Pfleghaar admits that he’s never been afraid of color, and we dive into his fascination with houseplants—and interiors in general. He’s working to create a reminder for us to slow down and pay closer attention to stillness, in an age when everything is competing for our attention and moving so fast to do so. We also got a chance to better understand his journey as an artist, how he’s been able to maintain a professional practice for three decades, and what other work he does to sustain himself.

Before he left, Holly Bechiri had the honor of sitting down with him to talk about the legacy he leaves us, as Becherer was at Meijer Gardens since the beginning, in a staff capacity since 1999 but consulting with Fred Meijer on his dream of building a world-class sculpture collection.

On this episode of Light Conversations, Holly Bechiri got a chance to sit down with one of the biggest supporters of the arts—and artists—-in our region. Known to many of us as “Mr. Festival” because of his long-time involvement and leadership in the annual Festival of the Arts event and its coinciding Regional Arts Competition, Fred Bivins gives us all the inside information. The Festival, kicking off the warmer months this June 7, 8, and 9, is celebrating its 50th year this summer.

In this episode, Erika Townsley talks to Grand Rapids artist Oaklee Thiele about her new work, on view for the month of March at Bend Gallery, and how she navigates through her career as an artist. See photos + learn more about her work and the March 1 opening reception for this new work, and all our podcast episodes, in the show notes on our website: lightgallerygr.com/podcast .

In this episode, Holly Bechiri sits down with Mandy Cano Villalobos, a local artist and professor who works in everything from two dimensional to sculpture to installation and even the occasional performance work, often creating stunning beauty and multi-layered narratives out of discarded and worn materials. Links, photos, and show notes can be found on our website: lightgallerygr.com/podcast

In this episode, Holly Bechiri talks to Grand Rapids artist Emerson Schreiner about his new work, on view for the month of March at Light Gallery + Studio, and how he makes a living as a working artist thanks to summers building sand sculptures in Texas (not kidding!). See photos + learn more about his work and the March 1 opening reception for his new work, and all our podcast episodes, in the show notes on our website: lightgallerygr.com/podcast.

In this episode, Holly Bechiri talks to Alynn Guerra, well-known and well-loved Grand Rapids printmaker about the recent flooding damage at her Tanglefoot studio when pipes burst above her space at the end of the recent polar vortex storms. They talk about the themes in her work and her inspirations and approaches to making, and learn about chances for the community to support her as she works to recover from both materials and time lost due to the storm and flooding damage. You can see photos of both her work and the flooding of her space + learn more about the upcoming sale and get links to purchase prints and digital downloads, on our website: lightgallerygr.com/podcast

Trebellas speaks on his involvement with The Avenue for the Arts, what it was like to teach English in Japan, and more about his background as an artist through performance pieces and interactive projects.

Holly Bechiri talks to Penny Saunders, Grand Rapids Ballet’s choreographer-in-residence, about her upcoming dance in Grand Rapids Ballet’s MOVEMEDIA performance, a piece inspired by the Kavanaugh hearings called “Testimony.” We also get a chance to learn about a choreographer’s creative process, and how it differs from writing a play or a piece of music. You can see Saunders’ most recent work performed February 8-10; visit the Grand Rapids Ballet website to purchase tickets and learn more. You can also see photos + learn more about them, and all our podcast episodes, on our website: lightgallerygr.com/podcast

Bechiri talks about how her education in art lead her to working as a writer focusing on arts writing and criticism. Though always keeping an art journal on hand to create small personal works, (she was on journal #75 at the time this podcast was recorded), Bechiri finally started making artwork for others to see and exhibit in shows for the first time in over a decade in the past year.