Episode audio and synced transcript are available via Descript here.

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: Hello and welcome to Art RADIO. Art RADIO is a podcast hosted by the Siskiyou County Arts Council located in Northern California on the land of the Achomawi, Karuk, Klamath, Konomihu, Modoc, Okwanuchu, Pit River, Northern Wintu, Shasta, Winnemem Wintu tribes. We offer recognition and respect to these tribes and all others as we connect on native land.

With Art RADIO we aim to uplift the creative voices of the county through this podcast medium. With the geographical landscape being a large challenge of connecting with each other, the podcast radio waves will be the connecting thread. Our priority at the Siskiyou County Arts Council is to cultivate strong and creative communities in Siskiyou County because we believe the arts are a societal cornerstone that celebrates diverse cultures and a shared history.

To keep up with grant opportunities or our projects such as the Art Cart, subscribe to our newsletter by visiting our website, siskiyouarts.org, S I S K I Y O U A R T S . O R G. Thanks again for listening to Art RADIO. Have a creative day!

Today on Art RADIO we have artist Connie Meek. Connie jokingly says she’s a Jack of all trades and a master of a few. She has been involved in many different aspects of the arts and is also involved in planning art events and grant writing. She says she lives art. She was a kindergarten teacher and taught the gifted and talented program at Granada. She is a current president on the board of Liberty Arts and is on the board of the Yreka Preservation. We appreciate her so much. Thank you for taking the time to interview, Connie.

Connie Meek: You’re welcome.

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: Great. Okay, so now if we could do our little grounding exercise that we do every episode, where we just sit together. So wherever you are right now, and you’re listening to this episode, go ahead and sit down and let’s do a grounding exercise together. So slow down and take a pause. Stop whatever you’ve been doing, breathe, and go ahead and turn your attention inward. You can do this by closing your eyes or you keep your eyes open, focused on something that your eyes rest easy on. Notice your body sensations. Get curious and interested in what’s going on with your body. So start with the top and go to the bottom; with your head. does it, does it need a little adjustment? How’s your neck feel? What about your shoulders? They need a little roll? Your torso, your hips, your legs, and your feet, are they planted comfortably? Are they crossed comfortably? Notice any emotions coming up? Do you feel happy? Do you feel nervous? Do you feel neutral? Make room for images to pop up as well. Listen into your thoughts.

All right, go ahead. And let’s take the next 10 seconds to close your eyes, if you want to, or sit together in silence and I’ll bring you back. Here we go.

Three, two, and one. Okay. How was your day today, Connie?

Connie Meek: It’s lovely, actually. My garden is gorgeous and I get to look at it from this view right now. And it’s been a peaceful and productive day. I’ve been working before this, so I’ve gotten some things out of the way; feel pretty good.

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: Wonderful. Where do you live right now?

Connie Meek: I live in Yreka on Lane Street. And I have what I call a grownup house because I lived in Montague for 20 years in a really cute little funky house that I love to pieces and was sad to leave actually. But I had to move to Yreka because of my husband’s job. So, here I am and I’ve been here almost 20 years. Pretty nice.

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: Well great. It’s great to have you here in Yreka. How long have you lived in Siskiyou County in general? Counting all those years together?

Connie Meek: Yeah, I came in 1980, September 5th, 1980. I had lived in Berkeley and had friends that moved up to the Klamath River in 1972. They started a commune Dutch Creek. So I knew about Yreka; I never, ever imagined I’d live here because I was pretty much into Berkeley. So but I became a single mom and my son was 11 and I thought it might be time to move to a different kind of vibe for him. And he wasn’t too happy about that, but he adjusted and in fact, he’s come back to Yreka and is living in Yreka now. So yeah, I’ve been here a long time. The longest I’ve ever been anywhere. 40 years.

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: Wow, that’s four decades. Where are some places that you and your son like to go to when you first were here?

Connie Meek: Definitely the Klamath River, definitely. I – we’ve done a lot of river rafting on the river. The rivers here are amazing. The Salmon River is beautiful. The Scott River, if you get back far enough away from the ag, there are beautiful swimming holes. They’re just it makes me so happy to be by the water. I love the water.

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: I feel the same, water is pretty healing to me. It doesn’t matter how large or how small the body of water is. It changes me completely. It cleanses me, my mind, I guess.

Connie Meek: Yes, I’ve always really lived near water, actually. When I was in Chicago, I lived near Lake Michigan, so, and then Berkeley…

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: That’s quite a, quite a lake.

Connie Meek: Yep.

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: What do you think you’ve done in Siskiyou County that you can’t repeat or recreate any where else?

Connie Meek: Well, I thought about this. The number one thing is, I have friends that I have known for this long period of time that I don’t think I could ever move somewhere and to have that connection that I have had with these people that I kind of grew up with, really. I wouldn’t want to leave that. It’s very precious to me to have that kind of long-term connection. They know the good and the bad and all, you know, so I wouldn’t want to try to recreate that anywhere else.

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: That’s beautiful. Thank you for sharing that. When you visit somewhere outside of Siskiyou County, what does it feel like once you’re back? What’s the drive like? What’s the process, what’s going on in your head as you, as you arrive back?

Connie Meek: I’ve done a lot of traveling since I retired from teaching and I just love coming home. It’s just like you exhale. You just go, you just breathe again. And first of all, the bed, so glad to be in my own bed and then just relaxed atmosphere. It’s so laid back compared to traveling in Europe or, you know, big cities; it’s just such a relief. It just feels comfortable. So, I’m always glad.

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: That’s beautiful. Well, thank you. Do you feel like the mountain greets you as you come back? Or how do you feel about the mountain, Mount Shasta?

Connie Meek: I, yeah, I love the mountain. I used to be able to, to see it from every place in my house, but now the trees have grown up so it’s usually a winter time event now because it’s gotten pretty blocked. But the mountain is really mysterious to me, and I have a lot of respect for the mountain. A lot of regard for its majesty and it’s very powerful, it’s a powerful draw. I really believe somehow that people that end up here are part of some tribe that have been drawn, you know, to the mountain. So yeah, I have a lot of respect for the mountain.

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: Great. Thank you. Let’s go on to the art section of the interview. How do you feel the art scene is right now in Siskiyou County, in general, or in your respective town? And where do you feel that you fit in?

Connie Meek: Well, I’ve been working in the arts for… even when I was teaching, I, I got a $75,000 grant to put in an arts program at the school for three years. And I was able to have a drama teacher, music teacher, visual artist, and dance person come on Fridays. And the kids rotated through all those classes. So even when I was working, I was really involved in the Northern California arts Project. And then after I retired, I felt a little lost and I got more involved with Liberty Arts. And when I said I plan events, it’s always regarding artists. When I did Twilight, it was a progressive dinner. And we met with Monet, and Georgia O’Keeffe, and Jackson Pollock, and Judy Chicago. And I hired four actors that portrayed these, these artists. And it was wonderful.

The piece that I wanted to do last year that we couldn’t do was about women photographers. And it was also a celebration of the hundredth anniversary of women’s right to vote. So then I had a group of women that were meeting at my house that were really dynamic movers and shakers, and we were ready to roll and do some guerilla art. And, you know, we did the county seat with the chairs and boom COVID happened. And so that group has scattered and I hope that we can get it back together. We had the mayor of Yreka, we had Megan Peterson, Patricia Lord, the business owners, you know, it just, it was really exciting and getting going, and then it was a tough year. It was a very tough year. So, I hope that we can get that back.

One good thing that came out of it was at Liberty Arts because the kids couldn’t come into the gallery, that’s when the We Art Together happened where the the gallery sent out binders and all the materials for kids to do art projects. And these went to places where kids really couldn’t even have ever come, out to Happy Camp and Doris… kids that really needed this.

So, that was probably the best thing that came out of the COVID. I have a lot of hope for, for the arts here. I think it, it could really help to stimulate the economy here. You know, this is a precious little place and I think we could do a lot more. So I’m hoping that people are ready to go again, now that we’re starting to ease up on all the restrictions.

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: Well, that inspired me to feel ready to go, if I didn’t already. If you… you said that life, that you live art; you said that you live art. So, I have the question, you know, is art a lifestyle or hobby? Could you expand a little bit more and how you feel that art is a way of life?

Connie Meek: Well, I wish you could see my house. There’s art everywhere. I think it’s important to create an environment that, that makes you happy that stimulates your thinking, your creative ability. So, I want that around me. The way I dress or… I love color. I love to put together different colors and different… I love vintage clothes. So, just my everyday being is involved in a lot of art. And then, you know, I appreciate the beauty of the nature here to me; that’s art. The kindness of people is an art. The way things are spoken. I find that everywhere here, then of course there’s all the work of art. You know, the, the actual, like working on that art project that we all worked on together was so much fun for me. I just could not even get away from it. You know, I just loved it. So, it’s just the way I want to live my life. It’s the way I want to be.

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: Do you remember when you just made that decision to… that art meant that way, that art meant that to you?

Connie Meek: Yes. Well, I think even when I was a little girl, I was always drawing and I was drawing a lot of fashion clothes, things too, a lot of puffy dresses and stuff. And then when I got involved, I think I was about nine when I started the theater. And that was just everything I wanted to do was to act. And I spent a lot of time involved in theater, all through Chicago, through Berkeley, through here. I have been in several plays at SPAC. We always… I just appreciate that. And it’s just so fun to be someone else sometimes. So, and that’s a way of living, because… and I think really I’m, I’m very much an empath so, that really helped me with creating characters. So, I don’t know, I just, I think that it’s always been inside me from the get-go.

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: Thank you for sharing that. Is there some sort of advice you could give to some locals if they wanted to start going into theater?

Connie Meek: You know, any art I think you have to do what you love. You’re not… you don’t have to worry about what people think of it or how you’re going to sell it, just start it, just do it for yourself. Don’t worry about all that other stuff. And, and then try to learn as much as you can about the craft as you go along and give yourself the space to be comfortable with it without a lot of input. Then later on after you’ve made your art or created your paintings or whatever you’re doing, and you’ve worked at it, you can open it up then to others. But I really think it’s important to start doing it for yourself and doing what you love without a lot of critique or feedback in the beginning, because I think that can hinder people. I really do. And the other thing I learned when I was young and involved in theater in Chicago, everyone said, oh, you have to go to LA or in New York, you have to go to LA or New York. Well no, Chicago was great. Everybody came out of Second City that was on a Saturday Night Live, you know? So, don’t worry about having to go anywhere, start where you are. It’s really important. Two important things I learned.

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: Thank you, that reminds me of the quote to ‘bloom where you’re planted.’

Connie Meek: Yes.

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: What do you… when you go and consume art yourself, whether it’s through a person or you’re walking in a gallery space, that’s more formal or more organic experiences, what does art do for you personally?

Connie Meek: Yeah, I, art that I’ve purchased, it has I have to have some special… almost like an electric shock. You know, it’s just like, whoa, there’s a connection there. It makes me feel something. I understand it, or I don’t understand it, but it makes me feel something. So, it has to be, and my husband is a painter, so I have a lot of his art here too. I just, I just love color. I love the beauty of it and the expression and the feeling. So, that’s what I look for.

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: Thank you so much. What do you hope your art does for other people? Like your theater?

Connie Meek: Yeah, I hope that it conveys some emotion. It makes people think. For the jewelry and stuff, I hope it makes people happy and joyful. Yeah, I think it’s… I guess it’s all about feeling for me. Feelings.

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: What does your jewelry look like?

Connie Meek: I have a lot that I’ve done with lapidary druzies I love, and some… this is plastic beads. I don’t know if you can see it very well, but it’s very long. I have… I’ve done things with buttons. I have a whole collection of things and I never sell them I give them away to people. So they look like all kinds of different designs. So, I can’t… I don’t do one particular style.

So I was doing a lot of rope ones, long ones that you would just kind of put around your neck and, or tie in a knot or something. And that was fun. And then I stopped doing that and I did something else after that. So I always move along.

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: That’s great. And then do you design based off the person you’re thinking about, the person, as you’re making it or do the materials really kind of give you direction or a little bit of both?

Connie Meek: Definitely in the materials, because like I said, I’m just making them for my own pleasure, but then I’ve had a lot of people admire them and, and then it makes me happy and I’ll give them the necklace, so.

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: That’s really sweet. Okay, so now we’re in the closing part of the interview. What is your favorite spot in the county to experience art?

Connie Meek: I would say Liberty Arts; well because there’s such a variety. Amazing stuff has come through there; people from San Francisco or Portland or artists from different areas and then local people, it’s just amazing. It is a miracle and it’s been going for 13 years. So, the shows have been wonderful. And I wish everybody from south county would make it up here a little bit more, so…

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: Do you have a message of hope or encouragement to offer the fellow artists of Siskiyou County?

Connie Meek: Wow, that’s kind of a big order. Well, almost everything I’ve said, I hope encourages artists, you know, during this conversation. Yeah. You know, just go for it, go for it, do it and find the joy in it. And then you can’t stop doing it. So, you know, and don’t worry about the other, the outside yet. That’ll come, so…

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: Great. Okay, so the last question is just where can everyone find you on social media? Or you can promote your own, your own stuff here or Liberty Arts or both.

Connie Meek: Yeah, I would just say, please visit the website for Liberty Arts. People can get in touch with me through Facebook.

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: And Yreka Preservation.

Connie Meek: Yeah, Yreka Preservation is, has really slowed down a bit because there’s a problem right now with a lot of the older people that have been all the volunteers and workers for so long and they’re slowing down or they’re leaving the planet. And, you know, it’s, it’s tough because younger people are struggling to survive and working with children. And, you know, it’s hard to do all the things that you need to do as a, when you have a little boy. So I think there’s some issues there for Preservation and we have to kind of gear up and try to get some younger people involved.

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: Can you do a little hook for if someone wanted to volunteer, what, what would they be doing? What would that entail?

Connie Meek: Well, when we get started first of all, membership is so cheap here. It’s $10 for Yreka Preservation and $20 for, for Liberty Arts. And Liberty Arts the board is going to be sponsoring memberships, some scholarships, so become a member and then you’re connected and you will receive all the information and through the email, and you’ll be able to have opportunities to volunteer. Because different things will come up at different times. So we’ve had volunteers that have helped hang shows. We’ve had volunteers that have helped us to do clean up. We’ve had volunteers to help with the instruction for the Explorations program. So yeah, volunteers are needed; become a member. And if you can’t afford to become a member, contact me and we’ll find out how we can get you a scholarship.

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: Thank you, wonderful. Thank you so much. Is there anything else you’d like to say in this space?

Connie Meek: No, I think I’ve pretty much covered it all. Thank you.

Bridgétt Rangel Rexford: Thanks for spending time today with us on Art RADIO and thank you for making Siskiyou County an even more beautiful place to live in.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Art RADIO. Be sure to check out our Facebook page Siskiyou County Arts Council to see this month’s upcoming Art RADIO guests. We create a Facebook event page for each episode and each guest to make it easy to remember. Every episode drops on Mondays at 8:00 AM through various platforms such as Stitcher, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.

Arts education is an essential ingredient for creating a social arena where ideas and feelings can be communicated with and without words, healthy human development, increasing self-esteem and self-awareness, developing creative, critical thinking, social, emotional, and observational skills. So we therefore invite you to join with us in playing an instrumental role in fostering the arts.

Siskiyou County Arts Council is a 5 0 1 C3 social profit organization. Tax deductible donations will support local arts education, creative social change, and community participation in social and cultural events. To donate, simply click the green donate button on our website. Siskiyou Arts dot org. S I S K I Y O U A R T S .org. Happy creating, and thank you for listening to Art RADIO.

Editing and production help is thanks to Aaron Levine. You can find him on Instagram at Acovado underscore toast. That’s the v and c of avocado switched around and then underscore toast. You can also find him on Twitter at Kabuto justice. You can also email him, jaaronlevine@gmail.com.

Big thanks to David Blink for creating our beautiful theme music. He is the current music instructor at College of the Siskiyous. You can find him on Soundcloud at soundcloud.com/davidblink. You can even go to his YouTube at youtube.com/c/davidblink. Also, if you just type them in in Google, great links come up. Enjoy!