Thursday with LHPAI: young "alumni" keeping in touch online
Sometimes Twitter makes me feel like we're down from six degrees of separation to one or two. That's how I met a poet named Madeleine Clifford: through the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute Twitter feed.
Although she now teaches kids in San Francisco's Mission District how to tell their own stories, she still keeps in touch with the Institute online.
Clifford attended poetry slams and open-mic events at the Institute between the ages of 16 and 19. The experiences sparked a "lifelong interest in poetry and rhyme," as she put it in an email interview, and the building itself was a refuge for a teen who'd just moved out of her mother's house:
Clifford describes LHPAI as "the perfect place for young people":
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| Photos & video courtesy MAD_lines (Madeleine Clifford) |
It was a very difficult time for me and I feel that [LHPAI] was a safe, consistent space that I enjoyed coming to. I'd get to see my friends, and felt a sense of belonging that I was desperate for at the time.
If a parent is having trouble understanding their teenager then they should definitely tap into some of the programs at [LHPAI] -- have their child get creative. It really is a wonderful space for young folks.Coming from half of the duo who opened for hip-hop artist Macklemore a couple years ago, that's really saying something. If you've participated in any LHPAI youth programs:
- Comment on the LHPAI Facebook page
- Tweet on the LHPAI Twitter feed
- Call Jacob Galfano at 206-684-4758 and tell him which programs you were in as a young person.
Product photography help from the "Four Corners"
You know what I love most about talking art and business with Amy Duncan of Four Corners Design? Not only is she willing to let me pester her with endless questions, she's happy to offer practical help.
Amy has a great design sense -- just ask Better Homes & Gardens. This week, she took product photos for me because I'm reviving my Etsy shop soon... and I hear pictures are kinda totally unbelievably important to online buyers.
Two suggestions right off the bat: Presentation boards or foam core boards to bounce light onto the item. Too easy, right?
I knew about this, but somehow never implemented it. Another idea to use in the half-hour per month of dry, sunny winter weather in the Pacific Northwest:
Do a photo shoot of your art on your driveway. Everything looks better in natural light, and the concrete adds a textured but non-distracting background. Can't shoot your art during the day? Ask Pinterest.
I'm going to revisit my own art marketing & display board, which has several low-tech photography-tip pins. Between Amy and Pinterest, I'm sure my own skills will improve. What -- or who -- are your photo resources? Let me know in the comments or on Facebook.
Thursday with LHPAI: Winter classes are a win-win
I have to confess, I've been waiting for winter classes for a while: options for both of my kids at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute!
See the class in the upper left corner, My Music, My Story & My Dance? It's a movement/story time/song class for three to five-year-olds like TwoBoo. (Hopefully they'd be able to keep up with him. You know he's, um, "high-energy.") Most classes like this I see elsewhere are for older kids. Very cool.
For The Boy, I have several options: single-subject classes (like breakdancing on Thursdays) or the Winter Youth Performing Arts Academy. It's a Saturday class series of movement, dance, vocals, acting and dance, starting January 26.
The Boy would be most interested in the vocals, especially the part where kids learn how to do character voices. But wait, there's more -- for teens...
...and for grown-ups!
Classes include an open-studio string instrument class, writing, African dance and drumming, theater/voice, knitting and popping & locking (dance). I should sign up The Husband for that last one, just to hear his reaction. "Oh sure -- you can watch my joints start popping out of their sockets and my muscles start locking up."
You can register for classes in either of two ways:
If I sign up for any of the dance classes, you'll know -- by the sound of my own joints popping. Seriously, you can hear them like a mile away.
FTC disclosure: I'm partnering with the LHPAI on a series I call "Thursdays with LHPAI," generally published on Thursdays. I am being paid an honorarium for my work. However, all opinions and views expressed in this series are my own.
You can register for classes in either of two ways:
- Visit the SPARC class registration page OR
- Sign up in person at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute
If I sign up for any of the dance classes, you'll know -- by the sound of my own joints popping. Seriously, you can hear them like a mile away.
FTC disclosure: I'm partnering with the LHPAI on a series I call "Thursdays with LHPAI," generally published on Thursdays. I am being paid an honorarium for my work. However, all opinions and views expressed in this series are my own.