- Welcome to "Kalamazoo Lively Arts".

The show that takes you inside Kalamazoo's vibrant creative community and explores the people who breathe life into the arts.

(upbeat music) - Support for Kalamazoo Lively Arts is provided by the Irving S. Gilmore foundation, helping to build and enrich the cultural life of greater Kalamazoo.

- I'm Jennifer Moss here at Miller Auditorium.

On today's show, we explore the all-inclusive Center Stage Theatre and learn about paint and pollinators with Stacy Costello.

But first let's meet Sharmane Flanders and check out her custom art.

- Well today my conversation is with Sharmane Flanders who is a Western Michigan university student and she's working toward a degree in art therapy.

Also a multimedia artist to the nth degree.

Thanks so much for talking with me here today.

- Thank you.

- So Sharmane tell me a little bit about you Sharmane.

Like where did you grow up and what kind of a kid were you - I've lived in Portage my entire life.

I was usually the indoor kid, always playing with my littlest pet shops and drawing as much as I could.

- And were you always into art or was it kind of a, I know you do music as well.

- I first started out with tap dancing.

That was the first art form that I really like and I've always loved to draw, but in high school is when I first started really pursuing it and taking it more seriously, especially because of my high school art teacher, he really inspired me.

His name was Mr. King and it's like even students that weren't really into art like that they would wanna take his classes because of how fun it was.

- So Sharmane you are going to attempt to teach me how to draw something.

Someone who can't draw a straight line, (both laughing) what are we doing?

- Okay.

I'm gonna show you a simple way to draw some lips.

- All right.

- And we're using charcoal.

- I've got a pencil here.

- That's fine.

So charcoal is a really... it's a cheap material and I like it better than using pencils because it's a lot easier to erase and you can get a... you can shade a lot better with it.

This right here is vine charcoal and it's what I like to start with whenever I do my charcoal portraits, because it's easy to erase and it's lighter.

- Okay.

- So when we start the lips, we always...

I like to start with the top lip.

Sort of a small, v-shape just like that.

- Got it.

When you start a piece is that the only piece you're working on?

- No, I'm always all over the place.

I'll start something and then I'm like, oh my gosh, I have another idea, and then I go to start something.

So my mom is always like slow down, focus on one thing at a time.

(Sharmane laughing) - I saw the Mandela drawing.

Can you talk a little bit about that?

Loved it.

- That one was actually an assignment for a class.

We had to choose a theme and create a Mandela but it's not just a regular one.

It had to be just black and white.

and then you split the circle into four pieces and what's black one side is white on the other.

And then it's for all four pieces.

And my theme for that one was nature.

So I used a lot of flowers and leaf shapes and that one was really fun for me to make.

Okay.

And then all lips are different so they might not all have the same shape but, we make them like this and then we're were going to kind of make, curved lines on.

- Okay.

There was a charcoal still life.

And I just remember looking at it it was kind of intriguing, there was a little chair that had been tipped over and there was looked like a little teddy bear.

You know which one I'm talking about?

- That's actually the one right here.

- All right.

Tell me a little bit about that.

What inspired it?

- I actually made that one at the start of the pandemic and it was kind of just a little activity to do when I didn't really have anything else to do.

So I just took a bunch random unlike objects.

The little chair is actually a chair from my niece's doll house.

And then... - I love it.

- And I added a piggy bank and a face mask to practice different fabrics.

- Got it.

- And then we're going to, connect.

- I have never drawn lips like this before.

(Sharmane laughs) Isn't that funny?

And I have drawn lips before.

- Yeah.

- You create these collages with Photoshop that are just again another medium that you work in.

Tell me about my favorite, which is my favorite color being purple, the one with the purple shoes.

- I chose a lot of different purples and pinks and blues because I thought those three colors go together really well.

And I wanted to create a big collage that isn't really as realistic, like a bunch of unlike objects and I turned it into a really wash watercolor painting.

So I started out With the collage and then I tried to copy the colors.

Right, and one thing that I've learned with charcoal is using a makeup brush, helps.

- Oh, what a cool tool.

- Yes, and I always use it after I do the sketch of my portrait I'll use this to kind of lighten the colors.

- I'm gonna use my eraser real light, okay.

- Yeah, it'll work just the same.

- Good.

- And now we're going to use the charcoal and kind of add different shadows.

- I saw this cute little monkey picture on a blue Jean jacket or something.

- I actually, I love to paint on my clothing because I've always used my clothes to express myself.

And back in high school, I was known as the girl with the flower crown.

- Oh, I love it.

- So painting on my clothes is another way to express, like express myself because it's one thing to wear clothes that represents you but when you can actually wear that you've made, I feel like I'm more myself.

And it makes me really happy though.

- I got it.

- Now I'm gonna blend it a little bit with my makeup brush.

- What inspires you Sharmane?

- I always get inspired randomly.

Like I could be riding my bike and then I see a type of flower and I might not paint that flower, but it could inspire an idea.

It could be the smallest thing from a song.

I actually have a piece right here.

- Oh, I love it.

I love it.

- This one's a self-portrait (Sharmane laughs) and this was actually inspired by a John Legend album called "Bigger Love".

And he did a port... his, the cover art was portrait and he was all purple and then he had flowers right above his head.

And so that really inspired me.

So I was listening to his playlist and I painted myself.

And again I don't plan things out.

I was like, okay, I'm just gonna paint myself and then liked the flower idea so I added flowers and then I gave myself some fairy wings with little hot air balloon.

I made myself purple because... so how I... Well the purple color along with the fairy wings and the hot air balloons to show how I finally feel free and happy with all of my differences and that's why I put myself in a big open field because I'm just happy and content with myself and who I am even though all of my differences.

We'll use our charcoal pencil.

You can do the in-between - Oh that looks so beautiful.

- Thank you.

- Let me try to draw mine out.

(both chuckles) I can't get it to look that good.

Hang on a minute.

Okay.

Here we go.

(both laughing) - It looks good.

- I'’m no artist.

And she has crooked lips too.

Sharmane I wanted to thank you so much for talking with me here today.

You've been a pure joy.

- Thank you.

- Artists Stacy Costello, how did you come to find your work here at Pop City Popcorn?

- Well, the owner, Becky and I have known each other for 40 years and she asked me to be a participant.

- Wow.

So what's your art?

- My art is a combination of many things.

It is pour painting with a purpose, photography, drawing.

- Now, what did you say, pour?

P-o-u-r?

- Mm-hmm.

Fluid painting.

- All right.

- Well, you take acrylic paint and you mix something called floetrol which is a paint conditioner and a little bit of water and it makes it really nice and flowy and you just pour it onto the canvas.

- Stacy, you have to tell us about this piece.

- Okay, well this is called the ghost of RBG, Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

And she's an inspiration obviously to many women and I might have done other Ruth Bader Ginsburg paintings.

This one, it was... it's the fluid painting and the way it turned out, it looked very ghostly so I left it as it is.

And I think it's kind of an homage to her, kind of calming and a little spooky at the same time but I really wanted to honor her.

- When did the artist bug bite you?

- Well, ever since I was a child, I've always doodled and throughout my growing years, I always doodled and tried to do different things.

And then I got a job and a career in teaching and didn't really have time to do much.

And then after I retired, I got back into it and discovered fluid painting and yeah, just went from there - And then take me to this unique drawing.

- This, I like Zen tangle style drawing so, I know I love trees so I just kind of started drawing a tree and it kind of evolved into that.

And that's colored pencil in there.

- Yes, no mistakes on that one that's right.

Take me through the process of making this.

- This, the canvas was poured in black first and then I just mixed some white and then poured a white... - Just a white paint?

- Yeap.

Just white with the floetrol and water.

Poured it into a half circle like that and then took a strand and just blew.

I blew it out.

- You mentioned going into retirement, now here you're an Art Hop.

Is this a new somewhat chapter that do you wish you would've started some time ago or are you good with it now?

- I'm pretty good with it now actually.

I had a really fulfilling career in teaching.

I just feel like now I can focus more on this and I just really love doing this now at the age I'm at.

- And on behalf of Pop City Popcorn, which is your favorite popcorn.

- Birthday cake (Stacy laughs) - Happy birthday to you.

Stacy Costello, thank you.

What great art you do.

- Thank you so much.

- Well, today my conversation is with the president of the Center Stage theater Douglas Gaertner, along with Amber Bartholomew, who is the producer at Center Stage theater and her mom BJ who was one of the founding members and of course Deb Taylor who is the vice president and archivist.

Thank you so much for talking with me here today.

- Thanks for having us.

- Thanks for having us.

- Who wants to tell me about the Center Stage theater?

- So we're currently in our 48th season.

It started with three friends, one of them Amber's mom who decided to put together a theater to give people in our community an experience that was something maybe people that didn't want to do other activities available in the community, they have another outlet for them to participate.

We've kept going as a community theater inviting anyone who wants to be on stage to participate on stage.

(slow classical music) - What was that first time that kind of drew you into theater?

- Simple for me, it was my mom.

Then high school and college I kind of got away from it.

Was doing my own thing.

Then I got married.

I got twins, my daughter decided she loved to sing.

Don Dillon, who was one of the people that was originally with my mom and Dwayne Hunt was a teacher.

I went and talked to him about her singing and then he pulled us back in and I've been involved ever since.

And it was something my daughter and I did together.

My son's involved too.

He does some of the tech stuff with us.

So it just stayed family.

It's family.

(crowd singing) - Could you share maybe one of your favorite experiences that you had on your stage?

- [Douglas Gaertner] I would think it would be during our Wizard Of Oz production in the summer of 2019.

We had a mother and daughter audition for the show.

And her daughter is an individual that lives with disability.

The mom was cast as the wicked witch, which was awesome.

- [Kim Carson] Yeah.

- And we did fly in that show.

So the wicked witch did fly, but we used stunt doubles for the witch when she changes from gouch to the wicked witch and her daughter was able to be the transformed wicked witch that flew across the stage.

So again, we do accept everyone into our theater and we will put them on stage and it was just an amazing experience to watch her just love being up in the air, flying, chuckling like a witch across stage.

- Add to that story, to say that the daughter was someone who had always wanted to do theater because her mom did.

- Yes.

- But she had never been able to before.

And so she was so excited just to be able to be on stage.

She was kind of keeping track of younger actors making sure that they were in the right place.

And she had such a wonderful experience.

♪ Oh, also I love so the sun ♪ ♪ You're welcome ♪ ♪ To stretch your days and bring you fun ♪ - [Kim Carson] What would you say the arts provide for you?

- For me, It was, again, I was involved with my mom, but then when my daughter got involved, it was time for us to have time just together to do something together.

The reason I keep doing this because it's hard, there's times that are very hard, but I stay with it and I stick with it because the look on some of the people's spaces when they're cast in the show and then we have our first performance and the excitement that I see in these people, that's why I keep coming back.

- I agree with that.

A young boy was in a show with us who had been bullied a lot at school and his mom found out about Center Stage and suggested and brought him to auditions, he got a part.

He told her, he'd found his home.

And after the first performance she went back to pick him up backstage and he was in tears, and she won... oh no, what happened?

She said, she thought maybe somebody had said something to him or somebody had done something.

She said, what's wrong?

And he said they were clapping.

They were clapping for us.

And he was just amazed.

That amazement, that's why I keep doing it.

As Amber said, watching people respond to the arts is why I stay involved so that I can help keep that going.

- Amber, your mom, BJ was one of the founding members.

What do you think she would say looking right now?

- Oh I can tell you.

She says it to me all the time that she's proud of what we're doing.

She can't believe that it's lasted this long but she's still involved.

She's still very supportive.

She comes to all the summer shows because she's only fair weather person now.

- Does she ever perform still?

- No, the last time she performed was in the Wizard Of Oz before the auditorium.

- That would've been 1981.

- She was the wicked witch, yes.

- And they had a cast and crew of over 250 people.

- I was actually in that show on the stage as a monkey.

(all laughing) - The last mother-daughter performance, right?

- That was the last one, yes.

- Stay where you are.

- Really?

- Really.

It's perfect.

♪ Stop world seize the moment ♪ ♪ But the minute he goes, your alone end.

♪ - Okay.

Here's the part of the show, we keep the lively In lively arts where you show me something that you do, okay?

And I try to do it.

- So let's do a side clip.

A side is a clip from the script that actors would use audition for us.

We'll just take a little clip from the Wizard Of Oz and the Wicked Witch.

- Okay.

- When she's talking to Dorothy and she's been foiled in her plans and she says to Dorothy, 'I'll get you my pretty in your little dog too.'

And then she chuckles in her witch chuckle.

- Okay.

(laughs) I'll give him...

I'll give a try.

Look at you my little pretty and you dog too.

- Nice.

Nice job.

Love it.

- Used to scare the trick-or-treaters.

What could I say?

- Yes.

(indistinct) - You're ready to come try out for us that show.

- Oh, I'd love... the more I talk to you the more that my mind is working.

- Thank you so much.

- Thank you.

- It was so much talking to you today.

- Thank you.

- It was nice fun talking to you too.

Thank you.

- Thank you for joining us on this week's episode of Kalamazoo Lively Arts.

Check out today show and other content at wgvu.org.

We leave you tonight with another great performance.

I'm Jennifer Moss.

Have a great night.

♪ Now is the time to seize the day ♪ ♪ Stare down the odds and seize the day ♪ ♪ Once we've begun ♪ ♪ If we stand as one ♪ ♪ Someday becomes somehow ♪ ♪ And a prayer becomes a vow ♪ ♪ And the strike starts right damn now ♪ - Yeah ♪ Now is the time to seize the day ♪ ♪ Now is the time to seize the day ♪ ♪ Answer the call and don't delay ♪ ♪ Answer the calling don't delay ♪ ♪ Wrongs will be righted ♪ ♪ If we're united ♪ ♪ Let us seize the day ♪ - You're kidding, right?

- At the end of the day, you wouldn't even try.

Them or them?

- Yeah.

♪ Loud and clear ♪ ♪ Now let 'em hear it loud and clear ♪ ♪ Like it or not we're drawing near ♪ ♪ Like it or not we're drawing near ♪ ♪ Proud and defiant ♪ ♪ We'll slay the giant ♪ ♪ Judgment day is here ♪ - (indistinct) Kill me anyway.

- Yeah ♪ Houston to Harlem, look what's begun ♪ ♪ One for all and all for one ♪ ♪ Strike!

Strike!

Strike!

Strike!

Strike!

Strike ♪ ♪ Oh!

Strike ♪ (upbeat music) (group chatter) (upbeat music) ♪ Now is the time to seize the day ♪ ♪ They're gonna see there's hell to pay ♪ ♪ Nothing can break us ♪ ♪ No one can make us quit before we're done ♪ ♪ One for all and all for ♪ ♪ One for all and all for ♪ ♪ One for all and all for one ♪ - [announcer] Support for Kalamazoo Lively Arts is provided by the "Irving S. Gilmore Foundation", helping to build and enrich the cultural life of greater Kalamazoo.