Latest / Pop of Culture / S03 E16 - We Get the Sensation of Summer

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S03 E16 - We Get the Sensation of Summer · Pop of Culture

• Untitled - April 24, 2026 00:00:00 Speaker: Support for pop culture comes from Starling's wealth management, Daniel Starling's financial adviser securities and advisory services offered through Cetera Advisors LLC member Finra, SIPC, a broker dealer and registered investment advisor. Cetera is under separate ownership from any other named entity. This week on pop culture, we dig into the pop archives. We'll celebrate Arbor Day with our favorite tree huggers and Muncy. We'll get excited for this year's Three Trails music series, and we'll talk to a furniture artist in this week's what Are You working on? That's all coming up in this encore edition of Pop Up Culture. Support for pop culture comes from Stallings Wealth Management and from you. You might have seen a federal judge's recent ruling against an executive order to defund public media. This does not reverse a loss of federal funding. So you are the reason local programming is still on IPR. Give today at Indiana publicradio dot org. From IPR. This is pop culture. I'm Kara Duquette and I'm Michelle Kinsey. This week we dig into the archives to unearth some cool interviews from previous pop seasons. And later we'll hear our interview with a local artist who makes the Indy five hundred wreath. But first, Arbor Day is April twenty fourth this year, and Minnetrista Museum and Gardens is hosting its annual celebration the next day on April twenty fifth. Our producer, Luke spoke to James Edwards from Minnetrista, as well as Erica Oliver from Ball State's Doctor Joe and Alice Reinhardt Orchid Greenhouse in season one. So let's talk about what are we doing with trees or what are you doing with trees? It's really a celebration of urban forestry, and I'm lucky enough to sit on the Urban Forestry Committee. Um, committee board chair, I don't know what you would call it. It's the Urban Forestry Committee. And so I sit on that with that group and we're really just celebrating urban forestry. And so that day, um, we offer saplings to give away. We offer, uh, planting demonstrations that day. We'll have a mobile exhibit out in the parking lot called Woods on Wheels. It should be a cram packed day full of excitement. Last year, we saw over seven hundred and fifty people, and I expect more this year. Um, it was a wonderful day to celebrate trees and urban forestry. Is it hard to grow a tree? I wouldn't say it's hard to grow. I think it's most urban trees are not slated for a long life. There's a lot of, um, you know, concrete, a lot of root disturbance. There's, you know, cars and um, The heat island effect. So urban trees have a shorter lifespan than a native forest, and so we have to replace them quite frequently. Unfortunately, we also have dealt with the emerald ash borer. And so they took out a lot of our street trees that were ash. And so we are constantly needing to plant more and more trees. And so it's just a way to celebrate that. And so if you get a if you come to the Arbor Day, you'll get a sapling to take with you. You will get a little care information about how to plant it. You can watch a demonstration, how to plant it. My favourite thing is when I see people bringing pictures of their trees they planted three years ago, and then every year I get to see a new picture of this tree that they took from Arbor Day event. And so it's I would not say it's difficult. You just want to be, you know, be strategic about it. You want to plant the tree in the right place for the right plant. So if it's going to be out in the open, it needs to be able to handle full sun. If it's going to be a super tall tree, then you have to be careful about overhead power lines or, um, keeping them far enough from your house so that when they do mature, they're not touching your house or, you know, disturbing your foundation, those kind of things. So it's all about that first initial, um, planting all the plans, going there, and then you have to maintain it. So a tree can take several, several years to, to establish, I would say with you plant a tree and you get it five years, uh, into the ground, then you're pretty much well off to the races. But there could be, you know, dry spells in between there. And so that first year you're going to water much more frequently. The second year you're going to still keep an eye on it. Third year, the same thing. And then fourth and fifth year, you're kind of getting off to the races and starting to establish. And then you're going to start thinking about pruning and making sure you have a good structure in that tree. I it's interesting that you would say like, once you plant a tree, it's not like, oh, like it's done like you, it is a commitment of time. Yes. It is a commitment of time. And, uh, it's, it's not like you have a full time job or anything, but it's just checking in with the, the, the tree, just making sure that it's got a good growth pattern, making sure that during dry spells, it's getting supplemental watering to get those roots out there. Um, it's just establishment really. And it's just, I think a lot of people think you, you put a tree in the ground and it's established for one year. Well that's great. Who knows what's going to happen or what's happened over the next summer or how, how wet of a winter it was or how dry of a summer it was. Are there because this is the part that I struggle with. Keeping plants inside alive is checking in on them, seeing what they need are the resources that people can use to help them. Like, say, planting a tree for the first time. They go to a buddy, they get those sapling other resources that they can use to, I guess, check in on the tree. I think there probably are resources out there. You'll learn a lot at the Arbor Day itself. Um, but then you have the Purdue extension services that are available. Uh, we often get calls ourselves from Minnetrista, but then also a local arborist is going to be your friend for your trees. You know, they are your your tree specialists. And so if you have a nice wooded lot, you probably should have had a conversation with an arborist at some point in time just to make sure that your trees are healthy and off to the races. But also, you know, keeping up with some of those other pests. So if you heard about emerald ash borer, then you. Well, that's kind of past now. That kind of has already happened. So if you were having a bunch of ash trees, you know, because they're dead now. And so if you would have got ahead of that and stayed up to date with what's possible, you could have been treating them and they would have been still thriving. So it's, it's, it's kind of a, it's not a big project to have a tree in your yard by any means, but you just have to check in on them. And if you're seeing something odd, take pictures, use use the internet, find resources. You know, anytime you want to find a resource on the internet and you want it to be scientific based type dot ext at the end of it, and it's going to be an extension article probably, and that's going to be the best way to get that scientific approach to it. Gotcha. Uh, I don't want to bring the interview down, but are the current threats to trees or plants that we should know about? Yes. Oh, so current threats could be sudden oak wilt disease. Um. Did you say sudden oak wilt disease? Sudden oak death is what it's called. Actually, so sudden oak death. And so I did this to myself. Yeah. So there's always pests. There's, you know, we are a global economy. So pests are coming and going from shipping containers from people, um, from plant material itself. And so there are always going to be new pests. And you just have to kind of stay up to date a little bit on that. And, um, just so you can be ahead of it. And um, if you have a pest, then that takes out a plant, then you just want to be smart about replacing that plant so that that pest doesn't attack the new cultivar, the new species that you're going to put in that space. Gotcha. James Edwards is the associate director of horticulture at Minnetrista Museum and Gardens. We also spoke to Erika Oliver, the Environmental education and greenhouse coordinator at Ball State University. One of our questions was, where is the greenhouse? So the doctor, Joe and alternate orchid greenhouse is part of a bigger unit. We are the Ball state field station and Environmental Education Center, and we call ourselves Fsec for short. And we actually manage over four hundred and twenty five acres for conservation education and research. Um, only seventeen of those acres are on campus. And that is Christy Woods. And the greenhouses and the Environmental Education Center are part of that parcel of seventeen acres. Um, we are kind of hidden away. We're on the edge of campus at university in Tillotson. Um, we're right across the street from the hospital. You just pull in between the soccer fields, and we've got visitor parking right outside the greenhouse. Um, so visitors can come on in. Um, we're completely free, and they can take a walk or stroll through the greenhouse. They can walk their dog or do anything outdoor oriented in the woods. Um, and they can come into the classroom to see our animals and our beehive and learn more about the things that we do here. You have a beehive. We do. So the Environmental Education Center is my favorite place. We opened it almost two years ago. Um, we nicknamed it the Nature Lab because that just sounded more fun for kiddos. Um, and that is my primary audience. Um, last year was our first year being open, um, twenty two to twenty three and we had over ten thousand visitors, which was amazing. And over half of those were families and kiddos. So this room is meant to be flexible and accessible for all ages. It's kind of our focal place now for organizing events. It's where our plant sale and our other things take place, and it's where we base our school groups and field trips before we spread out into the nature spaces. Um, and inside the classroom, we have an indoor observation beehive. It's a glass hive with a tube that connects through the wall. So the bees can leave the building and come back whenever they want. Um, we also have five frogs and two toads native to Indiana. We have two eastern tiger salamanders who are brand new. We just had got them two weeks ago. And we have Beaker, our box turtle, um, who may be more popular than anything else in the room. He's a very friendly little guy. Later in our conversation with Erica, she gave us more details about the Greenhouse's annual plant sale and why they do it in April twenty seventh. Also from ten to three is our annual plant sale and fundraiser. So all proceeds go back towards our environmental education programs so that we don't have to charge for the things that we do. Um, and we'll have orchids and houseplants and succulents and a lot of other cool stuff for sale and things that have, I guess what I would say started in the greenhouse and then you kind of most of them. Okay. So a lot of the, all the houseplants and succulents we take cuttings of and we propagate them. Um, a lot of our native plants, some we purchased, um, but we've been taking care of others were donated from our volunteers yards. They grew out of the garden beds. So they, they potted them up for us and they've been overwintering, um, at a volunteer's house. Um, and then we do purchase the orchids that we sell because the orchids are most of our collection will not do well in a normal home. Unless you want to live in the tropics inside your nice house. So we do purchase hybrid orchids to sell that have been, um, human grown to do better in the conditions that we like to live in. In the east central Indiana weather is what you're saying? Exactly. Yes. It's Arbor Day and the pop team is out hugging trees. Celebrate Arbor Day at Minnetrista Museum and Gardens on Saturday, April twenty fifth from nine a m to one p m. And don't forget the Ball State Greenhouse Plant sale on Saturday, April twenty fifth from ten a m to three p m. This is pop of culture. I'm Cara Duquette and I'm Michelle Kinsey. We're counting down to race day for the one hundred and tenth Indianapolis five hundred this upcoming Memorial Day. And for over thirty years, one local artist has made the flower wreath given to the winning driver. We spoke to Julie Harmon Vance in season one, episode seventeen. Julie. First, tell me about your history in all things plants and flowers. Tell me a little bit about your your business. Well, I started my business in two thousand and seven, but prior to that I worked from nineteen eighty eight on down in the Indianapolis area flower shops. What was the interest? Why? Why flowers? Why flowers? Oh, you know, I fell into flowers. I was an artist from birth. I mean, the creative mind, the Crayola kid. The art classes in high school? Yeah, I did all kinds. Anything artistic. My main goal was to move to Broad Ripple for, you know, excitement. Yeah. And I did start college for art in Indianapolis right after high school, but I found a job in a floral department at Kroger Castleton, and I loved it. And then I had a couple older people kind of take me under their wing and teach me the business. I worked there shortly, and then I moved on to full fledged flower shops, but after that it was my medium. Were you surprised that you could do so much with your desire to be creative within the realm of of flower arranging? Yeah, I did not know the floral industry. And a lot of people don't understand what goes on in a flower shop. What, what they do. You know, it's a big misconception that it's all beautiful and good smells, but it's extremely hard work and it's all last minute and you have to be a fast designer to be a successful designer. Um, most flower shops consider funeral work their bread and butter, but I've fallen into a lot of larger events and flowers for business. One of those events is a really, really big event. Julie. I mean, probably the biggest this state has, uh, especially in the summer in May. Of course, I'm talking about the Indy five hundred. Talk about your involvement with the big race. Well, I am the designer for the last thirty three years. That creates the winner's wreath for the winner. And the wreath that I create is the most photographed flower arrangement in the world. That's awesome. Just to hear you say that sentence, does that freak you out? I mean to say, I mean to like, let that sink in for a second. The most photographed flower arrangement in the world? Yes, I would say so. Can you think of another? I cannot. I mean, there's a Kentucky Derby blanket and yeah, the wreath for the Unknown Soldier. But it's the. Yeah. Wow. Well, tell me how this arrangement came to be. Did you kind of did they have some sort of, uh, application to do the wreath? Was there a competition? I got lucky, but I also felt feel like it was destiny in a sense. I was twenty two years old and working at a flower shop at Keystone at the crossing. Um, I, we had a great business there. I worked for a man and wife that are dear to me still, that are, were like my parents away from home when I moved. They owned the shop. Um, so they went to church with a man that was working for Borg-Warner. He was a litigator. And that year, Bill Cronin that created the wreath for thirty two years prior to me, the only other person that did. He passed away. And so Borg-Warner was seeking a good florist. And, you know, he said, hey, I know a great florist. Wow. So that's how we acquired the order. And I was the designer there. So the three of us, the three amigos here, we came up with how it looks now. And Dan actually handcrafted the letters for several years in the beginning. I do have them professionally cut out now, but when we put thirty three orchids around the wreath, we thought that was so cool. And we mentioned it to Borg-Warner and they said, well, let's, let's keep that. So before I made it, it did vary in the way that it looked. And I'm sure that Bill was trying to figure out what the best way to go with it. Yeah. So I at least had all his years behind me when I started. I love, I love it exactly how it is. I wouldn't change it. I think it's perfect. Yeah. And I and so these the letters that I'm looking at in the photo, first of all in the shop, I have to point out that as soon as you walk in this beautiful shop, you see a wall of memories of five hundred memories with wreaths everywhere. And those are wood. Is that wood? Yes. What kind? You. Yeah. They're ready to go. Oh my God, the twins are ready. That's awesome. So these are going to be the actual yes wood letters that are on the wreath this year. Yes. Very cool. Very. I don't know for sure, but it might be the last time because BorgWarner has changed their logo recently. So oh, something we're going to talk about after the race. So it's going to may look a little different. So it's possible. So how do you take this on every year and what is your inspiration? When do you start thinking about it? And how does this this unfold for the race each year? Well, I'm constantly thinking about it and it's been a constant challenge to keep the exact same materials in stock because a lot of things they've discontinued. So if I catch wind of it, I'll buy a whole bunch and I'll figure, you know, I can make this many up until I'm eighty nine. I'm good. I bought it, yeah. So I do like the polyurethane wreath was an issue. Oh yeah. I have case after case this year. The ribbon was discontinued. Wow. So I did find it like the ribbon company sold it off and I found it. And I bought as much as I could, so. Wow. The black and white checkered ribbon. Well, no, it's the red, white and blue. Oh, the red. And it's like a French wired ribbon. And you start searching online. There's just nothing like it. So. Oh, wow. And go ahead as far as the flowers go. Yes. My whole sellers are on board. They know. But we start talking a month or two ahead and then the flowers came today. So they usually come about Tuesday. They're right there. Oh, and they are fabulous. Those are gorgeous this year from the Netherlands. Oh wow. And I was researching. It's a family owned company, so I'm excited to reach out and send them a picture. Even if they knew, you know, because they did go to a flower market first before, like, so they may not know where the orchids went to. So hopefully that'll be special to them. So how are you tracking them down? How do you. Well, the box had a lot of information. Yeah. And I you know, and it's not in English, but I, I googled this word and I found out this is a great big floral market interchange. And you can see like trainloads of flowers where buyers sit and buy. So they probably don't know that's where they're headed. Yeah. I would think as an orchid grower, that'd be a huge privilege. Right? Yeah. And so these are just a beautiful white with like really bright pops of, of yellow. And would you say that fuchsia Burgundy. Yes. That's what I'm shooting for. Always. Sometimes it's not the case. Yeah. I'm very happy with those. Now you'll see that one over there had like a pink middle. Oh, yeah. But I mentioned earlier he had a pink car and a pink suit and it looked really nice. Oh yeah. That is nice. It was a coincidence. Absolutely. So what? Do you know the name of this particular orchid? Like what? This variety is other than beautiful? Yeah. The variety name is Virginia. Oh, Virginia. Okay. And so what made you decide on the Virginia orchid like that for? Well, as I mentioned, for years, I did the Fort Knox Angel flight and that company disappeared on me. They were five inches across the stark white. And they had a nice Burgundy center. So I'm constantly trying to find one that looks like that. That's similar, but it always depends on the growers and what they have available in their crop. And so it's kind of a battle of the countries right now who gets my order. So. Wow. This year have you had orchids? Yeah. Have you ever had a year or season where it looked like that orc is not going to be available. And then what would he do right here? So that was the year I had three different country orchids in here, but there was a lot of bad. And my wholesalers were able to Fedex some from New Zealand. And I got them on like Thursday. Thursday. Oh, that was stressful. So yeah. Yeah. And what year was that? Because it said that tradition almost had to change this year, twenty twenty one when you were. Oh my goodness. But it always comes through. But man just to come through. And they're gorgeous. The weather on race day. That's right. So when you were how long does it take to put this together. Start to finish. When, when do you. What day will you. Well I'm going to start prepping today. Okay. I will fully make one Thursday and definitely make one Friday because I have some documentation going on Friday from the museum at the Motor Speedway of the wreath being made. Oh, wow. Yeah. And tell me about that. Why? Why does the documentation. The museum's under remodel. And when they open in twenty twenty five, they'll have a really nice display of all the contributions that BorgWarner has given to the race. And it includes the wreath. Oh, wow. That's awesome. So do you have any idea what else is going to be included from your. Well, of course the trophy will be centered. And then I know, um, the ring is involved in the milk. And of course the artist who creates the silver faces on the trophy. Yeah, you're right up there with the things that people think of when you think of the other than the cars. But when you think about the iconic images, yes, the wreath is always involved. I love that. I love that image of him drinking that milk and it's spraying everywhere. Yeah. That moment, while it's perfect before it's smashed. Yeah, yeah. So what happens to the wreath after? Like we're looking at a photo right now of a driver who has the wreath after they want. What happens to the wreath after that? I think the drivers really love that wreath. They usually get a call right after the race asking how we can preserve it. Oh my God. If Penske wins, we have a little routine where I ship them silk orchids and they replace it in their dried greenery. I love that idea. So yeah, that one is special. I've heard, you know, they don't want to duplicate or you know, it's got to be that one. Wow. And I have made silk versions for winning teams before. Yeah. But there again, you know, and then the nostalgia of that one is very important. I've heard. Oh, I mean, and I do know that the milk does a number on those letters. So your advice would be maybe try not to get milk on the letters. Yeah. Yeah. They should let me in there, please. Yeah. Let me. Could I just cover that up? Yeah. Right. What is the best part about doing what you do? Julie. as far as a florist or as far as the winner's wreath? Both. Let's start with. As a florist and then we'll talk about the. The best thing I do as a florist is I really help a lot of people when they're trying to express herself at important times, which a lot of times means my funeral work. I do a tremendous amount of casket sprays and stuff for family, and a lot of them are really specialized to what you know, that person loved during their lifetime. And many times it's been a racing theme. I do get a lot of call outs for people out of state that will drive in and get a winner's wreath for a funeral, because that person loved Indy five hundred so much, or a casket spray that has race flags in it and things like that. Yeah. And then tell me the best part about being involved in the race in this way. Uh, you know, anymore I feel such an attachment to the racetrack. It just feels like it's part of me now, and I just have such a sense of pride and such a sense of Indiana pride, you know? Do you go to the race every year? Yes, I do. Thanks to BorgWarner, I have wonderful tickets and almond parking. Oh, my. Oh. Oh. All right. Fancy that. That's awesome. How long do you see yourself doing the the wreath? Well, honestly, you know, I figure by seventy five, seventy eight years old, old hands may be stiff, but. And I might be an old husband by then. Oh, come on now. Yeah. I hope so. Yeah, we, I think we, yeah. Several, several decades left of doing this. I hope so. Yeah. And since the style never changes. I'm good. Yeah. You can see Julie's work this Memorial Day weekend being worn by the winner of this year's Indy five hundred. If you're taking a pit stop on IPR for Pop of Culture, you can race through all of our previous seasons on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Indiana Public Radio dot org. While it's only April, we yearn for summertime and summertime means the Muncie Three Trails concert series. We've spoken with many of the musicians on stage, but let's jump to season one, episode twenty eight, and our conversation with Chris Barnes of the sensational Barnes Brothers. They were so amazing they had to bring them back. The sensational Barnes brothers are returning as part of the Muncie Three Trails Music series. Do you remember when you were here in twenty one? I know you've probably played a lot of dates, but it was a phenomenal show. I absolutely do. Uh, it was one of our first dates after Covid. Yes. Or post Covid. So yes, it's a very memorable show. The setting was everything. It was beautiful outside. Uh, I love the stage that we, uh, performed on. Uh, and we actually, I got to bring my sister along, so it was very memorable. Yeah, it was a great show. Which leads me to my next question. Before we kind of get into the history of the group, we have got to cover the fact that I believe the sensational Barnes Brothers covers just about every genre that exists. Does that, does that? Is that solely based on kind of like, these are the things that I have loved growing up, and you just kind of throw it all out there. Tell me why it's important for you to, to touch so many genres, uh, in one of your concerts. So the type of festivals and concerts that we put on, um, we love all different types of music and when we can relate to any crowd that's in front of us, uh, that's definitely a plus. Uh, plus we love to have fun kind of recreating songs, uh, making them our own. So, uh, that's, that's the fun. That's kind of what keeps us going, uh, keeps us in love with music itself. And so we're talking about the sensational Barnes brothers, and you do this with your brother Courtney, but you definitely come from a musical family. Talk a little bit about how music became such a big part of your life. Chris. So, uh, just again, being born into a musical family, my mom and dad, they sang together all the time. They always took us to, uh, like they performed at a lot of weddings. Mhm. Um, so we were there. We were in church. Uh, my mom was the youth choir director and it wasn't, you know, people make fun of us and say we would like the Jacksons. Uh, dad didn't give us spankings because we didn't, but, uh, they made it was very intentional on their part to instill in us this gift. Uh, my mom saw it at an early age, uh, that we had a gift of singing and music. So she cultivated it, uh, along with my father who played the piano. Uh, my mom was a pianist. She teaches piano and voice. So, uh, it was almost like we had no choice. Um, my mom was a raelette. Uh, my dad was a recording artist as well with Jesse Dixon. I don't know if you've heard of the Christian artist Jesse Dixon. Um, but yeah, it was just all around and we almost had no choice. Yeah, basically. But I'm assuming you enjoyed it, right? Or you wouldn't still be doing it. And when did you decide to, uh, to do the sensational Barnes brothers to do just the duo with your, with your brother. So Courtney and I, we had done some background work for a producer named Bruce Watson, who owns a label called Fat Possum. We recorded some backgrounds on, uh, Grammy nominated artist Don Bryant. His album. Mhm. And so Bruce Watson, he bought the Hi Records catalog, which owns all of Al Green's music and another, uh, catalog called Designer Gospel Records. And he came actually came up with the idea. He said, man, I think it'll be kind of funky if you guys recorded some of this music. Mhm. And so Courtney and I, we had already recorded with my brother and sister as a family album. Uh, and it was really, uh, shot in the dark, just a project. We were just trying to see how it was. And it, it took about a week to do this album and, uh, the lo and behold, people started to bite on this sound. It was a sound of, uh, from the seventies, sixties, seventies and kind of modernized through the way Courtney and I, uh, interpreted the music. Yeah. What do you like about that particular sound? And why did that stick? As far as what you and your brother do together. Uh, this particular sound is for me. Uh, it's just relatable. I think it's a simple sound. It's not overproduced. Yeah. Uh, you don't have. You know what I'm saying? Yes. No autotune happening and any of it, uh, and I think, well, I know, you know, the message and the music reaches the people. It's a very simple message and it's easy to digest. So I think I know that's what I love about it. Uh, and it takes me back, you know, to a time where life was a bit more simple. Yeah. Does it take you back to church with the family? Definitely takes us to church. Yeah. Definitely takes us to church. And how does it feel when you are in front of a crowd like you were at Cannon Commons for that amazing show in twenty twenty one? How does it feel to look out and see? I mean, that is a that is a large congregation of concert goers, right? How does it feel to like, bring everybody with you on that ride. So I'm always skeptical when we get up in front of people in the crowd, large or small, because you you never know how people will receive the music or the message. Uh, and actually I do better in with bigger crowds. Uh, you know, somebody's going to catch it. Um, but it was such a beautiful day then. I mean, the weather was perfect, and there was a peace that came over me. Uh, performing that day. Uh, I don't get nervous or anything, but I'm really anticipating somebody really hearing what we have to say. Yeah. And how would you kind of, in a nutshell, how would you describe that message that, that, that thing, that feeling that you want to get across to people? Uh, well, the, the message is this is a message, a message of hope, you know, peace. Yes, love. Uh, we talk about, you know, some some of life's circumstances, you know, that, uh, we don't have control over, uh, but a message that leads people and directs people towards, uh, the love of God and how he cares for us. That's the message that we train while we're up. And it's not only done through gospel, the gospel music, uh, we pull from other genres, R&B, some soul, uh, we've even included, uh, some soft rock into our set now. So, um, but the message still remains. Yeah. And see, that's, that goes back to my point earlier that you touch on so many different genres, but it's still your vibe. It's still the sensational Barnes brother vibe, right? Yeah. Correct. Yeah. So where are you at right now? Are you are you on tour? Is it taking you all over the country or where are you at right now? So actually, I'm in Atlanta right now, uh, Vacationing a little bit, getting you know, we just came off the road on the East coast about thirteen, fourteen days. Mhm. And I took a little vacation, uh, for a few days. And we're headed you guys way Saturday. Yeah. Uh, and yes, we're still touring. Wonderful, wonderful. So, uh, what's next for the sensational Barnes Brothers? What's next? We're currently, uh, finishing up an album that we hope to, uh, drop late fall. At this point, I can't really see it being any sooner than that, but late fall, uh, we hope for a release of, uh, either EP. I don't, I'm not sure that it'll be a full length album, but definitely, uh, you'll get, uh, six to eight songs on this album of original music. Great. Oh, we're looking forward to hearing that. Looking forward to hearing that. And, uh, one more question. I know the last time you were here, uh, your sister joined you. What does it feel like to. I know a lot of people say, you know, when you get together and you're part of a band, it becomes family, but you actually perform with family. How how special is it for you to get on that stage and look over and see your brother there? Uh, well, it's actually, it's, it's comforting, um, because we've been doing it so long. So the thinking part, that element or it just doesn't exist. Uh, and I have my brother on piano, who's the MD. Mhm. So the creativity part that happens, uh, when we're trying to figure things out, it's much easier, uh, the communication that way. Uh, it's challenging as well because we are our own people. Uh, we have our, uh, you know, oh, I know, yeah, sometimes you, you know how it is with family. It's, it's all love, but time away does good. You know, you, you know, um, but no, it's an amazing feeling. It's a blessing to be able to do this with family and, you know, close friends and, and, and the members of the band that aren't blood related. Uh, we've become even closer and that bond continues to grow stronger. This year's Three Trails concert series will be Saturday nights from July through September at Cannon Commons in downtown Muncie and the Brown Family Amphitheater on Ball State's campus. I'm Michelle Kinsey. And I'm Cara Duquette. In this encore, what are you working on segment, we look back at our conversation with someone who takes spring cleaning to a whole other level our way. Whoa! Guest Connie Baty restores the furniture you put on the curb into repurposed pieces of art. We are here today with Connie Beatty, an artist, a mother and the owner of Green Velvet Creative Company. Um, when I saw the term, uh, furniture art that you have on your website. And then I read your tagline where art and function meet you absolutely had my heart because I am a big fan of beautiful things that are functional. And so I was hoping you could talk to us about Green Velvet creative. So I am a furniture artist and if you don't know, I take pieces of furniture that have been otherwise discarded, whether it's at the thrift store or just the side of the road and turn it into something beautiful and functional again. There is a huge amount of furniture that just goes to landfill each year, and I have made it a goal to minimize that just a little bit. Um, so I focus on restoration furniture, art and upholstery work. So depending on what type of furniture. Um, I'll do my best to transform them into functional pieces again. Um, so my, my favorite of those three aspects is, is furniture art and just taking, using furniture as the, as my canvas. Well, can you walk us through a piece of the furniture art? Sure. As your canvas. Sure. That's intriguing. Yeah. So, um, I do a lot of custom work for people, um, as well as, you know, those, those fines on the side of the road. So I take them a little bit differently depending on, um, if somebody has a specific vision that they would like to see, or if it's one that I can just do whatever I would like to do. Those are the best. Those are the best. Um, now the process, like getting ready to that, at that point, it's the same process that I, that I follow. I'll get a piece. Clean it and do the prep work to it. So if it needs repairs, um, it always will get sanded down and primed prior to prior to anything else. And then if it's being painted, I guess if it's going re restore back to original finish, I won't won't do that primer step. And so if it's a custom piece, we'll go off of what the client wants. So sometimes that's just just painting a piece blue. But if we're doing a true furniture art is what, what my, my favorite piece, um, I let this piece speak to me. So I, I'll sometimes sit on it for a little while and think about how is this piece going to be used and what do I want the story to tell from this piece of furniture and um, shape of it come plays a big role in that. So you take a mid-century piece of furniture is a lot different than an antique piece that has curved lines and carved intricate details. So I play a lot off of. I let the piece speak to me first and, um, so yeah, each piece is different and I find my inspiration behind that. And then the painting begins and I use, I use a line of paint, um, called wise owl paint. So if it's one that I want to be very artistic and I want to have blends and multi-colors, I'm going to use that. It's chalk synthesis line and it allows me to, you know, be able to manipulate and manipulate the colors. And those are my favorite to do. Uh, I love being able to blend the colors and really, truly use it like a, as a, as an art medium. So you say you also do upholstery. Where do you find that, uh, medium and how does it play with the painting and the embellishment? Or does it? So it does. Um, so I like, I, I've just kind of stumbled, I've been painting furniture for over a decade. So it's, that's been a long process, but the upholstery is newer to me. It's, I've only been doing that for two, two and a half years. And I had a client that I knew pretty well. And she was like, I just, I just want you to try like, this piece is bad. And I just, I want you to try to fix it. And I've done like just, you know, your dining chair seats, you know, pretty basic thing that's, that's no problem. But she had a, you know, an antique chair that was her grandmother's and she just wanted it fixed. And so I did, and I tried and everything that I've learned from from upholstery is just taking it apart and putting it back together and watching some videos here and there on how to do certain things. Um, but it's, it's interesting. And each upholstery piece I learned something new on, um, just depending on when it was made or how it was made. Um, they use different techniques now. I, for the most part just, I do upholstery projects as custom projects. Um, they take a lot of time. Um, and they're usually big, so I don't want them just hanging out in my garage for a long time or something. So, um, but I use the upholstery clients. Usually they want something really impressive and cool. If they're going to, they're going to put the time to, um, have it redone for them. So, and sometimes it includes painting. Some of it has wood like feature arms on it or something and can do some painting and a mix of the two, two art forms. But um, yeah, they are some of my, some of the coolest before and afters. So some of those old upholstery pieces are pretty rough looking. And then when they're, when they're done, they're, they're pretty impressive. They, like, look completely different. Yeah. Like you feel like a massive transformation often. Is there anything else you'd like to share with us about your art and your process or. Yeah, so I do, um, I would like to share, I do sell the type of paint that I use as well because it's wise owl furniture paint and I sell it out at Caldwell Antique Mall and on the north side of Muncie, as well as on my website. Um, and we're about to, they're about to open a new store downtown Muncie called Hoosier Maid. Um, and I am opening a second location within there that I'll have my, my furniture art and furniture paint there. Um, so that's one way if somebody wants to try to do furniture art on their own. Um, that's a good spot to start. And then I'm always happy to, to help in that. Um, I really love encouraging, encouraging people just to, just to create, um, I think that I think anybody can refinish furniture. Um, within the last six months, I've started a subscription box that has, uh, decoupage paper and, um, furniture paint in it and as well as some different embellishments that get sent out each month to people that, um, want to be creative and kind of work alongside with and work on their process. Um, and I'm happy to be able to share that with other people and then see what they're doing and encourage what they're, they're trying to create too. That's wonderful. I recycling, reusing, creating things from what has already been and giving it a new life is pretty amazing. Yeah. I appreciate you being here today. And can you please tell us your, um, web address and maybe the address of this new store? I don't know if you know that yet, but, um, so my web address is Green Velvet Creative Co dot com. You can find examples of my artwork. You can find the furniture, paint and the subscription box there. I'm super active on Facebook and Instagram. Um, just on keeping updates on projects that I'm working on. And then the new store Hoosier made is downtown. It's in the Patterson Building right on Walnut Street. Great. Well, thank you again for being here with us today, Connie. Thank you for having me. We're going to give you just a little taste of the story behind the song. Take a listen to Laura Sweitzer from a recent Songwriter Sessions and hear their story behind the song on next week's show. How can I harbor all this ache? All alone in my hometown. Is this an ever present pain. We've said it all. Can't hash it out. I drown myself in books. You thought I moved on. I know how it looked. But I still see glimmers of you. In a parking lot in July. Moving in places we'd meet. Through grass we would sneak to haunted a sea. You were my secret beneficial friend. A fantasy that had to end. Is this the zip code where you I'm sure she'll be blonde and true. While I'm sleeping in my bed. Lie through your teeth and say I do. I drown myself in words. I'm doing fine. I see your face in a clerk. But I still see glimmers of you in parking lots. In July. Moons in places we'd meet. Through grass we would sneak to. I need a c. You were my secret beneficial friend, a Fantasy that has to end. I know that I'll find better. Might find better. I know that I'll get better. Might get better. But God, when we were together, I was together. I've got to get it together. Get it together. Cause I still see glimmers of you. Thank you. Support for pop culture comes from Stallings Wealth Management and from you, you might have seen a federal judge's recent ruling against an executive order to defund public media. This does not reverse our loss of federal funding. So you are the reason local programming is still on IPO. Give today at Indiana Public Radio dot org. And that's our show. Our digital content guide is August Wild. This week was produced by Andrew Montavon, who is probably the readiest for summer break out of all of his peers at Ball State. We had production assistants from a still wishing he was on vacation. Luke Jones, our audio fellow is Maya Doss. Our show was hosted by me, Michelle Kinsey, and me Kara Duquette. Pop of culture is a production from IPR on the campus of Ball State University.