[0:01] - I've always been interested in art. [0:04] The decision to like officially call myself an artist, [0:07] has come in fits and spurts. [0:09] I'm Jamie Schumacher, Kalakaru-Mava [0:11] I am an artist, author, and mom living in Bloomington. [0:14] I was a theater nerd in high school and a mathlete. [0:16] And then as I got older, the visual side [0:19] of the arts I became more involved in. [0:20] I did makeup artistry when I lived in Southern California. [0:23] I did prosthetics, masks and taught classes and that. [0:26] And then moving to Minnesota, I opened an art gallery [0:28] and through that [0:29] and also becoming a mom, I started moving into less [0:33] of the sculptural and more of the visual styles of art, [0:35] dipping into illustration. [0:37] And then throughout all of that, I've also been a writer. [0:39] So this is my most recent book. It's a children's book. [0:42] It's called Half World Away. [0:43] My oldest daughter, who's now 11, when she was in preschool, [0:46] they did a section [0:48] where every day they were doing a different country when [0:50] they were focusing on Asian countries. [0:51] I'm like, Ooh, cool, I'll come. [0:53] I'll talk about our family's story. My dad's from Sri Lanka. [0:56] I'll get some children's books about Sri Lanka. [0:58] I'll make some Sri Lankan snacks. [1:00] And when I went to go look for children's books [1:02] for Sri Lanka, I found nothing. [1:04] So that kind of planted a seed. [1:06] I'm like, I wanna do something. [1:07] And it's like the hardest thing I've ever done in my life [1:09] to make this book happen. [1:10] It took a lot of things coming together. [1:12] I received a loft fellowship. [1:14] They have a really great program for children's literature, [1:16] which is meant to encourage more diversity in [1:19] children's literature. [1:20] For this book. I wrote it and did the illustrations. [1:22] I even, at one point I had most of the illustrations done [1:26] and went back [1:27] and the little girl, I'm like, she doesn't look like me. [1:30] Did a bunch of revisions. [1:31] I did a bunch of drafts and I'm like, [1:33] that little girl needs a big nose [1:34] and she needs to look like I did when I was little, [1:35] which was this awkward kid with big hair and big nose. [1:38] So I updated that. [1:39] Children's books often have like a big crisis [1:42] that's like the puppy got lost [1:44] or you can't find your blanket. [1:45] This one, it's like a softer thing [1:47] where she's conflicted about feeling at home in both places [1:50] and having family in both places. [1:52] Me and my dad reading. Over the course of writing this book [1:56] and finishing the illustrations, my dad passed away, [1:58] which put another big pause and heaviness on the project. [2:01] 'cause this is kind of a story for him [2:03] and I'm glad that my dad got [2:05] to see the manuscript before he passed. [2:07] Yeah. I'm really lucky to get [2:09] to serve on Bloomington's Creative Placemaking Commission. [2:11] We've got a really great commission here. Placemaking, [2:14] It can sound pretty jargony, but it's really just art [2:16] and culture that resonates with the people [2:17] who actually live there. [2:18] And then I also try to serve on other committees. [2:20] I volunteered with our first pride committee [2:23] for the First Pride Festival in Bloomington [2:25] and volunteered to do a mural, which is now in city hall. [2:27] I am grateful that I was able [2:28] to serve on the Bloomington's core strategic planning team [2:31] for putting together a Bloomington's updated long-term [2:34] strategic plan for the city community is so important [2:36] and staying rooted and connected to community is gonna be [2:40] how we make our neighborhoods great. [2:41] It's how we make the world a better place. [2:43] All of these things sound so cliche, but they're so true. [2:46] You wanna be a part of like creating the kind [2:48] of community where you wanna live. [2:50] And I'm excited to help Bloomington help all [2:53] of its residents be creative [2:54] and have places to connect with art [2:56] and culture that resonates with them.