Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBEU90iEtpM&list=PLOQvdw7d0cd9RZZkd2lZy2hmrnJv-cfLI&index=31
Evan: In this episode of the Choose954 podcast, we are back here on another episode of the Choose954 podcast, episode 69, with two local artists who are up to some very interesting things. Why don't you introduce yourselves?
Jordan: My name is Jordan Guzman. I am a visual artist. I consider myself a bit of a renaissance person; I have a lot of different interests, but my background is in the visual arts and also early childhood education. I'm not in a school setting anymore, but I still consider myself an educator, and that has led me to create a podcast and also to collaborate with my friend Melissa here.
Melissa: Hi, my name is Melissa Danielson. I go by Monica Lynette, and I actually grew up here in Hollywood. I'm a ceramicist as well as a visual artist, a painter, and I like to work with spirituality and art, using those things together to create healing.
Evan: Fantastic. If you didn't know, I'm Evan Snow, a local community builder, arts advocate, and creative entrepreneur who, among other things, started a social movement called Choose954 to cultivate culture and community here in Broward County, where I'm very proud to be born and raised. Our goal is to keep you informed about the great things happening around the 954. The point of the podcast is to connect you with interesting people like them who are doing important things in the community. They've actually come up with a pretty interesting initiative, which is taking place as part of one of our Zero Empty Spaces locations that we felt was compelling enough to share with you. So, why don't you tell them a little bit about AIM, how that got started, and what you guys are up to?
Jordan: Melissa and I used to work together at a preschool and elementary school here in Broward County. Working in childcare is really hard and stressful, so the way we would decompress was by going to La Bamba. It became a Broward County staple for us. Our friend told us about it and how great their margaritas were, so we would go, have dinner, and by the end of our time, we'd always end up dreaming together, talking about our vision for our futures and what we wanted to do with our art. Through that, we had a lot of ideas about collaboration. It wasn't until after Melissa left that we really started pursuing it.
Melissa: Yeah, we always had this vision. I remember going to Art Basel in 2017 and really connecting with each other, talking about the art, and digging deep into the spiritual and deeper meanings that the artists were trying to portray. So, about a year ago, we decided to create a program where we could get other artists together to have those types of conversations and maybe improve our own art by seeing how other people view our art.
Jordan: I think as well as that, it was something I thought of because if you went to a visual arts college, you were engrossed in the arts community—everyone was eating, sleeping, breathing art, and those kinds of conversations were just part of daily life. But after you graduate, you leave that community and start a practical life, often making art in your house. The people you have to bounce ideas off are your immediate friends and family, who may not have built that visual language into their daily lives. So, you’d get feedback like, “Oh, that looks great,” but not much more. That was something we were missing.
Melissa: A year after we thought about it, we decided to take action. I left the school, and earlier this year, around May, I took the summer as a sabbatical to figure out what I really wanted to do. In a moment of epiphany, I texted Melissa and said, “We’ve got to do it.” She agreed, and everything lined up. We rented the space, started our Instagram and Facebook, and just went for it. There’s nothing holding you back other than yourself.
Evan: Amen. What does AIM stand for?
Jordan: AIM stands for Art and Its Meaning. We were trying to figure out what to call it, and I was doing word associations. I’m also a writer, so I used to do a lot of free associations, like starting with a word and seeing what comes up. I was looking at all my books in my apartment, and I really like the dream world and symbolism in dreams and art. I have this book called Dreams and Their Meanings, which isn’t just a simple dictionary but provides a wider context about the dream world and symbolism. That inspired the name, and then we came up with the tagline: "Art and Its Meaning, or AIM: An Intuitive and Expressive Spin on a Traditional Art Critique."
Melissa: We also worked on the graphics together. Jordan’s not a big graphics person, so we balanced each other’s skills and talents, which has really helped push us forward.
Evan: Very nice. For those who aren’t familiar with your artwork, can you tell us a little bit about it?
Melissa: My artwork is reflective of visualizations that I get when I meditate. A lot of my artwork comes with poems that also come to me while I’m painting, so it’s very intuitive work. I graduated from the University of Florida with a specialization in ceramics, and I’m starting to get back into ceramics now, trying to bring that into my daily art practice. I like to do pottery, sculptures, and more.
Jordan: I graduated from the University of Central Florida with a specialization in painting. I’ve been trained in acrylic painting, but I don’t like to pin myself down to one medium. My work is guided by the question, “Who am I?” Whether I’m podcasting, writing, or painting, it’s always about exploring that question and building symbols and a visual language to tell a story about me trying to figure out who I am and the many expressions I have.
Evan: That’s a great answer. I know not every artist is experienced or eloquent in talking about their art, so I found the event you have coming up this Saturday very interesting, meaningful, and purposeful. Can you tell them a little bit about the goal, the why, and what you have going on this Saturday at Zero Empty Spaces in Gulfstream?
Melissa: For me, the goal is to create a community where artists feel comfortable talking about their work. A lot of times, artists may have difficulties expressing themselves to people who might not get it, and they may shy away from really expressing themselves. We want to help artists practice expressing their ideas, motivations, and processes.
Jordan: Being able to express yourself is important, but so is having someone who listens and understands you. We’re both super empathetic and intuitive, so when we hear someone talk about their art, we can help them articulate what they’re trying to say. We’re not here to judge whether their art is right or wrong; we’re here to explore what it means. Building that element of trust is crucial to creating a supportive community.
Evan: Amen. Not everyone has the opportunity to go to art school or has the practice of speaking about their work at this level. Generally, artists who progress in their careers are good at storytelling and talking about their work, which helps them connect with collectors, the press, and the media. It’s great that you’re giving artists a platform, whether they’re experienced or not. What are you calling the event?
Jordan: The event is called "Art and Its Meaning, or AIM: An Intuitive and Expressive Spin on a Traditional Art Critique."
Evan: That’s phenomenal. Just one example of someone participating is Pablo Matute, one of the resident artists in our Zero Empty Spaces Gulfstream Park location. He does surrealist artwork that can be interpreted in many ways. I’m excited to see how this event will impact and support emerging artists like him. We’re also glad to have you collaborate with another resident artist, Sandy Rose, who’s a cancer researcher and a phenomenal artist. It’s great to see this collaboration. When is this happening?
Jordan: Our next event is this Saturday, the 16th, at 11 a.m. at Gulfstream Park in the Zero Empty Spaces location next to Williams Sonoma. We plan on doing this event once a month, either on the second or third Saturday. Collaborating with Zero Empty Spaces has been great; it’s a testament to just getting the ball rolling and being dedicated to the mission and purpose.
Melissa: It’s been very inspiring and exciting to hear all the positive feedback, which lets us know that this is something wanted in the community.
Evan: I’m excited too. How did you end up collaborating with artist Sandy Rose?
Melissa: She attended our last event and brought an art piece. We had a small, intimate group, and we delved deeper into her work. She mentioned that she had her space at Zero Empty Spaces and that you encourage them to host events. That invitation was really meaningful to us because we were struggling with whether to charge for the event or keep it free. Having a space like this helps us keep it free, which is important to us.
Evan: There’s a reason I’m asking you this question—how did you connect with Sandy Rose before then?
Jordan: It all leads back to Evan Snow. You invited me to a potluck where I met Debbie, a local artist and dancer. Through Debbie, we talked about art and dance, and then you invited Sandy to collaborate with us. We met at Debbie’s house, brought our art, and had a day of bouncing off ideas and trying different things. That’s how I first met Sandy, and we had a lot in common. It’s been great to build those connections with like-minded people within the art community.
Evan: One of the reasons I wanted you to share that is because there have been successful collaborative art groups over time, like the Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Kenny Scharf, and Keith Haring collective of the late ’70s and early ’80s in New York City. There was another group before that with female artists like Elaine de Kooning and Helen Frankenthaler in the ’50s and ’60s. The impact of these collaborations has been significant, and I’m glad we have a space for you to collaborate with like-minded individuals and creatives. If you didn’t know, Zero Empty Spaces is an initiative my business partner, Andrew Martineau, and I started as arts advocates and creative entrepreneurs. We activate vacant commercial retail spaces to make affordable artist studios at $2 per square foot on a month-to-month basis until they get leased by a full-time permanent tenant. Jordan has been a previous resident artist in our Pompano Beach location, and we’re glad to have been working at this program for about two and a half years. We’ve opened 22 locations, had over 200 artists come through, and seen some phenomenal collaborations like this one. We’re also collaborating with the Palm Beach Symphony on a musical masterpieces fundraiser where artists turn discarded instruments into artworks for auction. These are the amazing things that can happen when you empower artists and give them platforms to create and collaborate. We’re really glad to support you guys, and this will happen at our Zero Empty Spaces Gulfstream Park location this Saturday, October 16th, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. It’s a free event, next to Williams Sonoma, and we encourage you to check it out if you’re an artist or know an artist interested in joining. It’s open and inclusive.
You both are multi-talented and creative with other things going on. Some might know about what you and I did, which we’ll get to in a little bit, but why don’t you tell us a little bit about what else you have going on?
Melissa: I’m very passionate about inner child work and how focusing on healing and taking care of our inner child can help develop our adult selves and bring us happiness and alignment. I recently started doing inner child meditations on my Instagram and have group classes where we do meditations with our inner child and connect through painting. I’d like to do ceramics in the future as well. I’m also a Reiki practitioner, level one.
Jordan: In another moment of epiphany, I realized that writing and spoken word have been lost arts for me. I used to do a lot of spoken word and enjoyed speaking in public, so I felt like creating a podcast was the next step. It’s called Breakdown to Build Up: A Podcast on Existential Living with Jordan Guzman. I’ve always been interested in philosophy, particularly existentialism, which answers questions about life and the nature of humanity. The podcast allows me to have conversations about these topics and express my ideas and outlook on life. I’m committed to putting out an episode every Sunday, and it’s available on iTunes and Spotify. I also started a Patreon account, which is a great way to support local artists. It’s been very encouraging to have people support me, even with a small amount.
Evan: I went to sign up, and my credit card details must have gotten rejected. You should have two! Big things for you guys, and I speak on behalf of Melissa, myself, and your parents when I say we’re all very proud of you. It’s a great initiative. If you didn’t get a chance to check it out, we had a great conversation about spiritual stuff and my journey toward enlightenment through yoga, meditation, mindfulness, and affirmation practices. I’m very passionate about these topics, and they’ve been very beneficial to me, as I’m sure they have been to you as well.
For those who would like to follow you further, where can they find you individually and collectively on social media and the internet?
Jordan: You can find me at @jordanguzmanart on Instagram, and my website is jordanguzmanart.com. Our AIM account is @aimsouthflorida on Instagram.
Melissa: You can find me at @melissalynetteart on Instagram, and I have a link there that takes you to my TikTok, website, and all that as well.
Jordan: I also have a link tree that will take you to my podcast, Patreon, and everything else we’re doing.
Evan: You should follow because there will be more events. I actually just decided to set another event for you during Fort Lauderdale Art and Design Week in January. We have a week full of art events, artist talks, studio tours, and more, so it would be great to have your January event during the week of January 22nd through 30th. We’d be glad to host you at one of our Zero Empty Spaces, of course, and involve more artists.
If you didn’t know about Fort Lauderdale Art and Design Week, this will be our fourth annual installment. It traditionally takes place the week of Art Fort Lauderdale, the art fair on the water, which Jordan has participated in previously. Unfortunately, we’re not hosting the art fair this year due to COVID and the fact that the houses we used for the fair have been selling quickly. We plan to resume it in January 2023, but we created Fort Lauderdale Art and Design Week to extend into the community and activate and support all the great arts and culture venues and institutions throughout greater Fort Lauderdale and Broward County. There are studio tours, exhibits, parties, spoken word events, and more.
There’s also a Rose Festival put on by Venice Magazine, the first-ever Hollywood Pride, and other special events and exhibitions. You can find out more at ftladw.com. We are still leading tours of the Hollywood Art Walk every third Saturday night of the month. They’ve been growing so much that they asked us to add a second tour, so now we host one at 7 o’clock and another at 9 o’clock. I, Evan Snow of Choose954, lead a group through the galleries and studios that participate in the Art Walk. I share the importance of the arts and the Art Walk to the community and how it provides a platform for artisans, creatives, and creative entrepreneurs to display their craft, passion, and profession. The Art Walk is a great place for artists to pop up one Saturday night a month. In Hollywood, it’s the third Saturday night of every month. I lead a free tour with support from the Hollywood Community Redevelopment Agency at 7 o’clock and now 9 o’clock, starting at the information tent on the corner of 20th and Harrison Street in downtown Hollywood, in front of End to End Gallery. You can find more information on Choose954 socials and all that good stuff.
We hope you’ll join us for these interesting events. You can find out more if you want to contact me at @evansnow13, @choose954, @zeroemptyspaces, and all that good stuff. Anything else we left out?
Jordan & Melissa: No, I think that's good.
Evan: Great! We appreciate you guys tuning in, and we hope to see you at Zero Empty Spaces, Gulfstream Park, this Saturday and at future events. Thank you for tuning in! Cheers!
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