2020 (re)Vision
What i-words describe the year 2020? Irritating?…Isolating?…Illogical?…
or was it…Imaginative?…Inspiring?…Insightful?
Well, in the spirit of those family Christmas cards of yore, let me provide a year-in-review letter…
Dear Friends & Family,
Staring into the mirrored glass ball hanging on the Christmas tree has me reflecting on which i-word I’d use to describe 2020. For me, this year was about incubation. And I feel like there was a cocoon aspect for all of us, through quarantine or otherwise. It was supposed to be a time of transformation for me, so I was ok with the social distance and introspection.
This time last year, I was on sabbatical from the music industry and working on my visual art career. I had also committed myself to more volunteer work in our local community and shifted my income to meet my basic needs, focusing on the essentials of food and housing. My friend / mentor / landlord put me to work doing his property management so I was covering rent and learning carpentry. I was also helping some friends with their local organic market…and you can’t be a starving artist when working at the grocery.
As a member of the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the City of Red Lodge Sustainability Board, Carbon County Democrats, and multiple Roosevelt Art Center committees I was definitely working overtime on civic duties. I was also volunteering time to create a benefit event alongside my friend Tom Kohley and a team of Red Lodgians. XCulinary (Cross Culinary) is a taste of trails event combining cross-country skiing with the amazing local food scene, supporting the Beartooth Recreational Trails Association and the Silver Run Nordic Ski Team. Chefs representing the regions restaurants each prepared a portion of a five-course meal and patrons enjoyed the flavors between each ski loop. The event sold-out and set a fun precedent to build on while helping BRTA’s mission to build and maintain a non-motorized trail network along the foothills of the Beartooth Mountains.
Developing XCulinary from idea to reality was a proud moment for me, especially when getting to showcase the skills of Professor Chef Sheena Ernst. Life hasn’t been easy for restauranteurs this year, but it has been joyful watching Sheena stay inspired and positive at The Wild Table through the different stages of the pandemic. With each creative pivot she offered themed take-home meals, online cooking classes, and fun social media interaction which showed her caring spirit while speaking her love language of food. Feeding this community is Sheena’s passion and I am so proud of her.
While increasing civic duty was a goal, my focus on these aerial landscape paintings was paramount. I had just finished a successful solo exhibition that Fall and was preparing for a First Friday showcase in the February 2020 Billings art walk. I was also painting an exciting commission piece which brought a fun challenge. Anyone who witnessed the work was extremely supportive and it fueled me.
The irony of 2020 was thick though. When Covid hit and things shut down, I found myself employed as an “essential worker” in a grocery store at one job. And alternately, when putting on my property management “hat” I was actually wearing a haz-mat suit and respirator in order to mitigate methamphetamine contamination at one of the rental houses. Unfortunately, the organic market didn’t survive the economic stresses of the year, but the meth business stayed strong as I tore that house down to its studs. And while that was some toxic work, I found it healthy to release my stresses with a sledgehammer and watch the house transform as the remodel started. While I worked on that project, it occurred to me that I wasn’t the only one deconstructing in order to make things new again.
It’s really hard to move forward in new ways without bringing things from past lives. And such it is with the music industry. In February I was honored with the trust of Jeff Austin’s family to help manage his legacy after the celebrated founding member of Yonder Mountain String Band passed away the previous year. This role gave new purpose to an important aspect of my work history. It also opened me up again to my unique ability to help develop the careers of Montana’s young musicians. Enter Meg Gildehaus with her synth-pop project Gilda House. There must be something in the water here in Red Lodge because, similar to my previous work with Satsang, the town has given me the opportunity to work with another brilliant songwriter with incredible vision and drive. I invite you to stream the debut Gilda House EP You’re Invited now and keep an eye out for the new album in 2021.
With the return to a music management mind set, I also experienced a lesson that all musicians encounter. Sometimes an artist has to take a gig just to pay the bills. I needed to catch up on the mountain of debt that was piling up as income options from the arts dwindled in the pandemic. So in September I took a job opportunity as a field technician doing mineral exploration in the mountains west of Nye, MT. I supported a geophysical survey crew creating a computer-simulated model representing the mineral composition of the ground below. Each day we would be dropped off via helicopter, hike 4 to 6 miles across mountainous terrain with 80 pounds of equipment, and set up a grid of computers that read an electric current sent into the earth. This daily routine was a big change from the office & studio work which has comprised the past two decades of my professional life. However, the sense of accomplishment in each day's work was palpable and I enjoyed being part of a team while overcoming physical & mental challenges along the way. While this work in the mountains helped whittle away at that mounting debt…it also influenced my artistic vision. As an aerial landscape painter, the time spent in a helicopter high above the Beartooth Mountains allowed me plenty of opportunities to study the earth from above.
Upon my return from 6 weeks in the mountains, the remodel & property management work returned and so did my inspiration in the art studio. With new paintings in the works, I also began a redesign of the Artifact Concepts website with a gallery store of existing work and the opportunity for collectors to purchase a commission piece. The redesign consolidates both my art career and my music career into one choose-your-own-adventure format while focusing my content away from social media and back into one central location. Also, in case you missed the memo, I consolidated my phone lines into one Montana number 406-446-4646, so ditch that 303 number if you still have it.
That being said, 2020 also helped me realize that I haven’t been in communication with as many of you as I’d like. So moving past this year of incubation, I am coming out of my shell. I have decided that it will be my new year’s resolution to explore more creative, innovative ways in which to stay in touch with my people. Adding you to this mailing list is a start. You may be thinking, “I didn’t sign up for this” and I understand if you want to unsubscribe using the link at the bottom of this newsletter.
But for those who will stick around and have read this whole letter, I thank you for taking the time and attention. Please feel free to leave a comment below. I type this letter as the solstice turns our axis toward the light…with the promise of days turning bright, let us all raise a glass of cheer tonight. I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May God bless John Prine and I hope to talk to you again soon.
-Brian Langeliers
