You Don't Have to Figure Out the Art World Alone

The art world doesn't have to feel like an impossible maze you're navigating by yourself.

I'm Kristine Schomaker—artist, curator, connector and advocate. For over a decade, I've been planting seeds with artists who refuse to let their work remain invisible.

Here's what I know to be true: community and education are as essential as your paintbrush.

We're Building Something Different

Shoebox Arts isn't just another art service. We're a movement where artists support each other, share resources, and refuse to accept that making art

means struggling alone.

We believe your talent deserves more than hope and hustle. It deserves strategy, community, and the kind of support that transforms artistic passion into sustainable career success.

Kristine Schomaker leading an Artist Meet-up at ArtbarLA

How We Support Artists

Start Free
Try Our Community Programs

Community Conversations - Every Tuesday, 11am PST.
Open forum for real talk about submissions, social media, pricing,
and art world challenges
Studio Visit Exchange - Get matched
with artists or art professionals for meaningful studio exchanges
Call and Response - Global artistic collaborations connecting artists
across 6 continents

Ready to try?

Explore our Free Programs

Join Our Community

Artist Support Membership

Weekly artist development sessions, monthly critiques and speakers with industry professionals, curated opportunities, and a private community of committed artists. Starting at $75/month.

What you get: Office hours, co-working, accountability, art business masterclasses, exhibition opportunities and direct access to Kristine as your mentor.

Ready to get Started?

Join our Membership

Kristine Schomaker and friend with a sculpture

Individual
One-on-One Services

Consultations ($75-$375) - Get unstuck, clarify goals, navigate career transitions
Exhibition PR ($150-$4,650) - Transform your show from secret to must-see event
Curation Services ($3,000) - Professional exhibition development and installation

Need focused help?

Individual support

Why Artists Choose Shoebox Arts

"From the moment I partnered with Kristine, I had the feeling that she truly cared about me and helping me grow my art career. Through media outreach, press releases, and curated events, my artwork reached audiences far beyond what I could have achieved independently." — Erika Lizée, Artist

Our impact:
500+ artists supported • 20+ collaboration rounds • 11+ years building community

Kristine Schomaker and other artists on a couch sitting around an art studio

Kristine Schomaker and friends standing in front of artworks

Ready to Get Started?

New to Shoebox? Start with our free Community Conversations every Tuesday

at 11am PST

Ready for community? Join our

Artist Support Membership for comprehensive development

Need immediate help? Book a

one-on-one consultation

Questions? Email Kristine at shoeboxartsla@gmail.com

Shoebox strives to provide artists with equitable access to opportunities

regardless of race, ethnicity, disability,

religion, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, citizenship or financial status.

I saw this and immediately thought about all of you.

We spend so much time in artist communities talking about new work, new goals, new exhibitions, new strategies. Which is good! Growth matters. But I've been thinking about how rarely we pause to acknowledge what we've already survived to get here.

Every artist I know has a version of this list. The rejections that felt crushing. The money panic at 3am. The work that didn't turn out. The shows that fell through. The people who said you weren't good enough or serious enough or [whatever] enough. The days you couldn't make anything at all.

You're still here. Still making work. Still showing up.

That actually deserves recognition. Not in a "toxic positivity everything happens for a reason" way, but in a "wow, you are tougher than you probably give yourself credit for" way.

So before we all jump into 2026 plans and resolutions and fresh starts—just wanted to say: the old you who got you to this point? That version of you is a fighter. Worth celebrating.

(Image via Emily McDowell / Okay Initiative)

#artistcommunity #artistsupport #workingartist #creativeresilience

Every January I feel this tension. (Probably from the overload of posts on top resolutions of the year.)

I want to help artists get clear on what they want. But I don't want to feed into the toxic narrative that there's one "right" way to approach your practice.

I teach goal-setting workshops even though goals don't work for my ADHD brain.

So this year I'm trying something different - acknowledging that goals work for some people, resolutions work for others, rituals work for others. The real work is figuring out what actually works for YOU.

New article on the blog: Dreams, Goals, Resolutions, Rituals, Values, Visioning... Oh My!

Link in bio to substack or comments

#newyeargoals #artistgoals #januaryintentions #goalsetting #newyearplanning

Got a solo show coming up in 2026 or 2027?

Yeah, you're excited. Also probably slightly terrified about all the logistics you're supposed to figure out.

We're running a Zoom Solo Show Cohort starting in January. Biweekly meetings (Starting first Wednesday, 10am PST on Zoom) with other artists going through the same thing. Open to artists internationally.

You get a 30+ page comprehensive guide covering everything: funding, curation, PR, invitations, artist talks, the emotional crash after your show (yes, that's a thing and yes, we talk about it).

$200 flat rate

Or it's included if you join our 12-month membership where you also get your own solo show at Shoebox Projects in 2027

Sometimes you just need people who get it.

https://www.shoeboxarts.com/membershippricing
or link in bio

#soloshow #artistsupport #shoeboxarts #artistcohort #exhibitionplanning

Credit to @matterstudiogallery

yesterday was another magical day here in the #gallery with @adeolastudio_art #performance for her exhibition titled LIVING MATTER. followed by an #artisttalk with fellow artist @yrnehgabon after that conversation, the artists from the group show joined in and participated in the talk.

thank you to artists @susanfeldmanart @joranelstein @talitalong @craigwcislo_ceramics for all making it an extra special day!!!

Many thanks to @susan.tompkins.art for stopping by "Making America" today!

The show is on view by appointment with a closing reception Feb 8th!

DM to stop by!

#MakingAmerica #FallOfFreedom #ShoeboxArts #ShoeboxProjects #selfieswithfriends

Jordan just finished interviewing Dellis Frank and I'm still thinking about it.

Dellis collects things. Her husband is very minimalist, very neat—she's Oscar from the Odd Couple. She needs her stuff around her. And she takes all these found objects, things headed for the landfill, and wraps them in fiber. She's been doing this since college when she discovered wrapping in a class and it just resonated.

She calls it "painting with fiber" and sometimes she calls her practice "the greening of fine art" because she's so environmentally conscious about it all.

The pieces cover a lot of ground. There's "Stopping the Spread of Jim Crow" with crows holding nooses, representing all the communities under attack now. "Be Amended" with a huge 5/5—her educator background coming through, explaining the Three-Fifths Compromise to people who ask what it means. She's unapologetically Black and mixed race—South Asian and Black—and she makes work that starts conversations.

But then there's "Color Chimes" because she was thinking about what wind chimes would sound like as color. And her black hair series with her granddaughter as the model. The whimsical pieces balance out the social justice work because, as she said, you need that to stabilize your mental health.

She taught at LAUSD for years. Worked in silos—in her classroom, by herself, even as an adjunct professor at USC it was online, alone. Now she's teaching workshops at Craft Contemporary when they need her, scratching that teaching itch.

Just retired. Going full force into her practice now. She was on five arts organization boards at one point—five!—and she's peeling back from all of that so she can actually make work.

#ShoeboxArts #ArtistInterview #LAartist #FiberArt #ContemporaryArt

Went through old testimonials last night and it hit me—this is actual community. People showing up for each other. Artists who remember what you're working on and ask how it's going.

Support begets support—that was always the plan. But what actually grew was friendship.

Weekly Office Hours where someone admits pricing anxiety and three people jump in with their own stories. Signal chats with shipping advice at 11pm. Artists picking up each other's work, checking in when someone's struggling.

Real relationships where your wins feel like everyone's wins.

And through December, feeling grateful and impulsive: 15% off 6-month memberships with HOLIDAY15. Plus that new thing—commit to a year, get a guaranteed solo show at Shoebox Projects.

Read the full reflection (and my studio reorganization update where I keep finding rejection letters): https://shoeboxarts.substack.com/p/on-gratitude-and-community
or link in bio

#shoeboxarts #artistcommunity #losangelesartist #artistsupport #communityovercompetition

Making America

40+ handmade American flags covering every wall at Shoebox Projects through Feb 8.

I used to know what patriotism meant. Eighth grade trip to DC, the whole thing. Then I watched the flag get weaponized into something I didn't recognize anymore.

But I can't just sit by. So I put out a call for handmade flags. Artists sent them from across the country—assemblages from found objects, tattered textiles barely holding together, welded steel, dollar bills, bottle caps, upside-down flags signaling distress.

Every single one made by hand. Someone sat with these materials and made choices.

Making America. Not nostalgia—active creation. Because artists and makers have always built this country. We the People means all of us.

This is hope disguised as an art show. A refusal to surrender the symbol.
We're not stopping.

Making America
Through February 8, 2026
Shoebox Projects, by appointment
Email us shoeboxartsla@gmail.com

Shop the work: https://www.shoeboxarts.com/category/all-products

10% of sales goes to Indivisible

#makingamerica #flagexhibition #shoeboxprojects #shoeboxarts #americanflag

12 things that actually matter for working artists:

Your studio can be your lap. That rejection was just a difference of opinion. Going to openings IS work. Your artist statement doesn't need to sound like academia threw up.

Not the pretty version. The real version. The one where you're pricing work consistently, batching admin days, and remembering that rest isn't laziness.

Because building a sustainable practice means knowing that perfection is boring and this is a marathon.

Full survival guide (the non-Instagram-perfect kind) on the blog. Link in bio.
https://shoeboxarts.substack.com/p/the-12-days-of-being-an-artist

Which of these are you working on right now?

Artwork by @lynnheinzart

#ArtistSurvivalGuide

This morning the sun came through the window and hit Joy Ray's flag. Frayed fabric. Gold velvet flakes scattered across the floor and in the bed pan. Text on the stripes that you can barely read but it's there.

Over 40 flags are up at Shoebox. Each one made by hand. Each one asking what the flag can mean when we decide. Joy's piece sits there gathering gold, fraying at the edges, holding together and falling apart at the same time.

Making America is open by appointment through February 8th, 2026

Want to see the work? Email shoeboxartsla@gmail.com to schedule a visit.

📍 Shoebox Arts
660 S Avenue 21 #3, Los Angeles, CA 90031

Shop the show:
shoeboxarts.com/category/all-products
50% to artist | 40% to Shoebox Arts | 10% to Indivisible.org

Link in bio
More work added soon

#MakingAmerica #ShoeboxArts #JoyRay #FlagArt #MorningLight #StudioLight #ContemporaryArt #TextileArt #LAart #OpenByAppointment #FallOfFreedom #Goldvelvet #FrayedEdges

Meet Katie Stubblefield: Drawing on Plexiglass to Map California's Fragile Infrastructure

Long Beach-based interdisciplinary artist Katie Stubblefield transforms discarded plexiglass into intricate drawings that expose the tenuous relationship between our infrastructure and the natural forces poised to reclaim it.

From rusting power plants along PCH to the Dale Hollow Dam's turbine systems, Katie maps the sites where human ambition meets environmental inevitability—tsunami floodplains, earthquake zones, and coastal erosion.

"I'm very interested in places that you can't get to. There's limited accessibility to them... infrastructure being ridiculously close to disaster."

Her process combines data mining—flood maps, seismograph readings, fire zones, cartography—with direct observation, layering information until the work mirrors our current reality: more is more, overlapping perspectives, visually complex and structurally fragile.

Each piece is an archival drawing on recycled materials, a permanent record on a substrate that, like the infrastructure it depicts, isn't going anywhere.

Explore more of Katie's work at katiestubblefieldart.com

Thank you to our intern @redbrickprod for an awesome interview

#KatieStubblefield #EnvironmentalArt #PlexiglassArt #InfrastructureArt #CaliforniaArtist #DataVisualization #ClimateArt #LongBeachArt #SouthernCaliforniaArt #ContemporaryDrawing

Shoebox Substack Holiday Discount!

For December only, there’s a special holiday offer for Shoebox Arts on Substack: an annual subscription for 2026 is just $40 for the whole year. This locks in a full year of artist-centered support, behind-the-scenes process notes, and real talk about the art world for a lower rate than usual.

Think of it as a little end-of-year care package for your creative practice: you get 12 months of articles, resources, and community-driven conversations for the cost of a couple of sketchbooks. The offer runs through December, and then the price goes back up, so if you know you want to stay in this conversation for the long haul, this is the moment to jump in (or gift it to an artist friend who needs a boost).

https://shoeboxarts.substack.com/f03abb71
or link in bio

Photo by Baha Danesh

#artistsupport #artistsubstack #artistandwriter #artwriter #substack #artthoughts #supportyourlocalartists #supportyourlocalwriters

Just spent the last couple of weeks, I think, what is time? deep in artist Instagram accounts for my latest piece. The result: a kind of stream-of-consciousness field report meets messy desk journal entry. I noticed the same things tripping us up, over and over—tiny, very fixable things, the kind you only spot after your third cup of hot chocolate.

Link’s here:
https://shoeboxarts.substack.com/p/looking-at-instagram-accounts-all
or in bio

Writing this, I realized how much I love actually writing—not just posting, but thinking out loud, stringing ideas together while they’re still wonky and unfinished. A lot of it is just off-the-cuff stuff that pops up as I talk with artists (shoutout to all you wildly honest conversationalists), and some comes straight from the wild, oddly specific questions folks send my way. If you’re holding onto any burning art-world mysteries/questions, send them over. Seriously, that’s half the fun.

#processnotproduct #fieldnotes #artistswrite #communitybrainstorm
#ShoeboxArts #ArtistSupport #ArtistCommunity #ArtistsOnInstagram #ArtBusiness #ArtMarketing #SocialMediaForArtists #WorkingArtist #EmergingArtists #ArtOfTheDay #InstaArt #ContemporaryArt #CreativeProcess #ArtLife

Community Conversations Tuesdays at 11am PST!

Free. On Zoom. All artists welcome.

We talk about whatever's actually happening in our practices right now. Sometimes it's grant deadlines and pricing questions. Sometimes it's studio anxiety and whether anyone else feels like a fraud. Sometimes it's just nice to see other artists' faces and remember you're not making work in a vacuum.

Sometimes there's a topic, sometimes we just see where it goes. Just showing up.

https://www.shoeboxarts.com/free-programs
or link in bio

Want more of this energy throughout the month? Shoebox Arts membership gets you critique groups, accountability partnerships, resources, and a whole community of artists who actually get it. Not just inspiration – actual tools and support for building a sustainable practice.

https://www.shoeboxarts.com/membership
Or link in bio

15% off a 6 month membership. Solo show at Shoebox at the Brewery with a 12 month membership!

See you soon!

#ShoeboxArts #LosAngelesArtists #ArtistCommunity #LAartscene #ArtistsOfInstagram #ContemporaryArtists #ArtistSupport

Shoebox assistant Jordan from our recent Intern Cohort sat down with artist Linda Litteral to discuss her powerful upcoming installation "Remember" A Show to Honor Those Who Have Experienced Sexual Trauma

Opening at Grossmont College Hyde Gallery in February 2027, this community-driven project features 470 wooden house structures with hand-knitted banners – each stitch representing a survivor.

Linda shared her journey from engineering to art, how creating work became her voice after years of silence, and why she believes art can bypass our defenses to spark real change.

"Art goes into your gut, not your head. It goes past all your preconceived notions... I think that's what makes it so powerful."

The project is still seeking volunteer knitters. If you'd like to contribute or learn more, contact Linda at lindalitteral@gmail.com

#RememberProject #SurvivorVoices #CommunityArt #FeminstArt #ArtForChange #SocialPracticeArt #SanDiegoArt

@hydeartgallery @grossmontcollegeart

Feeling all verklempt tonight (as Rikki always says). On the eve of Thanksgiving, I have so much to be grateful for.

This week I was going through some testimonials and it hit me—somewhere along the way, these artists stopped being "clients" and became friends.

Real friends. The kind who text me when they get rejected from something. The kind I genuinely celebrate when they get accepted. The kind who remember what I'm working on and ask how it's going.

I don't know exactly when it happened. Maybe it's been a progression over the years of watching artist after artist grow and flourish. Maybe it was during Monday Office Hours when someone admitted they were struggling with pricing and three other people jumped in with their own experiences. Maybe it was the Signal chat where someone asked about shipping fragile work at 11pm and got helpful responses by morning. Maybe it was when one artist offered to pick up another artist's work or check in when they weren't feeling well.

Support begets support. That's always been the philosophy. But what actually grew was friendship.

I built Shoebox because I hated watching talented artists struggle in isolation. I wanted to create the kind of community where people actually know your name and remember what you're working on. Where someone thinks of you when they hear about an opportunity. Where your wins feel like everyone's wins.

Turns out what I was really building was a space where friendships could happen. Where the person helping you work through your artist statement anxiety becomes someone you grab coffee with. Where the artist who gave you feedback on your work becomes someone whose opening you wouldn't miss.

This isn't networking. This is actual community. These are actual relationships. And I'm so grateful for every single one.

Thank you for trusting me with your artistic journeys, your vulnerabilities, your questions, and your wins. Thank you for showing up. Thank you for being generous with each other. Thank you for being friends.

Oh did I mention how much we laugh and laugh and laugh???

This morning a few of our artists logged into Zoom at 9am to work together. Muted. Focused. Some in studios, some cooking, one cleaning.

We call it coworking. Some call it body doubling. If you know ADHD, you know.

There's something about knowing other people are also working that makes it easier to actually start. The energy of the group cuts through procrastination (or at least makes it shorter). You're not alone in the thing you've been avoiding all week.

This is what artist support actually looks like. Not networking events where everyone performs success. Just showing up together on a Tuesday morning to get shit done.

We do this once or twice a month. Free for Shoebox members. Because sometimes the hardest part of making work is just... starting. And it's easier when you're not the only one trying.

Photo of kitty, possibly body doubling for tax.

#shoeboxarts #bodydoubling #coworking #artistsupportingartists

I'm teaching social media to artists this week and honestly? Most people's Instagram profiles are working against them.

Outdated bios. Links that go nowhere. Usernames that don't match their actual name. Story Highlights that... exist but don't actually show anything useful.
And then they wonder why galleries aren't reaching out.

It's not about posting perfect content. It's about having your basics handled so when someone discovers your work, they can actually find you and learn more.

We're doing live account reviews in class next week - fixing the unglamorous stuff that actually matters. Username consistency. Bio clarity. Whether your grid makes sense to someone who's never seen your work before.

This is the stuff nobody teaches but everyone needs to know.

New article on the blog about what actually matters with social media (spoiler: it's way more boring and way more doable than you think)

Link in bio!
https://shoeboxarts.substack.com/p/are-you-actually-using-social-media

#shoeboxarts #artistsocialmedia #artistmarketing #artistsupportnetwork #substack

Making America Shop is live, you don’t want to miss out! 🔥Thank you @adeolastudio_art and @monicamarksart for creating work that can meet this crucial moment with such poignant messages.

#contemparyart #democracyinaction #activismart

You know, the one thing I think about with Shoebox is that it's not about learning the right way to do things, whatever that means. It's just about feeling like we're not alone.

And even me, having this community of artists who I meet with 2 or 3 times a week to talk about everything going on in the art world, in our practice, in the world, trying to get through one day at a time. I'm really proud to be able to share that and to give that to artists.

We talk about our artwork. We talk about struggles with exhibiting work. We talk about rejection. We talk about what happens when a project ends. We talk about sales or lack of. We talk about money or lack of. We talk about day jobs and driving throughout LA. Including parking in LA or lack of.

We talk about the idea that being an artist is not like anything else in the world. And we wouldn't want to do anything else.

If you want to feel like you're not alone, if you want to be part of a community and be able to talk about things without judgment, without criticism, with open minds and beautiful souls - Shoebox is taking artists.

shoeboxarts.com
Link in bio

#ShoeboxArts #LAartist #artistcommunity #artistsupport #workingartist #artistlife #LosAngelesart #artistmentorship #contemporaryart #studiolife

Photo of Smokey, my neighbor @k8spics kitty because he brings me joy.

Making America - Fall of Freedom Day 2

Beautiful second day of Fall of Freedom with community and friendship.

This is what we needed. Space to talk. Space to feel. Space to ask what America can be when we all make it together.

Thank you to everyone who came this weekend. To the artists who brought their vision. To the community who showed up in the rain yesterday and the sun today. To Fall of Freedom for creating a nationwide movement of artists defending creative freedom.

Making America continues through February 8th, 2026
660 S Avenue 21 #3, Los Angeles, CA 90031

More community gatherings coming soon. Stay tuned.
Or reach out and stop by by appointment

Shop the show:
shoeboxarts.com/category/all-products
50% to artist | 40% to Shoebox Arts | 10% to Indivisible.org

Art matters. Artists are a threat to American fascism.

#MakingAmerica #FallOfFreedom #ShoeboxArts #Day2 #Community #Friendship #LAart #FlagArt #ContemporaryArt #ArtAndActivism #Gratitude #ConversationsThatMatter #TakingBackTheFlag

Making America - Walk Through the Show

Walk through the flags. Metal. Paint. Fabric. Text. Wood. Dollar bills. Each one a different answer to the same question: what can America be when we make it ourselves?

Over 30 artists reimagining the flag through their own hands. Some flags look bruised. Some are hanging by a thread. Some are made from trash. Some are woven together from many to form one. All of them matter.

Fall of Freedom Drop-In Hours - FINAL DAY
📍 Shoebox Arts
660 S Avenue 21 #3, Los Angeles, CA 90031
⏰ TODAY 1-4pm PST
💰 Free admission

This is your last chance to experience the opening weekend. Come see the work in person. Meet the artists. Have the conversations we all need to be having.

Exhibition continues through February 8th, 2026

Shop the show:
shoeboxarts.com/category/all-products

50% to artist | 40% to Shoebox Arts | 10% to Indivisible.org

Part of Fall of Freedom - a nationwide movement of artists defending creative freedom and resisting authoritarianism through culture.

Art matters. Artists are a threat to American fascism.

#MakingAmerica #FallOfFreedom #ShoeboxArts #WalkThrough #LAart #FlagArt #ContemporaryArt #ArtAndActivism #LastDay #DropInHours #TakingBackTheFlag #ExhibitionWalkthrough

We had an afternoon full of conversations, community, and hope. We all talked about how we needed this.

The rain this morning didn't stop people from dropping in. Artists came. Friends came. Strangers came. People stood in front of Caroline Allen's bruised flags on firewood and got emotional. They stared at Monica Marks' piece about George Floyd and said things they'd been holding inside. They looked at Jovino Bunny's dollar bill flag and nodded - capitalism over democracy, freedom of speech bought and sold.

Over 30 flags. Over 30 interpretations of what America can be when we make it ourselves.

This is why Making America matters. Not because it provides answers, but because it creates space for the questions. What does the flag mean when it's hanging by a thread? When it's made from trash? When it's stitched together from many to form one? When the stripes are uneven because the immigrant experience is uneven?

We're taking back the flag. Not through arguments or politics, but through the simple, profound act of making it with our own hands.

This is what art does. It makes visible what's been hidden. It creates space for multiple truths to exist at once. It reminds us that symbols can be remade, meanings can shift, and nothing - not even the flag - belongs to just one story.

I'm super proud of this show. It came together fast, but the artists worked their magic and brought their messages loud and clear. Every flag on these walls is somebody saying: this is what America means to me. This is what I'm making. This is what I'm building.

We're here tomorrow 1-4pm PST for Day 2 of Fall of Freedom.

Come see what happens when thirty artists reimagine the same contested symbol. Come have the conversations we all need to be having. Come be part of what we're making together.

660 S Avenue 21 #3, Los Angeles, CA 90031
Free admission, no RSVP required

Part of Fall of Freedom - a nationwide movement of artists defending creative freedom and resisting authoritarianism through culture.

Art matters. Artists are a threat to American fascism.

#MakingAmerica #FallOfFreedom #ShoeboxArts #Day1 #Community #Hope #ConversationsThatMatter #ArtAndActivism #LAart #TakingBackThe

“Making America” at Shoebox Arts - Drop in viewing November 21-22

Over 30 artists from across the United States are reclaiming the American flag. Not through arguments or statements, but through the act of making it with their own hands.

Metal flags. Painted flags. Flags made from dollar bills. Text woven into stripes. Fabric that looks like it’s been through something. Each one asking: what happens when we physically create the flag? When we choose the materials, the colors, the textures? When we decide what stars mean, what stripes represent?

This isn’t about one definition of America. It’s about all of us making it.

Join us for drop-in community hours November 21-22, 1-4pm PST at Shoebox Arts. Come see the work. Meet the artists. Be part of the conversation about what we’re building together.

The exhibition will be on view by appointment through the new year.

📍 Shoebox Arts
660 South Avenue 21 #3
Los Angeles, CA 90031

🗓 Friday-Saturday, November 21-22, 2025
⏰ 1:00-4:00 PM PST
💰 Free admission, no registration required
♿ Wheelchair accessible, seating available, gender-neutral restrooms
📧 shoeboxartsla@gmail.com
🌐 www.shoeboxarts.com

Making America is part of Fall of Freedom, a nationwide movement defending artistic freedom and resisting authoritarianism through culture. Art matters. Artists are a threat to American fascism.

Featured artists: Beth Abaravich, Caroline Allen, Yumiko Awae, Shula Singer Arbel, A.S. Ashley, Jovino Bunny, Adeola Davies-Aiyeloja, Pam Douglas and Raya Yarbrough, Gina M., Cathy Engel-Marder, Jason Hearst, Camilla Herod, Peter Hess, Michele Jaquis, Monica Marks, Natalie Rios, Scott Rolfe, Conchi Sanford, Sandra Tamkin, Francisca Vergara, Christine White, Victor Wilde, and more.

#FallOfFreedom #MakingAmerica #ShoeboxArts #FlagArt #HandmadeFlag #TakingBackTheFlag #LAart #ArtAndActivism #CommunityArt #artistscommunity

@falloffreedom

@startupartfair planning at @thekinneyvenicebeach on a rainy day!

Look for @perceivemeart and @callandresponseart at the Startup in February!!

#StartUpArtFair #losangelesartfair #friezeartfair #friezela

More Flags for Making America from @pascalinedoucindahlke

This flag from @cindyzimmermanartist is hanging by a thread.

Just received this piece for Making America. Embroidered stars and stripes on raw fabric, pinned to the wall, fraying at the edges. Literally hanging by a thread.

It's delicate. It's fragile. It could fall at any moment. And that feels exactly right.

Making America opens THIS FRIDAY for Fall of Freedom. Over 30 artists reimagining what the flag means when we make it with our own hands.

Fall of Freedom Drop-In Hours
📅 Friday & Saturday, November 21-22
⏰ 1-4pm PST
📍 Shoebox Arts, 660 S Avenue 21 #3, Los Angeles, CA 90031
💰 Free admission

The walls are almost full. WWe have room for a few more!
Come see what we're all making together.

Shop the exhibition: shoeboxarts.com/category/all-products
50% to artist | 40% to Shoebox Arts | 10% to Indivisible.org

#MakingAmerica
#ShoeboxArts
#FlagArt
#HandmadeFlag
#TakingBackTheFlag
#LAart
#ContemporaryArt
#TextileArt
#Embroidery
#FallOfFreedom
#ArtAndActivism
#HangingByAThread

Credit to @susanamordeart

Studio views from our open studio last Saturday! It’s always fun to see the works come together creating renewed messages and meanings as the multimedia works interact together.

www.susanamorde.com

#inglewoodopenstudios #studiovisit #susanamordeart

I wrote about something that genuinely baffles me - how do people lose emails?

I manage several inboxes and can't stand seeing unread messages sitting there. Between 2 and 70 emails total at any given time. I know people with thousands. The thought makes me anxious just writing that.

But here's what I'm actually curious about: when someone says they lost an email, what happened? Buried under too many messages? Deleted by accident? Using search wrong?

I asked around and learned there are actual systems people use - folders, labels, separate art inboxes, even something called "inbox zero" (which apparently I've been doing without knowing it had a name).

Turns out email organization isn't about the perfect system. It's about understanding how your brain works with digital communication.

New Substack post exploring this small mystery and what I learned from artists who have it figured out (and those who've declared email bankruptcy).

Link in bio.
https://shoeboxarts.substack.com/p/how-do-people-lose-emails-a-small

Your Substack subscription (free or $5/month) keeps Shoebox's free programming running. The writing's just a bonus.

A few new flags...

Making America at Shoebox
Nov 21-22 1-4pm pst

#MakingAmerica #FallOfFreedom

The walls are filling up at Shoebox!

Installation for Making America is happening right now and look at this. Painted flags. Text flags. Assemblage flags. Flags made from materials you wouldn't expect. Each one completely different. Each one somebody making America with their own hands.

But we still have room.

Our first event is THIS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY - drop-in hours for Fall of Freedom, a nationwide movement of artists defending creative freedom.

Fall of Freedom Drop-In Hours

📅 Friday & Saturday, November 21-22
⏰ 1-4pm PST
📍 Shoebox Arts, 660 S Avenue 21 #3, Los Angeles, CA 90031
💰 Free admission, no RSVP required

Come see the work. Meet the artists (many will be here). Have real conversations about what we're making together.

Artists: Still want to submit your flag?

We have wall space for a few more pieces before this weekend.

Submit here: https://www.shoeboxarts.com/post/call-for-artists-making-america

Or link in bio

Already in the show? Your work is for sale NOW:
Shop the exhibition: shoeboxarts.com/category/all-products

50% to artist | 40% to Shoebox | 10% to Indivisible.org

This is happening. Be part of it.

#MakingAmerica
#ShoeboxArts
#FlagArt
#HandmadeFlag
#TakingBackTheFlag
#LAart
#LosAngelesArtist
#ContemporaryArt
#CallForArtists
#CommunityArt
#ArtAndActivism
#FallOfFreedom
#ArtExhibition
#ArtistsCommunity
#OpeningWeekend

Spent time with Lynn today working through what's next - her solo show at The Hive in South Pasadena in February, framing solutions that don't kill the work behind glass, and that thing we all do where we second-guess ourselves into paralysis.

Lynn's figuring out how to present drawings that need structure but can't live behind glass. The charcoal face on canvas backing? Stunning. Would lose everything behind glass. We looked at panels and talked about painting edges white so they disappear on walls.

She's working between paintings and cutout installations - not because she's confused about direction, but because both are what want to happen. Renaissance glazes where you see all the drawing underneath. Flat color that reads completely different. Life-sized figures that need cardboard boxes and chairs and shadows underneath to make sense.

The real conversation: stop asking if you have enough work, stop spinning stories about what galleries might want, stop waiting until you figure out every single thing. Just reach out. Just make the work. Just do it and figure everything else out later.

February 7 at The Hive. Mark it.
@thehivesouthpasadena

📍 Studio at Brewery Artist Complex
🔗 www.lynnheinzart.com

#StudioVisit #LynnHeinz #BreweryArts #TheHive #SouthPasadena #FigurativeArt #MixedMedia #ArtistSupport #JustDoIt #ShoeboxArts #LosAngelesArtist #ProcessOverPerfection

Acrylic boxes. Artist Supplies. Postcards. Stickers. An art fair room on my credit card.

Where is the line between investment and just surviving?

When you put an art fair room on your credit card. When you buy acrylic boxes knowing they won't pay for themselves for months. When you print postcards with money you don't exactly have.

Is that investment or is that just... keeping the lights on?

I think the answer is: both. And also neither. And also it doesn't matter because you do it anyway because this is what artists DO.

I'm not just investing in myself. I'm investing in my community. In my friends. In everyone who's also figuring out how to make this free, creative life work.

And yeah, I'm privileged to live in an artist loft near downtown LA. But I also made it happen. I pivoted. I supplemented. I hustled (hate that word but there it is).

That's how we survive. By being flexible. By investing in each other. By having hope even when the credit card statement shows up.

New on Substack: https://shoeboxarts.substack.com/p/wheres-the-line-between-investment
or link in bio

#artistlife #artbusiness #emergingartist #communityovercompetition #artistsupportingartists #sustainableart #artcareer #LAartist #creativebusiness #artistcommunity #artworld #workingartist #studiolife #artiststruggles #artandmoney

Teaser!! (or Spoilers) lol

@joyrayart just dropped off her flag! Can't wait to get it hung!

Need to move pieces around and waiting for a super cool piece from @williamransomart on Monday!

See you Friday Nov 21 and Sat Nov 22nd 1-4pm for drop in open house for @falloffreedom

#FallOfFreedom #MakingAmerica

New on Substack: I'm Writing This In the Middle of Being in the Middle of Something

I've been watching artists get into shows (great!) and then completely drown in the logistics. Drop-offs, pick-ups, openings, artist talks, posting about it all. And suddenly they realize - wait, when did I last actually make anything? When did I go to a friend's opening? When did I see a museum?

The success becomes the problem.

So I wrote about it. About saying no sometimes. About protecting studio time like it's sacred. About how going to your friend's opening IS part of your practice, not separate from it.

Still figuring this out myself. But here's what I'm seeing work.

Read the full post: https://shoeboxarts.substack.com/p/im-writing-this-in-the-middle-of
or link in bio

If you find value in these conversations, consider subscribing to support Shoebox Arts. Free and paid options available - every subscription helps keep this community going.

What are you saying no to lately? What are you protecting time for?

Artwork by @sfroschauerart

#shoeboxarts #scottfroschauer #allwehaveisnow #artistresources #artistsupportingartists #beingtoobusy

Cindy Zimmerman came to Shoebox a few months ago asking how she could have a better experience as an artist.

She lives in San Diego. Participates mostly online. Wasn't sure how it would work from a distance.

Then something shifted.

"Being a Shoebox member is a revelation -- so much has opened up for me in my first few weeks."

In our monthly critique group, Cindy mentioned needing a "grotto" - a contemplation space like the one she'd made during her residency at Desert Dairy. The group listened. I suggested trying her studio closet (which was crammed full of stuff).

A month of purging and reorganizing later: the closet became an incubator. The spare bedroom studio started working better. Small shifts creating bigger possibilities.

"Since we are a group of dedicated artists, our interaction multiplies the insights and possibilities opening up for us."

This is what happens when you're not working alone anymore.

Shoebox membership means: two weekly Zoom sessions (one for general discussion, one rotating between accountability check-ins, book club, and member-suggested topics), monthly critique groups, plus access to our wider community programming. Communication that actually reaches you. Support that shows up consistently.

But the real thing? You're suddenly connected to a larger art scene even from your living room. Your insights multiply because you're bouncing ideas off other dedicated artists who get it. Someone suggests something practical - try the closet - and you realize you already have what you need.

We meet artists where they are. In San Diego or San Dimas or Singapore. In spare bedrooms or warehouse studios or kitchen tables.

Right now: 6-month memberships are 15% off with code Holiday15 at https://www.shoeboxarts.com/

The work changes when you stop doing it completely alone.

📸 Cindy in her transformed studio space - repurposed closet turned incubator, spare bedroom working better, artist working differently.

See more of Cindy's work: https://www.cindyzimmerman.work/

#shoeboxarts #artistcommunity #artistsupportingartists #studiolife #workingartist #artistresources #artistnetwork #painters #sculptors #mixedmediaartist #artistlife

We know how overwhelming it can be to juggle creating when you’re exhausted and feel like you just don’t have the time. That’s why we have this awesome community that is filled with artists who are supportive, hold you accountable, and cheer you on! Use HOLIDAY15 at check out 15% off a 6 month membership. Check us out!🎨💌

#communitylove #emergingartists #contemparyart #hopecore

2 more Flags have arrived!

Thanks @davidmlee00 and @martincoxstudio

Still time to submit!
Link in bio!

Credit to @indie_pathways

Check out @katiestubblefieldart in our October issue of Indie Parhways

#artist #magazine #indiepathways #fyp #actor #interview #interview

Thinking of all the Veterans today and every day! Thank you for your service!

The Making America store is LIVE + Last call for flag submissions

The walls at Shoebox are nearly full, but we're taking one more round of flag submissions through November 19th.

And the store is officially open. Every flag in this show is available for purchase right now at shoeboxarts.com/category/all-products
When you buy:

50% goes directly to the artist
40% supports Shoebox Arts programming
10% goes to Indivisible, working to strengthen democracy and build local power

Browse metal flags, painted flags, assemblage flags, textile flags - each one a different vision of what America can be when we make it ourselves.
Still want to submit your flag?

Final deadline: November 19th
Submit here: https://www.shoeboxarts.com/post/call-for-artists-making-america

See the work in person:
November 21-22, 1-4pm PST

Shoebox Arts
660 S Avenue 21 #3, Los Angeles, CA 90031

Free admission, drop-in hours
Part of Fall of Freedom - a nationwide movement defending artistic freedom.

Shop the show: shoeboxarts.com/category/all-products
or link in bio

Artwork by David Michael Lee

#MakingAmerica
#ShoeboxArts
#FlagArt
#HandmadeFlag
#TakingBackTheFlag
#LAart
#LosAngelesArtist
#ContemporaryArt
#CallForArtists
#CommunityArt
#ArtAndActivism
#BuyArt
#SupportArtists
#FallOfFreedom

@natalieriosart and @a.s.ashley dropping off work for #MakingAmerica

"Cap-italism" 😉

Featuring the #notoriousrbg

Credit to @matterstudiogallery

THIS SUNDAY!!!
Artist Talk with @amgart moderated by @artandcakela Kristine Schomaker #artmatters

Flags filling the walls at Shoebox!

Quick walk through the space and wow. This is really happening.

We've got metal flags, painted flags, text flags, assemblage flags - each one completely different. Each one somebody's vision of what this flag means right now.

We have a few spots left on the walls. That's it. A few spots and then we're full.

If you've been thinking about submitting, now is the time. Not next week. Now.

Submit your handmade flag: https://www.shoeboxarts.com/post/call-for-artists-making-america

Link in bio

Rolling deadline until the walls are filled. Free to submit. 50% to artist, 40% to Shoebox, 10% to charity.

The walls are filling. Be part of this.

#MakingAmerica
#ShoeboxArts
#FlagArt
#HandmadeFlag
#TakingBackTheFlag
#LAart
#LosAngelesArtist
#ContemporaryArt
#CallForArtists
#CommunityArt
#ArtAndActivism
#MixedMedia
#ArtExhibition
#ArtistsCommunity
#EmergingArtist

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