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The Arts Council of Johnson County / Visual Arts
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

An abstract floral painting
November 5, 2020 In Artists, Mental Health, Visual Arts

Arts & Mental Health: An Interview With Jessie Burnes

Jessie Burnes is a Chicago based painter. Raised in Kansas City, Jessie received her BFA in Painting at Kansas State University in 2018. She then went to complete her Post-Baccalaureate certificate in Painting at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2019. Jessie is currently an MFA candidate in Painting at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.  Before Jessie’s time in graduate school at SAIC, she participated in the undergraduate painting program at Kansas State University. Her work in her undergraduate studies focused on abstracted floral imagery with a subtext on trauma and abuse. Now, in her

Photgraph of a cross on rocks
October 1, 2020 In Artists, Veteran Art, Visual Arts

Seeing Differently: An Interview With Heather Inich

“I’ve pretty much had a camera in my hand for as long as I can remember,” said Heather Inich, one of the artists for the Veterans’ Art Exhibit.  Inich is an Air Force veteran, and she said she started volunteering for the Special Olympics during the military—something she continued to do after leaving the military. Eventually, she became a photographer for the Special Olympics in Kentucky, and her journey with photography continued from there. For her, photography is a way to relax and decompress. Her work focuses mostly on nature, and she said her camera lens lets her see things different—and encourage

Stained glass in a frame laying on a workbench
September 3, 2020 In Artists, Visual Arts

Art & Peace: An Interview With Tony Nichols

Tony Nichols, whose work will be part of the Veterans Art Exhibit next year, said that art has been both his work and his coping strategy—and that he feels it’s important for every veteran to find something that helps them cope. “When you get out, you’ve given enough, you’ve served enough,” he said. “Do what brings you joy.”  Nichols retired in 2013 after 23 years in the Army, and has been working in art for the past 16 years. He said he joined the Army after college. “I wanted to have a little bit more adventure than I was having, so I enlisted

August 4, 2020 In Art, Artists, Visual Arts

New Growth: An Interview With Brittany Noriega

Brittany Noriega is a Kansas City based artist who will be showing her work in a solo exhibition beginning October 2021 and running through January 2022. Noriega is a multidisciplinary artist who works with a variety of mediums and styles. “Every medium kind of has its own emotion and tells its own story,” she explained. “I like to do a little bit of everything.” Noriega said much of her current series, New Growth, centers on emotions, community, and stories of overcoming obstacles. She said the pieces often explore her struggle to leave an abusive relationship and make a new life after. In