Two Artists to Know About

I am grateful every day to be part of a community of incredible artists. 

Josephine Durkin is in the home stretch of a Kickstarter campaign to raise $5K to create new work. We were on the same Odyssey of the Mind team in high school! We ran into each other at The Modern in Fort Worth, when I was in Texas for TCU's Ronald E. Moore Poetry Symposium. She has made a name for herself since our science & tech days--receiving an MFA in sculpture in Yale University and shows at places such as Virginia's Torpedo Factory and Texas A&M, where is currently on faculty. I love her work's emphasis on using "leftover studio residue," and I am proud to be a supporter (not to mention picking up a few rocking chairs in the process). 

...and then there is Natalie E. Illum: fellow American University MFA student, mothertongue co-founder, renowned slam poet, guide to many Mercuries retrograde, kick-ass chick. In one poem she diagnoses a man with the words "I knew you were coming. / Broken comet / on a two lane highway / heading straight / for my clavicle." You can find her on stages around DC at such venues as the Beltway Poetry Slam or Story League. You might also spot the two of us having a drink at the Diner. This video captures some of her grace, talent, and toughness. 

Natalie Illum, Slam Poet from Christina Cauterucci on Vimeo.