In this episode of Creative Guts, co-hosts Laura Harper Lake and Sarah Wrightsman return to Exeter High School — this time to chat with the students! As a follow up to our interview with Eric Gold, the students spent two days in April painting with Eric! The students had an incredible opportunity to paint together as a community. As described in our interview with Eric, students were given small squares of larger paintings to work on. The subject matter of their work: changemakers! Two of the portraits featured guests Creative Guts interviewed live at EHS earlier this year: Diannely Antigua, Lindsay Garfield, and Jon Nolan! As a bonus, Creative Guts had the opportunity to chat with Diannely and Lindsay while the students painted their faces! In this episode, we chat with the students about what it was like to participate in a community painting, what creativity means to them, and what creative things they love! Please excuse the background noise — this episode was recorded in the middle of the creative chaos! Listen to this episode wherever you listen to podcasts or on our website www.CreativeGutsPodcast.com. Be friends with us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/CreativeGutsPodcast and Instagram at www.Instagram.com/CreativeGutsPodcast. A special thank you to Exeter High School and to the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts for making this episode possible! If you love listening, consider making a donation to Creative Guts! Our budget is tiny, so donations of any size make a big difference. Learn more about us and make a tax deductible donation at www.CreativeGutsPodcast.com.
In this episode of Creative Guts, co-hosts Laura Harper Lake and Sarah Wrightsman return to Exeter High School — this time to chat with the students!
As a follow up to our interview with Eric Gold, the students spent two days in April painting with Eric! The students had an incredible opportunity to paint together as a community. As described in our interview with Eric, students were given small squares of larger paintings to work on. The subject matter of their work: changemakers! Two of the portraits featured guests Creative Guts interviewed live at EHS earlier this year: Diannely Antigua, Lindsay Garfield, and Jon Nolan!
As a bonus, Creative Guts had the opportunity to chat with Diannely and Lindsay while the students painted their faces! In this episode, we chat with the students about what it was like to participate in a community painting, what creativity means to them, and what creative things they love!
Please excuse the background noise — this episode was recorded in the middle of the creative chaos!
Listen to this episode wherever you listen to podcasts or on our website www.CreativeGutsPodcast.com. Be friends with us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/CreativeGutsPodcast and Instagram at www.Instagram.com/CreativeGutsPodcast.
A special thank you to Exeter High School and to the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts for making this episode possible!
If you love listening, consider making a donation to Creative Guts! Our budget is tiny, so donations of any size make a big difference. Learn more about us and make a tax deductible donation at www.CreativeGutsPodcast.com.
[INTRODUCTION]
[00:00:00] LHL: I'm Laura Harper Lake.
[00:00:01] SW: And I'm Sarah Wrightsman.
[00:00:02] LHL & SW: And you're listening to Creative Guts.
[00:00:18] LHL: Hello, listeners. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Creative Guts. On today's episode, we're doing something a little different. As a follow-up to our recent interview with community artist, Eric Gold. In this episode, you will hear a montage of mini interviews with Exeter High School students as they were working on a community art project that Eric Gold put together. The subject matter of their work, Changemakers. And some of those changemakers include Diannely Antigua, Lindsay Garfield, and John Nolan. All past Creative Guts guests who have been interviewed at Exeter High School. As a bonus, Diannely and Lindsay were there the day of recording and made an appearance in this episode as well.
Please forgive the slight background noise in this episode as we were right in the thick of things during recording. We are so excited to hear these youngsters' perspectives on this creative process. Without further ado, let's get right into this episode of Creative Guts.
[EPISODE]
[00:01:23] SW: Hello. Will you tell us who you are?
[00:01:26] JW: My name is Jasmine Winham.
[00:01:27] SW: Oh. Hey, Jasmine. We know your dad.
[00:01:30] JW: Oh, nice.
[00:01:31] LHL: Yeah.
[00:01:33] SW: What has the experience been like participating in a community painting?
[00:01:37] JW: I felt like it was very good, first of all, because I don't really participate in a lot of art outside of school. I thought it was good to try something new for once. Especially, it was good getting out of the classroom. Because I feel like, especially in the fourth quarter, we've been doing a lot of the same stuff.
[00:01:50] SW: Yeah. Absolutely. And why is creativity so important to the world?
[00:01:58] JW: Creativity can like let a lot of different issues or a lot of different things be shown in different ways, like ways I wouldn't normally think of it. I wouldn't think to do this for a project like this. But I feel like it was a good way of incorporating art.
[00:02:11] LHL: And can you share with us one creative person or thing that you enjoy right now and why? It could be like an artist, a book, a movie, musician, film, dancer. Anything like that. If you wanted to spotlight one cool creative person or thing, what would it be?
[00:02:27] JW: I really like music. And I feel like right now, I'm really into like listen to like Billy Joel and kind of older songs. I think it's really good listening to like songs from different eras almost and seeing how people approach songs differently then versus now.
[00:02:41] SW: Yeah. Absolutely.
[00:02:41] LHL: That's awesome. Perfect
[00:02:42] SW: Thank you, Jasmine.
[00:02:45] JW: No problem. Thank you.
[00:02:46] Nina: Hi. My name is Nina.
[00:02:49] LHL: Nice to meet you, Nina. I'm Laura.
[00:02:49] SW: I'm Sarah. What has the experience been like participating in a community painting?
[00:02:55] Nina: It's been really cool. I really liked it.
[00:02:57] SW: Is this something you've ever heard of before?
[00:02:58] Nina: I did something like this when I was like eight at my elementary school.
[00:03:04] LHL: Oh, cool. That's awesome.
[00:03:04] Nina: Yeah. But it was more like clay tiles that we like painted on top of.
[00:03:08] LHL: Oh, yep.
[00:03:09] SW: Cool. That's really cool. And do you paint outside of this?
[00:03:12] Nina: No.
[00:03:12] SW: Okay. Can you tell us a little bit about why you think creativity is important?
[00:03:17] Nina: Because it helps you express yourself. And it helps like project your words that you can't really say.
[00:03:24] SW: Absolutely.
[00:03:24] LHL: Yeah. It has that deep impact.
[00:03:26] SW: Absolutely.
[00:03:27] LHL: If you had a chance to spotlight one creative thing or person right now, it could be an artist, musician, a book, a film, a dancer, whatever. What's some cool creative thing that you're really into right now?
[00:03:39] Nina: I like listening to music a lot. When I study, it helps me focus. Yeah.
[00:03:43] LHL: Who's one of your favorite artists right now?
[00:03:46] Nina: Mac Miller or Childish Gambino.
[00:03:47] LHL: Cool.
[00:03:48] SW: Awesome. Thanks so much, Nina.
[00:03:49] LHL: Thank you.
[00:03:50] Nina: Thank you.
[00:03:51] Isabelle: Hi. I'm Isabelle.
[00:03:54] SW: Hi, Isabelle.
[00:03:54] LHL: Nice to meet you.
[00:03:55] SW: Nice to meet you. What's your experience been like today participating in a community painting?
[00:03:59] Isabelle: It's been really cool. I've never seen something like this, especially at school. But I also like that instead of we're just like filling in the lines, that we get to do it ourself. And like we have a lot more freedom.
[00:04:11] SW: Yeah. Do you paint outside of this?
[00:04:13] Isabelle: No.
[00:04:15] SW: Can you tell us a little bit about why you think creativity is important to the world?
[00:04:19] Isabelle: I think it's a really cool way of like showing what you think and projecting that without actually just straight up saying it. And it's a cool way to kind of not hide, but a be a little secretive with it.
[00:04:34] LHL: Yeah. And if you could share one creative person or thing, what would it be?
[00:04:40] Isabelle: Sorry. Could you say that again?
[00:04:42] LHL: Yeah. If there's a creative thing that you're really into, it could be a movie, or a book, or an artist, or a musician.
[00:04:50] Isabelle: I like listening to music. I do that a lot. That's really it though.
[00:04:53] SW: What do you listening to right now?
[00:04:55] Isabelle: I like Taylor Swift. And I like Travis Scott. And that's – yeah.
[00:04:58] LHL: Awesome.
[00:05:00] SW: Taylor Swift Just dropped a new album, right?
[00:05:02] Isabelle: I think tomorrow maybe.
[00:05:04] LHL: Tomorrow. Yeah, I think so. Thanks so much.
[00:05:09] Colin: I'm Colin.
[00:05:10] SW: Hey, Colin.
[00:05:11] LHL: Thanks for being on the show, Colin.
[00:05:12] SW: What has the experience been like participating in a community painting?
[00:05:16] Colin: It's pretty cool. You get to see what everyone else is doing.
[00:05:20] LHL: What part of the face do you have on your piece?
[00:05:22] Colin: I don't know.
[00:05:24] LHL: Oh, it's so abstracted. It's not like part of an eye, or a nose, or anything. Yeah.
[00:05:28] Colin: I did skin yesterday.
[00:05:30] LHL: Oh, cool.
[00:05:30] SW: Okay. Cool. Cool. And do you paint outside of this?
[00:05:33] Colin: No.
[00:05:34] SW: No. Can you tell us a little bit about why creativity is so important to you or to the world?
[00:05:38] Colin: I think it can help inspire people to do things they wouldn't normally do.
[00:05:42] LHL: I love it. And if you could put a spotlight on one creative person or thing, it could be a book, or a movie, a musician, some kind of creative thing that you're into? Any cool shows, or movies you like, or video games, or –
[00:05:58] SW: Or TikTok creators?
[00:06:03] Colin: No.
[00:06:03] LHL: No.
[00:06:04] SW: No worries. No worries.
[00:06:06] LHL: That's all right, Colin.
[00:06:06] SW: Thank you.
[00:06:07] LHL: Appreciate you taking the time.
[00:06:09] GS: I'm George Stanley.
[00:06:11] LHL: Hey, George. Thanks for being on the show.
[00:06:13] SW: What has your experience been like doing this community painting?
[00:06:16] GS: Honestly, it's pretty fun. It's a little challenge trying to get the right color. But I like it.
[00:06:21] SW: Yeah. Good.
[00:06:21] LHL: What part of the image do you have? Is it a nose, or an eye, or –
[00:06:26] GS: I did two. So far, I'm working on a butterfly. It's all green. Nice and easy.
[00:06:30] SW: Cool.
[00:06:31] GS: But one for the person, it was like sort of – I think maybe a mustache or something. I don't know.
[00:06:35] SW: Oh, very cool.
[00:06:37] GS: It was hard.
[00:06:38] SW: Do you paint outside of this?
[00:06:40] GS: Nope. Only sometimes. If my sisters get some little portraits, I'll do it. But not much though.
[00:06:46] SW: Cool. Cool.
[00:06:46] LHL: That's awesome.
[00:06:47] SW: Will you tell us a little bit about why you think creativity is important for the world?
[00:06:51] GS: Gives us nice thoughts. We get to think a lot. I don't know.
[00:06:56] SW: I love that. That's awesome. Yeah.
[00:06:58] LHL: And can you share one creative person or thing that you're really into right now? Could be a musician, a movie, a book, an artist.
[00:07:05] GS: I like NLE, Youngboy.
[00:07:07] SW: Who is it?
[00:07:08] GS: Youngboy. He's a rapper. I like NLE Choppa too.
[00:07:10] LHL: Oh. Nice. Nice.
[00:07:11] SW: Cool.
[00:07:12] LHL: Very cool. Awesome.
[00:07:14] SW: Thanks so much, George.
[00:07:15] GS: All right.
[00:07:16] LHL & SW: Thank you.
[00:07:16] JC: Hello. I'm Jameson Courier. I'm a freshman.
[00:07:20] LHL: Nice.
[00:07:21] SW: Awesome. Nice to meet you.
[00:07:23] LHL: I'm Laura.
[00:07:23] SW: I'm Sarah.
[00:07:25] JC: Nice to meet you.
[00:07:24] SW: Nice to meet you.
[00:07:26] LHL: Oh, so nice.
[00:07:28] SW: Can you tell us what your experience has been like doing this community painting?
[00:07:31] JC: It's fun. I like to call myself artistic.
[00:07:34] SW: Oh, good.
[00:07:35] LHL: Do you paint outside of doing this?
[00:07:36] JC: I do. I do.
[00:07:37] SW: Oh, yeah? Cool.
[00:07:38] LHL: What are your favorite mediums?
[00:07:40] JC: My medians?
[00:07:40] LHL: Mediums. Do you do acrylic, or watercolor, oils?
[00:07:43] JC: I like acrylic.
[00:07:44] SW: Okay. Okay.
[00:07:44] JC: I dabble in watercolor sometimes.
[00:07:48] SW: Cool.
[00:07:48] LHL: Very cool. That's excellent.
[00:07:50] SW: So since you paint outside of this, are your classmates looking to you for help doing this?
[00:07:53] JC: Oh, yeah.
[00:07:54] LHL: Yeah. What's the experience been like so far for you?
[00:07:57] JC: It's been fun. I've been directing people.
[00:07:59] SW: Cool.
[00:07:59] LHL: Nice. That's wonderful. Helping out your peers.
[00:08:02] SW: What part of the painting have you done? What part of the face?
[00:08:05] JC: I don't remember. But I know it was brown.
[00:08:07] LHL: Okay.
[00:08:08] SW: Maybe hair or skin?
[00:08:10] JC: I think it was hair.
[00:08:11] LHL: Yeah.
[00:08:12] SW: Cool. That's great.
[00:08:13] LHL: If you don't have creativity, then people will think you're boring. And if you don't have creativity and other things, then – art especially, you can't really get far.
[00:08:21] SW: Yep.
[00:08:22] LHL: If you could Spotlight one creative person or thing, what would you like to share?
[00:08:26] JC: I would say my friend right here, Anders. He's quite the man.
[00:08:30] LHL: I love that.
[00:08:30] JC: He's creative.
[00:08:32] LHL: That's wonderful. Awesome.
[00:08:34] SW: Thank you so much.
[00:08:35] JC: Thank you.
[00:08:35] AL: I'm Ari Lepage. What are your guys’ names?
[00:08:38] LHL: I'm Laura.
[00:08:39] SW: I'm Sarah.
[00:08:39] AL: Nice to meet you, guys.
[00:08:41] SW: Nice to meet you.
[00:08:43] LHL: Yeah. Thank you for being on the show.
[00:08:43] AL: You're welcome. What is the show?
[00:08:45] SW: This is Creative Guts.
[00:08:47] AL: Ah. Ah. I see.
[00:08:49] SW: What has this community painting been like for you?
[00:08:50] AL: Well, I'd say it's a great break from, I don't know, doing a lot of school work. I mean, high school, it's a lot at times. But it's fun to just sit down and reconnect with your friends and just paint a little bit.
[00:09:04] LHL: Absolutely.
[00:09:05] SW: Do you paint outside of this?
[00:09:07] AL: No. I do not.
[00:09:08] SW: Okay. So this is like totally out of your element.
[00:09:10] AL: Yes.
[00:09:10] SW: Yeah. Yeah. What are you painting?
[00:09:11] AL: We're painting murals about certain people who impacted their communities. And their names, I would not be able to tell you all of them.
[00:09:18] SW: No. That's totally fine. What part of the face do you have?
[00:09:22] AL: I had like just a block of hair. Like a block of brown hair.
[00:09:25] LHL: Nice.
[00:09:25] SW: Good.
[00:09:26] AL: Just tried to, I don't know, chill out and just paint. I don't know. Enjoy the time you have. Just –
[00:09:33] LHL: Yeah. Be in the zone.
[00:09:34] SW: That's awesome.
[00:09:35] LHL: In the creative zone.
[00:09:36] SW: Yeah.
[00:09:36] AL: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
[00:09:37] LHL: Why is creativity important to the world in your opinion?
[00:09:40] AL: The world's pretty boring place if we're not creative, you know? I mean, what is life worth if we're not being creative? We're not going out there. We're not pursuing things and enjoying life.
[00:09:50] LHL: Perfect.
[00:09:50] AL: Life is all about being creative.
[00:09:52] LHL: That is right.
[00:09:53] SW: Yeah. Could not agree more.
[00:09:54] LHL: Good answer. And if you could highlight one creative thing or person that you're into lately it, it could be a musician, an artist, a dancer, a chef, anything. A movie, a show.
[00:10:05] AL: What did I recently watch… It just came out. It was made in Massachusetts. And it's the Holdovers. That was a great movie. Even though I'm pretty sure – I'm not sure if this is right. But I heard I'm pretty sure they might have – they figured out it might have been copied from another – entirely stolen from another movie.
[00:10:23] SW: Oh, bummer.
[00:10:23] AL: But it was a really good movie. I really liked it. I don't care if it was stolen. It was really good. And it was really well-made. And I thought it was like a great thing. Because I had never seen anything like it. And it was really creative.
[00:10:35] SW: Oh, wow. That's awesome. Hey, thanks for being on the podcast.
[00:10:39] AL: Yeah. Thank you, guys, for having me.
[00:10:40] SW: We're back on Creative Guts with Diannely. And we've interviewed you. Our audience is kind of familiar with who you are.
[00:10:45] DA: Yes. Yes.
[00:10:47] LHL: What is it like having the students work on a painting of you?
[00:10:53] DA: It is incredibly surreal to have someone paint part of my face.
[00:10:59] LHL: And to have it be like a large scale where they're doing like these micro things. And then it's just blown up to this big scale. And walking around, seeing them work on your eye, and your cheek. Any other thoughts that have come to mind with when you do that?
[00:11:16] DA: It feels like such a big honor, you know? And I love to see like everyone's interpretation of the photo. I'm very familiar with the photo. It's been my author photo for quite some time. And that picture was taken in 2016. It is a very old author photo. And I have since wanted to take another one.
But it is really interesting to see like their interpretation of this photo. And it really just warms my heart to think that me in 2016 would have never imagined that I would have been in a position where someone would notice the work that I was doing enough that they would have high school students paint part of my face in a mural. It feels really good.
And like I know that I've struggled a lot to get to the place where I am today. A lot. And it just really warms my heart to feel like I was holding on to hope for a reason. And this was part of it.
[00:12:18] LHL: That's really beautiful.
[00:12:19] SW: Oh, that's so beautiful. Do you recognize yourself in these little squares? Are you walking around, are you like, "Oh, that's definitely me?" Or are you like I'm not really sure.
[00:12:30] DA: Yeah. I'm definitely noticing like part of the blazer that I was wearing. I'm noticing the blocks of black, which I'm sure are my hair. And, also, when I first got here and I saw that some of the mural had already been done, there's the square that's of my freckle on my forehead. And it just – I melted. I was like, "Oh, my gosh. There's my freckle."
[00:12:58] LHL: That's so beautiful. I was curious, what you've seen as far as the community building within the students. It seems like they're all engaging and being comfortable. What has it been like just observing them in the art of making?
[00:13:13] DA: Yeah. Even though they're still doing their own individual section, it still feels like a very collaborative experience among them. Obviously, it's collaborative because you put all these squares together and you form the mural. However, just them sitting at the table together, like, "Oh, what does this color look like? Does this look okay?" Or really encouraging one another. And that is collaborative art making.
We don't make art in a vacuum. We don't exist in a vacuum. And I love how like we're seeing that firsthand how art can bring people together that maybe don't normally are in community with one another.
[00:13:51] SW: That's so beautiful.
[00:13:53] LHL: It really is.
[00:13:54] SW: That's what we've heard from a lot of the students, too, is basically along the lines of like it's been fun to do this with my friends.
[00:14:00] LHL: Yeah. Some even helping each other out, you know? It's really sweet.
[00:14:04] DA: Right. Yes.
[00:14:04] SW: So cool.
[00:14:07] LHL: I'll ask you one of the questions that we've been asking all of them. What's one creative thing or person that you're really into lately? Could be like a movie, a book, an artist, a musician, a chef, a dancer.
[00:14:21] DA: Oh. Wow. This is a hard question.
[00:14:24] LHL: You know, it's really stumped a lot of them. They're like, "I don't know what I'm into right now." But just like I guess one person you'd want to Spotlight. It could be someone you know or someone big in the world.
[00:14:33] DA: Yeah. I think I would say the director of the Poetry Festival at UNH. We just had our inaugural poetry festival this past weekend. It's The Nossrat Yassini Poetry festival. And the director, Danielle Jones, she used to direct the Mass Poetry Festival. She really knows what she's doing. And this was her brainchild. And she really brought it to fruition. We can see like all of the hard work that she put into that. And that is a very creative thing to do. And, also, bringing community together in that festival experience, which included high school students, which included very well-known poets, which included mid-career poets. Everyone. And not just poets from academic spaces. It included people from the slam poetry scene. And it was just great to see that existing within like an academic building.
And I just find that the act of bringing the community together is a very creative experience. And, also, it's what Eric is doing, too, with this art project. It's really wonderful to see. I'm just rooting for the people in my community that are really like doing the thing and doing it really well. Yeah, I'm in awe of her, just I want to shout her out.
[00:16:00] SW: That's wonderful.
[00:16:00] LHL: Thank you for sharing that. That's so wonderful to hear.
[00:16:03] DA: Absolutely.
[00:16:04] SW: Thanks so much for coming back on the show.
[00:16:07] DA: Anytime. Absolutely, anytime. I love podcasting.
[00:16:11] LHL: It's so fun, right?
[00:16:13] DA: It is. It is. And it's like cool to just hear yourself and other people like in the headphones. That sounds narcissistic. I think it's more from like an ASMR standpoint. I'm like, "Oh. I love that.
[00:16:24] LHL: Yeah. I recognize the quality in people's voices, and the fray, and the tonality of it. And even when I am not on a podcast and I'm just at a conference, in a meeting or something, and I hear – I'm like, "Oh, I can visualize the soundwave of someone's voice." I can visualize it in my head when someone's talking sometimes. That's kind of a fun part of it too. Cool. Well, thank you again so much.
[00:16:49] DA: Thank you. This has been lovely.
[00:16:51] LHL: Yeah. It's good to see you again.
[00:16:53] DA: Thank you.
[00:16:54] CP: Hi. I'm Chloe Patch. I'm a freshman here at Exeter High.
[00:16:58] LHL: Awesome. I'm Laura. And this is Sarah.
[00:17:00] CP: Hello.
[00:17:00] SW: What has your experience been like participating in this community painting?
[00:17:04] CP: It's been really fun. I'm not that big of an artist. But like I picked pretty hard painting. It's just like a challenge trying to match it the best I can. But it's really fun.
[00:17:14] SW: Was that accidental choosing the hard paintings?
[00:17:17] CP: Yesterday, it was, because I thought it was a paint-by-number. I did not know it was like a freehand thing. But then today, I was like, "That was fun yesterday. I'll just do it again today."
[00:17:27] SW: Cool. I love that.
[00:17:27] LHL: Nice. Accepting of the challenge. What parts of the face did you get?
[00:17:32] CP: Yesterday, I got part of the eye of I think Mandela. And today, I'm painting Diannely's hair.
[00:17:38] LHL: Oh, goodness. Very cool.
[00:17:40] CP: Forehead.
[00:17:41] LHL: Oh, nice. That's awesome.
[00:17:43] SW: Cool. Can you tell us a little bit about why you think creativity is important to you or to the world?
[00:17:49] CP: I think it's like important because, if we're not creative, then we're never going to invent anything or explore anything out of the new.
[00:18:00] LHL: And if you had a chance to spotlight one creative person or thing, it could be like a book, a movie, an artist, a writer, a podcast, whatever. Something that you're into lately that has creativity in it.
[00:18:13] CP: I'm a big movie watcher. I think my favorite one is Perks of Being a Wallflower. I think that one's really good.
[00:18:17] LHL: Very cool that's a good recommendation.
[00:18:20] SW: Yes, it is. Excellent.
[00:18:22] Sayde: I’m Sayde.
[00:18:24] SW: Hi, Sayde. What has your experience been like participating in this community painting?
[00:18:29] Sayde: It's very fun. And like there's a lot of help with all like the other people they're helping. Someone came around and put like paint on my thing to help me make like a good color.
[00:18:38] SW: Good. Do you paint outside of this? Or is this like totally out of your element?
[00:18:43] Sayde: It's kind of out of my element. I used to paint like a year ago or so. But then I like stopped. But, yes. I haven't painted in a while.
[00:18:50] LHL: Yeah. Neat. And do you know what part of the face you have?
[00:18:54] Sayde: The first one I did, I think it was like a jawline or like a chin. Because it had like a line that kind of looked like it. And then the second one I did was just like green.
[00:19:03] SW: That's the one I would want to paint. Very cool. Can you tell us a little bit about why you think creativity is important either to you or to the world?
[00:19:11] Sayde: Because it can help like make a bunch of difference new ideas for like different things. Because it can make like bonding experiences like this kind of. Creative ideas can like help make people come together.
[00:19:24] SW: Absolutely.
[00:19:24] LHL: And is there any creative thing or person that you'd like to spotlight or give a shoutout to?
[00:19:32] Sayde: My sister's really creative. She paints and stuff. She's really good at it.
[00:19:35] LHL: That's awesome. Very cool.
[00:19:36] SW: Yeah. Cool. Thank you so much.
[00:19:41] Olivia: I'm Olivia.
[00:19:42] LHL: Nice to meet you, Olivia.
[00:19:43] SW: Nice to meet you. Will you tell us what's it been like being part of this community painting?
[00:19:47] Olivia: It's fun. It's like a relaxing period, especially on like block days, because you have really long classes. It's nice.
[00:19:56] SW: That's awesome. Do you paint outside of this? Or is this totally out of your element?
[00:20:00] Olivia: I paint sometimes. I do watercolor.
[00:20:03] SW: Okay.
[00:20:03] Olivia: I do it like for fun.
[00:20:06] SW: Yeah. That's great.
[00:20:05] LHL: That's wonderful. And do you know what part of the face or what part of the painting that you're doing?
[00:20:11] Olivia: First, I did someone's hair. And then and I am now doing just like green for the butterfly one.
[00:20:16] SW: Oh, love it.
[00:20:18] LHL: Very cool.
[00:20:19] Olivia: I think creativity is important to me because it makes me unique. And so, I did ceramics at the beginning of the year. And I had all these like different unique things. Because it just was like nice.
[00:20:33] SW: Yeah.
[00:20:35] LHL: And if you could highlight one creative thing or person, could be a musician, an artist, a writer, film.
[00:20:43] Olivia: That's hard.
[00:20:45] SW: What's like one creative thing you're really into lately?
[00:20:48] Olivia: I really like to do ceramics. That's really fun. It's cool.
[00:20:52] LHL: Nice. Is there anyone else you know that does ceramics either that you know personally or like in the world that you really dig?
[00:20:59] Olivia: Yeah. My friends. And then Mr. Moses actually was my Ceramics teacher. He was really good at it.
[00:21:05] LHL: Cool. Oh, nice. That's a good shoutout.
[00:21:07] SW: That's awesome. Shoutout to Mr. Moses.
[00:21:09] LHL: Well, we appreciate you being on the show.
[00:21:11] SW: Yeah. Thank you.
[00:21:11] Olivia: Thank you.
[00:21:13] BH: Hello. My name is Beckett Hickey.
[00:21:14] DJ: Hello. My name is Dylan Jones.
[00:21:17] KS: My name is Kingston Shea.
[00:21:19] LHL: Perfect. Sounds like a band.
[00:21:25] SW: What's it been like? And anybody can go first. What's it been like being part of this community painting?
[00:21:30] DJ: Pretty poggers. It's all fun. I learned a lot and expressed my artistic abilities.
[00:21:36] SW: Cool.
[00:21:37] BH: Yeah. I liked it a lot. It was a lot of fun. I enjoyed painting. And I do a lot of painting at home. It was nice to bring it to school with my friends.
[00:21:43] LHL: Awesome.
[00:21:44] KS: I also thought it was pretty fun. I didn't get the best panels to draw. But we made the most of it.
[00:21:49] SW: Oh, tell us what you got.
[00:21:52] DJ: I got a lizard. And also, Gandhi. I got Gandhi's lips like right by his mustache. It's really hard. Because there's like the gray hairs running down.
[00:22:00] SW: Whoa. That is a very important piece.
[00:22:02] LHL: And tricky. What about you?
[00:22:04] KS: I'm not too sure what I had. Basically, just gray.
[00:22:06] LHL: Yep. That's great. A nice cheek or something perhaps?
[00:22:11] SW: And you said you paint outside. What about the two of you? Do you paint outside of this experience?
[00:22:16] DJ: I don't. But my sister does.
[00:22:17] SW: Okay.
[00:22:18] KS: I don't paint.
[00:22:19] SW: Okay. All right.
[00:22:20] KS: Not much of an artist.
[00:22:21] LHL: Did you have to help them at all?
[00:22:23] DJ: Yes. Every step of the way, they needed help. But I was there for them. So it's okay.
[00:22:28] KS: He basically painted it for me.
[00:22:29] LHL: That's great.
[00:22:32] DJ: We did paint our nails after though.
[00:22:35] SW: Oh, I love that.
[00:22:36] LHL: Hey, I got paint nails too.
[00:22:37] SW: Yeah. Very pretty. Oh, my gosh. When we take your picture, we'll have you show us your nails.
[00:22:41] LHL: Yeah. I love that.
[00:22:43] SW: Can you tell us why creativity is important to the world?
[00:22:47] BH: It's a key way to express yourselves.
[00:22:50] DJ: I agree with that. It's a good way to like express emotions and characteristics. And it brings out like who you are. Not able to like share it verbally.
[00:23:01] KS: You can express yourself in actions other than words. And that's a very valuable thing.
[00:23:06] SW: Love it. Perfect.
[00:23:08] LHL: All very true.
[00:23:08] SW: Really perfect.
[00:23:10] LHL: And could you each spotlight a person or thing that has creativity in it that you really like? It could be like a movie, a book, an artist, a song. Whatever.
[00:23:20] BH: I'd have to say, rapper Ken Carson. I really like him. He shows a lot of creativity in his music, because no one else to really like him. Yeah.
[00:23:29] KS: I'd say Destroyed Lonely. I idolize him personally. And LeBron James.
[00:23:33] SW: Cool.
[00:23:33] DJ: I'd say BabyTron. I really idolize his – his music is very like – it's very different from everyone else. He expresses himself through creative ways of making songs.
[00:23:46] BH: He orchestrates them rather than sings.
[00:23:50] SW: Thank you all so much. We have Lindsay Garfield back on the show.
[00:23:54] LG: Hey, guys.
[00:23:55] SW: What's it been like seeing kids paint portions of your face?
[00:23:58] LG: My face?
[00:24:00] LHL: Looking at real close and personal. My face.
[00:24:04] SW: It's a very unique thing that a lot of people don't experience. What's it been like for you?
[00:24:08] LG: Well, honestly, the whole experience was kind of surreal. I was like you want to put me in a mural with John and also – like next to Nelson Mandela and Gandhi? Okay. That makes sense. Well, when you put it like that. With circle of friends and my family, that's been kind of a running joke. Like, "Oh, yeah. The Changemakers. Changing the world. Just like Gandhi and Mandela. But, no. I was so – honestly, so moved by just the suggestion. And I want to be able to help inspire kids in any way in my community.
I'm just happy to be involved in this in some way. What Eric has done here is – I mean, it's – see these kids, they're so – I walked in it, they're so excited. They're so into it. And the murals look like us, which is creepy. Because if you think about how many kids are actually participating, how many people are – each person has like a little pixel. And then somehow you put it together and it looks like – it's an image.
[00:25:22] LHL: It's magic.
[00:25:23] SW: It's so cool.
[00:25:25] LG: It's so cool. I mean, I looked at a lot of his work before I said yes to this project. And I was like, "Okay. I get it." But seeing it up close is different, you know? Being here and seeing it. And it's not – I mean, they're not finished yet. But they're coming together piece by piece. They're recognizable. I'm like, "Oh, yeah. That's me." I'm like, "Yeah. That looks like me. This is weird."
[00:25:45] SW: So cool. Walking around, have you recognized yourself in any of like the little squares? Like, "Oh, that's my forehead."
[00:25:54] LG: I should do that. They'd be like, "Oh. You know, the little shading over here. Can you fix that little?" Do you guys have Photoshop? Can you fix my – I look a little jolly.
[00:26:07] LG: Oh, my gosh.
[00:26:09] SW: When you walked in, did any of the kids recognized you and was like, "Oh, hey. I just painted you."
[00:26:13] LG: They were all playing it cool.
[00:26:14] SW: Yeah. They were.
[00:26:15] LHL: Yeah. They're all very cool kids.
[00:26:18] LG: They're way cooler than I was when I was that age.
[00:26:19] LHL: Oh, my God. I was a geek, for sure.
[00:26:20] SW: Oh, my gosh. I know. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:26:23] LG: But, no. I feel pretty jealous of these kids, to be honest. All the level, the scope of their arts programming is – I mean, this is a public school. This is incredible. It's incredible.
[00:26:40] SW: It's really amazing.
[00:26:40] LG: It's a testament to the parents and the community. Just the amount of support that they have is so impressive to me.
[00:26:47] LHL: And the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts for helping sponsor this program.
[00:26:52] SW: And Christina and Dennis. You guys are the best.
[00:26:54] LHL: Yeah. Major shout.
[00:26:56] SW: Sorry. That's Mr. Magliozzi and Ms. Peterson to you, children.
[00:27:00] LHL: To you, kids. Yeah. They're force. They really are.
[00:27:05] SW: Yeah. Truly.
[00:27:07] LHL: And, really, such nice people too. The whole experience. And you guys. I mean, the whole experience was such a pleasure.
[00:27:13] LG: No. We're rotten. We're terrible.
[00:27:15] SW: Terrible. Oh. Who are we?
[00:27:20] LG: Yeah. It's been nothing but joy from the beginning. And, yeah, I hope to continue to be involved in the arts and music events and programming in Exeter, Oyster River, and the whole coast. This project has got me excited about doing my own projects with the kids in the future.
[00:27:40] SW: That's so cool.
[00:27:40] LG: And I have some things cooking. But I'll tell you, maybe we can do another show about that in the future.
[00:27:46] LHL: Very cool.
[00:27:48] SW: Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, that's really cool, because we talk a lot about like the impact for the kids. But we don't always talk about like the impact for like the creative people who are involved and like brought in. This is inspiring for you too.
[00:27:59] LG: Yeah. I mean, I've been a musician forever. And I've done so many different projects. But like this time in my life, I'm in my 40s, I'm actually more productive now than I think I've ever been. And more connected to the art than I now because it's not – I'm trying to be less ego-driven and more how can I help? What does this do? What am I saying? What impact do I have? And I think that's just something that happens as you get older and you're kind of like seeing your own mortality and you're thinking about it more. And you're like, "Okay." And I feel like I'm embedded now in this community. I'm not going anywhere. I purchased a home last year in this community. I'm stuck here for better or for worse. And I feel like, "Okay, what can I do to make things good, and better, and a changemaker?"
[00:28:45] SW: Yay. I love that. I love that.
[00:28:48] LHL: So glad you're stuck here. We're happy to have you.
[00:28:51] LG: Likewise. Likewise.
[00:28:54] LHL: Yeah. I mean, what can you just do in your little area, you know? And it's been a journey, especially after the pandemic. It's like what do we do with ourselves? What do musicians do? This has been kind of a reset in a lot of ways for me. Yeah. Just super grateful.
[00:29:08] SW: So cool.
[00:29:09] LHL: Amazing.
[00:29:10] SW: Thank you so much for coming back on Creative Guts.
[00:29:13] LG: Thank you, too. This was a nice surprise.
[00:29:16] SW: Yeah. Good to have again in the future.
[00:29:18] LG: Awesome.
[00:29:19] SW: Who knows?
[00:29:20] LHL: Cool. Thank you again.
[00:29:22] LG: Yeah. My pleasure.
[OUTRO]
[00:29:29] LHL: We wholeheartedly applaud the Exeter High School students who participated in this community art project and those who joined us on the Creative Guts podcast. The atmosphere and level of engagement from these young folks was awesome to see. Not only that. There were so many supportive peers helping each other out, collaborating, having fun. We feel very lucky to have witnessed this wonderful community art that Eric Gold has coordinated. And just a big well done to everybody involved.
[00:30:03] SW: We'd like to extend our thank you to Exter High School for inviting us. To Eric Gold, Diannely Antigua, Lindsay Garfield, and to the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts for their support of this program. We'll Link in the episode description all who were involved in this project.
[00:30:20] LHL: Check out us at creativegutspodcast.com. You will find us on Instagram and Facebook where our handle is Creative Guts Podcast. If you love listening and want to support Creative Guts, you can make a donation, leave us a review, interact with our content on social media, purchase some merch, or come to an event. Whatever you're able to do, we appreciate you.
Thank you for tuning in. We'll be back next Wednesday with another episode of Creative Guts.
[END]