Creating from the Unconscious with Abstract Artist Luz Donahue

At a gallery opening years ago in Santa Cruz fate intervened and collided me with one of my favorite minds. Athena and I knew from the second we met that we’d affect each other. Over the years, we have cultivated a beautiful friendship that has fostered my career as an artist and fed me with enlivened discussions about consciousness and awareness.

This friendship became a collaboration too as we both share a passion for exploring how the creative process unfolds from ideas in the void to the materiality that becomes the work we share and leave behind.

NUMU’s series, In The Artist’s Studio is about bringing the magic of the process of creation out into the open, bridging  the worlds of the sometimes secluded “studio practice” and the public perception of finished artwork. 

As an artist and educator, this mission is deeply important to me, as I am passionate about  using  my creative knowledge and ability to empower others to find more play, reflection and connected awareness through intuitive abstract painting.

Luz and Athena

Luz’s Studio

Sharing about the creative process between artists often leads to unimaginable new frontiers for each maker. It is like feeding a fire. I believe openly speaking about how we develop practices that enable us to sustainably live the lives we want is a mirror to this experience. I hope that by creating a practice  based on sharing about the ways that  allow me to sustainably create, I can empower others to do the same and therefore build resilience in their own lives.

I asked Athena to share a bit about the role of a process structure in her work as a filmmaker. Here’s what she shared:

”As a storyteller and an artist, a structured creative process is integral to my work. It allows me to translate experiences and concepts into visual and sensory media that will evoke emotion and build empathy with the audience. The intuitive process of creation and being present to a story that wants to be told also allows space for unexpected synchronicity and layers of meaning to permeate the work.”

About Athena

Athena Gam is a filmmaker and video producer for live-action and animation. She is dedicated to creativity, collaboration and community, and to using the power of story to expand consciousness and shift the boundaries of standard Hollywood paradigms. Intentional Video

-Luz Donahue

Meet Michèle Jubilee: NUMU's Education Programs Manager

Hi my name is Michèle Jubilee and I’m the Education Programs Manager at NUMU. I began my role at NUMU in January of this year, 2021, and I am so delighted to be on the team. I’ve launched NUMU’s blog in the hope that over time it can reflect the diverse voices of our community and give a window into the lives of artists in the Bay Area, the joys of art practice and learning, and give a special window into education programs and exhibitions at NUMU. 

A little bit about me, I love a good cup of tea with friends and taking walks to appreciate flowers and trees. I was born in Montreal, Canada, and I grew up in the heart of San Francisco, right next to the De Young Museum. I used to walk over to the museum regularly and spend hours just taking in all the art. Museums and art making have always been a huge part of my life. I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, with a double-major in Art History and Visual Arts, from the University of British Columbia (UBC) located in Vancouver, Canada, on the unceded territory of the Musqueam People. It’s such a full circle moment to be living, creating and working in the Bay Area again, on Ohlone Land, working at NUMU. I also work as a freelance multidisciplinary artist and illustrator and invite you to visit my portfolio. You’re welcome to follow my art journey on instagram @michelejubilee_art.

A continual work in progress, I see my work in museum programs and my own art practice as integrally connected, and all part of one path of learning. The arts are so special because we can share in our individual and collective experiences.

Painting a mural titled Something Unfolding, Vancouver, Canada

Michèle Jubilee, Work in Progress, Ink Illustration, 2019

Painting a piece titled Nothing Left Behind, 2019, Vancouver, Canada

Live painting during Missy D’s event Hip Hop in Colors, Vancouver, Canada

Michèle Jubilee, In Bloom, digital illustration, 2020

During my time in Vancouver, Canada, I had the pleasure of working at the Museum of Anthropology, Gallery 1515, and the Contemporary Art Gallery, as well as participating in many grassroots arts initiatives. From conferences, to dance festivals, mural projects, exhibition openings, and workshops, I love working with communities, meeting artists, and empowering youth. The arts deeply shape culture and society and I find creating arts programming an ideal platform for articulating social purpose and meaning. 

Online platforms present a multitude of new ways to engage in art making and conversation. I believe that arts programming in museums must adapt to rapidly transforming notions of creativity and art by asking questions, exploring new artistic mediums and methods, questioning traditions, and learning alongside communities. I look forward to the programs and collaborations yet to come!

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to introduce yourself by emailing me at programs@numulosgatos.org. I hope you are all staying safe and inspired. You can submit a blog post idea here, and to all the artists, please consider applying to lead a workshop at NUMU by filling out this form! 

-Michèle Jubilee, NUMU’s Education Programs Manager

Photos from past programs I’ve organized:

Meet Alexandra Schindler: NUMU's Collections Registrar & LGHP Program Coordinator

Hi!  My name is Alexandra Schindler, and I am currently the Collections Registrar & LGHP Program Coordinator at NUMU.  I have been working in museums for 10 years, including locally at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, The Tech Interactive, and History San José, in addition to one summer at the National Museum of the United State Navy in Washington, D.C.  I have held a variety of roles in many different departments, from curatorial to education to education management to collections management.  I received my Master’s in Museum Studies from San Francisco State, cementing my commitment to working in the museum field.  

I first got into the museum field when I was in undergrad.  I was a history major at Cal Poly, SLO, and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my degree; many of my peers were planning on becoming teachers, and I already knew that I did not want to go into formal education.  Cal Poly’s motto is “Learn by Doing,” and so I started thinking - how can I be hands-on with, and “do,” history?  That thought process led me to museums, as the repositories of our history.  The objects that museums have in their collections are the physical representations of our history, and proof that events happened.  I wanted to be a part of caring for history and sharing it with the world.

I love museums because I love learning, and I think that museums are spaces where learning can happen in unique and unexpected ways.  The flexibility of museum spaces allows for a greater diversity of content, programs, and experiences that can really affect people’s lives - so many people I know, whether they work in the museum field or not, got the “spark” for their career during a museum visit.  I am especially passionate about bringing history to life in museums.  I believe that there is a serious lack of historical knowledge and understanding in our society, and museums have the opportunity, and the responsibility, to help remedy that by sharing their collections in ways that are relevant to their community and bridge the gap between the past and the present.

I am excited to be at NUMU because I have the opportunity to learn about Los Gatos, a town that I have visited my whole life, but didn’t know anything about its history, and how it’s story is distinct within the larger South Bay.  Opening each box in the collection is a thrill, because I never know exactly what is going to be inside, and what I can learn from each object. I feel like every day I am handed a piece of the puzzle that makes up Los Gatos, and I cannot wait to share that puzzle with the public.  Stay tuned for more updates from the collection cataloging process and history-based programs!