>> Narrator: This week on "Eye on the Arts."

>> Roberto: All these peaces are created based on memories from me learning Mexican history, the descending eagle which would be the translation of Cuauhtemoc.

Cuauhtemoc was the last emperor before Hernan Cortes finally conquered the city of Tenochtitlan, which is now known as Mexico City.

>> Alex: I fell in love with art probably about 10 years ago.

And for the last two years, I've been kind of pursuing it full time and just dedicating my life to it.

But I guess I've loved it my whole entire life.

And yeah, so it's just a journey of continuing that love.

>> Xavier: It might be a very boring, or ugly, or even scary looking scene.

So I will go into a scene and I'll just imagine that I'm looking at a theater set, and I just think of how would I light it if it was a theater set.

>> Really like each other, we like being around each other, we like hanging out with each other, making music with 'em is just icing on the cake.

>> I was wondering, you know, when will this get old?

I wanna only get tired of doing this, but it's just like day one, but now, day one with more confidence.

(chuckles) >> Woman: 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.

>> I have a very strong connection to other students.

Everyone makes an effort to help each other.

I'll remember the feeling of being here.

The feeling that I was a part of a family.

(upbeat music) >> Narrator: Support for programming at Lakeshore PBS comes in part from a generous bequest of the Estate of Marjorie A.

Mills, whose remarkable contribution will help us keep viewers like you informed, inspired, and entertained for years to come.

(cheerful music) >> Narrator: "Eye on the Arts" has made possible in part by, South Shore Arts.

The Indiana Arts Commission.

And the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

Additional support for Lakeshore PBS and "Eye on the Arts" is provided by viewers like you.

Thank you!

(light piano music) >> I started sort of like playing with wood since I was a kid.

Back home in Mexico.

My cousin had a very modest wood shop and I just liked all that beautiful furniture.

I have always been artistically inclined at some point, like, from building furniture, I started leaning towards, like, carving and sculpting, and that's where I am today.

Growing up in Mexico, churches, they are everywhere.

They're from colonial times.

So you see all those paintings, and sculptures, and the architecture, and the carvings on the wood.

I think that is how I started to develop my work, based on all those memories.

I would see things and wonder how it was made, or how could I make it, or like, how could I learn how to make that?

I was always attracted to handmade items.

One day I was driving by the side of the road and I spotted some logs and I just like the shape of the trunk, and I thought, "I think I can make something out of it."

I just started carving it.

Once I started learning techniques I pretty much fell in love with it.

(light music) This is some of the work that I actually develop, I call it my signature work, because as far as I know, nobody was making something like this.

When I mean something like this I'm talking about the shape.

It is a technique that involves both turning and carving.

The black part was actually burned with a wood burning pin.

The embellishment on the piece it is called the "Quinto Sol."

It represents the elements of life, as well as the transition of life, and they had in Mesoamerican cultures.

(light music) These two pieces that you see are part of my Mesoamerican series, they represent important aspects of Mesoamerican culture.

In this case, this is "Cuauhtémoc."

It has feathers carved around that represent the status of a chief, and then the descending eagle, which would be the translation of "Cuauhtémoc."

Cuauhtémoc was the last emperor before Hernan Cortes finally conquered the City of Tenochtitlan, which is now known as Mexico City.

It means endurance, resistance, indigenous pride.

It's like a hero to us, you know?

Because he was the last one who actually stood his ground against the conquistadors.

(light music) All these pieces are sort of like, created based on memories, from me learning Mexican history, and visiting archeological sites, what I saw there was things carved on stone, was not like marble, like really smooth, it was more like porous in a way that is what I am trying to represent.

(upbeat music) Both pieces that you saw they are colored with the dry brushing technique.

The difference is that, on this you see a little bit more of the natural wood, the walnut, what I did is just to highlight the texture that I apply.

(upbeat music) This work that you are seeing now is the development of driving by the road and seeing like, "Oh that piece of wood, I can make something with it."

So this is the progression of it.

I was already an adult when I set that goal for myself to develop a type of work that I could call my own.

I also think that whenever you get stuck into something you stop growing.

Every little thing or technique that you can learn from different disciplines if you apply to your work, you can only make it grow.

(upbeat music) Artistry and craftsmanship are closely related, one cannot exist without the other.

You cannot make a bowl, like a simple bowl, you cannot embellish that bowl and make it look nice if the profile of the bowl is not right, because your eyes will be drawn to that profile because it's a natural thing.

In order for you to apply the artistic part to the bowl, you first need the craftsmanship to create the bowl.

And I think that holds true to just about any discipline you practice.

(cheerful music) (upbeat music) >> What I've been focusing on for, I guess, decades, it's a long time, is what today is called light painting.

Light painting is you shoot a long exposure with your camera.

It can be 30 seconds.

It can be two hours.

Shooting a dark scene, the shutter is locked open the whole time.

And so during two hours, you're walking around a dark scene night with lights lighting the set.

So my style is very, very personal, and I describe it as theatrical lighting.

So I won't go into a scene and I'll just imagine that I'm looking at a theater set and I just think of how would I light it if it was a theater set.

It might be a very boring, or ugly, or even scary looking scene.

How do you light it to make it go from scary to inviting, boring to exciting?

You have to imagine what's going on, you're somewhere at night in the dark looking at some, you're looking at a building or you're looking at something, and now you've gotta light it to make it look interesting.

(guitar music) I found myself wandering around parts of the city where no one goes, dark urban alleys, and abandoned buildings, and various kinds of ruins because they were places where people didn't go.

Basically, I had a kind of nervous breakdown when I was in my early twenties.

I went from being like a social butterfly to having a very intense and debilitating social anxiety.

And just was like this, it happened almost overnight, I was an aspiring young artist and then this happens, and then suddenly I can barely even walk outta my place.

Going and buy a loaf of bread would give me anxiety, right?

Anxiety attacks, like, I just couldn't do it.

I used to photograph beautiful things, which a lot of photographers like to do.

Suddenly I wanted to be honest about my work.

And so my new goal was to photograph ugly things and make them ugly, because I assume that's what would happen, and I just wanted to be honest about my work, but instead what happened was that I was taking these ugly places and making them beautiful.

I'd look at the photograph and go, "Wait, no, this is not what I'm trying to do.

Right?

How come this ugly kind of scary place that I was just shooting at last night suddenly looks nice and sort of appealing?"

I was trying to kind of soften the blow, of sort of deflect the fear of these places.

And suddenly I felt at home, I felt this.

I felt like I could relax here.

This was a place that I felt comfortable with, a strange thing happened because I just kept going night after night.

It was this crazy obsession.

And I couldn't wait for the night, so I could go out and kind of salvage a new part of the city, find this corner, and now turn this ugly place into something beautiful.

I felt like a kind of kinship with them.

(upbeat music) One thing that I discovered in shooting in these alleys at night and trying to create beautiful things out of ugliness was that I realized that I still had all that joy and love of life inside of me.

I was buried under a lot of soot and crap, but it was all there.

I've managed to sweep away a lot of that crap.

And I've found that sort of core that I've had for so much of my life.

And so, it was time to kind of reframe, was time to express this other side of me that I was starting to find again, instead of going into these gritty places where I really put my life in danger, and I haven't even touched on that.

Now I go into more ordinary places.

They can be mundane, they can be nice like a beach.

With the alleys and ruins I found that I was, by making them beautiful, I was creating this kind of portal, this kind of escape patch into this kind of this magical world of childhood, frankly.

And when I started shooting in these nicer places, that portal was so much bigger, it was so much easier to find that kind of magical fantasy world that I was trying to create.

(upbeat music) (light guitar music) >> I fell in love with art probably about 10 years ago.

And for the last two years, I've been kind of pursuing it full time and just dedicating my life to it.

But I guess I've loved my whole entire life.

And yeah, so it's just a journey of continuing that love.

(light guitar music) I just got into spray paint last summer.

I primarily use oil paints for my portraits but now that I'm diving into murals, I'm falling in love with the vibrant colors that you can get from a can, all the different tips you can use, all the different styles, it kind of seems endless, so.

One thing I wanna always keep in the back of my mind is to never be held down to one style.

And I always wanna like try to strive for something different and new.

I have a feeling that these gradients that I'm using will just kind of evolve as I get older.

(light guitar music) So my process is kind of, I'm learning as I go.

And I'm learning that for me, it's easier to draw with a pencil, make my lines first.

I kind of plan it out with the shapes in my mockup.

I find shapes and then I break it down into the lines that I'm using, and then kind of just take it piece by piece.

Right now I'm using a lot of tape on my murals, and I'm hoping to, with enough practice, be able to put the tape down, but I do love a good crisp line, so.

I always make sure I'm able to prime the wall first, especially working with brick.

It saves a lot of spray paint.

So once the brick is primed white I then go on top of it with pencil, and then I kind of add my lines and continue.

(cheerful music) Yeah, so we're on Franklin Street at Michigan City.

This is the uptown arts district.

The title of this piece is, "The gradient at the end of the tunnel."

And I'm just going with the phrase of the light at the end of the tunnel.

And so, this is a three piece mural, and as you're looking up, my gradient slowly start to kind of fade into the background and get smaller.

So it's kind of like an illusion when you're stepping back.

I found out about this mural through Facebook this past winter, my friends are super awesome and they always share really cool opportunities like this one.

And so I applied, I went through the process, and then got the best email ever when it came through.

So that was awesome.

(cheerful music) (light music) It's kind of like the unknown that keeps me going, the beautiful unknown, because I don't really know exactly what the end result will be.

I have this on idea.

And to me that's just like pure excitement.

And it's like that curiosity that I feel like will never end, you know, for the rest of my life.

So for murals, if I'm presenting a mockup for the client, I will take a picture of the potential wall and I'll throw it into procreate, and I will go on top of it with my design digitally.

And that way, when I print it out, I'll have a nice reference, and I'll hang that reference on the wall so I can step back and see it.

So that's a bit of my process.

Every day, I get excited to start something new.

It's literally never boring, every process, every step, well there are some boring parts, but you have to go through those.

But just being able to have complete freedom as a full-time creative it's my biggest dream.

For me it's a feeling of purpose.

Every day when I wake up I know what I wanna do.

And this is it.

And to be able to share that with other people it's like human connection.

And yeah, I love everything about public art.

The different people I meet with each piece just kind of fills you up inside, you know?

(cheerful music) ♪ How long can we ♪ ♪ Live in the underground?

♪ ♪ We've lost all desire ♪ >> Mark Mybeck and I've been playing together since what?

1988.

We met at a printing place he used to work at.

And we found out we both were musicians and we started... >> Finishing each other's sentences and... >> Kicking around different ideas and... (upbeat music) >> We were both kinda insecure in our abilities when it came to playing, and especially writing original music, you know?

I'd been dabbling with some stuff.

Once we started playing together it was just a vocabulary that started then and it has continued to this day.

Did a couple of releases as that band called "Whistling Jupiters."

Somebody I worked with, she said, I was always complaining about how I got these songs, and how I don't know what to do, I was all mopey about it, and she said, "Just go talk to John."

And I came in and we clicked right away.

And he was very honest but also open, from that point forward we've been working.

>> They asked me to do some guitar stuff on it and I was producing it.

And it just kind of very naturally rolled into me becoming a part of the band.

>> That's kind of how "Nomad Planets" started.

There was never a conscious thing to sit down and say, "Well now it's time to write songs together."

It just grew into that from a familiarity, and a sense of being comfortable with each other, and knowing we got each other's back, and just a musical connection that I can't explain but I'm awfully glad is here.

♪ Emotions are terrifying me ♪ >> Phil: We're there just to serve the song.

Everybody's got ideas.

Everybody throws them in.

But we don't always use all those ideas.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it don't.

>> Right away I'm thinking, "Add to that story," you know?

So as it goes along where to build you're getting ready to come to a chorus.

Okay.

Let's pick it up a little bit.

More volume, dynamics are really important, and that's the great thing about these guys is that they understand that.

>> No one really steps out, "I gotta do a solo here."

You know, that type of thing.

And if there's room for it, fine, but there's no egos, it's all for the song.

>> The best analogy is it's a conversation.

Although this is a weird conversation, because if you're a four piece band or a five piece band then you have a four or five way conversation.

So you have to listen.

And when somebody else is saying the important thing I guess you're just mumbling in the background, you know?

(laughs) So it is a kind of a delicate thing, but you just have to tune in.

>> It's all about serving the song, you know?

The amazing thing about this band is that there really are no egos.

Nobody's trying to fight for space.

It's an amazing working relationship.

And working with John, learn so much from him about music and about on space, and where things are and where things should be, and we kind of feed off each other, when we're playing live we hear a little bit too much of something, one of us can drop off.

>> John: Everybody is very talented at what they do.

They're on their instruments and everybody's got great ideas.

>> We all fit really well together in this little puzzle of this band, playing, whether it's live or in here, it's times where I feel the most free in my life because it's just open possibilities all the time.

>> Working with other people, there's opportunities for creativity, but not in the same way that there is with "Nomad Planets."

It gives me that opportunity to try new things on guitar, and take input from the other guys in the band, and see where it goes, and circles back to help me with ideas of working with other bands.

♪ Let nothing come between us.

♪ >> I think the majority of it is almost unspoken.

Each guy, we've all been playing long enough that you just know your roles and Phil, the way he plays, he's abandoned himself almost, you know?

And Mark, he's a fabulous songwriter, and his words, I mean, when you listen to his stories and how he can just fitted into music, it's like, oh, he's bringing us his baby.

♪ Brand new way to say no ♪ In a way it's easy because when you love something it's just, the ideas open up.

>> And the fact that we all get along so well, and we enjoy what we do, we look forward to every Tuesday, we look forward to every gig, we look forward to every minute we can spend recording and writing together, cause it's a blast.

It's the most freeing part of my day for sure.

And I think those guys would probably agree with me, and if they don't, (murmurs) >> "Nomad Planets" has given me an opportunity to work consistently with a group of guys that I feel really good about, and we really like each other, we like being around each other, we like hanging out with each other, making music with them is just icing on the cake.

>> I was wondering, when will this get old?

I wanna only get tired of doing this, but it's just like day one.

But now, day one with more confidence.

(chuckles) See a lot of people who are older than us still playing, it's like, "We can do it a long time."

When you write original things that other people like it's just such a great feeling.

I don't think there's anything better than that.

>> But there's always a new project.

There's always a new song.

And there's always something to discover.

And that's the great thing about this, you know?

Is that we all have the drive.

It's a continuum, it's not something where we're looking at an end game for this, it just is something that we all love doing, and as far as I'm concerned, need to kinda keep doing in order to stay sane, >> ish.

♪ Rise and shine ♪ ♪ Open your eyes ♪ ♪ Daddy's little secret ♪ ♪ Has been compromised ♪ ♪ Space meets time ♪ >> Woman: 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.

>> Almost every single professor I've had I'm on a first name basis.

By building that relationship with faculty, I was able to get involved with research.

It's one thing to read about an idea and a book, versus physically doing it and seeing results.

(upbeat music) >> Narrator: Support for programming at Lakeshore PBS comes in part from a generous bequest of the Estate of Marjorie A.

Mills, whose remarkable contribution will help us keep viewers like you informed, inspired, and entertained for years to come.

(cheerful music) >> Narrator: "Eye on the Arts" is made possible in part by, South Shore Arts.

The Indiana Arts Commission.

And the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

Additional support for Lakeshore PBS and "Eye on the Arts" is provided by viewers like you.

Thank you!

(cheerful music) >> Narrator: Did you know that you can find all of your favorite Lakeshore PBS shows online?

Visit video.LakeshorePBS.org.

You can stream a large selection of shows including "Eye on the Arts", "In Studio", and "Friends & Neighbors."

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Search for your show and find your episode ready to watch at any time.

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(upbeat music) (piano music)