Kick Ass Awards 2013: St. Louis

This Thursday I'll be co-presenting the 10th Annual Kick Ass Awards at the Heavy Anchor in St. Louis. I'm giving awards to:

• Lauren Cardenas and Jennifer Baker of Piecrust Magazine
• Sarah Rye Bliss of South Broadway Art Project
• Sayer Johnson and Sharon Burns Johnson, long-time activists in the LGBT community 

Altogether, we will be recognizing 15 individuals or organizations that are working to make St. Louis a vibrant, creative, and diverse place to live. Plus, three mystery awards will be up for grabs that night.

I've said this so many times--the Kick Ass Awards event is always one of the major highlights of my year, every year. But this will be the last year as a co-presenter. Ten years ago, I was more involved in the arts community and was just out there doing more things. It was easy to come up with winners every year and I had time to dedicate to organizing and promoting the event. Over the last few years my priorities have shifted and I feel like I'm not able to give the awards 100% so I'd rather leave on a high note. I'm sure at some point I'll be involved in similar endeavors in another capacity.I sure have loved this ride and have been introduced to some amazing people and organizations through this event. Thursday is going to rock.

Turner Center for the Arts

Less than two miles from my house and in existence since 2006 is Turner Center for the Arts, an open studio studio space catering to adults with disabilities. Yesterday I toured the Maplewood studios with Executive Director, Nate Larson. Nate and the organization are receiving a Kick Ass Award on October 25th, and I've been wanting to learn more about their program. To say I was blown away is an understatement.

The artists work on self-guided projects and pay a nominal fee ($10 for three hours) which is also available on a sliding scale so cost is never a barrier for someone who wants to make art. TCA just received non-profit status about eight months ago and will be devoting more efforts to fundraising and grant writing as they look to become more independent from Bridges Community Support Services, the program that helped them get their start.

Nate shared that the artists are very serious and come in with clear ideas about what they want to work on. "They have a vision," he said. "We have done some artist lead workshops in the past, but after a while our clients weren't really interested. They want to work on their own thing."

As an artist, a sister to a developmentally disabled brother, and someone who has had the opportunity to tour Creative Growth, one of the pioneering arts program for adults with cognitive and physical disabilities, seeing TCA in action was a real thrill. Nate was sincere, the artists were serious, and the program seems both well organized and well intentioned with a real focus on the encouraging and supporting the self-expression of the artists. If you haven't been, I highly encourage you to visit. And this Friday, October 5, is the opening reception for their Winter Exhibition at Union Avenue Christian Church.

To see more artwork, visit TCA's flickr photostream.

Melelani Perry, artist and bellydancer. Melelani is a profilc collage artist and recently displayed her work at the juried Art Outside Festival.

Pauline MacDonald was working diligently on a landscape.

Dave Walter is a regular artist at Turner Art Center.

Nate Larson, Executive Director, with one of several portraits he has received from TCA artists. What an awesome gift! 

Weekend Bits & Pieces

Kick Ass Awards were incredible.The rest of weekend involved much cleaning of the house, including moving much of the collection downstairs, so Donna can start painting this morning. She arrived on time in the pouring rain this morning. Little Audrey is still sick, but in good spirits. Hello, Monday.