"Seeing the creative decisions of three different illustrators together in one drawing is fascinating. Our approaches were as varied as the weirdos we ended up creating," says Urbana-based woodcut illustrator Lydia Puddicombe.

"Henceforward the standard for extravagant riot," says writer "Virginia Woolf" on the back cover blurb of Under the Oyster Bar.

The pros and cons of virtual performance are more complex than what first meets the eye.

”The young women of Sisterhood Academy would like to bring to you our difficulties and our victories. We want you to know that we all struggle sometimes but it does get better. Women of Color are a significant part of history." Excerpted from the Sisterhood's artist statement.

Ashanti Files, Writers of Oya founder, and current City of Urbana Poet Laureate, said "I feel as though adults largely underestimate how much information and observation this age group has."

February 2021 offers lots of reasons to love the arts in Champaign-Urbana.

Why has cross stitch become pandemic staple? Crass Stitching's Lisa Conner says "All of the sudden, folks were at home with that craft they swore they’d make time for and now they have nothing but time and they caught the creating bug.

Illusionist, mentalist, and performance artist Scott Silven feels lucky to offer this chance to "take a moment to step back and reflect and realize that even in fragmented times, we can still find new forms of connection.”

"A few weeks ago we started talking about how moving into the new year we all felt hopeful about the future for the first time in a while. We wanted to share the feeling and see if we could keep it going, so we came up with the CU Haiku Hope Project."

"I believe that the role of the poet laureate is above all to bring people together," says Ashanti Files. "It is to expose our neighbors to our hidden talents."

According to Urbana-based artist and author Marc-Anthony Macon, the best part of working in the Absurdist style is that "no one can tell me I’m doing it wrong. Just get to skip that step altogether."

How can local arts experiences help cultivate inspiration and relieve stress for the year ahead?