By Scott Gilmore

In this time of “tech overload,” it is essential for young people to embrace the idea of building something from scratch that is uniquely their own creation.

As a small child, in our modified garage, I remember watching my father building hydroplane racing boats starting from plans drawn on a drafting table. He created championship caliber boats for himself and other racers.

The smell of glue, mahogany and sawdust still evoke cherished memories of my younger years, my father, and the excitement of that time.

For the last six years I have been a music instructor at Studio 237 Music Lessons in Santa Rosa Beach. Although I am primarily a Classical / Pop Guitarist, I have been allowed to expand my teaching responsibilities to include Baritone and standard Ukulele, Piano and Theory. However, the area that has been the most rewarding and inspiring for me has been as a “Songwriting Facilitator.”

When first inspired to collaborate in songwriting, I had no blueprint in place. My mentor at the time was renowned Stone Carver, Mary Lou Waterfield. Utilizing her master’s in clinical art therapy (FSU M.A.T. ED.) she taught me techniques cultivated from working with children who had survived trauma and other issues. She demonstrated the importance of asking questions and developing listening skills.

I want to share with you some basic ground rules that guide the process:

1) No violence (real or video games related) or adult themes allowed! Encourage students to consider their audience.

2) Emphasis on song ownership. The song belongs to the child. My job is to ask questions. Not surprisingly most songs end up being about dogs and other pets, unicorns and dragons and princesses. Their song can be silly, sad or serious or a tribute. Always their choice!

3) Encourage the child to write about what they know such as songs about going to the beach, trips into space or riding a horse for the first time all make wonderful themes. For example, one of my students performed a song that she wrote at her beloved grandmother’s memorial service.

4) What is the tempo (speed of) the music for the song? Fast, medium or slow? What chords and chord progressions? This writing phase can be a rich “teachable” moment.

5) Realize that songwriting is done outside of chronological time. Until the song is finished, we are free to move everything around. If painted into a corner, we can go back and change the song so that we won’t be. It is even okay to start completely over!

6) Because we are often writing during a limited class time, no writer’s block is allowed. “Green-light” thinking rules. My position as a facilitator is to see the child as a creative genius and to expect greatness. If there is a songwriting flow problem, I am not asking the right questions or listening.

7) Wait for a “great” first line. Everything that happens after that is a response.

8) Train like an athlete. I have taken a vocabulary test every day for the last six years (farlex.com). Write lyrics that work can be about how the word sounds, rhymes or conveys a more complex idea in a more concise way. Use new words as a “Teachable Moment.” Discovering new words can be a BIG part of the adventure.

9) Organize and document. “Rarely throw anything away.” I received this tip directly from world-famous composer Johannes Moller. If you can read music, then modern notation software can be very useful for quickly documenting song elements. My recommendation is “Notion” by Personas. A $15 app version for iOS is also available.

10) Encourage performances. A song is only completed when shared with others. It is a celebration of ownership for the young songwriter. Performing at recitals, agreeing to post on YouTube, or even making an audio recording is an important part of the process. Sharing the song is a gift to friends and family that can never be purchased at a store.

Songwriting with kids requires more “out of class time” organizing and editing, lyrics and music. It can even include investing in additional equipment. Recently I purchased an “Arranger Keyboard” to expedite this purpose.

Nothing I have ever done professionally has been as rewarding as “Song Writing with Kids (of all ages).” Helping another to write a song is like building a boat together that everyone can take a ride on.

The Panama City Center for the Arts opened three new exhibitions to the public on November 5.

Carol Mitchell’s work will be on display in the Main gallery, Megan Mueller will be featured in the Miller gallery, and students from Square Pegs will have their artwork on display in the cafe.

There will not be an opening reception due to The Songwriter’s Festival, taking place November 5th and 6th. However, a “Meet The Artists” reception will be held on Friday, November 12, from 5-7 p.m., with complimentary refreshments.

As a prominent member of the arts community, you may recognize Carol Mitchell’s work in the main gallery this month. Though she grew up on Long Island’s Atlantic coast, she found her way, along with her military husband, to Panama City in 1988. In 1990, with a studio perfect for painting and teaching, she began teaching oil painting at the Visual Arts Center (now known as our Center for the Arts) and taught at the GCCC Encore Program.

Carol Mitchell began her artistic career as early as elementary school, with a great art teacher, art room, classes, and a club. While she earned a degree at Duke for psychology/zoology, art was put on hold until during her MA education program at Adelphi when she had electives teaching art.

Much of her inspiration and materials reflect the thrill she feels finding shells and driftwood. “When I joined the Gulf Coast Shell Club,” said Carol Mitchell, “I found wonderful places to explore. Here the focus is on collecting and painting seashells, shell-craft, and making shell jewelry. What a way to combine shells and art.” She also paints in oil, acrylic, watercolor, and hot wax batik.

As a beachcomber early on, upon her husband’s retirement, they built a home in Apalachicola where Carol states, “the shrimp boats were a magnet for me to paint in oil, and soon I was selling these as well as seascapes. I started using painting knives, with delight in the texture.”

Her love of travel led to Carol teaching arts and crafts on cruise ships. “It has been the best of all possible worlds for me — painting, travel, beach combing, and bringing joy to my students as they dive into painting too,” said Carol. You can find Carol Mitchell’s work also in our gift shop of local artists, she also exhibits and sells at the annual Gulf Coast Shell Club show in Panama City Beach.

In the Miller Gallery, you will find local artist Megan Mueller’s work. Growing up, her dad was in the military and they moved around a lot. From no place and every place, Megan was born in North Carolina and has lived in places as far reaching as Okinawa and as close as South Carolina. As an air force veteran, she came to Panama City in 2018 after being stationed here.

Megan had an early start to her artistic endeavors; as kids, her siblings and family were surrounded by art. With a dad who was really artistic, and a mom always cultivating and supporting their creative endeavors, art was just an innate feature in their lives. Now as a self-taught artist raising three kids of her own, to further her craft and skills Megan often embroidered in the car pick-up line or painted in the wee spaces of time between nap times.

When reflecting on when her artistic journey started, Megan states, “I’ve been doing art all my life and it’s only recently that I started to get more deeply involved with it. I found that pursuing my art was something I had to do for my mental health.”

Some of the special techniques used to make her artwork include working with mixed media – particularly embroidery and oil painting. Mueller starts each painting off with a sketch first and marks the background and area for embroidery with acrylics, then she embroiders by hand and goes from there.

She came into this style of art by simply exploring and trying different techniques. Her most significant inspiration for the work are her experiences as a woman – the good, the bad, and the ugly. Whether about trauma, joy, or resiliency, Megan’s feelings about being a woman in this world spill onto the canvas in self-expression.

In her exploration of experimenting with mixed media, particularly the merging of what we might consider fine art and craftwork, Megan states, “Craftwork has been devalued as art and positioned as ‘women’s work’ for so long, I want to show that you can do amazing and beautiful things with things like embroidery and it can be fine art.”

Megan has been a part of the 57th and 58th Bay Annual Competition and Exhibition at the Center for the Arts, receiving a merit award at the 57th competition, but this is her first solo show.

The meaning behind this show depicts the struggle at the beginning of the pandemic with our mental health, our families, and the chaotic world developing around us. “In the wake of this, I turned to art,” said Megan Mueller, “I knew I needed this avenue of expression or else I’d just sit and stew with all my feelings. I have loved each piece and am really proud of this show and the work I’ve produced.” This exhibition will be a depiction of the struggle that all of us have faced since the start of the pandemic and the beauty that can come from it.

Ten students from the Square Pegs Learning Center in Panama City will be featured in our cafe gallery this month with their seasonal pieces of artwork. You can expect to see seasonal paintings from these young creative minds inspired by the changing colors of fall. When asked what it means to have their artwork on display in a show of their own, Bryson Phipps said, “it makes me happy and proud,” along with their classmate Gabby Deleon who stated, “this means I’m getting better at art and can show it to the world.”

“As an artist myself, I know how important it is for young artists to see their work on display in a gallery where their families and friends can admire their work,” said marketing and exhibition coordinator Anastasia Dengerud, “I’m so glad we were able to give these students this opportunity and we hope to again in the future!”

Come support these students and our other featured artists this month by visiting the Center for the Arts, it is always free to the public.

These exhibits will be open through Saturday, November 27. The Center for the Arts will be open from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Tuesday–Thursday, Fridays, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m., and Saturdays 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.