One of the pleasures of being online is the ability to see an artist's development and growth in real time. The opportunity to connect with creatives who are pursuing what they love while impacting others is a beautiful experience. After following Beezy (@by.beezy) for a while on Threads I had some questions so of course into the DM we go. Here's one.

C. I've been watching you now for the better part of a year and I wanted to know if you could share one of your most remarkable and joyful experiences with regards to your art and a connection made with someone because of it.

Beezy Young: Earlier this year I had an art teacher reach out to me and told me that their students learned about me in her art class and did their own artworks inspired by the lesson. When I showed up to their spring art show it felt like a full circle moment because I couldn’t imagine being an artist when I was their age. They inspired me more than I inspired them. Seeing my art interpreted through their eyes honestly healed my inner child a little bit.

C. That's incredible. Real life proof of impact! Beezy Young is for the kids and the kids are for Beezy Young. That's the power of art.

createdbybeezy.etsy.com

I decided to walk from Williamsburg to the city to knock out a photo gig with no intention of seeing art in galleries on this day but I found myself doing so anyway. I needed to. All aspects of art I engage in, whether it be making it, viewing it or giving a workshop are essentially fuel for me. Simple conversation around art is more often than not a catalyst for a shift in vibration for C. 

I entered Shrine on Broadway where the show Summer’s Edge by Michelle Paterok is currently on view and headed to the rear of the gallery to a set of stairs leading to GAA. I love that these two entities share a building. Walking down and turning a corner for a uniquely different art experience below the street is exciting. Out of the corner of my eye, the view of a painted bee reminded me I’d seen this artist’s work before. Just around a year previous I was introduced to Andrej Dúbravský for the first time. (I also met a wonderful furry friend upstairs at Shrine.) 

His work is distinctive. Still new to it and unaware of his full catalog I’ve much more to see and to learn about him. I can honestly say part of my fascination with what I’ve witnessed thus far in his work is a clear interest in living and moving things like animals, plants and humans (as written in the show summary. Sometimes descriptor blurbs aren’t just art jargon word vomit.) 

Articulation of one’s thoughts, opinions and experiences through visuals with various mediums will always be interesting to me. 

Matisse’s Dance paintings come to mind, not in a way of comparison but specifically in the movement only this dance remains on the horizontal plane. There’s physical play of futbol imbued with playfulness. Dancing nude, carefree sans worry of judgement. Dancing together without concern. To say in the most cliche way, dancing like no one’s watching. A joyful impishness is present as if they're daring you to watch them play. We’re not embarrassed to be in the moment and neither should you by us being so. 

"I needed the balls to do it, to challenge myself as a painter... There are the actual football balls, and also 'balls' as in the scrotum... And flesh, like human flesh in movemnet, but also the paint itself is like flesh for me... A flesh of thick paint." - Andrej Dúbravský

Go see this show in person if possible. Enjoy the colors, motion and strokes. Andrej Dúbravský is an incredible teller of tales without attempting to be.

So, how do you feel about the images of Andrej Dúbravský's I've shared in this blog? What comes to mind as you view and examine them?

I love talking to people. I did radio for 10 years so it allowed for this to happen on a regular basis. I also love interviewing people; but live and in person. Sending anyone a list of questions to answer even if they're good ones sucks. I've been testing ways to create more awareness for  creative beings I encounter online. One way is to ask a singular question in a DM, screenshot it and share it. This is also an effort to show artists how simple it is to connect and 'support' other artists.

So I slid into Amber Asakura's (a mosaic and micromosaic artist from Denver) DM who had just recently followed me to ask how she found me. 

Clearly one definite connection point was the skull above. Always Skulls is the official mantra. Amber found me through my Art Card Dispatch feature. (Shout out Lindsay!) 

C. How'd you come to the wonderful world of Mosaic creation?

Amber: I’ve always had a weird fascination with old dishes. I owned a coffee shop in Denver a long time ago and had collected a bunch of vintage plates to serve pastries on. I hung onto them for years after I sold the coffee shop even though most of them got chipped. Then I had this GORGEOUS antique jadeite mixing bowl I would eat huge salads out of. One day my now ex-husband was washing dishes and dropped it. I saved the broken pieces for like 5 years but didn’t have a plan for them. Finally in 2021 I saw a woman in Denver sharing her mosaic work and advertising a class, so I signed up. I loved the idea of taking things that would otherwise be discarded and making something new out of them. She turned out to be hella arrogant but I learned a lot and seemed to be a natural at it. I was deciding to be done with my accounting career after almost 20 years and I needed a new creative outlet to challenge me and I could finally do something with all the old plates I had been hauling around!

Then I discovered MICRO mosaics and that shit BLEW MY MIND. No one really teaches it in the states so I watched the few videos I could find and mostly figured it out on my own. I started sharing the pendants I was making and people seemed to like them. I got invited to put some pieces in a gallery show and most of them sold! That was super encouraging so I’ve kept it up. This shit has been WILD!

Now I just make whatever weird shit my creepy little heart desires and let the people who will love it find me. Right now I have a painting of my tits and a mosaic that says FUCK YEAH hanging in the lobby of the building my studio is in. I never would have imagined this shit a year ago. Soooooo much fucking gratitude!

https://thecrookedcat.com/

But why skulls? Well, for a number of reasons. One, I like them. We all have one. To some skulls in certain settings communicate death and or mortality. I am a fan of exploring death. It is inevitable as far as our physical incarnation goes but as for a general metaphor on different levels we die multiple times in one lifetime. With color my skulls are more playful than scary. They came from a simple doodle on paper. Iterating is my thing. 

Something I've always shared with people, 'namely artists' is that your past work possibly is speaking to your present and future selves. At least that's been the case for me. I am reminded of this today as I revisit material going back as far as two decades or more. Introspection whilst looking back reveals much. Sometimes it's answers to questions you just can't seem presently to find answers to until you realize an answer has been living in a past work of yours. When they say you're already equipped with all you need, this is a prime example of the sentiment. Some of our creations reflect life patterns. They can be iterations of your entire life's play. Time is not linear and the inner you is aware. What you channel subconsciously will never be the same as what you consciously articulate. 

The image included with this post was a bio written many years ago. It's a mere snapshot of the massive being that is C. It reminds me of not only what I've done but what I am to do and how expansive I can be. It affirms my past, present and future self. It's fuel. 

Today, I encourage you to take time and look at your work from the past, your journals, notes and anything you've kept but have not revisited in a long while and sit with it. See what comes up for you. Do this sans judgement. Appreciate your history, whether favorable or not. You may find some keys to doors your present self can't seem to unlock.

P.S. It's New Music Tuesday, there will be a second post later.