Bob Mathews' Eye for Portraits

Artists Pamela Conyers-Hinson and Ilaamen Pelshaw join us this week to discuss their upcoming two-person exhibition, The Beauty of Color. The show opens Friday, September 9, 2022, at Amplify Arts's Generator Space.  The Beauty of Color celebrates the work of two artists and the intersectional identities they hold. In acknowledging the mutual influence Latin American and African American cultures have on one another, the exhibition deploys color as a functional apparatus to build solidarity across the experiences of diaspora and migration. Using a wide range of production techniques and skills–painting, sculpture, and interactive installation–the artists synthesize a shared visual lexicon that privileges culturally specific aesthetic traditions over Eurocentric norms. Pamela Conyers-Hinson is an award-winning artist.  She holds a Master of Arts in Teaching, a master’s in Organizational Leadership, and a Bachelor of Art in Studio Art. She is a classically trained sculptor using the lost wax method for bronze casting and the traditional methods for stone carving. Pamela is interested in sustainability within the arts. This is evident by her use of experimental natural mediums. She received the Council of American Art Society Inc, Award for Excellence in Representational Sculpture. She is a member of the National Association of Women Artists New York Chapter. She has exhibited her artwork in Nebraska, New York, Illinois, Virginia, and Venice, Italy. www.conyershinsonart.com Ilaamen Pelshaw is a Guatemalan artist and illustrator with a bachelor’s in graphic design. She is a visual storyteller that explores elements of everyday life colorfully and cheerfully, often focused on kindness and inclusion. Ilaamen has participated in more than 30 exhibitions in Omaha, Lincoln, Sioux City, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, San Diego, and three local solo shows. Her art can be found in private collections around Europe, Asia, Africa, and Central America, including the US Ambassador’s residence in Uganda as part of the United States Department of State’s Art in Embassies program. Ilaamen was selected as the Omaha Summer Arts Festival Featured Illustrator for two consecutive years, has been featured in Singulart Magazine, Paris, France, as One of 7 Illustrators to Watch, and was one of the winners of the 7th edition of Latin American Illustration by AI-AP (American Illustration - American Photography). www.ilaamen.com Visit Gracie Weihs Photography on Instagram.

In today's episode, I was provided a gallery tour of The Ground Beneath, a group exhibition curated by Jared Spence, currently on display at Petshop Gallery in Benson. The Ground Beneath features work by 18 artists, including Jared, all centered on the theme of celebrating the beauty of our feet and the significant roles they play in carrying us along our journeys.   The Ground Beneath will be on display through August 25, and will be accompanied by two events: Sunday, August 7 at 3 p.m., there will be a performance of experimental music and dance featuring Cubby Phillips, Alex Jacobsen, and Nathan Brumbaugh. $5 Saturday, August 20, 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., there will be a grounding yoga and meditation workshop led by Lindsay Decker. $10 Visit Gracie Weihs Photography on Instagram.

[update at 18:40]: Celeste Butler is named as a participating roster artist. She is not on the artist roster and was named in error. Back in May, we sat down with Joshua Brown and Stephanie Plummer, two Program Coordinators at the Nebraska Arts Council, a state agency dedicated solely to the arts. Josh and Stephanie provided extensive insight into the grants that they head up, as well as additional programming and the state-wide artist roster. We were also able to learn more about Nebraska Creative Districts at the state level.  Since the initial recording of this episode, the Benson area has been officially recognized as the second creative district in the state of Nebraska, the first in Omaha. Congratulations! Visit https://www.artscouncil.nebraska.gov/ to learn more. Like and subscribe to the podcast to be the first to hear new episodes.

Artist and curator Jared Packard joins us this week to discuss his solo show, Performative Skin, on display through July 1 at Project Project (1818 Vinton St., Omaha, NE). In this episode, we also talk about embedding mortality in art through the use of materials in their raw form and going against the traditional teachings in 101-level art-making courses. Performative Skin Jared's curatorial work: ditch seed SISSI Visit Jared on Instagram or at www.jaredpackardstudio.com

CW: depression, suicide, addiction Priscilla Morales, Jeanne Pittack, and Natasha Kessler of SugarWolvesMacramé discuss their collaborative show, Emitiendo Voces Ancestrales, Casting Ancestral Voices, which displayed during the final week of April 2022. The show explored heritage through ancestral ties and inspiration, love, wisdom, and lineage. The artists share with us their ancestry and heritage, and how they've used their artistic practice to learn more about their lineage to find deeper connections to their culture. Kessler also teaches us about macramé - the art of knotting cord or string in patterns to make decorative articles. To see images from Emitiendo Voces Ancestrales, visit Split Gallery and Jeanne's Instagram. SugarWolvesMacramé Enjoyed this episode? Be sure to leave a review!

This week we sit down with Rowena Bennett, owner of Tinsy Thoughts and creator of Pinapel and Friends, to discuss art as activism and how art can empower self-love and inspire kindness in others. Rowena's first solo show in 10 years, Cosmic Creations, opens May 6th, 2022, 4 - 10 p.m., at BFF Gallery (5901 Maple Street, Omaha, NE), as part of BFF Omaha's May First Friday.  Follow Tinsy Thoughts on Instagram and TikTok. You can contribute to the Pinapel and Friends GoFundMe HERE. Find Rowena on Instagram and TikTok. ROWENA B. BENNETT (she/they) is a Nebraska-based artist, writer, and concept designer who has been creating art professionally for over 15 years. Rowena was born and raised on the island of Dominica in the West Indies but calls Nebraska home after living here for over 20 years. She specializes in digital art illustration and mixed media acrylic art. She is well known for her bright and vibrant exhibitions and the fun names she comes up with for her art collections like her latest collection - COSMIC CREATIONS feature their original THOUGHT MONSTERZ™ subjects. Like and Leave a Review!

What are creative districts and why are we talking about them? BFF board president Linda Hilliar and Radial Arts Center's Executive Director Alison Ranniger are just two of the many community groups and organizations involved in the process of getting Benson recognized as a Nebraska Creative District. We got to chat with them as they explain the process, including the legislative bills that were introduced and passed by Senators Megan Hunt and Michael Flood to recognize and enhance the power of those districts. To learn more about Nebraska Creative Districts, visit the Nebraska Arts Council and Experience Benson. Visit BFF Omaha for access to the community input survey.

In this episode, Sylvie Fortin, interdependent curator and Curator-in-Residence at the Bemis Center, shares with us how she became engaged with the concept of the currencies of hospitality, and how it has evolved since its inception. i don't know you like that: The Bodywork of Hospitality will be on display at the Bemis Center through Sunday, March 20. Upcoming Events at the Bemis around the current exhibition: Deirdre Cooper Owens: Slavery's Hospitality and the Extraction of the Black Body "Talk" by Jean Charles de Quillacq Additional reference videos: Sophie Lewis, What Goes Around Comes Around: Fleshy Toxicities Return Home as Kin

In this week's episode, we caught up with the Visual Arts award winners from this year's Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards. Visual Arts Winners: Outstanding Visual Artist: Sarah Rowe Outstanding Emerging Visual Artist: Bekah Jerde Outstanding New Media Artist: Joshua Foo Outstanding 2-D Artist: Nancy Friedemann-Sanchez Outstanding 3-D Artist: Pamela Conyers-Hinson Outstanding Group Show: “The People, The Human Beings”, Generator Space, Curated by Nathaniel Ruleaux and The Unceded Artists Collective (featuring Sarah Rowe and Steve Tamayo) Outstanding Solo Show: Nick Miller: “Zebra with a Sunburn”, Project Project Outstanding 2-Person Show: Nancy Friedemann-Sánchez & Charley Friedman, Garden of the Zodiac Gallery Outstanding Public Art: Metro ORBT Murals (ART + INFRASTRUCTURE): Omaha By Design, Weston Thomson & Betni Kalk (Celeste Butler, Pamela Conyers-Hinson, Dan Crane, Tyler Emery, Linda M. García, Rebecca Harrison, Gerard Pefung, Anthony Peña, Dany Reyes, Sarah Rowe, Patty Talbert, Steve Tamayo, Aaryon Bird Williams, Sandra Williams, Hugo Zamorano) Outstanding Presentation in a Non-Traditional Format: Bart Vargas: Daily Drawings Outstanding Visual Art winner Sarah Rowe has an opening on Friday, March 4 at the Great Plains Museum in Lincoln, NE. The show will run through August 6.

During a successful career as a physician, Dr. Bob Mathews used his time in the ER to discover a love of portraits and figures. In this episode, we learn more about how Dr. Mathews has taken traditional portrait painting to a new level, giving a unique form of expression to each figure he creates. Learn more about the artist at www.bobmathewsart.com. Like and follow the ohMahART! podcast on your favorite podcast listening platform.