SPEAKER_03 0:00

You guys ready?

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Yeah, ready.

SPEAKER_03 0:01

All right. What's going on, y'all? Uh Corpus Christie Reginals back at it again. I'm here with August and Kaylee from the Arts Center. Say what's up here.

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Hey, how are y'all doing? Hi, folks.

SPEAKER_03 0:10

Yeah, so uh, I guess we what do we do? We did did we come respond through email or how how do we get started on this?

SPEAKER_01 0:16

Um well, I mean, I I joined you a long, long time ago on a podcast and uh got started here, and we were talking about kind of getting out there a little bit more, and I knew that I had to reach out to you. So I think I just hit you up on Facebook, was like, hey, how's it going? Yeah, we're gonna come hang out at the art center sometime.

SPEAKER_03 0:32

Yeah, you're your uh 50 States of Terror was the podcast you were on, right?

SPEAKER_01 0:36

Yeah, my husband and I were doing 50 States of Terror. We talked about uh cryptids and spooky stories all across the US.

SPEAKER_03 0:42

Super sweet audio, man. When uh when I listened to it, I was like, damn, this I could fold clothes and listen to this. It was so cool. Were you aren't you a singer?

SPEAKER_01 0:49

Uh so I sang in school. There you go, yeah. Not since I knew it was something like that. I was like, don't don't catch don't catch me at karaoke. Like, sorry, no. Um, but I did um I I've always been into music, and when we were doing podcasting, it was my excuse to really get into kind of like sound design, kind of playing with those elements. And then I really like public speaking, so I did debate and theater in school, and so now it's all kind of paying off my 30s.

SPEAKER_03 1:13

That's what's up. And August, you are you are you from Corpus?

SPEAKER_00 1:15

Um, I was born here, uh, but I grew up in Maryland. My dad was in the military, so he was stationed uh in Norfolk, and we we just we grew up there and then he retired there, but we stayed until I was 18 and then we moved back to Corpus to the family.

SPEAKER_03 1:29

That's so cool. I I I I'm looking at your nose ring, and I hope people can see it there, but the microphone might be covering it. Let me see.

SPEAKER_00 1:39

You do have a really cool look. Thanks. Yeah, I tried my best. Fun fact about this nose ring, it's stuck in there. I cannot get it out there. Oh shoot. It's the same one I got when I got the piercing. Style is forever, it really is. It really is. Heinous beauty, all of it.

SPEAKER_03 1:54

Yeah, I had I had one on my eye. Oh man, my um a minute back. Hey, Suze, no. Yeah, I did.

SPEAKER_01 2:00

I need to see a photo.

SPEAKER_03 2:01

Right here, I have my graduation photo. I have it on there.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_03 2:05

And then uh I have both ears pierced, and I had to take them off because I work in the refineries and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_01 2:09

I lost my facial piercings. I have my septum and like my nose and oh yeah, hell yeah. I love piercings. Yeah, for sure, for sure.

SPEAKER_03 2:15

I got out of that phase. So so so we're here at the lovely art center. Uh second floor, which is the place that I uh we had our marriage reception up here, and my wife and I.

SPEAKER_01 2:25

I heard how sweet.

SPEAKER_03 2:27

Yes, yes, it's so awesome up here. The view is nice. Um, and I we pass by the art center like all the time. A lot of people do, and really don't know what's going on here. So that's why you guys are here, so we can understand a little bit more what's going on down here.

SPEAKER_01 2:40

We have so much going on at the art center. Um, I'm excited for the opportunity. So I'm really excited that August is with me because August is in charge of education and we have so many classes. So I think the first thing that's really important to note is that the Art Center is a nonprofit. So we're a 401c3. 501c3. I was like, that's I know, I know Neppers. I do. Uh we're a 501c3, and our mission is to promote education and promote like the location for people to be able to. I talk with my hands too much. I just noticed. Um so our our mission is to promote local artists, and whether that's with education or whether that is displaying their art, selling their art, providing community, uh networking. There's so many different ways that we can do that. Um, so our classes, I want to say, is probably the easiest way to really get in here and like find a place and find a way to get involved. So some of the classes we have, we have some coming up that are Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:37

We've we've got a ton of classes coming up. I think I have a little less than 50 classes on our website right now. If that's wrong, I'm probably. Wow, that's cool. No, that's dope. I coordinate with at least 30 instructors um for to provide a bunch of different art classes. So we've got things like coffee painting, things like ceramics, acrylic painting, oil painting, pretty much almost every medium that I can think of that that that we have. It's it's really something truly special get into coordinate with all these artists who come and teach people their craft. And it's a really good way to get involved and to meet other people with the community.

SPEAKER_03 4:11

Okay, so the artists that have their stuff displayed here teach?

SPEAKER_00 4:16

Not every one of them. Uh some of them, some of them are they're they're all from around the the area. So you've got some from Port Porte, Portland. Um, they don't always exhibit their artwork, but they do get really excited because a lot of them will come to me and want to teach, and they have no idea that they can exhibit their artwork in the art center.

SPEAKER_03 4:32

Wow, that's so cool. Like, and they can sell it, sell it too from here.

SPEAKER_01 4:36

Yeah, so all of the artwork that we display is going to be for sale. Yeah, of course, there's going to be an exception to every rule. Um, very recently we had the dresses, uh, the gowns from Listonias. Every yeah, yeah, yeah. You the public can't buy those. Sorry, those have already been purchased. Um, however, we just exhibited or we just had a reception for our new exhibits. Um, so we currently have Hermosas here with their mural work downstairs and their riso prints. And then we also had an uh call for entry for Coastal Bend community. All of that art is currently for sale. So cool. We have a members' gallery. All of that work will always be for sale. As soon as you walk in, um, you're coming down the halls of the art center. If you're not familiar, you haven't been here before. Um, as you come down the hallway, there's art all down the halls. That's our members' gallery. It's always for sale. It's always South Texas local artists. Um, I think it's such a unique opportunity that I wish I would have come down here a lot earlier. I feel like I would have been here a lot more if I had uh made a visit earlier on.

SPEAKER_03 5:31

Yeah, we don't a lot of us don't think about like having local art in our homes. We just go to Hobby Lobby or something like that and buy whatever's there and put it on our walls. You know what I mean? I I guess awareness is what I'm thinking, you know.

SPEAKER_01 5:44

Right. And and it's funny because like it is so much easier to go and just buy retail art. And I always think about people who joke about we need weird art, we don't need dentist art. Like we we do have we have some weird art here definitely for you. We've got a surrealism exhibit coming up soon. So we're about to get real weird. Um, as exhibit coordinator, I've already seen the art that's gonna go out, so I can tell you it's gonna be so excited. Really I'm not telling anybody what's what I've seen so far. Um, but yeah, but we have um we have all of the art there, but you have to consider that the stores are making things that are inspired by artists. Oh so trends are happening, and of course trends are gonna happen. Yeah, like that's just the way of the world these days, but setting those trends are gonna be the real artists that are in shops like this. Those bigger corporations, the companies, like they are seeing what real artists are doing because that's what people want. Oh, right. And they're making it. So if you're seeing it at the store, there's a really good chance that you're gonna see something very similar or comparable here.

SPEAKER_03 6:42

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:43

And with local artists, we also have a variety of price points as well. Okay. A variety of mediums, a variety of expertise levels, a variety of price points. I've I've not come in here and seen the shelves and been like, I couldn't pick something up and take a gift home of some kind, something for myself every time I'm in here.

SPEAKER_03 7:02

Yeah, for sure. You bring up a topic that I talk about sometimes on my podcast, AI. Uh, August, do you understand? I mean, what's your take on that as far as like you being the educator or that aspect of it and the actual person creating the art as as opposed to like a machine creating the art for you?

SPEAKER_00 7:19

Do you dabble into that type of stuff or I I I'm not super supporter of AI. I I definitely think that it could be a tool to be used if it were a little bit more ethical, uh, as far as data centers and everything like that. But as far as using it as a tool myself, I think I thought it was cool at first, but I think using AI for me personally was something that took away from my own creativity. I I think it's wonderful to find inspiration from what other artists do. I don't think that I would be using it in the future.

SPEAKER_03 7:53

Yeah, for sure. Hey, Kaylee, you obviously you had an opinion. We talked about this before. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:58

I'll keep my opinions tame. Um I would say that my opinions on AI have to end at a certain point because what I do professionally, I try not to use AI for any of like my creative outlets. Like I try and like echoing what August was saying, I try and find creative inspiration from other people, um, from other artists. But there is how do you say there is a learning curve that has to happen everywhere because just how I practice my art isn't going to be the same way that the next person practices their art. And my opinions cannot invalidate anyone else's art. So I will say that my opinion is ever evolving, but I do think that generative AI doesn't necessarily have a place in original artworks.

SPEAKER_00 8:43

Okay. Is that fair to say? I would absolutely agree with you, and it's really fair. I think that in a in such a digital world that we live in today, it is so easy to fall back on creating with generative AI. And I think in that we're losing the connection and the community with local artists. I mean, for the classes that we do here, a huge part of that is connecting with other artists and learning from them. And I think that with the rise of AI, it is just something that we are losing and art, I think, is suffering from it.

SPEAKER_01 9:13

And but I think that also opens up such an awesome opportunity for places like the art center because we're a physical place. Yeah. We have this beautiful location. Like I know, I know the camera can't see all the way around, but like there's a vaulted ceiling in here. These aren't the only windows. We have seven total galleries. If you count them up individually, or all the studios and galleries together, we have seven locations. Um that's a lot of places to meet people. That's a lot of places to do art together. Um and I would love to see some new faces down here. I'm in the newest face, like I keep saying I'm the new, but like as the newest face down here, I think it's really exciting to get uh kind of just like some some fresh, fresh takes, fresh ideas. Because I think when you take the fresh and the new and you pair it with the experienced and like it's like the silver and gold analogies, I think you get some really sparkling results. So I'd love to see some some new artists come down here, maybe find some mentorship with our current artists. Um, I know we've got uh some of our folks, like I know Kenneth Hanna, um he does plain air painting, and you'll catch him up and down the seawall all through the week. He's always inviting, like, hey, how's it going? He's always wanting to engage in conversation. He does classes up as well. He hasn't done a class yet, but I think he does have a group here. Kenneth, yeah, do a class. Do a class. This is me telling you if you catch this in Kenneth. I want a class. I want to go do plain air painting outside of the house. This is your guardian angel. This is your guardian. I need to listen. So I think I think going from that that discussion automatically takes us into it's like it's community, it's space, it's reality, it's it's here and it's an easy.

SPEAKER_03 10:48

Yeah, I don't think AI is ever gonna replace that, like having actual communion with community with person next to you, you know what I mean? Uh the live performance is not gonna replace live performance because you have actual humans playing music or performing comedy or whatever the arts that art might be. Uh what's I think about, oh, you're saying you want a different people in here. How do you guys how do y'all go about doing that? I know a lot of it is word of mouth, especially in our community, like uh families know other families and they know of the art center. So how do you get those, how do you think what's the challenge in like getting those new people eyes over here, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 11:26

Definitely I I am somebody who struggles talking to people in general, but I think a huge part of what we all do is is word of mouth, is greeting guests as they come in and telling them a little bit about what what we do because a lot of them are really curious, they've never been here before, they've never seen this building, and they want to know what we do, and they go and they tell their friends everything that we have to offer because it is really special and and it's something I think that is a hidden gem right now for corpus.

SPEAKER_02 11:52

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 11:53

So we have about 200,000 visitors come through our doors every year. That's amazing. That is a wild amount of bodies to come through. Um you know it honestly, it's so shocking that I forgot why I was telling you that statistic. I was just thinking about how many people actually come through here.

SPEAKER_03 12:08

Um, what was the question? He said, Yeah, no, uh how how he how what's the plan and going about getting those meetings? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:15

Um, I talk a lot and I'll talk to anybody. It's all good.

SPEAKER_03 12:18

That's why we're here. This is a podcast.

SPEAKER_01 12:20

Like, I've got some folks that have come in apparently when I'm not here. Um, and they're like, oh yeah, we were talking to Kaylee. And so I literally hand my business card out. I have a stack in my purse and I'm like, hi, have you heard about the art center? Hi, have you heard and now I'm doing it so much that I'm calling podcasts and I'm like, hi, have a world about the art center.

SPEAKER_03 12:39

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 12:40

So I'm doing my best by by doing what I want to see. I want to see community, I want to see people getting together. I want people to enjoy art. I want people to get together and do it. And I think that the best way to do that is by demonstrating that and like being what I want to see out there. Right. So I'm just trying to be the friendliest that I can, which is you know easier some days than others. But um, no, just being friendly and putting it out there and telling my friends, sharing invites, um, reposting classes, things like that. So now we're gonna be moving into hopefully like doing some hangouts with some podcasts to hanging out.

SPEAKER_03 13:15

Yeah, word of mouth seems like it's still there for advertisement. It really is. And then like social media too. Like, do you all have a social media page? Are y'all present on there? You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 13:25

Yes, we are very present on Facebook and Instagram. Our Facebook is Art Center of Corpus Christi. I on our Facebook, you'll see a lot of like flyers and ads, mostly for classes, a lot of flyers and ads for our other community events. All of us in our separate departments, we all are responsible for creating all of our social media content. So all the flyers you see for all the classes, all the flyers you see for community events, that's all made by us. And it it does take a while. We are all very driven and and passionate about what we do for the community.

SPEAKER_03 13:53

Yeah, yeah, that's cool. That's cool. And you've been here for what you said, three, you had three-year anniversary?

SPEAKER_00 13:58

Yeah, just past my three-year anniversary earlier. Congratulations.

SPEAKER_03 14:01

That's cool. And then I saw Clay Studio on your shirt. Uh so clay studio, what does that entail? Like I know you got to do kilns and whatever the heck that stuff is.

SPEAKER_00 14:11

So our clay studio is a place for people who are into ceramics or beginners and experienced alike to come together and basically create and learn from each other and really have a great time just doing artwork in ceramics. I mean, it's we've got three electric kilns, one gas kiln. Our wonderful clay studio technician Adam uh mixes our glazes in-house. We have stroke and coats. We've have we have all these ceramic tools available for people of the public to come get a membership and just start creating. And I see people who get a three-month membership just for the summer and they create and it's memorable, and then they go back to whatever they do when it's not summer. I've seen people here who've been here for years and years and they love it. And it's it's definitely a part of the community I didn't know existed when I first got here, but I'm so, so glad that I know of it now. And before I started working here, I had no idea what ceramics was, and I I never really thought to dabble in it. And about a year into working here, I got a membership and I started creating, and it's definitely been a very special and wonderful experience.

SPEAKER_02 15:15

That's amazing. That's amazing, man. I mean, yeah, go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 15:18

I'm just jealous because I haven't done my orientation class yes. And I really want to get in that ceramic studio. I see everyone, um, like artists are in there working all the time. So whenever I'm going through like the exhibits and like, I don't know, checking on things, checking on people, maybe walking someone around. I'm always jealous because I see people over there working on the coolest crafts. Like, I think Vanessa has like this this octopus that she's working on right now with like a large basin. Uh Liz always has some amazing pieces.

SPEAKER_00 15:45

Would you believe that? Vanessa just started ceramics maybe earlier this year. That is bunkers. Insane.

SPEAKER_01 15:51

Absolutely. She's one of our regular artists. Like uh, we have shelves with uh smaller wares on it, and she's one of our regular.

SPEAKER_03 15:57

She does make your own coffee cup, man. That's freaking awesome.

SPEAKER_00 16:00

Shout out to Vanessa Spitler. She's also an instructor here, so you can take a class from her. Yes, yes. Uh she makes she specializes in that. Is that what we're talking about? So right now she specializes in acrylic painting. So she does her acrylic paint pour classes, she makes jewelry. She's starting to ebb into ceramics, so she's gonna be teaching a summer camp here where one day is gonna be focused on ceramics for the little kids, and I cannot wait to see what they got.

SPEAKER_03 16:20

Yeah, that's amazing, man. I got two little kids myself.

SPEAKER_01 16:23

Yeah, kids are the best at art, like really like the ability to play. I think we we've discussed a couple times. Um, I feel that anybody can truly be an artist. Like being an artist is the ability to play. And you can look up who said the quote and I butchered it, but it is a good quote. Yeah. Um, when you become an adult, you kind of forget how to play. And I think the the the best artists I know are probably the silliest people in life. Yes. Like they're might be really dark art, but so far as like their personalities, they they can play. It might be dark, but they play.

SPEAKER_03 16:55

Like that creativity, the part of your mind that we for a lot of us forget about as we go to work and have families and stuff. Yeah, exactly. And like who who remembers that uh like ceramics is a part of art? You just think in paint most of the times or drawing, you know?

SPEAKER_00 17:10

Oh yeah, it's a you know, it's it's it's kind of wild because that it's I've never seen another medium that brings out such unbridled confidence in people. Ceramics is something that brings out just uh confidence, curiosity, and creativity in everybody. And I'm surprised that it's not more ingrained in our society today.

SPEAKER_03 17:30

You see what I'm saying? Yeah, exactly. And I wish that it was more, but it just not, it's just not, it's weird. It's like those things that we want in art to be a part of our lives that are not.

SPEAKER_00 17:40

I think people have this notion that it's unobtainable, and I think a lot of people unfortunately there's gatekeeping when it comes to ceramics, but it's really not like that here. There are a lot of our members here who just started and they're coming out with all these really different and cool things, and the community really supports supports each other. I mean, we have artists who just started a couple months ago who are selling their artwork now on shelves. Wow, that's cool. And there's only, I mean, you have to be bad at something to get good at something. So, I mean, that's the first step in anything in life. So I think that I really anybody can come in and create and reach that level of starting this out your work here as well.

SPEAKER_03 18:21

Yeah, I'll we'll talk about that, like price points and stuff. And one more thing I wanted to mention. Uh shoot, I always forget. Oh, you mentioned memberships. Uh, so you can get a membership to the art center. What was that?

SPEAKER_00 18:30

What's that process like or what so uh there's a couple different memberships for the art center. Um, you can have uh just a regular art center membership where you get to uh show your work in our members' gallery, which Kaylee can tell you a little bit more about it. That's cool. Um but for ceramics specifically, there's a three-month membership and a two-month and uh two one-year membership. Uh, and all it takes is really signing up for our Clay Studio orientation class. You'll get to know how the tools work, all of our policies. You kind of get the boring stuff out of the way first, so then you can have a little bit of fun. Uh it's about two hours, like a two-hour class, and the first uh you only have to take it once, and it covers the first three months of your Clay Studio membership. So I would highly recommend taking a look into it, especially for something just for the summer.

SPEAKER_03 19:14

That's pretty cool. Uh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:15

So far as uh memberships and like what I do as the exhibits coordinator, so I have a members-only gallery. So I do rotations for that gallery, and you can make whatever kind of art you want, whether that's painting, whether that is sculpture, whether that I think I have bronze casting right now downstairs.

SPEAKER_00 19:32

Yes, the buffalo.

SPEAKER_01 19:33

Um, I have jewelry, I have all sorts of things that can be like restocked. We we can do all sorts of maintenance on those items. But then we also have our main galleries, like our meadows, the cochera, and the lockett gallery. A lot of those will have call for entries, and you do not have to be a member for all of them, but we will have some members only galleries.

SPEAKER_03 19:55

And yeah, call for entry.

SPEAKER_01 19:57

So there are a couple terms that if you if you haven't submitted with a gallery before, would be new art terms. So um a call for entry is when I say, Hey, I am doing surrealism. We're gonna have a surrealism exhibit. Show me your artwork and submit your what you're working on or what you finished to me. And so they send in a photo and I just make sure that we are following the decency guidelines. Uh you got had your wedding reception here. We have a lot of kids here, we have quincenitas here. We do have to make sure that everything on the walls is appropriate to be seen by anybody who might visit us. All 200,000 of them. So um, so whenever they submit the photo to me, that's all I'm looking for. Is this gonna be something that's gonna highly, highly offend? If it's good to go, oh wow, and we're it's accepted, it meets the prompt, all of the things are happy. Then you come and you bring your art to me and I put it on the wall. And all of that isn't, of course, entailed like whether the membership or submission fee, like that can change from exhibit to exhibit.

SPEAKER_02 20:57

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 20:57

But it's a lot more accessible than people think. And I think sometimes, especially as someone who is a full-time artist, it wasn't in the fine art world. I didn't exactly know what a call for entry was at one point in my life. So if anyone is thinking about submitting, but they're intimidated, don't please don't be intimidated. Uh, my name is Kayleigh. Come see me in my office. You can submit with me. I will walk you through every process. I'll write it down, I'll make notes for you, I'll help you get it in.

SPEAKER_03 21:23

Cool. So so you help artists get their artwork in your exhibit coordinator, right? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So you help them get the uh how does the their pricing? I know that that question came up when I was looking on Chat GPT for some questions to ask you guys.

SPEAKER_01 21:37

Well, don't hang out before you come and talk to us. Hey Zeus.

SPEAKER_03 21:41

But but uh price point, I guess, like, do you like tell them, hey, well, these are the this is the price? No, no, okay.

SPEAKER_01 21:46

So I think, and maybe there's a more official answer. So, August, please correct me if I'm wrong. Um, so we do not advise on pricing. With art, pricing is so personal, independently determined. So One person might take a $1 canvas and $5 paints, and that may be worth a different amount than if someone got a $500 canvas, has zero experience, had a thousand dollars worth of paints, didn't know what they were doing. So I would say that it's not my place to tell someone what their art is worth. Okay. To put a financial price point on it. Um, so it is completely up to the artist to set their own prices. Um, I would say just be mindful, uh, as with anywhere that sells art, we do have a split with you. So I would mark it up a little bit higher than what you initially think, just to make sure that you're getting exactly how much you want.

SPEAKER_03 22:36

Nice. Yeah, obviously there's galleries and you got to figure out how because you guys are nonprofit and you gotta figure out how the money's keep the lights on and stuff like that. You know what I mean? So that makes sense to allow them to show their their exemptions. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 22:49

And we don't have hidden like extra tack on, tack on, tack on fees. You have to have a a membership for members gallery that is kind of in the name, and then the standard is 70-30 for everywhere. When I'm selling my art, that's pretty much what I expect to see out and about in town. Oh, wow, okay. So knowing to the artist. 70 to the artist, yes. We're not monsters. Um, but knowing what kind of foot traffic is here with uh, especially tourists come in, they want to see local art, they want to purchase local art.

SPEAKER_02 23:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:17

I mean, people I I'm honestly blown away, like being here as much as I am now, like with my day-to-day. It's so encouraging to see people come in and say, I want local art. I travel and I I always hit an art center, an art museum, or I try and find local art wherever I go. Like we're the place that people are going for that. And that's I feel like that that is a beautiful opportunity for local artists.

SPEAKER_03 23:41

Yeah, no, Kenny, that makes me think about like, because I'm a Mexican American or whatever. Sorry, I was thinking about something. Oh I'm thinking about like Chicano art and different types of art and stuff like that. Uh how how does do you look at that whenever you're you're getting stuff coming in? Or do I see a lot?

SPEAKER_01 23:58

Do I see a lot of like Mexican art?

SPEAKER_03 23:59

Yeah, either that or yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:00

I want to see more.

SPEAKER_03 24:01

Oh, okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:02

I was like, is that if that's a fair answer? I was like, however much I'm getting, I want to see more. Yeah, exactly. So um we have um, I would say we have right now we have hermosa downstairs. Uh so a Latina-based uh group of three women, and you can definitely see like the influence that culture has like on their work. Uh we had a discussion with the ladies the other night, and they were honestly, they were so cool. They were so nice. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Um we have some murals upstairs outside as well, um, that are by a Latino artist, and his name is escaping me at the moment. Um I would love to see more like more Mexican art. Absolutely. Send it my way. I want to see.

SPEAKER_03 24:43

Yeah, I know for sure. Like, and and I I guess growing up here, I I I want to say that my like Mexican is in there, but I never really studied that. You know what I mean? Because I remember painting like in middle school or something like that, and I just got inspiration from a magazine, another painting. Okay, that looks cool. Let me do that. You know what I mean? So here you're gonna you're gonna submit to me. So is that Mexican American? You know what I mean? I I guess I'm getting into like the weeds of like as far as like the different styles of art, you know, and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_01 25:12

When we get into styles, um, I think I'd have to see what you're looking at to see like exactly if we're if we're answering the question that you're looking at.

SPEAKER_03 25:19

Yeah, that's what I'm saying, like how you categorize it. If like if I draw something that maybe look like, I don't know, like uh Indian or Indian or whatever, like that, like Indian, like uh not Native American, but I guess yeah, you know what I mean? Do you consider that Indian? You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 25:35

And so I think I think subject and style can be two different conversations, maybe. Like I think that you could have an image of Ganesh, uh so like an like an Indian image, um, and you could do it in a Mexican style if you wanted to. So you could take some of like those colors and kind of like the bold imagery or like depending on on how it's painted or how it's sewn or how it's okay. Yeah, that makes sense. So I would say subject versus style might be different. Um, but subject or style, I would love to see some more Mexican art in my box for sure. That's awesome. Yeah, that's cool. I we and like just just to think on that, when I when I mentioned like different styles that we do, we recently had a fiber inform show. Oh, that was so. So um I want to stress to people that like if you make anything, you have a place here. Wow, that's awesome. So if you're a quilter, uh we recently had uh Sobonita, she uh submitted with us uh her quilts. Um like I don't know. I'm like I'm pulling, I'm like trying to remember every piece that's been in our in our galleries since I started. So I always get into the exhibit. We have we've had needle felting. What did you say? I don't always get into the exhibits. I'm usually just typing away my computer. Okay. Listen, August is maybe a little more tied down, and I'm supposed to be over there a little bit more. So I'm definitely looking at every every piece and title. Oh but we have yeah, we have so many different things, and I would love to see I want to see some weird stuff. I'm not gonna lie. Oh I want to see some define weird stuff. I want to see some appropriately weird things. I want to see, you know, when you're scrolling at TikTok and two at two in the morning, I don't know what everybody's algorithm looks like. Um mine is usually nerdy and artsy. So I see I see people making acrylic nail sets that have more artistry in them that I've put into canvases. I have seen, I mean, August, your partner makes perler bead pieces. Like there's all sorts of like creative designs with that. Like I want to see, I want to see some different stuff. I want to of course I love my fine art. I love my oils. Nobody get upset with me. I I love everything that's happening. I think I think variety is like a spice of life.

SPEAKER_00 27:39

Oh, yeah, absolutely. And I I can't tell you how many of the like weird things sold over the beautifully crafted, like oil painted, like it is true. There's a lot of people who truly appreciate the weird and odd art out there.

SPEAKER_01 27:54

And then, and then we have people who come in and they're like, I am looking for a piece to go over my mantle. It can be no smaller than, and you know, they are looking for fine art. So being where we're located, uh downtown, I mean, literally, we're the only building this close to the seawall.

SPEAKER_00 28:10

What's the address? Our address 100 North Shoreline Boulevard. 100? Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:14

I thought we were gonna be twinsies and I forgot north. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 28:18

It reminds me of uh set uh set glass. Have y'all heard of her? She makes you know.

SPEAKER_01 28:22

Yes, I've I've set up next to her at Vendor's before. I actually I think I have a I might have a necklace for her. Hey, set glass.

SPEAKER_04 28:29

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:29

Oh man, I kind of missed you on my little vendor markets. So if you've met me at a vendor market, you should come to the art center now. This is where we're all hanging out.

SPEAKER_03 28:38

Oh, so okay, that that brings the uh the food market.

SPEAKER_01 28:41

What do you all have?

SPEAKER_00 28:42

We have a farmer's market every Wednesday.

SPEAKER_03 28:44

Tell us about that.

SPEAKER_00 28:45

We do. It's it's something really cool. So every Wednesday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., we have a farmer's market. We've got a bunch of local vendors who sell food, they sell uh jewelry or different kinds of artwork. Uh we do it with uh Grow Local. So thank you, Grow Local, for doing that with this. Um and during Farmers Market, we also have our free family art time, which is a about two-hour art activity for kids and people really of all ages to come and make the little craft of the week. So we've done little paper, we do a lot of little paper crafts, a lot of painting crafts. I mean it's completely free. We provide all the all the uh supplies, all the instruction. It's self-led, so you guys can come in and do it together, help each other. We do have a facilitator who is there to help. But help each other, community, yeah, spend time together.

SPEAKER_01 29:29

That's how they got me down here. It is, they wrangled me down here because I was like cute crafts with kids. And I had actually I brought my kiddo, my youngest kiddo, down here. Um, actually, one of my friends is an artist here, and I came to one of their receptions. They had submitted to one of the main galleries, and we were walking around, and my kiddo just had too much energy, and I was dreading being at the art center with my kid with too much energy. And all of a sudden I saw um a little table and there was uh an employee sitting there. They're like, Hey, would you like to come over? And we got to go in and do a craft, and it gave my kiddo something to do with her hands for long enough that um my husband stayed with kiddo, and I've got to go over to the gallery. So, like, yeah, an adult has to be with the kiddo, but if you know you're going over to just say hi and you know, pop-bye, yeah, it was it was a great opportunity, and I'm very, I'm very thankful y'all have had a family art time so I could end up down here too.

SPEAKER_00 30:23

That's how I started here at the art center was I worked as a family art time facilitator, having no experience working with children. Uh I still don't know how to talk to kids, but it was very fun getting to to help kids work on our projects. Um, and a lot of them will come up. Like a four-year-old will come up and show me, look what I did, and I'll be like, that looks great. I don't know what to what else to say, but it looks really good. You're so much better now. I uh I try really hard. You've made so much progress. I'm so proud of you, I still am every time I see a kid, I'm like, take the compliment. Taxes?

SPEAKER_04 30:54

Taxes.

SPEAKER_03 30:55

You're like, here's some candy. Candy, just candy. That's that's that's the love language right there. Yeah. So what's your background in uh in art?

SPEAKER_00 31:04

Uh are you do you have a background in art? I do. So I dabble in a little bit. I draw, I paint, I right now for the past year and a half, I've been uh really focused on ceramics and polymer clay. A little bit more on the polymer clay aspect because ceramics is a little scary to me. Um but uh yeah, I make like jewelry, I make uh sculptures. I I I really want to dabble more into like the fantasy kind of setting for for my polymer clay. Um I have not always been an artist, but it wasn't until it really was something that was born of uh fidgeting. I fidget constantly. You probably watch this back. I'm like touching on my pink here as such a green. Yeah, figure on that. Um, but really I would just fidget with a bag of clay that my partner had brought home. Uh, and I started shaping it into different shapes and just absent-mindedly started making little things, and and I just do that to this day because it's something to do with my hands, and I really enjoy it.

SPEAKER_03 31:59

So cool. It reminds me of I'm a freaking nerd. I used to do those, I used to do those little model cars, you glue them together, paint them and stuff like this.

SPEAKER_01 32:07

My husband's shopping for one right now. Oh, he's serious. Yeah, him and the the older kiddo are about to do a model car. I didn't even know that they still sold those.

SPEAKER_03 32:15

Oh, it was so cool. Yeah, I'm kidding. Yeah, I used to work at the Islander Art Gallery when I went to Tamu CC, probably like 20 like 11 or something like that, or 2010. Anyway, like, and then I was invited to the one of the art shows, like to help out over there at the island. And you can like, if you go to those galleries and you just look at like you can just zone out on one painting for like minutes at a time. It's amazing that cult the culture, you know, you know what I mean, like art, our culture, just the people around it is is amazing, you know. Yeah, yeah. I feel like we're all like like we have our own little groups and stuff like that. It seems like y'all are like inviting, like, hey, come check out our group, come check this out.

SPEAKER_01 32:54

You know, and it's I feel like we're all different art, like we're all artists, but we're all like we're all just different flavors. Yeah, you know, like same same product, different flavors. Just like once we once we get in somewhere, we just start bringing the other artists in, start bringing in the that's so cool. Um you're mentioning the university where are the were those exhibits at the library?

SPEAKER_03 33:13

Oh, okay. Um, they have a a small uh exhibit area near the performing arts center.

SPEAKER_01 33:19

Uh we have we we have a satellite exhibit that we do for them with uh the art. We have an artist in residency program, and we bring an artist uh here to Corpus, and they actually get to go stay on an island for a week through the uh through the university. We have a partnership. Um, and then they come back here, they do art here in the art center, and then a year later they'll bring all of their art back and everything that was inspired by their stay at Laguna Madre. So we just had uh Cecilia Sierra was just here. Uh we were displaying at the Bell at the Bell Library, and we've got our next artist in residency actually today. Oh my gosh, she's going to the island today. That I just that's so exciting. Yeah, so she's actually she's on her way right now. Hope the weather's great for you. And um, maybe we'll see in a year. Maybe her work will be affected by the weather. It may be a little drearier. So it'll be interesting. This is bookmarks now. We'll be able to look back and remember what the weather is.

SPEAKER_03 34:11

Yeah, you said artists and registry. I I was downstairs uh last time I was here and I saw like literally, I guess just different rooms. Is there artists that I guess have their stuff here work that they work on here? Kind of like you know, like over there, you know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_01 34:23

At the moment, we don't have any long-term residencies um with artists here. So we do classes, we have workshops, we have um like the Clay Studio.

SPEAKER_00 34:32

Oh, we we've got we've got a uh uh members group who meets every Thursday from I think it's like 10 to 2. Uh they come in and they bring all their artwork that they're working on for the week, and you could get to see their work in progress as they finish their work and then submit to the galleries. It's it's really cool to see. Antonio's got some really good pieces that are that he's cooking up, and I think he's got some in the ceruleas on the work.

SPEAKER_01 34:54

I can see him working for my office sometimes, like or like just close enough that like every time I pop out, and he is such a fast painter, yeah, that like it'll just be a giant canvas, and then you walk in and all of a sudden it's a river and there's a sky, and now there's a canoe, and there's birds, and it's been two days.

SPEAKER_00 35:10

It's like he doesn't work on small pieces either. Those pieces are as are tall and uh as tall as me, like they're they're big. Yeah, how do you feel how do you feel about the murals going up and stuff or uh hit downtown? Love, absolutely love. I I think it's who wants to walk downtown and just see gray and white walls and have no silliness and whimsy as they go downtown. I mean it's so wonderful.

SPEAKER_01 35:32

I'm currently stalking one of the artists, but I won't but I won't say who on a podcast because I would um yeah, no, I love I love seeing all the murals go if I got to do a drive-through downtown when it seemed like everybody was like up in the air, it's like really exciting. But I want a mural. Let's do a mural.

SPEAKER_00 35:49

We just did one last year. Uh it's on the side of the building. You can see it as you cross down ocean. That one's new, it's fresh. I wasn't super involved in the creation of it, so I don't quite know all the background about it. I'll get some more details.

SPEAKER_01 36:01

Yeah, I guess it's more details. I I love seeing the entire community come together. Um, it's it's one thing when you when you know that you love art, like I love art, and I know that August loves art, and I know that my coworkers do, I know that my family does, and I know that the world has like an overall appreciation, but to see my social media flooded with art, to see people who don't normally post or care or engage with with art content across town where everybody's excited for it. Yeah, that feels it feels almost nostalgic to me. Like it feels like what I remember like the county fair feeling like when everybody's talking about it. It's like, oh my gosh, like I don't get really get too excited for buck days, that's a lot of traffic. But mural, I'm like, heck yeah, we're all talking about it. Let's shit chat. Like for sure. I get I get hyped.

SPEAKER_03 36:51

That's cool. Like that that having that thought, like it brings people together, just it does art does bring people together.

SPEAKER_01 36:56

And then you drive by later and you get all those memories again. So like you're visiting here after you had your wedding reception here. So there's you know, there's gonna be couples that got you know engaged downtown in front of this mural, and every time they go by the horses or the birds, or they're always gonna have like those those memories.

SPEAKER_03 37:14

That's why I was mentioning the because you were asking me which podcast episode was a good episode. So that's why I brought up uh Caitlin's Caitlin's episode because she was mentioning Birdwatch, but she was mentioning other than that, she was mentioning uh like experience, like she's an experiential marketer or something like that. Yes, yeah, and that's what that it reminds me of that. Like you have that experience instead of just buying something from the store for somebody here. Look what I got. Right. You actually go and check something out together with them. I think that's uh impactful. And how it actually I think it helps community also, like you're saying, yeah, people could have, you know, got engaged downtown or something like that.

SPEAKER_01 37:51

I'll just think about the kids too. That I mean, not not all children are going to have like the privilege and the access to pursue art, to learn art, to even be exposed to art. Not all of them are gonna have the opportunity, but just driving downtown, yeah. Oh my gosh, there's artists, like I could do that. Yeah, that person looks like me, I could be that person, and we've got a variety of artists to to find inspiration from.

SPEAKER_03 38:15

Yeah, well, see, I substitute taught uh like at Drill School Middle School, Moody High School, and those kids they're into like graffiti and stuff. They would pass around these books and like write graffiti, it would amazing work, you know what I mean? Even that, even that is art, like I think too to me.

SPEAKER_01 38:30

There's actually a if someone wants to submit graffiti on a canvas, I will take it. Bring me some graffiti. Oh, yeah. I was like, submit it. I was like, that's amazing. Make sure it's on topic.

SPEAKER_03 38:38

Does the art does the art the art walk reach you guys out here? So we actually have kids walk. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 38:44

So we are a part of art walk.

SPEAKER_00 38:46

Do you want to jump off with kids walk? We are a part of art walk. Uh we do kids walk for the first Friday for every month. Uh Kids Walk is this huge event we put on and kids can come. We usually have a theme for for each art walk. Um I was dressed like a pirate recently. Mostly pirates. Uh, this last one was Lemonade Day, uh, where a bunch of vendors uh who were children get got to learn about entrepreneurship uh and and really sell their lemonade, which is really uh really cool to see. Um we do family art time, a special family art time that is themed. Uh we do, I think it's an it's also uh our opening for for new shows for the exhibits.

SPEAKER_01 39:24

I was like, I was like, then it bounces back to me. So while everything is going on outside, um, because we are yeah, so the art center, not the art museum, just to make it clear, because a lot of people do get us confused, the ones with the courtyard. Okay. We're the ones that we have a big fancy Mediterranean courtyard. I only say fancy just to paint the picture. But um, a lot of our kids' activities, weather permitting, are gonna happen out there. And while that's happening, we've got adults inside, mainly, and our galleries. Um, so we'll do our our openings right now are set to happen around uh at the same time as kids walk.

SPEAKER_03 40:00

So yeah, how synonymous is it to like drink wine because there's a place down 41.

SPEAKER_01 40:05

We do have gallery 41 in our facility. So gallery 41 is named Gallery 41 because the building was built in 1941, just as a fun little fact. Um but yeah, if you if you wanted to pop up and grab a glass of wine, then you walk. I mean, that's hang out for sure. That's yeah, for sure. Yeah, that's totally fine. So um, I think the only the only time we would really have uh no drinks, no pets, because we are also dog friendly. Uh the only time we have no to that is gonna be when we have those dresses in there. So the the dresses, the Lestonius dresses are they are beautiful, but they do touch the ground. So we do not allow anything that could spill or make a mess uh for that. But yeah, we've got and we've got vendors out sometimes, and so you can pick up drinks that's cool. Things out in the courtyard as well, drinks and snacks.

SPEAKER_00 40:53

We also have uh local artist demonstrations. Vanessa Spitler, who we mentioned earlier, did a paper demonstration for kids and people of all ages. Last month we had a uh the coffee painting, the fantasy map making with Sam Derlith.

SPEAKER_03 41:07

Um so you're talking like people can actually watch them making bombs.

SPEAKER_00 41:11

People can watch them make art, and they can even join in depending on uh what the artist is doing. I mean, we've had a sewing demonstration, we've had a uh uh synth sorry, I'm gonna I'm gonna butcher it, but it's uh a synth demonstration. So uh we did it in coincide with Family Art Time. I think that was the first month that you worked here.

SPEAKER_01 41:29

That was on my first week. That was so cool.

SPEAKER_00 41:32

We collaborated with Matt Eller, who also teaches at Delmar. Uh he has a synthesizer machine that basically makes music uh using sound waves. It's really technologically sounding, but um, we actually had we bought plants uh and we were able to have the kids paint little plant pots, and then they took their plants over to Matt, who then hooked it up to his machine and they were able to make music using their plants. Oh, that's so.

SPEAKER_01 41:56

I just hooked it up to my arm and I made the weirdest techno ever. I wasn't sure how weird I thought it was gonna be, but it was a little bit weirder. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 42:03

Yeah, and that's so cool. Um, is there anything you guys would like to share or mention?

SPEAKER_01 42:08

Um I would like to throw out that we have a super cool veterans program. I wasn't sure where to squeeze it in earlier, but um, you you know my husband, Anthony, he's joined you here. Um, Anthony is a Marine veteran. We actually got him signed up for a membership. So cool. And he's already done actually clay, uh he's done some clay stuff going on. But our heart program is Heroes Engaging Through Art. I want to say that's I was like, I was like, I think I got it right. Hey, so um, so it's Heroes Engaging Through Art. And we are reaching out, we are providing memberships for veterans. We are trying to really just like reach out to folks that I keep saying community to the point where it's gonna sound cliche and like super silly, but um we see younger couples come in, we'll see younger enlisted or officers come in. Um we're we're one of the places that people visit, but when they realize that they can do things here and that they can engage with people here, it becomes a really easy, uh, an easy yes. We're right down the street from the base. You pop out right by Tammu. Yes, we're right down the road. Um, you can we have cubbies for our clay studio folks, so you can leave some of your tools here, leave your clay here. Yeah, they can come hang out, hang by the water. Like it's not a bad place to look around.

SPEAKER_03 43:25

We forget that the base is there, like like I've lived here all my like most of my life.

SPEAKER_01 43:30

I mean we go shelter.

SPEAKER_03 43:32

No, but what I'm saying, like it's amazing, like just like even having Anthony on my podcast has brought an awareness to the veterans that are out there that are you know maybe struggling or whatever they might have going on, and that art had can uh can have a good a good effect on the brain, I think. It does, you know what I'm saying? Like, I'm one of those advocates, especially in music. Like, I'm I'm a musician, yeah. So that awareness I think is is awesome, uh especially for veterans, you know.

SPEAKER_00 43:58

I mean that's really what. We saw the need there for veterans uh who were struggling, and art was really the kind of one of the answers for that. So I mean, as a veteran, you can take a free class at the art center, you can get a free membership, a free clay studio membership. I mean, there's there's a lot of opportunities for you here at the Art Center.

SPEAKER_03 44:16

That's cool. I like that. That's cool. Uh is there anything you want to share, August? That's a cool name, by the way.

SPEAKER_00 44:21

Oh, thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 44:22

That's your name. That's your that's they gave you that name, or uh it's my chosen name. Okay, okay, okay, I I I think I had knew somebody named October. I thought that was pretty cool. Yeah, I thought that was pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01 44:32

That would be September next. Yeah. Well then we'll just make it a we'll be a trio. Admittedly.

SPEAKER_00 44:37

Admittedly, people ask me all the time, oh, were you born in August? And then and I I have to lie to them. I've I'm like, yeah, I was born in March. I just like the name August. I don't know. That's cool.

SPEAKER_03 44:48

Yeah, it is cool.

SPEAKER_01 44:49

Um well, do you have any questions about the art center? Is there anything that maybe we didn't address for you?

SPEAKER_03 44:54

No, man, I think y'all covered a lot of people.

SPEAKER_01 44:57

Yeah, because uh I got like oh no, the principal's talking to me.

SPEAKER_03 45:01

I'm like, do you do I have enough time to think?

SPEAKER_01 45:04

It's multiple choice, don't panic.

SPEAKER_03 45:07

Don't make me write a paper, please. Oh my gosh. Uh no, um, not really. Uh is there a fee to come in?

SPEAKER_01 45:15

No admissions.

SPEAKER_03 45:15

Okay, no admission.

SPEAKER_01 45:16

I want I want people to come in. Well, all year around at the admission, so don't let me take credit. But we want people to come in. We want people to come look at the art, we want artists to come in and learn what we're about. So we're it's it's never going to be an admission. Um my god, that's so generous, Kaylee. I know you are welcome. No, don't don't let anyone see that part. Just kidding. But we do, um, I will say that we do have a couple of events um that will be ticketed events. Um so I the the one that really comes to mind is that we have Super Bowl. And Super Bowl is um it comes from Clay Studio. It's our biggest fundraiser of the year.

SPEAKER_00 45:51

We uh work with the uh food bank uh here in uh Corpus, and it is basically all of our members get to come together and they get to join leagues and compete against uh compete with each other, not against every friendly competition. Friendly competition. Uh they get to make all these handmade bowls. I think this past year we made a little over a thousand bowls, and people who buy tickets can come and get a bowl for free and try different soups from local uh food vendors uh here in the area, and it's they they they get to vote on their favorite soup at the end of the night, and it's something I think who won this year? Do you you weren't here for that, were you?

SPEAKER_01 46:30

It was the cheese soup that was served in the bread in the in the Christmas. I thought it was the tomato soup. I d I think it was the Bavarian cheese soup. Interesting. I didn't get to try that one, and I was so jealous. I think, or maybe that was my personal favorite soup, folks. I'm sorry. That one was my favorite. Um, it's super bowl. Like, like picture our courtyard, and underneath all of the columns are all the fanciest local restaurants with their chef or their chef serving the soup to you, and you get a little sample of each soup. So that's how I know that I tried the cheese one because I think I tried it twice.

SPEAKER_00 47:07

I kept seeing people walk around with baguettes full of soup, and I was like, Where are you going?

SPEAKER_01 47:10

It is literally dream. I've dreamed about it so many times. So you can go around and you sample them all, and then you get a full cup and a full bowl, and it's when does this happen?

SPEAKER_03 47:19

The during the Super Bowl time or it's right after it's right after the football super bowl.

SPEAKER_00 47:24

In November, I believe.

SPEAKER_03 47:24

November, oh yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_00 47:26

Or not I might be ginker X. Time isn't real. What did you do?

SPEAKER_01 47:31

You have to be right. Don't be wrong on that one. It is right. It is it is not in November. Um, I I worked at the Super Bowl and I've been here not very long. I don't know when the Super Bowl is, but I'm not a sports person. I'm not a sports person either. It's gonna be like March. March? March or April? March. That doesn't sound good. February?

SPEAKER_00 47:52

That doesn't sound like literally.

SPEAKER_01 47:54

It has to be February. It has to be one of those two.

SPEAKER_00 47:56

This past one was February 19th. Oh, you're in the cold season.

SPEAKER_01 48:00

Yes, cold season. You know what? You're on to something. Full season, February. We'll get the date for you. Do you want to come? Do you want to come to the Super Bowl?

SPEAKER_03 48:07

Maybe, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:07

I'll get you a ticket.

unknown 48:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 48:10

I will get Jesus a ticket. Put it on and put it. I'll put I'll take care of it.

SPEAKER_03 48:15

As much as I do a podcast for the community and stuff like that, I do not like to get out of the community. Oh my goodness. I feel sad to say that, but I mean, if you've never minds.

SPEAKER_01 48:26

Yeah. You let me know.

SPEAKER_03 48:27

Yeah, send me an invite.

SPEAKER_01 48:28

And I'll cut I'll I'll get you and the wifey set up so you can come have a date night where you had your wedding reception.

SPEAKER_03 48:32

Oh, hell yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:33

Yeah. See, see?

SPEAKER_03 48:34

Yeah, that's a good idea.

SPEAKER_01 48:35

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_03 48:35

Yeah, that is a good idea.

SPEAKER_01 48:36

I'm trying to play Bingman for you, friends.

SPEAKER_03 48:38

Yes, thank you. Thank you. Hell yeah. I need all the help I can get.

SPEAKER_00 48:42

Hold on. All right, what do you need to win? Oh.

SPEAKER_03 48:45

That's cool. Yeah, so uh there's no fee to come in here. Um trying to you guys are uh uh close on Monday. Close on Mondays. Uh so Tuesday through Sunday, you guys are open. Uh what times are you on?

SPEAKER_00 48:56

10 to 7. So 10 to 7, except Wednesdays were open 10 to 8 for farmers market, and then Saturdays were open 10 to 4, and then Sundays were open 11 to 2. Hey, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 49:06

Yeah. I overcome or I oversimplified it in my head.

SPEAKER_00 49:09

Can you believe it? It took me a full year to get those right.

SPEAKER_03 49:13

That's funny. Yeah, Sundays gotta be the shortest. You guys gotta be home for the family or whatever.

SPEAKER_01 49:18

I will say Sundays I do intake as well, though. So Sundays it's it's I uh when all the art comes in at once, it's a lot of it's a lot of bodies, it's a lot of artwork. It is a well-oiled machine. We have a whole system. Um, but yeah, Sundays it and they might be shorter hours, but they they make up for each and every shortened minute.

SPEAKER_03 49:39

Yeah, what I like about it, y'all, is is that there's it's local artists, our local artist pieces are here. When I came here the first time when I met y'all here, uh, I was like, wow, this is local stuff. You got little trinkets and that right there in that little hallway there, and then the dresses were here at that time. Yeah, it was I was just like, wow, this is local stuff. So that's what I really like about it. Uh, that it's local art.

SPEAKER_01 50:02

Um I love being able to tell. Oh, I'm so sorry. No, no, go ahead.

SPEAKER_03 50:05

For people that are around us.

SPEAKER_01 50:06

Yeah, I love being able to tell customers that come through or like guests that come through when they ask about a painting, being able to say, like, yeah, I saw them working on this.

SPEAKER_03 50:15

Well, you know, you know, too, it makes me think about like not a lot of us know that it's for sale. We just think, oh, it's there for display.

SPEAKER_01 50:21

We do, I would say that that is a common thing that I hear from folks. Like, number one is how much does it cost to come in here? Um, they're already in the gallery usually at this point, and they're like, How much does it cost? It's like, well, you've already crossed the threshold, so it's just as much as it was when you walked in. It's still free. Um, but yeah, a lot of folks think that we are more like a museum and less like a gallery. So we don't have um traveling exhibits that are going to be um archival, historical. We are going to have active artists, living artists, working artists.

SPEAKER_03 50:51

Do you have Do you have a price tag or do you does the person have to ask, hey, how much does this cost?

SPEAKER_01 50:56

Everything will have a set price. So honestly, thank you because all you've just done is confirm to me that my tags are the right color. Okay. Because each piece down there has a tag right next to it and it has the title, the medium, and the price. Okay. So title, medium, artist price. Um, but we've got them right next to it and they're the same color as the wall, so they blend in. Nice. So if you see a piece that you're interested in, just kind of slow down, take a look to the right, towards the bottom of the frame, and you'll see it posted right on the wall. Yeah. If there's a red sticker on it, that means it's sold. And so sorry for you.

SPEAKER_03 51:28

There's water burger. I'm thinking medium cup for tea. I'm like, what the but that's like the like acrylic or whatever.

SPEAKER_01 51:35

Yeah, yeah. So it'd be oil or clay or that's a good that's a good point to say though. We're right next to the Whataburger by the base. So if you get confused.

SPEAKER_03 51:43

Right across the street.

SPEAKER_01 51:44

That that is how you find us, go to the Whataburger. If you're standing on the balcony, you can see in the second floor.

SPEAKER_03 51:49

Everybody passes by here. It's Ocean Drive, whatever. Is this ocean or shoreline? Right here. Everybody passes by here. You know what I mean? To go to the bank center or you know, the seawall or whatever. It's here, and I know that we know that it's here. It's just like parking and coming in. Yes, you know what I'm saying? That's cool. You guys check out the art center, you guys. Is there anything else you like you would like to share? Thanks for coming on the show.

SPEAKER_00 52:11

That's everything. Thank you so much for having me. Thank you. Yeah, this has been wonderful.

SPEAKER_03 52:14

Yes, it's awesome. It's awesome. Well, you guys, August, Kaylee, thanks for coming in. We'll see you guys next time on the uh Corpus Security Originals podcast. Uh, next uh episode, I can tell you what it was. Uh, but uh somebody will be on the next episode. We'll see you guys next time. Y'all have a good one.

SPEAKER_04 52:28

Bye bye.