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Know Yourself, Know Community w/ Jade Monroe
48 Plays1 month ago
In this episode, I'm joined by Jade Monroe (she/her), a community builder and musical artist, for a special conversation about how creativity can be an avenue to a higher purpose. Today, we chat about how we can all find courage to act through fear by developing trusting connection with ourselves rather than chasing after the shiny things and flashy attention we're taught to want when thinking about putting our art out into the world. What can we find here on the grittier, messier interpersonal side of community when we focus wholeheartedly on reclaiming our power, standing together in solidarity, and creating art that speaks to our souls?
Jade is a container of multitudes. By day, she develops food waste reduction policies for a sustainable future. By night, Jade hosts a songwriter club, powerlifts with determination, and shares her soul through music with her ultra-talented bandmates. She has been actively involved in helping organize the local chapter of 50501 Protests and encourages us all to stand together and speak out, as is our right, to create the world we want to live in and stand up to authoritarianism. You can see her band, Sweet Marilyn, play at the Frontier Lounge on April 25 here in Tacoma! See more of their event dates and purchase their latest album at https://sweetmarilyn.art/
References:
The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
Porchfest: https://tacomaporchfest.org/
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to the Ugly Podcast with Jade Monroe
00:00:19
Speaker
can too What matters is to do it, let those feelings flow through
00:00:37
Speaker
Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the Ugly Podcast. It's me, your host, Laura Alexander, they, them. And I've got an amazing guest for you today, a local Tacoma artist, ah music, songwriter,
00:00:54
Speaker
um By day, she develops food waste reduction policies for a sustainable future. And by night, as she hosts a songwriter club, power lifts with determination and shares her soul through her music with her ultra talented bandmates.
00:01:09
Speaker
Welcome. Would you please introduce yourself? Name, pronouns, brief physical description. Absolutely. um Thank you. That was a great intro. ah Jade Monroe, she, her.
00:01:20
Speaker
um i have a long brown hair, wearing a black sweater, and I'm super stoked to be here. Thank you so much for your time. Yay. I'm so glad that you're here.
00:01:32
Speaker
um Let's just dive into it. Tell the people you are. I've ah Want to know what your relationship to creativity has been. If it had this beautiful story arc, what would that have looked like in your life?
Jade Monroe's Creative Evolution
00:01:49
Speaker
Yeah, I really, yeah we were talking about this question a little bit and I and was thinking there's so many different spots to start it I you know, you can go back all the way to childhood.
00:02:03
Speaker
You can go to where you had the aha moment of like deconstructing things of, um, oh, I get it now. This is my expression. This is my voice. What is my voice? And trying to find that maybe more in adolescence or like, for me, it was like eighth grade. I was wearing a lot of hot topic clothes and,
00:02:21
Speaker
saying, all right, flipping off a lot of things in my head and then on paper. And, and it's just funny because I'm sure a lot of us have this story of where it was like, no questions. It was just super, you know, whatever the pure energy of creativity is ah flowing as a kid.
00:02:37
Speaker
And then something changes. And as a kid, I was just, I, I fearless was a word. And I still try to have that now, but I think the word's probably closer to courage because I get scared and,
00:02:50
Speaker
It's just superhuman to go like, ah and like freak out and then do it. Like, especially if it's something new and we get nervous, um, which we can definitely go into.
00:03:01
Speaker
I think, uh, along the way I did the perfectionism bones jangled and that's something I always have to deal with. But as a kid, my goodness, like the fearlessness, there was a time when there was a hoedown. I grew up in South Dakota And my parents took me to a hoedown. Actually, it was just my mom. I grew up with single mom for most of my upbringing.
00:03:19
Speaker
And she gave me this tambourine, which was both a critical maneuver and an error because I won't stop. Now you won't stop. You're like, I've got my tambourine. This is Yeah.
00:03:32
Speaker
It was terrible, like at the grocery store, like it was, and it's still like what I do now. Like I have like friends that know me now. It's like a melodica. Like I'll take it to the open mics and stuff and just be belligerent, but that's fun. It's just like cacophony.
00:03:45
Speaker
I'm not that good at either of these things. I'm not a percussionist. My drummer would tell you i can't keep time, yeah. i'm up I'm up there just kind of banging the tambourine kind of close to the front of the stage. They invite me on. I'm probably like five or i'm I'm a kid kid at this point.
00:03:59
Speaker
And I'm just making some noise. I'm sure I'm not helping anything.
Perfectionism and Creativity: A Personal Take
00:04:03
Speaker
And I just it's such a coded memory of just like what it feels like to share live music, ah be a part of something.
00:04:11
Speaker
bigger, uh, maybe to not know what I'm doing, but doing anyway. Um, and there's so many tiny little moments like that. And then something weird happens. I don't know what to tell you besides, I think the big heavy push of it all gets into us. And I think a lot of pressure can come from a lot of different ways.
00:04:27
Speaker
And, uh, I've listened to a few of your pods and I feel like that's a common theme where yeah people, have people have to decode in some way and I definitely had to I still do i think everyone probably for the rest of their time that's a you know a task but yeah I don't know so that's kind of like the current journey from probably like high school onward is that decoding and what does that look like and it's been beautiful I think I'm in a good spot now with it but damn you know um
Authenticity and Courage in Music
00:04:57
Speaker
that's that's a big part of the journey for me it's perfectionism it's to not have to be right the first time mm-hmm
00:05:03
Speaker
Yeah, it's so it gets into our bones. I don't remember. How did you phrase it? You said something about perfectionism in your bones. um The perfectionist like bone jangle. Yeah, exactly.
00:05:15
Speaker
That's a great description of it. just It does like, I don't know about you, but for me, when I feel that it does, it's, it's like a tightening of my bones. And I'm just like, yeah I don't ah can't control my body quite. it it's It just gets in your body of how How scary that imperfection and like the idea of making mistakes and being seen in your humanness and your mess in your potential mistakes.
00:05:41
Speaker
um Yeah, it gets those bones jangling. Yeah, it almost gives anxiety. It gives that clenched feel. Like I've noticed that it does feel like something deeper, like the muscle tissues going and doing something unfortunate that it shouldn't be doing.
00:05:56
Speaker
Yeah. I also power lift now and that's helped the musical process in a cool way. Um, yeah. And I cannot stress enough. Yeah, no, I just can't stress enough how the physical the mental and the mental is, you know, the physical and, and the confidence that that can bring to take away that perfectionism thing. Cause no one, you don't start power lifting, you know, the numbers that you see on, you know, well, first off, like the Instagram numbers are probably fake.
00:06:21
Speaker
So sure don't do that. But I don't know. Like no one starts with the big stuff right away. And that's the same for creativity, anything you do. So, so yeah, it's been nice. It's been nice to take take ah that pressure off, but damn, that pressure does suck. And I still grapple with it, like taking stuff to the band. um So I have a band and they're lovely, amazing consummate musicians. They, they have the theory. I feel like I'm pretty self-taught as a creative and a musician.
00:06:52
Speaker
And they went to did the schools and, they know the things and how the keys and the unlocking the things and the augmented chords, like they have the the sauce. And so I'm very ah blessed to have their time.
00:07:05
Speaker
And so it gives me the pressure internally a lot too, though, to show up and beyond, which I to work on all and always just be like, it's enough. They're here. They're showing up. Just play. Yeah.
00:07:16
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, a little bit of that kind of imposter syndrome maybe. Oh, sure. Showing up. Yeah. Yeah. Who am I? Why are they showing up in my band? Yeah.
00:07:28
Speaker
Wait, you want to talk to me? You want to play music with me? What? How? Yeah. I feel that a lot. with yeah Go ahead. I was going to be self-deprecating. I don't need to be. Please continue talking. Yeah.
00:07:42
Speaker
No, we don't need to do that. Yeah, no, but I, I also, yeah, like, i've I've felt that way. Sometimes on this, like podcast, I remember the first time that i interviewed an artist who had like, over 100,000 followers on Instagram, and my brain was just like, how is this person coming on my podcast, you know, just like, it is such a silly little thing of like,
00:08:05
Speaker
being known or like having some kind of audience and then thinking like, oh, well, like that can't be me or like I can't be involved because I don't have that or I don't have that experience. I don't have that reach.
00:08:17
Speaker
How am I supposed to have this conversation? And then you just show up and people are people and people want to engage and be creative together and play. And as long as you're willing to like, yes, and that conversation,
00:08:29
Speaker
you just, you sail. don't know. Yeah. And you have a compelling message, like not to flip this around for you, but I think, you know, I'm here and I'm sure everyone, and also like screw the number of followers people have, like for real yeah we're not numbers. and And it's great that people have reach. I think that is, can be a powerful tool. Like, I don't mean to minimize it either because I know a lot of people put time into that and it matters to them.
00:08:52
Speaker
And I don't want to yuck anyone's yum. This is literally the opposite of that on this pod. in any, anytime we talk about things people care about. But I really think too, like when people show up with their time, kind of similar to the band thing, you know, it's it's like why, and and you have such a compelling thing going on here with focusing on creativity in spaces.
00:09:11
Speaker
Where else are we doing that? And I think you creating that space is pretty admirable. I think, I think a lot of people will resonate and will continue to resonate with that. Thank you. Yeah, this, this is definitely a space that I love creating and I love like whoever it does reach. This like why I keep doing it. Like every, like every time I get a message that's just like, I listened and I loved it and I'm, I made something today and I'm just like, oh, perfect.
00:09:41
Speaker
This is why, this why we do this. I love it. And why do you like even get started though? Like what made you think it's a pod versus like anything else?
Laura's Journey to the Ugly Podcast
00:09:48
Speaker
Yeah, well, starting a podcast was something I always thought would be really fun. like as soon as I i got into podcasts, probably like, I don't know, 2015-ish, and I just really enjoyed them.
00:10:02
Speaker
um And I always thought it'd be really fun to have one and just like have something that I was passionate about that I wanted to talk about. But at that point in my life, I didn't really have anything I was super passionate about and that I was...
00:10:15
Speaker
I felt could be cohesive. And again, it was, you know, more of that like imposter syndrome, perfectionism, like, well, if it's not like this perfect idea that I execute perfectly, that is instantly successful, then it wouldn't be worth my time, you know? yeah And so, and then, um, once I kind of started down this creativity journey, um the, the podcast idea just kept it like, it came up again. Cause I started having these conversations with, um, one of my closest friends and we kind of became creative business, not partners, but just we each had our own entrepreneur journeys.
00:10:50
Speaker
um And so then we'd kind of co-work together and we'd have these conversations about like running a creative business. And I was like, this would be an excellent podcast. And so um so I started it originally with them and we would talk about like, yeah, like create owning a creative entrepreneurship and owning a business and putting yourself out there and doing scary things and working through the fear to um to actually take steps forward.
00:11:17
Speaker
um And then that's kind of, it's just kind of built out from there. My friend had to step down because their business got busy and they started a family and so they didn't have time for this anymore. But I wanted to keep exploring this idea with other creatives. So but so here we are. And it's iterated and now it's here. And that's, yeah, well, look at that. That's awesome. Thanks for sharing that. That's cool. i had no idea.
00:11:39
Speaker
Yeah. Thanks for asking. ah It's fun to like retell that now because ah you know some people might listen and don't like aren't going to listen to like the entire backlog. you know And it's just like, yeah, no, there's... and Also, I don't recommend you listen to the entire backlog. Because it has probably gotten better.
00:11:57
Speaker
It has gotten better. um Because that's what happens. You start something and you don't you fumble your way through. You have no idea what the fuck you're doing. And then eventually you figure some stuff out. And ah yeah.
00:12:10
Speaker
So it's fun. Absolutely.
Spirituality and Self-Discovery in Art
00:12:13
Speaker
One of the things that we we touched on before we started recording and that we wanted to explore today was um kind of this idea of creativity being ah ah road towards some kind of spiritual enlightenment or some kind of like connection to ourself.
00:12:31
Speaker
um What has that been like for you? Yeah, I think, you know, we can be creative. Yeah, so this has been a big focus for ah trying to get my thoughts organized. But this has been a big part of, I think, my recent creative journey and a big reason why I um and brought together a songwriter club to kind of create more community around creativity.
00:12:54
Speaker
um I also feel like society-wise, we could use more i collaboration when it comes to creativity, even if you're not creating together, just conversation and community on it. Yeah. I think there's a lot to be said about culture and creativity and what that can do for us as a community, but that's a whole another aside.
00:13:11
Speaker
um So yeah, for me, i just, I feel like, you know, there's a lot of reasons that you do pursue creativity and expression. i think, you know, growing up, going back to like that ah high school kid, I think a lot of that was just trying to figure myself out. And so maybe there was ego a lot in that, in the space of like, what are these emotions? I'm a creative person, sure. But, you know, I'm a theater kid just kind of yelling right now. Yeah.
00:13:39
Speaker
And just kind of, you know, sneaking cigarettes and not doing my best.
00:13:47
Speaker
So this is how I'm going to express myself. Damn it. Yeah. I look back at her. i just want to give her a hug, but I don't think my expression and intentions were the most, and you know, pure.
00:14:00
Speaker
And I also think looking back to, ah it's a ways to a means to understanding. and And there, I was so far from understanding because I looked even at my college band,
00:14:11
Speaker
And we were trying to do the, get the followers, get the things, get the peoples. It wasn't even about the music at a certain point. Like we did this small like tour and it just became so much more about everything else that it got lost in the sauce a bit. And,
00:14:26
Speaker
It just was really unfortunate because now that I feel like I know what I know now about like the spiritual connection of music, I do feel like we um did ourselves a disservice. and And it was my fault. Like I led us down that path because I was getting too excited and it was getting too stoked by the opportunities and blinded by the shiny things that get presented in those moments.
00:14:48
Speaker
Yeah. And so I think ultimately the spiritual connection to creativity has helped me really push out a lot of those distractions, which I think can be blockers. um Not to hit the buzzer on the artist's way,
00:15:01
Speaker
but here it is go ah just we just go we go there probably every every one of your pods now um the artist way by julia cameron was very eye-opening and in that there's a section on blockers and if the i would say to anyone listening if you're curious on that book but the week approach of it every chapter is ah supposed to be a week of focus if you just read it to get the concepts and just to dip your toes into it.
00:15:28
Speaker
I think that's super sufficient in the songwriter club that I have. We do a monthly approach and just look at concepts each month. And so, I don't know, just read the book and look at the blockers. And, um,
00:15:40
Speaker
I don't know, to for the spiritual elements, to focus on the pure reason to create and to find myself through that, I'm able to take like that perfectionism, the ego part, like the shiny bells and whistles of what it feels like to be sufficient in the music industry right now, which I'm convinced is never a good feeling ever. It's designed to make you feel like shit.
00:16:00
Speaker
So I'm not going to participate. is my you know like I'm participating, but I'm going participate the way I want to. And so it really helps me stay true and clear to what I want which is super liberating to be honest it makes me feel better and and it helps me create more music to bring to the band and that's what I really want to do so um yeah it feels true but I'm glad to chat about whatever elements of it you want to chat about I think it's a really cool thing um I know some people can go spirituality and push away too so we can go anywhere true yeah um
00:16:34
Speaker
Yeah, which direction should we go? What feels good right now? I'll
00:16:45
Speaker
organize my thoughts really quick.
00:16:51
Speaker
Yeah, because my brain immediately is going to, like, you know, those shiny bright those shiny things signal. that Yeah, and now more than ever we have them, don't we? And so we could easily talk about them.
Social Media and Creativity Pressures
00:17:02
Speaker
I think they've been designed to distract us, to be honest. Yeah. We could talk about shiny things, especially as it relates to creativity. and So for the band, or no, please, why don't you go ahead and ask your question? Let me see if it matches what I want to contribute.
00:17:18
Speaker
Well, ah yeah, because I'm thinking, like, just the ways that we've been taught that our creativity needs to be part of this like success story. Um, our, our creativity is a means for monetization. It's a means of, um, attention, connection, success.
00:17:44
Speaker
Like, because we're shown all of these, you know, these success stories, especially they've been doing so many of those biopics, you know, of every single successful music artists. And it's like, look at the like, but those are also okay. Now my brain's going so many different directions and you might need to rein me in.
00:18:03
Speaker
I'm not talk. I just want to hear everything you're thinking and then let's see where it goes. Okay, great. Just because when you see, we're watching those biopics and there's always that moment of like, oh no, this is empty. This isn't what I thought it was going to be. And there's like,
00:18:20
Speaker
You know, that's often when like there's the introduction introduction to like the drug issues and like the filling up the holes and the gaps because like the story that we were taught of that fame isn't what we thought it was going to be. And then the reason that people made art in the first place gets lost amidst all of the noise. Yeah.
00:18:43
Speaker
Yeah, I'm curious if you if you think, because you i i heard you use the word, it's designed that way. It's designed to be distraction. I'm curious if you, like, where you think that kind of design is coming from. Is it just, like, from this capitalist structure? Like, what is, what your thoughts on that, I guess?
00:19:00
Speaker
Well... Yeah, I don't, don't want to come in too hot with going like they're, they're doing this thing. You know, i don't think. Conspiracy theory, go. yeah Because they've been doing this thing for beyond the internet, but, um, uh, industry and monetization, monetization of creativity, you know,
00:19:25
Speaker
um What does that mean? And and it and it's been there so before the internet. So like I think I was going to come in hot with a criticism on how social media has impacted, especially independent artists. But even if you back out of that and look at how, on you know, marginalized artists could get record time or studio time, you know,
00:19:48
Speaker
especially pre-civil rights movement. That was a big ah game changer when it came to representation in mainstream music. But, ah and I'm definitely not the expert to really dive deep into it, but through my labor history background, I've learned so much through American history on how the predominant voice has often been there by design.
00:20:11
Speaker
in that predominant voice is ah is strategically placed. um A good example of this actually, and then I promise to go back to social media, but I find looking back at other, um like right now I'm reading, ah Well, I don't and don't need to plug a book, but it's really interesting. I'm reading ah Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. It's the fates ah of human societies.
00:20:33
Speaker
So I'm fun at parties, but I'm really interested in how like all these things could, there could be something to mine and and learn from for our current position. um And one thing I, not from this book, but and I'm thinking about lately is how in the Soviet Union, they have these opulent, just decadent theaters And if they could could control the culture and control the entertainment of the culture, they could control the population.
00:21:01
Speaker
And I think that is something that we even see today in all of its forms. And if you look at historically and how we've had conversations even on social media, it's not hard to like...
00:21:14
Speaker
understand how that's been the case and so I won't I'm not going to poke at any particular artist because I really don't want to like have something happen where it looks like I don't think something is cool or good um yeah I really want this to be a general critique so maybe just to go at social media in a general critique I will say the idea that you can't go ahead and book something because you don't have enough followers or your reel doesn't have enough plays.
00:21:40
Speaker
That I think is a strategic industry design to keep certain voices out of certain spaces, just as much as any other mechanism like that. And it's tricky because my band and I, we make decisions to not be a real developing band.
00:21:55
Speaker
Um, we want to focus on the music with the time we do have together and that is a choice. And how do we navigate? And we are putting more time into in-person connections, being, um, you know, more intentional with how we network in person. And it's hard because I'm sure we're forgoing stuff by making those choices, but we are trying not to engage with social media as much as I think, um, we often feel pressured to do.
00:22:22
Speaker
And, you know, that's, um, probably half resistance, half ignorant at the end of the day, you know, like that's just a strategy that we choose as a group, but yeah, it's hard out there because there is pressure to want to play that game. And I think a lot of great musicians do and find success in it too.
00:22:40
Speaker
So, yeah. Yeah. It's hard. hard thing to navigate that, that algorithm and especially, especially just like, you know, seeing all of those,
00:22:55
Speaker
social media CEOs see at the inauguration and just knowing how how our government influences social media algorithms and what is pushed and what is put down and yeah anyway yeah no but if you look at it our theaters what have become our theaters like to kind of keep that analogy going so the soviet union um big old theaters that everyone thought were just the state-of-the-art thing what's been our state-of-the-art thing it's been the phones in our pockets it's been social media yeah exactly and so i don't think it's wild to go
00:23:33
Speaker
oh oh, we've been really into this and oh, has this been good? um I've been really refreshed lately by just getting um reengaged and organizing in the community lately and meeting new people outside of the music scene. I think the music scene fantastic in Tacoma. I really think like when I say I'm trying to meet people outside the music scene, it's not because i'm trying to like leave the music scene, but it's been great to meet people in other ah communities and other communities spaces like climate action groups and and all that all that jazz because I'm seeing how they are also connected to creativity in their ways and I think that squirrel in person throughout you know community connection is something you can't even get from a screen anyway and so yeah I'm just not that I'm trying to push like a Luddite agenda or anything I'm just thinking there's a mindfulness to be had as we try to like set goals for ourself and and so like to like the followers thing maybe it's a quality versus quantity
00:24:30
Speaker
thing, you know, maybe, you know, we have to have a presence out there. I'm not ignorant to that,
Empowerment Through Community Art
00:24:34
Speaker
but yeah, you know, absolutely. Yeah. I really vibe with a lot of what you're saying, especially like even in my own business and what I want to do with this kind of creativity coaching-esque thing that I'm doing um and like trying to get more local and show up more locally and in person because so much of my business has been online for so long.
00:24:58
Speaker
um And doing a lot of virtual events and those are great, but ah I'm just, I'm so interested and have so much, such a pull to get more in-person touching real life. like Yeah, think a lot of people feel that way too.
00:25:16
Speaker
Yeah. And it's it's refreshing. i think if you look at how pendulum swing and preferences, we didn't feel safe to do that for a long time, you know, um yeah throughout the pandemic response that was really challenging to navigate.
00:25:28
Speaker
um Now it feels like we need that community connection. wildly so. And so I think that craving is just organically occurring, which is really exciting.
00:25:40
Speaker
um There's a lot of great open mics in town. And I think ah Tacoma is solidifying creatively in a really cool way. There are, so there's challenges like, where to play in town, making sure people come out.
00:25:53
Speaker
um You know, I'm not ignorant to all that, but I really think there's something to be said about, we have an amazing network and people are starting to learn how to leverage that a bit more outside of like the digital spaces um or to use that digital space is as a way to make sure that these physical spaces are known about, which is cool.
00:26:11
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. Lovely. Yeah. And I think in, I mean, this kind of goes pretty well into this other topic we want to talk about of empowerment and how creativity empowers us. And I think creativity, especially in the sense of community and finding that connection and being seen where we live in our communities,
00:26:36
Speaker
combining that with this, like this creativity, this, this idea of what ideas can we come up to get, come up with together? What ideas do I have to contribute to my community, to this life that we have? Um, I think that there's a really beautiful way that can all come together.
00:26:57
Speaker
Um, what are your, what are your thoughts on this way that art empowers us?
00:27:06
Speaker
Oh my goodness. Well, first I just love what you just said. i think all of that is so true. um
00:27:14
Speaker
I think like for Tacoma, I love ah how porch fest is a great example. we We all get together and just create ah through porches, through taking the streets over for a day, ah day of music and art.
00:27:29
Speaker
And we go, you know what, this is what we're doing. And we have like that community agreement just to create. And so many people get engaged in that way that, they you know Who knows what they'd otherwise be ah doing with the music scene. A lot of people tell me that that's like the one way they they really engage with music for the year um by allowing folks on their porch and they create like a nice little hospitality spread and it's a big deal to them.
00:27:51
Speaker
um yeah And I think that's like a great little example of... how you can like dip your toes into it and find what it means for you. ah Like the people that make the signs for that, that's their own creative endeavor. They're literally in their woodshop, you know, putting stuff together for the thing. And yeah now now with people trying to, you know, take ah any type of feeling that they have and put it into action, it's a similar thing. Like, what well, what can you do Maybe creative expression in in expressing yourself. You see it in protest signs.
00:28:20
Speaker
That's pretty amazing. um You were at the Olympia protest and I saw some amazing pictures of the art on those signs. And I really wish I would have seen those in person. I was at the Tacoma protest ah and I was very impressed all the same with the Tacoma turnout and all the signs. But there's something to be said about the artistic flair of that Olympia protest that I thought was really interesting. There was...
00:28:46
Speaker
ah There was this one sign in particular that I had to ask him to just stop so I could take a picture, but it was just this beautifully grotesque illustration of Musk and Trump and ah like with a, you know, a What are the... Why did I just blank on the name those disgusting Was it in Did he have like a Luigi hat on?
00:29:09
Speaker
Yes, that was him. That was kind of the one I was thinking. Just from an artistic perspective, it was really well executed. It was it was clear time and attention. Like, you can see my sign over here. Like, that takes nothing. i am not... a I know my lane and it's... I'm an organizer and I'm a musician.
00:29:27
Speaker
i Take a sharpie to the thing and make a statement. But yeah, and and so I think that's a cool moment where, especially with people not knowing how to express themselves. And of course, you know, coming from our social media conversation, how to express themselves in public.
00:29:42
Speaker
I think there's something to really be said about nonviolent violence. acts of demonstration of your free speech and protests are a great avenue for that and so um showing that solidarity i think is an incredible opportunity but if that's not interesting to you maybe there's other ways you know to find um your voice through art artistic creative expression that can still make a difference i think it all makes a difference i think the act of doing in that makes the difference because um not only is it you're right, but at the same time, how often do you feel like you just have that bottled up? Like I just need to, you know, the, the bones are jangling and maybe you sift through it and figure out what that is through the creative expression. And maybe that's finding that spirit, you know, that everything's kind of connected. um For me, I've done labor organizing and I've um kind of yapping and rambling now, but I realized that, uh,
00:30:41
Speaker
through the organizing, there's almost an art to to that as well. And it all kind of connects there in a way that it's like, transfer like the phrase transferable skills, but it's even more than that. It's almost like it all feeds into each other like a big old organism. And so we need all kinds. And it's amazing when people start to express themselves, what they learn and share and can contribute. It's what makes society great, you know?
00:31:06
Speaker
Yes, absolutely. and especially, i think what you said about like, you know, when we're kind of stuck in that inaction and that when we are feeling those bones jangling and like, especially now, I think when we're like with the onslaught of executive orders and, you know, social media and the news, all of it kind of entering into this loop of hopelessness and feeling powerless that like,
00:31:36
Speaker
art can really help us like step out of.
Art as a Tool for Empowerment
00:31:39
Speaker
um Even if you're just like, okay, I have something inside me that just, I i i want to lay down and go to sleep forever. like But if we instead take that energy that's making us feel that exhaustion and instead like get it out in some way, even if it's just like doodling or journaling and just like scribbling your anger out that it's that force of you.
00:32:08
Speaker
I'm always trying to learn like figure out how to exactly express this because what I found so amazing about making art is that the more I do it, the more I feel like I can make an, and I can influence my reality The more i say, yes, I can make art, I can take my ideas and bring them out into the real world.
00:32:31
Speaker
The more I feel like, oh, yes, I can make a difference in this world that I live in. I can mold my reality. i can affect the world around me. um it just it gives you that and that like that power, that ah that power to move forward instead of staying in the stagnation.
00:32:49
Speaker
um that I just, yeah, I'm like, just do something. Let's just do something together, even if it's so small and it might seem infinitesimal, but like, how do you tear down this like giant structure? You have to like, when you're one individual person, you have to first take down the structure that's been built up in your own mind so that you can start chipping away at like the structure that is outside of us um you know what's the saying like get rid of the cop in your head i can't remember the exact phrase but um yeah you know like decolonizing your brain and all that but anyway yeah yeah and and you could even so like i really like doing like um positive positive culture framework and you could go like uh make it a self-love thing and so love is to want others to be free well in order to love others you got to love yourself
00:33:42
Speaker
And, you know, it's all that kind of thing and the power to love yourself and to love others. That's, that's probably like, oh, now I'm going to botch it. But there's a Joni Mitchell quote that I'm not going to try. She's too great. going to, I'm going to miss it.
00:33:57
Speaker
but it's just so pure and good. and there's so much good and pure. Like anytime we're having like a good time with friends or, um, you know, you have that love and it's, it's true with someone that that's, what's up. That's that, that's like, put that in my veins. I'm i'm like the, the, the emotional constipation you get from fear. I really think talk about things that are intentionally planted.
00:34:20
Speaker
to make something occur. um I think as much as now is been a ah has been a challenge and continues to be challenging with the uncertainty and unprecedented nature of our time, i think um outcome wise and timeline wise, a lot of this work and a lot of these machinations, like there's no accident, like solidarity for the working class is over here. And that's been my big message with the protests, because really, if you look at what the working class has been needing and
00:34:52
Speaker
I know this, I promise this dovetails with creativity, I promise, promise. But if you look at like the quality of life infrastructure we need and our expression with all of that, it's been needed since the bifurcation of wealth inequality since like the 80s, even a little bit, you know, that's generations even well before that.
00:35:10
Speaker
And so I think we have a lot of deprogramming in ourselves that um our parents' parents, you know, like there's our DNA and our bodies keep score sort of thing. And so, you know, we have to be kind to ourselves. And I always have to remind myself on that because we always want to do it all right away.
00:35:25
Speaker
We want to fix it. We want like, when that emotional constipation goes through, like the culvert's clean and it's like, okay. And then you get into that weird panic energy of like, i'm I'm, gonna, I'm gonna, and it's like, okay, well, uh, you gotta drink, drink some tea and go to the gym and be a human still. So, um,
00:35:43
Speaker
So you have to like, you know, relax into that power. And that's something that I've really been trying to do. And creativity has been a nice, so I promise, here we go. We're back at it. We're creating a nice balance into it because if you don't take care of yourself along the way, you'll burn out all the same. And then there's no movement, there's no progress.
00:36:03
Speaker
And so I think a lot of people are moving out of that emotional constipation right now and it's beautiful to see, but then you don't want it to go into, you that, you know, of You don't want emotional diarrhea.
00:36:14
Speaker
yeah that's right.
00:36:19
Speaker
think we saw that in the pandemic, to be honest, I think we all kind of went hard in another way, because we didn't have any sense of self of what would be helpful. Um, especially as we didn't have a sense of what was happening and we and burnt out in a different type of way of expression. And so I think to really put a pin in it all when we consider how does our art give us expression and give us meaning, I think it's a slow burn.
00:36:44
Speaker
It's a lot of really good internal questions because it has to start you know with ourselves. But then also just like taking it easy out and about, you know, like hit that open mic or something like, you know, lighten up a bit.
00:36:55
Speaker
I'm constantly reminding myself that if there's no comedy in it, then no one's having fun. So, yeah, absolutely. Sorry, that was a lot. I probably needed to get that off. No, I am glad that you unloaded it here.
00:37:11
Speaker
That was beautifully said. Thank you. um Following that, would you like to make some ugly art? I would. have crayons. I have a piece of paper.
00:37:22
Speaker
Perfect. That's all you need. um OK, so you mentioned that you would like a little bit of guidance here. So my favorite thing to do when I am starting ugly art, when I am guiding ugly art, is asking, well, first you've got to pick a color, right?
00:37:40
Speaker
um and Since we're working with ugly art, sometimes it's fun to say, what is my least favorite color in this box? And start there. Or um if you like kind of the randomization of it, you could like just ask Google, hey, Google, what color should I pick?
00:37:56
Speaker
um Let the fates decide. um I have like a little color randomizer box that my friend made for me. It has just like these little dice with different colored sides and they helped me decide like that was just turquoise.
00:38:11
Speaker
um So once you've got your color, ah go ahead and let your hand tell you what feels good. um and Maybe it wants to go around in circles.
00:38:23
Speaker
Maybe it wants to do other kinds of shapes. Maybe it just wants to squiggle. Just kind of ask your hand what it would like to do and be like, yes, you're allowed to do that and then let it go. And then once you have kind of your first scribbles, your lines, um just getting curious about what you can add to that. Does it want to be a face? Does it want to be ah more scribbles? Does it want to have eyeballs and feet? you know um Just getting curious about what your scribble wants to be and being like, yeah, okay, you can you're allowed to be that. I'll give you whatever I can along the way.
00:38:59
Speaker
ah So that's my that's my guidance for you. I hope it's helpful. um Let's go. i think I got it. I think I have a, here I'll show, i have a really, don't know if random is right word, but I have an assortment of colors.
00:39:15
Speaker
So we have, you know, a nice variety of
00:39:20
Speaker
I know enough about color theory to know that there's contrasting colors in my hand. ah Perfect. we're going
00:39:28
Speaker
Excellent. um Yeah, i'll just ah I'll set a timer for five minutes. ah If you have like a pretty big paper, you might want to like fold it in half or something, like make it a little smaller. because you know Sometimes like five minutes really isn't that long. um and Sometimes it's nice to work with a smaller space or smaller container for your art.
00:39:52
Speaker
Yeah. um Yeah, all I'll set a timer. And um as we're creating, it kind of varies. Sometimes it's hard to talk while you're creating.
00:40:06
Speaker
Well, I'm definitely a yapper. um what What normally happens? Do people go nonverbal and go hard and make something beautiful? It kind of varies. ah So far I've had, so I've only been doing the actual creating during the episode for, I think the last four or five episodes that I've done now.
00:40:28
Speaker
um And usually, usually we're able to chat a little bit, but sometimes we go a little nonverbal for a bit, which is fine. We can just like cut those little moments short in the editing phase. um But yeah, kind of varies.
00:40:41
Speaker
Okay. um What's something that's been like, really
00:40:51
Speaker
ah giving you hope during these times.
Community Organizing and Solidarity
00:40:54
Speaker
Cause I've been really, I've really enjoyed seeing your ah passion and involvement in what's been going on. um So if you'd like to share ah bit about kind of your involvement in the five Oh, five Oh one protests and that kind of Cool hear.
00:41:09
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. I'm glad to, it's definitely all fresh and new. And so even, you know, by the time this coming out, I'm sure there's going to new information. so it definitely could put a link or share link as well.
00:41:20
Speaker
Um, the fifo five five Oh one movement, 50 States, um, 50 pro tests, one movement really started off of Reddit. I was on Reddit and, uh,
00:41:33
Speaker
being a total nerd, um just kind of trying to find something to do. Honestly, i was just trying to find something to hold onto it from a movement from that emotional constipation space.
00:41:47
Speaker
And there's already mobilizing happening, I think more so on the East coast at this point, but then all of sudden there's a Washington engagement happening and the Washington group is slowly starting to form quickly. I should say quickly, um even though um it all felt like we needed more time. We did it.
00:42:03
Speaker
It happened so quick. And And that was on February 5th. It was the first protest ah of the ah just to kind of go, hey, constitutionality, um inclusivity, who is America? Who are we?
00:42:17
Speaker
ah We have a flat out right to just protest. And so you had actually a lot of different messages there. um Mine, of course, was the sign behind me, solidarity for the working class, because I do think at the end of the day,
00:42:29
Speaker
A lot of what we all need, um frankly, no matter who folks voted for, could be addressed through working class issues like livable wages, um affordable and adequate health care, nutrition, access to food.
00:42:43
Speaker
ah I don't want to minimize it by calling it simple stuff, but it just seems like basic fundamental. you know the The basic fundamentals, for sure, of living a good life. We have human bodies that need tending to.
00:42:56
Speaker
And we deserve to be able to tend to them. Yeah. Yeah, and i and and I don't, you know, obviously a lot of, you know, i don't I don't want to go maybe into a rabbit hole of anything besides if that could be something we united across. Like, there's 168 million workers in washington or in in the United States, and there's only 800 billionaires.
00:43:17
Speaker
I just look at this and I just go, there's so much power in the people. And so I'm very, yeah that gives me hope. I go, there's a lot of people. I'm already seeing that. So I think there was 15 protests on President's Day in Washington State.
00:43:32
Speaker
um thousand. So people people came out in Tacoma, 2000, I guess, the Capitol. Yeah. i don't know the rest of the numbers are, but the pictures were amazing. Nationwide, we don't know what the numbers are, but it was fantastic to see people are uniting.
00:43:45
Speaker
And it's just really cool. And it it gives me hope that the people are finding their power again. And what that can look like is really up to us. And I think a lot of people are trying to figure that out right now. And so us organizers in Tacoma, we have a lot of conversations happening now on one of our goals. And we don't want to recreate any wheels, of course, because there's so many existing amazing community organizing already happening in our community.
00:44:07
Speaker
So we want to yeah try to consolidate information and help people activate kind of our initial conversation on the call of like, how can people just like get more engaged with how they care? And so I think that's going to be a big part of the movement in addition to increasing awareness to our dissatisfaction and what we do want to require as people and support.
00:44:26
Speaker
I don't think that conversation has changed for a long time. And I'm excited to see how that can be amplified through the movement. So it's evergreen resistance. Now we've rebranded as a state, which is exciting. little Washingtonians love a little georges evergreen resistance. word um It's a little easier to find too.
00:44:46
Speaker
um And that's going to have more updated local info. um But 50501, or 5050.1, I think is the webpage. um I can get you links. um Really nice. It's nonpartisan. It's really one of those things where it's come as you are, make it what you want it to be because it's truly grassroots, which, you know, it can be messy, um but at the same time, it is truly the people, which I'm, that's why I'm in it.
00:45:12
Speaker
Yeah. I think that's what it needs to Absolutely. And community is messy. I think we've, we've, kind of collectively forgotten that or just don't really want to engage in it, it seems like, um you know, talk like people have so many different perspectives, life experiences, neurodivergences, beliefs, and we all have to live together and the the answer in finding that is being like, yes, this is going to be messy. This is going to be imperfect. And we're going to engage with it anyway.
The Messy Nature of Community and Creativity
00:45:48
Speaker
And maybe that's exactly fantastic. My belief with art. Yeah, I think it's all the same. I think what makes society true and honestly, what functions it because I could not program a stoplight.
00:46:00
Speaker
Everyone complains about stoplights. I would surprised if the people saying something could fix it. I couldn't. I don't know what takes to make a light change ah better.
00:46:12
Speaker
So, you know, it takes literally all kinds. And I think if we look at innovation over time, um ah marginalized, however you slice a pie, ah traditionally marginalized communities have been innovators. They've been people that have saved us through technology and through technology.
00:46:31
Speaker
you know, um you look at vaccines, like you look at anything and you go, it's literally taken everyone to do this. And i just think that's the progress that we, like I look at, i have a lot of books on resilient communities and how we can move through ah climate challenges and how we can have that better future.
00:46:51
Speaker
And it literally is possible with engaging with everybody. And so it's super exciting because like we have the playbook. The tricky part is we need to know our power to get there. And I think that's, you know,
00:47:02
Speaker
where most of this conversation is sat today, which I acknowledge. So thank you for letting me yap about empowering people a little bit more than creativity, but maybe it's, that's what it is today. And, um, that's where I'm finding my creativity, I guess, right now. so Absolutely. i think that's and like I think that's what's making this work continue to feel relevant for me personally, because of course my my heart and soul are completely in what like what's going on right now. I mean...
00:47:36
Speaker
For the last two years, I've been so enraged by the state of the world and by the United States in particular.
00:47:48
Speaker
And then I have this kind of this business that's very focused on like creativity. I'm like, I know these are connected because i didn't start getting more involved until I started engaging with my creativity, engaging with myself in a more real and tangible way, instead of just kind of going with the status quo, numbing myself.
00:48:13
Speaker
i like I didn't start engaging with all of this until I started engaging with my creativity. And I think that there is something here with engaging with our creativity gets us to engage with our real world around us. And what our real world is around us right now is pretty bad.
00:48:29
Speaker
And so... It also, it allows us to process the bad. It allows us to alchemize the bad and make something better and beautiful um and come together to do that. So I, I'm glad that this is where this conversation has been going because that's what I, that's where I see all of, like, I see all of this connection. I see, i see us moving forward to a better future together, but we have to do that.
00:48:53
Speaker
By first getting in touch with ourselves and starting at home and starting here um inside and figuring out what that is and figuring out what our place is and where we can go, where we want to go, what our strengths are.
00:49:07
Speaker
All of it just feels very much connected to me. So I love that this is where the conversation went. I think that authenticity that you're talking about is probably succinctly what I've been trying to say like this whole time is like, know yourself, know your people. And you can like trust that it'll, it'll happen. Cause I'm seeing it in the community. Yeah.
00:49:27
Speaker
Now I think anytime we've seen true, honest to goodness change, you need something to occur that is uncomfortable to catalyze change. um Yeah. you know you don't get a new condition from the stasis of something staying the same you know we see that all the time after breakup you know things are better usually after a breakout just can't yeah you know see through your tears for a couple months or whatever it takes for a while right so exactly You know, i'm I don't mean to be like, this is a good thing. So I'm not clearly not saying that we're unprecedented times, but I do think there's a lot of opportunity with um the challenges afforded to us. And I think people are able to find inspiration through it.
00:50:13
Speaker
And um I'm actually stoked for the music that'll come out of this time. I've been seeing some really dope music come out recently that I'm really excited about. Yeah.
00:50:24
Speaker
Not to say that's like a good thing, but i'm I'm feeling like people are finding their voices in a really cool way right now. So I'm stoked to have new tunes that I resonate with.
00:50:36
Speaker
Absolutely. ah We are getting toward the end of
Conclusion and Encouragement to Embrace Creativity
00:50:40
Speaker
our time. And so I'd love to see what you made, if you'd like to share. ah
00:50:48
Speaker
I definitely yapped more than I drew. i am. That's fair. I was kind of sensing that we definitely went this over five minutes. and i lift. Hell yeah.
00:51:00
Speaker
I love it. have green hair. That's perfect. I did eyes that are red. Like, I don't know. It's scary, but here I am. um I did love, you're so victorious. i got a little, ah I did two squiggles. I'm like, what is this? I'm like, oh, there's dumbbells. So you can tell where my brain is at.
00:51:22
Speaker
I did my best. yes Hell yeah. I love it. um I made this little guy kind of a, I'm not sure if you can see him. Okay, um that's what's up.
00:51:33
Speaker
Some kind of anime dude. I don't know. I don't know what he's doing, but he's doing his best. He's living life. He looks happy. ah like the hair. It's actually a really similar color ah grouping to what I got going on.
00:51:46
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I don't know about you. I've really enjoyed my time here though. i think you're amazing. And I think this is a really cool platform. Yay. I'm so glad that you came to join me.
00:51:59
Speaker
um You've got a couple shows coming up. I think one is before this episode airs, but another one is in April, correct? Yeah. um Yeah. So Women's Day at Parkway, probably before this airs. That's that's March 8th. And then I have, ooh, I should really, really know this. But yeah, New Frontier, April april twenty 5th, I think.
00:52:26
Speaker
Is that a Friday? ooh but Maybe right I will. I will confirm and I'll put it in the show notes. So you'll be able to make sure we get this right. I'm so sorry. ah for good And that's with a wonderful group of ah lady led bands. And so if you miss women's day, there's another one coming and check us out at new frontier then. And then ah we also have some other really cool stuff lined up for the summer. So check out sweet Maryland dot art.
00:52:53
Speaker
If you want to follow us and stay up to date um with my band. Amazing. Thank you so much, Jade. Absolutely. one Well, have a great rest of your day and yeah, ah stay creative, everybody.
00:53:08
Speaker
This is so cool. Thank you so much again for the invite. Yeah, of course. Thanks for everybody for listening. And as always, remember to keep it ugly. The Ugly Podcast is created by me, Laura Alexander Scribe and Sunshine.
00:53:21
Speaker
It's produced and sort of edited also by me and written and directed by absolutely no one. Our theme song was written and produced by the amazing Zoetronic. If you like the podcast, be sure to rate and leave a a review on your preferred platform and share with the creative people in your life.
00:53:35
Speaker
If you're interested in learning more about what I do, head to scribeandsunshine.com to learn more about my ugly art workshops and my editing services. If you haven't yet today, I dare you to make that thing you've been thinking about making but have been too scared. It's going to be terrible.
00:53:47
Speaker
Make it terrible. And as always, keep it ugly.