Latest / WIXN AM 1460 - Shaw Local Radio / Nora Reuter's Brave Art Studios & Gallery

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Nora Reuter's Brave Art Studios & Gallery · WIXN AM 1460 - Shaw Local Radio

0:00
Speaker 1: I mean just having Nora rut in here is great.
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Speaker 1: I loved the superhero polls. You know that you've first
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Speaker 1: seen painted and not that was by Eddie means my
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Speaker 1: first you know, kind of glimpse into your art contribution
0:15
Speaker 1: around here. But it's just always something fun, always something
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Speaker 1: unmistakably you. And I think that just perfectly leads into
0:24
Speaker 1: this news that you have. And I'm not going to
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Speaker 1: give any further ado. This is Nora's story. Nora, what
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Speaker 1: do you want to let everyone know? Oh?
0:31
Speaker 2: Well, thank you for the wonderful intro. Gosh. So yeah,
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Speaker 2: I have been working for a while and kind of
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Speaker 2: created this little brain child that I'm calling Brave Arts
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Speaker 2: Creative Studio. So this is a welcoming, judgment free space
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Speaker 2: where people of all ages can reconnect with their creativity.
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Speaker 2: And I'm not trying to turn kids into artists. I'm
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Speaker 2: trying to nurture creative thinkers, you know, something every industry
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Speaker 2: needs in the future. You know, through hands on play
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Speaker 2: problem solving, like the currents to try things before they're
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Speaker 2: good at them, children can build ambition, follow through tenacity,
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Speaker 2: and like build real confidence. There's gonna be a lot
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Speaker 2: of things for just about everybody, no matter what your age,
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Speaker 2: no matter gender, no matter what you're into. You know,
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Speaker 2: we're really here to kind of hone in that creativity.
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Speaker 2: So we're gonna be opening the beginning of January, so
1:20
Speaker 2: that first Monday in January is gonna be our first
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Speaker 2: official business day. But we are going to be opening
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Speaker 2: for the Christmas Walk this Friday, December fifth, from five
1:29
Speaker 2: to eight. People can come see the space. They can
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Speaker 2: learn a little bit more about the different unique things
1:34
Speaker 2: that they're gonna be available. They can join our newsletter
1:36
Speaker 2: to get first notice on upcoming events and weekly list
1:39
Speaker 2: of projects so they can go ahead of time what
1:41
Speaker 2: kind of sorts of themes and materials are gonna be available.
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Speaker 3: And we'll have a.
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Speaker 2: Few different Christmas crafts for free that the kids can
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Speaker 2: do and adults, and we'll have great deals on disc
1:49
Speaker 2: golf there too. Of course, my husband Brent Ruter, and
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Speaker 2: I run Rock River disc Golf, so it wouldn't be
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Speaker 2: us if we were selling some discs in there as well.
1:57
Speaker 2: And we're gonna be rolling out a special for twenty
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Speaker 2: percent off of first disc and with an additional five
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Speaker 2: percent off every other disc up to fifty percent off,
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Speaker 2: so we have a lot a lot coming up.
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Speaker 1: And you're right, it absolutely would not be you guys
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Speaker 1: without disc golf. I honestly had wondered if you guys
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Speaker 1: were going to you recently welcomed a.
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Speaker 3: Little router to hmmm, that's right.
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Speaker 1: And I was like, I have to wonder if there's
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Speaker 1: going to be like a bouquet of disc behind this
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Speaker 1: kid for like this first photo shoot.
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Speaker 3: This kid's never going to be bored. I can guarantee that.
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Speaker 2: You know, it's funny you bring him up because you know,
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Speaker 2: anybody who's a parent knows that when you become a parent,
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Speaker 2: you think about the future a lot more. And with him,
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Speaker 2: you know, Brett and I really kind of honed in
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Speaker 2: on what do we want our not just our future
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Speaker 2: and his future to look like, but like what do
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Speaker 2: we want the commute like, the future of the community
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Speaker 2: look like. What do we want his peers to be like?
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Speaker 2: So we're always kind of focused on that. We know,
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Speaker 2: with building disc golf courses and trying to get more
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Speaker 2: people outside and connected, this is another kind of branch
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Speaker 2: of that into that. You know, there's a lot of
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Speaker 2: creativity and disc off too, but with Brave Arts, you know,
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Speaker 2: we're kind of creating a home where everybody can come
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Speaker 2: and kind of have that freedom to create in their
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Speaker 2: own way and kind of find themselves and you know.
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Speaker 3: Reconnect and things like that.
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Speaker 2: So it's it's funny how becoming a parent can really
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Speaker 2: kind of change your mindset and like really focus and
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Speaker 2: the truly important thing. So we're really excited for just
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Speaker 2: all things. I mean, there's so many things look forward
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Speaker 2: to in our community.
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Speaker 1: I'm pretty excited, absolutely, you know, and you're absolutely right
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Speaker 1: when you become a parent that that shift changes. You
3:38
Speaker 1: start to look ahead and you start to think, you know,
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Speaker 1: what more can I do? What can I really make
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Speaker 1: a mission out of it? And as you and I
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Speaker 1: were talking before we jumped on air here is that
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Speaker 1: you've been part of the community, you know, for for
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Speaker 1: such a long time in terms of your contribution and
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Speaker 1: especially art, and so this really feels like that next
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Speaker 1: Like I hate to use the word grown up because
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Speaker 1: you're not a child by any means.
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Speaker 3: I've rarely felt like a grown up my whole life,
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Speaker 3: so I.
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Speaker 1: Can't I get to but this really does feel like
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Speaker 1: the next evolution of of what Nora does with her
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Speaker 1: art and bringing that very that very grown up and
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Speaker 1: invest like into the future. And this isn't just you
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Speaker 1: and what you enjoy doing. This is now something that
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Speaker 1: everybody where there, it's your own son and other people's
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Speaker 1: kids will be able to express themselves through and be
4:33
Speaker 1: able to grow through. Right, I mean that's the vibe
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Speaker 1: that I get.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean this really is the culmination.
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Speaker 2: Of I've loved art obviously, you know, and I was
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Speaker 2: very fortunate. I had a great childhood, and I think
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Speaker 2: harnessing that good childhood that I had.
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Speaker 3: You know, I had an aunt Judy, who was.
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Speaker 2: An artist, and she gave me tons of supplies, and
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Speaker 2: my parents were really they're really great in helping me
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Speaker 2: pursue those things. And I want to be that for
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Speaker 2: a lot of other kids. And the really cool thing
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Speaker 2: about the space, probably my favorite thing about the space
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Speaker 2: and the concept is the more the community supports it,
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Speaker 2: the better it gets. So I'm not I'm not trying
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Speaker 2: to make a lot of money on this venture. I
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Speaker 2: definitely won't, but I do have a unique opportunity to
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Speaker 2: craft something that has the ability to morph like mold
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Speaker 2: and expand into like what people really want. Like I'm
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Speaker 2: open to hearing parents telling me what their kids are into.
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Speaker 2: And I'm down to peep your Pinterest board to see
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Speaker 2: what kind of DIY things you're interested in. Like, I
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Speaker 2: want to best serve the creative like everyone's creative outlet.
5:27
Speaker 2: And I also want to work with other artists to
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Speaker 2: come into the space and teach classes on their own
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Speaker 2: crafts because I want to be able to learn new
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Speaker 2: things too. You know, we never we should never think
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Speaker 2: we're done growing. We should never think we're done learning.
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Speaker 2: And you know, I don't want it. So many times
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Speaker 2: as an artist, things I hear is, oh I can't
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Speaker 2: draw a straight line. Oh I'm not artistic.
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Speaker 3: I'm not any of that. So this this place isn't
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Speaker 3: like that.
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Speaker 2: I'm not trying to harness your craft as an artist.
5:50
Speaker 2: I'm trying to create a space where you feel ambitious
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Speaker 2: enough and brave enough to try something new. We brave
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Speaker 2: enough to suck us something new, something, And I tell
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Speaker 2: a lot of new disc golfers, but you know that
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Speaker 2: that's what's really cool about the space. So it'll grow
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Speaker 2: and it'll get better and better with more community support.
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Speaker 2: And like I said, I'm all ears, like people do
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Speaker 2: not feel like you're annoying me. By telling me, oh,
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Speaker 2: my kids really into this, or you know, I've always
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Speaker 2: wanted to try that, like I will take that with
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Speaker 2: stride and you know, try to adapt the place into
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Speaker 2: what community really wants. And I think in a weird way,
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Speaker 2: the space in itself and the place in itself is
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Speaker 2: an art project. You know, it's just a collaborative art project.
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Speaker 2: So I really like that's kind of probably my favorite
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Speaker 2: thing about it. And I get to, like I said,
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Speaker 2: I get to culminate all the things that I love,
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Speaker 2: whether it's art, it's teaching, you know, being with kids,
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Speaker 2: And the best thing about it is I get to
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Speaker 2: share those things and we get to share them together.
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Speaker 3: And I just get so I probably glowing in this
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Speaker 3: room right now. I get so I get so pumped.
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Speaker 2: And everybody, anybody I've talked to about the project can
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Speaker 2: tell you that, like I, you know, I'm really jazzed
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Speaker 2: up about it.
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Speaker 1: So well, you know, excitement has always been high. Energy
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Speaker 1: has always been like what I've noticed through actions with
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Speaker 1: with you. I was telling Brent when I had him
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Speaker 1: in the studio, it had I felt like it had
7:06
Speaker 1: been at least like it was about a year or
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Speaker 1: two since I had first met you too when you
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Speaker 1: were first really like laying the grounds for all the
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Speaker 1: disc golf expansion investment you'd put into the community. And
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Speaker 1: one thing I always noticed is that you two were
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Speaker 1: just you are super pumped. And I was like, thank God,
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Speaker 1: this isn't going to be like something somebody like decided
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Speaker 1: to pick up and you know when the first bump
7:32
Speaker 1: comes along, it's gonna be like, uh well, you know,
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Speaker 1: I was like, these two aren't gonna quit. And then
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Speaker 1: when things started rolling from there, I was like, oh
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Speaker 1: my god. And then so now to have you with
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Speaker 1: your own studio, because again, if you're from this area,
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Speaker 1: you know Nora, and you know you know the work.
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Speaker 1: Even if we haven't met you personally, everybody knows that's
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Speaker 1: been your work. And you've got some other work you're
7:56
Speaker 1: going to be doing around the city.
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Speaker 3: Yeah.
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Speaker 2: So well with this Brave Arts Creative Studio, you know,
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Speaker 2: it's gonna take a lot.
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Speaker 3: Of my time away and I'm great with that. And
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Speaker 3: I'm getting a little older and I want to been
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Speaker 3: climbing ladders. That's seventy five, like my dad. That's for you, dad.
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Speaker 2: But you know we are going to have some time.
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Speaker 2: I'm gonna be hiring a few people come summertime. But
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Speaker 2: I did win the bid for the water building.
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Speaker 3: So right on River Road.
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Speaker 2: It says City of Dixon. Right in the middle it's
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Speaker 2: got the archways. There's ten of them.
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Speaker 1: You know.
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Speaker 2: I was really excited. I've been having I had this
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Speaker 2: project in mind for that wall, and as a mirror artist,
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Speaker 2: you go around and see blank.
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Speaker 3: Spaces and you just kind of picture things.
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Speaker 2: But that wall particularly, I've had a concept conceptually and literally,
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Speaker 2: I want it to look like a reflection of the rock.
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Speaker 2: So if you can imagine going into a aquarium where
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Speaker 2: you can look through a window and you can see
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Speaker 2: above the water and below the water, that's gonna be
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Speaker 2: what it's like. But what's within that water and sky
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Speaker 2: is going to be all. It's going to be filled
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Speaker 2: with local native animals, bugs, fish, birds, plants, flowers, I mean,
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Speaker 2: you name it. And I have tapped into a lot
9:14
Speaker 2: of local experts because you don't know what you don't know,
9:17
Speaker 2: and I'm not a nature expert. I love nature, but
9:19
Speaker 2: I can't tell you what kind of birds tweeting outside.
9:22
Speaker 2: But I tapped into local experts to give me a
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Speaker 2: list of you know, tell me what local native birds
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Speaker 2: exist around here, tell me what local native bugs and plants,
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Speaker 2: and some of those enthusiasts were really excited to send
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Speaker 2: me lots and lots and lots of information. But the
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Speaker 2: really cool thing about it, and I've been working with
9:40
Speaker 2: Discovered Dixon and the Arts Coalition, is that once it's complete,
9:43
Speaker 2: as you're walking across the street on the sidewalk, there'll
9:46
Speaker 2: be a you can scan a QR code and that'll
9:49
Speaker 2: teak you do to each panel. So there's ten panels,
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Speaker 2: and you can look at each panel and learn exactly
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Speaker 2: what you're looking at, like from the reptiles to the birds,
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Speaker 2: to the fish and so. So it's not just something
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Speaker 2: that's going to be pretty. It's something that's going to
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Speaker 2: be educational. And obviously you know, a tourism spot for sure,
10:07
Speaker 2: because you can calm and you can look at it
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Speaker 2: and go, oh, that's cool. Oh I didn't know those
10:10
Speaker 2: were native to hear and things like that. So nothing
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Speaker 2: I do is ever simple, Brandon, I gotta could make
10:17
Speaker 2: it super complex.
10:18
Speaker 1: It would be interesting.
10:19
Speaker 3: If not, I know, I'd be one.
10:22
Speaker 2: I'd be curious to find out if I have like
10:23
Speaker 2: really high functioning ADHD.
10:25
Speaker 3: I really should probably get tested.
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Speaker 1: But you know, I think we come from the generation
10:29
Speaker 1: because I had gotten mine probably about two years ago.
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Speaker 1: Finally went through that and tried a little bit of
10:34
Speaker 1: that really yeah, yeah, and I was just like, oh,
10:37
Speaker 1: this is okay. This isn't just you don't like to
10:41
Speaker 1: sit down, sir as a child, like somebody listened to you.
10:44
Speaker 1: And then I tried a few different medicine. I was like,
10:47
Speaker 1: this is what it's like to not have the urge
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Speaker 1: to get up theah thirty seconds or have my mind
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Speaker 1: wander with a new idea, write it down and try
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Speaker 1: to come back to it.
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Speaker 2: I don't know if it's an energy thing, but it
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Speaker 2: is an ability to never be bored.
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Speaker 3: Yes, you know, I.
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Speaker 2: As a as like whenever I've taught or been a
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Speaker 2: substitute teacher or anything like that and somebody told me
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Speaker 2: they were bored, I just kind of cringe in my
11:07
Speaker 2: eye would start twitching, like what do you mean you're bored?
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Speaker 3: There's so many things you can do?
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Speaker 2: And I feel that way too, like, especially in the
11:14
Speaker 2: space that I'm working on our I'm working on it
11:16
Speaker 2: right now, and I'm in there, you know, I'm getting
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Speaker 2: new ideas all the time and I'm just like, Okay, Nora,
11:21
Speaker 2: you can't possibly have this much stuff going on at
11:23
Speaker 2: the same time.
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Speaker 3: Let's let's try to narrow it down.
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Speaker 2: But it's it's exciting because I can really, I will
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Speaker 2: never run out.
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Speaker 3: Of ideas in this place. I mean, God love Pinterest too.
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Speaker 3: You know, it's the best worst thing ever happened to you.
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Speaker 2: But you know, with the Internet too, and and and
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Speaker 2: Instagram and all this stuff, I'm I'm gonna be borrowing
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Speaker 2: a lot.
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Speaker 3: Of cool ideas.
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Speaker 2: And you know, the can I give you a little
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Speaker 2: rundown of what the schedule is like? Okay, So if
11:51
Speaker 2: you're wondering what's gonna be what a week to week
11:53
Speaker 2: looks like in Bravehearts. So the most popular thing is
11:55
Speaker 2: probably what we call open Studios. So that's gonna be
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Speaker 2: Monday through Thursdays from two to six. It's kind of
12:00
Speaker 2: like the after school part after school program. So within that,
12:04
Speaker 2: within the space, there's always gonna be two tables that
12:06
Speaker 2: are dedicated to coloring and drawing. So there's gonna be
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Speaker 2: coloring books, paper, you know, those kinds of materials you
12:11
Speaker 2: can do what you want. Then there's gonna be four
12:13
Speaker 2: other tables that are gonna have different stations, and so
12:16
Speaker 2: one table might be water coloring of fresh fresh flower bokay.
12:20
Speaker 2: Another table might be constructing little houses at a cardboard.
12:24
Speaker 2: Another station might be you know, just doing stuff with
12:26
Speaker 2: stamps or printmaking, so you can come in, a kid
12:29
Speaker 2: can come in and really explore and do what they want.
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Speaker 2: They're not like, okay, you have to do this station.
12:33
Speaker 2: Then move to the station like it's it's really free,
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Speaker 2: it's really open, so they can come in and kind
12:38
Speaker 2: of do what they like to do and hop around.
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Speaker 2: So that's again Monday through Thursdays two to six, and
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Speaker 2: then Mondays and Wednesday mornings. Is what I'm calling Mini
12:49
Speaker 2: moneis so very similar concept, but it's gonna be parent
12:52
Speaker 2: and toddler lit so parents can let their toddlers lead
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Speaker 2: them around the room. Similar set up, the same drawing
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Speaker 2: coloring table, but the stations are gonna be up for
13:00
Speaker 2: more fine motor skills, sensory activities, things that can build
13:04
Speaker 2: their skills. Right, So we're working on dexterity, we're working
13:08
Speaker 2: on pinching things, we're working on holding scissors, markers, all
13:11
Speaker 2: the things they kind of do in preschool. So that's
13:13
Speaker 2: mini Moonaise and then Tuesdays and Thursday mornings is our homeschool,
13:18
Speaker 2: so that's you know, it's going to be eight to
13:19
Speaker 2: nine thirty and then ten to eleven thirty. Those are
13:21
Speaker 2: actually kind of more structured. There's art history, lessons, our elements,
13:25
Speaker 2: our principles, so a little more introduction to the education.
13:28
Speaker 3: Part of our Friday Nights.
13:30
Speaker 2: Is going to be a real mix up, and that's
13:32
Speaker 2: we have a lot of creative freedom there our adult
13:36
Speaker 2: DIY teen nights family projects. I want to do a
13:41
Speaker 2: glow night with some black lights and some neon paint.
13:43
Speaker 2: We have a lot a lot of things there.
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Speaker 3: And then.
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Speaker 2: And then the weekends are going to be for private parties,
13:50
Speaker 2: and then any weekends that are slow, you know, I
13:51
Speaker 2: have a bunch of other ideas. I'd like to do
13:53
Speaker 2: some projects at different senior centers. I'd like to do
13:56
Speaker 2: a sensitive Saturday for anyone who might be on the spectrum.
14:00
Speaker 2: There's again, there's lots and lots of ideas, and there's
14:02
Speaker 2: there's so many things we can do with this space,
14:04
Speaker 2: so I'm open to suggestions as well. Anybody can reach
14:07
Speaker 2: out to me. Nora Brave Brave artscreativestudio dot com, or
14:11
Speaker 2: there's the website Brave Art Studio or sorry, Brave Arts
14:14
Speaker 2: creativestudio dot com. You can find me on Facebook, you
14:17
Speaker 2: find me on Instagram. I'm really easy person to get
14:19
Speaker 2: a hold of.
14:19
Speaker 1: Awesome, We're about time.
14:21
Speaker 2: What's the address, Oh, one fifteen South Pennepen. It's the
14:24
Speaker 2: incubator space. Thank you discovered Dixon Chamber for helping us out.
14:28
Speaker 2: It's such a great resource that they have, and really
14:30
Speaker 2: really lucky to get into that space.
14:31
Speaker 1: Absolutely well, Nora, thank you so much for joining me
14:35
Speaker 1: for all the wonderful art that you do around our community.
14:38
Speaker 1: Thank you, Brandon, and I'm sure continue will. This won't
14:40
Speaker 1: be the last time that I have you in the booth.
14:43
Speaker 1: I actually really want to get you in BRNT together.
14:46
Speaker 1: Your guys's energy phenomenal and great for radio, and you
14:50
Speaker 1: guys will be able to give me dual updates on
14:53
Speaker 1: the studio and your work with disc Golf, So please,
14:56
Speaker 1: I hope you you guys will accept.
14:58
Speaker 3: That invitation and I'll check my calendar. Thank you, Brandon,
15:06
Speaker 3: Thank you