Artsy Astronomy

Arts and the eclipse collide in Austin at Fusebox's stellar 20th anniversary

Austin's famous Fusebox Festival is returning for its 20th anniversary during the eclipse. (Promotional image from Justin Shoulder's "Anito")

Image courtesy of Justin Talplacido Shoulder

Get your eclipse glasses ready! The famous fringe performing arts event Fusebox Festival is returning to Austin from April 7-14 for a monumental celebration of its 20th anniversary.

Coinciding with the festival is the first total solar eclipse visible in Central Texas since 1397. Fusebox will incorporate this rare celestial event into the festival activities.

For eight days, artists and audiences will flock from around the world for one-of-a-kind performances, exhibitions, parties, and conversations across Austin. This year's festival pays homage to the past two decades of Fusebox while gazing ahead to the future.

"We are collaborating with the Simons Foundation along with several other local organizations, including Waterloo Greenway and The Long Center, to present several eclipse-related events, beginning the night before the eclipse and including an eclipse viewing party on the Long Center lawn the day of the eclipse," writes Ron Berry, co-founder and co-artistic director of Fusebox, in an email to CultureMap.

There will also be a new public art installation at Waterloo Park "in conjunction with the eclipse," he writes. It'll be made by sculptor and choreographer Guadalupe Maravilla, whose surreal and skeletal works use tribal symbols and large-scale constructions to transform the environment.

Fusebox tapped partners like the Contemporary Austin, Women & Their Work, Texas Performing Arts, and more to showcase singular artistic experiences.

The partnership Texas Performing Arts is a continuing one, bringing remarkable premieres like Tania El Khoury's interactive live memoir, Cultural Exchange Rate. This project shares memories from a border village between Lebanon and Syria, as well as a "brief migration to Mexico," using secret boxes and multi-media curation.

"I hope attendees fall in love with some artists that they didn't necessarily know anything about," writes Berry. "I hope folks encounter some ideas that spark them in unexpected ways. I hope that the festival connects people to each other in some meaningful ways. And I hope people feel more connected to this place, Austin."

Other highlights this year include:

Choreographer Abby Zbikowski's Radioactive Practice, a boundary-pushing, explosive contemporary dance work
Singer Dorian Wood's 12-hour folk song composition, Canto de Todes, that questions social change through lyrical storytelling
Interdisciplinary artist Justin Shoulder'sAnito, which reimagines diasporic myths through "queered ancestral" alter-egos and the Sydney, Australia's underground club scene

"We've really tried to hang onto a sense of approachability and hospitality and joy. We want to create very personable, tangible relationships between artists and audiences. I think that was true back then and continues to be true today."

Dance, film, music, literature — you name it, it's represented. For longtime Fusebox fans, the festival is a chance to reflect on the organization's growth from funky upstart to Austin arts institution. For newcomers, it's an opportunity to immerse in a dynamic arts ecosystem.

Fusebox Festival will run from April 7-14. Find tickets at fuseboxlive.com.

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Outside the Lines

Buda artist releases intuitive drawing book with fun prompts

Photo courtesy of Ronald Gross

Artist Ronald Gross creates an intuitive drawing with crayon, which he considers a "joyful" medium.

Buda-based artist and writer Ronald Gross released a book in November called Unlock Your Creativity: A Guide to Intuitive Drawing, which will walk aspiring expressers through drawing without worry. On December 6, he'll be on hand to help in an intuitive drawing demo at Buda Public Library's Holiday Open House.

The book is a hands-on guide that teaches readers how to lean into their own desires and intuitions when drawing, whether they feel like an artist or not. In this way, intuitive drawing should feel relaxing, meditative, and ultimately, beneficial for mental health. If you find coloring books relaxing and meditative, intuitive drawing may have the same effect on you.

"Intuitive drawing is the practice of creating art without a specific plan or outcome in mind," says Gross. "It’s about letting your hand move freely, guided by emotion, curiosity, or subconscious impulses; not about making something perfect."

An intuitive drawing by author and artist Ronald Gross. Intuitive drawing is simple, joyful, and according to Gross can calm the mind much like meditation. Photo courtesy of Ronald Gross

This book presents exercises to access a mindful state: freeform doodling, blind contouring drawing, drawing from the imagination, and drawing from emotions. For artists feeling stuck, Gross also includes plenty of exercises for overcoming creative blocks and even discusses ways intuitive drawing can be applied to other creative projects and areas of life.

In the December workshop, Gross will give a quick demonstration on how to create an intuitive drawing using nothing but lines, shapes, and simple marks. Then participants can try it out with a variety of crayons, because crayons are "tactile" and can quickly transport people into a "playful, unselfconscious space," according to Gross.

"The workshop is all about creating a supportive, judgment-free space to explore intuitive drawing," he says. "Attendees will leave with tools to keep practicing on their own and, hopefully, a renewed sense of creativity and playfulness."

An intuitive drawing from author and artist Ronald Gross. In college Gross was taught how to take a doodle and elevate it into fine art.Photo courtesy of Ronald Gross

Gross's own journey into intuitive drawing started at a young age, when he would doodle and sketch throughout the school day. Years later at the Academy of Art University, a professor encouraged him to lean into this more intuitive and abstract style of art. Since then, Gross has been exploring intuitive drawing's ability to access a meditative state, as well as tap into the subconscious mind.

"When you draw intuitively, you’re fully present in the moment," Gross says. "Your mind quiets, and you become attuned to the flow of your thoughts, feelings, and physical movements. It’s akin to meditation, only instead of sitting still, you’re actively channeling your inner experience onto the page."

An intuitive drawing by author and artist Ronald Gross. Gross's intuitive drawings each evoke a different feeling through his simple use of color and linework. Photo courtesy of Ronald Gross

Gross adds that over time, doing some of the exercises included in the book may even help boost confidence, since intuitive drawing can help people learn to trust their instincts.

"Intuitive drawing can unlock creativity, reduce stress, and help people reconnect with their inner selves," he adds. "It offers a space to process emotions, spark ideas, and break free from perfectionism or overthinking."

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