I was born. That was cool. Then I was given a box of crayons shortly after, and that was even cooler.
Around the time that everyone else left their box of crayons to grow up, I was still propped up on my elbows, sprawled on the floor in front of a drawing pad, gripping my box of crayons pretty tight.
In fourth grade, I must have looked pretty funny because I was asked to join a clown troupe at school. I learned how to unicycle and clown for events.
I began writing poetry around the age of thirteen and fell in love with that too. In high school I had some great teachers who encouraged me to continue writing, entering contests etc.
My art teacher didn’t think too much of me but I didn’t quit, and after high school I landed an art apprenticeship in Chicago. I got to stand behind the artists who caricatured and watch them, thus began my passion of cartooning. After a while I got hired on drawing caricatures and portraits.
I told myself I want to do this on my own, freelance in five years. Its been about five years now and I have started clowning and drawing caricatures for events, fairs and people, under the name Artrageous Memories.
I began hanging around the good people of Kenosha and got invited to display some of my work at the Pollard Gallery, and share some of my poetry at the Kenosha’s Writers group.
I am currently developing a comic strip called, “Max and Otis.” It’s about two snails. Keep an eye out for them, I’ll keep you posted.
I worked with Marianne on the Coats for Kids program when she was a department head at Women and Children’s Horizon’s and recently found she had a book of poetry published this June. The title is “Cool Shade and Sweet Water.”
Normally, I’d start and end the interview with the same person, but not this one because I started out interviewing Marianne, but she quickly transposed into Namarine.
Marianne works as an Employment Support Specialist at the Ellsworth Prison in Union Grove, helping the women reintegrate into their communities. Namarine writes wonderful introspective Poetry. As Marianne spoke, Namarine became a powerful draw for me, a little like Kahlil Giban in his book “The Prophet”.
We first learned of Karen when she emailed Expose Kenosha.
“I am an artist that lives in Kenosha County and was not aware of a vibrant and active arts community.”
I emailed Karen, and later called her. Her enthusiasm for her art was contagious, and she was eager to share and learn with other artists.
Joe: Hi Karen. We just met, and I know very little about you. Why don’t you introduce yourself?
Karen: My name is Karen Griffin. I live in Salem, Wisconsin, and I’m an artist that is trying to promote herself.
Joe: How did you come to email Expose Kenosha, Karen?
Karen: There was as an ad on Craig’s List. That’s how I found Expose Kenosha. It was talking about writers and saying that writers were needed.
That’s why I sent the email. I wanted to be a writer and I said “Hopefully it’s a paying job, because I’m a starving artist”.
Joe: Well… The work is fun, and you would have good company, but the pay… Continue reading →
Click the arrow to listen to Nick Demske’s performance
COMMON SENSE
I didn’t think it was loaded. But it was a kn
Ife. So we’re both right. I foresee
Blinding enlightenment. I beat these children like the deadest of horsies.
The people cheer at their victory. Peasants dan
Cing in gutters, commoners singing like so many
Semi-trucks breaking. This is the ultra-vulgarity to those who make
The definitions. This is cops getting shot in abnormally
Broad daylight. I will make me beautiful if it takes
Uglying everything else; a reflect
Ion so unfamiliar you feel impolite confronting it. I am the awestruck lex
Icographers, staring back into a nightingale. I will beat these
Precious children back to life. Fuck me, shit me.
Remind me what it’s like to be offended, Nick Demske.
Ah. Already with thee.
Nick Demske is a poet living in downtown Racine, Wisconsin, above Wilbur’s Barbeque, with his girlfriend, Angela Malone. He is a Creative Writing graduate of Carthage College (May ‘06) and a graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School (Nov. ‘06), a program that involved 3 months of living outdoors in the Rocky Mountain wilderness. Currently, Nick is working on two manuscripts: a self-portrait sonnet sequence called “Self-titled” and a manuscript based on a character he created called “Otis Henry.” Or did Otis Henry create him?
Nick works at the Racine Public Library and is working to start several programs through it, including a youth workshop analyzing social justice through poetry and a contemporary poetry discussion group in collaboration with JavaVino, a local wine and coffee shop.
If you see Nick about town, feel free to request an impromtu poetry reading (We did). He typically only responds when called “Nicki-poo.”
Matt: Not really. I was born in Indiana. And lived in Iowa and Missouri and moved up here right before the fifth grade, in 1985.
T: Oh, so you’ve been here for (not wanting to do simple arithmetic in her head)… a while.
M: Most of my life. After I graduated from high school I lived in Racine, I lived in Waukegan for a little bit. And I was in a band and we were on tour so I lived in Minneapolis for a little while, but other than that, mostly Kenosha.
T: Alright. Were the arts a part of your upbringing? Is that kind of how you got into it?
M: Not really. I studied classical piano when I was a kid and that was the bulk of it. When I was a little kid I got a transistor radio from my grandpa, I would fall asleep with it under my pillow. That kind of turned me on to popular music as opposed to classical music. In junior high I started writing music. I remember writing a lot when I was a kid. Writing stories. My parents didn’t have much to do with it, aside from using piano lessons as punishment.
Writing prompts are excellent tools to use when you’ve hit a wall with your writing. The Kenosha Writers’ Group prompts are intentionally vague and open ended to give your thoughts room to flow.
Visit www.KenoshaWritersGroup.com for writing prompts aimed at inspiring you out of writer’s block. Last month’s prompt was “The Worst Possible Thing.” Contributors were Joe Barr, Angela Miller, Bill Schroeder and Rick McCluskey.
Since the beginning of this e-zine,
I have been referring writers to Francisco to do the interviews on these fascinating local artists. Since the beginning, he’s been asking me to do an interview on myself. On myself? That seemed so shameless. And then he asked again, and then again. Finally I agreed. My friend and colleague Tammy Peacy was nearby when I said ok. She thought this was a great idea and said, “You’ll probably learn a lot about yourself!”
“Are you kidding?” I said, “I am so sick of learning about myself that if I have to spend one more minute alone with me I might throw up!”
But alas, a promise is a promise, so here goes my interview with me! Continue reading →
She says she isn’t chatty, but Jessica Meyers had plenty to say about art a few weeks ago at Mo’s Lounge.
Jessica is a mixed media artist who incorporates newspaper and hand written words into her paintings.
“Before I started painting I didn’t realize you could stick all kinds of stuff onto the canvas. I thought it had to be just paint.”
I was born. That was cool. Then I was given a box of crayons shortly after, and that was even cooler. 
