VetArtSpan host Fred Johnson talks with fellow Marine veteran Chris Stowe about Chris's journey from being an Explosives Ordnance Disposal Technician deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan to becoming an accomplished artist working towards his Master of Fine Arts degree. His creative path began with a mask-making art therapy experience and has blossomed into his glass-making work with Operation: Art of Valor at the Morean Art Center's Hot Shop. Chris is a mentor and an advocate for using the arts as a healing modality. His dedicated work with veterans is a model for how VetArtSpan and Creative Forces bring the creative experience to veterans and their families. 

VetArtSpan

Chris Stowe

VetArtSpan host Fred Johnson visits with Noah White and Anna Pasquale, the driving forces behind the Creative Forces Open Studio within the Jacksonville-Onslow Council for the Arts in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Noah and Anna share their experiences as both administrators and artists serving the veteran community with a program that encourages and nurtures creative expression. This conversation (recorded in a video conference) reveals their deep commitment to providing a judgement-free environment where veterans and their families can safely explore the creative spirit that lives within us all. For Noah and Anna, this work begins with truly listening to the community, honoring their stories, and providing them with practical ways to dive into the creative process.

Noah White and Anna Pasquale

This episode of VetArtSpan features guest host Cathy DeWitt in an interview with Vietnam veteran and musician Reed Franklin.  Shortly after being diagnosed with cancer, Reed decided to return to Vietnam after being away from the battlefield for 40 years. This decision resulted in amazing experiences and connections: going to Hanoi for the first time, playing music for hospital patients and singing for children in schools and orphanages. The initial inspiration for the trip was a song he heard on Cathy's radio show. We'll hear a bit of that, and a special treat: Reed playing and singing songs he performs in hospitals, both here and in Vietnam.

Reed Franklin

In this VetArtSpan podcast, host Fred Johnson has a conversation with Maxine Reyes, who talks about her life in the military with a husband who was also deployed, all the while while raising a child. Her transition to civilian life includes a re-blossoming of her artistic career as an in-demand musician. She is an active supporter of the veteran community and is a two-time recipient of the Humanitarian Service Medal and Military Outstanding Volunteer Medal. Her story is inspiring!

Maxine Reyes

The VetArtSpan team visits two VA hospitals to talk with art and music therapists, musicians in residence, volunteers, veterans, and administrators about the impact of music and art on the veteran community. We start with Merrilee Jorn and Natalie Quintana at the James Haley Veterans' Hospital in Tampa, continue with Diane Garrison, Jeff Hesch, and Cathy DeWitt at the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center in Gainesville, and hear from Geoff Hopkins, Chief of Recreation Therapy & Creative Arts Therapy at the James Haley Veterans' Hospital. In these interviews we discover how creative expression makes a real difference in the lives of veterans, as well as the artists and therapists who work with them.

Expressive Arts for Veterans: Therapists and Artists

In Part Two of our story we continue to explore the journey home for our veterans who transition back into civilian life. VetArtSpan host Fred Johnson interviews a group of women veterans who have embraced creative expression as a way to smooth their unique reintegration process. Many of these women are involved in the Diavolo Dance project, in conjunction with Straz Salutes. This two-part story was recorded at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa, FL, as part of the VetArtSpan initiative.

Women Veterans: The Creative Journey Home, Part 2

The journey home can take a long time for our veterans who transition back into civilian life. VetArtSpan host Fred Johnson interviews a group of women veterans who have embraced creative expression as a way to smooth their unique reintegration process. Many of these women are involved in the Diavolo Dance project, in conjunction with Straz Salutes. This two-part story was recorded at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa, FL, as part of the VetArtSpan initiative.

Women Veterans: The Creative Journey Home, Part 1

Our VetArtSpan host Fred Johnson talks with esteemed teacher, choreographer, producer, and director John Parks. Fresh from his collaboration with Diavolo dance and a group of inspired veterans, John talks about how movement is a universal means of expression, and how "muscle memory" can give us a way to become fluent in the language of movement. Usually used to "feeding" his students, he and the veterans that he mentored as part of this Diavolo project were all "fed" by the total group effort. Working with veterans helped him to understand what the reintegration process must have been like for his father, a veteran of the Korean War.

John Parks

Fred Johnson and the VetArtSpan team spent a dynamic morning with a group of veterans who were creating a team-based glass sculpture – from concept to finished product. Moving together as one and handling the 2000 degree glass helps them stay in the “now” moment. They tell the story of art as a healing force in their own words. The program's mission is to serve the military and veteran population through structured, hands-on learning that focuses on improving cognition, social interaction, physical dexterity, teamwork and confidence. 

Operation: Art of Valor at the Morean Arts Center Hot Shop

Our host Fred Johnson engages in a conversation with vocalist and inspirational speaker Jennifer Samuel-Chance. Her life journey moved through a career in business and morphed into the life of an artist. Blessed with a powerful voice, she sings opera and coaches people on becoming authentic storytellers. Her artistic journey lead her to showing veterans that all stories matter. By helping them accept their own truth, she demonstrates how to dive into the creative process. "If you are truthful and authentic, people will see it, feel it, and get inspired by it, and that is all that you can do."

Jennifer Samuel-Chance

VetArtSpan host Fred Johnson guides us on a conversation with dancer and choreographer Dwayne Scheuneman. Dwayne's life as a dancer is manifested from his heart, and from his wheel-chair. He evolved from the world of athletics to perhaps the unlikely world of dance, where he found the artistic expression of movement helped to tell his story, and helps many veterans live their stories through the experience of his dance. A member of AXIS Dance as well as his own REVolutions Dance company, Dwayne is a key participant in the DIAVOLO Dance performance that unites veterans with this world-renowned ensemble, set to premier at the Straz Center. Dwayne tours all over the world demonstrating the power of creative expression as a way to create community and give people a glimpse of their own power and freedom.

Dwayne Scheuneman

VetArtSpan host Fred Johnson interviews Victor Carlos Alcantara, a veteran of 20 years with the Air Force as an aeromedical technician. His love of painting started early in life, and after serving in Viet Nam and the Gulf War, he returned to his art to become a highly accomplished painter as well as building a successful career in public health management. Fred and Carlos talk about how being alert to opportunities can help in the reintegration process for newly retired veterans.

Victor Carlos Alcantara, at the Star Center

VetArtSpan podcast host Fred Johnson talks with Belicia Adams and Alexis STIX Brown, who are the heart and soul of Paint22.com, an organization that provides welcoming art-making experiences to veterans and their families. Alexis and Belicia talk about their artistic process and how they help create those uplifting and creative experiences for the veteran families they work with.

Belicia Adams & Alexis STIX Brown, at The Straz Center

VetArtSpan host Fred Johnson has an enlightening conversation with Erica Guevara, wife of veteran Manny. She shares her thoughts on the Vet Civilian Dialog and how the experience brought connection and peace for her and Manny. She finds a new role for art as she and her family help to transition Manny back into the civilian life, and she rediscovers herself as a prolific painter.

Erica Guevara

VetArtSpan host Fred Johnson has an intimate conversation with veteran Ryan Bodge, along with his wife Tiffany, son Garrett, and service dog Bradley. The family speaks of their shared experience during and after Ryan's deployments, and of how they all pulled together to support each other. Ryan tells us how tapping into the experience of making art and training service dogs helped him on the journey toward positive reintegration.

The Bodge Family at The James Haley Veterans' Hospital

This VetArtSpan podcast provides the opportunity for the veteran and civilian community to have a shared experience of hearing from veterans, the artists who serve as art therapists, artists who represent community arts organizations that work in partnership with veteran medical facilities that serve our veterans and organizations that offer resources and outreach to our veteran community. This programming offers the opportunity to share insight into the Military culture and the nuances of Military life. This will serve to inform our civilian population and foster a foundation for clearer understanding and compassionate communication.

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VetArtSpan

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