How would you describe yourself?
I am a creative, vertically challenged wife of an incredible math-loving husband,who is very tolerant of my creative messes taking over our dining room table; and mom to my amazing teenage son who founded a community theater at age 15. I also live with a dog who every single time I walk through the door, greets me with a whirlwind of nearly 30 enthusiastic jumps, as if I’ve been gone for years.
I’m the kind of person who loves to greet each day like it’s a fresh canvas with an iced latte in hand and hat on my head. I thrive when I’m surrounded by friends, strangers, or anyone with a good story to share. I suppose you could say I’m a curious mix of high-energy creativity, homegrown chaos, and love when I can find time to explore new places, especially cute little coffee shops, bookstores, and local eateries. I get energy from connecting with others, love iced lattes, exploring new places, and making things.
I am also a musical theater nerd, and I’ll happily spend hours analyzing and discussing every detail of a show we have just seen with my son. Art fuels me—whether it’s creating on top of a non-traditional art surface like a map or piece of sheet music, plein air painting (painting outside), or just trying something new.
What is your biggest accomplishment?
My biggest accomplishment as an artist is having a piece I created on top of music from the musical “Show Boat” selected to deck the walls of the new Museum of Broadway in New York City.
As a former professional actress and children’s theatre director, I am a musical theatre geek, I was jumping out of my skin excited and honored when I learned my art was selected! Next, I needed to figure out how I could fund a trip to NYC to claim my free museum tickets and swag. That is when I started to pursue selling my artwork. My Broadway loving teenage son and I were able to make the trip in May 2023 to see my art hanging in the phenomenal new museum!
Have you read any good books lately?
Between my job at The Reading Center, my family, and art I don’t have as much time as I would like to read leisurely, but Memoirs of a Geisha by Author Golden is a favorite and I loved reading the Percy Jackson series with my son. Recently I listened to an incredible book about the composer Stephen Sondheim on audible.
If you could change the world, what would you change?
I would make healthcare a right and have it free for all.
Do you prefer working alone, or do you like working with others?
Mostly with others, I don’t mind creating visual art on my own, but one of my favorite things is creating something that someone else is emotionally connected to. I am so grateful for all of the community members and small business owners I have met and old friends I have reconnected with over the past few years to create commissions for.
What is your favorite music?
Musical Theatre is my style of music however, I found the song “Swim” by Jack’s Mannequin during a stressful time in life and I find it uplifting. Here is a sampling of just a bit of the song:
[Verse 1]
You gotta swim, swim for your life
Swim for the music that saves you
When you’re not so sure you’ll survive
You gotta swim and swim when it hurts
The whole world is watching
You haven’t come this far to fall off the earth
[Pre-Chorus]
The currents will pull you away from your love
Just keep your head above
If you weren’t here running your business or doing the work you do, what would you be doing instead?
One of my favorite jobs was working at a very small public library in Peshtigo, WI which was open 3 days a week. I was just an assistant that shelved books, helped patrons and helped with story time. Unlike most every other job I have had, I just worked the hours I was scheduled. I still got to help people, but I didn’t have to think about work after hours.
I love libraries and everything about them from the free resources to the classes to the community that is built within them. I would love to work in a library again someday!
How did the pandemic affect YOU or YOUR BUSINESS here in the Driftless?
I have always enjoyed creating art, but as an adult I didn’t have a lot of time to create between family and work life until the pandemic happened. When everything shut down I was the Managing Director of a community arts school and I conveniently needed to help host a bunch of online visual art classes, so I had the opportunity to learn new skills and benefited from the community that was being formed. To this day, nearly 5 years later there is still a doodling group that formed during the pandemic that meets weekly online.
In 2020 during the height of COVID lockdown’s I was also the lucky recipient of a grant from Springboard for the Arts which allowed me to carry out my Sharing Creativity project. The goal of the Sharing Creativity project was to combat isolation, while also providing supplies and a bit of instruction to get the community engaged and creating. Over 50 participants received a free bag with art supplies and an instruction packet to help them create 4 projects that are designed to help them connect, create, & spread joy. The participants ranged in age from toddlers to older adults, hailed from Winona, MN and the greater Winona area including St. Charles, Dakota, Fountain City, WI, Galesville, WI, La Crosse, WI & Minnesota City, MN and also include participants from Home & Community Options (an organization that works with adults with disabilities), Winona Friendship Center (a senior center), and Project FINE (a local organization that welcomes immigrant families).
The second project was “Kindness Rocks” with the object of decorating rocks for others to discover in public spaces as well as tips on sharing and searching for rocks through in Winona County through a Facebook group, The third project was “Whimsical Postcards” in which each participant was provided postcard blanks to decorate and encouraged to send them to a long-lost friend, a relative, a teacher, a medical professional or hand in the cards to me so I could pass them along to The Winona Friendship Center so they could send it along to an older adult who could use a smile. The final project was to decorate a quilt square to contribute to a “community quilt” that was then returned to me via a no contact drop off, assembled, showed off during a Zoom and finally given to a lucky participant whose name was drawn.
During and after the project I loved hearing the stories about how people left surprise notes on a friend’s car, tried a new art supply, or spent time with a family member creating.
This project helped me stay connected, meet new community members and explore the power of visual arts both as a way to connect and as a way to escape even during the most challenging times. As a past theatre professional and arts administrator I had experienced the impact of live performing arts and in-person classes but COVID provided new challenges, especially for performing arts. I had been a longtime dabbler in visual arts, but it was in 2020 that I really became hooked and four years later I still find that my two favorite things about being an artist is that the time creating is one of the only times that I am able to fully relax and get into a state of flow and I love the connections I have made. I constantly find myself connecting with new people from small business owners who I have created pieces for, other artists at meet-ups, and even passersby who stop to visit when I am plein air (painting outside).
What is another name you would give the Driftless?
The Midwest Shire (home of the hobbits in JR Tolkien’s books), because of the friendliness, the luscious green spaces, and the bluffs remind me of the misty mountains when they are covered with fog in the fall. We relocated to Winona on Oct. 30th 2014 on a misty day and we listened to the song “Misty Mountains” as we drove down amidst the misty bluff on a brisk fall day.
What is your favorite season in the Driftless & why?
I love the Driftless year round, but I always love when spring arrives and everything renews, after a long winter I am always so anxious to see the green grass and I LOVE when the bluffs turn green and so lush!
Is there any place in the world you have been that reminds you of the Driftless?
Door County, WI because of the lush greenness in Spring and summer, Autumn season change and the quaintness of the little shops and water activities.
What are some of your favorite places to go for fun here in the Driftless?
I love coffee shops & bookstores some of my favorites are:
The Forager & Old Abes in Rochester, MN and Blue Heron & Blooming Grounds (both locations), Paperbacks & Pieces in Winona, MN. The Pearl Street Bookshop in La Crosse, WI and Groovy Grind in Galesville, WI.
What are some of your favorite places to eat here in the Driftless?
I love downtown Alma, WI- it feels like stepping back or onto the set of the TV show “Once Upon a Time” especially the little diner area of the Alma Hotel & Restaurant. Additionally, I love the secret garden in the back of Fire and Ice Coffee & Ice Cream shop– it is so adorable and unless you just happen to stumble upon it, you would have no idea.
In Winona, MN I love Heirloom & Boathouse
In LaCrosse, WI I love The Crow and The Pearl
I also love grabbing a cup of coffee from the Coffee Camper (they are based out of SE WI) or a soup flight from The Chef’s Table (Winona based)
If you were to tell a friend to come and visit the Driftless Area, and they ask “Why” … What would you tell them?
You won’t be sorry, it is charming, people are nice, and there are so many hidden gems.
Are you a Cat or Dog person?
Dog
Are you an Early Bird or Late Owl?
Late Owl
If given the opportunity, would you go to outer space ?
Only if I can take my Monkey
What color socks are you currently wearing?
Pink socks accented by cows and a bit of grass- I love colorful and funky socks!
What skill or instrument would you like to learn or play?
I will learn to play the piano some day….
If any, what would be your dream job?
I would love to be a visual artist as well as teach visual art and direct theatre on the side. Otherwise as mentioned before I would love to work at a library again.
I Would Rather …
Live in a tree house
By Jamie Schwaba
