and welcome to Discovery, conversations about the power of the arts to connect us to each other into place. I'm Victoria Rogers, Vice President of Arts at the Knight Foundation. Today's conversation, we're gonna explore theater during and post pandemic. Joining me today are Stacey Rose, a Charlotte based award winning nationally acclaimed playwright.  She's also currently a staff writer for Fox Broadcasting Company's 9-1-1 and Jeremy Komen, now in his 11th year as producing artist director at the Playwright Center in Minneapolis. Soon to be in St. Paul, previously associate artistic director and director of new work at Hartford stage and the founding artistic director of Naked Eye Theater Company in Chicago. His play My Mother Has Four Noses is currently touring the US and he's under commission on a co-writing play, Delicious Animal Magnetism at ACT Z Space in San Francisco. We want you to be active participants in the conversation. It really makes for an interesting talk if we know what your thoughts are. So if you have questions, please submit them throughout the show via Twitter using the hashtag night live and in the comments section of the Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn. We'll get to as many of them as we can throughout the conversation. Stacey and Jeremy, welcome to discovery. Hello, hello, hello. Thank you guys. We really appreciate you giving your time today. Absolutely. Thank you. So I was researching and reading up on this. I came across two statements. Theater as long as excelled as an art form for examining the present and retelling stories of the past from new perspectives. And the America Theater has consistently reinvented itself to remain relevant. If you guys have done anything over the last years, it has been to consistently reinvent yourself. So Jeremy, start with the Playwright Center. What has that meant for you and what does it mean for you? Well, I think for us, you know, Victoria and Stacey, you know, has been a long time, you know, very important family writer at Playwright Center. Ultimately, Victoria, we sort of think about it. So Playwright Center is Playwright's apostrophe center because it's really their space. It's really the place for them to be. And rather than just thinking about the work itself, we really try to center the artist. And so for us, this past year and a half, it's really a continuation of how are we, what we talk about is sustain, develop and connect. How do we support the whole health of the artist and their lives and livelihood and sustain them so they can move forward? How do we develop the work on their terms so that each play they're working on, each project, which Stacey's done a number of different kinds of projects with us, that each have had its own process. And then how do we connect them to the theater field so that their work can be seen by thousands of audiences all around the world? And I think it's been always a deeper investment for Victoria really in how we can, not just think about serving more people all the time, but really how can we serve people more deeply? And then I also just think as you're talking about Victoria, as we sort of look at the stories, the narratives that are on our stages, it's been so homogenous for so long. And I'm being diplomatic by saying, I'm all homogenous. And I think at Playwright Center, we have very clear intention to shift the narratives. Who's telling the stories? What stories on stage? Who's in the audience? How do you get to listen? And really looking at all of the issues within that and how that gets to happen. Thanks for that, Jeremy. And Stacey, you know that I and two of my colleagues, Priya and Janie, were able to be at a, I think it was a first reading with live actors of your Play Legacy Land.  The three of us who are talkers couldn't say anything at the end of that play. And I think it gets to your comment, Jeremy, about the importance of stories and who's telling them. So Stacey, you're on a new adventure in Charlotte with your director, Martin Damien Wilkins. The two of you co-founded Queen City New Play Initiative to support local and Southern playwrights in the creation of new work. So what made you do that? And what, how is it working for you? And for you? Yeah, my time at the Playwright Center made me do that. I think what it was is just like being in, being a playwright who has been in a many development process. I don't know if I've been more supported from like a 360 degree perspective as I was at the Playwright Center. And knowing that everything I was doing in the world, I wanted to bring home to Charlotte. I truly believe I am not an anomaly. So I wanted to bring that kind of support back home to Charlotte. And quite honestly, it's a challenge because of my work, I've just kind of been pulled here and there and all over the place. And so I'm really just kind of getting it. Like when I got here last year, I got here at the top of the pandemic when Legacy Land opened and closed at Kansas City Rep. And we were just trying to figure out what was about to happen. We had no clue what was down the pike. But Martin and I had been kind of tinkering with this idea for a while. And I think before you all left the Playwright Center, even after that reading, I was telling you like I'm thinking about this thing and me and a partner of mine are going to put our heads together and figure it out. And so we thought, I mean, we're both home. We're both in Charlotte. Like why not like jump into it? Taking again cues off Playwright Center and how quickly they galvanized to kind of switch to an online season. We kind of started getting our chops and producing in the Zoom world. And what we didn't expect is for it to take off in the way that it is. It took off quickly mainly because there were so many people looking at us, looking at this little organization in Charlotte by virtue of us doing things on Zoom. And there were so many connections being made with artists from here and elsewhere, which was the intention. So right now we're on a bit of a hiatus to kind of just breathe for a second. Because we just kind of had to galvanize ourselves, come up with the plan and execute. And now that we've executed, we're kind of stepping back and going, this didn't work so well, but this went over huge and works really well and doesn't require a lot on our small capacity in terms of staff. And then we might want to rethink this because maybe producing eight play readings in six months is probably a lot. So maybe. Just a little. For a brand company, maybe. Maybe. And so we're really kind of, yeah, refiguring out ourselves. And so Stacy, when you talk about, I mean, I grew up, lived for years and Atlanta was born in Louisville, Kentucky. And I've collected the works of Southern authors my entire life. It's just, it's like bread in my bone. But when you talk about Southern playwrights, what does that mean to you? Yeah, so for me, I think the story of the United States lives in the South. And I think a lot of the time and what we're learning in this, that the other pandemic, the racial and social justice pandemics that we're simultaneously going through that a lot of the time the South has gotten bastardized for like being exclusively the most racist part of the country and exclusively the most uneducated part of the country when that nothing could be further from the truth. And so in supporting Southern playwrights and aiming to lift those stories, not just of black folk and white folk, I also would love to support people who are telling immigrant stories in the South just to kind of give a more broader, like a broader view of what it means to be Southern now and what it meant then, but from a more complicated lens. And so in knowing that and knowing ourselves in the South and knowing Southern stories in that way, we get a better understanding of who we are as a country. So that's kind of what drives me because I mean, when you get, you have all of these amazing black playwrights in the world, honey, our whole story for the most part, black American playwrights begins in the South, like for a lot of folks. And so making those connections are things like I'm interested in great migration stories and what happens to somebody who lived their whole life in Alabama for whatever reasons had to leave. Like my grandmother fled an abusive husband in the South and moved to Baltimore and then moved to New Jersey. And the story was so fraught that nobody told it to me till I was 37. Like what does it mean to hold on? Like the South holds so many secrets and past lives and so much, like it gives me chills to talk about there's so much richness in stories of the South and I just, you know, I revel in the ability to kind of lift those stories out. But I think about Charlotte, one of the fastest growing cities in the country. Where are we going to officially? What is it, and then what that means to the town and services that can be offered and housing and all of the other things and all the stories that will end up being in that phenomenal city. So Jeremy, you and I've talked a lot about living into our values and what that means for us. And what does it mean, you know, for theater in general and how does it play out in the work that you're trying to do through Playwright Center? I think it really is, what is the change you wanna see happen in the world? You know, again, as an artist service organization, we have the opportunity to focus on, for example, inclusion and accessibility as two of our most important values in everything we do. Financial accessibility, internet accessibility, locational accessibility, so that when we also say things, I think, Victoria, Stacey, as you're talking about, there are these defaults that get made also, yes, North and South, but also I think sort of urban and rural as well. There's so many vibrant artists in rural communities that get left out of the equation altogether. So we have the opportunity, I think, in a way, Victoria and our values to really live through that by sort of not assuming a default by in fact going out and having deep and meaningful conversations and connections with artists around the country. So I think that that inclusivity is really, really critical. The other piece of that, I guess I would say also is, you know, the part of the awakening, Stacey, I think that you're talking about too, is not really an awakening for a lot of people. It's what we've been living with for a long time. A lot of people have been living with challenges around deep and pervasive systemic racism, homophobia, misogyny, transphobia, et cetera, in this country. And the art sector wants to believe that we are separate from that. It wants to say, but we're this and we're that. And when those assumptions means that we're not actually doing the work, we're not inventorying ourselves, we're not taking a deep, meaningful look at what practices needs to change. And for me, I guess Victoria comes full circle to thinking about our work at the Playwright Center, which is we have the opportunity right in front of us to be part of the, I don't know about the word solution, but at least be part of the work and the effort and activism to address and advocacy, to address some of this systemic inequity and to really figure out not only in our practices, but who are the writers that we're supporting and giving opportunity to so that when an eight-year-old, I will just tell you, I'll share a thing, that'll be very anonymous, but we have a bunch of classes we teach and a student was sharing recently with us that she is in the States for about a couple of years from Central America. And that access to storytelling was always like a deeply white, deeply male set of storytelling on television. And so the opportunity for this person to take a writing class with a black writer and also with a Latinx writer meant for her that she could see herself in narratives that she could never see before because it was always delivered in this one kind of way in this very homogenous way. So it's an exciting opportunity by making art actually is the activism of making that shift, I think. Jeremy, I think that one of the things that fascinated us so much at night about the Playwright Center is just the diversity of the cadre of artists that you look to. And not only that, but I was just looking last night at your new Jerome Fellows. Yeah. It's a diversity of them. It's 100%. I mean, that's the thing of it. It's 100% BIPOC artists and truly BIPOC artists and that, yeah, it means something. It also means though, this is the thing, right? It's one thing to say that, but then Victoria, I think, and Stacy can talk a lot about this, but then you have to do the work because you can say words like inclusion and accessibility, but you are actually inviting artists into your space. And this is the thing with Knight being such a great partner of ours that Victoria, you and I and Priya and others and Janie talk about all the time is how do we walk the walk? How do you actually invite people into space so that it is safe, so that it is brave, so that it is different than the experiences? What is the neighborhood around that feel like to move in and out of space? Who is greeting you? How are people seeing you? So these things are really, really critical. And I think kind of one thing I'm excited about about our partnership together to Victoria is like we're really examining in a very deep way how this stuff actually plays out in real time, in real space. But you got to do the work. You can't just use the words. It's performative and it's gaslighting and it's got to change. It'll be interesting as we go through this and what Stacey is doing in Charlotte because I remember it was so poignant for me after your reading when you said I couldn't get my play produced in Charlotte. And so working now to make that happen in your city and for other Southern playwrights, what else is needed in your city to be able to actually do that? I mean, to produce the plays. You can work with them now. You can help them, but what is that thing that's not there that lets you sort of come full scale on it? I think that there's quite a few things, but I think that there needs to be a lot of playwrights and that there needs to be a shift in thinking in terms of, I think what Charlotte tends to do is take the arts and dump them all in one big bucket and call it the arts. And I think that there needs to be a separation not just because, you know, just to kind of be separate. It's just really to understand what each art form does and the specific importance of each art form. So it's, I'm not sure how that happens. I think what I'm attempting to do with my organization and the specific focus on new plays, which are the fundamental building blocks of theater, even if you're making device work, all of that, it begins with text and idea or something in your building from there. And I think it draws such a specific focus on theater that my hope is that it will draw in the existing theaters and kind of get those spaces interested in telling new stories and stories that arise from the area and really shifting their perspective in the ways they plan seasons, in the way they decide what's in those seasons. I have not been here before a long, like a while. So there's a lot of learning that I have to do to really understand what this community needs, but I will say that there is an influx of folks here that are from places that are far more, that have a far more substantive and varied theater scenes than we have. We don't have a Lord, which isn't a terrible thing, but we just don't, right? We don't have kind of a huge theatrical hub here outside of Bloomingthal, which usually hosts touring shows since COVID. A lot of theater companies here are struggling. And what I'm hoping to do is to begin conversations among that group, like to reinvigorate the folks who are members of the Metro Atlanta Theater Association and really get them in conversation. What does it mean to have an enliven theater scene in Charlotte? Where should that be centered? Everything has always been centered uptown. That needs to shift. Not everyone has that access. It feels like everything, it inherently feels inaccessible to people. So really kind of doing the work that we're doing with the hope of planning speeds of the ability to create something different, to inspire someone young to start a new theater company, to inspire, you know, like just to kind of create, to see the possibilities and hopefully kind of let things germinate from there. I'm hope I'm not being too vague, but that's kind of- No, you're not being too vague at all. But it truly, I truly think is if we keep at this, I just see the relationship that Playwright Center has with the Twin Cities Theater community and it gives me hope. Yes, that's a different city and it's grounded in theatrical tradition and all of that, but it's possible here. And I think because we don't have any institutions necessarily defining what theater in Charlotte is right now, I think it's a good time to figure out what the hell is it and define it for ourselves. And that's amazing. Yeah, because as you both know, because Daisy, you live there too in St. Paul, when I think about Theater Mew and the New Eyes Festival and all the work that Theater Mew is doing has done for decades, I think about Panambra and the Center for Racial Healing and I think about Ananya Dance and I think about Springboard for the Arts and the new space, the spring box space they've created. It's an unending series of, it really is kind of folks thinking about how artists can gather together and the power of art not just being, I'm going to compose a symphony or I'm going to make a play, but also how these stories are told and centering the artists, thinking about how they can live, make a living, have health insurance, especially in a time like this. And with so much, I think, it's hard to, I don't know, Stacey for me, it's always hard to think about the stuff without taking into account wealth and equality and obviously here I am, I mean, I usually do a land acknowledgement when I introduced myself at the beginning, but part of that land acknowledgement is I'm coming to you eight blocks from the public murder of George Floyd. That's where I'm talking to you from today. So right here, right now is an opportunity not just for organizations, but Stacey as you've done there and Charlotte for artists to be leaders in some of these really critical issues that using that artistry can really do. So it's good. I've got two questions that are relevant to this. Three, one, from a Tony, how do I get my daughter in the writing class? I don't know whether Stacey, that's two years or two years, but we need to come back to that and maybe post something online that will tell people. But this one, arts funding is usually the first thing to be cut in education budgets, true. I used to teach art, my budget was cut. As a result, most school districts with impoverished communities don't have access to the basic educational components of the art industry. Do you feel this is a barrier to using arts to connect with community? And if it is, how can that be broken down? So if we have a whole generation of kids that aren't being, don't have that kind of access, at least through the school systems, then what are other ways that we look at doing that? Because I do think arts are crucial to connecting communities. Yeah, one of the things that I am interested in working on, which kind of seeks to subvert an issue that a lot of Charlotte arts institutions had, was that they were reliant on a lot of money from banks and corporations. And when those institutions wanted to pull out, things kind of collapsed, like we almost lost our opera, for God's sake. Like we almost lost our symphony, and that makes no sense. So kind of shifting to more, and again, I'm still trying to figure out how this happened, but more of a community-based investment in the art on the level of the micro donation. Like there were a lot of micro donations that came in, especially when we were first starting and kind of continue to float in, that are just about as much as your Netflix monthly. But things like that to kind of keep and tease out programs where at least you're getting enough to pay the playwright leading it, or at least you're getting enough to pay for the script that you are. You know, just those things can be, even things as simple as that, can be lifelines for communities. And so really changing doing the work to change the conversation around how artists funded and how artists should be paid. Because I think one of the other obstacles we face here is that a lot of our artists here are nine to fives. So like it's really hard for me. Like I love having blended casts, but most of the people who I cast, they have a nine to five. So if rehearsal isn't after five or six, I can't cast those people. So really kind of changing the conversation around arts and arts compensation on the level of just humans and communities and growing and letting communities grow and understanding and understand like, hey, if you're just contributing $10 a month per household, we can do these things. And kind of breaking it down that way. But that's my scrappy tie in the sky idea that I'll probably be devastated over in another year. Check back with me. So you see, I have one other thought too, which is, and I'm curious to get your thought on this, which is what is or ought to be, and I know there's no one right answer here, the role of like arts organizations or artists who are making work and what I might call like civic practice. So part of the question felt like it was around access for education in certain impoverished communities and like how do you actually get access to that level of professional development or training or just being able to see art. And for me, I always think about the art making as a civic practice because in my mission statement and in the vision statement and values of our work, that's what's there. It's baked in to say, if we decide that we're doing this only for six people, it's okay, but we have to be real clear about that. And I'm curious what you're seeing there in Charlotte or kind of generally as an artist, what you feel about, I guess, the idea of civic responsibility in some way. I do think that the work we do, seeks to, and the work that I am eager to expose this community to, seeks to kind of generate or continue conversations around issues that are very... Uh-oh. I think we lost her for a minute. Yes, and we'll come back to that moment. And we will come back to that point because it's, I think it all relates to another question that we got here. And you mentioned the beautiful work that Sarah Bellamy in Penumbra Theatre is doing on focusing on that healing of artists, still producing work, but looking at wellness. And so when you think about civic responsibility and community, one of the questions here is, how can arts be used to heal and advance in a way that addresses underlying issues? Whether it's fractured as a result of rising wealth and equality, racial injustice, and these deep-rooted issues that so frequently you guys do focus on. Dang that. The shenanigans, I told you I was gonna be the one with the shenanigans. It was just like, my whole internet was like... You don't have anything of value to say. It's wrong. We were just talking about kind of Stacey how like arts and artists can be used to kind of address some of these underlying issues. I was just thinking too, given last night's performance of her play, but I was thinking a lot about Rihanna Yazzie and the work that she and others have done certainly with new native theater there in the Twin Cities. And also just thinking about, I mean, talk about, you know, a community or a set of communities of people who haven't been represented in any way on stage and are also, Victoria, to your question, I mean, Rihanna is training up a new generation of artists. We're thinking about what that work looks like and what the writing is, what those performances are in different kinds of ways. And I think it's an incredibly exciting time. I really, Laura Zabel at Springboard says this all the time, artists are leaders. We have the opportunity to pay artists to help actually solve some of these bigger systemic global crises. We have throughout world history being storytellers. We've got two minutes left, guys. I told you this 30 would go like nothing flat. And I had three other questions, but one of the things that I think is underlies all of this. You know, when you think about individuals and corporations and foundations, plus people buying tickets, you know, where does the funding make the biggest difference for you? You know, so often with foundations, it's project funding and my, when I was on the other side and even now, it's this, you can't do a project if you can't support the core work that you do and pay your staff. But what is that, what are the types of grants or funding that enable you to really have impact with the work that you're trying to do and how are you able to move it forward? It's honestly that. I mean, it's honestly being able to, and I think what the struggle, to name the struggle that I'm currently going through, it's just paying staff who like, I do a lot of work for my organization for free. I shouldn't be, but I do. And then I pour my own money in because I have to. And I can't ask people, like I can't offer a stipend and ask people to work 20, 30 hours a week. So I think that like, that's the foundation of it, right? Just to kind of have meetings and like constant meetings during the week and planning all of that stuff, that's, that pulls people's time. But when I can say here, I can compensate you or you can take some time off, then we can work on this thing. Also, professional development funding in terms of just learning the ropes, right? Of really running this organization effectively are things that I think will give us wings over these next three years. I also want to just, it's so nerdy to say it, but I'm gonna say it anyway, which is Jenop, Jenop, Jenop, really, the way that you've always talked about it with us, Victoria, is if we've been in conversation, we trust you to do your work and to do it the best you can. And we'll ask questions, but we're, this investment is an investment in the energy of that organization to take care of artists and community in St. Paul. And that is extraordinary for us. I wanna say, so Jenop does that. It allows us as organizations to figure out that work and not do any of the sort of program chasing where you're creating programs to try to chase dollars or anything like that. The other thing that I'm just sharing kind of more audience-wise, and I'm sure anyone who's listening probably knows this and feels this, is that there really isn't inequity in that system in terms of who feels they have access, who actually has access to those dollars. How does that happen? What does that look like? So the question earlier around wealth and equality is also systemically and historically, there's a number of organizations, usually of a certain size that are more eligible or have more access to that funding and who are actually really doing the work. So I'm really curious in my own kind of thinking and learning to Victoria about like, how are we shifting who and how people have access to those dollars? That seems really like a very critical part of the conversation. Yeah, I think that it's a conversation that's going on inside of foundations and I know other people, I mean, when I make my own contributions, it's looking at the work that's being done and wanting to be a part of something that's much bigger than me. So that you really look at we, and frankly, I learned years ago as a fundraiser, you don't have to be rich to make a difference. That it's all kinds of dollars that make a true difference when you put them all together. I'd hoped we could talk a little bit about how tech, how both of you are thinking about the use of tech because we've watched some, I've watched so much theater on Zoom and access it online and that whole thing of how do you create, what do you create for online that isn't just a replication of what you do live because there's no way to replicate live for me in that sense of it. But our time is up and I really thank both of you. I knew it would be an interesting conversation so both to Stacy and Jeremy, it's a joy to work with you. And again, thank you for your time and to the production crew. The beats of the top of the show were created by former night colleague, Chris Barr and the music that will play us out is composed and performed by the amazing Akron Jazz artist, Theron Brown. The next Night Live episode is being hosted by VP Ashley Zahn. She's the VP of Learning and Impact and she will be talking with Dominique Harrison. That's April 15th at one o'clock. I hope you'll join in. Thank you so much for your questions today and for logging in for this conversation. Be safe.


Hey, I look like my mama right here now y'all Isn't that fun? I feel like The older I get the more I start to look like my mother and her sister's getting my lights together girl So yes, it's time for another chit chat chit chat. Hey chit chat.  I jot down some things. I want to talk about but first of all I want to show you guys some products baby I know that I'm stressed and when I'm stressed I either eat or I spend money which I've been doing both But it is what it is and so I have purchased a Bunch of products. I'm gonna show you some things that are gonna be coming up some of the stuff you guys Already know about but there are some of you who don't follow me on social media Which is okay because I know there were just a few of you who are not on Instagram and stuff like that So just real quick and I don't even go into much detail I print I bought this a while back. It's a VO five detox conditioner and I purchased the shampoo You guys probably can't see that I feel so bad for those of you who don't live in the US And you don't have access to VO five VO five is the life VO five Especially the moisture milk Collection has great slip Speaking of I saw this one in Walmart. It is new ocean refresh with sea minerals I doubt that but I want it anyway Five plus vitamins and oils another thing about some of the VO five Conditioners is that they're cone free and pyramid free. This is beautiful. I'm not gonna review this I'm just showing you all this. This is what I got I have some products from a local youtuber that I still need to review. It is by curl game She has three products. This is the leaving conditioner and then I have an oil and then a rice water deep conditioner So I'm gonna review that we have mango butter. I'm making a DIY mango butter Buttercream basically this would not have any coconut in it coconut oil and it won't have any shea butter a lot of the times The DIY recipes that you know YouTube they typically add cocoa butter and shea butter. I'm doing mango butter That's it. Nothing else. Okay Got this last week Extreme gel. I would be pairing this with the melanin elongating cream you guys for me personally That cream is so light. It gives you great definition, but it's so light. I honestly would Prefer that as a leave-in conditioner. I really do over a styler But I'm gonna pair with this to see how it does with a wash-and-go I know y'all just being dramatic. I have been using this on JB's hair Great definition and so this has a la vera no residues alcohol-free with UV filter So we'll see this is a lot and I got this from Walmart online Two days ago over the weekend I was at Sally's and I saw that they had a bunch of the ORS, which is original root stimulator products I've tried a few of their products and I use the revitalizing leave-in conditioner Like almost with every wash, but they have a shampoo. I know you guys can't see that Let me see if I can show this to you better. It says moisture restore creamy Alois shampoo aloe vera shampoo. Okay, and then we have a Leave-in hair lotion. So I really do have four products that it's gonna be included So it's basically gonna be a wash stick or acid that makes sense. Okay Also at Sally's I saw their Taliyah wajid curly curly curl cream. I also bought their detangler And I'm going to be doing Bantu knots with those two products. Okay, love love this line Actually, I really do like this line And then we have the Maui moisture volcanic ash I keep saying ask girl stop Volcanic detoxifying scalp care mask full dull and congested hair So for some reason I think my hair is congested and I found the need to buy this my husband Yeah, I'm gonna be using this on my next wash there. Oh, look I got this from Walmart. I'm excited about this and again, this is by Maui moisture and I have reviewed some of their products So yes, you guys, I know this is a lot of products and I went through that very facts But I have on my editorial calendar that some of us content creators have I have posted 20 hair related videos Ideas scheduled. I have at least three or four videos. She's ready to be released girl. Schedule. Yes. Look at the highlight Obviously that y'all are y'all so yeah, I'm gonna be doing quite a few Videos so y'all know how we do this. We talk about what's in these YouTube streets What I've been watching on TV, which has been a bunch of fully lately in some stuff going on at home So girl, I've been watching a lot of videos since I was I'm officially back When I'm on YouTube, I really don't watch a lot of natural hair youtubers. I watch beauty. I look at vloggers I look at Gordon Ramsay's kitchen nightmare. I Been watching almost every episode a fatal attraction for my man. Let me take something I think I'll for like two days. I binge watch for my man The most thing I'm gonna do for him is make him a pecan a pound cake pecan pie and Do the laundry. I'm not helping you buy no shovels. No tape. I'm not digging no holes I'm not doing any it just blows my mind what some of these women do For just a validation of love Some of the stories y'all was just depressing so anyway But specifically in YouTube there has been some drama going on I'm not gonna get into a lot of the details, but there was one Particular I guess she's I didn't know who she was blogger. Oh I guess her wife Posted some message that you know basically encrypted message and it to me I read it because Shelly had posted it. Hey girl I mean Shelly looks at my video as Hutchison and made it seem like she had passed away And this was I think was this on April Fool's or the day after April Fool's it made it seem like she had died And then the wife came back a couple of she posted. She's I didn't say that she died I'm just poetic And so but it had been a good what 24 hours and he had all these other people posting Responses because the thing was that they assumed that she had committed suicide because of online bullying I don't as Hutchison had a couple of videos and the wife was like, yeah, nah There's some talks about it was a scam But that is sick if she I don't know what happened because I don't know the young young lady But if she really did that to scam money out of people that is really sad I I'm not gonna name drop who she was if you want to watch it go to as Hutchison channel And I know Pam of you is a view she did a reaction to but yeah girl by all to some other stuff While I was on break I was watching videos from another youtuber.  She is a vlogger a family vlogger She does keto her channel is around a weight loss her first name begins with the letter K So I know some of you know who that is And it's been a couple of weeks now, but she had a Brazilian but lived down in Florida and she has some complications I think that I Believe like the day after she had her heart was racing she had You know increased heartbeat and they had to take her to the emergency Emergency room, excuse me, and she was admitted for two days. Look. Yeah Surgery is no joke. The Brazilian but look for what I understand is one of the most dangerous Complicated surgeries and there's so many women out there Especially young women out there want to get the Brazilian but live in from what I understand what they do is they take fat either from your thighs your Tummy area and they store it in your your butt and I'm just like and they got me thinking, you know, what? Where do we get as a society because I feel like plastic surgery has increased and it used to be and this is not to be, you know Offensive to anyone. I hope I don't offend anyone when I say this it used to be plastic surgery was something that wealthy White women would get what now is something that everybody can get and because a lot of these plastic surgeries Offer their offices offer payment plans. So girl as long as you can make three hundred two hundred dollars a month You can go get you some new titties. Excuse my language You can get you some new boobs tummy tuck whatever you want and just make monthly payments And so I'm finding that a lot of Women of color a lot of African-American a lot of Latino women or getting these surgeries and they're getting botched surgeries It is just sad like We really need to start teaching our young women how to love themselves and look There is nothing worth it. You have to love yourself look in the mirror and love yourself and be appreciative to what you have No, ma'am. So anyway, y'all I've been seeing I know BuzzFeed did a video on my channel BuzzFeed did a video on the way farmers and was that how you pronounce on way farmer way farmers and Discovery natural I love that she did a video on Way farmers versus curl farmers. Let me tell you something. Let me get these hoes. They right here. Yeah, I call them hoes Tee. Thank you Tee sent me these curl farmers It's been a year Girl, I told y'all this these things with sign of the end times curl from let me tell you something That is too much work in my opinion Curl farmers way farmers are too much work. I feel like that I could get a similar look with perm rods or flexi rods No, I'm not doing it and quite a second I really don't like the way the way farmers look because I feel like it flattens your hair and miss Jackson Isn't about that flat hair life. I want my hair big I didn't like the way that BuzzFeed styled her hair afterwards, but overall I just feel like it's way too much work Help her I'm right. So a lot of work. I'm not willing to do it So my curl farmers are sitting here I tried because I because I was very appreciative that she sent these to me because they're expensive y'all So I tried them. I broke too. I Ripped too with that damn needle whatever the Anyway girl, I have been seeing those and I appreciate the women that do those videos are cute You know for you, but not for me. It is a no big no for me I did see a couple of videos on rice water y'all some of these people out of Yeah, you know what is really annoying me nowadays or the over exaggerated thumbnails You don't have to look like that in the thumbnail It doesn't have to look like that in order for me to watch the video like girl. Yeah anyway, but Rice water. I'm seeing a lot of videos on rice water I did see African hair guys video on rice water. He did his water jug and normally when he brings out the water jug You know, he's about to read you girl And then there was another YouTuber because curl miss I I showed her channel a couple of months ago curl miss I'll put it down below. She shared her Opinion on What rice water, so you guys this is my thing the only reason why I am doing it those you don't know I started rice water in January. I'm doing it for six months straight. I have been cataloging Documenting doing lymph checks. I'm gonna have a very extensive review cuz some of these women I'm sorry. You're not gonna see anything in a week. I saw someone that said overnight growth. No No No There were some things that I agreed with with African hair god and the other youtuber curl smiths But at the end of the day, I'm gonna show my results. I'm already I got two inches in three months Actually a little bit more than that And I can honestly say that I will be back at my length by May I've noticed that with using rice water my hair feels thicker. It feels stronger I am using it every wash, which is every two weeks And I think there's been one week where I haven't watched what haven't used it I've been using organic Jasmine rice and I did my own research I watched the green beauty channel and there's a doctor on here. I can't remember her name I know y'all know who I'm talking about. She has several videos on the benefits of rice water Look at the end of the day you have to do what makes you feel comfortable and we want to do I don't jump on a bandwagon on everything and this has been out for a while We've seen these videos out for a while They're gonna be very honest in my you know, if it doesn't grow any more than two inches it ain't gonna grow And that's just in it. It is what it is. So anyway y'all I feel like and my husband and I were talking about this the death of nipsey house So I had no idea who he was and my husband was the same way my husband's like maybe it's just a young kids I said no, she's nothing on kids cuz I know people 40 and over who knew who this man was y'all I'm a type of person. I Don't want to say I Don't keep up what's going on in the world. I really don't like I have no idea who some of these singers are You could show me Pictures of who the members of me goes. I would I have no idea what they look like. I know it's three of them I have no idea. I am such an old soul that I don't keep up with any of this stuff I don't know what Nicki Minaj is doing You know, sometimes my friends would say did you hear about I said no, I didn't because I don't keep up I don't keep up with that vlog stuff and that gossip stuff. I don't keep up with what's with what's going on with celebrities I have no idea what the Kardashians are doing and honestly, I don't care So but with this young man I felt bad that I didn't know who he was and what he had done because he seemed to be a great guy He have done a lot of things specifically for the black community So that was very very sad to hear what happened and we got to get it together y'all now a part of me Who is the conspiracy theory? It's kind of like hmm. I really do believe and I know that the people a Certain group of people have had folks killed celebrities killer I don't I don't believe in all that sacrificial stuff, but I do believe that folks are being knocked off. I Do believe there are agendas to shape the way we think Yeah, so anyway moving on TV shows I've been watching girl besides I told y'all for my man and Which I yeah, no, thank you for my man. And what is it fatal attraction? I'm in binge watching nose on YouTube killing Eva's back. Love it. I didn't watch this last episode, but I'm gonna catch it on my sling TV Good girls is another good one with Christina Hendricks and It has a dark funny type of humor. I really do like it and I adore Christina Hendricks I loved her in that man. She's so sassy in my opinion, but yeah, I'll be doing my hair. Why don't y'all tell me This was me a chit chat doing my hair Lord, I supposed to be applying my pre poo and I'm just yapping the way We will waste it ten minutes girl. So yeah, let me tell you about my hair Oh, it smells good.  I'm gonna try to do it this week So yeah, I had to put my hair up in a updo, but you guys my hair is growing and y'all can see that it's growing I'm retaining length length Yeah, what we're gonna do is I have my pre-poo here Yeah, I'm using the same thing my pre-poo has not changed much I have coconut milk and VO five Marci milk and here I have Olivera juice. Okay Yeah, that grease The grease made a wonderful sealant.  No No So anyway, y'all yeah speaking of hair JP has decided that he wants to grow out his hair. Yeah He's so sweet. Can y'all see me? Hold on. It got dark all of a sudden and He has been saying for every time I cut his hair because I either cut his hair or have The beautician that sees me the barber cut his hair and he always say don't cut off too much And he he's been saying seriously. He's been saying for about a year. I want my hair longer so I pulled up some pictures of some men with natural hair and He wants his hair longer. I pulled up a picture of a guy. It looks like he had a He had a twist out and the guy had a wash and go and the hair went down here So JV wants his hair to hang down. I said, okay, well, we're gonna work on growing on his hair I may do a little um One or two videos about his hair growth, too. He's right down. He's at a TWA And so what I have done he's getting too big for me to wash his hair on the sink. He's getting too tall So I purchased a inflatable Wash basin. I can't really wash his hair in the tub because I can't get up underneath But with the wash basin it's for Washing your hair. It's typically for Disable people or elderly people and you will put it in the bed. It's stuck in the inflatable wash basin. I know B love B leaf The guy with the millen and chocolate babies. They they have dreads. They are so adorable B leaf fatherhood. I believe it's a youtuber. He uses that for his kids hair So yeah, you guys my baby wants to grow out his hair. So we're gonna grow it out girl I don't know how long it's gonna take but all right y'all look at this length. I'm getting do you see that? I'm almost there y'all mind you my hair was look at that. It is definitely getting back So we're gonna go ahead and Y'all um I'm creating me my own space. I need it y'all. I need to have my own space So once we're done painting, I'm creating myself a sheet room And I'm so excited to be able to go back there close the door and lock everyone out Look at that So I'm gonna see I'm gonna see if I see that's a big section. Let's see if that wouldn't come Let me get y'all in so good. Come on in. Let's see if that wouldn't come Can handle this. Do y'all think she could do it? Let's see Look at that If you have not tried detangling your hair over what income you are missing out I'm gonna link several videos of me And my hair isn't snagging. This is what Let me do this Look at that That's awesome. Okay, the Felicia leather wood is up there to the Felicia leather wood brush All right, you guys I've been watching the green beauty channel. I love that she did I love that she does like series and she really takes her time in my opinion. I Say out of all of the natural hair youtubers the green beauty channel is up there for me She is like one of the most informative YouTubers, I know she watched some of my videos and she has actually featured one of my videos And I don't I don't remember which one it is but anyway She just takes her time and doing the research and I just love the animations that she provides It's a very professional look to it But she could be a little witty, you know a little bit of humor show She's you know that she's you we can relate to her basically. Um, I really enjoy her I love the fact that she moved to Hawaii And grows her own food. I wish you would show a little bit more on that Yeah, I've been saying for years that I'm gonna start growing stuff in the back Here But I know they ain't gonna happen, but yes, I love it now. I know I was watching Someone had come in it that and I'm gonna disagree with this someone had come in it It would be great if he shared a little bit more of your personal life.  You can be a youtuber and still be very private It is possible. Yeah, hold on my mom tagged me into some she tagged me in some picture.  I refer to her as Billie Jean. That's her first and middle name Anyway, y'all, but yeah, I thinks that there's a little bit of I Don't mind the mystery of not knowing You know any much about the personal, you know life because I appreciate the content she provides So I really don't need to know everything Because I'm like that, you know what I mean So yeah, I think we need to respect people's privacy if they want to share something. Yeah, but I'm okay with her not sharing I guess So yeah, y'all okay, so this for this particular mixture I use a little bit more coconut milk and I think That was a winner But anyway y'all that is it I'm rambling this is gonna be pretty long. I don't know why didn't do my Why did y'all tell me to do my hair just talking up a storm? But yeah, I was gonna tell you but I don't remember All right you guys so thank you so much for watching and thank you as always to all of my new subscribers. Take care


Worried by the recent attack by unknown gunmen in some parts of Bodo community in Gukana local government area of river state, stakeholders including traditional rulers, security agencies working to foster peaceful coexistence in the state have re-strategized and omitted to improving synergy to strengthen the peace-building process in the community, the report. The traditional institution in Bodo community has administered oaths taken to some youth of the community in order to end killings in the area. Speaking in an interview with journalists, the community development chairman John Val said the process should not be lopsided but advocate for justice in Bodo. From what happened today, people can confirm what I said my fears that the peace process may be lopsided and true to it is. Because if you can observe after the oath taken, today was meant for oath taking and after the oath taken everybody left, some people refused to take the oaths, I don't know what is on their mind why they refused to take the oaths but I still believe that since it is a peace process, it will go smoothly. The former Niger Delta ex-agitator Solomon Ndikbara advised the Bodo community youth to desist from gun battle amongst themselves. I'm sure they are about the youth of Bodo to receive from shooting gun, to be able to identify that this oath is not a joke. Those that take oath will use us to find those that did not take oath, that did not want the peace. I'm not going to live it that way, I'm going to make sure that the peace continues until we finish it. This is a whole talk of peace. Everybody, those who are away and those who are home, there is going to be a kind of unification and in this unification there will be a court of peace whereby on your own running you take the oath that as you are coming in, you are going to live peacefully with your brothers. You are not going to be part of anything that will be detrimental to the development of this community Bodo city. However, our correspondent reports that after the oath taken, King John Barabon appeared for the first time at Town Square, one year after the Bodo crisis to address his people but was later disrupted by youth.


Hey team, as we wrap up Women's History Month, I want to take some time to pay homage to the hard work of women past and present who have dedicated their lives to trailblazing a new and better path for female soldiers in the Army. From the distant roots of women supporting the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War to the female warriors currently deployed in gender-integrated combat arms units across the world, we have come a long way. I am honored and proud to be part of this legacy and to serve as a member of the first female command team in the storied history of the 377th Theater Sustainment Command. The strength of the Army comes from its diversity and through our pursuit of both a qualified and representative military, we will ensure that our nation as a whole continues to remain strong. The female pioneers too many to count, establishing the foundation for our present, we as a fighting force need to look towards our future, a time when soldiers both male and female focus only on an individual's ability to contribute to mission success and forgo the antiquated reservations about women's role in the military that still persists today. I'm confident that we will get there as an Army. Everything I've seen in my time as a deputy commanding general leads me to believe we are ready for that future. As our ongoing battle against COVID-19 continues alongside a bevy of domestic and international missions, it's essential that we as a force take a brief step back to show our appreciation for the women who have overcome so much to be a part of this great team. I am proud of them. I am proud to serve them and I am proud that one day the daughters of the future will have you to look up to and thank them. Can do.


We have now visited a number of stars from our local neighborhood. We started with the nearest stars where parallax measurements from Earth-bound telescopes were good enough. We then moved out to the furthest reaches of the neighborhood using Hipparchus-based parallax measurements. And we went even further with Gaia. In our segment on the solar system, we extended the direct measurement and triangulation to include parallax for the planets. This segment covered how we measured stellar distance, mass, luminosity, and motion, all based on parallax techniques just like we did with the solar system. And thanks to the Hipparchus and Gaia satellites, we know the parallax for hundreds of thousands of stars, which are relatively close to the Sun, so we can add stars to the reach of the parallax rung on our cosmic distance ladder. But if all we had was parallax, we'd know very little about our galaxy, and virtually nothing about the universe beyond. But the only thing we get from a star is its light.


Good morning everyone and welcome to the Blender conference. Thank you very much for attending my talk. I hope you learn a lot and get to know more about my work. And this is the first Blender conference I attend and I want to thank the organizers for contacting me and inviting me to the event. To begin with, I would like to introduce myself. I'm Nicole, but everyone knows me as Niki Blender in social media. And I'm a 22 year old girl who was born in Venezuela, but my mother is from Spain and my father is from Italy. And I've been living in Spain since I was two years old. And now I'm dedicated to 3D modeling and creating cosy and cute scenes. And a few months I finished my university degree. And many people ask me how I started, how long I started, and where did my interest in Blender come from? So, well, today I'm going to solve those questions so you can know me better. About five years ago when I was in high school I decided to choose an electric subject who was related to computer science and everything that had to do with computer programs. And it was in the subject that I discovered Blender thanks to a teacher that taught us the program and to whom I have special affection with him because he discovered me the program with which I work every day. And when he taught us the model that people made with Blender, I feel in love because I dream about making models like that someday, but my skills weren't so good. And when I started at the university, I forgot about it and didn't open the program again until the third year of the career. But when that year arrived, I thought that the teacher taught us how to use Blender in an artistic way, but it wasn't so. They only taught us how to program in Blender. And it was in that moment that I decided to learn on my own. And that's why I created my Instagram account on 2020. Until today, I created scenes totally different from the ones that I created when I started. And now I'm going to show you some of my evolution in my models. To begin with, I would like to show you this one. This one was one of my first models, was made by me for our university project. And now I create cosy scenes like this one. And I've started to make isometric scenes with buildings like this one. And now I create cosy rooms like this. And to finish with, I want to show you my food evolution. This model belongs to an island model that I made a few years ago. And now I create scenes like this. Leaving behind introductions, I'm going to start explaining something that many people ask me. And that's how to start in Blender. So it's a question that is repeated a lot in my social media. And today I want to answer this. Most of the people I know, both in my personal life and as my followers, start modeling in Blender with YouTube tutorials. And for these and other reasons, I decided to create my YouTube channel. And when I started modeling, sometimes I felt very sad because I didn't see any progress in my models or any quality, but I never gave up. And that's why I want to explain my beginnings. I started a little different. I was unable to follow any tutorials because I ended up getting tired of following them, stopped the video, and having repeat the process again and again. And that's frustrating me a lot. But I decided to try things on my own. And when I started, I didn't have any style defined, but most of the time I didn't get the model that I imagined. But with daily work, I've achieved an style that I feel very comfortable with. And my advice to all those who are starting is to do what you feel most comfortable with and do it with your heart. And make a list of goals with what you want to achieve and work every day because consistency build good artist. And there are 1,001 ways to get into 3D modeling. You can look for certifying online courses, follow YouTube tutorials. And there are also university degrees or masters about 3D modeling and texturing, or do as I did and learn by researching with the program, try comments and see what you can build. And I also want you to never delay those words that you dislike because as time goes by, you will see the evolution and you will be amazed, I promise you.  I'm going to start with some of the modifiers that I use the most. And now I'm going to open Blender to show you how I model this cute lovely potion. So come on. I always start with a cube and I apply this subdivision modifier by pressing Ctrl to key, and then I apply it. And now I'm going to select the top of the part of that cube. Ah, how can I share Blender in the projector? It doesn't work. Can someone help me please? Yeah. But now I can see Blender in duplicate. Thanks so much. Okay, I always start with a cube and then I apply this subdivision modifier. And then I'm going to change this part to a circle with the loop tool sudden and I'm going to select circle. And then I'm going to extrude several times to make the top of the potion. I'm going to scale this part to zero to make it flat.  I'm going to apply again the subdivision modifier so you can see the software and software appearance. And now I'm going to make some loop cuts and shade it smooth. And now I'm going to model the liquid of the potion. I'm going to copy the inside of it and fill it by pressing the F key and insert a new face on the top of the liquid. And to finish with the modeling process, I'm going to model the cup of the bottle copying the upper part of the potion. I'm going to fill it, insert a new face, extrude it, scale it and adding a loop cut. I'm going to add the subdivision modifier to the bottle so when I apply the glass material you can see better the inside of the potion. And now I'm going to add the materials. The first one I'm going to add is the glass material. I'm going to lower the roughness of heat. And I'm going to select the liquid and change to a red material. And I'm going to show you how I made the boot texture of the cup. I'm going to go to the shading tab and adding a new material. I'm going to add a color ramp node that I'm going to join to the base color. And for the boot texture I'm going to add a bump node that I'm going to join to the normal. And after that I'm going to use an ice texture and I'm going to join to this one and to the height of the bump. And now I'm going to add a mass grade texture. And to finish with this I am going to press control T to add these two nodes. And I'm going to add a new color in the color ramp. And I'm going to change the colors to more brown tones. And now I'm going to change these parameters to get more cute boot material. And that's it. We have a cute lovely potion. And I'm going to return to the slides so you can see more better the content of the presentation. A fundamental pillar in any scene is the lighting. You can have a spectacular scene build but if you illuminate it badly it can be a complete disaster. And I want to put you this example. In this render there is only a fairly harsh sun type lighting with hard shadows. And in this render we have a sun type light with softer shadows and several area type light illuminating. And now I'm going to show you how to illuminate a scene to make it look cosier. So I'm going again to the blender. And as you can see there is only the sun type light. I am going to modify the angle to make the shadow softer. And now I'm going to change the tone to a warm tone and to add area type light in the middle of the scene. I'm going to change the power. I'll change to a warm tone too. And I'm going to copy this area type light and place it near of the window. We need to higher the power and change the color a little bit. I'm going to add some spheres with an emission material near the window. I'm going to change the color to an emission and change the strength to 10. And I'm going to copy this sphere several times. And I'm going to add more near the lantern. And to finish with the lighting I'm going to add a point light inside the lantern. And that's all. You can see the difference between the first render that we have on this one. And I'm going to return to the slides again. And let's move on to the next point. How to build a cozy and cute scene. The first thing I want to emphasize is the correct use of colors. Good use of colors makes a model look amazing. And as an example I put this lovely cozy bakery kitchen I made a few weeks ago. I decided to put warm and brown tones in the scene and this was the result. Leaving aside the colors I'm going to talk about choosing the right elements to model depending on the type of the scene. I'm going to give you an example. Look at this corner. It's so empty. But let's add some pumpkins. Now it's look fuller but there's still some holes to fill it. I'm going to add some candles. Now it looks more better but I'm going to put more details on it. So what about prepare some coffee cups with some pieces of cakes? Well, not looked much better. But I'm going to add more details. Okay, so that's it. With this I want to, I want that you see the importance of choosing good details to fill the scene. Now that you've seen this scene I am going to teach you how to model it in Blender. So I'm going again to this one. And I'm going to start modeling the little pumpkins that you see in some of the places of the scene. I am going to start with a cube. Apply the subdivision modifier. And I go into edit mode and I'm going to scale it and adding some look cuts. And now I'm going to add the mirror modifier. And I'm going to duplicate it several times. Going to select all the pieces and I'm going to scale it. I'm going to do now the upper part of the pumpkin with a circle. Going to fill it in certain new face and extrude it several times. And I'm going to add the subdivision surface modifier. And I'm going to use this tool that I use a lot. And now I'm going to place it into the top of the pumpkin. And I'm going to place the pumpkin into one of the chairs. Now I'm going to add other detail. I'm going to use a curve to make this. And now I'm going to extrude it several times and change the tip of the curve. And I'm going to change the side of one of the segments. I'm going to place it in the correct place. And I'm going to add another detail. And now I'm copying this cute pumpkin and I'm going to duplicate it several times. I'm going to put some of them in the table. Now I'm going to show how I model the cute coffee cups. I'm going to start with a spear. I'm going to change the mesh a little bit. And I'm going to delay the half of the model. And I'm going to modify it a little bit. And now I'm going to do this cute detail by bevel one of the vertices. Going to delay this. I'm going to add the subdivision surface modifier and the solidify. I'm going to use the tool that I used a few minutes ago. I'm going to shade small. Change a little bit the thickness of the solidify modifier and I'm going to model the coffee of the cup. I'm going to copy this and separate it by loose parts. And I'm going to fill it in certain new face. And now I'm going to show you how I model this part of the cup. I'm going to use a plane. I'm going to scale it and extrude this. Apply the subdivision surface modifier, add a look cut and move this. I'm going to add the solidify modifier again. And now I'm going to place it in the cup. And now I'm going to move the cup, copy it in the other part of the table. And now I'm going to make some candles. I'm going to use a circle. I'm going to fill it in certain new face. Extrude it, add a look cut and apply the subdivision surface modifier. And with the top of the candle, I'm going to do this part of the model. Going to scale it a little bit and shade it smooth. And now I'm going to copy it into several parts of the table. I'm going to scale it to have more than a one size of candles. Going to select this and copy this one in this part. Going to scale it and place it in the correct place. And now I make some drops of coffee with a cube. I'm going to apply the subdivision surface modifier. And then I'm going to scale it into the set axis. And I'm going to make a look cut and put in that place. I'm going to scale the top of the cube and move in the set axis. And now I'm going to shade this move. Put in the table, scale it and copy. I'm going to model this cute piece of cake. I am going to use a circle again. I'm going to fill it in certain new face and extrude several times. With a cube I'm going to model the piece of cake. Applying the subdivision surface modifier again and adding some look cuts. And now I'm going to model the upper part of the cake. I'm going to use a cube, apply some division surface modifier. And now I'm going to move several of it eight vertices. I'm going to apply again the subdivision surface. I'm going to scale it. And now I'm going to shade this move. And I'm going to make the cream. I'm going to change the vertices to eight. I'm going to delete this. I'm going to fill it, extrude it and rotate the upper part. I'm going to add a look cut. And I'm going to scale it. Select the lower part and scale it. Scale this too. I'm going to select some of the edges of these. And I'm going to bevel. And now I'm going to scale it and apply the subdivision surface modifier. And now I'm going to copy all the piece of cake and put it in the other side of the table.  Now I'm going to model the center of the table. I'm going to use a circle again. I'm going to fill it in certain new face. I'm going to bevel these eights. And I'm going to extrude several times. I'm going to make a look cut and move these vertex. I'm going to apply the subdivision surface modifier. And I'm going to make a hole in this part. I'm going to transfer to a circle and delay the faces. And now I'm going to select all of these edges and change this value. I'm going to extrude it and apply a look cut. And then I'm going to shade this one.  Okay. And now I'm going to model the full of this detail. I'm going to use a cube with a subdivision surface modifier. And I'm going to copy several times and places in different locations. And now I'm going to model these cute cookies. I'm going to fill it in certain new face and apply the subdivision surface modifier. I'm going to extrude it. And I'm going to select these faces and extrude by individual faces.  Shade it smooth and apply a look cut. You can make the cookie with this form or apply more vertices like this. I'm going to select the upper part, extrude individual faces, apply the subdivision surface in certain new face and shade it smooth. I'm going to add the look cut and I'm going to model the jam of the cookie with a cube. I'm going to apply the subdivision surface modifier and move some of the vertices. Now I'm going to put in this place one cookie here and the other one here. And I'm going to make the bottle of milk that you can see here. I'm going to use a circle, fill it in certain new face and extrude it several times. And now I'm going to model the inside of the bottle. I'm going to apply the subdivision surface modifier and add some look cuts. Going to shade it smooth and add the milk and I'm going to copy these and fill it and select the upper and the lower part. The milk can insert a new face and place it. Go into scale it and put it behind one of the one cup of coffee. And now I'm going to model this last detail. I'm going to start with the jam. I'm going to use a circle. Going to add the food inside, insert a new face and shade it smooth. I'm going to scale it and I'm going to add the upper part of the bottle. I'm going to fill it in certain new face, select these edges and extrude it. Now I'm going to add the solidify modifier. Going to apply it, select this part and extrude by individual faces. I'm going to scale it and add this. I'm going to scale it a little more and put it in this part of the table. And now I'm going to model the last detail of this cute, cozy little table. I'm going to scale it and I'm going to delay the half of the model. Going to apply this one and then I'm going to use the solidify modifier again and the subdivision surface modifier. And now I'm going to select these two edges and extrude it several times. Going to add a new faces here and change to a circle and delay the faces. I'm going to scale it a little bit, select all these edges and change this value. And now I'm going to rotate this part of the model. Going to scale it, move this part. And to finish with it, I'm going to add a drop inside it. And that's all. We have a cozy little table with many details. And now I'm going to return to the slides because I'm going to reveal this characteristic element of my models. These are the pile of leaves. And here you have the process of how I make the pile of leaves of all of my cozy models. I use a particle system. I add the particle system to the cube and I change several of the parameters. And in the part of the render, I render as an object and select the leaf I modeled before. And now you are going to see the fast motion process of how I model pile of leaves falling. I add this detail in all of my cozy scenes because when a corner is empty, I add this one and the space look more cozy here. I am going to reveal some secrets so that you can build a cell like mine. I'm going to talk about two terms that are very important for me. The first one is called clatter core. And you can see some of the examples that I found on Pinterest. Clatter core is a trend that could be defined as the rejection of millimalism. And this trend consists of a place being overloaded. But with sense, that is to say to achieve and organize chaos in my mother's distance abounds. And these trends goes hand in hand with this another one that is called cottage core. A trend that celebrates the return to traditional traits and skills such as harvesting wild food and baking. And I also stole the disconnection and union with the rural world and enjoy the little things and simple things of the life. And after learning these two trends, I started to fill all of my cozy spaces with many details. And I want to put a comparison between two of my mothers. This one, I made this one in 2021 and now I made model like this one. There's only a one year of difference. And I always start by building the shape of the room. I like to add many details as you can see in this process. I add many pumpkins, mushrooms, little details, many type of foods. And I love to add cute animals like frogs, little bees, mouse or cute kitties. And I also add butterflies if the mother is so cozy for me. And I love to add giant mushroom at the scenes.  And as a last point, I would like to talk about something is very important for me that is the social media. That's how I became known and people got to know my work. As I mentioned at the beginning, I started creating my Instagram account and I post my models on the social networks and in Twitter too. And I wanted to give you some tips so you can grow in social media. The first one is to have a brand emats or a logo or render that identifies you. The second one is build a style that defines you, that people recognize you when they see your scenes or your illustrations. The other one is build a community, support each other, sharing the art that you like because support artist is so important for us. And to conclude with these tips, don't forget the constancy and be aware of the trends. For example, now I'm booming the reels on Instagram. So work daily and with your heart and love, that's so important. And regarding the portfolio, you can build your own website or make a portfolio on our station, Behance, or websites like that. In my case, I have my own website with the models that I've made. And I also put information about the information of my models if someone wants to make a commission or contact details, information about me so people can know me better. And to conclude my talk, I want to thank you all again for attending. And it has been an honor to teach you my tips and reveal the secrets to build a sense like mine. And if you like my work, don't forget to follow me on social networks. And if you want to learn a little more, don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel that is called Nicky Blender 2. And now I'm also preparing a series of modeling courses that I will put on sale before the end of the year. And I will announce it in my social networks. So don't forget to follow me there. Thank you very much for your attention and enjoy the next talks. And I hope you have a wonderful day.


Atmospheric rivers, ARs, are narrow regions responsible for the majority of the poleward water vapor transport across the mid-latitudes. They form a part of the broader warm conveyor belt of extra-tropical cyclones. ARs can also cause disastrous floods especially when encountering mountainous terrain.