Staff Spotlight: M Little Bear Bateman

This month we are excited to welcome our newest staff member, M Little Bear Bateman (Little Bear). While they just started at the end of July, they have already jumped right in and become an integral part of our team. Their passion for the arts is infectious and we hope you will stop in and say hello once we open our new space on August 30th!

Little Bear enjoying nature.

1. What is your connection to the arts? Are you an artist yourself or do you have a particular interest in the arts?

My involvement in art began when I was toddling around in diapers – my earliest memory of creating colorful self-expressions included chalk-painting a soaked-down fenceline with my grandfather, Marki. He taught me how to blend the colors with my finger tips, lifting me onto his shoulders to help with the yellows and oranges of a very pleased-looking ball of sun with shades on. I remember the tactile joy I felt in playing with the pigments, the shared laughter between us as we played in the summer sun.

As I grew, Marki would continue to inspire me to create. At restaurants, waiting for laundry, or playing at a park, he would keep a young me entertained with markers and crayons by drawing unique shapes, and asking me to fill them in to create a whole new character or image. I remember trying to challenge him with my own (very difficult! Or so I thought at the time…) shapes, and finding myself in complete awe at the intricate and extraordinary scenes he would conceive. He encouraged me to paint, and often invited me into his studio to paint alongside him, on his very “grown-up” canvases (how lucky I felt!) with acrylic paints. His style of whimsical, imaginative, and colorfully bold expression laid a foundation for my passion for art. 

My grandmother, Judy, continued to nurture my love for the arts, and welcomed me into her studio to teach me new methods of working with acrylics and branched me into ceramics. She had a flair for softer shapes, eloquent color blending, and an  ingenuity for blending multiple mediums. With landscapes and animals as a focus, I would learn to create depth, shading, and light. 

I would find my own path into the theater world in my adolescence after finally receiving one comment enough; the comment, “You have such a big voice and personality, why can’t you control it inside?” My flavor of neurospicy immediately found a home inside the theater, both behind and in front of the curtain. I built sets, directed plays, acted, frequented Shakespeare competitions, and found a love for writing poetry (funny, how those two things go hand-in-hand). This led me to attending poetry meets, slams, and improv groups, and I continued this journey well into my adult era. Through theater and acting, I would find a creative outlet for expressing my vast inner world, for navigating volume control, and for connecting with other inventive and artists humans in this style of community. 

Circus, especially lyra, flow art, and spinning fire, remains my first love throughout life – it blends all of the above creativity into one big ball of joy. I am allowed to create a whole unique scene and character, and to connect to an audience in an immediate and intimate way. With face and body paints, make-up, and costume, I express a feeling. With training, practice, and a routine, I articulate a story. I elicit change in the outer world through communicating my inner world; my body as the instrument, maneuvering through emotion, time, and space.

2. What is your favorite art medium and why is it your favorite?

Aerial arts and dance sit at the top as my favorite art medium, as it allows me to immediately connect with my body and my soul. I enjoy discovering new ways to operate my body, especially in a moving meditation prioritizing strength, flexibility, and mindfulness. Dancing my emotions out really allows me a way to stay sane, connect with myself, and connect with my community and/or audience.

3. If you could learn any arts medium, what would it be? Why?

I would LOVE to get better at sewing. I’m a baby seamstress, hoping to learn more skills and gain more experience. I would like to continue to craft my own costumes, tailor my own clothes to fit my unique body, and to remain self-sufficient and independent of the clothes industry.

4. What is your favorite part of your role as a MAC Staff Member?

My favorite part of my role as a MAC Staff member: supporting local artists and the artistic community while working in a gallery surrounded by art – what a gift! I LOVE seeing other’s special and extraordinary methods of self-expression. I am in awe of this creative collective of exceptional human beings who share their love and passion for art with the world.

5. Why do you think the arts are so important right now?

The Arts, as an idea, as a feeling, as a community, should really exist on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. We, as humans, need art like we need air, food, and shelter. Art is breath for the spirit, food for the soul, shelter for the heart. Art creates a connection, a community, and an understanding of our brothers and sisters, our world, and our consciousness. 

In a world full of chaos and isolation, strife with grief, we need art to bring the human race together. We need to create color in the dark, bonds in the desolation, moments of joy amongst the heartache. Art transcends language, to elicit growth and communication through our realm. 

Art is life.