Rochester Contemporary Art Center's 6x6 art show is back, and it's a celebration of creativity like no other! This year's event features an incredible collection of over 6,000 pieces, all created by artists from all walks of life, proving that art truly knows no boundaries. We're diving into the heart of this vibrant community gathering, speaking to artists, enthusiasts, and those who simply appreciate the beauty in creativity. From hilarious personal stories to the joy of seeing their work on the wall, our guests share why this event is so special and how it supports not only the arts but also local initiatives. Whether you’re an art aficionado or just curious about the creative process, this episode is your ticket to understanding why 6x6 is more than just an art show; it’s a testament to the power of community, connection, and expression. So sit back, relax, and join us as we explore the colorful world of 6x6 and the magic it brings to Rochester!

Appearances by:

Julie Boswell (Fucking_Artist)

Courtney Hill (Courtney Lee Designs)

Jeanette Marino

Frank Argento

Sandy Frankel (sandrafrankelphotography.com)

Derek Derisio (BeBraveBeyond, Dezarec)

Nitza Nader

Shae Carrey

Carl Webeck

Gianna Stewart

Nate Miller

Paul Brandwine (Moveable Feast - WAYO)

William Dean (semiwild.art)

See Ragland (my_checations)

Scott (scottevansrochester)

Dan Banazek

Avi Bodek (quizerno)

Bleu Cease - Director of RoCo

Mentioned in this episode:

It’s A Lot

Check out It’s A Lot on Lunchador! https://feeds.captivate.fm/itsalot/

Getting Real with Bossy: For Women Who Own Business

Check out Getting Real with Bossy: For Women Who Own Business on Lunchador! https://feeds.captivate.fm/gettingrealwithbossy/

Joe Bean Roasters

Visit joebeanroasters.com to get fresh roasted specialty coffee either by the bag or with a Perpetual Joy subscription!

Hey, everyone, this is Chris Lindstrom from the Lunchadore Podcast Network.

I'm the co founder of the network and I'm here at 6x6 at the Rochester Contemporary Art Center, ROKO for the second time interviewing people for 6x6.

So we're going to touch on this a lot through the rest of the recording, but we're going to be talking to contributors from 6x6, enthusiasts of Rochester Local art, and talking about such an important event for the arts community for Roko and for everybody that contributed to this show.

This is an amazing fundraiser for Roko.

It's also supporting a great organization as part of the 50th anniversary of the Rochester City logo.

It's a really cool thing.

So all the art here is $20.

You can go to roko.org to go find that you can buy online.

Come down here as well.

The most of the pieces are $20.

The pieces supporting Square the Love Rochester Hope, featuring the Rochester City logo.

Those are $40.

It really is a tremendous opportunity to support an important organization for Rochester arts, you know, support another organization.

And the 50th anniversary of the Rochester logo, something you see everywhere.

And to have this be part of that whole celebration is really special.

So thank you so much for tuning in to this special episode of Just Can't.

Not if this is your first time listening to Just Cannot or the Lunchador Podcast network.

Go to lunchadore.org, subscribe to all of the shows that you find that you're gonna love.

You're gonna find something that's gonna be your favorite.

We have so many different shows.

We have new shows coming out now.

Reader's advisory is gonna be fantastic, featuring Rochester's book club.

First episode featuring Wuthering Heights is going to be coming out soon.

Plants and Beets featuring Rob Bell talking about, you know, having real serious conversations with people but also having fun relating those to plants.

From the Polygoogliamo show to Food About Town to Anomaly Presents, we have something for everybody.

It, you know, it's a lot.

There's so many cool shows.

Please go to lunchadore.org to check it out.

And we'll be back with the first guest on this beautiful evening in Rochester.

All right, I'm here with an intrepid first guest of tonight.

Guest, why don't you introduce yourself?

My name is Julie Boswell.

I go by fucking artist.

I mean, I love it already.

I'm really excited to know you.

Now.

I do a lot of art with the kink community.

Great.

So that's my handle on FetLife.

And I do art of fat bodies and I just.

I love it so much.

So that's my, like, main thing.

And then I have been doing six by six for decades.

Yeah, I was gonna say it's now 19 years of 6x6.

And so what got you into doing work for a 6x6?

Because it's kind of.

It is a hodgepodge.

It can.

It's for everybody.

But what got you into contributing to 6x6?

Oh, my goodness.

I don't know.

I loved throwing parties in my early 20s.

Like, that was.

Always had people at my house, artists.

And I just wanted to force people to make art.

I still force people to make art.

So I invited people over to do a party.

How convincing do you have to do for some of them?

Oh, it was.

Yeah, I. I had a bunch of magic the gathering folks over, and they were not artists, but they were the only ones that sold art at the 6x6 pieces where they were.

You have to threaten them with a lightning bolt or a fireball.

I'm very old when it comes to that stuff.

So you've been contributing for a while.

You've been hosting the parties.

So what does Roko mean to you?

I mean, because this is a huge fundraiser for them and this is kind of Rochester's art show in many ways.

Yeah, I love it.

I think it's super cool that there's no, like the word.

The word.

Where it stops people from contributing.

Yeah.

So there's no barrier to entry.

Yeah, barrier to entry.

There's no entry fees.

This is kind of.

It's very democratized.

If you want to contribute and there's space, you get to contribute.

Like, what an amazing thing.

And equalizes everybody too, and says that everybody has value.

Like, my daughter was putting stuff in.

She's 10 years old, and I was like, oh, I don't know if it's going to be any good.

It did turn out really good.

And I hope she sells her thing.

If not, then her grandma will probably buy it.

But yeah, it's cool.

You don't know if you're getting it from a professional or.

Or somebody's kid.

But the fact that you love it.

Yeah.

Is.

Is what's important.

It's kind of that whole debate over art or capital A art and all that discussion.

In the end, if you enjoy it, it's for you.

And that's kind of where we're here today.

Yeah.

So why don't you put out your plugs again?

Oh, goodness.

I Don't even use the Instagram anymore because I've gotten more hate on Instagram than in the fetish world.

Really?

Well, I mean, I guess I'm not shocked.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So.

Well, if you're on there, it's fuckingartist.

Love it.

Well, thank you so much for stopping in and being our first guest tonight.

Enjoy the rest of the night and thanks for contributing to 6x6.

Thanks.

All right, I'm here with another contributor to 6x6.

Guest.

Why don't you introduce yourself?

My name is Courtney Hill and I'm from Brockport, New York and this is my fourth year participating in 6x6.

So what got you started in contributing to 6x6?

So I first heard about it when I was a student in college and being able to contribute to a show that was free of cost and something that's so accessible and so massive for so many people, like, that's a big reason why I do it is just to make my art accessible for other people.

Well, I think that's one of the special things about 6x6 is that it's art democratized both for contributing and for purchasing because there's no entry fee for a contributor.

And you're part of like, part of making Roco and the whole art scene flow and work.

And, you know, it always seems like, oh, contributing to an organization, you have to have all this extra money.

You have to be a big flo man, therapist, cheese, philanthropist.

But this, that's the special thing about this.

You can contribute with just a six by six piece of art.

Exactly.

So when you're.

Are you an artist other than contributing to six by six?

Yep.

So I've been a digital artist.

I'm multidisciplined.

I started as a digital photographer when I was in high school.

I went to college for graphic design and I've been a digital artist now, exclusively digital art now, for about eight or nine years.

That's awesome.

Yeah, yeah.

It's such a specific lane and it's so.

I think it's often misunderstood.

People see, oh, you're tinkering on the computer, you're doing this thing.

I have a huge value for it.

My wife is also a full time digital artist.

Turning into merchandise, it's a beautiful thing.

Are you more of a painter or are you more on the vector art side of things or how do you like to describe it?

So my art is mostly done with procreate and I do a little bit of everything.

Some of my work mimics more of that traditional style like oil and gouache painting.

And other times it's way more abstract and more on the digital side with more fluidity and like spark, like kind of like sparkly and just really vibrant and colorful stuff that I could never replicate traditionally.

So that's.

Once I discovered procreate, I was able to make a lot of the artwork I wanted to, but never could quite figure out.

And other mediums.

Yeah, it also allows, like different, you know, portability.

You can do it on the go, on an iPad and use the pencils and whatever.

So with your artwork, do you have a message?

You just love doing it?

Part of my message is obviously inclusivity and accessibility.

And, you know, I.

Over the last few years, I've really branched out with different businesses and galleries, you know, in the area and trying to get my art out there as much as possible.

And I think a lot with my.

With my art, because it's a very abstract and kind of niche style, is just encouraging other artists to just create the stuff that they want to make.

You know, you don't have to fit into a mold.

Yeah, it's a beautiful thing.

Like, it doesn't have to be your full time thing.

It doesn't have to be serious.

It can be just fun.

But creating just opens up something in your head.

So find something you love.

Try it out.

Is there any place you want people to find the work that you're doing?

Yes.

So I share my art mostly under the name Courtney Lee Designs.

My artwork [email protected] and I'm on Facebook and Instagram.

You can actually find my artwork now at Stoney Point Art Studio in Fairport.

And I have some other stuff coming up soon as well.

That's awesome.

Courtney.

Thank you so much for stopping in.

Enjoy the night.

Thank you.

And we'll be back next with more from another 6x6 contributor.

All right, we're here with another contributor to 6x6.

Why don't you introduce yourself?

My name is Jeanette Marino.

I'm retired from the school district and I started doing art again very recently.

So what was.

What was the impetus to you starting to do art again?

Just retirement and wanting to do something that.

And my daughter who just walked away encouraging me to do so, along with an artist friend of mine.

It's a beautiful thing, right?

Like it's something that is so under.

Underappreciated is trying just to.

It doesn't have to be serious, doesn't have to have to be with a pure message.

Just trying is just such a beautiful thing.

It just makes you feel good.

And what I did wasn't even thought to being in a show.

It was my daughter, and she encouraged me to make cards with my stuff.

And I've gotten a lot of good feedback from my larger paintings as well.

How awesome is that?

You know, after, you know, having a career and all those other things and getting to try something creative and spend that time for yourself, and hopefully others can enjoy it too.

Very therapeutic.

Very therapeutic.

So had you heard of 6x6 before contributing?

No.

No.

Actually, again, it was my daughter who said, hey, you should do this.

So I did.

And I think it's one of the special things about it is anybody can contribute to one of Rochester's most important arts organizations.

And by submitting, you got to be a part of that whole fundraising effort.

And that's really cool because working in a school district for a long time, I wasn't an art teacher or anything like that, but I've seen a lot of work that the art students can do, and it blows me away every year at the end of the year.

So, yeah, it's really cool.

So what's your.

What kind of method are you using?

What style are you painting?

Watercolor or drawing?

Pretty much acrylic paint.

What is in the show.

But at home, I've been doing ink and colored pencil with inktense colored pencil.

And that's really cool, too.

I mean, when you find.

It's one of those things where you start colored pencils, you're like, oh, I can use a generic one.

And then you find a good one, you're like, oh, this is a whole.

Different watercolor, colored pencils.

So it's cool.

Yeah.

And you're finding yourself.

Yeah.

And if things.

If things don't come out right, you cut them into gift tags or send them in.

No, really, it's like, that's so cool.

And so do you find yourself trying to create something specific every time you start a piece, or are you just having fun?

I think it's actually the pieces that come out the best are the ones when you're just having fun and not trying to do anything and it just happens.

That's so fantastic.

So do you have a place where people can see what you're doing, or are you just doing this for.

Doing this for you?

Actually pretty much doing it for me.

I love it.

It's on TikTok.

Everybody's on TikTok.

But other than that in social media, it's pretty much just for me.

Fantastic.

A lot of it doesn't ever get photographed or put out there.

But more and more of it is gifts, whatever for friends, family.

That's awesome.

Well, appreciate you contributing to 6x6.

I hope you enjoy, you know, exploring the whole range of what you can do as an artist.

It's been, it's fun.

It's fun.

And this show is really cool to see.

Yeah.

Over 6,000 pieces on the walls, the.

Whole spectrum of it.

And it's just, it's overwhelming with positivity, I think.

I think so too.

Yeah.

It's fun.

Anybody should come down even if they didn't do it.

Absolutely.

Just to see it.

It's a beautiful thing.

And thank you so much for contributing.

And we'll be back with another guest who contributed to 6x6.

All right, I'm here with my next contributor to 6x6.

Why don't you introduce yourself?

Hi, my name is Frank Argento.

So, Frank, what kind of art do you do?

I do commissions, portrait, pet portraits.

I do floral.

I do painting, drawing, pastels.

Nice.

Stump still lifes, landscape.

Do you tend to primarily figurative.

Okay.

Do you tend to do larger pieces or is like this small size, more of your go to.

Oh, I say medium.

Medium to small, probably.

Yeah.

The portrait area, maybe 16 by 20, 24 by 30.

Okay.

And then in the other area, fine arts drawings, 26 by 30.

30 By 40.

Oh, wow.

Then you're getting pretty big at that point.

Done a lot in that time.

Yeah.

So how long have you been, how long have you been a practicing artist?

However you consider that to be okay?

I, I, well, I, I've been at RIT for 50 years.

I'm a retired RIT professor.

Oh, awesome.

At the National Institute for the Deaf in the visual communications program.

I've taught many students.

I taught art, fine art, media related marketing, advertising courses.

Also taught in School of Applied and Fine Arts.

Okay.

And I taught, as I say, television production and filmmaking.

And I mean, other than that, I mean, that's kind of running the gamut of different.

It's all creative.

Yeah.

Different creative pastimes.

Yeah.

So, I mean, doing that for that kind of window.

You've seen, you know, the evolution of technology which democratizes things, but it also, I think, can confuse people and do many different things.

How do you see, you know, being an artist today versus when you started teaching.

Creation prevails.

I believe you have to have good ideas.

I believe as an artist, you need strong drawing skills capable of doing realism and then migrating from realism into abstractionism, if you will.

The use of technology has grown over time.

It's just added to the arsenal, if you will, of various tools that folks can express themselves with.

And the blending of the technology comes in order.

As we went from stone lithos to now serice rigraphy into printing to digital printing.

So the image making is still real and the tools can make it.

Have made it easier, I believe, to use it.

So long as you learn the technology or you have folks, artisans along your side that help you with the reproduction of you work.

Yeah.

So I'm gonna ask a unfair generic question.

Do you feel positive about the direction that art is going right now?

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

I think creative people are creative no matter what you give them.

You give them a sticker, you give them a computer, they're gonna create.

Yeah.

And that's the humanity of it.

One does not look at tools as a threat.

One looks at tools as a compliment.

Yeah, I don't know where that came.

From, but thank you for asking.

No, you know what?

It's.

I find, I find reflecting on.

Reflecting on a journey is almost always worth it.

And you know, trying to see, you know, the perception of where we are now because it's a very.

It can be a very dismaying time.

It can feel very dark.

It can feel very.

It's easy to fall into nihilism about sometimes the state of the world and be negative about many different things.

And I think one of the beautiful things about 6x6 and these kind of shows is that contributing is worth it, that trying is a beautiful thing, that trying to be involved is worth it, is the kind of thing that matters to a place, it matters to a town.

Sure.

6X6 brings about a sense of community, an opportunity for those with little skill, to those with a lot of skill.

But to have a common interest in humanity and the arts is a favorable element to loving art.

Yeah.

And passion can come in any shape or any form.

Passion expressed in six by six, Ken.

Certainly.

So is there a place that people can find your work or reach out to you?

Sure.

I have a website.

It's frankargentoart.com and I also have a gallery on Park Avenue.

510 Park Avenue.

That's with Frank Argento and the Ramon Santillo Studio on Park Avenue.

My son Steve runs it.

He ran it for his uncle, Ramon Santiago, who passed away about 25 years ago.

And that's still very active and happily.

Happily, it's very active and still remains a force in the marketplace of some sorts.

I enjoy still doing it when I do my work as well.

I owned a couple of advertising agencies as well.

Oh, very cool.

So I did.

A lot of my background is creative and varied, so it's applied and it's also abstract.

Well, I think that's my message for today.

That's the tagline.

Today's episode.

Creative and varied.

Yeah.

Frank, thanks so much for joining us.

Oh, it's my pleasure.

Appreciate it.

Thank you.

All right, I'm here with the next contributor to 6x6.

Why don't you introduce yourself?

I'm Sandy Frankel and I'm delighted to be here.

I've been participating in the 6x6 exhibits for decades, it seems, and love to support Rochester Contemporary Art.

It's such a wonderful asset for our community.

And the fact that our artwork can help support this not for profit is doubly delightful.

Yeah.

And that anybody can contribute.

It doesn't matter.

You know, it doesn't matter if you have a big reputation or it's your first time doing.

You can be part of this whole journey.

Absolutely.

From children to seniors and everybody in between, professional artists and first timers.

So, you know, now this is 19 years old.

What got you into contributing to 6x6?

The first time I first met Blue.

Seas through our shared membership on the original Arts and Cultural Council for Greater Rochester.

Oh, beautiful.

And because of his involvement, I learned more about Roco and felt compelled to be supportive for our community and for the arts.

Yeah.

So as a.

As an artist, what kind of work do you do?

I do photography, digital photography.

And my subjects are broad ranging because it's whatever appeals to my.

My eye.

I've exhibited locally as well as nationally and internationally and have won an occasional prize or recognition.

And still I love doing this because it's so different than so many other types of exhibits.

And it's just fun.

Yeah.

So as a photographer, do you have, like.

I'm involved with the behind the Glass gallery.

I produce their podcast.

You know, getting to know so many people in the community.

Do you have a lane that you're in?

Are you more nature?

Are you more portraits?

How do you describe yourself as a photographer?

I particularly like color, shape, texture, geometric aspects of images.

I love landscapes, botanicals, and I also like structures, the built community.

And sometimes I'm lucky enough to catch an image of some really interesting animals or people.

So it's really broad ranging.

It's whatever appeals to the eye.

We can be interesting animals occasionally.

Occasionally.

Yes, yes, yes.

And I'm also happy to report that one of my images has already sold.

Oh, What a beautiful thing.

I know.

They already sold.

They sold about a thousand before the start of today with the goal of getting to 3,000 out of the 6,000 contributions this year.

Yes.

I mean, what a beautiful thing.

And I just want to touch on one point that you mentioned is community.

How do you.

How long have you been in Rochester?

Wow.

And have made it.

We made it our home, obviously.

I served as the supervisor of the town of Brighton for 20 years.

Oh, beautiful.

And so to me, community is very important.

It is the regional approach that appeals to me.

And we have such a strong creative environment here in Rochester, from painting and photography, music, dance.

Just the spectrum of creativity, I think is really enriching to our community and important to support.

Yeah.

And I think it's over both responsibility and greatest pleasure to help however we can, to make people.

To give people opportunities when we have the ability to do so, and to be good advocates for those that are making our whole community a place that we all want to live.

Absolutely.

And I have a mantra, and it related to Brighton, where I was supervisor.

This is the best place to live, work, raise a family, and retire.

And I really applied that to the whole Rochester, Greater.

The greater Rochester region, because this is a very special place.

The other thing that I think is so important about our artistic endeavors here is that it gives folks a chance to express themselves, to share understandings in ways that words don't always work.

And those.

The messages that we get through art, I think is one of our important ways of communicating.

Yeah.

And to show that we're all neighbors.

You know, even though if you live in Brighton, the people in the city are your neighbors.

Absolutely.

People that are different than you are your neighbors.

And like, seeing all the different styles on the wall and seeing them all together means so much to me, and I hope it means so much to you.

It really does.

Well, thank you so much for coming over.

Do you have a place where people can see your photography?

I do have an online presence@sandra frankelphotography.com Awesome.

I have not.

In truth, I have not updated in quite a while.

So, you know, it is what it is.

Nothing wrong with that.

Yeah.

Sandy, thank you so much for coming over.

Glad to be here.

Enjoy the evening.

All right, I'm here with another contributor.

Why don't you introduce yourself to everybody?

How's it going, everyone?

My name is Derek Durizzio.

I have contributed one artwork this time around, but this is Also my third year in a row, which is crazy.

So what got you into doing 6x6 the first time?

The first time, yeah.

So my good friend Danielle, who's actually in the same room, put me on to this little arts and crafts event that was in this same room right here.

Yeah.

In prep for 6x6.

They.

They had put it on, and I'm like, you know, why not?

It's.

It's funny.

I had never contributed a piece, despite being a photographer in Rochester for years.

You know, I just never really thought to.

But yeah, then something about having all the collage materials on the table.

Like, you know, I can throw together something a little funny.

I think the first year I made some kind of, like, meme book cover.

Sure.

You know, just like a funny little concept.

And then.

Yeah, the second and third year, my good friend Rachel Gutnik put me on to her little 6x6 crafts party that she throws every May.

And, yeah, I guess it's just easy to want to create a piece when other people are doing it.

Something about the communal aspect.

Well, that's why I love the whole aspect of those parties.

Right.

Where I think it lowers the barrier to entry.

It forces.

Doesn't force you in.

But, you know, when you're by yourself and you're like, oh, you might be overthinking it, but when you're in a room with other people, that positivity activity just flows through the whole room.

Right, Right.

Yeah.

It's simple.

It's, like, cool.

We're all just doing the thing.

There's no pressure here.

It doesn't have to be perfect.

You're not toiling away into the midnight hours, per se.

You're just having fun.

Yeah.

Just a smile and a laugh in the room, and everybody can have a good time trying to also support a great organization in town.

100.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Roko's been here for, what, like, 20 years, I think.

Yeah.

So this is 19 years.

Years of just six by six.

Oh, my God.

Which is, like, really impressive.

Yeah.

And then seeing what they're doing out there for, you know, to support the 50th year of the Rochester logo out there.

Right.

And that's supporting Square the Love at the same time.

So double fundraising at the same event.

Yeah.

And I think it's something that, you know, you and I have talked about before, is community.

Right.

And I think that's the thing that it feels like you're contributing to something and that matters, even if, like, hey, you're contributing one piece, but that.

That $20 is going to an important organization.

Right.

And I know you're somebody who always likes building community 100%.

Yeah.

Community is crucial.

I, you know, I moved back to Rochester a few years ago after traveling the country doing the whole van life thing, and it took a lot longer than I expected.

But it's funny because by day eight of traveling all 48 states, I realized that the key takeaway from that trip was going to be community.

Yeah.

I missed my people and I continue to miss them for another 200 days.

But by the time I got back, I was very ready to get into community spaces like Roko, like Mukduck Studio, like Wonderground, among others, and just, you know, creating reasons for people to get out of their houses, get off the phones, get off AI nowadays.

Yeah.

And connect.

Yeah.

And I think you're gonna learn something.

And it doesn't have to be, you know, capital I important.

It doesn't have to be big lessons.

It can just be sitting across from somebody and engaging for some period of time so you can feel connected to something 100%.

Yeah.

It's underrated nowadays.

Yeah.

It's easy.

You know, this will come up today a lot just because I've been thinking about it a lot is it's very easy to be negative.

It's easy to be nihilistic.

Right.

Right now.

And being present and contributing is one of those.

One of those bombs, one of those salves to say, hey, we're not.

We're not alone.

Where we don't have to feel that way all the time.

Right.

We can be somewhere with others 100%.

Yeah.

I think people are feeling pretty down and out about the state of the world this past couple years longer, depending on how you look at it.

You know, for example, like, I work with foster children over at Hillside and, you know, a lot of them are 16, 17, 18, and man, that younger generation just really is not about it, for lack of a better term.

I was trying to convince one yesterday, like, yeah, I understand the world kind of sucks, but like, what if you can have a good time despite that?

Yeah.

What if we get you a job?

What if.

What if I suggest you go to 6x6 and.

And create something.

Just try it, you know.

So, yeah, it's.

I think it's one of the harder things to describe to somebody who is justifiably negative about many things.

Yeah.

And seeing it from now a certified old right.

Is, you know, they're to say, well, you don't see it the same way.

I'm like, yeah, we Don't.

But the thing that we can say is that you might not be able to fix the systemic issues, but you can make your small C community better.

You can do something.

And that even though you might not make everything different, you can do something.

And trying, even even though it's kind of passe right now, trying makes you feel good.

Right.

And doing something is better than doing.

Nothing 100% or worse.

You know, because like the traditional nothing is just like watching paint dry or watching the grass grow.

But nowadays nothing looks like scrolling our phones and getting swept up in the dopamine trap.

And yeah, even to just be outside or, or pick up some collage materials out here.

It's.

On a stunning day like today, like, how can you not want to walk around and just be part of something?

Yeah, a part of something more.

That's one of my favorite phrases this.

Past couple years, you know, hey, is there a place people can find you online for whatever you want?

Yeah, for sure.

So I have a couple different angles.

My public menswork page is Be Brave beyond on Instagram.

I run a men's circle over at mukduck Studio, support group for men.

I am also a musician and have released music under the name deserec D E Z A R E C. Would love it if you checked it out.

That's awesome.

And appreciate you swinging by.

We'll be back with our next guest.

Alright, I'm here with another guest.

Why don't you introduce yourself?

Oh, my name is Nitsa Nader.

And how many times have you contributed to 6x6?

Oh, like more than 15 years, I think.

Oh, wow.

So what got you into contributing to 6x6 and ROKO?

I like it because I like to share with the other artists, look at their works.

Yeah.

And it's pretty special to see the variety of everything on the wall.

It's very, very special.

Yeah.

Because it can be anybody from kids to, you know, famous artists all contributing at the same level.

And I think it's a beautiful thing to see.

Everybody can be a part of this.

And it's so different.

You don't know what to expect because it's like 3D art.

You got like drawing, you got like crochet, you got like everything.

Yeah.

And I'm seeing like, I'm seeing like fired clay.

I'm seeing like these completely out there things and I'm seeing just sketches and it's.

It makes me feel very positive because it's easy to be negative right now about things.

Yes.

And there's, you Know, important pieces in here too.

Talking about current state of things.

And then there's silly sketches of animals.

And it's.

It's beautiful to see art in all its forms.

Do you have a typical art practice?

Do you.

Are you an artist?

Most of the time I do.

I do a lot of watercolor now I'm doing watercolor with embroidery.

Okay.

Yeah.

Like a mixed media.

Yeah.

I think it opens up this whole lane of creativity.

Do you find yourself doing portraits, nature, or do you have a message behind what you do?

Like a lot of flowers, nature and abstracts.

Yeah.

Do you have.

Do you have a flower that you love to.

Do you love to, you know.

Is that.

I like Georgia Keeffe.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

All the flower projects that she did.

Of course, I tried to emulate some of the flowers that she.

She made.

Yeah.

And it's, you know, it's such a beautiful thing to be able to, you know, represent yourself as part of that practice.

Yes.

When you see.

How long have you been in Rochester?

Yesterday was my 35th anniversary.

Wow.

How do you see.

How do you see Rochester today versus when you got here?

I love Rochester.

I like it.

Some people say it's boring.

They don't want to be here, so.

Okay.

But when I came in.

When I came in 91, it was like very.

I don't want to say slow, but it was very good.

I came to go to RIT for two years.

I stayed because I thought it was like a very family oriented place.

That even though with all the things that are happening in the world, I feel safe here.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I think that's.

It's one of those things that is so underrated that all of our neighbors should feel safe because that's the first step towards being a member of the community, being able to contribute, being able to be creative.

It's hard to.

If you don't feel safe, if you don't feel comfortable.

One of the things that I like about this exhibition is I've seen, like, parents with the kids.

Yeah.

How they teach them to collect, how they teach them to give art to the community.

And I've seen some of the pieces that the kids do that they feel like very proud of doing it.

Yeah.

And I think that's.

I think it's such a beautiful thing that you can go here and see yourself on a wall on a gallery that is often capital A art and that you can see your stuff on that wall and feel that opportunity to, hey, maybe grow what you're doing or just have a great time doing it.

And people around the world.

Because I've seen, like, all the people that send from different parts.

Yeah, absolutely.

So I guess what I want to leave with is do you.

Do you feel good about Rochester right now?

Oh, yeah, Yeah.

I feel very good.

Good.

It's.

The growth has been, like, a little slower, but I'm okay with them.

It's okay.

And do you have a place where people can see your artwork or.

Nitsa Nader.

I want to say Pinterest.

Sorry.

Instagram.

Instagram.

Beautiful.

Well, thank you so much for coming over and chatting.

Hopefully you enjoy a beautiful night here and.

Okay, thank you very much.

Cheers.

All right, I'm here with our next guest.

Why don't you introduce yourself?

Hi, my name is Shay Carey, and I'm a local Rochester artist.

Yeah.

And what kind of art do you do as a practicing artist?

Yeah, I'm a mixed media artist primarily.

I do resin art for physical art, and I do graphic design.

Okay.

But I have a resin art home goods business where I do a lot of functional, versatile art.

So it could be hung on the walls.

You can use the coasters, serving trays, or whatever the case may be.

And for today, I made two.

Two art pieces that were completely out of my resin realm.

And I did a mixed media flower pot made from hot glue that I formed, painted, and then also put it on canvas with some flowers.

So how.

That sounds like it was a blast.

Yeah.

Do you enjoy, like, do you have joy when you're making art?

Do you find it more of a focus thing?

How do you.

When you're creating, how do you find yourself?

Yeah, I think I always call everything I do experimental.

Yeah.

I have an idea of what I want it to be, but I don't focus so hard on the looks.

So I knew I wanted a flower pot and I knew I had paint, but I wasn't sure what.

How I wanted it to be until it was time to actually paint it.

Yeah.

And I just did a nice glossy silver, chrome spray paint, even though it's a flower pot.

And I thought at first terracotta.

So I try not to focus so much on that.

And just actually creating is what's fun and joyful about it.

I didn't know how the flowers were going to be placed or even the second piece, what I was really going to do.

And then the moment I started.

I was like, oh, this is it.

Very cool.

So how long have you been contributing to 6x6?

Yes.

So this is my second year in a row, but my fourth time.

Awesome.

So I did it last year and then a few years ago as well.

So what got you into it?

I always been a very creative child.

I like to play around, just make things, do things.

And I come from a creative family.

My sister's an artist.

My mom and my other sister likes to draw casually, you know, So I try to always just do anything that brings me happiness and joy in making things, building things, make me happy.

It's.

It's one of those things having.

Having an outlet, something to feel that positivity, you know?

Yeah.

And it's.

It's a great thing to be able to do and be able to create something that you care about.

Yeah, it is.

It's nice because I know it gives back, and it gives back to a local Rochester institution.

Some place that I've gone to frequently have pieces here from time to time.

So I always try to.

If I can do anything local, I jump on it to make sure that I'm helping out that way.

Very cool.

Where can people find your work online so they can check it out?

Yes.

So I am actually building out my website right now as we speak, for the resin goods business and other artwork that I'm going to be putting on it.

So it's not finished yet, but my Instagram is Shay Carry.

So that's S H A E dot C A R R E Y.

Awesome.

Well, thank you so much for coming over.

Yes, thank you.

Appreciate it.

Have a beautiful night.

You too.

All right.

I'm here with my next contributor to 6x6.

Why don't you introduce yourself?

Thanks.

My name's CO Carl Webeck.

I live in Penfield on the outside of Rochester.

Used to work downtown and have seen 6x6 over the years.

And I think it's just fascinating.

And I'm not a professional artist or anything, you know, I. I'm good at arts and crafts and things like that, and I've done some photography and things like that.

But really, I. I wanted to contribute to the exhibit today just because participating in the entire concept of the 6x6 project.

Was this your first time contributing to 6x6?

Yeah, it was.

And I think I've been kind of loosely following it since it began.

Yeah.

And, you know, it's just amazing to me how they're able to pull this off in such a small space with so many participants contributions.

I mean, 6,000 pieces.

Yeah.

Right on the wall today.

Right.

Which is a staggering number.

It's incredible.

I mean, the fact they've already sold a thousand is just such a testament to how much this means both to the community and the support that it drives.

So what got you this year?

After 19 years of this going on, what got you this year to contribute?

Sure.

I was looking to engage.

Support and engage my daughter in something a little different, and this was something different.

And it's a, you know, global community effort and encourage her to be a part of this.

She was.

I think the timing was just right.

And, you know, we saw it coming up, and we got some cards from the gallery here, and we were able to get some artwork together before the last hour.

You know, I'm sure the amount of pieces that are right at the last deadline are significant, but I think it's such a beautiful thing to show that contributing matters.

And it's easy to be negative, especially amongst the next generation, about the state of the world, and justifiably so, but to feel that contributing to the community matters, that all the efforts that you see on the wall matter to the people that are here that are on the wall next to you.

It matters to the arts community, matters to the whole of the Rochester community, both to our neighbors in the city, even if you live in Penfield, you know, it shows that we're all together.

What does it mean to you to have not just, you know, everybody contributing to that?

Can you ask the question again, the last part?

Yeah.

So you had your daughter contribute.

So what does it mean to you to be contributing together?

Oh, together like this.

Right.

Sure.

So, you know, it.

It was.

It makes me feel like I'm giving her some.

Some opportunities to participate in something like this as a global effort, community effort, whatever you want to call it.

It's something simple.

You can get your artwork up on the wall and be seen as an equal to all those who also contributed.

And just means to me that feel like it's this.

The entire exhibit, is an honest and simple way to participate in an artistic.

I'll just say experiment, so to speak.

You know, and it's.

It's very unique.

It's not just.

You have your own gallery opening, and you invite your friends and say, here, come.

Come, look.

And, you know, gallery members come looking and such like that.

You know, this is just the.

It's very different and.

And it's tangible.

Right.

It's something you can see that you're on the wall with everybody else, that you're part of the entirety of the Rochester community as equals.

Yeah.

Well, thank you so much for swinging over.

And we'll be back next with another guest.

Great.

Thanks, Chris.

Cheers.

All right, I'm here with my next guest.

Why don't you introduce yourself?

Yeah.

I'm Gianna Stewart, an artist.

Like everyone here, I contributed to 6x6 and also thrilled to have the piece outside the temporary public art piece right now.

So let's talk about 6x6.

But I'm really excited to hear about that whole piece too.

So is this your first time contributing to 6x6?

No, no.

I've definitely submitted things in past years.

So what was it about 6x6 that started you on contributing to Roko?

I loved that.

It was just a really easy way to support Roko.

Having a contemporary arts center in Rochester is awesome, and they show amazing work all year long.

And getting to be a part of this really global feet in here is pretty cool.

Yeah.

I mean, it's.

It's a beautiful, overwhelming experience.

To see everything on the wall.

That it's 6,000 pieces in a space this size is really staggering.

I mean, we're in a small room and it's just papered floor to ceiling with creativity.

As an artist, how does it feel to be just in a space where this.

This much going on?

Yeah, it's just amazing what people come up with.

Right.

I recognize the piece that reminds me of a kid's toy on the wall there.

And then there's like some fantastic craft up there too.

Some beautiful oil paintings, amazing graphic work, photography, of course, in Rochester, collage and woodwork.

And I see fire, clay.

I see so much, so many different lanes of creativity.

When you describe your lane of creativity, how do you describe it?

That's a good question.

I think one of the really beautiful things about something like 6x6 is it gives you a literal box to work in.

Yeah.

Which sometimes people hate, but I love because it forces you to push what can that box.

And I think there's some really wonderful works doing that here with unexpected materials, imagery, and just what you can fit into a six by six square.

Yeah.

So how long have you considered yourself an artist?

Oh, I think I've always been one.

I think everyone is until they're told they're not right.

And no one ever told me that.

So here I am.

What a beautiful thing.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Did you have that support for that creativity throughout your life?

Yeah, yeah.

Born and raised in the Rochester area.

Okay.

And lucky to have family, friends that have just always told me I was an artist and yeah, I believed it.

So when you're.

If you were describing yourself as an artist, what.

What kind of media do you tend to do?

What's your.

What's your lane, if you have one?

Yeah, I love public art.

I got hooked on that.

And kind of in relating to this idea of being bound by the 6x6 square.

Yeah.

Public art calls are often have parameters that are.

Some are wacky, some are things you have to navigate.

And I love that about that.

Was there an inspiration to getting into public art?

Because it's a.

It's a challenging.

It's a challenging lane, both from scope, from visibility.

What was.

Was there an inspiration for you to get into that?

Yeah, I mean, I think even as a kid growing up, like, seeing amazing murals in the Rochester area, I mean,.

Wall therapy, the, you know, the density of that on the streets of Rochester still resonates even though they haven't been actively running.

Yeah.

It still resonates with so many people around the city and surrounding areas.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And.

And then just getting to work with artists over the years, doing amazing stuff, I was lucky to work with.

I wound up in the Boston area for a while.

Oh, beautiful.

Yeah.

The Harry's Hayter collaborative was a big inspiration.

Yeah.

And.

And right now, I think artists are needed more than ever.

Right.

And like in spaces like Roko.

But public art brings that conversation outside and we need to keep having.

Yeah.

And I think that, you know, the hope is that it's going to spur the kind of conversation that gets people thinking about how do you really feel about something in a time like now?

And this is gonna be a refrain for the rest of the podcast.

I apologize to everybody.

Can be repetitive.

There's a lot of reasons to feel negative.

There's a lot of justifiable nihilism and other things going on.

How when you're thinking about a piece and then we'll describe what you have outside, when you're thinking about creating a public piece of art, how are you thinking about all the things going on?

And what are you.

What's the message you're trying to get out right now?

Yeah, I mean, the message really depends on the particular piece.

Right.

The parameters that you're working within and pushing.

For this piece at Roko, it was an open call.

So it was a bit more open.

Like, hey, we have these particular rectangles, right.

To work with on the side of the building.

And is it okay to talk about that?

Well, please do.

Yeah.

The parameters, physical parameters of the piece remind Me of the windows on the building.

And I think there's something really interesting with that, like playing with them, having a dark background that feels like the windows.

And meanwhile, I had been kind of like, working with, thinking about this list of words that came out last spring at a time when it felt like there were so many things coming at us.

I just wanted to sit with this list of censored language.

And one of the words on the list of words that were redacted from government websites or being flagged in grant applications was Belong.

And it seemed like such a strange, benign word.

And that's the reaction to a lot of the words on this list, right?

Yeah.

So I organized into those letters, and eventually this piece came about, and Roko was willing to let me rework it with the updated list that had come out more recently.

And now it's here.

Wow.

So doing all the work, all the creative outlet, all those things, and then seeing it outside on the wall, how did it feel the first time you saw it installed complete on the wall?

And you got to take that step back and see it all together.

Yeah.

It's always amazing to see a public artwork, like, finally come to fruition.

Right.

And in this case, like, the Roko staff and volunteers, they did all of that physical installation.

Yeah.

They're the crew behind it, so I can't take credit for that.

But amazing to see it up.

And yeah, anytime I've installed a public artwork, it's always like those after hours where there's someone walking by that wasn't coming there to see the piece and them interacting with it in some way or having an opinion about it.

Like, that's where the magic happens, I think.

Yeah.

So where can people find your work online?

Yeah.

So the Belong piece is on Roko's webpage, and then my whole portfolio is Gianna works.

Awesome.

And last question.

Do you feel positive about where things where you're going right now,.

Personally?

Yeah, I mean, I.

Having to work like this up and Roko being so brave, I think, to show it, that's given me a lot of hope in this moment.

That's awesome.

Well, Gianna, thank you so much for stopping over.

Yeah, thank you.

Cheers.

Thanks.

All right, I'm here with the next guest.

Why don't you introduce yourself?

Okay.

My name is Nate Miller.

I work in City Communications.

Okay.

Yeah.

I'm a digital media specialist.

Kind of a content creator.

Okay.

Artist at heart.

So how long have you been contributing to six by six?

Well, to be honest, never.

Oh, you've never done it I have not done that.

I suppose this year in kind of a tangential way, I did.

So working with the city's office, we discovered a few years ago that we are coming up on an anniversary of our city's mark.

Yeah.

Our symbol, our logo.

Right.

And I decided I would do a.

It started off I was just gonna do a two minute YouTube explainer piece.

Sure.

You know, I was like, oh, okay.

I'm in a unique position to do this, surrounded by cameras and all the old stuff, like have access to the municipal archives and the, you know, city historians.

So.

And I pretty quickly realized that.

Is that okay?

Yeah.

Okay.

Just a little closer, if you don't mind.

Sure.

Yeah.

And so I pretty quickly realized that we were coming up on an anniversary.

50 Years.

Yeah.

So decided this could probably be more than a two minute explainer piece.

I think this could be a documentary.

And so that's what we did.

We created a documentary and a whole year.

We scheduled out a whole year of events just to celebrate the mark and all of Rochester in celebrating that.

So I've seen so much already about it.

Is it surprising how many people are.

How many people care really hard about this?

Well, no, I mean, it's not surprising to me.

And that's why I did the documentary and realized that we could probably make this as big as we wanted to make it.

Yeah.

Because people do care.

I mean, you see it everywhere.

I especially because I work in city hall, you know, so it is the city's identity system as an organization, but also as an entire city and community as it has become the city and region's identity system.

Yeah.

Because you see it everywhere, like in creative works and other things.

So when you.

When you're starting to create the documentary.

So how did you.

How did you decide all the different subjects?

Did you find the people who contributed to the original or how did that whole process go for you?

Interesting.

Yeah.

So I started off with the designer.

Figured.

When I started researching it, I really couldn't find much information.

Really?

Yeah.

I mean, I had no IDEA it was 50 years old.

Yeah.

So I started with the designer and we just happened to have a connection to him.

Interviewed him over zoom once, and then he was good enough to invite me down to his two homes.

He's doing quite well.

Yeah.

And interviewed him.

But in terms of the other stories, I think every.

Everything really came organically.

I used to work in the News for channel 13.

Okay.

And I saw a old news buddy and we were talking.

I told him, yeah, I'm working on this Story about a city logo.

You know, he's like, oh, yeah, gotta talk to my wife.

You know, he's like, she, she is nuts about the logo.

He's like, we have it everywhere in our house.

She creates artwork and she's a graphic designer.

Well, it turns out she submits.

She does variations on the city logo every year for this exhibit.

The 6x6 show.

Yeah.

I mean, how special is that too, like, to see how much Rochester's a part of this show and how much like, it seems to matter so much to the community, both the arts community and the community at large, that this organization represents Rochester in so many different ways.

And then two, to have this subset of it this year about the logo.

There's over 200, I think they said over 230 pieces featuring the logo this year, but also contributing to another charitable organization, which is really cool.

Right.

Well, you know, and I think that really speaks to just how unique and special of a treasure.

Just a little bit closer to the mic.

Oh, closer to the mic.

I'm sorry.

Sorry.

Sorry.

Yeah, I think that really speaks to how much of a.

A unique treasure the, the city mark really is for this community.

I, I had this vision for it.

I pitched it to, To Blue, I don't.

Years ago.

And I don't think he really believed that this would, would come to fruition.

I don't think nobody believed.

I don't think that the documentary would really happen either.

They're like, when you're going to make a documentary about a logo.

Really?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Like, people are passionate about it, so it's really exciting to see them up, all the, all the artworks up on the wall and, and this, I mean, Roco is a gem itself as well.

But this exhibit in particular is.

It's just so cool.

You know, we'd get international participation and to see all the city logos on the wall in the same square.

I mean, they're all together except for one or two, but they're all together on the wall.

It's really special.

There's so much pride in Rochester.

Yeah.

So when you're thinking about Rochester now, do you feel positive about where we're going to be 50 years from now?

Oh, yeah, yeah, Absolutely.

Absolutely.

I mean, sure, Rochester has gone through some ups and downs, but we're focused on the up.

Yeah.

And I mean, I'm not from here.

I'm a.

But my wife and I have always had all the opportunities that we need here.

We're now raising two beautiful little Girls here and.

Yeah, I mean there's, there's so much opportunity and so many good people, people that want to lift you up.

Yeah.

Here in Rochester.

That, that.

Yes.

And, and, and working for the city, I also see all of the investment and the areas that are growing, all of the businesses and the ribbon cuttings that we do.

High Fall State Park.

I mean that's crazy to have.

It's so exciting.

Yeah, it's, you know, been so, so often missed by people.

People who live here for their entire lives and to have something that highlights that.

I think it's gonna be a really special thing both for the High Falls district and for the whole city at large.

Yeah.

So let's cut off now.

I'd love to talk more another time, but where can people find the documentary, you know, if it's gonna be available for people and anything else you'd like them to look at.

Okay.

Yeah.

Thanks for the opportunity.

Well, the film is currently showing tomorrow.

I don't know when any of this is going out but, but we have Flower Fest tomorrow which is exciting.

It's a one time festival the city's doing to celebrate the logo.

The film itself will also be playing at local theaters and some of the independent theaters.

The little has it throughout July.

Rock Cinema has it in June this month.

So you can find any of that information on our website, city of rochester.govcitymark and that's got all the information.

We're doing a book, we're doing a film, we've got this 6x6 thing.

So a lot of, lot of cool ways to, to celebrate your pride this year, Chris.

I appreciate it.

Cheer.

All right, I'm here with a guest.

We just had a great conversation offline.

Why don't you introduce yourself?

My name is Paul Brandwine.

So Paul, how many times have you contributed to 6x6?

Oh, I would say maybe half a dozen times.

I did it more earnestly when it started and then it got kind of overwhelming so I just stopped doing it.

Although every now and then I would start something thinking about putting into the show and it never followed through until this year.

I got really excited about monoprinting and I made a bunch of fish monoprints or beautiful mixed media and three of them have sold so far.

How cool.

So talk about monoprinting for a second.

What is, is that a new practice for you or is that something.

It is.

My background is more in sculpture and then I, then I took to painting and I have friends who said, oh Paul, you gotta, you gotta get a jelly Plate and.

And do this stuff.

And this jelly plate is this sort of like a flat jello, like slab that you can ink up and put paper over and pull prints from.

So I've been doing that for.

Since about November, December or so.

And each one's just a little bit different.

Oh, yeah, well.

Cause even if you're using the same colors and doing it over and over, the print's gonna look different.

It's kind of.

The beautiful thing about it is that even though it is a print, it's kind of still a unique thing.

Each one.

It is.

And you constantly get ideas for, oh, I should try this, I should try that.

So I'm intrigued.

You mentioned sculpting.

What was it about that that captured your attention?

The visceral quality of this is a thing you can touch.

You can't go up to a painting and put your hands all over it.

Well, you can.

You shouldn't.

You shouldn't.

So I got into.

I worked with clay for years and years, and I still think when I'm painting that I'm visualizing things that I could touch, even though they're very abstract.

So that concept, when you're thinking about.

I'm just intrigued.

On the sculpture side, when we're talking about scale, were you doing handheld pieces?

Life size pieces, Bigger than life pieces?

How do you describe your practice?

Oh, well, I.

When I had a kill, it would hold something that was about 18, 19, 18 inches wide or so.

Okay.

And so I would.

I was doing relief work, and so I would make pieces that would fit in the kill, or I would make sections and then join them together until I.

One day I decided I wanted to work bigger.

So I got some.

Went to the Home Depot and got some sheets of home insulation.

The rigid things, the pink foam and.

Yeah, that kind of stuff.

Yeah.

And cut and carved and layered that.

And so I was able to make stuff that was five feet wide.

Now paper mache.

So if you were to describe to somebody the messages you're trying to get out with your sculpture, do you have a message or do you just love the practice?

I love the practice.

I'm fascinated with biological imagery, cosmic imagery, microscopic imagery.

And sometimes people say that my work reminds them of medical illustration.

Okay.

You know what?

I love that because I say this in the most loving way, and I know the term wasn't always used this way.

Like, you just sound like a delightful nerd, because that's how I describe myself is I'm a nerd first.

Yeah, I love things super hard.

And when I get into something I want to do true deep enjoyment and really luxuriate in the process and get obsessed with these things.

And I think for so long it was treated as this pejorative.

And to me it's one of the most delightful things somebody can be is somebody that's.

That really has to be do the thing that they're doing.

Yeah, I think my work is.

I'm very detail oriented.

Things have to be just right.

And when I'm doing my radio show, I worry and fuss over playlists ad infinitum and so it appears in, in all different aspects.

What kind of show do you do?

I do a weekly show on the local non commercial radio station, W A Y O.

It's all volunteer and so I can just play whatever the hell I want.

What a beautiful thing.

Yeah, I've always loved what they do over there.

You know, it's the kind of thing that inspired what we're doing on our network.

Creating something that matters to the community is such a beautiful thing.

And being able to contribute to something kind of makes you feel positive about life and where things are going.

Yeah, yeah.

And I was able to get a couple of local musicians on my show just a couple of weeks ago and it was beautiful.

Well, thank you so much for stopping over.

Do you have a place where you want people to check out your work or you just do your work?

They can go to brandwineart.com they can look for me on Instagram.

And where can people find your show?

Where can.

Oh, the show.

The.

The radio show is W A Y.

O F m dot com and your show is called.

My show is called Movable Feast and it's music from all around the world.

I love it.

Thank you so much for stopping over.

Well, thank you for having me.

Cheers.

All right, I'm here with a guest.

Guest.

Why don't you introduce yourself.

My name is William Dean.

I am an artist.

I sell art around a lot of the local festivals.

Last year I've been expanding a lot.

I've done Pennsylvania and New Jersey and a couple shows in Ohio too.

It's a big jump traveling to shows, isn't it?

I really love to travel so it is more work for sure.

But it's worth it because I travel anyway.

The logistics of it is such a thing.

My wife, that's her full time job is traveling to conventions and selling at them.

The logistics of moving all the merchandise and setting up and hotels and all that stuff is just a constant load.

It's a beautiful thing.

It's A lot of work.

I need a lot of different tasks to entertain me, to keep me busy.

So it helps having lots of different logistical things.

Some weekends get crazy because I do it with my partner, Elise.

Oh, awesome.

And we've been doing two shows on some weekends this year, which is really crazy.

Yeah.

Set up in the morning, sell, tear down.

It's a long day.

Yeah.

So when you're thinking about your artistic practice, how did it start for you?

Really naturally.

I was just bored in high school and doodling in the margins.

Yeah.

So I developed my own natural, like, abstract style that I weave into everything, even if it's not abstract.

I've been doing more subject matter the last year just because it seems to resonate with our audience a little bit more.

Sure.

I still have space for my, like, purely abstract, like organic material because that's what I love a lot.

But I just naturally transition, honestly, personally, because I'm always trying to find a new thing to work on, but ours just really natural for me.

My whole life, I never had to do much intention.

I just had a lot of spare time and pencil and paper in front.

Of me a lot.

Yeah.

That's the start, right?

Yeah.

So mentioned you'd contributed to 6x6 in the past.

Yeah.

What does this whole show mean to you as an artistic person?

Yeah, I think this show is representative.

This and the members exhibit are both very representative of what ROKO is.

And that is not just a place to display like high art or like capital A art.

Yeah.

Capital ar.

It's also a place for community to not nest.

Actually.

Everyone can contribute to the show 6x6, which is really great.

It's one of the beautiful things about it.

Yeah.

The other thing I was gonna say is just getting more people to do art is also great.

So there's the practice of doing art and then there's.

There's also the art world that is critical and you want to find the best people possible.

And we need a place for both of those sides to focus on.

I love the democratization of contributing and democratization of being in a gallery as part of this.

It's always kind of resonated to me as this is a place for everybody.

You don't have to be a serious critic to enjoy going to roko.

Exactly.

You can just, hey, come and look at cool stuff.

Yeah.

And feel the feelings you have.

And don't have to.

You don't have to feel the feelings everybody feels.

It's just one of those things where you can just be present.

Absolutely.

And this Is such a beautiful, overwhelming experience of seeing 6,000 pieces.

Yeah.

Every time I come here I'm like, how did I not notice?

Like every time I come here it's a different experience because I noticed whole different set of art.

There's so much of it, you can't see it in one go.

Yeah.

So how long have you been in Rochester?

I moved to Rochester in.

It's been a long time now.

Since then.

I've lived in Rochester for like 10 years.

Okay.

So as an artist, as a member of the community, how are you feeling about Rochester right now?