FROM THE PRINT ISSUE - PART THREE IN OUR SERIES ON KOGER CENTER PROJECT WINNING ARTISTS featuring WILMA KING

Wilma King

by Cindi Boiter

Photography by Brad Martin

“I  remember an incident in fourth grade that helped me focus in on my love of art and design,” Columbia-based visual artist and winner of the 2022 Draw Jasper competition, Wilma King begins. “My teacher, Ms. Hendrix, knew how to inspire and cultivate creativity. She read to us, held in-class competitions, and infused applied learning into our coursework way back then. Our school was on a military base in Fort Greely, Alaska. My mind was full of dreams of being a nurse like Clara Barton until Ms. Hendrix announced a fashion design competition. My classmates convinced me that I would surely win – but I didn't. So, I launched this compulsion to design paper dolls for my sisters, friends, and anyone who would let me do so. It was an experience that allowed me to delve deeply into individual, and cultural preferences for design, color, shape, size, and form.” 

That lesson, to persevere despite all odds, has served King well as a guiding force driving her to accomplish a life full of achievements and broken barriers that serves as an inspiration to artists and women and people of color today.

Born in Lexington, SC, King, who has a BA in studio art from the University of SC and a MA in journalism from Texas Southern University in Houston, says she grew up both in Lower Richland County and Alaska. “I have lived in 11 different states and done domestic and international sabbaticals that took me to a cumulative 9 months of slow travels and teaching abroad in Italy and in Canada. After more than 30 years of doing some of the things I found interesting and exciting, and to become my mother's primary caregiver, I moved back home to SC.”

But that was not before teaching art at the Art Institute in Houston, O’More College in Franklin, TN, SUNY, and serving as an associate professor in PR at both Western Kentucky University and well as the Rochester Institute of Technology in upstate New York. “I always felt there should be a collaboration between words and images. I taught graphic design, computerized design, or some form of public relations design most of my career, beginning with launching, teaching, and designing the first courses and curriculum in commercial art here in Columbia at Benedict College.”

King was the first Black faculty member in the Department of Journalism and Broadcasting, and she stayed there for 16 years where “they allowed me to do things I never dreamed I could do.” One of those dreams-come-true was launching an international conference on diversity and inviting groundbreaking photojournalist Gordon Parks to the school for three days of lectures and hands-on learning. “It was then that I started to specialize in art and storytelling,” King says, reflecting on her time with Parks, whose documentary style photography was instrumental in the fight for civil rights but who went on to be the first Black person to produce and direct major motion pictures, including 1971’s revolutionary film, Shaft.

I came to love a very well-written painting,” King says, adding that “art should tell a story,” an endeavor she strives for in her own work. “I enjoy telling my stories as well as those of people I have met along the way. An avid nonfiction reader, I try to incorporate a level of authenticity, through descriptive and narrative detail in my paintings. I focus on the story to give it broader meaning – that is, the painting’s relationship-building potential. People often comment on my style. I paint from memory, not photos (unless commissioned to do so), and I rarely use references. Various elements in each painting are carefully outlined to show that the story is a composite of different places and spans of time.”

King’s medium of choice is acrylic. “My very wonderful art professors at USC, particularly Jim Edwards, taught me that acrylics are extremely adaptable and can convincingly disguise as other paint mediums.” And as for her technique, “I would say that I have either a ‘gentle’ realism or perhaps a somewhat ‘rigid’ surrealism style,” she says. “I am not painting from photographs unless I’m commissioned to or as reference. The white outlined objects in my work come together in my memories from myriad places and times.”

Among her greatest influences are Dony Mac Manus, sculptor/founder of the School for Sacred Art in Florence,  Italy, and Giancarlo Polenghi, the school's director of the master’s program who is an Italian art historian and teaches theology of the body. “They both helped me to understand that the purpose and power of art is to elevate the status of individuals in communities and in society.”

“Now, each day, before I begin to paint, I study some of the great Christian art. I enjoy Biblical stories through the eyes of Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Peter Paul Rubens, Cristofo de Predis, Rogier van der Weyden, Rembrandt, Vincent Van Gogh, and even Salvador Dali.”

But she adds that, “Jonathan Green has given me some very good advice and critique on my work, as well,” counting Greene as one among her three favorite SC artists. “I love his use of color and form, and the stories of the African American experiences in the South. He depicts an enjoyment, pride, and love for life that is seldom seen these days. His viewpoint and perspective are necessary against a backdrop of sadness, anger, and bitterness in the world.”

Her other two favorite home-state artists are Gerard Erley and Phillip Mullen. Of Erley she says his technique is “akin to that of the ‘great masters,’ not only in his artistic ability, but also in the way he commands his storytelling.” From Mullen, her former drawing professor whose work she says she “has always loved,” King says, “I learned to be meticulous in the details and still develop a style distinguishable from everyone else.”

With a CV replete with honors, awards, grants, and fellowships, listings of lectures given, international conferences organized and attended, publications in books and esteemed journals as well as listings of books and publications she designed, and truly, more accomplishments than can be recorded here, King’s humility is overwhelming. It is beyond anticlimactic to mention her recognition as the winner of a competition as prosaic as the Draw Jasper contest, but it must be done.

It is on the cover of this issue of Jasper Magazine that Wilma King’s painting, Jasper is published, the winning entry in the 2022 Draw Jasper Competition. “My art is of hindsight, unable to catch up with the present – because the present becomes the past too quickly. Nonetheless, each of us are where we need to be when it comes to our art,” King says. “The Jasper painting expresses the joy of being where I am now, and the struggle of recognizing significant moments and collaborative memories from multiple sources. Through the colors and imagery, I try to describe my vision of a world that is seeded and then grows from my South Carolina and Louisiana Creole cultural roots. It also speaks of my age that notices and shares the pivotal history of two generations before me.”

“These days, I read less than I used to (a book each week), and paint more,” King continues. “I am painting each day, whether it is on canvas or glassware. Art is a way of praying. It helps me find positivity in whatever I am confronted with throughout the day – good or bad. I am seeking ways to put the events of the day in proper perspective and finding a way to reconcile my day in gratitude. I began what I hope will become a series of painting based on contemplative and spiritual exercises. I believe art should elevate the status of persons and communities. Finally, I have had a happy life, despite a few calamitous events I certainly hope the happiness is what my art passes on to others.” 

 Wisdom from Wilma King: I think there's a need to not only expose the world to Columbia arts, but to also expose Columbia arts to the world! There are ideas and opportunities for collaborations that are not being explored. Let's create some opportunities for collaborations and universality through perhaps Sister Cities for starters.

On my wish list? It's time for a women's museum, a children's museum, and an independent art school. The spirit and excitement of art is apparent in Columbia’s eclectic art community. Still, the more we venture out, explore, and study the universal art world, the less repetitive we become.

This article appeared in the Fall 2022 Print issue of Jasper Magazine.

FROM THE PRINT ISSUE - PART TWO IN OUR SERIES ON KOGER CENTER PROJECT WINNING ARTISTS featuring COLLEEN CANNON-CARLOS

Welcome to the second article in our series on the Koger Center Project’s Winning Artists. You can get the background on this series in yesterday’s article on Kate Timbes, and learn more about the project and the other winners from an earlier Jasper Online post. Today we’re featuring Colleen Cannon-Karlos and sharing the article by Emily Moffitt that appears in the spring issue of Jasper Magazine!

~~~

Colleen Cannon-Karlos:

Left Brain, Right Brain – One Artist 

By Emily Moffitt

Photography by Perry McLeod

The intersection of art and science is sometimes explored only in name, particularly in academic settings. However, for Colleen Cannon-Karlos, the two fields are inextricably intertwined both in her art and her personhood.

Cannon-Karlos' upbringing took her across the country to both coasts—born in Los Angeles to native New Yorker parents, she ended up moving to New York after her parents divorced. During her school years, she excelled in all subjects, participating in gifted student programs and having a strong handle on both sides of her brain. The left brain seemed to dictate her path slightly more as she had not considered being an artist when she was younger. She still enjoyed creative endeavors, however. According to Cannon-Karlos, “I never had a formal art class growing up in school, and the gifted programs in the Bronx that I participated in had music as the cultural enrichment.” This did not stop Cannon-Karlos from pursuing artistic hobbies at home as her mother taught her how to knit, sew, and crochet. At home, she made her own art projects that combined her budding fiber arts skills with recycled materials like popsicle sticks and old fabrics. This resourcefulness has resurfaced years later in the Cannon-Karlos work we see today.

Even as the designated artist of the family, Cannon-Karlos still initially enrolled in schooling oriented toward a career in math or science. “I went to the Bronx High School of Science and had an affinity for math and physics,” says Cannon-Karlos. “There was a drafting class available if anyone wanted to be an architect or engineer, … I absolutely loved taking it. The precision, tools, and learning how to transfer schematic drawings into three-dimensions—I use these skills in my work today all the time.”

Precision is the key to much of Cannon-Karlos' artistic practices today. She developed these tools even further when she studied at Stanford University and worked in the physics lab. Her curriculum was strenuous and extremely scientific, but she always had art in the back of her mind. While in college at Stanford, the artist’s aunt asked her to make some art for her. This became an “a-ha” moment for Cannon-Karlos, whose time spent in the lab, identifying subatomic particles of smashed atoms, did not leave much time for creative hobbies. “I rediscovered my love for making stuff, using materials as simple as magic markers,” she remembers. It was time for her to find her path not only as someone with a knack for science, but also as an artist.

Cannon-Karlos decided to take a gap year from her Stanford studies and moved back to New York City to, hopefully, establish a career as an artist. She spent her days teaching herself how to paint, exploring museums and creative communities, and communing with playwrights, artists, and musicians. “This was during the 70s, so a lot of the community’s creative endeavors coalesced with different sociopolitical movements of the era,” Cannon-Karlos says. “There was this explosion of creative, dynamic energy that was so immersive and different from today.”

Working on her art career paid off early as she had her first gallery representation when she was 19-years-old. She began dabbling in photography and even convinced the staff photographer at the Studio Museum of Harlem to let her work with him in the darkroom. After spending the year building her portfolios in a variety of media, drawing, painting, and photography, she went back to Stanford and switched her major from sociology to art with a concentration in photography.

 She flourished in the field while also continuing to experiment with other media. The inquisitive Cannon-Karlos always had a knack for trying and learning something new and says that “some artists do the same thing for decades, but it is my nature to explore.” In her twenties, she began to bring back her fiber arts skills to simultaneously turn a profit and make some serious work; she was introduced to fabric design by her former husband, a fellow artist. She began to sell her handmade fabrics and clothing in flea markets, then boutiques and stores in New York. Eventually, Cannon-Karlos took the lessons she had learned practicing her art and began to apply them to something new: academia.

Throughout her career, Cannon-Karlos has instructed students of all ages, from elementary school through college. Since her methods of problem-solving combine both artistic and scientific approaches, she uses this thought process to her advantage in the classroom. She teaches her students that they may have analytic tools but they still need to be able to think outside the box.

The artist has also created curricula based around projects in which students can learn scientific concepts by making art. In Durham, NC, for example, she worked with the local art council and taught classes to elementary schoolers in which they studied ocean science through technical concepts but also had opportunities to create sculptures like jellyfish and tube worms with plastic bags, paper tubes, and other recycled materials that can, unfortunately, easily be found in oceans and bodies of water.

While she lived in Hawaii, she created curricula that truly captured the intersection of her interests. “I was finally able to make a proposal for an Art, Science, and Technology Class that collaborated with the marine science department,” says Cannon-Karlos. “We had a mix of art and science majors in the class, and we were allowed to use lab equipment, including their scanning electron microscopes. This allowed us to see the intricacies of the designs of a particular specimen at a microscopic level and beyond.” The designs found on the plates were only black and white, so the students would then learn how to use Photoshop to add color to their discoveries. While this was an art project in essence, Cannon-Karlos made sure that all students flexed both sides of their brains and wrote explanations of each step of their project, including why they dissected the image in a particular way, how they manipulated the image, and what they learned from the experience. The science-minded students loved the opportunity to express their inner creativity, and the arts students jumped at the opportunity to exhibit their talents on an academic level.

Thess lessons were among the many ways that Cannon-Karlos exhibited her proficiency in seeing things beyond the material plane and comprehending, on a deeper level, the use of an object or material for something completely different. Using recycled materials for creating artwork started in her childhood, and it has manifested contemporaneously as her preferred medium.

Piles of cardboard boxes inevitably piled up across Cannon-Karlos' cross-country moves. After collecting so many, but not wanting to throw them in the waste, she decided to express her resourcefulness by stripping, cutting, and tearing the boxes apart. “Being a science aficionado, I like to experiment with my materials and am always in that mindset of play,” says Cannon-Karlos. “I realized I could make some imagery with these strips.”

Cannon-Karlos had started to experiment with cardboard in 2019, but it was not until after the pandemic and a final move to Columbia that she seriously started to create with it. The cardboard allows Cannon-Karlos to work as a scientist again, finding ways to challenge herself and test new hypotheses regarding how she can use the cardboard and adapt the surface to do different things. One such test of skill was born out of observing sweetgrass basket weaving. “When I saw the weavers … I asked myself if I could simulate the weaving process with the corrugated cardboard.” This process also made Cannon-Karlos reflect on the resourcefulness of African artists, especially with recycled materials of their own. Her work is a constant conversation between culture and science, always looking to explore what that conversation could look like on a surface with one of the most accessible materials available. “A lot of recycled materials are brought over and dumped into Africa,” notes Cannon-Karlos. “The artists are very resourceful; they can go to the dump and pull fabrics, electronics, and other trash then turn it into the most amazing work. I am very inspired by people who look at things differently and turn them into something new.”

Like many other artists, Cannon-Karlos' career path did not follow a straight trajectory. The moves, twists, and turns provided great opportunities at each bend, but nothing necessarily consistent. “If I followed my trajectory out of grad school in the 90s, I may have become more prominent in the art world,” says Cannon-Karlos. “I have had to put my career aside working as a single parent. It is hard to be an artist when you are taking care of a family.” While working in Hawaii, she had first-hand experience with the exorbitant costs of shipping artwork, and the transience of teaching positions in higher education. Her trips across the country, while pursuing her dreams, created different bumps along the road. But when asked if she had the chance to do everything all over again, Cannon-Karlos admits that she may not change anything at all. Her life experiences and her way of approaching art, as both an academic and a creative, are what make her portfolios so alluring, with viewers waiting with anticipation to see what she’ll create next.

FROM THE PRINT ISSUE -- Jasper Writes About 5 of the 6 Koger Center Project Winning Artists (and we're adding the 6th to our story bank!)

At the Jasper Project we have nothing but praise and appreciation for the work the Koger Center for the Arts has done to bring more diverse arts disciplines to their halls. In addition to providing Jasper with a designated space called The Nook to offer monthly openings in conjunction with The Vista’s Third Thursday celebration (thanks Koger!), over the past few years they have elevated SC visual arts appreciation by sponsoring their own visual arts contest (sort of awkwardly) titled The Koger Center Project. Jasper has written about this year’s winners already via Jasper Online, but we were happy to find that we have already written about 5 out of 6 of the winning artists in the pages of Jasper Magazine. Let’s take a look back at these stories by visiting the Jasper Magazine archives.

Photo by Perry McLeod

Kate Timbes: Right Places, Right Times

By Emily Moffitt

Ten days after Kate Timbes graduated from Wofford University, she moved halfway across the world to Germany. This was a decision that became integral not only to her career, but to her life as an artist.

Timbes graduated from Wofford’s studio art program in 2023 with a minor in business and film. She grew up in a creative household, amongst a sister with an affinity for art and a father who worked as an architect. The creative spirit of her family spanned multiple generations; Timbes’ grandfather is an artist as well, and her mother often brought her to bead crafting shows growing up. “I credit my parents and their support and belief in me to be an artist,” says Timbes. “They never questioned my career choice.” Her parents were there to watch her artistic abilities flourish from coloring with crayons, to creating commissions for their family friends. Even now, Timbes’ studio where she perfects her craft is at her parents’ house.

Growing up, Timbes knew she wanted to pursue art after spending her childhood years painting and making jewelry, but she originally considered graphic design as a career. It was not until her undergraduate years at Wofford that she discovered and fell in love with studio art. While studying studio art, she got to explore with a variety of mediums and pursued as many opportunities as possible to learn what she could. “I accepted a work study at a school in Tennessee where I learned to spin my own wool,” says Timbes. “I saw so many other artists honing their craft, and they were all so encouraging and eager to share their knowledge with me.”

Photo by Perry McLeod

As her studies progressed, one of her professors at Wofford approached her and asked if she had any experience making paper. “I told her I had seen it be made, and I spent the next two months learning as much as I could about the medium,” Timbes says. “I was going to help lead a class on how to make your own paper. The next thing I knew, I could not get my hands out of paper baths.”

Awakened with a sense of wonder in how to push the limits of this newfound medium, Timbes started to see motifs from her existing practice reawakened. She found that she resonated with the low-to-zero waste practice of making paper from scratch and wanted to learn how to use plant fibers to make new sheets. Timbes says, “I felt very connected to a tradition that is starting to disappear in certain places around the world.”

At the beginning of her papermaking practice, Timbes would experiment with sheet pulling to see what would happen, figuring out if the sheet would be used for painting, sculpture, or just exist as a sheet of paper. Now, just a few years later, paper making is Timbes’ primary method of creating building blocks for her art in her daily routine. “When I am on the journey to find what possibilities exist within paper, and what it is going to do to push me...I find it to be a very conversational art practice.”

Photo by Perry McLeod

Conversation itself is integral to many of Timbes’ artistic endeavors. The paper that Timbes creates is made through a conversation of intention: what will a specific piece of paper be used for, what kind of fibers are needed for the sheet, and how will it react to the additives? Timbes even casts her own body in handmade paper for some of her projects. The resourcefulness of the artist is not reserved for making paper from scratch, however, as she is proficient in using fabric to create stunning installation and performance work. One notable medium that Timbes has visited multiple times in her career is a simple bedsheet. “In 2022, when I was working on my senior project, Roe V. Wade was overturned,” says Timbes. “I looked for an outlet for rage, and turned to tearing up bed sheets, weaving the strips into rage rooms.” The accessibility of bedsheets made the project’s foundation easy to start. Using leftover paint from a previous mural project, the rage room installation came to fruition by throwing the watered-down paint all over the stripped, cut, and torn bedsheets until they dried. Afterwards, she created circular installations with the strips by weaving them together to create a microcosm of rage and relief.

The experience with this project followed her from Spartanburg to Garmisch. In a setting with no formal studio or ample space to create like she had in college, Timbes made sure to immerse herself in the culture of the small ski resort town she worked out of. After spending time researching the local ecology and energy of the town, it prompted her to reflect on her own desires as an artist. “I had to ask myself, ‘What am I passionate about? How do I narrow everything down? Am I a sculptor, painter, or something else?’” She ended up cultivating all these thoughts and experiences with her surroundings into her notable performance piece/sculpture/photography series, “I Cut My Arms Off So That I Could Fly.” In her hotel room, Timbes found an ample number of bedsheets once again to be her canvas. “The piece is a fiber sculpture turned performance that was inspired by a glacier that melted off the top of the highest mountain in Germany,” says Timbes. “There were so many tours going up there, but no acknowledgment of the glacier itself. It was almost like a tourist attraction that did not exist.” Some church groups in the area hosted funerals for the glacier, which pushed Timbes to create a remembrance of her own. After tearing and dyeing the bed sheets, she wove them into a set of arms she could wear. It was not until right before the ski season ended that Timbes came up with the perfect idea: “I took the piece up into the mountain and decided to ski down while wearing it. That’s where the photos came from.” What resulted was a stunning coalescence of movement, reverence, and originality that has reappeared throughout Timbes’ portfolio.

Now in the present day, Timbes has taken all of her life experiences and creative endeavors and melded them into a path she is sure to take with aplomb. Timbes has joined an artist collective named Zerospace, participated not only in exhibits across South Carolina, but as far away as California and Denmark. Building a community and participating in one that exists amongst her artist peers is the most important thing to Timbes’ artistic practice. At Woven Studios, Timbes creates murals and takes commissions, emphasizing the importance of understanding her clients. Building relationships with clients fosters trust, while collaborating with other artists inspires creativity and new ideas, especially now that she's returned to South Carolina. “Within the last year, tapping into the Carolinas’ creative communities has really fueled my practice, and I have acknowledged how important creative spaces are,” says Timbes.

Photo by Perry McLeod

Upcoming projects for Timbes include participation in the Koger Center’s annual art competition exhibit, where a jury-selected panel of SC artists is featured and Timbes was awarded first place. Additionally, Timbes is developing a new collection of fiber and paper-based works inspired by German folklore. Timbes’ explores subject matter and artistic concepts with the originality and passion of someone who has given themself the grace to create without self-imposed boundaries: a tenet passed down from her father. “It is hard to navigate the world right now, let alone as an artist in her 20s,” says Timbes. “But I have to be okay with failure, comfortable with vulnerability, and just reiterate to myself that whatever happens, I got this.” With a knack for storytelling and working with intention, she is well on her way to fashioning herself as one of the young artists to watch in Columbia, SC or wherever her journey takes her.

 This article appears in the current issue of Jasper Magazine, Spring 2026.

Return to this space to read about Koger’s Featured Artists Anna Byars, Lori Isom, Wilma King & Colleen Cannon-Karlos. And to keep up with Jasper’s ALL-ARTS news & articles between print issues, go to JasperProject.org, find Magazine on the front page, then scroll down for Jasper Online. Recent articles have included local theatre reviews, news about Columbia Classical Ballet, calls for art, the SEPF, SCSM artist talks & everything about our current Big Thing,

Jasper’s Play Right Project.

REVIEW: Spoleto Festival USA Presents The Old Maid and the Thief by Gian Carlo Menotti

By Cindi Boiter

What a surprise and delight it was on Memorial Day to settle into the pews of Charleston’s historic Dock Street Theatre for the comic opera, The Old Maid and the Thief, and see Columbia’s own Patti O’Furniture addressing the audience in the role of the emcee! Maybe it was seeing  a beloved South Carolina icon on the stage, maybe it was the intimacy and familiarity of the theatre, or maybe it was a combination of both along with the humor and easily read superscripts, but for this reviewer, The Old Maid and the Thief offered up the coziest opera production I have ever experienced.

A one-act radio opera written by Pulitzer Prize winning composer and Spoleto Festival USA founder Gian Carlo Menotti when he was just 28 years old, The Old Maid and the Thief was first performed for NBC Radio by the NBC Symphony Orchestra in 1939 and adapted for the stage in 1941. Rife with stereotypical characterizations, one has to temporarily suspend one’s sense of social consciousness to thoroughly enjoy the performance and, luckily, this isn’t difficult to do at all. The characters in this production are as comical as they are talented, performing downstage on and off of a raised platform in front of members of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra, directed by Timothy Myers. The presence of drag maven Patti O’Furniture cross dressing in an exquisitely tailored brown steampunk suit also reminds the audience that even though the characters are dated and the action is set more than eighty years ago, this is still 2026, even in South Carolina.

There are four main characters in the opera in addition to Patti: Miss Todd, an unmarried woman, played by mezzo-soprano Katharine Goeldner; Bob, the thief played by baritone Efrain Solis; Laetitia, Miss Todd’s maid played by soprano Rachel Blaustein; and Miss Pinkerton, Miss Todd’s also unmarried neighbor, played by mezzo-soprano Chrystal E. Williams. While this reviewer does not have the credentials to authoritatively review opera, I can report that the vocals were beautiful  to my relatively untrained ears and the two arias performed by Blaustein and Solis gave me chills.

As an unexpected treat for this production, the role of the Foley Operator is elevated as the technician resides in a glass booth downstage left providing the audience visual access to the sound effects required for live radio performances. Two supernumeraries keep the action flowing onstage with hilarious choreography and prop placement meant to cleverly mimic certain actions, like the passage of scenery as characters walk down the street or pile into an automobile together. As the emcee, Patti O’Furniture announces a brief preamble to each of the fourteen brief scenes, proving that in addition to being an excellent public speaker, she is completely at home on the stage whether she is dressing her fellow performers from an ill-placed clothes rack downstage right or joining in the choreography with the rest of the cast. (Note: The position of the clothes rack blocking  the musicians and many of Patti’s entertaining antics is my only complaint about this performance.)  

Expertly directed by Daisy Evans with set and costume design by Walt Spangler and lighting by Jacob Wiltshire, The Old Lady and the Thief will be performed once more during the 2026 festival, on Friday evening, May 29th at 5:30 pm. If you’re not sure whether you enjoy opera or not, or even if you think you don’t but you know you enjoy a performance featuring hilarious physicality combined with impressively executed vocals and a unique narrative delivery, this is a performance for you. Or if you, like this reviewer, get a kick out of witnessing a beloved member of South Carolina’s arts community take on a new challenge and absolutely crush it, The Old Maid and the Thief is not to be missed.

For Tickets to This and Other Spoleto Festival USA Performances visit SpoletoUSA.org

Cindi Boiter is the founder & executive director emerita of the Jasper Project and the editor of Jasper Magazine

Meet Jasper Board Member Jane Turner Peterson!

MEET JASPER!

JANE TURNER PETERSON

The Jasper Project is dependent upon its hard working board of directors to make our world go ‘round. In addition to sharing a wealth of information from their own experiences, the Jasper Project board is, what is called in the world of non-profits, a “working board.” Emphasis on the word WORK.

You’ll see our board members delivering Jasper Magazines, greeting and ringing up art sales at any of our gallery spaces, hauling bags of ice, cases of wine, and trays of food at our receptions and events, as well as planning, setting up for, and cleaning up after those events. Our board of volunteers also plan and program those parties! They schedule art exhibitions, review plays, install art, make labels, read plays, screen films, program concerts, write checks, balance the budget, communicate with their unique contacts, and so much more.

Every board member is attached to at least one of Jasper’s primary projects (Jasper Magazine, galleries, Play Right Project, 2nd Act Film Project, or any of our one-off projects like the Degenerate Arts Project we just finished up or our upcoming Peter Lenzo Retrospective and Remembrance which will open at Stormwater Studios on April 3rd.)

New board members are officially elected into their seats at our annual board retreat in January, though when potential new board members come along throughout the year, we invite them “to date” Jasper until the next retreat. This gives the potential director time to learn how Jasper works and decide whether they can see themselves as part of our motley crew. And the reciprocal works for Jasper.

In January 2026, Jasper voted in 7 new directors to join our already existing board of 14 sitting members. Over the next few weeks we will be introducing these amazing people to you via Jasper Online. We invite you to check back here daily to MEET JASPER, and we will introduce you to the hard-working and talented individuals who make up the Jasper Project Board of Directors.

Meet Jane Turner Peterson!

Jane Turner Peterson is a retired marketing professional in the non-profit sector with an arts background. She holds a BA in Theatre from the University of South Carolina. She has been involved in arts marketing in several areas, including graphic design, advertising, and sales, since the 80s. She was most recently the Director of Communications at Washington Street UMC in Columbia. Jane has been involved both on stage and as a director in the local theatre scene for numerous years. Jane is excited to begin her journey with Jasper to be a part of an organization whose mission reflects her love of the arts.

Jane is the Theatre Editor for Jasper Magazine and the project director for the Play Right Project. She also serves on the Project & Planning Committee, the Marketing Committee, and the Magazine Committee.

Welcome Jane!

FROM THE PRINT ISSUE: A Conversation with George Fetner By Kevin Oliver

photo by Perry McLeod

In local clubs and at festivals like St Patrick’s Day and Mardi Gras, George Fetner is well known for his funky party band George Fetner and the Strays, or the improvisational rock ensemble TenMileRide. His background, and his day job, is a bit more serious, however. Fetner holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Music Composition from the University of South Carolina, as well as a Master of Science in Data and Communication. He’s currently working as the school’s director of Donor Experience, but he’s never stopped creating music. Summer of 2025 saw the release of EPOCH, an instrumental soundscape of tones and textures that couldn’t be more different from his rock band, but it does connect elsewhere in his artistic endeavors. Fetner recently fielded questions from Jasper about all of his various musical personas.

JASPER: You've now been playing with George Fetner and the Strays (GFATS) for almost a decade, how has that changed for you over the years--has it accomplished what you first envisioned musically? 

GEORGE FETNER: It's always changing! Initially I wanted a two-guitar rock band with my friends. Then we added percussion, then horns, then keyboards, then did more vocal harmonizing, and more shows out of town. The influences and strengths of the band started guiding our live shows more and more, with the goal of having fun remaining a priority. Musically the band has blossomed. We're all much more confident in what GFATS is, in what works and what doesn't. I'm ok with doors that didn't open because others did that I wasn't expecting. When I look out from the stage, I see people who want us to deliver, and I take that responsibility seriously. Now, I'm almost 40, which is close to the median age of the band members. We all enjoy GFATS while also playing music outside of the band, and I'm thinking more about how to continue recording and performing graciously as we age. 

J: You've added TenMileRide, a looser, smaller ensemble with a different sound--what does that group do for you that your other outlets may not? 

GF: Have you ever seen the videos of skydivers joining hands and forming a circle while they're in the air? That's how playing in TenMileRide feels. I'm used to being a band leader in GFATS, but I don't do that much in TenMileRide. And every time we try to make a plan or follow a map, we lose the whole essence of in-the-moment playing. We've been trying it out in front of Grateful Dead fans and jam band fans but have picked up a lot of passionate fans who don't like the dead or the jam band sound. So, that's kind of a lesson in seeing where this ride takes us, too. I think people are deeply in need of real, shared experiences right now.  

J: Epoch, your latest project, is very different; explain how that one came about and how it fits in the George Fetner musical universe? 

GF: I wrote the piece as a sound installation in 2011, where people would wander into a room and be able to sit for a minute and experience it. But it didn't feel meaningful outside of that setting, so I put it away. I revived it last year to accompany a screening of silent home movies. It gave me an opportunity to experience it with fresh ears, a seasoned perspective, and the ability to fully support what it's trying to say. A big influence of mine, Pat Metheny, has a wide musical output in terms of style and ensemble. I've heard him talk about his career as "one long tune". I like that sentiment. What I release really is part of one larger statement. It's easier to see that after a few different albums, and very easy to see when I look back on all the music I've written. Epoch certainly fits into my electronic solar system with “Beneath the Ice” and other electronic media pieces I've written.

J: Your extensive compositional work has covered a lot of ground itself; and you graduated from the USC School of Music. How has that foundation helped you develop musically--the connections you have there? 

GF: It's hard to answer this question without going on tangents of gratitude, because I owe my musical and professional development to many, many people at the School of Music. But these people are inspiring. To be around people you admire musically, intellectually, and professionally is rare. These people also taught me to remain curious, to push myself creatively, and to be efficient with my creative time. I'm a natural daydreamer, so that last one has been particularly helpful as I've gotten older. 

J: What makes a good classical or instrumental composition, versus what makes a good rock song? Or are there crossover points that you've discovered after doing both?  

GF: If the songwriter or composer's intent is clear through the work itself, it's as close to "good" as you're going to get. You should concern yourself with making your intent clear using all the musical tools you have. Then challenge yourself by listening to what the piece is trying to say or do and support that. At a certain point you realize you're a translator of sorts: it's your job to translate what already exists in the music of the spheres and deliver it to your friends. I think that goes with any creative work. It's real. 

And if you're a participant, can you recognize a "good" work that you don't like? That doesn't move you? That's "taste" and it is constructed by every part of your history with music. If music moves you, what's the purpose of concerning yourself with what's "good"? It doesn't really matter. Music is language. Sometimes the message is simple and sometimes it's complex. There's nothing more important than the meaning you get from it, except of course sharing it. 

 The above article appeared in the fall 2025 print issue of Jasper Magazine.

From the Print Issue -- A Prayer for Every Stitch – Memory and Empathy Through the Eyes of Staci Swider By Emily Moffitt

A quick trip down memory lane with a gorgeous Southern night sky and the subtle buzzing of insects. A brief respite from the metaphorical weight a person carries with them. The beauty within Staci Swider’s work goes beyond the visual aesthetic; it encompasses the intentions of the artist, and the potential for powerful conversation with anyone who stops to admire her work. 

Art has been in Swider’s DNA since she was little. Learning how to sew from her grandmother, who happened to work in a children’s clothing factory, she was surrounded by knitting, needlepoint, fabrics, and anything craft oriented. “Growing up in the late 60s and early 70s, that was the resurgence of it as a craft form people were engaging with,” says Swider. “I have started to see artists start to crochet and sew again in our community nowadays, but that was what life was like back then!” Swider then went to school for fabric design and got into the workforce designing home furnishings. What she learned in school and during her career did end up shaping a lot of her practices and principles in terms of creating original work, along with the words of her grandmother: “a prayer for every stitch.” Finding the act of weaving to be very meditative, Swider subconsciously reflects on every loop and stitch beyond what it is creating in the physical plane. “Sometimes it isn’t about the finished product,” said Swider. “The act of doing is the real work. It gives you something to quiet your mind.” 

Swider’s background in textiles taught her to be attuned to finer details. She works with anything and everything fiber: yarn, thread, and fabric, then incorporates other materials like wire into the design to create both two-dimensional and three-dimensional works. These are not the only building blocks, however; Swider finds the exploration of contrast to be a major key in her work. “Contrast is not always just light and dark,” Swider says. “Sometimes, contrast in art focuses on the smooth versus rough, the busy and quiet, and finding the balance within a pair.” Weaving lends itself to be an optimal method of creating contrast, especially through Swider’s mastery of color work. She says, “On the surface, the color work appears as a quick snapshot that you take in, but when you come upon it and look closely it reveals itself further. You must look for the little things, like a piece of pink duct tape or cobalt silk that really sticks out in a section of one of my pieces.” 

The visual building blocks of contrast, color, and the technical skills required of fiber arts all coalesce in works that capture the key theme of spirituality in Swider’s portfolio. Swider’s lens of the world is rooted in introspection and metaphorical conversation. "I express myself through a visual alphabet of symbols,” said Swider. “Not just runes or anything like that, but the actual images themselves in my work, and a lot of artists who tend to work metaphorically do something similar.” One notable example of the symbology is the arc shaped vessel in many pieces of Swider’s art. One may attribute it to being a literal boat at first glance, but the deeper meaning within the symbol goes beyond; rather, it is a vessel for everything one feels and does, a well of experience carried along a path in the work. It functions as a vessel for the other subject in the work as well as the viewer and are aptly referred to as “soul sleds.” 

Conversation is integral to Swider as she aims to evoke a response in the viewer that they may or may not be able to articulate in words. Colors and images like a moody blue against a stark background may evoke a moody or contemplative feeling in the viewer. For Swider, “an image like a quiet night sky brings me to sitting in my backyard and listening to crickets.” As an empathic artist who feels a great sense of tension within her inner person, the imagery that Swider conveys in her work is a way for her to return to a specific moment and take a mental pause, allowing for a clear opportunity for introspection on how to proceed and respond to that tense feeling. The conversation with the viewer still continues through that introspection; after all, the viewer might be feeling the exact same way. 

Having this exchange with the viewer completely remotely is exciting to Swider and feels as rewarding as if they were speaking face to face. “Whether or not a person likes the artwork I make or does not, they are still thinking about the work itself,” says Swider. “Whether they realize it or not, we are having a conversation about the work that way, which is a really beautiful thing to think about.” 

The life that Swider has lived and the years of unique or shared experiences finds ways to express itself in her work. This experience lends itself to the key piece of advice Swider gives to any of her students or fellow artists who experience any sort of creative block: go back to the last place they felt artistically comfortable. Lessen the anxiety of creating something brand new and unfamiliar to themself by letting the creativity flow within familiar territory, like a flower arrangement for an artist who focuses on painting flowers. Set the mind at ease before attempting a new challenge, and the art block is much easier to overcome. 

A life as an educator and full-time artist has paved the way for Swider to express her creativity in a multitude of ways beyond the visual arts. “At this point, my creativity leaks out into everything, like cooking and gardening,” said Swider. “I love to surround myself with beautiful things in my home, and to find beauty in anything and everything.” Living with intention and slowing down in an increasingly fast-paced world appeals greatly to Swider and has impacted her drive to continue interacting with things in her day-to-day life that makes her smile or feel uplifted. 

The uplifting energy in her life carries through and feeds her creativity for the next piece Swider creates. The newest exciting opportunity to come Swider’s way is a grandiose exhibit at the Burroughs Chapin Museum in Myrtle Beach. Seizing the opportunity to work on her art and voice simultaneously, Tide Carriers, as Swider has named the project, focuses on three connected storylines that incorporate many of her new and old techniques along with exploratory discoveries she has made in other new projects, like her Unbuilt Rooms series. 

"This maturity I have as a human and an artist, how does that get reflected in my work?” Swider asks. The optimal way to explore this was to create the three storylines: an expansion of the Unbuilt Rooms, the Soft Architecture of Rain, and the Songs of Becoming. The storylines follow a chronological reflection of Swider’s life, her evolution and where she finds herself now as a woman in her 60s in 2025. Starting with the Unbuilt Rooms, Swider explains these pieces as “the selves and dreams we carry within us but have not been realized.” These are not meant to be opportunities for the viewer to dwell on past choices that have been made, but rather, beacons of hope for them as they realize that their future still holds a great expanse of choices and dreams that can still be made and had. 

The second piece of the narrative puzzle, the Soft Architecture of Rain, heavily incorporates the soul sled image, reiterating the weight of your hopes and dreams, longing, and baggage that they carry. This specific image joined Swider’s rotation in 2020 and is depicted both in two-dimensional and three-dimensional space. The incorporation of the vessels also enables Swider to express her attunement to her own empathy and operate as a moment of self-reflection both in the creation and viewing of the piece. 

The odyssey concludes with the Songs of Becoming, where Swider maintains her agency as an older woman in a society that is so focused on the eternally youthful and naive. “Once upon a time, women of a certain age like me became the elders and leaders of a community,” says Swider. “They were the ones with the knowledge to pass on to the younger members in their community.” Swider poses the question of how she wants to be remembered through this section, and how she can embrace where she finds herself in the present day. The images in this section are filled with symbols of feminine power, such as extravagant headdresses that can even be worn when depicted in three dimensions. Swider’s art is 100% who she is now and continuously nurtures her identity; this dedicated exhibit brings all those feelings to the forefront for audiences to understand and perhaps empathize with. 

Swider’s work must be seen to be fully understood. The intricate interplay of varied colors and materials creates a truly unique presence in the fiber arts realm. It is easy to get lost in the delicate rhythm of each piece, to drift into a long time behind you yet somehow still unfolding before you.

This article originally appeared in the Fall 2025 issue of Jasper Magazine.

From the print issue: Kwasi Brown Sits Down with Afrofuturist and Arts Educator Dominique Hodge - AKA Jakeem Da Dream

I first saw Jakeem Da Dream’s art at the former Noma Warehouse in Columbia a few years back, and I’ve been a fan ever since. There’s something about his work—the bright colors and unmistakably Black characters—that immediately pulled me in. Coming out of Sumter, SC, Jakeem Da Dream has built a style rooted in Afrofuturism, reimagining what our future looks like through a lens of culture and pride. His art has popped up across Columbia and all over South Carolina, but his most important work is in the classroom where he provides kids in rural areas lessons in art and a role model they wouldn’t be getting otherwise. He isn’t just an amazing artist he’s an amazing person.

~~~~~

Kwasi: How did you come up with your artist name?

Jakeem: My artist name is not tied to my real name at all. It's a name I came up with in high school. Jakeem is actually an acronym for Just A King Enjoying Everyday Moments. It just kind of dawned on me because I looked at it from the perspective of the name we're born with is one that is given to us, but at some point, we have to define who we are. And I felt that name personified who I was.

Kwasi: Can you talk about the evolution of your style and how you got to where you are at this point in time?

Jakeem: I loved animation. I loved cartoons, comics, manga, and all of that. So I started off just replicating what I saw. I would draw Dragonball Z. I would draw Pokémon and Digimon. I started creating my own characters, probably around middle school. I would make small comics in notepads, before I knew about sketch pads and before I had access to professional art materials. ... I went into high school doing the same thing. My artistic voice didn't start really forming until probably around college, when I was exposed to African American art and Instagram, honestly, like, OG Instagram was a space that connected you with all these different artists. And I'm like, oh, god, look at all these amazing Black artists creating Black artwork. And from there it was, It spoke to me like, I want to create stuff that looks like me, because I didn't know you could do that. So, like I said, once I ran across that it was rapid, even like what I work on now, being in the genre of Afro futurism, I realized that what I've always done has always been in that genre before I even knew what that meant. I currently refer to it as Afro Alchemy. I'm taking both past, present, future pain, suffering, joy, happiness, and transforming it, transmuting it into something brand new, and it just, it shows us in a positive light. And I love it when people see my work and it’s just bright eyes kids excited to see it. It's an amazing feeling.

Kwasi: What exactly is Afrofuturism? In your own words, how would you describe it? 

Jakeem: Afrofuturism, in my opinion, is looking at the African diaspora, for example, understanding that we as African descendants are part of the past, present and future. Like a lot of time, we look at time from a linear standpoint, but time exists all at one time. So like the past, present, and future, they're happening all at once. We only perceive them bit by bit. One of the earliest Afrofuturistic concepts I came across was, if you look at something like Star Wars, Star Trek, stuff that takes place in the future, you'll see how you have all these different aliens and robots, but then there's always an absence of Black people, right? And the question was proposed, like, how could you have aliens in the future. You could have flying cars in the future, but somehow, Black people don't exist in this future. No, there should be a much more balanced appearance, because we're in the future, we're in the past, we're here now. So for me, Afrofuturism is really just examining the fact that we are multidimensional, and we're spread out across time, and we always will be.

Kwasi: Are there any specific visual artists by which you were/are inspired? 

Jakeem: Absolutely, Hayao Miyazaki is one. He created Spirited Away and he owns Studio Ghibli, an amazing animation studio based in Japan, where they actually still do hand drawn illustrations. Nowadays, a lot of animation is done digitally, but at Studio Ghibli they still hand draw their work, and it creates this very nostalgic, beautiful feeling. He's been a major influence. Artists like Guillermo del Toro, who is a phenomenal director, who created the Hellboy franchise. His style is so unique. Mike Mignola, who actually created the Hellboy comics, and they worked together on the first Hellboy movies. And Cedric Umoja and Thomas Washington are local artists who inspired me that I actually know.

Kwasi: Do you have a favorite piece of art that you created and is there a fan favorite piece of work? 

Jakeem: My Puny Humans piece is definitely my favorite, as well as most people's favorite. And what's fascinating about that piece is that it’s the second version of it, the first one I did back in 2016. It was titled simply puny humans. This one that's popular now is Puny Humans the second coming, and I want to expand upon that as a series and do more in it.  

Kwasi: You're also a teacher and you work with children. How did that come about?  

Jakeem: Teaching called me. I did not set out to be a teacher. If you had told me when I graduated high school that I'd be working with kids, I would have laughed in your face. So what happened was, I was invited to do a live painting at the Black Women’s Expo. The painting I did I got to present it to Vivica A Fox which was really cool. While I was there, one of the liaisons for the Auntie Karen foundation--her name is Lisa—saw me and told me about a teaching program and got my information. Maybe a month later, I had an interview with her and Karen Alexander Banks, who's the creator of the foundation, and I've been teaching ever since. Since 2018 I've  been in schools and the program, we're primarily involved with rural area schools, due to the fact that there are a lot of schools in South Carolina that do not have art and music. So we come in and put artists and musicians in these positions to teach, you know, to educate these kids. So I taught at my first school in Hardeeville, South Carolina. Currently I'm in King Street  Kindergarten Leadership Academy. I've been there for six years now. And I have to say, teaching is amazing. I genuinely enjoy it. It's a very fulfilling thing. In my opinion, teaching is the ultimate way of giving back, … especially when I think of how many kids, especially in our rural areas, mostly Black children, who don't have positive male role models. A lot of them have never had male teachers. For me, being able to be that positive role model for them is a really big thing. … I've been working with kids most of my adult life now, looking back on it. Before, I was working with the foundation, I worked at a studio in Sumter, where I painted kids. I was doing after school and summer programs with kids. I've always worked with kids. I work with the Sumter art gallery now, over the summer, during the fall time, I do classes. So I've literally always worked with kids, even though that was never something I set out to do. It's just kind of what I've been called to. So I say, yeah, being a teacher is definitely a calling, there's something inside you that's a love for kids, and also you want to impart something to these kids. 

Kwasi: This has been a very interesting and informative interview, before we get out of here do you have anything coming up that we should be looking out for in the future from you? 

Jakeem: It’s still in the early stages now but I may have a solo exhibit at an Art Gallery coming up at the beginning of 2026. So I'm really excited about that one. It's a couple of series I'm working on that I'm looking to put out, and really, I just want to see where things go. At Roc Bottom Studios. I'm stepping into the world of character design work, so I'm really excited about that, as well as skill training. …  Aside from that, I'm just looking to create and see what comes naturally.

Afrofuturism is a cultural movement that blends art, science, and technology with African culture and African diasporic history. It reimagines the Black experience and manifests a future via art, film, tv, writing, and music in which systemic racism no longer or never existed.

Poet Phillis Wheatley’s poem “On Imagination,” written in 1773 was a precursor of Afrofuturism, as was W.E.B. Dubois’s 1920 short story, “The Comet.” Famous jazz musician Sun Ra (1914-1983), funk musician George Clinton, science fiction writer Octavia Butler (1947 – 2006), visual artist Ellen Galagher, graphic artist Manzel Bowman, and Nigerian illustrator Suleiman Gwadah are all examples of Afrofuturism across arts disciplines. 

From the print issue: The Runout – Creating Music and Community In Different Ways By Kevin Oliver

There’s a moment on the new album from The Runout, Just As Real, that may sum up the past four years of the band’s existence. On “Light a Fire,” Jeff Gregory sings, “Do you think we could light a fire and stand around until we feel better? I’ll leave it to you now.” They lit a fire back in 2021 with their last full-length record, With Your Eyes Closed, and while they haven’t exactly been standing around, the band has spent the better part of the interim exploring what it means to make music together, and separately, and where they fit in the context of the greater community. 

“There was writing all along, and intention,” says Gregory, the band’s principal songwriter, singer, and guitarist. “The whole while, I was making music, and getting pissed off about making music, like we all do. There were some of these songs that we played live for a couple of years or more, too. And then it got to a point where it was just that we needed to record, that I was dragging my heels, it felt like.” 

Outside of some infrequent singles put online, the first project to see release over the summer was Hidden Variable, a short EP of songs featuring the acoustic duo version of the group, just Gregory and his wife Kelley B. Gregory, who provides crucial, sound-defining harmony vocals. Her presence softens Jeff’s sometimes stark, percussive style in ways that are hard to describe without hearing them together, as the voices intertwine in ways that only true intimacy and connection can muster. The duo arrangements really bring out the pair’s influences, with “When” evoking classic Simon and Garfunkel harmonies, and “The Millstone” possessing the plainspoken profundity of Dawes. It’s also an indicator of the upward progression of Gregory’s songwriting, which stands tall even in the unflinchingly exposed acoustic format. Take these opening lines from “The Millstone”: 

i'm grateful for the grain

even Tuesday mornings never felt the same without the pain

i can picture raindrops falling on the blades of green

now the oats roll in my hands above this screen

like we rolled out in the fields in younger days

 In one verse he’s expressed gratitude, a work ethic, and nostalgia for a more innocent time; the song goes on to describe, in the words of the introduction on the album’s Bandcamp page, “that blue collar urge to just survive and be a fucking good person in the modern era of perverse capitalism.” It’s a delicate balancing act, but one that Gregory has seemingly mastered. 

Working this time around with producer and fellow musician Todd Mathis on the full band recordings, the parts were done in some different ways, Gregory says.

“My guitar parts and Kelley’s vocals were done in our kitchen on both the duo EP and the full band songs,” He says. “The EP was put out as-is, just us. For the band songs we shipped everything over to Todd, who put all the pieces together in his studio.” 

Perhaps the biggest change in the way things were being done in recent years was the addition of the Runout Duo, putting Jeff and Kelley in places the band had never gone, and exposing them, their sound, and their original music to more and more audiences. 

“The organic thing that has happened really slowly, but really surely with this is that we’re seeing people who are coming to a duo show at Columbia Craft, for example, and the next full band show they’re also showing up to see us as a full band.” The two feed off each other, in Gregory’s opinion.  

“When we started doing the duo three years ago, I cut back to a two day a week job, from full time, so we could schedule more shows,” He says. “I’ve worried less about having a digital presence, playing the algorithm game, and building a huge social media crowd, and leaned more into the shows, the live music side of things.” 

Gregory feels it has paid off in a more connected, loyal audience. “I’m finding that people are showing up, buying the shirts, wanting to have a physical CD or to be able to listen to the songs they hear us play,” He says. “It’s not hundreds of people–but it’s 45, or 50 people, that keep showing up.” 

Those duo show experiences, playing covers for the bar and restaurant crowds alongside the original music, have fed the band as well. With Moses Andrews on bass, Mike Scarboro on drums, and Chris Compton on lead guitar, those other band members have been active outside of the Runout as well, with Andrews in particular releasing solo albums and playing in Patrick Davis’s Midnight Choir band, Scarboro playing drums with a host of others, and Compton has a long discography of his own excellent songwriting and music. 

“We’re all creative individuals,” Andrews says. “You bring all those other experiences back here and now you’re at rehearsal jamming on a cover that Jeff and Kelley have been doing as a duo and ‘Hey let’s see what it sounds like with the whole band,’ and that grows the sound of the band that way. It’s also a function of how the music community in Columbia makes it easy, whether it’s professionally branching out, or just creative opportunities.” 

“We try to have the culture of a family,” Scarboro says. “We like to set up practices with food, have a hangout session, and then maybe try to play some music. When you know each other so well, know each other’s personalities, you’re more comfortable delivering a new line, or an opinion or a thought on a song–So everybody feels like they can toss something out and see what Jeff says, and he’s really good about leaving a lot of openness for us to just kind of do our thing.” 

Those close personal connections and years of playing both together and apart lend the band’s songs an easygoing familiarity, even if they’re new like the latest release. “Me and the Lord” is a great example, and one of the most fully fleshed out arrangements featuring the whole band. Over a rollicking organ and piano accented tune that’s straight out of the Leon Russell school of 1970s ensemble rock, Gregory declaims a non-materialistic way of living life and practicing one’s spiritual faith.

 “and I ain't got money much

it gets between me and the lord

that may sound funny but

there ain't that much I can't afford”

“There seems to be a way that we do things, and I don’t know what culture this comes from–is it church culture? Nashville culture? In terms of music with formal stuff like lead sheets,” Gregory says. “Sometimes it just happens, sometimes songs are more format based and we can work them out like that.”   

Then there are the ones that are more difficult, requiring more work. “Sometimes songs take a long time; ‘Currency’ was one that I wrote three times thinking that the guitar lick was going to be for something else,” Gregory says. “Then finally some other words felt better with it, and it settled, and never turned into anything else–and that was over the course of years. But then, some songs I write in five minutes.”  

One result of the recent recording sessions is that they have found some things that really work well for them, Gregory says. “We realized that we really enjoy recording our vocals live, around one microphone, to get the harmony,” he says. “Because our harmonies lock differently in the timing if we try to record separately and then blend it in later. So it has just been moving us forward, on all sides.” 

There’s even more movement in the works, Gregory says, with more releases planned out.

“All of the live shows that we did this past spring that were full band, Moses did a multi-track recording off the board feed,” He says. “So there’s going to be a full band live recording from those shows that comes out in early 2026, fingers crossed.”

It’s a strategic release, to put a bit of a marker down for the current lineup of the band which is still playing songs from throughout the group’s discography. “What that’s going to do for people who might just say ‘Oh cool, we get to hear a live version of ‘Currency’,’ but what some may not realize is that when they listen to that original album recording it’s not the people that they’re seeing live on stage now–so this will give them the current lineup playing these songs the way they see them do it on stage.” 

There is a method to this multitude of material, Gregory says, even if they haven’t quite figured out what that is, exactly. “What we’re doing with all of this is that I’m trying to commit more to putting out tunes,” he says. “But now the question is if it’s going to happen in a duo format, or in the studio with the band, or did it happen at Mardi Gras last year and now you’ll hear it as that live version? We want to do songs in all these kinds of ways, and I want to make an authentic and earnest representation on a regular basis in town that people can access in different places.”

 What the Runout has found, it seems, is their people. “EZ Shakes has been saying it for years, and they do it differently than we do,” Gregory says. “But it’s possible to create your niche, create your community, and they can nurture you. We have found that if you consistently make your music available and you’re patient, there are lots of interesting crowds–and they overlap. We don’t give people enough credit, I think, for what they’re interested in, and they’ll come out of the woodwork to find you and support you. Chris had different people supporting his solo music than we have supporting us, and Moses has different people, too. People are just hungry for that organic experience.” 

Jasper Magazine photos by Perry McLeod

Don’t miss your next chance to see, hear, & enjoy

The Runout

Dec 20th at Greener Pastures Brewing 6-9p

Camden, SC

From the print issue: Jasper Presents Ceramicist Megan Tapley at Coal Powered Filmworks for Vista Lights!

Tapley’s work always falls into the category of being socio-political in some aspect. She sees the art scene as a proper catalyst for change, with their art being a factor in facilitating it.

Jasper is once again proud to participate in the 2025 Vista Lights celebration and, this year, our featured artist is ceramicist Megan Tapley. A resident artist at Gemini Arts, Tapley will be setting up shop at Coal Powered Filmworks (home of Jasper’s filmmaker extraordinaire and board of directors president Wade Sellers) offering some great items to help you tackle your Holiday gift-buying list. The festivities get under way at 6 pm and Coal Powered Filmworks is located at 1217 Lincoln Street, a couple down from Mike Brown Contemporary and across the street from the Blue Marlin.

Read our article below about Megan Tapley, written by Emily Moffitt, which originally appeared in the fall issue of Jasper Magazine which is on newsstands now.

An Unconditional Approach to Life with Megan Tapley

By Emily Moffitt

Following a traditional lifestyle has never been in the cards for Megan Tapley. Living life to the fullest for them means living a bit unconventionally, but that never stood in the way of them pursuing their own aspirations: making a career out of art.

Megan Tapley, pronouns she/they, graduated from Clemson University in 2024 with a B.F.A. in Ceramics. This was not always their medium of choice, though. “I grew up in many accelerated art programs, which introduced me to ceramics at a young age,” says Tapley. “However, I did not pursue ceramics until college.” Tapley finds that her artistic practice is best when they balance their time between multiple disciplines, so they also engage in collaging, filling out their sketchbook, and building sculptures when not focusing on their ceramics. They are inherently driven to be creative, and as such they find any outlet they can to express their creativity.

However, regardless of the medium, Tapley’s work always falls into the category of being socio-political in some aspect. She sees the art scene as a proper catalyst for change, with their art being a factor in facilitating it. Much of Tapley’s portfolio revolves around femininity, thus leading to a body of work that focuses on the female form, reproductive rights, and the role of women in the South. Tapley says, “I feel led to make this work because of my own personal identity as a woman in the South, but I also feel led to make this work to open the conversation up.” The conversations she references are meant to be inviting rather than polarizing, especially among women. Her senior exhibition included a wide variety of vessels that represented different female forms and the desire for bodily autonomy, in a socio-politically charged statement. These differences in form, shape, and size are all meant to bridge gaps and spark up conversations of intersectionality and change as according to Tapley, “I chose to make my work inviting rather than polarizing in hopes that we can all find common ground amongst the issues we face as women.”

Tapley was born and raised in Irmo and found themself returning to the Midlands after finishing their undergraduate degree. The excitement of being a Gen Z artist in a growing community allured her, creating in them a sense of confidence in seeking out a “riskier” life, separate from the stable, 9-to-5 lifestyle other generations seem to encourage the next generation to pursue. “I think being a young artist in a growing community is a good thing,” says Tapley. “I’ve been able to gain a lot of opportunities in the last three months by being willing and able to help grow and foster the arts community here.”

Despite just starting their post-grad career, Tapley has already made great strides by becoming a resident artist at Gemini Arts and has been elected as the inaugural Gemini Arts President. The position comes with a heavy workload but is an optimal role to produce cool opportunities for her fellow artists in the studio. Making the effort to involve themself in the community is the kind of advice that Tapley offers any other young artist trying to participate in Columbia’s creative landscape. “My biggest advice is to apply to everything,” says Tapley. “The worst someone can tell you is no, and you never know where an opportunity will lead you.” Of course, Tapley also warns of the problems with saying “yes” to everything, and that it is okay to only pursue chances that are in your best interest and push your career further forward.

Tapley knows that the path of an artist is not always the easiest to take. Facing the reality of the “starving artist” narrative that many peers still harbor helped Tapley understand the importance of having true allies in your corner, ones that do support you and your craft unconditionally. Tapley says, “I feel that having people around me who question my career choices is just something that will always be an obstacle, so my way of overcoming this has been to unconditionally believe in myself.” Adopting an unwavering sense of confidence is key advice for anyone trying to break into the art scene, especially younger artists. Tapley has proven through their growing role at Gemini Arts and consistent booking of arts exhibitions that they have internalized key experiences and connections and utilized them to further their career.

In-progress art from Megan Tapley

They say, “I have learned to take feedback from those who have pursued a career in the arts, rather than giving too much attention to those who do not understand the life and career I have chosen to lead.”

Tapley is an active member of the Gemini ceramics community, and a staple in bringing awareness to the power of political commentary through art, especially for women of all ages.

Help Celebrate the Fall 2025 Issue of Jasper Magazine with a Scorpio Party at Gemini Arts!

You’re invited to join the Jasper Project on Saturday, Nov. 8th at Gemini Arts for a  Celebration of the Release of the Fall 2025 Jasper Magazine.

It’ll be a night of music, poetry, prose, visual art, and just hanging out with other like-minded Soda Citizens who believe the arts give us hope, solace, and joy! Plus we’ll be fulfilling a little wish that Cindi and Wade have had for a long time—bringing as many of Columbia’s Scorpio Babies together as possible to celebrate the exhilarating madness of being born a Scorpio!

The evening will start with poetry and prose readings by Carla Damron, Ivan Segura, Rhy Robidoux, and Naya Lanai Jackson, many of whom will be signing and selling their newest books. There’s a rumor that there will be a theatrical performance – we’ll keep you posted. And our musical guest for the evening is JB SamSon!

JB SamSon

And, of course, there will be cake and plenty of freshly baked Jasper Magazines!

Scorpios are invited to wear Black and/or Red and to find Cindi or Wade at the party to get your Official Scorpio pins.

We can’t wait to see you at 6pm at Gemini Arts at 2847 Commerce Drive. And Stay tuned – we have more surprised in store for you as the celebration continues to develop!

ERRATUM -- Selected Poetry Authors and Bionotes Transposed in Spring 2025 Jasper

In the spring 2025 issue of Jasper Magazine the authors and bio-notes for our selected poems were transposed. The poem Children of the Sun, though attributed to Li Hubbard, was actually written by Ivan Segura, and the poem Do Not Tell Me to Flee, though attributed to Ivan Segura, was actually written by Li Hubbard.

Both poems are printed and correctly identified below and will also appear in the fall 2025 issue of Jasper Magazine with the correct attributions. The Jasper Project sincerely apologizes to both poets for this error.

Do Not Tell Me To Flee

by Li Hubbard

This experiment in necrophilia

we call the South

is my home

Here I have debts to pay

trans people to love

fights to lose

ropes to loose

Dialects and state

lines cannot separate my veins 

from the delta of blueish blood

The oaks take root in my marrow

the fronds blossom from my pores

the tides stain me red

Borders carved in human skin

a queasy commitment 

so easily mistaken for butterflies

Placing my nakedness in the fresh

turned, spit

spotted soil

sinking into the mud

It is the most natural thing

we are so good at dying slow

down here

Li Hubbard is a trans writer, museum guide, and server hailing from Florida. He co-runs Queer Writers of Columbia, a LGBTQ+ collective of creatives building community around craft. Li loves to gab about art and the local coffee scene. Follow him on Instagram: @li.hubbardd | @queerwriterscolumbia

Children of the Sun

by Ivan Segura

They say we don't know 

what we want

that we all come from 

a faraway land

That we are brown 

and speak in tongues

and are in places 

we don't belong

We all arrive

for different reasons

We are here to expand 

and to become

We come for work 

and also love

We are here for fate 

or just because

We are the children 

of the sun

we roam around 

all as one

this ancient land 

to all belongs

We move with freedom 

stay strong

Are we really a nation of immigrants?

I ponder

Are we not a nation of immigrants?

I wonder

We are the children of the sun

Where we are is where we belong.

Ivan Segura serves as the Director of Multicultural Affairs at the SC Commission for Minority Affairs. He is also the Executive Director of Palmetto Luna Arts, a non-profit organization fostering Latino arts and culture in SC. He has over 20 years of experience in community activism, arts advocacy, and grassroots leadership for Latinos in SC.

ESSAY: The Free Times 2024 Power List, A Response by Cindi Boiter

The yearly designation of the Midlands’ most powerful people, provided by our friends at the Post and Courier’s Free Times, always creates ambivalent feelings for me, as well as others, I’ve been told. This year, I was happy to play a small part of the nomination process and see recognition given to many of the folks I nominated. But, as always, I was perplexed by the concept of the project and what its purpose is.

The Free Times Power List 2024, published December 18th, seeks to recognize 30 of the Midlands’ most influential arts, food, and cultural leaders. The criteria for acknowledgement are growth, innovative programming, and bringing national attention to the area, like Lula Drake’s Tim Gardner whose rightful place on the list was established when he won Columbia’s first ever James Beard award and the Kiki and Tyrone Cyrus team at Kiki’s Chicken and Waffles, who also received acclaim in the James Beard competition. Robbie Robinson of City Limits Barbeque was recognized, as well.

Clearly, restaurant owners who frequently put their own financial livelihoods on the line are deserving of praise, especially those like Kristian Niemi who is committed not just to his patrons but also to the local farmers who provide the food for his restaurants. Restaurants are essentially small businesses but they can have a large impact on their communities by providing gathering spaces where we all feed both our appetites and our culture. The team at Transmission Arcade is a great example of a group seeing a city need and addressing it head-on with fun and innovative programming. But missing from this year’s list are the owners of coffee houses, like Greg Slattery and Sandra Moscato of Curiosity Coffee Bar, who provide places where patrons gather to scheme and collaborate on projects that make us better. Slattery and Moscato are absolute warriors for the health and care of their corner of Columbia. Jasper honors them.

Some of the most deserving recipients of this year’s honors were organization leaders like Nate Terracio (Koger Center for the Arts) and Kristin Cobb (Harbison Theatre) who have used their pivoting power to open their stages to local artists and arts organizations and they have done so without slapping their names on the logos of the organizations they represent. Of  late, we’ve seen free concerts and performances on Koger’s new stages and in their lobby. Harbison Theatre has welcomed many local artists and arts groups onto their stage. And both theatres are the homes to Jasper Gallery sites where we are privileged to present the work of exclusively Midlands area artists.

Kudos to Free Times for shining a light on the work and generous spirits of a nice handful of local artists like Ija Monet, Terrance Henderson, Michaela Pilar Brown, Sean Rayford, and the unofficial mayor of the Congaree Vista, Clark Ellefson. The list of powerful artists could have included dozens of names, but I am thankful for what we got and honor those recipients with pride and admiration.

It was also encouraging to read that Dr. Bobby Donaldson was included in this year’s list as perhaps the most deserving recipient of the honor. Donaldson’s accomplishments represent the best example of an individual working for the greater good without asking for anything in return. I’d love to see more folks like Donaldson recognized for their visions for a better Columbia and a better South Carolina.

But how does one separate and compare the work of rectifying history, like Donaldson does,  with that of making menus and making art? Food, arts, and culture, the three areas where Free Times looked for leaders, are overlapping zones in the Venn diagram of community life with food and art being among the most meaningful contributors to culture.

I have other questions.

Does a Power Person have to be well-paid or even paid at all for their work? Where does volunteerism come into play? I ask this because, and I’m only a little tongue-in-cheek here, I personally know an entire board of directors who work the equivalent of part-time jobs and more to support their organizations and the people they serve. I bet you do, too, and I bet you’re not even thinking of the same organization I am. (Yes, I’m unapologetically thinking of the Jasper Project team and how much I love to sing their praises for the tireless efforts they make to nurture the arts.)

Does the Power Person have to do the work themselves or does the work of the minions below them count as their contribution, too? I mean there’s a lot of dollar signs represented by some of this year’s power people. A lot of fur coats, fancy cars, and trips to Mexico, too. Can a Power Person do the exact same job year after year after year and still be recognized? Does it matter if the organization a Power Person represents is a frequent advertiser with the Post and Courier? I hope not, but I’ve heard that rumor, too. And while we’re at it, should a Power Person be recognized for essentially doing the job they are paid to do? How much money do some of these 501c3 Power People make anyway and how much of their salaries comes from the pockets of Soda Citizens?

Finally, what exactly is the point of the Power List? It harkens me back to school days when popularity was weirdly the goal for so many people. I know few people who didn’t suffer at least a little angst about whether they would be accepted or rejected by their peers. I’d like to think most of us have grown out of that by now. Singling out individuals who, if you followed the rules of the popularity pecking order, were even better than their peers via projects like “senior superlatives,” which I see as the seed of projects like the Power List, was an even more stark way of separating the bad from the good and the good from the better. That said, I married a “Most Likely to Succeed” high school senior superlative recipient and, what can I say? He was and is, so what do I know?

To those who deservingly found themselves on this ostensibly elite list of individuals, congratulations and keep it going. We are genuinely proud of and happy for you. To those who found themselves there whether they deserved to be or not, this means we’re watching you and what you do with your power even more. And to those who were completely overlooked, go forward with the knowledge that  your work matters if it matters to you. Arbitrary lists and accolades are less important than the people you affect with your talents, generosity of spirit, and good work.

~~~

Merry Christmas from all of us at the Jasper Project. We love what we do, and we’re trying to grow better without growing bigger so we can stay true to our mission to be public servants of the arts in the greater SC Midlands Community. Thank you for your support and thank you for reading Jasper Magazine and Jasper Online!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

(Full Disclosure: Kristin Cobb, executive director of Harbison Theatre at MTC is a board member of the Jasper Project Board of Directors. There is no financial exchange related to the profits made for artists or Jasper between any of Jasper’s Gallery sites and the businesses that host them. Also, this column was offered to Free Times as an installment in this writer’s regular column, Further Consideration, but was pleasantly and respectably passed on)

Announcing the JASPER MAGAZINE Fall 2024 Release Party & Potluck Supper!

Please join

the Jasper Project and the staff of Jasper Magazine

on Sunday September 22 from 4 - 7 pm

at the One Columbia Co-Op 1013 Duke Avenue

for our

Jasper Magazine Fall 2024 Release Party

& Potluck Supper Celebration

as we honor all the artists featured in this issue of

Jasper Magazine!

Please join us for another downhome potluck supper as we celebrate all the artists honored in the fall 2024 issue of Jasper Magazine.

Bring a dish to share and a cooler with whatever you’re drinking (we don’t care) and rub elbows with some of the visual, theatre, film, literary, and musical artists who make our hometown such a rich and beautiful place to live. We’ll have many of our featured DJs spinning for us, art from some of our featured visual artists, poetry readings, and all kinds of surprises. Feel free to bring lawn chairs or blankets to spread out in the co-op’s backyard. Kids are welcome, too!

The event is free (but we love donations to help offset the cost of publishing Jasper Magazine!)

Featured Artists include

Brian Harmon

Bekah Rice

Emily Moffitt

Mike’s Mugs – Kristine Hartvigsen

Chad Henderson

Jon Tuttle

Stan Brown

Libby Campbell

Marybeth Gorman Craig

G. Scott Wild

Jeff Miller

SC Underground Film Fest

Tom Mack

Corey Davis

Roni Nichol Henderson-Day

Michal Rubin

Meena Khalili

Nate Puza

Jeffrey Miller

Wayne Thornley

Mike Dwyer

Victoria Rickards

Eezy Olah -  Kwasi Brown

Todd Mathis – Kevin Oliver

Amos Hoffman

Kenya Spinz, DJ Wandergirl, and The Mixstress Madi Jo

Stay Tuned to This Space as we Announce the Line-Up of Artists Who Will Be Joining Us!

New Brookland Tavern Welcomes THE WOGGLES and the Release of Their New Album

New Brookland Tavern welcomes The Woggles with special guests, Brandy and the Butcher, to help celebrate the release of their new LP, Time Has Come on June 12th. According to musician and Jam Room director, Jay Matheson, “The Woggles have been one of the best garage rock bands in the US since the mid 90s and put on a stage show that is beyond compare.”

Check out their new single as well as their new LP in its entirety.

According to Matheson, the show will be a 2 band affair with Matheson’s own local Rock and Roll band Brandy and the Butcher opening.

Cover tickets to the show are $10 in advance and $15 on the day of the show.

Doors are at 7:30 with music starting at 8:30.

See you there!

Read more about the Woggles from Jasper Magazine music editor Kevin Oliver here.

A Message from Cindi: 37 Issues of Jasper Later and Thanks for Everything

Thank You!

This is the image that popped up in my Facebook memories this morning.

It’s a bundle shot of our second issue of Jasper Magazine released this week in 2011. The cover art is by Thomas Crouch and was designed by Heyward Sims, our art director when we started Jasper Magazine. A small magazine, it featured a piece on Crouch, one on Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School—Ashleigh Rivers was the president of the Columbia chapter, our centerfold was Chris Bickel, articles on Dre Lopez, Caroline Lewis Jones, Bobby Craft, Lee Ann Kornegay, and a story about the 2011 Biennial written by Jeffrey Day. Mayor Steve Benjamin wrote a guest editorial at the back of the book in which he praised the opening of the new Tapp’s Arts Center on Main Street. His editorial was accompanied by an assemblage of the mayor created by Kirkland Smith.

Sigh.

Time goes by so fast.

When this mag came out I had just turned 53 and was realizing that my 50s might very well be the best decade of my life. It was. And for that I am grateful. I’m even more thankful that, 11 years later, someone stills needs me and feeds me now that I’m 64. And I’m particularly thankful for the artists, staff, board, readers, and supporters who made this most recent issue of Jasper—released on Friday night with a lovely little soiree at Kristian Niemi’s Bourbon Courtyard—possible.

This is a photo of artist Wilma Ruth King by Brad Martin holding the image our art director Brian Harmon made into the cover of the magazine we just released.

This is a big fat magazine full of stories about Columbia-based artists and the films they’ve made—Thaddeus and Tanya Wideman-Davis, Monifa Lemons, Dustin Whitehead and his USC crew, Arischa Connor and her list of TV credits, a big piece on jazz by Kevin Oliver, a centerfold story written by Will South about neighbor artist from Conway, Jim Arendt, and another by South on the Elizabeth Catlett exhibition at the CMA. There’s poetry by Monifa and Jonathan Butler, a review of Carla Damron’s new book by Eric Morris, smaller pieces on exciting people and innovative projects—like Amy Brower, Jamie Blackburn, Seitu Amenwahsu, Steven Chapp and Jerred Metz, and Libby Campbell, record reviews of Jump Little Children and Todd Mathis and really, too many subjects to mention here.

I am thankful for this issue of Jasper Magazine and all it represents. An evolving and maturing art community full of grown-ass people who are living the lives they always imagined they’d live, or better. Some of them are stars. Some of them go on brief rides on starlight. And some enjoy basking in the combined and accumulated glow they and their colleagues in the community emit when they make their art and see it received by their fellow humans.

All of this is good.

I’m also thankful for all of you who came out this week to help Jasper celebrate by joining us at Vista Lights.

Jasper Project Board President Wade Sellers at Vista Lights Columbia may, in fact, be Santa.

I’m thankful for all of you who joined us Friday night at Bourbon to welcome this new issue of Jasper to the world.

This is me with Kimber Carpenter and her mom Pat Gillam - both artists - at the Fall 2022 magazine release reception on Friday, November 18th.

I’m thankful for our sponsors, who so generously continue to support Jasper because they recognize it as a gift of art given to the community—not necessarily as just a method media to get the word out about what they alone have to offer. We had 16 sponsors back when issue #2 came out. This issue, we have only 6 — the Palmetto Opera, who have an upcoming concert of Madame Butterfly on January 29th; Harbison Theater who will welcome Tom Papa on January 20th along with a show of Michael Krajewski’s work and who are currently showing an exhibition of David Yaghjian’s work, both sponsored by the Jasper Project Galleries; Trustus Theatre, which opens Hurricane Diane on December 2nd and Mr. Burns, A Post Electric Play on January 20th; CMFA who hosted the Jasper Project’s Play Right Series performance in August; arts activist Eric Tucker’s KW Palmetto Realty, and our truly beloved Columbia Museum of Art who has advertised with us and sponsored us since the very beginning.

I’m thankful for our Jasper Guild Members who, with incredible generosity, trust the Jasper Project with their funding to create a magazine, a literary journal, a film festival, and more, knowing that every penny they give goes right back out to the artists, with no one on our end being paid for their volunteer talent and energy.

Thank YOU for indulging me in this lengthy message, and for reading Jasper Magazine and supporting the many facets of The Jasper Project. From all of our houses, to all of yours —

Happy Thanksgiving,

Cindi

~~~

Coming Up from Jasper

December 1st - First Thursday at Sound Bites Eatery with Lindsay Radford Wiggins - 6 pm

December 11th - Reception for David Yaghjian at Harbison Theater - 2:30 pm

December 15th - Santa Crawl with Jasper at the Art Bar - 7 pm

CALL for PLAYS - Play Right Series - deadline December 31st, 2022

A message from Cindi

Look at these amazing Jasper supporters! Every year for Mardi Gras the Krewe de Jasper Arts gathers to celebrate the arts. Like most of our Jasper projects, it costs very little — mostly just time and energy — but it delivers an incredible sense of purpose, community, and joy. Please plan to march with us in 2023.

Hi Friends!

I’m coming to you once again to ask for your help in bringing to fruition a project that I’ve devoted almost twelve years to–the publication of Jasper Magazine.

As you probably know, Jasper is a grass roots non-profit with no paid employees—including me! Every penny that comes into the Jasper Project goes back out to artists either in the form of promotion, sharing their work via events, or actually as remittance for their work. Other than insurance and a few cyber fees, we have no overhead that would suck up any money you might give. No office, no desks, no benefits.

But we do have an amazing working board of directors and helpers and a volunteer staff, made up of your friends and colleagues, all of whom have invested their energy and talent into the Jasper mission.

Mission Statement

The Jasper Project is a project-oriented, multidisciplinary arts facilitator serving the greater Columbia and South Carolina communities by providing collaborative arts engineering and community-wide arts communication.

~~~

The Jasper Project Priorities

The Jasper Project is committed to four integrated priorities:

• Process – illuminating the unique processes endemic to all art forms in order to provide a greater level of understanding and respect for that discipline.

• Community/Collaboration – nurturing community both within and between arts disciplines.

• Narrative – creating a more positive and progressive understanding of SC culture.

• Economy – being efficient stewards of arts funding committed to creating more with less.

But to be honest, because we’re small and facing greater and greater costs of publishing Jasper, we’re finding it harder and harder to keep Jasper free. Call us naïve, but we really hope we can continue to put Jasper into the hands of everyone, no matter what their ability to pay, for as long as we can.

So, I’m coming to you once again, our readers, supporters, colleagues, and friends, to ask for your help in continuing the work of the Jasper Project and publishing Jasper Magazine. The fall 2022 magazine is written and ready to go to the printer. We have stories about the Midlands beloved Jazz scene, artists Jim Arendt, Wilma King, Elizabeth Catlett, Jamie Blackburn, stories about three local films—two of which made it to the Tribeca film festival this year, poetry, book reviews, album reviews, and so much more!

Publishing this issue of Jasper will cost well over $10K. Please donate whatever you can at our website , on Facebook, or by joining the Jasper Guild.

I can’t thank you enough for your generous support over the past 11+ years. It’s because of donors and helpers and good-hearted people who believe in arts at the grass-roots level that the Jasper Project has grown to be the force that it is, impacting thousands of Midlands artists and arts lovers each year with our events, publications, and more than 20 active projects.

Thank you. And remember there is always a place for you at Jasper.

Take care,

Cindi

This is me at the launch of Jasper Magazine in 2011. I’m holding the first ever Jasper featuring one of my favorite artists, David Yaghjian, on the cover. Next month, Jasper will install David’s art in one of our captured galleries at MTC’s Harbison Theatre lobby. We’ve grown a lot in the 11 years since we started, but we’re still here for the arts and the artists we value so highly. Thank you for your continued support of the Jasper Project and Jasper Magazine.

Happy Hour Release Party for Jasper Magazine Spring 2022 - Thursday, June 9th at Black Rooster Rooftop Bar

Join us as we celebrate all the artists honored in the spring 2022 issue of Jasper Magazine for the official release event at 5:30 on Thursday, June 9th at the Black Rooster’s beautiful rooftop bar.

Among the artists we’ll be celebrating are cover artist Lindsay Radford (written by Kristine Hartvigsen) and centerfold Michael Krajewski (which was shot by Brad Martin in the Black Rooster itself!)

In a jam-packed 64 pages you’ll find another piece by Kristine Hartvigsen on Mike Miller’s new novel, The Hip Shot, as well as excerpts from Jane Zenger and Angelo Geter’s new books of poetry from Muddy Ford Press.

Music editor Kevin Oliver put together a detailed section of new music called “10 to Watch” featuring new work from Saul Seibert, Katera, Desiree Richardson, Tam the Vibe, Rex Darling, Space Force, Admiral Radio, Hillmouse, Candy Coffins, and Lang Owen, with contributing writing from Kyle Petersen and Emily Moffitt.

Tam the Vibe

Stephanie Allen writes about Josetra Baxter and Tamara Finkbeiner’s Walking on Water Productions and their new series Secrets in Plain Sight, with photography by Bree Burchfield.

And we highlight Columbia artist Quincy Pugh as well as feature Will South’s interview with Tyrone Geter all the way from Gambia.

The Three Graces by Quincy Pugh

USC filmmaker Carleen Maur helps us understand more about the art of experimental filmmaking.

Emily Moffitt profiles visual artists Rebecca Horne, Lucy Bailey, and designer Diko Pekdemir-Lewis.

Ed Madden curates poetry from Juan David Cruz-Duarte and Terri McCord.

Christina Xan details the incredible success of Cooper Rust and her non-profit organization, Artists for Africa.

Cindi Boiter profiles SC Arts Commission executive director David Platts, with photography by Brodie Porterfield, and writes about the new public art, Motherhood by Nora Valdez, with exquisite photography by Stephen Chesley.

Motherhood by Nora Valdez, phot by Stephen Chesley

And finally, we memorialize two pillars of the Columbia arts community, Mary Bentz Gilkerson and Wim Roefs, whose loss this spring we are still reeling from.

——

We look forward to seeing you Thursday night.

The event is free and Black Rooster’s regular rooftop bar will be serving drinks and food. Come by for happy hour and grab a drink, a magazine, and a hug from your favorite folks. Or plan on staying a while and grabbing dinner or snacks.

Thanks to restauranteur extraordinaire Kristian Niemi for hosting us.

We can’t wait to see you and show off these exceptional artists who call Columbia, SC home!

Punk Shakespeare Troupe “Elsewhere” Takes Twelfth Night on Tour

“We all believe Shakespeare has been handled with kid gloves when it wasn't intended that way.”

Shortly before the pandemic, three performers and Shakespeare lovers from the East Coast came together to put their twist on Shakespeare. Now, for the first time ever, actors and managers Katie Mixon (Columbia native), Mac MacDaniel, and Hilary Dennis are taking their troupe on tour. Jasper recently sat down with them to learn all about Elsewhere.

JASPER: For those who aren’t familiar, can you say a little about where Elsewhere started? 

ELSEWHERE: Elsewhere began as an attempt to apply the production principles of the punk scene to Shakespearean theatre. Mac (from VA) grew up going to punk shows, Hilary (from MA) was trained in modern style theatre, and I (Katie, from SC) have a classical background. We met at a Shakespeare acting workshop in NYC and it was — what's the platonic artistic version of love at first sight? We went from total strangers to best friends starting a theatre company together in about a week. We all believe Shakespeare has been handled with kid gloves when it wasn't intended that way. 

JASPER: How exactly is Elsewhere different? 

ELSEWHERE: We cut the plays down to 90 minutes. We keep all the lights on and perform with a small cast and try to drag the audience into the show as much as possible. Fast, minimalist, interactive. We believe that all the things that make Shakespeare easier and cheaper to produce also make Shakespeare more fun and engaging.

JASPER: You have to tell me about the name. 

ELSEWHERE: When the title character in Coriolanus is banished from Rome, he says "there is a world elsewhere." As artists who felt like our artistic ambitions and goals weren't being realized in "traditional" theatre spaces, we decided to go outside and find a new world to work in. It's usual for theatre companies to have names like "[Location] Shakespeare," and we thought it was clever to just say that wherever "normal" theatre is happening, we're somewhere else.

JASPER: Y’all usually perform in Richmond, right? Any specific places there? 

ELSEWHERE: Because we don't need a stage or lights, we can perform anywhere there's an open space and room to set up a coat rack. Our usual spiel is to reach out to a few of our friends, organize a very limited rehearsal period (somewhere between a day and a week) and then do a single 90-minute performance with no intermission, and then the show is over. We like the urgency of a single show; either you're there and you see it, or you're not and you've missed it.

JASPER: Have you toured before? 

ELSEWHERE: This is Elsewhere's first time touring, but it definitely won't be our last. Mac was already planning a road trip with his wife Leah, (who is also the Marketing Director and Graphic Artist for Elsewhere), so he pitched this idea of a tour with a core cast of us three and a rotating local cast that would enable each of us to cast our friends in our hometowns and see how the show changes when more than half the cast will turn over between each show.

JASPER: What made you choose Twelfth Night? 

ELSEWHERE: We wanted to do a comedy after doing two tragedies back-to-back. Artistically it has all of the things we love about Shakespeare — poetry, wit, brilliant characters, music, humor. It is deep without being dour. It is an ensemble show rather than a solo star vehicle like a Hamlet or an As You Like It. Logistically it is an audience favorite that requires very little in the way of fight choreo or intimacy work, which makes it easier to put together really fast.

JASPER: How did you cut and change the play for the tour? 

ELSEWHERE: Mac does all our cuts, and what he does with the text would probably horrify a lot of scholars and purists. Mac’s goals with any cut are that the text can be played by a small cast and that the basic throughline of the story is preserved. He is both a Shakespeare educator and someone who is always dragging non-Shakespeare friends out to see plays. It is possible Shakespeare to be staged in a way that is beginner-friendly without being dumbed-down.

JASPER: How structured are your shows usually? I know you don’t have a “director.” 

ELSEWHERE: We just run with the vibes. Part of the fun of this tour is seeing how the vibe changes between cities/venues/casts. Mac, Hilary, and Katie are all the same actors playing the same parts, but not only will our characters' relationships evolve as we go, we will be creating new relationships with the other characters. We try to be very clear that even though Elsewhere is our company, we are not "in charge" of the show or the rehearsal room. Anyone we invite to be a part of the show process is an equal partner. They didn't have a director when Shakespeare's company was performing in the 1600's, so we can do that too.

JASPER: You already had one show in Columbia. Anything you’d keep or change moving to the next two shows?  

ELSEWHERE: There are usually small edits made to the cut during rehearsal, things you don't notice until you get the cast in the room — for example, Mac cut all of Maria's lines from a scene but forgot to cut the stage direction "enter Maria," so poor Lonetta was just wandering around in the scene with nothing to say. Katie chose to wear a huge hat and sunglasses for Olivia, but Joseph Eisenrich (who played our Toby) marched on to stage and put them on himself and I fell out laughing.

JASPER: What are some of your goals with this tour specifically? 

ELSEWHERE: We have been working together in Richmond for a while now, but this is our first opportunity to work in each other's hometowns. Usually, Mac is the one in charge of finding a venue and a cast and hosting everyone in Richmond, so it's nice to come to Columbia and for him to be a guest.  

A perhaps bigger goal is to demonstrate for theatre folks just how easy it is to produce Shakespeare shows. The thing that would make us most happy would be for someone to see one of our shows and think "I can do that!" and then take our resources and start producing their own fast popup Shakespeare plays.

JASPER: What’s after this for Elsewhere? 

ELSEWHERE: We haven't the foggiest idea. Maybe we'll start a podcast? Oh! And we have been talking about a longer version of a tour, with a different show.  Maybe Much Ado About Nothing.  Comedies have been fun after two tragedies.

JASPER: Last but definitely not least, how can people support you in the future? 

ELSEWHERE: You can donate to cover tour costs by Venoming me @Mac-MacDaniel (make a note that it's for Elsewhere), or you can make a tax-deductible donation on our website www.elsewhereshakespeare.com  

Elsewhere’s performance of Twelfth Night premiered in Columbia on May 1st, and its next stop is Richmond, Virginia on the 29th of this month. The troupe’s final performance will be in Northampton, Massachusetts on July 3rd.

PRINT WORTHY: MALIK Green from the Pages of Jasper Magazine Fall 2021 + NEW WORK

Keep your eye on this outstanding young artist!

In fall 2021, the Jasper Project ran a brief article on emerging artist Malik Greene. Since then, we’ve been keeping an eye on Malik and his work and, as we suspected it would, the quality has continued to improve and the content has continued to venture into braver, more dynamic, and more unsettling territory.

Below, please find our original interview with the artist and, following that, a sampling of some of Greene’s powerful new art.

JASPER: First, tell us about yourself, please. The normal stuff -- how old are you, where are you from, where did you go to school? 

GREENE: Hey, what’s up, my name is Malik Greene, I was born on July 8th, 1997. I was born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina, but in 2019 I received my bachelor's degree in psychology with a late minor in studio art from Coastal Carolina University. 

JASPER: How did you get started painting? 

GREENE: I've always had a curious mind and just wanted to find my own way to be different turned me to an exploration of self; figuring out where I stand in this world and what it is I want to accomplish in my time here honestly led me to dabble my hand in anything that conveyed self-expression. As a kid, I gravitated towards art forms such as illustration and clothing design through learned experiences with family and friends, but I developed a strong passion for painting my second semester of college. I actually made my first painting on the floor of my best friend’s dorm freshman year, so I have a pretty vivid memory of my origin as an artist. I remember ripping up an old trash bag and splattering paint as my heart desired. After I made this first painting, I unintentionally started a fire that still burns today and one painting turned into two and two into four now my entire life is covered in paint… I love it! 

JASPER: What’s your favorite medium? 

GREENE: I think for me I love how tangible paint is, so I'm constantly amused by how it moves, dries, is applied -- it's almost like a science for me mixing the paints. specifically, I am intrigued by the naturalness of oil paint, and I love that from its origin until its completion finishing a painting is almost like solving a puzzle.

JASPER: What visual artists have influenced you and your work most and why? 

GREENE: I think for me I like to be my own biggest influence. I kind of love that I do not know of any artists who create work that looks like mine, especially in my geographic location! My work is uniquely mine and I love how it is strengthened based on the fact that it comes from my own conception. Of course, I have been inspired and have artists that I do admire. George Condo was the first artist whose work I researched greatly and early into my creation of art he was definitely my biggest influence.

Art goes deeper than just something that is pretty I think art can make one uncomfortable and curious respectively, so I seek artists who entertain my psychology and the unconscious pleasures. From older, more venerated artists like Kerry James Marshall (who has become my favorite artist) and Lucian Freud who plays around with texture to younger artists like Gerald Lovell and Reginald Sylvester II, I am truly inspired by artists who do things their own way, aren’t afraid to break the rules and are still extremely aware of these same rules they break.

JASPER: Tell us about why you paint – what’s your mission and what are you trying to communicate to your viewer? 

GREENE: For me, my mission is to be able to live a life not controlled by the stigmas that are placed on everyone in this human experience. I think a lot of the things that we as people have been taught are tailoring us to live a carbon copy cookie-cutter "American Dream" -- but who even created that standard? No one asked to be on this earth so it bugs me even further that those expectations are placed on people, why can't we just live life? Do the things that make us happy and inspire others to do the same with what little time we have.

I do believe the role of an artist is to speak on the world that is around them. So, if the world of politics is full of issues, and this is what I see in my world, I think it does become my job to relay my message. I think oftentimes people and artists get pigeonholed into what they should be expected to be, but the only expectation I place on myself is to make the best art I can make while staying authentic to my own story.

JASPER: Can you talk more about your Baby Boy exhibition recently held at Stormwater Studios in Columbia?

GREENE: My debut solo exhibition titled ‘Baby Boy’ is literally like my baby, it opened up July 9th, 2021, and closed July 18th, 2021. The title came from just the feeling and sentiment of me always being “Baby Boy” to those closest to me. I’m the youngest of six siblings so to them, to my mother, to those who know me the best I am always a baby boy no matter how old I am. This exhibition was to convey the many sides of me more as a man. Like a coming home for me celebrating the many sides of me the world may never see.

I felt as if the exhibition went extremely well and brought a lot of attention to me and the works that I have put so much time, effort, and love into. It was such a relief to see my work on the walls and to have the feeling of completion. To know an idea of mine was nurtured, developed, and made into a reality empowers me and that alone makes me certain my exhibition was successful.

JASPER: As a young Black artist, what are your specific challenges? 

GREENE: I think the biggest challenge for me as an artist is just being labelled solely a “black artist.” I think I am an amazing artist in general! I want to break the barriers and walls that black artists face where they are seen as only “good for a black artist” or the feeling of making art based on the plight of my ancestors. I choose to make art that brings me progression and strength. I think for me and a lot of other artists who are black we get placed in a box of making contrived art as opposed to art that genuinely speaks and has a message.

I love making art that speaks for those who look like me, who feel like me and those who have felt as I have felt before. Within that umbrella those who identify with me may not be black, but within my art I represent what is tangible to me. I find strength in my identify, but the sentiments of my identity span deeper than me just being black. I think that what I create, and the content of my work is what makes me great, I just so happen to be black.

I think another challenge for me is just having a point of reference that looks like me. I’ve been lucky enough to come across some amazing individuals who have motivated me to continue pushing further but when I see my 8-year-old self I wish I had someone pushing me to be better.

As someone who is self-trained, I don’t have a million references or resources, but for me instead of seeing this as a challenge I see it as an opportunity to be what I didn’t have.

JASPER: What’s next for you? 

GREENE: I honestly see myself just diving deeper into my process and the narrative of Malik the artist. My work is directly related to where I am in life so to be inspired to work, I have to experience life. For the better or worse, see some things, do some things better, and feel some things. It’s exciting to know as long as I have my hands, I have a gift no one can take from me. .