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The Arts Council of Johnson County /  smART Blog
April 1, 2021 In Artists, Veteran Art, Visual Arts

Organized Chaos: An Interview with Kevin Sytsma

Kevin Sytsma describes his artistic process as “organized chaos.” Sytsma grew up in Iowa and spent seven years in the military, serving in both Afghanistan and Iraq. After coming home and transitioning out of the military, he said a friend invited him to a paint night event. He said he’d never done much with art until attending that class, about a year and a half ago—and that was the start of a whole new world for him. “I just kind of got hooked,” he said. “I fell in headfirst and went crazy.” Since then, Sytsma has continued making art, and has gotten involved

March 4, 2021 In Shooting Stars

2021 Shooting Stars Judges

Amado Espinoza, 2021 Shooting Stars Winds & Percussion Category Judge Amado Espinoza is a unique performing artist, composer and instrument maker from Cochabamba, Bolivia, that respects his folk traditions of the Andes Mountains while creating compositions that are sincere to his musical-wanderlust personality.  Since making Kansas City his home in 2014, Amado has been featured on TedxKC, Kansas City Folk Festival, Native American Harvest Moon Festival, and more.  He is a grant recipient of the Lighton International Artist Exchange Program (2019), Folk Alliance International Music Conference scholarship recipient (2015), ArtsKC Inspiration Grant recipient (2016), Charlotte St. Foundation resident (2015-2017) and 2017 Generative

March 4, 2021 In Artists, Veteran Art, Visual Arts

Always a Story: An Interview with Kyle VanLanduyt

Kyle VanLanduyt said he’s excited to be showing his work alongside other veterans in next year’s Veterans Art Show.  “It was an honor to serve my country…and it’s an honor to be with any veteran or anyone who serves their country,” he said. VanLanduyt served four years as an Air Force firefighter sergeant, which took him to another of different bases—from Texas to Indiana to Guam to working on the Space Shuttle Recovery Team. While in the military, he started DJing part time, which was his first step into the arts he works in now. After the military, he spent over twenty

March 1, 2021 In Advocacy

Just As I Am: Exploring Life with Down Syndrome

Amy Allison, Vice President of Education and Advocacy for the Down Syndrome Guild of Greater Kansas City, said she often starts a conversation about her work by asking people to identify a person they know who lives with Down syndrome. Many, she said, can’t. Their understanding of Down syndrome instead comes from, perhaps, seeing someone at the grocery store or seeing a video on social media. These types of isolated encounters fail to expose people to the full complexity of Down syndrome and the people who live with it—and Allison said the Just As I Am Gallery, which will be

February 2, 2021 In Artists, Veteran Art, Visual Arts

Lifelong Artist: An Interview with Paul Kavanaugh

Paul Kavanaugh said art has always been an important part of his life. “I’ve been doing artwork my whole life. It kind of runs in the family,” he said.  Kavanaugh served in the Army after high school, and he said he took his art with him, working on several murals during training. Art became a way for him to get to know people as well, and just cope with the stress of training and military life. “Art was definitely something that helped me get through that,” he said. After leaving the military, he attended art classes at Johnson County Community College, an experience which

January 12, 2021 In Veteran Art

Take-Home Art Kits

500 take-home art kits were created in partnership by the Arts Council of Johnson County, the Johnson County Culture Division, The Johnson County Museum, and the Johnson County Mental Health Center as an extension of the Resilience, Reflection, Rebuilding: Artists Respond to COVID-19 Exhibition on display at the Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center. 500 total art kits were made based on five different pieces of artwork from the exhibition equaling out to 100 kits made per artwork. The Johnson County Mental Health Center wrote questions relating to each piece of artwork that families can discuss while they make their creations.

a photograph of beach grass against a background of sand, water, and sky
January 7, 2021 In Artists, Veteran Art, Visual Arts

Ekphrasis and Photography: An Interview With Michelle Pond

Michelle Pond is a photographer and poet whose work will be part of the Veterans Art Show next year. Pond served in the Marines from 1971 to 1973 as a Keypunch Operator, a job which she said technological advances since then have made obsolete. She said she had joined the military to finance her education and ended up liking the job, which was one of many that was opening up for women in the military at the time (although women were still not allowed in combat roles). Pond used her military work to finance a degree in journalism, but she said

December 8, 2020 In Advocacy, Mental Health, Uncategorized

The Intersection of Art & Mental Health: A Panel Discussion

Susan Rome, LSCSW Susan is the Deputy Director at Johnson County Mental Health Center, where she has worked for 27 years. Susan is an advocate for persons with mental illness and works to reduce stigma, while emphasizing community needs for behavioral health treatment. She has a special interest in self-care and reducing secondary trauma for those in the helping professions. She was founding member of the KS Law Enforcement CIT Council. She graduated with a BA in Psychology from Wichita State University and a Masters in Social Work from the University of Kansas. Erin Ross, LMLP I have been working with kids

December 4, 2020 In Shooting Stars

2021 Shooting Stars Finalists & Scholarship Recipients

The Arts make an important contribution to any community’s quality of life and are an essential part of every student’s educational experience, teaching 21st Century workplace skills, innovation, critical thinking, collaboration, communication and self-expression. The Shooting Stars Program celebrates young artists and arts educators for their artistic achievements with college scholarships, awards and honorariums. Since 1997, the Shooting Stars Program has recognized over 1,000 high school seniors for their artistic excellence and contributions to their community. Nine first place scholarships of $1,400 each, nine second place scholarships of $700 each and nine teacher honorariums* of $300 each were awarded (*to the nominating teacher of the

A charcoal drawing of a man with an open mouth as if he is yelling
December 3, 2020 In Artists, Veteran Art, Visual Arts

An Interview With Seth Strand

Seth Strand grew up with a pencil in his hand. He’s from small town Iowa, and he said all he ever cared about growing up was art. “I’ve been drawing since I can remember,” he said, noting that his high school counselor even created an art class for him at the end of high school, because he’d taken all other available options. It wasn’t art school after graduation for Strand, however. Instead, he joined the military as an infantryman, went to basic training in January 2012, and deployed to Afghanistan in December. A few months later, on May 4, 2013, Strand said