Dear Art Grove Readers,

Betsy and Tom here, the Creative Director and Managing Editor of Art Grove Newsletter! 

As we reflect on a full year of Art Grove, we decided to sit down and reflect together on this wild project we’ve been lucky enough to work on this year. We’re so grateful for the support of our community of artists and we feel honored that people enjoy reading Art Grove. 

So, without further ado, here’s a little behind the scenes Art Grove Q&A:

Q: How did Art Grove begin? 

Betsy: This time last year, we left our apartments in New York City and moved to Richmond, Virginia. During this intense transition, I felt compelled to find ways to continue to connect with the artist communities I’d been a part of throughout my life while also putting to use my new found producing and artistic entrepreneurial skills. Both you and I had talked a lot about how isolating your twenties can be, and I think for artists it can be especially hard to find a community that you feel comfortable enough to talk through the knitty-gritty, intimate details of making your way as an artist. I wanted to create a space where anyone who is interested in participating in the creation of art could learn more about the practical nature of how things are done. I imagined a community dialogue with open source “industry secrets” that aren’t sold to you in an online course or selectively given to you through an expensive degree program. I wasn’t sure how this would manifest initially, was it an instagram page, a podcast, an awkward weekly zoom call? 

Tom: And that’s where I came in. Well, initially I remember you wanting to do some kind of newsletter through Substack. When you presented that idea to me, I had so many thoughts for how to make it happen so it was almost a little difficult to figure out where to begin. I thought, this is going to be bigger than Substack, and it was going to take two people to make it happen. I remember being really excited about that, because at the time I was feeling starved of a project.  As both a journalist and an artist, it seemed like the right fit. Honestly, I don’t even really remember what came next because everything felt like such a whirlwind as we were putting things together. 

Q: What have been some of the highlights of the first year of Art Grove? 

Betsy: As two emerging artists ourselves, I think it has been an incredibly energizing and inspiring privilege to pick the brains of some of our favorite living artists over the last year. Within the first 12 issues we have featured 37 artists, excluding ourselves and our wonderful staff writer, Sarah. The opportunity to learn from these people, our peers, and those a bit further along in their artistic lives, is one we do not take lightly. As often as we are burning the midnight oil trying to make things happen for this project, we are always filled with joy and gratitude when we interview the artists and then are able to share their wisdom and perspective with our community through the pieces we write and publish. Additionally, I’d have to say that Art Grove has given us the opportunity to devote ourselves to connecting further with artists all over the United States in our effort to turn our focus away from coastal cities as the only hubs for artmaking. Amazing art happens everywhere, and I think our passion for that philosophy lead directly into the creation of Art Grove’s mission. 

Tom: As a journalist, I understand how hard it can be to get published these days, especially if the piece isn’t super ‘click-bait-y’ or a hot topic. With Art Grove we’ve been able to give a platform to several artists now who have written us truly wonderful pieces. It’s been great to be able to bring those stories to light as the Managing Editor. 

Q: What has this experience taught you about working on a project?

Tom: Before Art Grove, I was someone who was always very afraid to share my projects with other people. I always felt so protective of them, like they had to be perfect depictions of my values. Over the course of this year I’ve gotten to meet more artists and learn their perspectives, but also their processes which has been especially important. From that I’ve become more open with my own art. I have been able to find so much more success and satisfaction in sharing the creative process and the results of it with other people. 

Betsy: I am someone who is notoriously hard on myself, I know a lot of artists feel this way. Throughout this first year with Art Grove, I’ve had to practice the radical act of giving myself grace and making adjustments as life makes things more complicated. I’ve known that working hard and pushing through can be the right way to approach things from past experiences, but I think the most important lesson I’ve learned is listening to when my intuition tells me that I need to give myself grace instead of jackhammering through. I’m a big believer in seasons of life, in a time for every thing to ebb and flow, and I think adopting this philosophy with Art Grove allows us to continue in the way we want to: with an emphasis on the artists and an overall more relaxed community culture. This month, for instance, we are releasing our July Issue a bit later than usual. This allows the humans who work on Art Grove to take care of the more stressful bits of life (moving, job stuff, etc.) and take the time required to write pieces that live up to the Art Grove community. Through the grace we give ourselves and our community shares with us, we’re able to redefine consistency within this project that feels 

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In closing, we urge you to start a project with your friends. It is such a gift to be able to share a passion, to pool our resources and skills to create something larger than ourselves. It is not easy, it is not always fun, and it is not always successful, but it is always worth it. We’ve learned so much about ourselves, our art and the world around us from this project – and we’ve only been at it for a year. We’re so looking forward to where this project takes us next, and we’re even happier that you’re along for the ride with us. 

Thank you all, we hope you enjoy the July issue when we can get it to you.

Betsy Podsiadlo & Tom Jakob