munich previously. Hopefully Beijing later this year. But mainly Europe.

Studio IX:             Is Dublin personal or is that more work?

Jonathan:              All work.

Studio IX:             Cool.

Jonathan:              Personally we haven't decided to take the kids that far yet. My wife really wants to but I’m still hesitant on the overnight flight and timezone change.  They come with me to San Francisco a lot for visits to the office out there.

Studio IX:             San Fran’s a good spot.

Jonathan:              Yeah, it is.

Studio IX:             What do you enjoy most about your work?

Jonathan:             Helping other people do their jobs. We have a lot of developers and business analysts who understand how the product works as well as what the clients need. We have relationship managers to keep clients happy and make sure they're paying their bills. We have consultants that implement the products. And so I sit in the middle of all that trying to connect the dots and relay information.  I talk to clients as well.  My main responsibility is to figure out what we should build next. So what kind of crazy swap instrument or bond or whatever they're trading these days and how we can support that. And I just try to then figure out what we're going to build and then relay all that information and make sure everybody's connected on moving the product forward and keeping the clients up to date. That make sense?

Studio IX:             Yeah. I'm going to date myself here, but you're like Stockton to Malone.

Jonathan:             Yeah, yeah. A lot of assists. That's right. (Laughter)

Studio IX:             Can you share a memorable story from your work? Something that’s stood out to you, that might've been a turning point or just something that mattered.

Jonathan:              Let me think about that.

Jonathan:             Becoming a manager was eye opening. Being responsible for your team, for giving them paths to success so they can grow. It’s a big responsibility, especially for some younger team members that have so much potential. So allowing that potential to grow in areas that help the business and their career. And then, yeah, just making sure you're not holding them back and getting the most out of them and keep them happy and staying with the team. So it's a big responsibility and I kind of didn't quite think too much about that specifically before becoming a manager.

Studio IX:             How long have you been doing that?

Jonathan:              Managing? Probably the last five years. It's a small team, like four people.

Studio IX:             With that in mind, where do you see yourself in the next five to ten years? Where’s the industry's headed? Are things changing quickly or has it stayed relatively the same?

Jonathan:              For us, we've had legacy products. My product which is called Geneva has been 15 or 20 years now. It's gone through different evolutions like Java client, .Net client. So now the trend is everything moving into to the cloud, so we are moving to a web based UI (user interface). So that's a challenge, but also very exciting. 

Jonathan:              The other thing that we see as growth for us is we're building out teams in India to do manage services. So certain clients, like hedge funds want to go into new strategies like trading swaps or whatever it is, but they don't want to hire a big team to do all the reconciliation of the numbers and entering the trades and all that kind of day to day work that comes along with the strategy.  So we will provide them with a team that does that so they get to take the advantage of the new strategy that they're going after without having to onboard a bunch of people.

Studio IX:             Biggest shift from Brooklyn to here?

Jonathan:              As far as life changes, I mean, well, as a whole life is so much easier here. I do miss the food. We are getting used to it. The food is good here and I love the independent restaurants, but you know - you miss some of that. The biggest impact was moving here in the middle of all the craziness of 2017. We moved here in July and were still unpacking as all that went down.  There are still some things in the south that you just don't realize until you get here. But those specific events, we know that wasn't a product of Charlottesville, those were people from everywhere.

Studio IX:             It's been eye opening for a lot of people.

Jonathan:              Yeah. On the positive side, one of the biggest shifts is just for the kids. The pool scene here is incredible. Whether it's ACAC, Frye Springs, or the city pools. We're happy with the of ease of life, to do anything. Especially the kids. It's fantastic.

Studio IX:            Night and day.

Jonathan:              Yeah. Our biking commute is 10 minutes.

Studio IX:             Were you working in Manhattan?

Jonathan:              Yeah, yeah. Rode the subway to Bryant Park everyday.

Studio IX:             On that note — what do you enjoy most about being here at Studio IX?

Jonathan:              Well, I ended up having two friends that were already working here, Jed and Tiffany. So it was nice having some friendly faces that you could see. I think it's just a cool spot. It's got a cool coffee shop out front. I mean the IX area itself is just a great, unique location versus I guess what you would get in just renting out a stale office. I think you do a great job of bringing new things to try and get people together. Having that opportunity is good.

Jonathan:              And it's interesting, you hear these little conversations of people doing their job. Most people that do so many different things. You see the same people here for two years, which means they like it here too. It's not a constant turnover.

Studio IX:             Is this the first time you've co-worked?

Jonathan:              I've always been at an office, so yeah this is my first experience. 

Studio IX:             Beautiful. Well, — that's it.

Studio IX:             Painless.

Jonathan:            Yeah, it is painless. Way, way, way, way easier than going to the dentist.