12 - The Origin of Somewhere in the Middle – A Film by Writer, Producer, Director Nathan Ives

10/20/19 • 17 min

I’m thrilled today to introduce you to writer, director, and producer Nathan Ives whose latest film, “Somewhere in the Middle,” just released a few days ago. He was gracious enough to give us an insider’s look at how the film came to be, but before we dive into his story...

[If your podcast app isn’t showing the featured art for this episode above visit rebekahnemethy.com/artink# to check it out.

Castbox and Podcast Addict are both apps I recommend that do show episode specific art.]

Links from the Show at a Glance:

Artist: Nathan Ives

Title of Documentary: Somewhere in the Middle - Watch Somewhere in the Middle on Amazon

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MuleFilms/

Also mentioned in this episode:

Griffin House’s song: City River Lights

Movie: A Christmas in New York

Movie: The Basement

Singer-songwriter: Griffin House

Actor: Jasika Nicole

Guitar Player: Aaron Tap

Paper Sculptor: Jeff Nishinaka

Painter: Dan McCaw

Art Ink Submission Guidelines: rebekahnemethy.com/artinksubs

Art Ink Podcast Transcript:

[Intro:]

Hello my friends, thank you for tuning into another episode of Art Ink. When I was still in the imagination phase of creating this podcast I had daydreams of featuring not just visual art, but also music and dance, knitting and embroidery, movies and books. I’ve been hustling so much to get each episode out on time it’s left me featuring artwork that’s limited to my small perspective. That’s not to say I don’t absolutely love the art and the artists I’ve selected so far, but what I am saying is that I’m just 1 person in a universe of what sometimes feels like infinite artists, and sometimes the only way for me to open up to a new creation is for YOU to reach out to me.

That’s why I’m thrilled today to introduce you to writer, director, and producer Nathan Ives whose latest film, “Somewhere in the Middle,” just released a few days ago. He was gracious enough to give us an insider’s look at how the film came to be, but before we dive into his story, let me give you a little taste of what it’s all about.

[Art Description:]

“Somewhere in the Middle,” is a documentary that digs into the lives of 5 artists who you’ve probably never heard of, but have all made a legitimate career from their creative work. Two musicians, an actor, a painter, and a paper sculptor all share stories that illuminate what it’s really like to have a career in the arts. In a culture that sees artists as either superstars or starving, I found this to be a refreshing look at the reality of being a full-time artist.

With that, I’m going to narrate the story that Nathan sent in about what sparked his idea to create this film and a bit about the struggles he overcame to complete it.

[Story:]

‘River City Lights’ blew me away. The song is simple, beautiful, heart wrenching, and, to me, a perfect song. To this day I’m mesmerized when I listen to it or hear Griffin House play it live. For a few minutes I escape the craziness and drift into a melancholy oasis. There are a handful of songs in my life that have this effect on me, most I discovered in my teens, a few precious ones, more recently.

In 2016 I was directing ‘A Christmas In New York,’ and needed a song for the closing credits. I reached out to Griffin, having met him at a few of his shows, and he was gracious enough to write one for the film.

We developed what I would call a professional friendship. We’re not on one another’s Holiday card list, but wh...

[If your podcast app isn’t showing the featured art for this episode above visit rebekahnemethy.com/artink# to check it out.

Castbox and Podcast Addict are both apps I recommend that do show episode specific art.]

Links from the Show at a Glance:

Artist: Nathan Ives

Title of Documentary: Somewhere in the Middle - Watch Somewhere in the Middle on Amazon

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MuleFilms/

Also mentioned in this episode:

Griffin House’s song: City River Lights

Movie: A Christmas in New York

Movie: The Basement

Singer-songwriter: Griffin House

Actor: Jasika Nicole

Guitar Player: Aaron Tap

Paper Sculptor: Jeff Nishinaka

Painter: Dan McCaw

Art Ink Submission Guidelines: rebekahnemethy.com/artinksubs

Art Ink Podcast Transcript:

[Intro:]

[Art Description:]

With that, I’m going to narrate the story that Nathan sent in about what sparked his idea to create this film and a bit about the struggles he overcame to complete it.

[Story:]

We developed what I would call a professional friendship. We’re not on one another’s Holiday card list, but wh...

Previous Episode

11 – Diptych in Love – A Short Story Inspired by Dorothy Siemens’ Art

I met Dorothy Siemens several years ago in an online art marketing course, and I’ve been hooked on her work ever since! The way her art is filled with layer upon layer of color and texture makes me swoon so much so that, many times, I’ve been shocked to discover that I’m looking at the progress photo of a half done, or even just begun, painting...

[If your podcast app isn’t showing the featured art for this episode above visit rebekahnemethy.com/artink11 to check it out.

Castbox and Podcast Addict are both apps I recommend that do show episode specific art.]

Links from the Show at a Glance:

Artist: Dorothy Siemens

Title of Art: Wonder-Rapture

Artist’s Website: https://dorothysiemens.com/

Instagram: @dorothy.siemens

Dorothy’s Lyrical Language series

Support Rebekah on Patreon if you want more episodes! https://www.patreon.com/rebekahnemethy

Art Ink Submission Guidelines: rebekahnemethy.com/artinksubs

Art Ink Podcast Transcript:

[Intro:]

Hello my friends! Thank you for tuning in to a new episode of Art Ink!

I’m late with this episode, and I’m consciously preventing myself from pulling out the S-word. But I feel I owe you an explanation, nevertheless. I do this weird thing I’ve noticed that’s kind of a pattern for me: I seem to procrastinate on the things I want to do most, by unintentionally overcommitting myself. I also do this other thing that I’m afraid many of us in capitalistic societies do, and that is I makes choices based on money. It pains me to admit that, because I’ve spend a lot of time promising myself I will let my heart weigh in more heavily than my mind over the past few years, but unfortunately my head and my wallet still has an equal vote in my decisions.

At the end of a long texting vent with my BFF last week I apologized for complaining to her typing, I hope you’re not rolling your eyes at me, you’re probably even busier than that (she has two kids on totally different schedules, a job, and is going to school full time too), and I know I do this to myself. She replied, I’m not rolling my eyes, it’s like you have four jobs!

Even though I was aware that I have far too much to juggle right now, it hadn’t quite struck me until she did the math for me. Oh my god, I thought, I do have four jobs. And in order to prioritize this podcast, I just recently had to resign from some volunteer work I’ve been doing over the past 6 months. Yikes... so I actually had five jobs?

I didn’t wake up one day and say I’m going to use up every spare second of time I have every week... but back in March, when I had only 1 job I did reach out to a couple of animal organizations that I love. One of them was looking for volunteers and the other was looking for part-time seasonal help. And I ended up getting involved with both of them. So that was my new commitment for Saturday and Sunday.

Then, in June, a friend from my former photography job offered me a contract my logical side couldn’t resist, good money for working only 3 days per week for the next 6 months. After a happy but stressful year of totally freelancing doing audiobooks and voiceover, I thought it’d be nice to have a bit of consistent work so that I could focus on, guess what?, this podcast in my free time (which, at this point, was the remaining 2 days per week).

So I stopped auditioning for audiobooks and I went out of office on my Fiverr account... but the thing is, the audiobooks didn’t stop coming. Authors I didn’t even know were finding my samples on Audible, other clients I’d done a couple of jobs for were consistently sending me more work, and the stash of stories I had queued up for Art Ink rapidly started to dwindle as I hustled more and more.

Luckily, I only have 2 more months left on my contract at the photography job, and the busy season at the animal sanctuary will also be wrapping up around the same time, so that should free up some time.

I have soooo many great ideas for the future of this show. Not just story ideas, and lists and lists of artists that I want to feature, but also lists of ideas about teaching storytelling to creatives of all kinds, and reaching out to authors and writers willing to help create more content, AND ideas for special episodes. But, this all takes time. Time, time, time. Despite my inability to do simple math to count how many jobs I’ve signed up for, I’m kind of a nerd when it comes to project tracking. I track the time spent on all of my audiobook projects an...

Next Episode

13 – All The Other 9/11s – A Short Story Inspired by Dave Conrey's Art

Dave is one of the few artists out there who has helped me to realize that I’m not alone in more than one way. I’m not the only one who has a passion for multiple forms of creative expression. I’m not the only one who struggles through this curvy path of choosing to live the most creative life possible. I’m not the only one making it all up as I go along, taking the risks and rewards one day at a time. I used to be really afraid of change... who am I kidding, it still terrifies the fuck out of me... but...

[If your podcast app isn’t showing the featured art for this episode above visit rebekahnemethy.com/artink13 to check it out.

Castbox and Podcast Addict are both apps I recommend that do show episode specific art.]

Links from the Show at a Glance:

Artist: Dave Conrey

Title of Art: Infinite Possibility

Artist’s Website: daveconrey.com

Instagram: @daveconrey

Art Ink Submission Guidelines: rebekahnemethy.com/artinksubs

Email Bek at [email protected] for any feedback

GET ALL OF MY ART FOR $1 RIGHT NOW ON PATREON! For real, but it’s only open to the 1st 100 people who sign up, so do it now, before it’s too late.

Art Ink Podcast Transcript:

[Intro:]

Hello my friends, welcome back to one of my favorite places to be, digging into the creative zone that is this podcast. Back when I was in high school I always thought I’d be a writer, it was the thing that all of my teachers, family, and even many of my friends, expected me to be. I wrote a little bit of fiction back then, but at this point, I’m sure I’ve written more fiction for Art Ink than I did throughout all of high school and college.

I have to admit that these most recent experiences are so much more satisfying than any fiction writing I did back then. Maybe it was because that back then I still believed in the need to have gatekeepers validate my work, and possibly it was also the fact that I wasn’t equipped with the knowledge I have now about how to push through the excuses many of us make about why we don’t create the work we feel compelled to do, but I also know that reading the words aloud does something to manifest these stories in way that just feels more complete. Which is really interesting because a few years ago speaking into a microphone seemed scarier than skydiving without a parachute... and now... now it might be the thing that most motivates me to write; so I can make the words come alive.

This is one of the stranger stories I’ve written, and I think that’s why I love it so much. It has many layers to it, and I’ll discuss some of that at the end of this episode, but first, I’m sure you’re dying to know whose artwork is gracing the cover of today’s show.

Dave Conrey is a well-rounded artist I’ve been following for many years. He’s also a designer, a writer, a fellow podcaster, and an advocate for artists. Before I even had the vagina to call myself an artist he was one of the voices in my head, I binged on all of his podcast episodes, read all of his books, and I soaked it all up like a parched, shrunken sponge.

I used to be really afraid of change... who am I kidding,

it still terrifies the fuck out of me... but it also leads to some of the most fun and fulfilling moments of my life. Things that, many times, are totally unexpected and couldn’t have happened any other way.

I’ve watched Dave’s evolution with awe. Back when I first started listening to him, he wasn’t making any visual art at all, at least not publicly. I mean, he was creating plenty of content, which is still art in my book, but I’m talking about watching Dave’s Instagram erupt with design and mixed media art. His work is edgy and avant garde. I’m totally not an art critic and, in all honesty, I’m not sure I used that term right... it actually sounds a bit pretentious... and whatever the opposite of pretentious is... that is what Dave’s art is to me. It’s messy, but in the most visually appealing way possible. It’s a bit grungy. I love it!

So let’s get into the beautiful mess that is the piece of art that prompted t...