What We Changed

First of all, for those dying to know, here't the list of people we funded and a link to some more information on the Tweet Small Change website:

Here are the ones we chose to receive micro-grants. We believe strongly in our support of each of these artists and look forward to seeing what $140.00 can do for them.

• Lorien Eck – @lorieneck
• Dejunked Art – @dejunked
• Tracy Mumford – @mumfordmumford
• Sara Puotinen – @undisciplined
• Lingua Luna @lingualuna
• Jun-Li – @jundashli
• Savage Umbrella – @sprinkspark
• Krista Walsh
• Gumball Collective – @gumballarts
• Skewed Visions- @skewedvisions

I've been asked a lot of questions on this, and I will likely say some more in the future. To answer a few of the top questions — this was entirely funded by Patrick and myself, because we believed strongly in it and wanted to make it happen and didn't mind eating ramen for awhile to save the cash. And yes, we are planning to do it again, but need to source some more viable funding options.

There was a great energy around the site for those 48 hours, and it gave me a great faith in what art can do.

It's simply one of the best things I have done, ever.

Tweet Small Change

As many of you know, both art and community change has been on my mind a lot lately. You’ve listened to me rant, bought me another drink as I postulated, and joined me in wondering “How can we make this different?”

It was another late night at another reception when I began to really think about this hard. And then I came home and talked all night to my husband about it. And we (well, Gladhill Rhone LLC) decided that, if we wanted to make innovative art happen, we had better put our money where our mouths were.

Today — March 4 — help us make Tweet Small Change happen. Basically, you have 48 hours to give us your best small arts project pitch in a tweet. Yes, in 140 characters or less, using the hashtag #tweetsmallchange. After 48 hours, we’ll pick ten projects to get micro-grants of $140 each.

Then, you go do art. The only thing that we ask is that you somehow document the project on social media — Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, whatever, it’s up to you — and share it back via the @AChangeTweet Twitter account.

Follow @AChangeTweet, or check out http://www.tweetsmallchange.org. Other social media links are:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tweetsmallchange

App.net: https://alpha.app.net/achangetweet

Instagram: http://instagram.com/tweetsmallchange

App.net: https://alpha.app.net/achangetweet

The small print:  Projects can be anywhere in the US (we don’t want to mess with foreign exchange). It can be a project that can be done entirely within the $140, or the micro-grant can complete it, or whatever works for what you want to do. Our decisions are ours alone and might be entirely capricious, but hey, that’s arts funding for you.

Spread the word, please, and I hope to see your tweet. Because I really think all you need is someone to nudge you a little to make great art and community work happen.

Unleash the Hounds!

I've long wanted to be an Art Hound, but have never signed up to do it. Part of it was that so much of what I see is stuff that I am involved with, part of it was actually planning ahead to see something I'm not involved with, part of it sheer inertia.

But I'm excited to see Gidion's Knot at Pillsbury House (and it's pay-what-you-can, and there's free childcare, and even an art installation in the space). So I pitched it to the friendly hounds, and boom, there I was in the deluxe MPR studios, recording away.

Chris Roberts was a blast to hang out with and talk to, and the other Hounds this week have some fantastic plans, so come on….

Unleash those hounds!

Putting My Money Where My Market Is

I've been a co-op member for a long time. When I first moved back to the Twin Cities, I was a proud Hampden Park Co-op working member. Once or twice a month we would go in, stock the shelves, fill coolers, cut and package cheese, and do whatever needed to be done. It felt kind of like summer camp at Widji — a whole bunch of earthy crunchy types working together to make something happen.

In the 1990s, the corner of Selby and Dale was a bleak, empty lot. Various developers floated less and less attractive plans for the site, chastising the community for not falling over themselves to welcome an Un-Bank, a video chain, or fast food. We were told that spot would never be developed, that the neighborhood was too bad. We were told we needed to vacate streets and accept poor quality construction. We, as a neighborhood, said "No."

It was before the term "food desert" came into common use, but there weren't exactly a plethora of shopping options available. I worked with a group thinking about establishing our own hardscrabble co-op, and stayed up late looking st spreadsheets and options (see, nothing has changed). I just could not make it viable, and neither could anyone else on the team. Then, Mississippi Market hired a new General Manager, Allen Mathewson. Allen came in with a Southern drawl and made it his mission to get the Market board to expand. He and I sat many nights doing traffic counts on those corners. We talked to members, and to the community, and to anyone who would listen. And eventually, the board made the very risky decision to build there. It was a really rough few years as they started out, but they made it, and thrived.

Years later, that same store paid back its vote of confidence by funding the relocation and expansion of the Highland store when they lost their lease. And today, despite the encroachment of lots of other shopping options, Mississippi Market still thrives. I go to some of those other stores, but the Market still feels the most like home.

And now, in the same way the board once listened to my little group, they have responded to the Gateway co-op group on the East Side, and are proposing a new store over there, across from the Swede Hollow Cafe.

So for Patrick and myself, it was important to support that. We're not exactly rolling in extra funds right now. But yesterday we walked in and signed forms and put what we could into a member loan to help fund the new store.

And damn if it wasn't one of the best feelings I've had since holding a shovel at the Selby-Dale groundbreaking years ago.

Friends

I'm feeling very lucky tonight about the people in my life.

I just got back from a wonderful book club. My book club, the WAMBATS, has been meeting for almost 20 years. We have wonderful meetings, where I'm afraid we discuss the book less than we should, but only because we have so much to catch up on with each other. Our friendships are deep and real, and these wonderful women know me so well.

Last night, we went to our friends Sarah and Kevin's for a Chinese New Year party. Our children are to the age where they can amuse themselves, so we can have all sorts of discussions, ranging from the Oxford comma to everyone's seminal movie. Do you ever leave a party feeling wonderfully refreshed and invigorated?

Already this month I've had some fascinating lunches, wonderful dinners with other sets of friends, a wine and Girl Scout cookie pairing with another array of impressive women, and even some good Facebook exchanges. I don't know what I've done to have such wonderful and fascinating people in my life, but I am very, very lucky.

Girl Scout Cookies

This is the first year Beatrix has been a Daisy. I wasn't a Girl Scout — my family tradition is Camp Fire Girls — but I have really appreciated the emphasis on friendship and values in her troupe. It's a nice contrast to her other extracurriculars (circus, ballet, violin, Spanish). And of course, right now is Girl Scout Cookie time!

I was unprepared, actually, for the various vituperative cookie controversies.

Most offensive is "CookieCott," which wants us to boycott Girl Scout cookie sales because the Girl Scouts cite Wendy Davis and Kathleen Sebelius (among others including Hillary Clinton, Betty Freidan, Amnesty International, and NOW) as worthy role models. Personally, if my daughter grows up to be the kind of woman that exemplifies those principles, I will be immensely proud. If anything, it makes me realize how very good the Girl Scouts could be for my daughter, and what kind of values they exemplify.

(As an aside, a competing group offers a badge for protesting outside Planned Parenthood. Exactly what I want my daughter to be doing — rolls eyes).

But controversy comes in many forms, and it's almost harder when it comes from people I believe in. This weekend I watched a minor twitter-explosion about the quality of the ingredients and how Girl Scouts would be better off baking themselves than peddling cookies. While I respect my foodie friends, I'll humbly suggest that, in this case at least, it's not about the baked goods (though I do like that the cookies are locally baked and distributed, which is why they vary by area, why they are different in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, and why the Duluth chapter offers a gluten-free variety). It's about what it does for the girls and their troupe and their activities.

Beatrix is a little slow to warm up to it all, but when she does, she loves to tell you about what their troupe will do with the funds and why she likes to be a Daisy. She'll even try to do the math of selling you a few boxes (don't worry, I'll double check it). Any maybe, just maybe, it will lead her to be another Wendy Davis, someday.

(let me know if you want to order some cookies from her)

Mom Wins

In the case of work/life balance, I'm at best a C-student. Between work, friends, the house, being a mom and a wife, and everything else, I come up short in at least one area daily. But tonight — just tonight — I am reveling in great mom-successes. (Shh, I know this is at the detriment of everything else. But humor me for now.)

Beatrix turned 6 this weekend and was thrilled with her birthday weekend. We somehow pulled off a "Frozen" party (more on that later), and spent the day itself at Como Zoo and Conservatory, a Finnish cultural event at Landmark Center, and at Rainforest Cafe for dinner (her pick, obviously). I can't believe she's 6.

We received word that her portfolio review was successful and qualified her for Gifted and Talented services. We have not made up our minds if we'll send her to the G&T school yet (if we even get in), but we've applied and at least that door is open.

She had African-American Parent Involvement Day today, and Patrick joined her for lunch (BBQ chicken and cornbread - rolls eyes). Next week is her Author Workshop. Plus she has the Valentine's concert this week (she's constantly singing the songs and reciting the poems), and she auditioned and got a spot in the all-school talent show next week. I'm excited that she is learning that hard work and practice pay off.

Perhaps most awesomely, she started her school Book Club today, and tonight she came home and read US a book for the first time, called "Big Ears." She was so incredibly excited about it that my heart totally swelled.

She started her school valentines tonight, and is thrilled that the Summit house is heart-bombed.

Today I received word she was awarded a scholarship for a 2-week summer camp at ArtStart, which helps us get the whole summer lined up. It's still quite the game of summer-camp-tetris (so far in the mix is likely Camp DayCroix, ArtStart, and the Gibbs Farm Museum, with maybe Camp Invention, the Science Museum, and Steppingstone), but it's starting to fall into place.

And she's thrilled to be selling Girl Scout cookies. More on that later too, but we're hosting a wine-and-cookie pairing party or two in the next couple weeks, so let us know if you want to attend, or just want to buy cookies. Her big goal is 1000 boxes — I'll be happy if she does 50!

I try hard, and despite that, I'm not always good at the mom-thing. But right now, at least, it's feeling pretty great.