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Creative folk have to quench their desire to create. In the words of author Chuck Wendig, “art harder.” But as you’re striving to “art harder” and create a masterpiece, hoping that you can one day make a living from this passion, your student loans, monthly rent, and transportation needs still await. So what do you do? You find a job that will allow you to pay the bills while providing you with flexible working hours to practice your craft without sacrificing too much of your sanity. Yes, jobs such as this do exist, and you won’t have to wait tables or tend bar. Some of them are creative, some are less than. But all of them will pay the bills while leaving time for your real career of choice.

Souleo

“Gentrification” is a dirty word to many neighborhood advocates. The idea being that opportunistic real estate interests swoop in to create high-priced luxury living for affluent yuppies—ultimately pricing out the neighborhood’s original residents.

It happens all the time, all over the country as formerly distressed ‘hoods transition into trendy local scenes. In many cases, the demographic shifts as the color of neighborhood residents lighten, their pockets deeper.

Harlem, in particular has been gentrifying for over 10 years, as 9/11 and the recession drove downtown elites from their pricey shoebox condos to the uptown neighborhood’s  (relatively) more affordable five-story brownstones. “The physical space of Harlem is [and] was very attractive to them,” explains Marline Martin, director of Harlem’s LeRoy Neiman Art Center. “You know, wide streets, or landmark buildings, housing, and, of course, our cultural history.”

The Neiman Art Center, which opened in 2008, along with the year old Art in FLUX Harlem, and months’ old Harlem Wine Gallery, are part of a fresh new wave of art spaces hoping to help the neighborhood’s original community determine what “gentrified Harlem” will ultimately look like.

Daffodils and an iconic windmill just outside of Amsterdam. Image: AP Photo/Peter Dejong

Amsterdam has many draws: amazing vintage clothing stores, picturesque parks and canals, bus passes that expire 24 hours from first use, and delicious beers. (Contrary to popular belief, Holland, not Germany, is the birthplace of Heineken.) As if these weren’t enough to put the capital of this tiny European country on your one-day-I’ll-go-there list, the city is going through something of an indie art and cultural renaissance.

From parking garages repurposed as galleries in the city’s Bijlmer neighborhood to a calendar of art and music festivals that draws thousands from around the world every year, creative energy and inspiration abound. Check out our round-up of venues, events, and experiences sure to set off a creative spark.

Born to Austrian and Ugandan parents in Seattle, Isolde Brielmaier always had a strong understanding of various cultures. First falling in love with dance and attending a public school where the arts were heavily integrated into the everyday curriculum, she got the artistic bug early. “I danced very seriously through my early 20s,” Brielmaier says, “and always tried to balance that with being a good student.” But while attending high school in Germany, the long-term performer decided she no longer had an interest in pursuing dance full-time. Instead, she chose to become a full-time student of history and sociology at New York’s Columbia University and spent her spare time at the Dance Theater of Harlem and Alvin Ailey’s dance studio. However, it was her courses in art history that would become a major component in her life and career.

Curating small exhibitions in the SoHo section of New York, Brielmaier was eventually asked to teach at Vassar University. What was supposed to be a one-time thing turned into a five-year career as a visiting professor. In the past, Brielmaier advised athletes and entertainers in purchasing contemporary art, but she now operates as the as the chief curator of SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design). Today she also curates international art exhibitions in the SCAD community and beyond. BlackEnterprise.com sat down with the art guru who broke down the top five things to consider when looking to break into the world of art.

Read the rest at Black Enterprise

Source: MyStudio85.com

By Makula Dunbar

If there’s anything natives and tourists know in Washington D.C., it’s a distinguished lingo. Phrases like, “Oh my gaw yung, on urrything you a bama!” aren’t uncommon. At some point — on Georgia Avenue or within your circle of friends — you’ve detected a “bama.” A word without one staple definition, Tamika Myers, co-founder of the nail polish line Studio85 says, in the case of an old school female bama — she’d know what color nail polish is best fitting.

“Fifteen years ago, lot’s of people didn’t wear green nail polish boldly. It made you a bama, Myers said.

“We just thought of the weirdest color, something kind of awkward that would match the name of what it meant,” added Myers’ sister Tiffany Burriss —explaining how they came up with the name for their turquoise nail gloss “Bama,” which is part of their District of Columbia collection.

“And,” said Myers, “We added some flakes, how ‘bout that!”

Jump-starting Studio85

Burris along with Tammi Allen make up the trio of sisters/co-founders of Studio85, which apart from a nail gloss line is also an events, art and apparel shop located in Washington D.C.

“We were in our parents’ hometown of Lancaster, South Carolina at a coffee house we go to all the time. One of us had on a cute color that we said our aunt would love, so we thought what she would call it,” said Burriss elaborating on how it all began.

“We were like, ‘She’d call it 2tat2,’ and that opened up a world of names. Since we started, our aunt passed away so that’s how we pay homage and that’s what jump-started Studio85.”

“Big Chair Brown,” named after a landmark in Southeast D.C., “Roc Creek,” “Go Go,” “Mambo Sauce,” “Yung,” and “1600” are all colors in the District of Columbia collection. Studio85’s 48-color catalogue also includes the City Girl, Southern Girl and Stay Beautiful collections, in addition to a 12-color crackle collection sold only in-store.

It was only eight months ago that the sisters found a space for Studio85. Including the input of the community, local designers and artists, the sisters made a conscious effort to create a store that not only sells nail gloss, but one that various creatives would take advantage of.

“We wanted to make it so it would translate into a space for events and apparel. We’ve had jewelry events, open mics, album release parties, birthday parties, social forums, in-store photo shoots and council-member candidate meet and greets, “ Burriss said. “Pretty much anything that can fit in the space we’re open to doing as long as it keeps up with the integrity if the brand.”

From Black Voices.com.

Angel’s magnificent mane (it’s all hers), Hot retro wardrobe (she turns lingerie into streetwear) and free-spirited personality (she’s most comfortable traveling the world and living out of a suitcase) are just a few reasons we dig this British beauty.

Having lived in Maui, New York, Mexico City, Berlin, Paris, Uganda, and Toronto, Angel’s closet is an awesome compilation of worldly finds.

But it’s her fashion-forward parents that get the credit for inspiring Angel’s disco-diva style.

She describes her mother as fashion obsessed and imaginative and her father as a combination of Marvin Gaye, Mr. T, and George Clinton. Sounds fab!

From her slinky maxi dresses to floral harem pants, we’re definitely loving Angel’s unique look.

Check out this video to see what Angel had to say about her style, her hair, growing up as a biracial kid and her music at Black Voices.com. 

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By Makula Dunbar

If you’ve ever attended a street fair, block party or arts & crafts festival in New York City, chances are you’ve crossed paths with Chanel Kennebrew. In sunny and so-so weather, she’ll set up shop and push her designs on any hopeful looking to gain a bit of uniqueness. Try on her funky personality spectacles — carved out of vinyl displaying the word “Visionary” across the top — and you’re cool in an instant.

An illustrator, painter, all around artist and interpreter of multiple visual languages, Kennebrew officially established Junkprints in 2007 — while transitioning from working at a design firm. As an entrepreneur and the owner of a design/creative business, she’s learned that it’s a struggle producing work that is incredibly appeasing to the eye. Now a pro at photo-based illustration and graphic design, Kennebrew’s doodling has paid off in a big way.

Artistic Beginnings

“At first I wanted to do animation [professionally], but then I found out that you had to draw everything 50 trillion times. I was not interested in that,” said Kennebrew. “A lot of my upbringing was cartooning and animation as an 80s kid. That was the beginning. Then as I got older I moved to CD covers, musicians and kind of iconic music people.”

“I’ve always been an illustrator. My mom used to do fashion design and my dad is a musician, so I was always around creativity. I knew as an adult that my career would be making visual things of some sorts,” she added. At just 15, Kennebrew made the move from Inglewood, California to Denver to attend a visual arts high school. There she lived with her dad while taking up photo production and graphic design.

“That was a great way to be exposed and have access to artistic resources,” said Kennebrew. “That’s when I started using more mediums.”

Discovering that art was definitely the route she wanted to take, Kennebrew knew early that she’d move to New York to pursue a career. When she received a scholarship to partake in a NYC summer arts program prior to her senior year in high school, she got an opportunity to test the waters.

There is nothing sexier than a man with confidence. Who doesn’t like a little swagger? However, sometimes that charming confidence can morph into annoying arrogance. You know, when brotherman thinks that you should jump through hoops and thank the baby Jesus that you’re with him.  This dude shouldn’t be dating ANY woman. He is already in the perfect relationship–with himself.  Here are seven types of arrogant men that need to eat some humble pie.

(Forbes) — “You take a mouth off someone, you’ll be surprised how they look,” says artist Jason “Borbay” Borbet, considering the painting in front of him. “It’s a very different person.”  The mouth in question belongs to Hillary Clinton. Her image rests upside-down in the middle of a colorful collage that Borbay has painted to depict another Empire State power broker: Jay-Z. The rest of the canvas is covered with headlines pulled from The New York Post, along with a few images—Clinton, Beyoncé and a presidential seal—upon all of which a rendering of the rapper is superimposed.  “Jay-Z’s got this big personality, but he’s so low key. It’s almost like he’s always sitting,” says Borbay, lowering himself into an explanatory crouch, “and about to stand up.”

Read More…

A while back we asked people if they could have lived in any other decade which one would it be. Many of them agreed that the ’70s were the ideal decade. The ’70s certainly free of problems. There was Nixon’s Watergate, the uprising in Soweto and much of the world was suffering from a recession due to an oil crisis. (The more things change, the more they stay the same.) But all that to the side, the ’70s were an exceptionally great decade, especially when it came to black people- in the United States and abroad. I recently saw a screening of Thundersoul, a documentary about an all black stage band. The members of the band, who reached unprecedented success in the ’70s, described the decade in a sort of magical nostalgia that provoked a sense of disappointment at not having been born early enough to experience this wonder decade. Having just caught the tail end of the ’90s, I can only reflect on the awesomeness of the 1970s.