In May 2012, I interviewed the artist who paints under the name Biscuit Street Preacher. What struck me the most, in addition to the joyful fracas of his art, was the way he described his home life. It sounded like an ongoing, free-flowing conga line of family creativity, with him painting in the living-room studio (no TV!) while his wife and child pursued their own projects, there in the same room, the whole thing occasionally interrupted by bouts of spontaneous dancing. Minus the dancing, it sounded like an enviously creative balance he’d struck. Man, I thought, he’s not only committed to his art, he has integrated it wholly into his life.
More recently, a variation of that idea underpinned Desert Companion’s package of stories about the homes of some creative Las Vegans. The idea was, This is how some inventive people mirror their creative impulses in the places they live. It’s the same appeal, for instance, that drive some viewers to the home profiles on a website like apartmenttherapy.com, where all sorts of offbeat people — artists and designers, sure, but a lot of people who just want creatively nourishing environments, too — display their handiwork. In a bafflingly complex, hyperlinked, tech-driven, often dehumanizing world, it can be a challenge to maintain your creative spirit, regardless of what line of work you’re in.
Which brings us to tonight. At Trifecta Gallery downtown, Sharon M. Louden — editor of Living and Sustaining a Creative Life: Essays by 40 Working Artists — will lead a discussion on that theme. The book — “factual, plain testimonials of how artists sustain their creative livings without giving advice” — will provide a starting point for the sterling panel: New York artist Ash Ferlito and Las Vegans Anne Hoff, Alisha Kerlin and David Ryan.
While it’s at an art gallery and features artists, the discussion is sure to be relevant to anyone who wants to live in a less ordinary way.
Doors open at 6, the panel begins at 7 and there will be a book-signing afterward. Trifecta Gallery is in the Arts Factory, 107 E. Charleston Blvd.