Rivett and Young: The Path to Becoming an Artist

This bittersweet podcast started as a chance for Kelli to sit down with two creative minds, Jim Rivett and Shelly Young, to discuss art and life. We are saddened to now post this episode after learning of Jim’s passing. During this episode, Kelli was given the opportunity to meet with Jim and Shelly Young to talk about finding self-satisfaction and genuine joy, both in their careers and personal lives.

What began as a deep but upbeat conversation has now become a reflection and celebration of the talent that this world has lost. Please keep Rivett’s friends and family in your thoughts as you listen to the wonderful dialogue these three got the chance to share. Thank you, Jim, for the beauty and knowledge you shared during your time with us.

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About our Guests: Jim Rivett (August 16, 1958 – August 23, 2018)

jim_bios

Maybe it’s because he was a junk-picking junkie who was addicted to scouring curb sides, attics, and flea markets for creative inspiration.Or maybe it’s just that he had dangerously high levels of adrenaline. Whatever the reason, Jim had an uncanny ability to quickly bypass clutter and zero in on missed treasures, like a brand’s authentic value proposition, for instance.

A Green Bay native, Jim’s earliest ambition was to become a serious painter until post-graduate study at the New York School of Visual Arts fueled his interest in design. While he always continued to sketch and take to the canvas, he was more often than not inactivity-challenged, which accounts for his 30+ years of success in advertising.

Don’t be fooled by Jim’s gentle spirit and soft-spoken manner. He had a wicked sense of humor and took pleasure in finding the most outrageous ways of achieving fun daily. Not to mention he was a man of profound integrity.

About our Guests: Shelly Young

shelly_biosAfter 10 years of producing numerous successful series at Wisconsin Public Television-PBS, while simultaneously contributing to various independent films and videos, Shelly met Jim in the aisle of an antique store. The rest, as they say, is history.

Shelly is the junk-picking yin to Jim’s yang. The Myrna Loy of antiquing to Jim’s William Powell. Full-time, however, she’s KHROME’s ace producer who believes “making moving pictures is the greatest job on earth” (and we’re all thankful she does). Using keen observation skills, Shelly develops full-bodied, client-reflective content, then cheerfully shepherds video projects from creative conception to complex completion, all while remaining radiantly composed in Bakelite bangles.

Despite the Tellys and Emmys on her shelves, Shelly’s true joy comes from her three fur babies and French vanilla iced coffee (hold the sugar, no cream). And anything chartreuse. Oh, and that vintage Blenko vase. On that divine mid-century table. With Russel Wright dinnerware.

Kent Hutchison (Part 1): Can Art Change a Community?

In this episode, Kelli interviews local artist Kent Hutchison. The two go all the way back to Kent’s origins as an artist and discuss the relationship between art and community. How does education help shape this kind of work, and how can we do better? This is part one, so stay tuned for part two in April!

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About Our Guest: Kent Hutchison

ImageFormally educated in biology and visual arts, Kent’s work is a critical study of the merger of these two disciplines. Kent’s subjects range from animals and humans to abstract representations of emotion and energy. Kent derives a lot of the inspiration for his work through observing nature. “The closer we look into nature the more that is revealed to us about human truths. In a world often plagued by miscommunication and confusion it is important for us to look to nature for guidance, inspiration, and peace.” Kent lives in WI with his family.

Kent is fascinated in understanding the dynamic relationship the Arts play in affecting large scale systems such as community, society, and economy. This has led to a path of public art advocacy that has strongly shaped the course of his career.