In this episode of Creative Guts, co-hosts Laura Harper Lake and Angie Lane interview a variety of creatives and makers at the Concord Multicultural Festival! The Concord Multicultural Festival is an annual celebration of the cultural diversity in the Capital Region in New Hampshire. This vibrant event celebrates a rich diversity in the area and promotes cultural understanding and appreciation through a variety of programs and events, including art demonstrations, music and dance performances, and more. As Laura and Angie strolled the festival, folks were welcome to participate in on-the-spot mini-interviews, chatting about their creative pursuits and what the festival means to them. In this episode, we chat with: Carolyne Jordan – Castello Arts: www.castelloarts.org Becky Field – Fieldworks Photos: www.differentrootsnh.com Susan Zankel – New Hampshire Book Festival: www.nhbookfestival.org Ruby Shabazz – R&B and neo soul hip-hop artist: https://rubyshabazz.wixsite.com/newmusic Saad Hindal – Art From Memory: https://www.facebook.com/ArtFromMemory Tamara Morris – Tamara Deonka Art: www.tamaradeonka.com There were so many amazing creatives at this event that we didn’t have time to get to everyone, but you can learn more about all the creates at this event, and more about the festival itself, at www.concordnhmulticulturalfestival.org. 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. This episode is sponsored in part by the Rochester Museum of Fine Arts. Thank you to our friends in Rochester for their support of the show. 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 Angie Lane interview a variety of creatives and makers at the Concord Multicultural Festival! The Concord Multicultural Festival is an annual celebration of the cultural diversity in the Capital Region in New Hampshire. This vibrant event celebrates a rich diversity in the area and promotes cultural understanding and appreciation through a variety of programs and events, including art demonstrations, music and dance performances, and more.
As Laura and Angie strolled the festival, folks were welcome to participate in on-the-spot mini-interviews, chatting about their creative pursuits and what the festival means to them. In this episode, we chat with:
Carolyne Jordan – Castello Arts: www.castelloarts.org
Becky Field – Fieldworks Photos: www.differentrootsnh.com
Susan Zankel – New Hampshire Book Festival: www.nhbookfestival.org
Ruby Shabazz – R&B and neo soul hip-hop artist: https://rubyshabazz.wixsite.com/newmusic
Saad Hindal – Art From Memory: https://www.facebook.com/ArtFromMemory
Tamara Morris – Tamara Deonka Art: www.tamaradeonka.com
There were so many amazing creatives at this event that we didn’t have time to get to everyone, but you can learn more about all the creates at this event, and more about the festival itself, at www.concordnhmulticulturalfestival.org.
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.
This episode is sponsored in part by the Rochester Museum of Fine Arts. Thank you to our friends in Rochester for their support of the show.
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.
[00:00:00] LHL: I'm Laura Harper Lake.
[00:00:01] AL: I'm Angie Lane.
[00:00:03] LHL: You’re listening to Creative Guts.
[00:00:03] AL: You’re listening to Creative Guts.
[INTRO]
[00:00:18] LHL: On today's episode of Creative Guts, we're at the Concord Multicultural Festival in Concord, New Hampshire.
[00:00:24] AL: This will be a montage episode as we talk with mini-interviews with creatives, artists, and performers here at the festival.
[00:00:33] LHL: Without further ado, let's jump right into this episode montage of creatives at the Concord Multicultural Festival.
[EPISODE]
[00:00:45] CJ: Hi. My name is Carolyne Jordan, and I'm an artist. I do bead mosaics, and I make jewelry out of recycled bottle caps and leftover fabric pieces.
[00:00:58] LHL: Oh, wow. That's amazing. Your work is so vibrant and exciting. I just got some earrings myself, so I'm very excited about that. Where do you find your inspiration for your work?
[00:01:10] CJ: My mom. In the country where I come from, Uganda, there used to be a lot of littering bottle caps. I want an environment that's clean, so I decided to go around picking up bottle caps, cleaning them, washing them. I love to see something that has been wasted, making it beautiful and also while making the environment clean.
[00:01:38] LHL: I love that sustainability ties in with such beautiful pieces that are a combination of form and function, all the stuff that people can enjoy on their walls or they can wear and express themselves. That's so amazing. How long have you been creating?
[00:01:55] CJ: I've been creating since I was eight years. I’m 34 years old right now.
[00:02:02] LHL: Do you sell any work online? Or if people wanted to find your work, would you have a website or social media that they could go to?
[00:02:08] CJ: Yes, I do. Castelloarts.com, C-A-S-T-E-L-L-Oarts.com is my website.
[00:02:19] LHL: Thank you so much for sharing your work with us. We'll be sure to tag you in everything as well.
[00:02:25] CJ: Thank you so much.
[00:02:27] BF: I'm Becky Field. I'm with an organization which consists of me and my dog called FieldWork Photos. For the last 12 years, I've been photographing immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers all in New Hampshire. It’s just been a wonderful project where I've met wonderful people, made great friends. Now, I feel part of many different families. I'm here at the Multicultural Festival selling my books, and I've done really well. People are excited about the project and the photographs. Again, I'm just meeting great people.
[00:03:00] LHL: That's so fantastic. We love your work. We love your books and your images. How did you get into this line of work as far as this inspiration and this subject matter?
[00:03:11] BF: Oh, that's a great story. It started 12 years ago. In 2011, 2012, there's very hateful graffiti written on the sides of four refugee homes in Concord. I was really mad, and so I decided then to take my camera and my interest in photography and to use it as a way to show people that diversity is wonderful. It's strong, it's good for all of us, it helps our economy, and it just makes our community beautiful as we can see at this event.
[00:03:40] LHL: You must have met so many amazing folks over the last few years with your work. Have you seen a lot of familiar faces here today?
[00:03:48] BF: Yes. It's been sort of like a friend fest. It's been really wonderful, and I've seen many friends. I've seen families come in that I've been close to. It’s just been really a wonderful time to get reconnected with a lot of my immigrant friends and others, too.
[00:04:05] LHL: Excellent. If people want to check out your work who are listening, where should they go on the Interwebs?
[00:04:10] BF: They can go to my website which is differentrootsnh.com, D-I-F-F-E-R-E-N-T-R-O-O-T-S-N-H.com.
[00:04:24] LHL: Thank you so much for being on the show, Becky. It's great to see you.
[00:04:26] BF: It's a joy to do this. Keep promoting diversity. It's so good for all of us.
[00:04:31] LHL: Absolutely.
[00:04:32] SZ: My name is Susan Zankel. I'm here at the festival as a volunteer with the New Hampshire Book Festival and also sharing a tent with Building Community New Hampshire which is a service group in Manchester that meets the needs of refugees and all of their needs.
We're here together because we're working together. I'm here for the book festival which is October 5th. There's going to be a free festival in Concord. We have over 50 authors coming to Concord to present on panels. One of the authors is Lochan Sharma who is a Bhutanese refugee.
The South Main Street will be closed. We're going to have a big book-selling tent where the authors will also sign books. There's going to be an adult track, a youth track. We're really excited. We're going to have some food trucks. Hopefully, people are going to really enjoy learning about these authors and their process and buy some books.
[00:05:28] AL: Great. Susan, if they want to learn more about the festival, where would they go?
[00:05:31] SZ: They can go to newhampshirebookfestival.org. The schedule is there, all of the authors and their bios. You can learn about the books and volunteer if you'd like, so newhampshirebookfestival.org.
[00:05:45] LHL: Wonderful. Thank you so much.
[00:05:46] SZ: Thank you.
[00:05:47] RS: Hi. I'm Ruby Shabazz. I'm a R&B and neo soul hip-hop artist. Yes, I'm at the Multicultural Festival today having a great time with everyone.
[00:05:57] LHL: That's awesome. How long have you been a performer?
[00:06:00] RS: Oh, man. Like 20-something years I would say, a long time.
[00:06:04] LHL: What is your favorite part about it?
[00:06:06] RS: I love connecting with people. I love writing music that people connect with and then performing it and just seeing people's reactions.
[00:06:12] LHL: Wow. What are some maybe unknown challenges that people don't realize about the type of artistry that you do?
[00:06:19] RS: Finding different and creative ways to connect with people because, I mean, love songs have been written, hardships have been written, and just finding just creative different ways to say it.
[00:06:29] AL: Have you been collaborating with other creatives in this area or in the state in your career as a performer?
[00:06:36] RS: Yes. I mean, with the festival as a whole. Then I connect with other artists like singers and dancers, in particular, to perform with me, to shoot videos. I have a videographer with me today. It's all people that I meet during festivals and different events that I end up working with.
[00:06:51] LHL: That's so cool. It's awesome that we get to meet you today and talk with you.
[00:06:55] RS: Thank you.
[00:06:56] LHL: If people want to learn more about you and what you do, where can they find you on the Interwebs?
[00:07:01] RS: Oh, yes, on the Interwebs. A lot on Instagram, Ruby Shabazz. It's S-H-A-B-A-Z-Z and Ruby Shabazz Music on Facebook.
[00:07:09] LHL: Awesome. Thank you so much for chatting with us today.
[00:07:11] RS: Thank you, guys. It was nice meeting you.
[00:07:13] LHL: You, too.
[00:07:14] SH: My name is Saad Hindal from Iraq.
[00:07:16] LHL: Where do you generally find your inspiration for all your work?
[00:07:25] Interpreter/SH: City that I lived in and I loved.
[00:07:27] LHL: How do you decide the colors that you choose?
[00:07:36] Interpreter/SH: Because America has multiple cultures, I see it from this perspective. I choose the color based on the people around me.
[00:07:45] LHL: That is wonderful. How long have you been painting?
[00:07:50] Interpreter/SH: All my life.
[00:07:52] LHL: Did you attend school for training, or are you a self-learner?
[00:07:57] Interpreter/SH: He’s self-taught.
[00:07:59] LHL: That's wonderful. If people want to learn more about you as an artist, where can they go online?
[00:08:08] SH: Downtown.
[00:08:08] Interpreter: Yes. He’s in downtown, and this is where he is. This is Chamber of Commerce Concord map, and this is where he is, 45 North Main St., Suite 104, at DIY Crafts.
[00:08:22] LHL: Oh, wonderful. Okay, great. Can I have this?
[00:08:25] Interpreter: Yes.
[00:08:25] LHL: Oh, thank you.
[00:08:26] Interpreter: It's made by the Chamber of Commerce for anybody to pick as a city guide.
[00:08:29] LHL: Oh, wonderful.
[00:08:30] Interpreter: And this is his piece.
[00:08:31] LHL: It’s so beautiful.
[00:08:32] Interpreter: See this one there? He did the mural.
[00:08:34] AL: Wow.
[00:08:35] LHL: Last question, which is your favorite piece that you've ever made?
[00:08:41] Interpreter/SH: Concord. I nearly painted 250 or more of Concord itself. Through 50 years, all the years that I spent here which is 50 years. But there is a variety of Concord, not the same thing.
[00:08:56] LHL: Wow. Such vivid work. It's really quite amazing. Thank you so much for taking the time. Your work is so beautiful and impactful, so it's been really nice to have this small chat with you and learn more about your art.
[00:09:07] SH: Thank you for having me.
[00:09:10] TM: Tamara Morris and I am a painter, jewelry maker, and apparel artist.
[00:09:16] LHL: It's so nice to meet you. Let's start with your art because I'm looking at some beautiful celestial pieces right here.
[00:09:23] TM: Well, I started doing celestial paintings because I was a camp counselor at Camp Carpenter about 10 years ago. I taught space and nature. I was the nature director, and I built a planetarium out of a garbage can.
[00:09:37] LHL: Oh, my gosh. That sounds so fascinating.
[00:09:39] TM: So fun and the kids loved it. What I would do is I would poke little holes into the garbage bag. As the sun shine through, it would show the constellations that I made. I'm like, “Oh.” I watched YouTube one day, and I saw this lady doing space nebulas and constellations. I'm like, “Oh, my God.” That was right up my alley, so I just started experimenting, and this is the result, my space paintings.
[00:10:05] LHL: I love it. I'm an artist, too, and I actually paint a little bit of space stuff sometimes. I'm always drawn to celestial art, and I think it's so amazing. That's such a cool way that you got into it from science.
[00:10:17] TM: From science, yes. Because I was a science teacher and I was like, “Okay,” and an art teacher as well. But I was like, “Okay, let me put my passion,” because I've always been fascinated with space. Even as a child, I've always loved space. I would sit out in the backyard, and I would look up at the sky, and I'd pick out the constellations, the dippers, and everything like that.
[00:10:36] LHL: This isn't a normal question that I ask necessarily, but what do you think about aliens and UFOs? A little too out there to believe?
[00:10:43] TM: No, no, no, no, no. I'm really into Area 51.
[00:10:47] LHL: Oh, okay.
[00:10:48] TM: And I've tried to delve into it. But as a true scientist, I try not to go there. I don't want to go down the conspiracy theory road like that because there's too much of that right now. Then I do apparels. All my T-shirts are handmade, hand-dyed. Those are my designs.
[00:11:07] AL: Man, the colors are so vibrant. T-shirt colorization is an art form in itself.
[00:11:13] TM: The black ones, those are for Pride Month. I designed those especially for Pride Month, and those are just what I have left over. But then the T-shirt, the tie-dyes that I have, a lot of people when they come in here, it's like, “How do you get your colors so vibrant?” Well, there's a special process that the home dyer doesn't necessarily have access to, and there are special dyes. You can't go into Michaels and get the dye kits and get those same colors. I go to Dharma Textile, and I get the Procion dyes, and I use this thing called soda ash and urea, and that's how I get those T-shirts so bright and vibrant.
[00:11:48] LHL: That is fascinating. Do you have any questions you want to ask?
[00:11:51] AL: Oh, no. I was just admiring that because I didn't know how you got – it's like shimmery, and I just think it’s –
[00:11:56] TM: Oh. Well, that's a special vinyl, a heat transfer vinyl. I did the design, I made an SVG, and then I put it into Cricut, and then I cut it, and then I just iron it onto the shirt.
[00:12:08] AL: Very cool. Did I hear correctly that you said you were a scientist first or –
[00:12:12] TM: I’m a science teacher.
[00:12:13] AL: I love the way art and science intersect naturally, and people don't necessarily think of that way.
[00:12:18] TM: Yes, they don’t. Yes. No, that’s really cool.
[00:12:20] LHL: Now, is there any creative disciplines that aren't on display here that you also do?
[00:12:24] TM: I make jewelry, and I do chain mail, too, that I don't have here because I just didn't have enough room.
[00:12:30] AL: Chain mail?
[00:12:31] TM: Yes. I do –
[00:12:32] LHL: Chain mail jewelry.
[00:12:32] TM: Yes.
[00:12:33] LHL: Have you ever done armor-type jewelry like necklace armor or anything like that?
[00:12:38] TM: No, because I don't have time. But I know how to do it. I just don't have time. I mean, this is just one of three things that I do. I'm a chiropractic assistant, and I'm also head of disability soccer in New Hampshire, so that takes up quite a bit of my time.
[00:12:55] LHL: You're a very busy person with a lot of passions. What does it mean for you to be here today at the Multicultural Festival?
[00:13:02] TM: This is my second year doing this, and it's such a great venue. I mean, I work in the inner city with the multicultural youth in Manchester. I get to help develop these kids and help them find their way and stay out of trouble. Just to see everybody here is just such a blessing and such a great time.
[00:13:22] LHL: Last question, if folks wanted to check out your work online, do you have a website or social media?
[00:13:27] TM: Yes, I do. My website is www.tamaradeonka.com.
[00:13:33] LHL: Excellent. Thank you so much for chatting with us today.
[00:13:35] TM: Thank you for having me. It was a pleasure.
[OUTRO]
[00:13:42] LHL: Wow. What a cool experience. We met so many different types of folks and really got to take a peek into all these different creatives.
[00:13:52] AL: Yes. It was really fun. You never knew what you were going to get when you were in these conversations. I really enjoyed that people really wanted to just share their passion and kind of talk about how they got into it because a lot of these artists are not obviously just artists. They do other things, and this is something that is a passion. That's really great.
[00:14:11] LHL: That is exactly right. Also, going up to people, you don't know if they're going to be open to having someone stick a microphone in their face. Everybody that we approached was very willing and excited to speak with us. I think that adds to the guts of what they're doing because they're putting themselves out there with their art or their performance or their music or their food. But then someone's diving in and asking them all these questions, and they have the guts to talk about it and share on a podcast that they probably didn't even know existed.
[00:14:44] AL: True. I really love that people were just so open, and I think that that really reflects the community and the energy of the day because so many people were there celebrating their expression, whether it was cultural or through their artwork. I think it's really wonderful when you are in an environment where people are positive and open, and they want to share what brings them joy through their art.
[00:15:11] LHL: Joy is such a right word for that because as we're walking around, everybody was bright and happy and joyful. These types of events are just so amazing for the community. I think it's really important for New Hampshire to celebrate the diversity that we have. These types of events are exactly how you can show up and be a welcoming place for folks of all different backgrounds. It's just so amazing to be able to chat with people about it and to see it all happen. It's magical.
[00:15:39] AL: Agreed. I think we were just chatting earlier, and we said how art really transcends cultural barriers that we think that there, that they exist. I mean, we got up and danced today with –
[00:15:52] LHL: We did.
[00:15:54] AL: Whether it was good or not, we will let others judge. But what I loved was that people are moved to connect with one another. We're not trying to have a conversation. We're just having this experience together. I think that that is just one of the layers and the power that art has and that music has and that we don't necessarily have to come from the same background or speak the same language. But we can find a connection and have these moments of joy together. Especially in this crazy world that we live in, it's so lovely to have an afternoon where people are really just having a wonderful time sharing of themselves.
[00:16:31] LHL: It really was, and I'm so glad that we got to do it together, Angie. This was so fun.
[00:16:36] AL: Please do not release that video of us dancing.
[00:16:40] LHL: Watch out, folks. It's coming. It's going to be out there. You're listening to this montage episode. Obviously, this event has happened, but you should still go and check out the Concord Multicultural Festival online on their website and their social media. We will have links for that in the description so that you can be sure to go next year if you're in the New Hampshire region. We definitely think you should go and check them out.
Or if you're listening from some other place in the world, if there is a multicultural festival happening near you, it's a very enriching awesome experience, so we encourage you to check that out.
If you enjoyed listening to this episode of Creative Guts, feel free to show your support by sharing this episode, commenting, subscribing. You can also make a tax-deductible donation to Creative Guts as we are a small but mighty nonprofit. Or engage with our content on social media. You can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and even LinkedIn. Thank you for tuning in.
[00:17:38] AL: And we will be back next Wednesday with a new episode of Creative Guts.
[00:17:38] LHL: With that —
[00:17:43] LHL & AL: Show us your creative guts.
[END]