Artists for Africa Hosts 9th Annual PostCard Event in Support of Original Art and Kenyan Youth

When Cooper Rust traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, in 2012 as a volunteer dance instructor, she didn’t expect the experience to stick so strongly to her skin. It did, however, and soon after her return to the states, she founded Artists for Africa, a non-profit organization that supports and provides dance, new experiences, education, and shelter to Kenyan youth.

 In the past decade, the organization has grown, led by C. Rust (Executive Director) and her sister Brie Rust (President), and now hosts a plethora of events in both Kenya and South Carolina, such as bringing dancers from Nairobi to study and perform at the University of South Carolina. 

One of these events, almost as old as the organization itself, is the PostCard Art Event, an evening that pairs small, postcard sized art with drinks and finger foods for a collaborative, community-oriented experience. Next week, the 9th annual PostCard will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn. 

The evening begins with a cocktail hour and appetizers in the spacious lobby, and at 7:00pm, the ballroom will open to reveal the art donated from various established and emerging artists across the United States. Patrons can peruse the art for around an hour as they continue to enjoy drinks and snacks. 

Over 50 artists are included in this show, including some familiar Columbia names like Bonnie Goldberg, Bill Davis, Rob Shaw, Rebecca Lynn Horne, and the Honors Art Students at Dreher High School. 

The art is available first come, first serve, for $65 per 4” x 6” piece. While the artists sign each piece, these signatures are on the back. Thus, before purchasing, the artist remains anonymous, and patrons are able to select art based on individual desire and attraction. Beyond the small art, larger pieces will also be available, including jewelry and ceramics, each appropriately priced. 

PostCard Art is one of two major annual fundraisers for Artists for Africa, making it one of the organization’s vital events. “100% of the profit goes to support our mission of providing arts and educational opportunities to vulnerable children in some of the world’s poorest slums in Kenya,” B. Rust shares. 

The organization is particularly looking forward to this year’s event after having to move online during the pandemic. “We are very excited to see everyone and share the evening,” B. Rust says. “We have moved our event to the Hilton Garden Inn downtown and are really excited to share this newly renovated space with everyone.” 

B. Rust credits and thanks the group’s Board of Directors, plus their friends and family, for the time they have and will donate to “organize each detail, set everything up, and get it all wrapped up at the end of the evening.” Further, the expenses of the event are generously covered by sponsors, so all money from ticket sales will go directly to Kenya and C. Rust’s efforts in Nairobi. 

If you want to see unique art and support education and opportunity for African youth, be sure to attend this year’s PostCard Art. The event will be Wednesday, February 16th at 6:00pm at the Hilton Garden Inn in Columbia. Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the door and can be purchased here: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/5344995  

New Art by Bonnie Goldberg - An Online Jasper Exclusive

Jasper is delighted when we see treasured artists in the Greater Columbia Arts Community take their talent in different directions, so we were thrilled when figurative artist Bonnie Goldberg agreed to share some of her work with us.

Jasper asked visual artist Bonnie Goldberg to take an assessment of her life as an artist as we all find our ways through what is, hopefully, some of the final months of Covid concerns. This is what Bonnie had to say:

In the beginning of the pandemic, I did stay home and paint a lot. I created a space upstairs in my house and spent a lot of time working on drawings and paintings. Because I had already decided to work in a more abstract manner and use my own paintings and photographs as reference material, I had no need of a model, so it was not a problem not being able to hire someone to model for me. I find that working this way allows me freedom to create new iterations of former work and also work pure abstraction focusing on color and line and shape. Because I had no social life, I was able to throw all of my attention into my work and focus on innovative ideas and new directions. I love the new work that I am doing...I often paint without using a brush...applying the paint with various tools and edges, making marks, and finding new ways to draw and create line without a brush or pencil. There is a lot of layering and "lost and found" color and edges and I find it both challenging and exciting.  

I am back to painting in my studio in the Arcade on Main...I have a small space upstairs and it allows me to paint and allow limited access to the studio from people who visit the building. I am still careful, but fully vaccinated and able to focus on my art in a very intense and personal way. Creating art is always an inner experience for the artist and for me, with music playing and light from the beautiful skylights in the hallway, I am doing my best work ever. I have taken more chances, done more experimenting, and painted more abstractly. And I love it. I do still incorporate the figure into a lot of my work, but sometimes it is only a line or a gesture or a suggestion of a figure, leaving the interpretation to the viewer.  

I am still represented by galleries and interior designers, but I retain the right to sell my own work and I show a lot of my work on social media...Facebook and Instagram reach thousands of people and allow me to show images of my work to many people who in turn often reach out and purchase work. This is a boon to artists to be able to show and sell work in this manner. Instagram has allowed me to not only show and sell work but connect and share ideas with artists around the world. The art world has changed, and I sell more work and see more art from other artists than ever before. 

I love the small studio space that allows me to see everything that I need and work on. You can see from the images that I am creating and layering and abstracting in many sizes and shapes and this is inspiring me to do more in this direction. Art and artists are always evolving, and I look forward to seeing where I can take my work next....just open that door, walk through it, and see what happens....

"It's Been a While" - Group Art Exhibition at Outpost Arts Space by Ron Hagell (Guest Writer)

“It’s Been a While”

Group Art Exhibition at Outpost Arts Space

715 Saluda Ave., April 3 – 24, 2021

Care. Comfort, and Kindness by Olga Yukhno

The Free Times leads off it’s piece in this week’s paper by saying, “Artists get lonely, too”.  In fact, this was one spark for this exhibition that helped to start it. Flavia Lovatelli, Kristi Ryba (a Charleston artist) and I were discussing how long it had been since we went to an opening and the general lack of exhibitions over the pandemic year. We decided that it might be possible to ask if the Outpost’s new exhibition space might be available in April. It turned out that the space was free and Caitlin Bright was very interested in helping get us off the ground. I’m not sure we were all “lonely,” maybe just missing what had become a rather active arts scene in Columbia. But once the artists started showing up with work this week, I realized how much I missed seeing everyone – so did they!  Our exhibition, “It’s Been a While,” opens on April 3 at Outpost Arts Space in Five Points.

You may remember that this group [along with the Jasper Project] used to be in the Tapp’s building on Main Street and we always had a new exhibition each “First Thursday on Main.” Then we were called The Tapp’s Arts Center and some still refer to us as “Tapp’s Outpost.” There are similarities between the two, the people and mission continue, but many things have changed beyond the actual location.

You may recall that, in addition to our exhibitions, we also had open studios (where shopping was possible) and you could pick-up a beer to start your art crawl on Main. Now we all know that First Thursday is not the same now that most of the “art” on Main has left for many reasons. For us, this location has made a big difference. Obviously the amount and character of the space is a vast difference, but the foot-traffic is very different. Often at Tapp’s we had very few visitors except for exhibit nights, but in Five Points there is a constant flow and some of us have experienced much better sales.

… we are hopeful that “It’s Been a While” will continue the spark of creative activity and be the rebirth of more and better days for our whole Columbia arts scene

There are also plans afoot to improve our new home and build even more and better studio/workshops inside and behind the existing shop fronts, as well as collaborative activities with the vast space behind the White Mule that is scheduled for future renovations. 

But, we are hopeful that “It’s Been a While” will continue the spark of creative activity and be the rebirth of more and better days for our whole Columbia arts scene. We invited many artists to join us and have a real cross-section of folks taking part.  Charleston-based artist Kristi Ryba, whom we met in 2019 while participating in Lake City’s annual ArtFields competition, has agreed to show two new works and many more local friends also wanted to take part.  There are sculptures by Olga Yukhno and Sharon Licata and a couple of large hanging fabric pieces by Janet Swigler. Columbia Photographer Molly Harrell shows her recent work and I’m putting in an older video because it just speaks to this moment so well. But, I’m also showing a few smaller paintings that I’ve been working on during this downtime.

In fact many others are showing works that deal directly with the pandemic such as Gerard Erley’s “Pandemic Cardinals” and more – not to be missed.

Pandemic Cardinals by Gerard Erley

Also showing are works by Susan Lenz, Michael Krajewski, Keith Tolen, Bonnie Goldberg, Stephen Chesley, Heidi Darr Hope, Kirkland Smith, Tabitha Ott, Diko Pekdemir, and Flava Lovatelli. Some have direct connections to our past year and the pandemic or the political shift while others do not. It is a very eclectic event. 

ABC by Michael Krajewski

As always our group wants to engage the community in ongoing conversation and creative connections. But now we really need to catch-up after over a year. It’s 17 artists wanting you to see their work and, as Caitlin says, she anticipates “a lot of sharing, commiserating, sympathy and empathy.”

Because, it’s been a while…

Ron Hagell, Studio Artist, Outpost Arts Space

Ron Hagell is a Columbia, SC-based artist who makes films and art with installations featuring paintings, projections, prints and film centered on portraiture.

Teacups by Kirkland Smith

If you haven’t joined the Jasper Project Guild yet this year, now is a good time to do so, guaranteeing that YOUR NAME will appear in the next issue of Jasper Magazine, releasing May 2021 and, depending on your contribution level, securing you a space at some of the limited seating events Jasper has in the works for the coming year.

Plus, everyone gets to see your name here!

CORONA TIMES - Bonnie Goldberg Shares her Thoughts on Painting, the Pandemic, and Virtual Art Friends with Jasper

Photo by Anastasia Chernoff

I was born in Columbia so I have definitely been here a long time!  I received my degree in sociology from the University of South Carolina and got married shortly after graduation.  I definitely thought that I would be someone who would save the world! 

Being a part of the art world affords me the opportunity to meet and engage with so many people…and art is so healing and powerful…I do believe that artists have an impact on the world in a very positive manner.  The arts show us who we are…where we come from…where we want to go.  I have been drawing and painting for 30 years and feel that the journey is one that has enriched my life in so many ways.  I am so fortunate to have had this in my life and I know that art is something that I can always do and make and create and share.

I started painting when my children were teenagers. I knew that I didn’t want to be an empty nester with no direction and I had always wanted to start painting, so I took some courses at Columbia College. From there, I went on to study with some wonderful artists at workshops out of town. Art became an important part of my life and I have never looked back.  

I have always drawn and painted from life. I worked from a live model several times a week for 20 plus years, and although I also paint pure non-objective abstracts as well, figurative work remains my main focus. 

I now work from reference materials of my own work…reworking an old painting, repainting an old drawing, reimagining an old image…Alex Powers used to tell me to do 5 or 6 interpretations of the same  piece and this is how I work now. Different versions of the same subject yield new interpretations…more abstract, more color, more experimentation. This has allowed me a greater freedom in my work and has allowed me to continue working and growing during the pandemic. 

I have sold over 900 pieces of art over the last 30 years…drawings and paintings…and I have photographed them all.  So now I am able to take the work that I previously did and use the photo references to do new versions. Although the originals are long gone, the artist always retains ownership of the images, so I have lots of reference material to work from.  

I do occasionally hire a model (not during the last year since the pandemic) and I will do commissions from photographs of people who want to be the subject of my work so I have that as well. The pandemic has actually offered me the opportunity to work more…grow more…and reach more people. I use social media to promote my work and because people are home and on social media more than ever, I find that I am reaching a larger audience than ever.

My conversations with my artist friends still happen…we still share our work and talk about art…just not in person.   I look forward to the in person again…I really miss it…but it has not kept us from sharing and loving what we do.

I am also represented by galleries and interior designers, and they too, have found that the audiences for art have grown with the increasing use of social media. Art has sold really well this past year…the galleries and designers have sold my work as well.  I think the focus of being at home gave the art buying public more time to look and reach out to artists for work. I have had several commissions as well and I think my connections to people who love art have grown.

So, for me, the art has not suffered during this time.  I am so grateful for this and for the opportunity and the time to focus on this part of my life that I love so much.  

One of the great pleasures of my art is the friends that I make…both with artists and patrons. I often have repeat sales to people who collect my art and these people often become my treasured friends; but in the meantime, we have email and text, Instagram and Facebook.

And I find that I can deliver the art easily…by shipping or meeting at an outdoor space and delivering the art from the trunk of my car. Curbside art deliveries!

My conversations with my artist friends still happen…we still share our work and talk about art…just not in person.   I look forward to the in person again…I really miss it…but it has not kept us from sharing and loving what we do.

There is definitely a “magic” to painting someone in person…. “magic” to interact as artist and model…and “magic” to interact as artist to artist in a room full of working artists. But we have all had to adjust and I do believe that artists know how to adapt and grow in many different circumstances.

I see brilliant work on Instagram from artists all over the world. And they reach out and communicate with each other…I have artist connections all over the world now….someone in South America will like something that I post and reach out via private message and we share what we do.  I think it is an amazing thing that is happening right now in the art world.  I have always studied art and artists…people like Schiele and Modigliani and Picasso and Hoffman, Richter and Diebenkorn….I love their work…but the current artists are fantastic and creative and wonderful…and everyone shares their art on Instagram. So, we all learn and grow from each other.

I don’t have any shows coming up but I do show my work on Facebook, Instagram, and on my website plus I am represented by the Anne Neilson Fine Art Gallery in Charlotte and Meredith Christenberry  Designs in Columbia. I retain the right to represent myself and sell my own work in Columbia so people are free to call me and come by my studio in the Arcade on Main…1332 Main Street…Suite 221 upstairs. I am back working in the studio again after a year of working mostly at home. And I do insist on people wearing a mask in the studio until we are free of this virus, but I do have a lot of work on the walls in the studio and it is always visible whether I am there or not.

I would end by saying that this year has truly been a nightmare for all of us. We have not been able to spend time with the people we love most…children, grandchildren, friends, parents. My Dad died in June and my Mom and my family and I have had to navigate his loss in the midst of a pandemic, but we survived the struggle and for that, we are grateful.

So many people have lost so much…and the world has suffered so much…but hopefully, we have all grown and learned something about ourselves and our lives; and as we return to normality, perhaps we will take some good from the experience and move forward into our lives stronger, healthier, more knowledgeable, and perhaps, happier….knowing  that we did survive and now have more opportunities to live and laugh and love.

And of course, create.

~~~~~

  THANKS TO THE

2021 MEMBERS OF THE JASPER GUILD

Please support stories like this by

JOINING the JASPER GUILD today!

Tamara Finkbeiner wins Audience Award at Jasper's 2nd Act Film Festival

 

Congratulations to Tamara Finkbeiner whose film Eva's Plug, won the Audience Award at Friday night's 2nd Act Film Festival sponsored by Jasper Magazine. Selected via audience ballot, the 2nd Act Film Festival Audience Award includes a check for $250, a First Draft editing program, and a one-of-a-kind trophy designed by Columbia artist, Matthew Kramer. According to film festival director Wade Sellers, "With any short film fest there are many films that could win an audience award, that was the same with this year's 2nd Act Film Fest. There is usually a film, however, that just connects with an audience in that room at that moment and that was the case with Tamara's film Eva's Plug. You could feel the energy and enthusiasm for the film build as it played. That experience is what 2nd Act is all about."

This was the second 2nd Act Film Festival (the first was in October 2013) which played once again to a capacity house at Tapp's Arts Center and included the films of 10 adjudicated filmmakers from South Carolina including Lucas Sams, Brian Harmon, Jason Stokes, Bessy Adut, Phyllis Jackson, Caletta Harris-Bailey, Bradley Wagster,  Dustin Weibel, Jordan Young, and Tamara Finkbeiner. The selected filmmakers, who applied to participate earlier this season, were chosen over other applicants based on their abilities and the freshness of the voice the jurors thought they would bring to the project. Jurors included Lee Ann Kornegay, Lee Snelgrove,  Caitlin Bright, Wade Sellers, and Cindi Boiter. 

"This year we put more pressure on ourselves to assist the filmmakers," Sellers says. "We offered script notes, production advice and assistance, and editorial suggestions once the films were turned in. As a whole the films were more diverse in voice and just better as a whole than our first event." Sellers is the owner and director of Coal Powered Filmworks, a three-time Emmy nominated filmmaker, and the film editor for Jasper Magazine.

In keeping with Jasper's efforts to foster a multi-disciplinary arts community, both visual artists and musicians played a part in the festival and its presentation.  Visual artist Michael Krajewski created an original painting which was used for the festival poster and program; visual artist Matthew Kramer created the Audience Award; and Pedro Ldv entertained festival attendees both before the event and during intermission. In addition, original music from several Columbia-based musicians, including Stan Gardner, Daniel Machado and more, was used as background music during the films themselves.

Columbia-based writer Don McCallister also served as a consultant on the first and third acts of the screenplay which was given to the filmmakers with the challenge that they write the second act and create a film, six minutes long or less, using all three acts. Participants in the 2013 2nd Act Film Festival including Ron Hagell and OK Keyes lent the knowledge of their experience to this year's filmmakers by consulting on films and screenplays.

In the aftermath of Columbia's devastating flood last week other artists including Michael Krajewski,  Bonnie Goldberg, Kara Gunter, Nancy Marine, and Sean McGuiness voluntarily stepped up and offered the fruits of their labors to benefit flood victims through a silent auction which generated $1060 which will be delivered to the Central Carolina Community Foundation. Two large bins of children's arts supplies was also collected from audience members for distribution to children effected by the flood.

The festival staff would like to thank Precision Overhead Garage Door Service, the Mouse House, Coal Powered Filmwork, and Bourbon Columbia for their sponsorship funds and services.

"It was exciting to see these ten filmmakers create these films," Sellers says, "and it only makes us more excited for the future of the event."

Artists for Africa Postcaard Art Sale - Thursday Night - by Abby Davis

This Thursday, February 12^th, Artists for Africa will host their second annual Postcard Art fundraiser at Embassy Suites Columbia. There will be over 300 pieces of original, postcard-sized works to choose from. The postcard art has been contributed by over 100 artists, some established and some emerging. The pieces will be exhibited anonymously, each available for $65, and the artist’s identity will not be revealed until after the work has been purchased.

Featured artists include Tish Lowe, Mana Hewitt, Bill Davis, Barbie Mathis, Toni Elkins, Robin Gadient, Bonnie Goldberg, Marian Soule, Cami Hutchinson, Susilee Lamb, Julia Moore, K. Page Morris, Nini Ward, Carey Weathers, Charlene Wells, Jen Gorlewski, Steve Teets, Pete Holland, and Michael Krajewski. Additionally, 40 pieces from CA Johnson students will also be featured and sold for $15 each. Each student piece sold will provide a new school uniform for a student in Kenya.

This exciting event offers not only a unique and entertaining way to expand your collection at an amazing price, but it also supports a tremendously worthy cause. The money raised from the Postcard Art fundraiser will be supporting Artists for Africa. Artists for Africa is a non-profit organization created for the purpose of supporting Anno’s Africa, a non-profit organization which brings arts classes to children in the slums of Kenya. Artists for Africa strives to provide an alternative arts education to orphans and vulnerable children in Africa. In the past, funds raised by Artists for Africa have gone towards drums, leotards, guitars, watercolors, trampolines, juggling kits, crayons, sound systems, mono-cycles, and more. The program is currently operating only in Nairobi, but the goal is to spread throughout urban Kenya and eventually expand to other countries in Africa as well.

Enjoy a lovely evening, expand your collection at an incredible price, and support an invaluable cause all at once! The event will last from 6 – 10pm, with the sale beginning at 7. Artwork will be sold first come, first served, at $65 each ($15 for student pieces) and buyers are invited to purchase as many pieces as they wish. Tickets to the event are $15 and can be purchased at www.brownpapertickets.com. For more information about Postcard Art and Art and Artists for Africa visit www.artistsforafricausa.org.

-by Abby Davis

A Sense of Self multidisciplinary art experience at Anastasia & Friends - Part Two (of three)

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month and in response, Al Black, Bonnie Goldberg, and Anastasia Chernoff have teamed up with visual and performing artists to bring you, “A Sense of Self.”  “A Sense of Self” is a three-part series and a combination of  visual works created by artists (who-happen-to-be-women)  focusing on work that both empowers women and exemplifies their strengths and vulnerabilities, along with performance art by poets and singer/songwriters in response to the topic.

“October is Domestic Violence Month, and I wanted to tip the month-long observance on its ear by uplifting women in these complimentary ways,” says Al Black, Columbia poet and author of I Only Left for Tea, a new collection of poetry from Muddy Ford Press.

"When Al proposed the show idea to me, I immediately said, yes," says Anastasia Chernoff, owner of Anastasia and Friends, where the show is exhibited, "because the concept hit so close to home.  Last year, I experienced a brutal attack by a man I had been dating. Through this experience and other times difficult times in my life, I’ve realized there’s a whole lot of light and knowledge to be experienced in the darkness if you’re willing to open your eyes and take a look at it. This show is in response to Domestic Violence Awareness month, but is not specifically about domestic violence.  It’s about women who have experienced tremendous, difficult times in their lives and, rather than becoming victimized by their experience, they have become stronger, wiser and more empowered.”

"A Sense of Self" opened on October 2^nd as  part of the First Thursday on Main Street art crawl. The second part of the series will take place on Tuesday, October 14^th, from 6pm to 8pm, with performance of original works related to the topic by three male poets and three males singer/songwriters. The closing reception for the series will fall on October 28^th, from 6pm to 8pm, and will feature a combination of 6 male and female poets and singer/songwriters who will create new pieces based on their response to the exhibited art being shown.

The visual artists represented include Michaela Pilar Brown, Anastasia Chernoff, Bonnie Goldberg, Molly Harrell, Mana Hewitt, Heidi Darr-Hope, Dawn Hunter, Lee Ann Kornegay, Laurie McIntosh, Virginia Scotchie and Kirkland Smith.

The poets and singer/songwriters performing throughout the month are Ron Baxter, Al Black, Debra Daniel, Mason Diction, Pretty Feet (Alexander Madison Hoffman), Hope, Anna Howard, Katera, Susanne KlapperSense, Ed Madden, Mario McClean, Deb McQueen, Jerlean Noble, John Scollon, Tammaka Staley, Cassie Premo Steele, Tabu, Kendal Turner, Tonya Tyner and Rev. Marv Ward

“A Sense of Self” runs from October 2^nd through October 31^st. Anastasia & Friends art gallery is open to the public, Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm and located at 1534 Main Street in Columbia in the front of the Free Times’ building, across the street from the Columbia Museum of Art. For more information, contact Anastasia Chernoff at 803 665 6902 or via email at anastasiachernoff@gmail.com.

Line-up for Jasper Volume 002, Number 001 Release Event this Thursday

If you've been hearing about the big shindig Jasper is planning to celebrate the release of the first magazine in VOLUME TWO of our little publication, then you know how excited all of us on the Jasper staff and in the Jasper Family* are. The event is this Thursday night at the Arcade Studios on Main and Washington Streets in downtown Columbia -- we'll start about 7 and proceed through the night with food, fun, adult beverages, and all kinds of art.

Here is a rundown of what to expect and when to expect it.**

7:00 -- Doors Open -- Open house in Jasper Studios #75 upstairs

7:30 -- World Premiere Film, THE CRICKET TRIAL, starring Scott Stepp and Trey King, directed by Jeff Driggers; Drew Baron, producer (Jasper Studios #75)

8:00 -- Don McCallister will be reading from his new novel, Fellow Traveler, coming in October from Muddy Ford Press   (Jasper Studios #75)

8:00 -- Countertenor Danny Jenkins will perform in the Arcade Atrium (Washington Street side)

8:30 -- Centerfold signing by surprise artist (Jasper Studios #75)

8:30 -- Marshall Brown performs (Arcade Atrium, Washington Street Side)

9:00 -- Don McAllister second reading (Jasper Studios #75)

9:30 -- THE CRICKET TRIAL second showing with repeat showings throughout the remainder of the evening (Jasper Studios #75)

9:30 -- Devils in Disguise band performs (Arcade Atrium, Washington Street Side)

Throughout the Arcade, please visit the following Arcade Studio Artists who will have their studios open at times of their own discretion during the evening:

Blue Sky     Bonnie Goldberg     Tish Lowe     Eileen Blyth     Beth West

Mike Spotts     Payton Frawley     Leah Avery     Walton Selig

Martha Thomas     Suzi Shealy     Page Morris

Bryce Dixon     Whitney LeJeune     Veronica Jeffcoat

Guest Artists from the September issue of Jasper will also be on hand showing samples of their work.

Chef Joe Turkaly will be serving up the results of the fine art of BBQ ($).

The Jasper EconoBar will be in full swing with cheap beer $3, decent wine $4, and big spender craft brew $4***

Paradise Ice will have their cart of cold sweet yumminess ($).

Artisanal jewelry and candles will be available via LA Ti Da and Southern Baked Candles.

Learn about upcoming arts events from Trenholm Artists Guild and the Rosewood Arts Festival, Columbia City Ballet, and more.

And here's one more thing --

Against the likely good advice of our friends and family, Jasper has decided to continue to put together these lovely celebrations free of charge. It's important to us that everyone be able to get in the door and experience this fascinating amalgam of performing and visual arts that we get to write about and photograph for Jasper Magazine on a daily basis.

At the end of our first year, we are delighted that issue No. 001, Volume 002 is the first issue that has paid for itself (before paying out commissions and honoraria to our talented staff of writers, photographers, and our heart-of-gold designer). We've come a long way in a year and we're very proud of the work we do.

That said, it's a labor of love.

If you love our labor and would like to pitch 10 cents or 10 bucks into the pot to help Jasper continue to grow healthy and strong, we'd like to help you do that -- and we'd like to publicly give you credit for having done so!

Please visit the Jasper Studios in the Arcade upstairs in suite #75 Thursday night and see one of our staff members about publicly supporting the arts magazine that supports your city's arts. We won't be able to put your name in lights, but we can put it in print. 

We're calling it the Jasper Guild and you can learn more about it Thursday night.

See you then!

____________________________

*We're an affectionate bunch. And sometimes when we meet another arts organization, or even an advertising client, that shares our mission of nurturing Columbia as the Southeastern arts destination it was born to be, we get all chummy with them. They become "Family."

**Please keep in mind that these times are represented (rather than in EST or DST) in CAT (Columbia Artists' Time). Our artists keep a chronograph all of their own making -- and Jasper loves this about them.

***The Jasper EconoBar is a fundraising arm of Jasper Magazine -- all prices are suggested donations. Please be prepared to show ID to partake of adult beverages.

Christmas Wishes for and from the Columbia Arts Community, Part II

(This is a continuation of a blog posted on Christmas Eve -- please start your reading here, and then join this blog post in progress.)  

from Cassie Premo Steele

An inner sense of validation of one's self, spirit, health, and creativity. We no longer need to look outside ourselves to know that we, ourselves, and our work are valid. We can be who we truly are and create from that shining place.

from  Noah Brock

Santa should bring the arts community the power to stand together to remove the confederate flag. The arts community should resolve to do the aforementioned so that artists and performers we enjoy and love will be more willing to play in Columbia. IT’S 2012! LET US GET IT DOWN THIS YEAR!

from Susan Lenz

I'd love for Santa to bring an arts calendar to Columbia ... something easy to navigate, used by all individual artists and organizations ... on a permanent Internet site (not just on Facebook) ... updated regularly ... better looking and more complete than "welcome to the weekend" ... and with images. Maybe Jeffrey can be Santa again ... or at least be part of the present ... with the rest of the gift being the funding that would make it all possible!

from Coralee Harris

Access to Bill Gates checking account so we can fund the myriad of projects that currently exist only in the minds of our talented artists. . .and in the absence of that, we probably need to do more classes on grant writing for the artists and performers so they can have a better shot at getting more funding.

from Robert Michalski

I want Santa to bring the Columbia arts community inspiration and financial success!

from Tracie Broom

For the young orgs, funding for paid staff and infrastructure would be pretty fantastic. For everyone? A few more hardcore, dedicated super-volunteers who take the lead and get things done well. Those folks are like human gold.

from Bonnie Goldberg

I wish for Santa to bring a continued love of the arts to a community already filled with curiosity, creativity, and love and support for one another where we will continue to gather and grow and make our Columbia one of the premiere art destinations in the world....happy holidays, Columbia artists!

Look for New Year's resolutions from Columbia artists and arts supporters coming soon. To add your own wish for the New Year, please comment below or send your resolution to

editor@jaspercolumbia.com

Poet Cassie Premo Steele responds to artist Bonnie Goldberg

Last year at one of Mark Plessinger's multi-disciplinary arts events at Frame of Mind, the local writer and poet, Cassie Premo Steele, created poetry in response to some of the paintings by artist, Bonnie Goldberg, whose work you saw in Jasper's last message. At Jasper, we love it when artists come together to inspire one another and share their gifts with each other and those of us who are lucky enough to stand and watch.

Here are two of the poems Cassie wrote for that night. For more of Cassie, please visit her at www.cassiepremosteele.com.

Look this way

Look this way, he said,

as she turned her head

away from him, again.

Her own shoulder

makes a better bed

than his ever did.

It took her years

to believe it, though.

His hard bones,

she thought,

were the best

she could do.

Hand on hip,

she finally said

the words: We're through.

For Goldberg's Drawing 202, ‘nude female standing.’

Your daughter turns from you

Your daughter turns from you daily now,

with the grace of a dancer, and somehow

you learn to accept it, that carpet she weaves

and walks away upon each day.

You knew this day would come, even

before she could walk and you spent

hours drumming on her thighs and

humming lullabies. You were preparing.

You saw flashes of it at two and ten,

her rage slicing the way for her to cut

away from you. You were smug

and thought you knew wisdom.

Becoming daughter to mother, we learn cutting.

As mothers, we learn waving goodbye and staying.

The lesson of grandmothering: Crying. Smiling.

Never saying how hard it is to see them leaving.

For Goldberg's Painting 145, ‘promises.’

Cassie Premo Steele is the author of eight books and teaches writing and everyday creativity at The Co-Creating Studio. Check her out at www.cassiepremosteele.com

Can you name Bonnie Goldberg's models?

Local artist, Bonnie Goldberg, has built a reputation not just by creating images of beautiful women and men, but by somehow, through that incomprehensible magic that is artistic interpretation, committing the essence of her models to canvass.

Though Goldberg primarily paints women, the portrait above is of two local artists, a man and a woman, who recently performed at a public event.

Can you name the artists above? (No fair posting if you're related to the models or have already seen them identified.) Post your guesses in the comment section below.

For more of Bonnie, visit her at www.bonniegoldberg.com