Skip to main content

Anne Burkholder

By

If you peek your head into Anne Burkholder’s studio, you’ll most likely see her hunched over her latest rural Nebraska landscape.

Inspiration for her paintings is derived from her childhood spent in the Sandhills, as well as frequent trips to remote locations across the great plains.

When I’m painting the skies, I’m just basically in that space. You know, if I’m painting a landscape I’m standing there in that field of grass or on that hill looking across the valley – it’s a really peaceful feeling for me,” Burkholder said.

But if you’re starting to get the idea that Ms. Burkholder is a soft-spoken wallflower then you’ve got it all wrong.

Anne’s life is marked by international backpacking trips, whimsical folk art and efforts to cultivate a thriving art culture in Lincoln.

In 1987 Anne sold nearly everything she owned to buy a run-down building in the Haymarket.

“It was really important for me that there be a community of artists, because as I was talking to other artists they needed to also get out of their kitchens and attics and garages, and have a space where they could do their art,” she said.

At the time, this area was dingy – to put it mildly – but Anne was determined to establish a space where artists from every background could work and display their art.

She was one of the major players in establishing Lincoln’s First Friday art walks in 1988 after visiting similar events in Minneapolis and Kansas City.

After almost 40 years, Anne still mingles among the guests that filter in and out of her gallery every First Friday. She smiles and nods at old friends, artists and patrons as she sits back and watches her once dreamed-up gallery come to life.

“Oh I have no plans to stop. Why would somebody retire if you’re doing exactly what you want to do?
You should still being doing it,” she said. “A nd making art, what a wonderful existence.”

Anne Burkholder is a lady with grit and a really good story, and it’s not over yet.

Zack & Azriel Post

By

Zack and Azriel Post are the epitome of the term ‘millennial.’

Not in a trite or overused way, but millennial is a term that totally describes them, and they’re not afraid to own it.

Zack works at a local startup and is a freelance graphic designer – most all of his clients come from Instagram. Azriel has hopped from job to job after graduation pursuing her own creative endeavors and just landed a job in Texas – which she first heard about through a message from a complete stranger via Instagram.

“Sometimes to people, it seems like we’re really different or doing thing unlike the typical normal person would do. I don’t think we’re trying really hard to be hipsters or millennials or whatever you want to call it. We’re just doing what we want to do and I think a lot of people put us in the category of being a millennial or a hipster, which, ultimately, we’re just who we are and we like what we like,” Zack said.

Get the picture?

But like Zack said, this is the way he and Azriel have always been.

When Zack and Azriel met in college things just clicked. They recognized their differences, but also saw the world through a very similar lens.

They’ve spent the last 9-ish years in a state they never thought they’d call home, and now that they’re about to leave, they’re starting to feel a little sentimental about the place where they met, fell in love, got married and started a life together.

And while they couldn’t be more excited about their next great adventure, moving is still hard. The packing is one thing, but Zack and Azriel said it’s also made them think about what this means for their story.

“I don’t know, it sounds weird and cliche, but sometimes it doesn’t feel like you’re going anywhere but ultimately what you’re doing is figuring out where you belong and what you’re supposed to be doing,” Azriel said.

Zack and Azriel are just a young couple trying to figure things out – how to take risks, let creativity lead, follow their guts and understand what ‘success’ looks like for them.

They’re not trying to be ‘cool’ or ‘hip’ or whatever word you want to throw at it, they’re trying to be true to their story and all that comes with it.

“I think, like, our story is just defining success for ourselves,” Azriel said. “And then hopefully that can show people that it doesn’t always look the same for everyone, and its ok to do your own thing if that’s what it takes.”

Close Menu
Follow along and be the first to know about our work, story series and general happenings.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.