(pensive music) >> Art: Ironically, I was trained to do art.

I did my career, made the money I had to make, and now I'm doing my training, which...

So, it's a flip-flop thing.

>> Corya: The new people that get to see things for the first time and the idea of live people in costumes, running around, and being funny, and fighting with real swords, they're very excited about it.

(pensive music) >> Olga: I would love to see more and more of that type of work that focuses on everything that is like connecting us, because I think it's easy to overlook those things and take them for granted or even forget about them, us, our place in this world as humans, and our seamless connection to nature.

(lively piano music) >> Billy: If you go to a live performance, in a way, you're a participant, you can actually feel the music, the vibes of the music actually come into you.

So you really are part of the performance.

(lively piano music) >> Dale: Doing as much as you can as quickly as you can is important to me.

Life is short.

And the earlier we get started helping our community, the better off our community will be.

>> Narrator: Family, home, work, self.

Of all the things you take care of, make sure you are near the top of the list.

NorthShore Health Centers offers many services to keep you balanced and healthy.

So take a moment, self-assess, and put yourself first.

From medical to dental, vision, chiropractic, and mental health, NorthShore will help get you centered.

You help keep your world running, so make sure to take care of yourself.

NorthShore Health Centers, building a healthy community one patient at a time.

(pensive music) >> Announcer: "Eye on the Arts" is made possible in part by South Shore Arts, the John W. Anderson Foundation, and the Indiana Arts Commission, making the arts happen.

Additional support for Lakeshore Public Media and local programming is made possible by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(uplifting music) >> Starting in grade school, I sort of gravitated toward art.

When the teacher would select a piece that you did, I had that happen to me a couple of times growing up, and that's like planted a seed in my head.

"Wow, this might be something I can do."

That's where I got that kernel going on on the art in grade school in high school, and then I was thinking ahead to college.

(uplifting music) My parents were entrepreneurs, they had a business in East Chicago, and it was in electronics.

That thing evolved, that business, Acro Electronics evolved into a industrial supplier.

So I literally grew up in that business.

I slept on the shelf when I was a kid.

I don't know, by osmosis, I guess, I got a training and an apprenticeship in that type of distribution business.

So now, I'm getting out of high school.

I like art, I like what I'm doing, and art.

Logic would say, "Well, I should try to get an MBA or I should try to get an electronic engineer degree."

I didn't, I wanted to go to art school.

(Art laughing) And to my parents' dismay.

And so I did, I went to Indiana State in Terre Haute.

So I'm graduating from college.

Now, the reality kicks in.

The right thing for me to do would be to go back.

And, obviously, I grew up in that business, so I stayed there for 26 years and I never went to grad school.

I got married, I had two kids, I had a fancy house in Chesterton, and all this time, I'm running at 60 miles an hour every day, morning till way late, and I'm not doing any art.

Eventually, I retired.

I retired in 2018.

My partner Lori, Laura Kittle, is my partner-in-crime.

We're upstairs on the couch, and there's...

The sun's coming through the window.

I'm looking at the blinds over there where it cast a shadow, and I picked up the corner of the cable TV box, and I grabbed my phone and I took a photo of it.

That was the image that created COVID cable box.

And... Wow, it was like riding a bike.

All of a sudden, I'm back, I'm getting the rust off.

Things are happening.

And it was COVID.

We were all locked in our houses, nobody went anywhere, and it was the perfect time to get those things flowing again.

And so that's when I started to get back into my art.

(lighthearted music) Ironically, I was trained to do art.

I did my career, made the money I had to make, and now I'm doing my training, which...

So it's a flip-flop thing.

But at my age, I can handle critiques better, my skin is much thicker.

You know, if somebody says my work sucks, maybe it does.

Maybe I should take a second look at it.

My feelings don't get hurt like they did when I was a young man.

Even though you're not a working artist, you're still looking at stuff and you still see things when you drive by.

And some of those jobs I had, I was...

I spent a lot of time in bad hotel rooms, but a lot of towns with small galleries and stuff, I would always find a way to take a quick tour if I could, if I had time.

So even though I wasn't a working artist, I was still looking.

Lm Picasso was prolific until he was like 85, so it's never too late.

(lighthearted music) (dramatic music) >> A gentleman in the neighborhood came to me and said he wanted to start a theater company and put on Shakespeare, and he specifically wanted to start with "King Lear," which I thought to myself, "That's usually the last one you do.

It's the most epic, it's the hardest."

But no, we started with "King Lear."

So we put that on, that was 15 years ago.

So now, we're working hard on "The Comedy of Errors" that we're doing this summer.

It's a great opportunity to keep Shakespeare in the forefront, and we are drawing audiences from all over Northwest Indiana.

I think people are coming to see our plays.

Theater can teach so many things not just about plays, but philosophy and the arts, and if a student is interested in painting and there's always sets and things to be built.

So there's a lot of different aspects of the arts that can be taught.

Poetry, music, dance.

So much so, if it's being taken out of the schools, which it is, unfortunately, I would hope that community theater groups like ours and like others that thrive in Northwest Indiana and other places would take up the banner and say, "Hey, let's put on a show 'cause it's fun, you know?

And you learn a lot."

(bright music) >> I love doing it for the reactions, for the audience, having a good time.

I do love acting and I love singing.

I'm a singer first.

I love to sing jazz and blues.

And I love, too, doing theater because it's fun.

When people are laughing and enjoying themselves, I mean, I used to say this all the time and it is such a corny answer, but it's still true to this day.

If you can make somebody feel something or somebody step away from their real life for just a minute, it's totally worth it.

This isn't just about putting on a show, it's about community, too.

It's the reason that a lot of soccer players play soccer or baseball players.

It's not just because they're good at it, but also the camaraderie that you get is so very important.

Like, especially when you do theater, there's a huge joke that says, "I can't, I have rehearsal."

But it's true, like, you're gonna spend most of your time with these people.

So you want it to be able to be a time that they enjoy, that everybody's having a good time, that you're getting...

Friendships are building and things are happening.

Like, I've seen so many romances and friendships happen from theater.

But yeah, so I think that's important.

(dramatic music) It is very strange to see how much of it is still relevant.

Like obviously, times are different, but the main problems and the main solutions are still very relevant to today.

I mean, Julius Caesar as it applies to the current political states, and then "Romeo and Juliet," I mean...

Kids getting in love and doing stupid things has been older than been around forever and still continues to this day.

I think the arts, in particular, do so much for people and for younger generations, especially.

I feel like although theater people can be very all over the place and everything, I think they also can be some of the more regimented because you have to, because you're working as a group to do something.

(uplifting music) >> Well, I love the enthusiasm and the new people that get to see things for the first time, and sometimes they're very young, they're very excited about it.

They may not understand all the language and maybe not the whole story because things can be very complex, but the idea of live people in costumes, running around, and being funny, and chasing each other, and fighting with real swords, all that is...

It's very different than a video game.

I mean, it's very intense, it's right there in front of you.

So I've seen young people get very excited and their parents are kind of like, "Wow, we haven't seen them act like that about anything lately."

So it's very infectious in that way.

(uplifting music) >> I think everybody should go to any theater experience you can.

I love that Gary Shakespeare is able to provide it for free.

I mean, entertainment is expensive nowadays, so, but I think it's a lot of fun.

I think even if you just wanna enjoy a day outside listening to Shakespeare or bring your family out, you don't have to stay for the whole show, but at least you spend a little bit of time.

You've got to see a little bit of something different of people that care about their community, trying to give back a little bit.

But staying in any type of arts is great.

Support the arts in your schools, go see the shows that the kids are doing.

It's all worth it even if you don't have a kid in the show, because anything that can enrich your life a little bit, I mean, it's worth it.

It makes the world a better place to be.

(dramatic music) (mellow music) >> In my artist statement, the first line reads, "Art is a tool for understanding life."

I also feel that art is a great connector.

It has the potential to bring people, ideas, all things together to be examined.

I would love to see more and more of that type of work that focuses on everything that is like connecting us, because I think it's easy to overlook those things and take them for granted or even forget about them, us, our place in this world as humans, and our seamless connection to nature.

(mellow music) I'm of the belief that it's within you, so it's a recognition of something.

I also think through creating work, sometimes you're surprised at where do these inspirations come from.

I believe in this connection to the earth and being a good listener to everything that is around, and in essence, channeling what you see.

So, that's where I feel like nature is a great teacher to teach us how to sort of slow down, to be in the moment, to pay attention, and to see ourselves within it.

Because ultimately, I am of the belief that we are nature.

(uplifting music) So this piece, specifically, is addressing a recurring theme within my work.

I think about the body as landscape.

So with this piece, there is what looks like a reclining female figure that's either emerging out of the ground or merging with it.

Her face is showing a cross section of the earth using patterned river rock stones to kind of replicate what we would see underneath us.

And so I'm drawing, continually within all my work, a connection between humans, the human body, to nature, and natural processes, and systems within nature.

(uplifting music) The process of nature, it's cyclical.

There's life, there's death.

I find beauty in all of it.

I don't feel fear towards it.

To me, nature is a beautiful lesson in balance (uplifting music) to feel like unique.

I feel that's great.

I feel that often by being an artist and what I do by having this unique experience that, most often, a female isn't making like large-scale, huge pieces outdoors.

But then I also believe in the collective.

(enchanting music) Ona means she in Polish.

I'm using the tree branches to create her wind-swept hair look.

(enchanting music) She is placed in this white, beautiful, tucked-away area, where she's on an open field overlooking a lake, and just like a beautiful view, you'll see that her eyes are mirrored, and so she's reflecting back everything that is around within herself.

(enchanting music) I am in the process of creating five new large-scale outdoor sculptures for the arboretum.

With some, I'm using natural materials from the ground.

So I'm taking a part of the arboretum and transforming it into to my sculptures 'cause the exhibition is called "Of The Earth."

Ziemska means of the Earth.

So Ziemska, Kula Ziemska is the planet earth in Polish.

So my last name is of the earth.

(somber music) I don't often get to hear messages like the one that I'm trying to say.

It's very, very simple and very, very basic, and I think universally understood.

I think this could get translated to every language and immediately everybody would know what I'm trying to say in like a very simple sentence.

It's at our basic core to know it.

It's just right now, we're sort of pushing it away, and I hope that we're slowly coming back around because we need to.

(uplifting music) Human creation, human thought.

I feel like it's all just a process of nature, and we're all here to reflect ourselves back to each other.

And I'm not just saying when we, I'm including nature and every animal, rock, tree, cloud that is passing by, we're reflecting ourselves to each other and understanding hopefully ourselves better and finding our place and purpose in the world by closely paying attention to each other and listening.

(ambient music) (lively piano music) >> I had a godmother that actually gave us a piano and I could keep the piano as long as I played it.

And so when we got the piano, my mother signed me up for music lessons with Dr. Granuel L. Whittemore, who was really well-known in the community.

At that time, I was seven years old, and I've been playing ever since.

(lively piano music) I grew up in Gary, Indiana.

We always had music around the house.

My folks bought me a record player when I was about five and some Nat King Cole children's records.

And then I would play their records.

They had Count Basie and Duke Ellington.

And around that age, they would take me over to Chicago, to the Regal Theatre or the Tivoli Theatre to see the live shows.

And I saw lot of people when I was very young.

(lively piano music) We always had people coming by the house, and they would sit and play the piano, and they would say, "Boy, I wish I had never stopped my lessons."

I would listen to that and I said, "Well, I'm not gonna stop."

(lively piano music) Each year, we would have to play a recital.

I can remember this like it was yesterday.

When I was 14, I had a piece that I played, and it got lots and lots of applause.

They stood up and gave me a standing ovation.

When I got home, I said, "That's what I want to do.

(lively piano music) (Billy chuckling) This is fine."

(lively piano music) (Billy chuckling) ("Jammin' At The House") ("Jammin' At The House" continues) ("Jammin' At The House" continues) ("Jammin' At The House" continues) ("Jammin' At The House" continues) ("Jammin' At The House" continues) I played classical music until I was 22.

I kind of fooled around with jazz when I was in college a little bit.

It remained a mystery until I was able to get out of college and started going to some of the clubs and meeting people who actually played the music.

Now, I already had the technique, and theory, and knowledge, but I just didn't know how to apply that to jazz.

(jazz music) Well, back then, the early '70s, there are about 30-some clubs here in the immediate area right here in town.

And so I used to go to all those clubs, and when I became able enough, I played in all those clubs.

Sometimes, we'd be playing at one club, and then on break time, run down the street to another club to listen to somebody else's band.

It was really a great situation, and the guys were free with their knowledge and what they knew.

And so it made a great atmosphere for learning and listening to the music.

Nobody would be at home on a Friday night or a Saturday night.

Everybody would be out in the clubs and stuff.

(jazz music) If you go to a live performance, in a way, you're a participant, you can actually feel the music, the vibes of the music actually come into you.

So you really are a part of the performance.

(jazz music) One of the differences is when you're playing by yourself solo, then you have to cover the bass parts, and keep the time, and everything is on you.

If you have a trio, then I don't have to really play the bass parts, and the drummer can help keep the time.

With the trio, it's lighter duty on me than when I'm playing by myself 'cause I have to do everything and make it sound full.

I was just gonna say, though, that's the great part about being a piano player is that you can play by yourself.

So that's an advantage also.

My first teaching experience was teaching elementary music, which I did for 35 years.

Where I taught was Drew Elementary School here in Gary, and then I also taught at Valparaiso University Jazz Piano for 34 years, and then I came to IUN.

I've been here since 2014 teaching piano.

I see quite a few of my students on Facebook also on, and they have really nice things to say, and that makes me feel good that they got something out of it.

And there's several of them that went on to be musicians.

My thing with teaching is getting as many people as I can involved in the arts.

They all, I realize, wanna wind up to be professional pianists, but at least they'll know what that's about.

(lively piano music) One of the things that I like about learning to play an instrument is that I think you learn an intrinsic value is not something that somebody's paying you to do and you're making money.

It's something that you get something out of that you did through your own efforts, and I think that's valuable.

Everything's not gonna pay money.

There's some things that have more value than a buck.

If you are in a musical group, one of the things that you have to learn is how to get along with others, and I think that that's a pretty important lesson, especially now.

(Billy laughing) (lively piano music) I was a cancer patient, I still am a cancer patient, and I think music has a healing effect.

I did some reading, and it actually has a medical effects, like lowering your blood pressure, and it helps with your attitude.

There's several ways that music can help you outside of just being a musician.

The arts add a sensitivity of sorts to a person.

I think we all are in need of that.

(lively piano music) >> Dale: Doing as much as you can as quickly as you can is important to me.

Life is short.

And the earlier we get started helping our community, the better off our community will be.

>> Narrator: Family, home, work, self.

Of all the things you take care of, make sure you are near the top of the list.

NorthShore Health Centers offers many services to keep you balanced and healthy.

So take a moment, self-assess, and put yourself first.

From medical to dental, vision, chiropractic, and mental health, NorthShore will help get you centered.

You help keep your world running, so make sure to take care of yourself.

NorthShore Health Centers, building a healthy community one patient at a time.

(pensive music) >> Announcer: "Eye on the Arts" is made possible in part by South Shore Arts, the John W. Anderson Foundation, and the Indiana Arts Commission, making the arts happen.

Additional support for Lakeshore Public Media and local programming is made possible by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(lighthearted music) (uplifting music) >> You really have to think about: How do you support a child through all the developmental aspects of life?

(uplifting music) >> When we have those positive relational experiences, when we learn that we're worthy, and that's a safe place to be, and that there's hope in the world, well, we take that with us.

(uplifting music) >> It is really a learning process between two people, and that's what building a relationship is all about.

That's such a satisfying and bonding thing for you and your child.

You feel it and your child feels it, too.

And if a child receives comfort, support, nurturance, and protections, then they learn safety, security, trust, and hope, and think about what a world we would live in.

(uplifting music) >> Announcer: A $100,000 matching grant generously provided by The Legacy Foundation will double your contribution today.

Building Blocks, a community investment with everlasting returns.

(pensive music) (uplifting music)