16 Blocks is a homegrown, free print publication and creator of public artworks, but also a metaphorical microcosm meaning the interconnectedness of neighbors and travelers from all walks of life along with those who came before, allied in a shared community experience and celebration of our time, our place.
Hart Fowler – Director/Publisher – 16 Blocks Magazine and Public Artworks
Dear Reader, old friend or new? Passing through? How do you do?
Join us, have a seat. There’s a lot going on. Stay awhile, we’ve time. Good to put down the cellular and read on the larger pages, and the art looks better at a magazine’s 10” by 13” than a pocket phone’s 3” by 3”.
It certainly got Spooky on the Draper Block in Blacksburg with the destruction of Stella Rose Outdoor Piano during the production of this issue. Decorating the piano was one of our first public art volunteer efforts, and had met with excellent reception. Noticing the piano’s absence, receiving an email that the she was “damaged during construction”, taking off Rita’s artwork at Cemetery lot, presenting at Town Council questioning what happened: that all occurred in a few days time.
Seeing a cherished thing smashed and going to a place that is officially nicknamed Cemetery Lot well before her expiration date is an act I witnessed that I have trouble understanding the motive. We have documented the entire process on 16blocks.org if you’d like a deeper dive. I don’t know if even M Night Shyamalan would have seen this ending coming.
The show, of course, never stopped, and we encourage you to engage in your own community. Being an active citizen in a field where you are smart and passionate is a cathartic experience. Local communities thrive on the activity of the local population, and being involved in a project is surely more satisfying than criticizing from the bleachers.
Our mailbox is always open for feedback, story ideas, and inquiries on how to become a Creative Contributor, apply for an internship, or don’t know what to do but want to participate in our local print gathering spot in the Blocks and Beyond.
hart@16blocks.org
Dear Reader, old friend, passing through? how’s the festival?
This copy is best read outdoors and in the shade.
This is a Steppin Out Festival Guide, coupled with some fresh photos and Zickafoose’s P-Funk painting to bless the shows.
Many thanks to Virginia is for Lovers, Downtown Blackburg Inc, and all of our sponsors that help make these pages possible.
-hf
Dear Reader, old friend, passing through? New to the Blocks? Glad you could join us, have a seat. Stay awhile, we’ve time.
If you’re reading this near the Draper Block in downtown Blacksburg, there’s probably construction sounds all around as there’s a lot going on in downtown Blacksburg, and we are Over the Moon to not only have a Front-Row seat and Backstage-Pass, but also an active participant with 16 Blocks producing Rita Brame’s The Local Jam Mural. (see page 20)
Roanoke Artist John Murrill’s Neon Owl perched up in June. Independently-Produced mural by Coffeeholics owners Lily and Al Murad, they brought Roanoke’s young Appalachian Mural Master Murrill with an exquisite stroke on the Block that needs a vigilant presence when things get booze-rowdy with the undergraduates.
Add to that the Town’s Improvement’s that include an outdoor stage and Edison Lights we’re all witnessing a masterful Art-Trifecta in the center of Town, DIY style except with more resources, and the momentum hints at a local cultural renaissance at hand.
Our mailbox is always open for feedback, story ideas, and inquiries on how to become a Creative Contributor, apply for an internship, or don’t know what to do but want to participate in our local gathering spot in the Blocks and Beyond.
HF also contributes poetry to the print issues.
Relish
with a grin
and chomping at the Wit,
Call the second wind
Can we get a snare HIT!
Coiling strong poise
relieving restraint
all-in-the while-knowing-there’s
a-BOOM!!! a Comin
Woo Woot! Is the sound
Let’s Spin the Wheels
I’ll take another
16 bars around
Seeming Out of Nowhere
Conjured in sound
The Spooky Good Magic
The muse always there
the second wind
Be Ware!
Arrow on the bow, got a Bunch in the Quiver
With a barrow full of Rhymes; I’m a Giver
and with a Beat I Feel the Heat
in a Supernatural Shiver
Tuning en-Door-Feen
Dialing in the Electro-Spleen
Wet Hiss and first fire crack
getting warmed up now,
tempting, and tending,
a verbal furnace in sound,
Approaching 16 Bars with more in the tank
Unleash & Release
the Second Wind
Now Time
to break
Rank
That wasn’t the meal,
but a healthy appetizer,
Takin 32 bars
Is the true Equalizer.
Woo Woot Take another
Don’t mind if I do
Sober High Flyin Kid,gonna see it thru
Don’t leave your seat though
or you’ll miss ACT II
`
Work as an Independent Journalist
The interest of editors of from larger-sized publications on the subject of a peak of video game culture led to a flurry of published articles on the subject as an independent journalist.
Artists have used Grand Theft Auto V as a canvas for years. Now, protesters are doing the same.
more to come…
See some of my recently published pieces gathered at my portfolio page:https://clearvoice.com/cv/hartfowler
Yes!