Hello!
Welcome to our very first community art share (click the link if you’d like to participate next month). I’m thrilled to show you some lovely pieces from the Heartbeats community (and a few of my own)! Before we dive in, here’s a little background and some guidelines.
Before Noah was born, I was invited by my friend Jordan to an in-person, bi-weekly gathering of artists from all different backgrounds. Poets, scrapbook artists, painters, fiction writers, tapestry makers, photographers- everyone was included. Being surrounded by other creative folks when I barely had the courage to call myself a writer, nourished my soul and gave me the confidence to consider myself one of their peers.
Once a month, we had the chance to show our art and ask for feedback. Seeing others’ work-in-progress and hearing their creative process was so much fun! It made me realize we all have challenges and struggles; making art is messy and calling yourself an artist can feel radical.
Here’s my intention for these monthly art shares—
Art share community guidelines/manifesto
EVERYONE is welcome. Whether you are a dancer, vocalist, calligrapher, sketchbook artist, potter, etc. You are an artist and your life is your art.
We are here to celebrate the entire process of art-making. Works in progress deserve just as much love and affirmation as completed masterpieces.
This is a space to share projects you’re proud of, unsure about, need help with, can’t stand, unfinished rejects from years past, or published prose you adore. Share your kids’ crayon drawings (or your own!). Share a vision you have that’s still in the making or take a picture of your summer garden, if you want.
There’s no such thing as bad art. We all have to start somewhere and comparing our beginning to someone else’s does nobody any good.
Be kind. Encourage each other in the comments! Ask questions and seek connection and collaboration. This is a place to celebrate each other. What we’re NOT looking for is criticism, (even if you believe it’s constructive).
Support each other! If you like something you see, let the artist know and find a way to reciprocate their offering.
Last but not least, have fun!
Nikki Tate
“Mama…”
“Horsie…”
“Try again. Ma-ma.”
“Horsie.”
The family story goes that I learned to say ‘horsie’ before I said ‘Mama.’ Even I find this hard to believe, but what isn’t in doubt is my obsession with horses started young and never subsided.
Ride enough horses, and eventually, you will fall off, be kicked, bitten, and have more than a toe or two crushed beneath an oblivious hoof. Given how much I love the stupid creatures, it’s surprising I haven’t drawn them more often. When I have attempted a sketch, it’s often in the context of a scribbly cartoon, like this one:
Of the forty or so books I’ve written so far, at least a dozen have featured horses in one way or another. Doing ‘research’ was a great excuse for bonus time hanging out at riding stables, farms, racetracks, and with Pony Express reenactment riders. When horses eventually made their way into a Substack newsletter (it was inevitable), it was in the context of the various ways in which I might have died.
This drawing was part of a more detailed explanation of what happened that time I came flying off a runaway horse in Iceland… (and also an attempt to draw the wind).
What wound up happening with that series of newsletters was I took off on a tangent (about my mother’s early onset dementia and the book it eventually inspired and I never actually returned to the story of exactly what happened in that lava field).
My entire Substack (which is, among other things, about my late-in-life decision to start drawing) is like that – unpredictable. A bit wild and untamed. I never quite know where I’ll wind up when I pick up my pen to draw or sit down at my desk to write. For me, the freedom I’ve found to go wherever my interests of the moment take me is one of the great delights of Substack. JUST as much fun has been discovering so many other writers and artists who are also sharing their creative journeys.
Thanks for including me here!
Artist bio: Nikki Tate is the author of 40 books, thousands of shorter pieces, and the founder of Writers on Fire (writersonfire.net). She lives in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta where she enjoys mountain climbing, a 'safe' sport she took up after one too many equine-induced concussions forced her to give up riding.
Pablo LaPorte
the mirror the mirror you feel what you see anguish battling pride despair conquering hope insecurity pummelling love I see a boy; lost in a mans world I see a mutilation of the cosmos a chance given to the most improbable a habitat for the soul resting in the target between two eyes nesting in the container covered flesh unconventional, but what a unique home it finds
a passion for: escape I fantasise the escape the thrill of treading unknown earths to be accompanied in the escape the woman I wish not to take her with me but to accompany me walk separate paths together two stories, temporarily embracing one another to throw ourselves into the jaws of the unknown to see the cold, sweating walls of the caves and discotheques the fire burn in the ochre sand and quiver in the street lights
Artist bio: From a small town in Namibia to the bustling streets of London, my life’s course has been a maze of two way streets; winding, flipping and turning. My first move across the globe, from Swakopmund to Frankfurt, has taught me an unforgettable lesson: life continues no matter the direction. Recently becoming a university student in London has taught me that life means very little without a constant recognition of the fine line between beauty and pain. My writing aims at finding flamboyance in the everyday and embracing what makes us human: emotions. By balancing and describing the duality of light and dark, the temporary and the infinite, the important and the inessential, unhinged attempts to touch the reader where they expect it least. The most memorable artist is the one who reveals the emotions you have quietly hidden within yourself.
Mariah Friend
“New Jazz”
I made this piece when I was feeling stuck in my job at the time. I was imagining a more authentic, fun, lighthearted space where I could be myself and was actually needed for some of the attributes I felt penalized for in my previous work.
“Between worlds”
This is a nostalgic piece, created in the middle of winter. There’s a stripping away feeling imbued in the season of monochrome colors, a longing to bloom again and yet a need to surrender to the fallow places inbetween. It also speaks to the mechanical monotony of a life separated from nature and the ebb and flow of seasons.
“New life”
I made this one for a friend during a season of grief. The archway is from a photo taken on an island in Greece I visited in my early twenties. The contrast between the old stone and the brilliant hues of blue in the sky and sea offer me a sense of hope and serenity. We can’t be certain what’s beyond the portal of death but when I imagine it as a gateway into even more vitality, it brings me peace.
Artist bio: Mariah has been cutting out magazines and pasting them into collages since she was a little girl, “working” in her grandmother’s office. Often created during turning points in her life, she sees collages as portals into uncharted territory. The words and imagery chosen serve as a personal mantra, anchoring in new realities.
That’s it for this month, folks! If you’d like to contribute to June’s community art share, please fill out this form. Remember to cheer each other on in the comments and celebrate the journey together!
P.S. The best way to support this newsletter/community is to upgrade to a paid membership. Your gift of reciprocity means the world. Thank you.