AIR (Arts Incubator of Richardson)

Interview with Jean Felsted,
Docent, SMU’s Meadows Museum of Art; Former chair, City of Richardson Arts Commission (by Ekaterina Konovalova)

Why did you decide to be a part of AIR?

It’s a two-part motivation—first, from my seven years on the City of Richardson Arts Commission: as a Member 1995-2003; as Vice Chairperson 2000-2002; and then as Chairperson from 2003-2004. During all these years, we worked closely with many arts groups in Richardson, each year bringing new arts organizations eager to be a part of our community.
The second part is that we saw the Eisemann Center for Performing Arts come into being, and were actively involved from the time Bruce [MacPherson] and his staff gallantly worked from a trailer adjacent to the site, until the memorable Opening Night in 2002. In A.I.R. I saw the potential for the kind of heavy-duty community support that is required if arts groups are to thrive.

What is art for you? How would you define art?

I’m not particularly comfortable in even trying to define. I guess it is some kind of expression of the human condition by individuals who are gifted with the ability to make a high-level abstraction and representation of what life is all about. Not only the visual and the performing arts, but including literature.

Who is your favorite artist (painter, musician, dancer, performer, etc.) and why?

Can’t say I think in terms of picking them out—I like a number of different art forms and a number of different artist/performers/writers—just so they are really good at what they do.

What is your favorite quote about the art?

Don’t have one.

What advice can you give to an aspiring artist?

That’s a hard one—I guess I think in terms of the practical, and would say to pursue the art but have some sort of economic support (job) that allows you to keep pursuing your art, not have to give up to keep roof over head/food on table.

Interview with Nan Phillips,
Sculptor and Glass Artist; Communications Director and Immediate Past President of Texas Sculpture Association (by Ekaterina Konovalova)

Why did you decide to be a part of AIR?

I enthusiastically joined AIR in 2008 because I believe that Richardson needs an arts facility; that the arts, and the artists, in Richardson are being under-served.  There is a wealth of un-tapped talent and interest in our city — and for the most part people are going to Dallas, Plano and Fort Worth to meet their needs.  For visual, especially 3-D artists, this means there are few show, gallery or sales opportunities here, and most studios in Richardson are in small, perhaps inadequate, spaces carved out of artists’ homes.

Dallas has a couple of fabulous artist studio tours each year, but Richardson artists may not want people walking through their homes to their back-bedroom studios.  In essence, Richardson artists are working alone and under-advertised.  There are also issues for the performance arts in that there is a lack of rehearsal and small performance space.  For people seeking to experience the performance arts, Richardson has a very fine performance venue.  However, having more would not diminish, but would enhance the excitement and the arts experience here.  The arts are a crucial component of the vibrancy and growth of any city.  In this time of arts funding cutbacks, a growth in visual and performance art that is easily accessible to the public, both adult and children, is vital to our society.

The concept of having an arts facility in which artists could afford to rent studio space to work and teach, and which would house many types of arts, is extremely appealing and exciting to me.   As a sculptor, I thrive on exposure to different media, materials and ideas.

What is art for you?  How would you define art?

What is art for me?  Art is life.  Art is the way I think.  Art is the way I approach life.  It is all-encompassing.  It’s what I do.  It is a constant need and my constant companion.  Art is not just the work that I create, but it is the manner in which I think and problem -solve.  The way I look at things and materials.  My brain automatically jumps to the analytical, seeing not only what’s there, but what could be.

There is also another part of art for me – teaching and working with other artists, whether student or professional.  I thrive on the creative process and love to work with and be around others who do the same, whether it is their passion or simply an enjoyable past-time.

Who is your favorite artist (painter, musician, dancer, performer, etc.) and why? What is your favorite quote about the art?

I can’t answer this because these things aren't important to me.  While there are many, many art forms and artists that I like, I've never been a fan of "favorites."

Do you have any advice for aspiring artists?

Take risks and don’t be afraid to make mistakes.  You’ll learn more from your mistakes than from your successes.

Interview with Pat Porter,
Former Executive Director of NTBCA (North Texas Business for Culture and the Arts) now known as Business Council for the Arts
(by Ekaterina Konovalova)

As Founding Executive Director of NTBCA (North Texas Business for Culture and the Arts) now known as Business Council for the Arts, Pat Porter has more than 50 years of art advocacy experience. Pat Porter started her career at the Dallas Museum of Art as the Director of Public Programs and Publications, and she later joined Southern Methodist University as Associate Vice President for University Relations and was also Co-Founder and Director of the Tate Lecture Series for five years.

She founded NTBCA in 1988 at the request of corporate leaders in the Dallas Citizens Council and Raymond D. Nasher, Chairman and pioneered and successfully implemented numerous programs, including the Leadership Arts Institute, On My Own Time, ArtWorks, The Art of Business, and the Obelisk Tribute. She is a dedicated spouse of a talented journalist and a former art critic, Bob Porter, and the mother of three artists.

1. Why did you decide to be a part of AIR?

I am a life-long resident of this area. Our children went to Richardson schools. We moved here because we thought this was the most supportive, substantially artistic environment that we could find for our children. We moved here in 1963. I wanted to be supportive of the city of Richardson because they had given us so much. I also wanted to be a part of a like-minded group of advocates who realize that you can’t be a successful city municipality without a strong cultural brand and Richardson has that. I am also charmed and delighted by the idea of an entirely new arts incubator in this part of the country.

2. What is art for you? How would you define art?

a. Truth, expression and revelations of the essence of a time and place as seen through the eyes of one who discerns change and community striving in a manner ordinary people either miss or confuse.

b. Art is that sound, movement, tone of voice, phrasing or community of those that can change your view of the world.

3. Who is your favorite artist (painter, musician, dancer, performer, etc.) and why?

James Galway, his flute is the voice of angels; Yo Yo Ma, the sound of the cello releases endorphins that calm and inspire me; Meryl Streep, an elegant, gifted performer who transports me; Van Gogh, the eternal vision of transcendent beauty sparked by madness and the vision  that must grip all true artists. But it was madness that inspired him to look at the haystacks and see not haystacks but bursts of color and wildly eccentric straws flying everywhere.

I don’t understand the passion that keeps them [artists] moving forward when they meet denial and criticism constantly. I don’t understand how they reach inside themselves every day and come up with new inspiration. I don’t understand anything about the artists, but, boy, I am eager to support them because they are all I have.

4. What is your favorite quote about the art?

My favorite quote is by James McNeill Whistler: “All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness.” Artists have to create, they can’t help themselves, and yet every day they reach inside themselves into this place of stillness and they bring forth yet one more very beautiful thing.

5. What advice can you give to an aspiring artist?

I don’t think that I am competent or capable of giving an artist advice. However, I can give them this counsel: take a good business course, take some good bookkeeping courses, take some good marketing courses because what you have is a product, and the selling of art need not be artistic. It needs to be business. It needs to be something that you work at every day. In addition to creating that art, you have to create your persona. I also think that artists need to affiliate themselves and be collaborative with other artists. They need to be a gang that knows what their vision is and that they are moving forward. I know that art is a solitary creative process but I also know that we get energy from other ideas that are flowing around us. 

Interview with Bruce MacPherson, Managing Director of the Eisemann Center for Performing Arts
(by Ekaterina Konovalova)


1. Why did you decide to be a part of AIR?

It is a refreshing new endeavor trying to unite a lot of small arts organizations that may need to lean on each other to help get support, to build, and to grow. It is hard to do it alone. But if you teamed up and don’t see yourself as competing and, instead, help to nourish each other, hopefully, there will be growth. The bigger side of it is the concept of AIR where new initiatives can begin. There is an embryonic stage to whatever that art form is. Whether it is in the performing arts world, which is what I represent, or it could be fine arts, it could be literature – it could be all levels of the arts. There are not many of these kinds of projects around…so why not Richardson?    

2. What is art for you? How would you define art?

Art is a very subjective term, because you and I can look at the same thing, and you love it and I don’t. That’s what I like about art. It means that it truly is an artistic form in the eyes of whoever is looking at it…. While we may not totally understand why someone likes a particular dance or type of music or Picasso or Rembrandt, we all have different reasons and/or experiences for why a particular art form is meaningful to us.

What I like about what I do is that there are no two days alike; no day will ever repeat itself. It’s impossible. It is not like working in a factory where everything is on an assembly line and it is critical that everything be exactly the same. I enjoy that if we’ve got a symphony orchestra or a dance company that is performing the same program over multiple performances, no two will ever be the same. Every performance will be different as the audience changes, the musicians or dancers may get out of bed on a different side, their feelings, their emotions, being stuck in traffic, whatever is happening that day – it all influences the chemistry of the next performance. No two concerts, no two performances will ever, ever be the same. As such, it’s the human factor that makes this all so wonderful.  

3. Who is your favorite artist (painter, musician, dancer, performer, etc.) and why?

I love all forms. While growing up, at one moment I would have Tchaikovsky on my vinyl LP and ten minutes later change LPs to play the rock group Deep Purple. Both are rewarding and refreshing, but choice is all about what mood or mindset I am in.

But ultimately what moves me the most is dance. For me, it is Paul Taylor. He is a living legend; he is the ultimate living American choreographer on this planet. He is right up there with Alvin Ailey and Martha Graham. The Paul Taylor Dance Company has been in existence for over 50 years and Paul is still creating minimally two new works each season. Before we opened the Eisemann Center I got to know Paul and his dance company. We brought him in our very first year, and I agreed to present his company every other year as long as he continues creating new works. I am happy to say, as we head into our 10th anniversary next year, that he is still creating. We have had two world premieres of his works here, and in honor of our opening in 2002 we commissioned “Dream Girls.” It has been a most enjoyable alliance that has helped to nourish our dance community.

4. What is your favorite quote about the art?

Have to go back to Paul Taylor again. It is a very small statement that he made when he was asked “Why?” [Why he does what he does]. And his answer was “I make dance because I can’t help it.” And I think that’s what art is all about. You do it because there is a passion, a belief; there is a desire, something inside of you that tells you, you have to do it. I don’t know if all of us can truly understand or appreciate why someone in the arts does what they do.

It is such a simple quote, such a simple statement but it is applicable to many things that are the driving force between what you do, what I do, what we all set ourselves to do on a daily basis. I do what I do because I can’t help myself. I am happy to say that for 35 years now I’ve been in the presenting field and to this day I still get up in the morning and I want to come to work. I never had a day when I didn’t want to come to work. I don’t know how many people in life can say that, but I truly believe this motivation comes from the recurring freshness that the arts world brings to the table each and every day.

5. What advice can you give to an aspiring artist?

You should make every effort to try and address the feeling that you have in creating that art form you have a passion for—music, dance, painting, writing, acting…whatever it is. I always tell people not to expect instant gratification. Everyone has to recognize that it is a crawl-walk-run strategy. Very few people will come to the plate and hit a home run the first time up; and even if they did, they won’t every time.

It is also important to note there is a business side to the arts. You can be as great as you want to be artistically, but in order for it to be realized and appreciated by others; you need to have a solid business plan as well. I encourage people to broaden their abilities beyond just the artistic talents they may have. It may be beneficial to take business classes on the side, because if they are literally looking to make art into a career, at some point there will be important business decisions required. I say go full speed ahead, but always try to fill the basket with other tools. Don’t be just one-dimensional. Leave yourself some flexibility.

Renata Sharman is a Polish born ceramicist and painter. In 1997 she moved to the US with her husband and two children from Melbourne, Australia. With an insatiable appetite for creativity, knowledge and exploration, she has been involved in the creation of art for more than 3 decades and is the embodiment of inner strength, emotions, and compassion.

Her adventure with art started 30 years ago when she defected from communist Poland to West Germany. She enrolled in a few ceramic classes not knowing how they were going to influence the course of her life forever. Later, she partnered with her friend and opened a ceramics studio in Germany. While teaching classes in ceramics and experimenting with glazing, she developed unique firing, surface treatment, and glazing techniques. Yet, it took more than 1,000 test tiles, endless chemical experiments, and calculations to reach that level of expertise.

Renata is a true "citizen-of-the-world": she lived on four continents and visited nearly 120 countries. Renata views her multicultural heritage and exposure as precious gifts as they have given her a respect for perspective and the ability to easily slide into another's shoes.

When her family moved to Chicago in late 90-s, Renata’s European education was not recognized in the USA. She had to start over again. Renata shared with us, “I had a fully equipped studio: kilns, firing, glazes – everything. But I injured my hands by pushing too much clay on the wheel, fighting centrifugal force, and with a 20-pound lump of clay my little wrists were badly injured…- I couldn’t do it anymore.” - That is when she turned to painting. “I am a little bit of a perfectionist; I had to buy every book on painting and do lots of studying.” That perfectionist attitude helped Renata become a successful artist in Chicago and allowed her to be selected for the Illinois Artisan Program. Renata’s art was selected among hundreds of applicants and displayed at the Illinois State Museum and its stores.

When her family moved to Texas, Renata’s art again gained great recognition. She won numerous local awards including Best of Show by the Richardson Civic Art Society. Renata actively pursues her passion in visual arts and teaches advanced oil and acrylic painting in her home studio. Apart from that, she instructs fun art classes at Painting with a Twist in Garland.

(by Ekaterina Konovalova)

Boog Brown

Boog is an internationally acclaimed tattoo artist. Yet, years ago he began to express himself in other visual art genres: painting with acrylics on canvas, pencil drawing, and airbrushing. Boog described his style as Chicano art; his signature character is a beautiful woman with a tear on her cheek. He also has a lot of images of clowns in is art. He later explained it to me that ‘clown’ is a commonly used slang term that is used as a word of praise among the Dallas urban community. 

Many Boog’s paintings at the exhibit are very personal and self-revealing. For example, his artwork labeled the Seven Deadly Sins reflects his self-examination and represents him facing his own vices. Another painting, a beautiful colorful portrait of a Virgin Mary with a face of La Calavera Catrina, was Boog’s response to the death of his cousin. 

Boog told me a story behind each painting at the show. One of them had a particularly interesting story. It was a sophisticated pencil drawing of a pirate woman that Boog made for David Lee Roth, an ex member of Van Halen band. Years ago, Lee Roth’s agent contacted Boog to request a tattoo for David. Since then, David Lee Roth became Boog’s client and a personal friend. Last year Boog was seriously ill; he wasn’t sure if he would survive. In such circumstances, true friendship is tested. David Lee Roth reached out and helped Boog to get through the hard times. As a token of appreciation, Boog made a piece for David with his favorite symbols incorporated in the artwork.

Miguel Donjuan

Miguel’s artwork was featured on the cover of A+C magazine. Miguel entered the art world at early age. He said, “As a kid, I was too short to play sports. I was fast but short. It left me with video games and art.” He comes from an artistic family, and he said that “My brothers were always very influential.” He was a graffiti artist in his teenage years, and later he developed an artistic alter ego, “Graffiti Monster.” Miguel’s paintings and sculptures of Graffiti Monster reflects the graffiti culture in a legitimate and peaceful way.

Emily Donjuan

Emily was the only female artist in the show. Her pieces were cute fabric collages in glass frames and a big pink fabric cloud. Her dad was a visual artist, and when Emily was a kid, he often was giving her art assignments before he went to work and checked her progress when he returned home. Emily’s dad instilled love for art in Emily’s heart, and she pursued a Fine Arts Degree at UT Arlington in 2007.

Carlos Donjuan

Carlos is a family man. He is married to Emily and he is inspired by his family. There were three brothers artists at the show: Miguel, Arturo and Carlos Donjuan.

Carlos said, “I like to paint portraits of my family. It is like a photograph but more personal and valuable.” He developed a unique painting technique: he combines acrylics and watercolors on wood panels, and it creates a realistic visual effect of the human skin.

Eddie Castro

Eddie’s work is a series of sculptures of a paletas, Latin American ice pops. Eddie’s sculptures were designated to commemorate the death of two ice-cream sellers killed in a rough neighborhood in Dallas. Eddie admired those men’s courage who, in spite of the danger and low profits of their business tried, tried to bring joy to kids in the neighborhood.

Ricardo Oviedo

Ricardo started to paint back in 1998. His work is very detailed and refined. The Yellow faces of his characters were inspired by the Simpsons show. Ricardo’s favorite art subjects are people and birds.