[upbeat jazzy music] - In this edition of "WLIW Arts Beat"... A ground-breaking photographer.

- [Jill] Alabama Milner is inspiring in the way that she uses the light and the space and the lines to draw your eyes into these shots.

[lively music] - [Diane] A folklore illustrator.

- If the process brings you peace and you enjoy it, you call yourself artist.

And anyone can become one.

[upbeat music] - [Diane] From body-building to painting.

[lively music] - [James] People always ask me, "What's your favorite painting?"

And my favorite is painting is always, always the painting that I'm working on.

[upbeat music] - [Diane] It's all ahead on this edition of "WLIW Arts Beat."

Funding for "WLIW Arts Beat" was made possible by viewers like you.

Thank you.

- Welcome to "WLIW Arts Beat."

I'm Diane Masciale.

For more than 35 years, photographer Alabama Milner documented the City of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

In this segment, archivist Jill Hartke tells us more about Milner, and the studio she ran in the 20th century.

[jazzy old-time music] - [Jill] Alabama Milner is inspiring in the way she uses the light and the space, and the lines to draw your eye into these shots.

Like this one picture that she has of these two welders.

And they're working in an open space.

And you can even see the sparks flying from their tools.

And they're comfortable in their work, and she's comfortable in the way that that she captures them at work.

And the way that she frames the shot, all of it, it's a pleasure to look at.

And I am never disappointed with her work.

[jazzy old-time music] And she also had this business side to her that was super-savvy.

She hired widows and single women to be her assistants, to be her bookkeepers.

She also was part of this women's group called the Albuquerque Business and Professional Women's Club.

The whole purpose of them was to support and grow the role of women in business in Albuquerque.

And she sort of becomes into her own here right after that door is sort of being cracked open.

And she's beginning to, she can cast a ballot for the first time.

She outlasted so many other photo studios in town.

She ran her own studio for over 35 years.

Through the Depression, through World War II.

[reflective piano music] One of the things that I find most interesting about Alabama is how she would go out into the community.

She was not sitting around her studio waiting for these people to come in.

[reflective piano music] And she was taking glass plate negatives.

So this is a lot of equipment.

This is the big box cameras.

She's taking it out and into these places that are industrial areas, right?

Like, she's got these, this picture of the men in front of their electrical work truck.

And the truck is covered with electrical wires and tools.

And the men, they're standing there.

This is like a day on the job for them.

They're not showing up at her portrait studio all cleaned up, they're wearing their work overalls, their hats, this is a work day.

And Alabama just sort of, you know, shows up and takes their picture.

She's documenting the working class of Albuquerque in the 20s, the 30s, into the 40s.

So she's getting people like the construction workers, the bus transit drivers, the motorette of the streetcar, I love that one.

The welders, even the farmers.

The telephone switchboard operator.

These are the people that Alabama seems to connect with more than the high-flying society people.

And I think that in that way, the city that we know now, she is showing us the people who actually built it.

[reflective music] [reflective music] And I just think that even though people have never heard of her, they know her work.

And I would really love it if more people would know her name.

Or, just remember that there was this amazing photographer in Albuquerque named Alabama Milner.

And she had a studio for decades here, and it was successful.

And she is the reason that we have photographs of so many of the people who built this city.

And who brought us electricity to our homes.

Or who built the streets, or who helped with the railroad.

All of this is something that could of been lost if it weren't for Alabama Milner.

[jazzy old-time music] [jazzy old-time music] [jazzy old-time music] [lively music] - [Diane] And now, the artist quote of the week.

[upbeat jazzy music] Up next, we head to Ohio to hear from Dinara Mirtalipova.

A self-taught illustrator and designer from Uzbekistan.

Passed down generation-to-generation, Uzbeck and Russian folklore shape her work with the stories from her youth being a source of inspiration.

Here's her story.

[playful music] - I call it folk art, because folk art means art of the people.

[playful music] - [Diane] Dinara Mirtalipova paints from her heart.

She draws influence from what's familiar.

Whether it's old, scary fairy tales, or the flowered patterns her grandmother wore.

- I grew up in a culture that had lots of those mixed cultures.

Uzbekistan is the place where I was born.

It's like a crossroad of so many different cultures.

It has a very interesting history.

All the way from Genghis Khan to being under the Soviet influence for such a long period of time.

[playful music] - [Diane] Living in the U.S. as an adult, Mirtalipova turned to art, from sketching to painting.

- So I work mostly in gouache.

And gouache is a water-based paint.

My scale is very small.

And with gouache it is possible to get those tiny details with a tiny brush.

But sometimes when I paint larger, I go with acrylics, because acrylics is more water-resistant.

And it stays longer.

[upbeat music] - [Diane] For years, she's been sharing her art online.

Initially through blogging, and more recently through Instagram.

Her online posts have lead to all sorts of collaborations.

- So I've been mostly sharing my work.

And my personal work, and to my surprise, I started receiving some requests to illustrate a book, to like everything.

From little projects like stationary, to wallpapers and murals.

[playful music] - [Diane] For her latest children's book, "Woven of the World," she's illustrating familiar Uzbek customs.

Such as how her grandmother wore clothes with multiple patterns.

- Everything mismatched.

And it was totally okay by her.

She liked to just wear things that are colorful.

And she didn't really care if this color goes well with this color.

And I kind of find that cute now.

[playful music] - [Diane] In "Woven of the World," she's illustrating the craft of weaving through a variety of cultural traditions.

- So it's not just about the weaving as the craft, it's about how we're all woven one culture into another.

[playful music] - [Diane] Mirtalipova is also currently working on a book project with her own young daughter writing the poems.

- So it's a book about the North Pole village.

Like what is happening in the North Pole.

Is most characters like Mr.

Cloud, Polar Bear, and his little helpers, mice.

Who do all the charming work of wrapping up gifts, and preparing, and creating, and painting toys.

[playful music] - [Diane] Mirtalipova says making art is like yoga for her fingers.

Providing relaxation and a way to separate from the stresses of life.

Self-taught in her practice, she encourages others to create, too.

[playful music] - If the process brings you peace and you enjoy it, that you call yourself artist.

And anyone can become one.

So, art should make you feel happy.

Or like I would say the provoke reaction.

Like sometimes the reaction may be that you have to wake up and realize what's going on in the world.

But sometimes it has just to bring you peace.

And I guess it just depends on the person.

What is it that you are seeking in life?

What is it that's missing?

And if you find art that somehow communicates that, that's awesome.

[playful music] - [Diane] To learn more, go to mirdinara.com [playful music] Now here's a look at this month's fun fact.

[upbeat jazzy music] [upbeat jazzy music] We take a trip to Edmund, Oklahoma to meet James Coplin.

Once a body builder champ, he is now an artist and a teacher.

We find out more about his life, career, and how he makes his paintings.

[car humming by] [student chatter] [school bell ringing] - First day of class they come in.

I got paper on the table.

We're ready to rock and roll from the very first minute that they come in.

The bell rings, and then we'll start drawing.

So right in the middle of the page, right there, that line, I'm gonna put a box.

Okay now, this box, the corner of that box is right here.

And then, as we're drawing, I'll start telling them about the class.

Try to answer some questions.

I'm not gonna grade you guys hard.

This is an intro class.

This isn't gonna be something to where you need to feel any kind of anxiety about in my class.

If you turn in all your work, you're gonna be great.

You're gonna do fine.

We're gonna learn some stuff.

We're gonna have some fun in here.

So I'm gonna go straight out, and straight out again.

If it's fun for me, it's probably gonna be fun for them, too.

So that's the main thing.

Oh, do they still say that in grade school?

I don't even know.

Oh, [chuckling] okay.

I'm James Coplin, and I've been teaching here at Santa Fe High School, I've been teaching art here for the past 28 years.

And, I love this school.

This is a great school, it's my home.

And the people here, I'm very close to.

[chill music] I'm a realist for sure.

I can delve into doing a more of an impressionist type piece here and there.

But most of the time, it's just realism.

[chill music] Everyday during the summer, black shirt, blue jeans.

I don't wanna have to think about what I'm gonna wear the next day, or that day.

I just wanna get up and do what I'm gonna do anyway.

[truck starting] [truck humming by] I always try to find the right shot.

Looking off to the side.

Trying to look back into the woods, too, sometimes.

It's like you might see something, you can pull over and something you didn't expect to see.

[truck humming] There's a lot of places everywhere.

[truck humming] My process for finding a place that I wanna paint is usually fairly spontaneous.

So as I'm out driving around anywhere, I'm constantly looking over the bridge.

Does that look like a good spot?

[traffic humming] So morning and evening are the best times.

All the colors are a lot more vibrant.

I am seeing a painting happening in front of me.

It's like you got this break up of space here.

Where this river is gonna go.

And you want that to leave a little bit of mystery around that bend.

[camera shutter clicking] And I can add water, I can takeaway, put in an extra tree, take it out.

[traffic humming by] I love looking at rivers anyway.

And I paint a lot of rivers or pathways.

I paint a lot of pathways, a lot of rivers.

They lead you into the picture anyway.

And then, I'm always looking at those things and going, "I wonder where that leads?"

[gentle music] Yeah, I work up here a lot during the summer.

This is sort of a second home for me.

And it's a nice setting to where I don't have too many distractions at home.

[door clicking open] I'm pretty methodical.

Once I've decided what it is I'm gonna paint.

I chose this particular scene here.

I like the breakup of space in it.

The lighting was good.

I got a great reflection from the clouds up above.

I work on a tinted canvas.

And that said, that when you put your paint down, it automatically, it's a neutral color.

And so, if I put down a light color on a tinted canvas, it looks light already.

So here's where I'm breaking up the space.

And that's gonna go there.

So the process is right now, I'm just getting this sketched out, getting everything laid out to where I want it.

Darkening up some areas.

Breaking up this space more.

And just getting a more finished product before I start doing my underpainting.

Just make sure I've got everything down exactly where I want it, before I jump in with any paint.

It goes all the way back to kindergarten.

I was there and a kid came in for show and tell, and he had a painting that his grandmother had done.

And he said, "Well, she did this painting."

"And she looked at this photograph that she had, "and then she painted it from that."

And I thought for some reason, that just clicked for me.

And I said, "I think I can do that."

I did art on my own, I didn't have any art training at all until I think my junior year, they offered a course in art.

[chill music] Yeah, this is one of the pieces I did when I was 12.

And you're using your imagination as a kid.

And it's not from anything except from my imagination.

[gentle music] I just did underpainting, and it's just establishing my lights and darks values more.

So that when I start in on my color, there's less guess work for me.

[gentle music] it just makes the whole process a lot easier for me to do once I've got something down.

[gentle music] I was a commercial art major back then.

They call it graphic design now.

In college I would finish up early, and if somebody else needed help in class, I was always there to be helpful, or whatever.

And I remember a college instructor of mine, I remember he came over to me one day and he said, "Hey, you're always helping somebody in here.

"Have you thought about teaching?"

And I thought, "No, I hadn't."

But, I changed my major that day.

There's that shape, right?

- Mm-hm.

- And we'll...

I just think in needed somebody to say it to me.

- Okay.

- Yep.

I hardly ever make sense, but occasionally, so.

I get called "Coach" a lot.

Kids just don't expect it.

[rock and roll guitar] I lift weights about three times a week right now.

But nothing too intense, nothing like I did.

Just trying to stay in shape.

I'm not sure what they've got in their head.

- When I first met him, I was not expecting him.

I guess I was expecting a woman, and you know, you know.

There's a classic look of an artist that you would think of, and I think his class kind of taught me that an artist can be anything, any one.

I was a little proud about me, back in my body building days.

And you keep these pictures because I wouldn't believe it, if I didn't see it.

I think I got into body building when I was kid because I was buying comic books.

And then you see those advertisements in the comic books back then about body building.

Oh, that's a good way to look like a comic book character.

[rock and roll guitar music] I competed from 1987 until 1991.

The discipline involved in this is very similar to art.

In that you're building, you know?

It's like you're shaping with flesh, instead of shaping with a pencil.

It was never an ego thing for me, it was always an art form.

[rock and roll guitar music] [students chattering] A big, giant mural that I did for the school.

[school bell ringing] I think it's 115 feet long by, I don't know what it is?

10 foot tall?

And so I had the idea of going down to what we call the Wolf Run here.

I went down through there, that stream through there and took pictures.

And took pictures of the Wolf Run.

And then incorporated that into the entire mural.

That's our mascot, we're the Santa Fe Wolves.

So, "Once a wolf, always a wolf."

That's what they say.

I believe it.

- So, art does not come naturally to me.

And I went as far as to petition the principal to let me get out of the state-required art.

And they were like "That's ridiculous, "you have to take art."

- She got shoved in an art class, didn't think it was gonna be her deal.

And now she's a painter.

- Okay, there's like a line in this.

[upbeat music] So, I took just your basic painting class with Coplin.

And it was one of the biggest, lasting impressions I've had as a young adult.

When we got to do oil painting, just something about the way that paint could be moved and manipulated and squished, my fascination with detail started there.

And I've been painting ever since.

- It is definitely a feather in my cap to see somebody go on and do some fantastic work.

Let's go down in this area here, and create a little emphasis.

The underpainting can really add to the flavor of your color, too.

Because this is sort of a reddish-brown.

And so, it will add a warmth to anything that I put on top of it.

And it'll show through a little bit.

And then sometimes, I'll let it show through.

I won't completely cover all of the underpainting.

So, I've got little flecks of this reddish-brown throughout the painting which adds a harmony and a continuity to the entire painting, it kind of ties it all together.

[lively music] People always ask me "What's your favorite painting?"

And my favorite painting is always, always, the painting that I'm working on.

[lively music] You've gotta be in love with that one while you're doing it.

[lively music] And so, it's the process that I enjoy.

Whether the painting works out or not, it's the process that I love so much.

It's addictive, you can't stop doing it.

[upbeat music] - [Diane] See more of Coplin's work at instagram.com/jamescoplin.art [jazzy upbeat music] And here's a look at this week's art history.

[upbeat jazzy music] [upbeat jazzy music] - That wraps it up for this edition of "WLIW Arts Beat."

We'd like to hear what you think.

So, like us on Facebook, join the conversation on Twitter, and visit our webpage for features, and to watch episodes of the show.

We hope to see you next time.

I'm Diane Masciale, thank you for watching "WLIW Arts Beat."

[upbeat jazzy music] - [Diane] Funding for "WLIW Arts Beat" was made possible by viewers like you.

Thank you.

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