Interview with Auzzie Dodson

Sophia Abrams 0:00

Okay, this is SOPHIA ABRAMS, interviewing Auzzie Dodson for the UW Black Artists Project. Today's date is Thursday, January 7, 2021. It is approximately 10:06am Central time. I am currently located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and they are currently located in Louisville, Kentucky. All right, so my first question for you why UW Madison?

Auzzie Dodson 0:33

Um, I honestly came to UW Madison for the First Wave program. UW is like, it's a good school. Um, but one me being all the way in Kentucky. I hadn't really heard of it, like all that much. But I was in a poetry, like, organization, my junior year, and one of my, one of the, the person who started the program, Mackenzie Berry, was in her senior year. And so she had heard about First Wave and all of that, and she was like, "Yo, you should really apply like, I think that this could be good for you." So my entrance into UW Madison has always been for art, and, like, for activism and all of the things that, like, those things that I believe in. So yeah, I really came to be a part of that community.

Sophia Abrams 1:32

So from that, when you were admitted to UW, I guess, what were your impressions of UW before you were about to start at UW?

Auzzie Dodson 1:46

Um, I didn't really have many, like, you know, I would tell people, yeah, I got into UW, I'm going to be going there. And they were like, "Oh, that's a really good school. Like, I'm glad for you. Like, that's, that's a good step." I knew that it was in Wisconsin. I knew that it would be like white people, like a different, like, culture. But I, other than that, I didn't have, like, a set in like, this is going to be my UW-Madison experience. I was more, I more had, like expectations for my scholarship program. And like the programming I was going to be doing in there. Because to me, general education is general education, like yes, you, we have, like, a lot of resources and things that's, that's definitely a privilege of going to the school. But I can learn general education like anywhere. For me, it's about, like, the specialized things, like the things that I'm passionate about. So, which is art and activism and like exploring and creation and all of those tropes. So that was, I was more focused on that, 00:03:00because that's more where my passion lies than like, I don't know, a STEM class or, you know, like, I just wasn't really looking at oh my gosh, UW Madison. I was like, "Oh my gosh, First Wave."

Sophia Abrams 3:16

So from there, kind of, I guess your excitement to start the First Wave Program? What were your impressions of UW upon your first week of moving to UW and like the First Wave of students who live in the studio, so what was that like for you?

Auzzie Dodson 3:35

Um, well actually, I had to do [SCE] so I was here in the summer before I even started my freshman year of college so I got kind of an interesting--

Sophia Abrams 3:46

What does that stand for again?

Auzzie Dodson 3:48

Oh, summer collegiate experience. It's basically like an intro entry cushion into college. So within the program, you're taking two classes. A lot of the DDEA scholarships are there. So People's there. Posse wasn't there, but those people-- Oh, what's that other one like the Chancellor scholars. There's, there's still more First Wave. I can't think of all of the programs but it was like everybody except for Posse was there. And I remember it's so funny. My because I drove up with my parents the very first time that I came to UW in the summer. I think it was the summer of 2017. Yeah, that sounds about right. Um, and we pull up to the city and all I see is like, either we're coming down John Nolan. And so all I see is like, you know, these buildings, the water and I'm looking around and like the first thing we have my mom was like, "Oh my gosh, it's so clean here," like the atmosphere. So like the air, the atmosphere, it all seemed very nice, very different. I had never been in the Midwest before. I mean, I've been to Ohio and things but not the same as Madison, like, I had only been to Ohio for my cousin's performances and things. So like coming, that, during the CSE, that was my first like, experience of Midwestern culture. And at first, I was just really excited. Because everything was new, I had never seen any of these places. Madison seemed a lot bigger when I first got here than it does now. And so I would say like the first, I would say like the first couple of weeks were, like, the honeymoon phase of Madison, I'll call it. I was in the new program, I was meeting like my cohort. And so everything was still very 00:06:00fresh. But there were even like, first coming here, it just, it was very different. The culture is different. The mannerisms are different. The way people are speak are different, the way people label themselves. And the way that people interact with students of color specifically, is very different. I've never experienced racism like I've experienced in Madison, Wisconsin, like, it's really wild, it's a whole different strain of racism out there. So it was like, all of these mix of emotions because on the one hand, I was very excited to start college and start my life, you know, like as an adult and, like, get to be, have some type of independence. But on the other hand, there was like, now I came back to it, there's so much going on in SCE within the classes and things like that. I, because I was taking an English class, which one didn't count for a COM-B, which was wild, because we wrote so many papers in that class. And I think who is this? Larry [Entertin] taught that class, and there were just so many, like, red flags immediately with, like, what we were learning. How we were learning it, you know. Like, for English, and for literature, and things like we were going, we were going all over the world. So I don't, it's not like it was like, specific to America necessarily in what we were learning, but there was still just not good representation of like, all of the Black writers that I know, like, I was like, how are we covering X, Y, and Z, but we're not touching? Like, I think we might have touched, we touched Baldwin one time. And we had a discussion. And Larry asked if he felt that anyone else could have written James Baldwin stories. And so immediately, you know, like, all the students of color shooting their hands up, like absolutely not like, "No, you can't do that." And he literally, like, fished around in the class until he got, like, a different answer. And in this answer, this girl, like, equated being black to property. And I was like, "Okay, like, this is, this is a lot. This is this is a lot going on here." And so that was like, my first I would say like, that's the prelude into, like, how I feel the atmosphere and the culture of UW-Madison is, which I mean, like, it's not all terrible, but there's, it's just these are the things that I noticed when I first like coming in. There's just a lot of there's just a lot of instances. So I felt, like, really out of place for a while, because there are literally students coming up to me saying, "Oh my gosh, I've never 00:09:00seen a black person before." And I'm like, "Okay, like, thanks." Like I don't know how to respond to that. Like, okay, where I come from, there's hella black people. Like, I don't, I don't want to tell you, so it was like, it was me having to wrestle with that type of dynamic. And, I mean, racism is everywhere. Those types of things are everywhere. But there's like, Midwestern nice, like, I come from the south. So you know, like, the South has its own, like, Viper-ish, you know, like kind of tendencies and mannerisms, but Midwestern nice, is very interesting. Like, and so I was picking up on a lot of that when I first came here.

Sophia Abrams 9:50

So upon your experience that summer in 2017, in some ways you might say like, serving I guess is, like, a, giving you a taste of Madison to some extent, or like that was your entrance rather? How was, like, your first semester upon, like, that summer? So like, how was it to live in the studio? And what classes are you taking during that time?

Auzzie Dodson 10:18

Okay, let me think back. Um, I was taking I had-- First Wave had a FIG, which is a first year interest group. So we had like a set schedule of classes to take so that way our cohort could be together because we also had, like a First Wave class and other artistic projects that we had to work on. So your freshman year, they try to keep you together as much as possible. So that way people's schedules line up. Um, and so I was taking "Physics in the Arts," I was taking a creative writing class-- What else was I taking? And I ended up taking, like an English 100 class too because at that time, I wanted to be an English major, seems so long ago. Um, and then I can't really remember, because I was taking, but I know I was taking like those three. And as far as like, the social climate aspects that I was touching on, in the previous question, it only really amplified. Um, because then, you know, like, SCE, you're kind of, it's kind of like a blissful moment, because there's no one on campus, you know, like, you're out in, you know, Tripp Hall, and you're chilling, you, it's, there's not a lot of people there. It's like, just the, whoever's there for the SCE program, which isn't anything compared to like, when 46,000 students come on campus. Um, but yeah, when everyone got here, it was only amplified because now instead of like, 00:12:00the small, concentrated group of people who are exhibiting, like, those type of social behaviors, now it's on a much larger scale, like I remember my cohort, we would walk around and like random people would literally just like, we'd be standing in a circle, like chopping it up having a good time. And random people would literally like insert themselves into our circle, and, like, start talking or just saying some, like, backwards stuff, like, it was a very rough, like social entrance into my, like, for my freshman year, or within that first fall semester, I did however, on the flip side of that, you know, I'm getting deeper into like, the First Wave Program. I'm getting deeper into, like, you know, just figuring my way and figuring out what I want from college. And so that aspect was really, really beautiful. The, the freshman, like, fall semester of my freshman year was really, really good. I felt like I made some really deep connections within my cohort. I felt like I was challenging a lot of, a lot of the things that I had believed before I came to Madison, were challenged and just shattered. So I was going through a big, kind of a big awakening and kind of just like, figuring out, you know, is everything that I've learned and thought to be true? You know, like, is that real? I mean, I grew up in a Southern Christian house. So like, it is what it is, you know, in terms of like, I didn't know, I just didn't know about a lot of the world that existed. And I will say that Madison, and being at UW has definitely helped to expand upon that. I'm very fortunate for the people that I've met at UW, especially my freshman year. I'm very fortunate for, like, the staff and the teachers there. I think my freshman semester was the first semester, is, like, the best semester I've done in college since then, like, to be honest. But it was because I had a lot of support. My cohort was here, I was doing like all of that.I had access to just so many resources because I was a freshman. So I was like, "I'm gonna do it all, like I'm going to everything." So yeah,

Sophia Abrams 14:41

I guess kind of from that time of like, growth and like, in a lot of ways for you, it was a really positive time. And you mentioned how when you came into Madison, you were part of the First Wave Program as a poet and stuff. So I guess you hadn't really, you weren't painting or you were painting, but you weren't, 00:15:00like, majoring in art yet, but were there any notable exhibits that you were part of? Or like, maybe like poetry events that semester? Um, or, I guess any, like, just like any really notable events from that time?

Auzzie Dodson 15:21

Um, no, actually, because I was really struggling with poetry when I came in. And I have yet to write a poem since, which is really weird for me, like, so, no, there's like, I wasn't doing anything majorly huge. I was really just kind of still getting my footing. I mean, I was creating things within the program. But as far as on my own, actually, the most memorable painting from my freshman year, it wasn't a piece of poetry. It wasn't anything like that; it was a painting. And I was doing it for my best friend's birthday. And it was a painting of like two hands, because we call each other left hand right hand. So like I did a painting of that. And that is what got me into doing art the way that I am now. Um, so I will say that it's memorable for that, because my best friend saw that and was like, there's no way I'm ever letting you just write poetry again, like, you can still write poetry, but there's not like, you're there like you're insanely talented. And you should definitely be sharing this with everyone else, because at that point I was just doing art like, in my dorm, like, in my little loft area, just like in the corner and just like scribbling away. And it wasn't something that I thought of as doing professionally or I didn't even think I was good at it. So, but I hadn't done any major events. I'm trying to think because I feel like that's a lie. That is, that is a lie. Because I was working with [Jalerina] Sanders on her production of "Rose Gold" during that time. My freshman year. I do a lot of things in art. I don't just, like, do one thing. And I, in high school, I majored in technical theater. And so I was helping Jalerina with those kind of, like, aspects of reworking her play that she had written and she wanted to show in the spring semester and so I was working exclusively with her on that, you know, with props. I was 00:18:00responsible for lighting. I was responsible for, you know, like any type of set things it was at the play circle theater, so you know, they have their own tech crew, but every--

Sophia Abrams 18:28

I don't know if you can hear this but it froze. Can you hear me? Can you hear me?Okay, so you were talking about the play circle, and how you were helping [Jalerina] with the Rose Gold productions.

Auzzie Dodson 20:10

Yeah, so a lot of my, I was putting on like a lot of technical theater experience in order to get that done. Which is actually a, that's a notable event, especially for freshmen, like your first time coming in. So that is also something I was working exclusively that I was working on during my freshman year.

Sophia Abrams 20:39

I guess, like you've kind of alluded to this be it, like, talking about the production or like the two hands painting as well. But what made you switch in, pursuing getting a BS in art?

Auzzie Dodson 20:55

That didn't come too much later. I didn't switch into the art major until 00:21:00November of 2019. Um, so I went through, I went through a couple of majors because I came in and I wanted to do English. And I wanted to do the Community and Nonprofit Leadership. I never officially claimed the English major, but I was doing CMPL. Because I'm really big in just community organizing and creating spaces for people. And, you know, that's, I figured that's what that major is supposed to be about. And is about. I ended up switching from there, because I just felt that it was very theorised, like, I understand it was my first, it was like my first. It was entry classes, like I took one class in it, but it seems like I wasn't going to actually get out and be doing anything until the internship, which is a requirement for that major. And I just felt like that was a little a little wild to me. Because with the name like community and nonprofit leadership, I'm expecting to be working, like learning all of these theories, but also being in the community. Like, that's what I want to do. But it seemed like that wasn't really, it's everything seemed a, just a bit more theorized than I would like it. And for me, I don't like to theorize about things like that, because I've lived it, people are living it. I don't, I don't like sitting in a class, where people who have an experience, you know, like, what we're talking about, are just sitting there just like theorizing everything, it's like that just it makes me itch. So, I was like, I don't think this is gonna be the major for me. But, uh, I like that, like, I still want to do that. But I don't think that this is the major. Um, until then I was also doing so then I went to the psych department, which I planned to be a psychology major from the start. My thing has always been whatever type of artwork I'm doing, whatever type of work I'm doing, I want it to be centered towards, like healing. And I want it to be centered towards people expressing themselves and asking questions of themselves in their community in their surroundings that they may not have asked before. And so I had always planned on double majoring. But I had ended up just in psych, because I felt that that was the best way to go. I was in the First Wave Program, so I felt that I didn't need to, like, study art, like, you know, for school necessarily, and that I could pair the two together. I'm just with my, like, my knowledge of art and like what I'm learning from my peers, and you know, the things that I research already with psychology. And so I was doing that for a year and a half. But I was miserable in the psych major. For me, it's 00:24:00just really big. And you don't get the chance to like, have those more intimate classes and like, have just that connection, like with your professors like yes, they have office hours, but my professors office hours ain't never lined up on my schedule, like to this day, they just haven't. And so I just felt like I was yet again not doing what I wanted and what felt right for me to do. And of course, like in that time, I'm going through, like, major changes. I'm still in a new place. I'm still figuring everything out. I'm homesick. I'm depressed. I'm anxious like I'm all of those things. And I was just, like, I was just in the, I was in class one day I don't even remember what class it was, but it was some like psych class and I was sitting there and I was just like "This ain't it," like this is not it and I'm miserable. And if I keep on in here, I'm going to flunk out of UW because I, I just this, this it's just not the move. And within this time, I had always been like talking to my advisors and like my counselor about this, like, struggle between having enough time for academics and also having enough time for art. And I felt like I had to teeter them all the time. And then it just hit me one day like, but I don't have to do that. Like I don't, I don't have to force that time I can, I can have my academics be art. And so that way, I'm always having time. And I'm always feeling fulfilled in that area. And then I can just go out and do my own community things like I would anyway, like nothing's stopping me from wanting to do, like, get myself involved in different areas that way. So it was really, like a, it took a minute, but I ultimately decided to switch over. And, like in this time I was studying like I was getting more comfortable in Visual Arts I had been doing. At that point, I was a visual artist more than I was a poet. So it was like, I felt that that was a really good shift. It was definitely needed. So I went and I decided to switch out of art, because that's what felt the most true to myself. And aligned the best with what I had, like what my goals were and what my passions were.

Sophia Abrams 26:50

So before we really jump into you as an art major in that experience. I want to go back to the spring and ask you about the Blanket Drive Concert, I think it 00:27:00was in March of 2019. [Yes, that sounds familiar. I don't.] I saw, like, Adjua was a part of it and Dequadray.

Auzzie Dodson 27:18

Yeah, but I don't know if I ended up submitting. There's like a lot of things that I submit to that I forgot about because they ask for, like, pictures. So I'm like, "Yeah, I can send you a picture of my art. I can send all of this stuff." And--

Sophia Abrams 27:35

Let me see if I can find.

Auzzie Dodson 27:40

I feel like I definitely, I remember typing up a bio for that. So I feel like definitely, I submitted art in there.

Sophia Abrams 27:49

'Cause I see that you wrote that you're a multifaceted artist? And where is it? I guess I don't see what art forum you submit it. But I was just wondering, because a few artists were a part of that. So I was just wondering if you had any notable memories about that experience or not?

Auzzie Dodson 28:20

I'm glad you bring it up. I need to, I need to, like, write all this stuff down. Because I really, I really do. Like, people ask me to submit a thing. I'm like, yeah, sure, I'll submit and then I do it. And then it, like, leaves my brain on some things because I didn't, I didn't go to that event. I think that I was sick. So I didn't go to that event. But I remember like submitting for it. And that is nice. Like I don't have, like, a super big memory for it. But it's one of the first places where I submitted visual art and like, where I was asked to submit visual art. And so for me that's big, because I wasn't doing that at that time. Um, I don't think it would be until 2018, I think I had just had, like, my first, I think the February was when there was that house show. So then I think March, like that was, that was nice, because I just presented my first time like in a house show. And then, excuse me, people who I respect and also just like an event that I respect, asked me to be there and that's huge in itself. So I'm glad you reminded me about that.

Sophia Abrams 29:48

And then I guess backtracking a little more too. So I'm also curious because I also lived in the Studio and I know that we have showcases. So did you perform any poetry or Did you submit, like, any visual art to any of the showcases?

Auzzie Dodson 30:06

I didn't, I didn't do a single one of those showcases, and I still have not done one of those showcases. My freshman year living in the Studio, I struggled with art a lot. I struggled with, at that time, it was poetry. Because I grew up in slam poetry. And slam poetry is a whole different beast. Like it's just, it's a different, it's a different ballgame. And I was not prepared for it the way that I thought I was prepared for it. And I had like my own things going on. And so like I really struggled for to write poetry for myself. And like, what that meant, I still struggle to write poetry for myself, and what that means. And I'm still writing under the guise of slam, and it's very annoying, because like, slam poetry is a type of poetry, but it's not-- one, it's not the poetry that I was writing before I started slam. And it's not the poetry that I want to that I want to continue writing. And so I was really grippling with that. I felt almost like burned and betrayed a little by like both poetry and myself. So I wasn't showcasing a lot of that, because I just felt really, I felt inferior in a lot of ways. And then also, like, a lot of people in first wave are poets, and you know, they're just ready, like, they just be hopping up, ready. And that's not me. So I just felt like, "Am I a poet? Do I deserve to be a poet, like, what's going on?" Um, so I didn't showcase at any of the Studio showcases, a bunch of my homies did, and the showcases were always like, there, I love them, like I love attending and getting to see, like, what people are working on what's going down. Because there's so many talented people, and which is a huge benefit of living in the Studio. I did, I really liked living in the studio, I did not like living in a dorm and would never go back. But the Studio is a special place. Especially since they had a black box theater, oh my gosh, I felt like I was at home. I would be in this I would be down there just like messing around with the lights. And just like dancing in the black box. Because you have all of that space. I spent a lot of time in the Hive. And that's where I did-- That's where I was, like, getting used, used to visual arts and working on visual arts. I still have a couple, I still have the pieces that I did when I was in the studio. They're hanging on my wall in my room and I looked at them, I'm like, Oh my gosh, like, it's just wild. Because at that time, you know, I'm just like, I did arts, I did painting and visual arts, specifically as a release. And I didn't hold all of those, like stigmas to it, because it wasn't my art form. You 00:33:00know, like, I wasn't a visual artist. So it was a little easier for me to just say, "Oh, I just want to you know, you know, move some colors around, you know, just like, go and, like, relax." And I look at the pieces now and I'm like these are actually really good. Like, oh my gosh, I can't. It's just the growth like I, paintings for me, and, like, art for me like I keep a lot of my old stuff because one I've learned to, because I used to throw things away and I somebody was like you have to stop doing that. So, but it's really nice to see, like, the progression, like I can see looking at any given painting, I know what I was feeling. I know, like, it's kind of like time traveling, it transports me back to, like, a place. And I'm really thankful for the Studio and having all of those resources and like and just the community that it provided some of the best people I've met at UW Madison I met in the Studio and like we're still close today. So--

Sophia Abrams 34:06

From that. So you kind of talked about like, well, you may, you declared art junior year. But can you talk a little bit more about the, like, your sophomore year and the Home Pop Up Gallery?

Auzzie Dodson 34:23

Yeah. So the two visual artists of our cohorts [Jocelyn Brenson], and [Adjua Nsoroma] They, it was actually their idea to throw it. Like it was their whole pop-up show. And they threw it as a birthday party, which is like, the most badass thing they ever do, like, um, but I was helping them. It was their idea. I was helping them you know, like, orchestrating get things ready because I was like, y'all, I mean, it's my best friend and then another really good friend. So I was like, yeah, I'm here. I'm in here. Um, and Joyce specifically, since the day that I, like, showed them my visual art, and I gave them that painting, they had always been pushing for me to, like, present somewhere or just like, you know, like, how about you try this? Why don't you submit your thing here, you know, like, try to sound always like, you know, like, give me those little cute nudges that I needed in the art world, and they had asked a good amount of people, there was like a, I want to say like six, seven people that performed, that showcased art, including the two of them. And I remember when Joy asked me, and I just, I just looked at him, I was like, "You want me to?" We could do what? You want me to, like, put up my art, like you want me to be in this show? Like what, that's wild." And of course, like, I was looking around at all the art I had. And at that point, I didn't have any, like, major finished pieces I 00:36:00had had, like, I was doing like little watercolors and like little things that were like, that was this big, you know, like, that could fit in the palm of my hand. So I was like I have, I don't have anything that I want to present. And so I think they had decided they wanted to do it, I think early January or late December or something like that. And so from then I was like, "Okay, well, we're gonna do this show. So we're gonna, we're gonna present right, you know, like, we're gonna, we're gonna, like present some art. So I wanted to make new art to showcase there. Um, and I ended up submitting, I think, four pieces, all of them were new, because that's, my crazy brain works like that. And I worked nonstop to get them done. But I did specifically, I did a portrait of some breasts, because at that time, I was grappling with my gender. And I was like, I do not feel like y'all think people with breasts should feel like, that's not me. And so I did that, as a way I did that painting. And I put the English and German versions of they/them pronouns and just like neutral pronouns all around it. I was doing a lot of contour drawings and self portraits. I always do a lot of self portraits, because I've been looking at my face since I was looking in the mirror. So it's the easiest thing for me to draw. And it's also, that's where I do a lot of my checking in to, I'm not a person who, like, like, I deal with emotions, but I also be really busy. So I just don't have time to like, sit down and like, have a breakdown, you know, like I don't, I don't have that time to sit down and just be like, "Okay, this is exactly what this you know, we're going to process all of that". So a lot of that happens within my art, which is why I do a lot of self portraits, because that allows me the space to kind of figure out those emotions, it's a lot easier to do that through color than it is the words for me. And so yeah, I submitted those pieces, we were also really geared towards making sure that artists got paid because we were playing around with the idea of, like, starting an artists collective and because we felt that black art was very severely underrepresented. And just like student of color, and just like people from the not from not the Madison community, we just felt like, "Where is our place? Like, where do we have a space to show art in not this super professional, super, like, strict way? So the house show was perfect with that. It was a beautiful night, like, it was so great. Everything we had, 00:39:00did it, we didn't end up doing it in Adjua's apartment at the time. And to go from not seeing myself as a visual artist to standing in a room where people are looking at my art and like just having my art up in the same space as some of those people that I had art up with, like art majors and things like people who had dedicated themselves to art like, long before I did, like it was it was beautiful. Like I just I felt so much love and so much support. Like I just remember I just, I sat down in the middle of the room and I just looked at everyone's art. And I just looked at my art and I was like, This is real. Like this, is this is real. I can do this. Like, I'm good. Like I-- it's very validating the whole experience. And I also got to share that with, like, two artists that I respect the most, like, which is Joy and Adjua, you know, like in my peer group, just the fact that I was able to share that space and, like, claim a piece of that space was very important. And I don't think if I hadn't done that, I don't think I would be where I am right now, I think I would still be trying to, like, force myself to write poetry and like, stick to a certain media. But that show really proved to me that like, I can, I can do, I can do anything like, you know, we set that show up ourselves, you know, like, and a lot of people came through, I think we were not the best in promoting and I think we promoted like, maybe two or three days before, but hella people rode through. So yeah, that night was, it was a magical night.

Sophia Abrams 41:02

From that night, serving for you as a really pivotal night to see yourself as an artist, but then also to see yourself a part of a community. What then led you to like, wait kind of until November, or the fall of 2019 to declare an art major? Or like were you like, or like, I guess, after that show, were like the wheels kind of turning near like, okay with and I'm going to declare what was that process like in terms of like, okay, now you've actually seen yourself as an artist, it's more tangible. But now you kind of need to translate that into your coursework.

Auzzie Dodson 41:49

I didn't think that I needed to at that point. Um, I felt fine in, because that was still during the period where I was like, academics and art and not the both 00:42:00of them together. Um, it wasn't until that fall semester, that fall semester is where I really started, like, more wheels were in motion. I will say that the wheels, they started creaking a little bit then but I didn't like, I still hadn't thought at that time, like, let's go be an art major. Because I still wanted to mend my relationship with poetry. I still wanted to do that. So I was still a psych major. And I, but I took so my, that fall semester, I took a creative writing class with Natasha [Oladakun]. I always butcher her last name. I'm so sorry. Um, but it was in that class where I was reevaluating, you know, poetry. And I was going through that I was still struggling, like I was still majorly blocked within that. But I remember I had went to Natasha during an office hour. And she looked at me and she was like, what's going on? What is going on with you? Like, are you good? I just want to check in like, what is happening, and I literally just, like, broke into tears when I was like, I don't know, I'm, I just, I just don't feel like myself. Like, I just, I feel miserable. Like, I want to mend this thing I want to write, I want to do all of this. But I also just feel like I'm ready to go. Like at that point, I was ready to leave UW Madison. I've been ready to leave UW Madison like three times. And then there's like a time every year where I'm just like, do I really need to be here? But I was having one of those moments, and she had talked me through and she, what I do like is she didn't convince me to stay but she did. That wasn't her purpose. She was like trying to she was like, do what you feel is best. Like she's a First Wave Writing Fellow. And so she doesn't hail from Madison either. Like that's not where she is from. She was in the same kind of positioning that I was in, SCE, you know, except she's grown and she has a teaching position. But it's it's definitely a it's a culture shock being here. Like, I feel like on the other end of experience, people come to Madison and they say that it's a culture shock because they've never been to a city so big but I've never been to a city so small. I don't consider Madison a city to be honest. It is a college town. Downtown is one street so you're not a city. I'm sorry. No. And I was really struggling with like, a lot of that. Like, I just didn't feel like I belonged at all. I still as a student at UW Madison don't feel like I belong there. But like it's my space. Um, but so I was going through all of that. And also on top of 00:45:00the fact that I had not written poetry in like two years at that point. And I was like, "This is ridiculous. Like, I should be able to write poetry." It's what I like, do it. And so we were talking, and she had just laid it, she just laid it out, she was like, if you're not liking what you're doing, then don't do it. It's that simple. No one is forcing you to be here. No one is forcing you to be in a certain major, no one's forcing you to do any of that. So if you don't like it, change it. And that was all I needed. That moment. That was really all I needed. I was like, Okay, this bet. So I'm gonna, that was what really put the, set the wheels like turning and getting them in motion. Because I was also doing really poorly that semester. It was really rough semester. Like, my mental health wasn't there. My Academics wasn't there. My art wasn't there. I was like, everything that I needed to keep me at UW Madison was, like, crumbling very fast. Um, and so it was like, it was like, it was a forced reset, but a much needed one. So it was after that, that I started thinking, and I was like, she's 100%, right? I don't have to do any of this, like, no one is making me like, I've been making myself do all of this all this time. So I sat down in my room that night, and I wrote in my journal, and I just wrote out what I wanted. I wrote out what I didn't like about where I was, what I did like, where I saw myself, like, fitting in, and being happy. And the art major was the only place where I saw that happening, because art is the only time where I feel like, sane, to be honest, especially at UW Madison, where no one or hardly anyone looks like me, thinks like I do, like, has those type of ideals. I was like, I need to create my own space here. Because right now I just feel like I'm suffocating in all of this and I'm not. So I went to my, I mean, I was dealing with, like, a lot of, like, academic stuff. So I remember I had to meet, I made a meeting with my advisor for First Wave. And I was telling her and I was like, "Gia, I am yet again, here I am to switch. Here I am back at it again." And so I talked the plan over with her and I was like, "I think this is what I want to do." Like, it's kind of scary, though. Because it's my third year in school and like, or my second year, whatever year it was, was one of those years like I was 00:48:00just it's like I'm halfway through at this point, like, should I really be switching a major? Do I have time to switch? Like, am I, can I do any of this? And so I had kind of talked everything out with her. And she recommended me to Julie Ganzer, who is the art advisor in the art department. And I remember--it was so funny, I walked into the art building and I was really, really nervous. And I walked into Julie's office and I sat down, I was like, I was like, "I want to switch to the art major". But I was like, "I don't know if I have time to do that." So me and Julie, like, sat down and planned everything out. She was like you can totally finish within the amount of time you have left. It's gonna be hard. It's gonna be like, it's gonna be some work because I, at that point, I had had a lot of all of my, like, you know, the COM-B, Ethnic studies like all of that. The first year interest group was really, like, good in setting me up like after the SCE and my freshman year. All of that was taken care of, I didn't have not one of those classes that I had to take. Again, so I was able to get into like my, you know, the stuff, the gen ed's for my major. And I had had a couple of things knocked off for art too just because I like art. I had taken a ceramics class. I had taken like a couple other classes just because I was interested. Before I had even thought about being an art major. But what I really was worried about was those studio credit hours because you got to have like 40 something of those or something like it's it's, it's a lot. Um, but I was really determined at that point. Once I make up my mind for something, that's what, what I'm doing until I decide that it. Until I'm like, this isn't working either. But I had made up my mind to switching and doing all of that. And so, Julie, I think, Julie, had thought that we were just doing like, you know, a consultation or whatever. But I was like "No, I'm ready to declare right now. Like, I'm ready to go, you're telling me this is possible, I'm going to do it." Cuz that's the way and I can't keep floating around here like I need, I need a place to stand like I need something to keep me like, I just, I need to merge all of the things that I like together. And that was the way so.

Sophia Abrams 50:48

So from that moment, just like kind of this momentum all building up and then you finally get to declare a major. I guess let's just jump into second semester, your junior year 2020, right?

Auzzie Dodson 51:06

Yeah, the spring. Okay, spring of 2020. Gotcha. Gotcha. Yeah.

Sophia Abrams 51:10

So what was that like for you to start that hectic semester, as an art student and like, finally have the opportunity to really dive into, like, your interests?

Auzzie Dodson 51:23

Um, that semester was really interesting, because I wasn't on scholarship that semester. I was on probation. And so I had to pay for my own semester if I wanted to be in school. Um, and I could have taken the semester off, that was an option, but I was like, I just declared my major, like, I just started living my life, basically. So I'm gonna take these little two classes, and I'll see y'all again, because you're gonna give me the scholarship back and I'm gonna be back in this building. Just wait. So I was really excited. But I was also really nervous because there was just a lot going on with the fact that I didn't have my scholarship. How am I going to pay for this semester? I'm an out-of-state student, one semester at UW Madison as a half-time student costs me $10,000, like, hectic. So it was a lot of changes. I was no longer a full time student, I was not an active First Wave scholar. I was in a completely new major. I walked into that building. And I was like, "We here though, like we're here, it's, it's lit." I had decided to take drawing methods and concepts. And I took 2D design, which it's funny because I took drawing 212, which is funny because I didn't know there was a Drawing 112, which is like, drawing one. So I, like, hopped right into, like, second level drawing class, which is really wild. Drawing is also the thing that scares me the most. Like, before I took that drawing class, me and drawing, no, my sketches for my paintings. Don't look anything like my paintings when they're done, like, you know. I'll draw like, Okay, this is gonna be the head. So it's a circle, you know, the body is about like that type of thing. Like, I did not do any serious sketching. Or if I did, I actually used a projector. Um, like I would basically I would collage. Every painting I did, because I was like, I don't know how to draw. So I'm just going to find something on this projector. And I'll like, I would literally look up an arm this way, and a face and like, and mash it all together. Somehow, so I was very intimidated when I walked with this drawing class, because I was like, I'm a fresh art student. I ain't never been in no art class. All these people probably been to art classes before. I can't even draw. But here I am in this drawing class. And that scared me so bad. But the first day that I walked into my 00:54:00drawing class, I was like, "No," actually, I think that was the only day I was early. I walked in there and I got you know, I sat down, I got set up. My instructor had handed us we didn't have like our materials at this point. So my instructor handed us some spare materials he had. And we started drawing in the class and I froze. Like, I told my instructor, I was like, Look, I know this is drawing class, but I never drew a day in my life. And right now I could probably piss myself, I'm so scared. So would you mind just like whatever quick pointers or anything you have, like, I just need some type of guidance. And he was really cool. Like, I really loved my art teacher. His name is Yoshi. He's, I think he's a graduate of UW Madison at this point. Fire artist, um, but he helped me out and he was like, he was so sweet. He's like, "Yeah, I got you, I got you like what's going on, what's up?" And I did my first still life drawing that day. And I just felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders, I was like, I did it. And I liked, I liked this, like, this is really, this is nice, um, the way that it was set up, I also I mean, I was only taking two classes as a half time student. So I had just, I had a lot of time. And to, like, really dive in, and, like, focus on the classes I was taking that semester. And also just like for myself, because I needed that I needed to, like, my ideal life is for me to just be able to like, do art, present it, it's lit. And then like, go back into my hole, like, create and do all of that. So no. And so I wasn't really it was, I felt like I was exactly where I needed to be. It was also nice. I had my art classes in the morning. I had both of my classes on the same, like same days. So it was and I went kind of back to back from one to the other, which can seem like a lot, you know, like six hours of just, like, doing art. But I don't know, I just felt really free, I felt really open and I felt like I was on the right path. At that point. I also found out that I'm not terrible at drawing, which was nice. I learned I had never taken a formal art class either, like I taken ceramics, but like I had never taken, like, a drawing class or a painting class or, like, any of those like kind of fundamental classes. And so I had come in 00:57:00with like a bunch of, like, stigmas about how art classes were ran. And I have been wrong. So far, my, I've been fortunate to have professors that kind of prove me wrong every time. And those classes, drawing specifically 2D design. I, I don't really, I really appreciate visual art, digital art, it's just not for me, I don't have the patience, to be honest, like me having to do X, Y, and Z just to make this curve do this. I can draw that, like I understand it can't be digitized and blown up into it's not vectorized and all that stuff. But uh I can draw that in two seconds, rather than me fiddling on this computer for five hours. So I felt like my drawing class was really the one that kind of just, like, opened my eyes and made me feel really welcomed into the art program and like seeing myself there.

Sophia Abrams 58:05

From this during this time, were you a part of the Monarch Gallery at the CWC?

Auzzie Dodson 58:11

I was, I was a part of the monarch gallery. So [Zuwhatey Carole] had asked a bunch of fem artists, fem artists of color, to help her to, like, curate this show, pretty much. I mean, well, she curated it, but we had a lot of input on like how we wanted this show to take place and what we wanted to be presented like what we wanted to theme to be, what's the name, what kind of art are we going to be showing, you know, that type of thing. And we all just really wanted a space for fem artists of color to come together and like showcase their work and have a space because again, just didn't feel like we had that space. And so we came up with a Monarch Gallery, because we wanted to showcase transformation and like what it meant to like all the things that like a monarch symbolizes, which for us is transformation, creativity, freedom, like expressing who you are. Like kind of going back to what you know, because monarchs they have like migration patterns and things like that. So we really wanted to call on that type of energy for the show. And it was held in the Elvehjem, actually which is, oh my gosh. I look back on these things now. And I'm like, do you realize you had a whole show in the Elvehjem like that's a place, whether it was, you know, like, curated by the museum itself or not like I still put art in that museum. 01:00:00And that's, that's wild, that's huge. We were working on that show for about, I want to like two months meeting and just getting like the, like securing the space and securing the theme and like making sure everybody had enough time to, like, if you wanted to make some art to go on there or like get your art together and things like that. That was also a really beautiful space to be in. Because each gallery for me exhibits like each showcase, each exhibition exhibition, whatever you want to call them. Like, they showcase a different type of energy like each one because you're with different people. Or even if you're with different people, you're under a different theme. There's new art, there's different context. And I really needed that too. Because like at that point, I had definitely come out as nonbinary. And, but was still grippling with the fact of like, well, like fem and all those things, because I didn't necessarily know like how I fit into like, the rest of life, like being a person, like a fem person with that is nonbinary and things. But that show was really, really impactful. Just because of the people who were there. The art that was presented was of course fire because like it like students of color at Madison produce some of the greatest art I have ever seen in my entire life. Like it don't make no sense. Um, but to just like, kind of be in that space, it felt like a reclamation of like, my body and like what it meant to be like a person with a vagina and be like a quote unquote, fem person? Um, yeah.

Sophia Abrams 1:02:09

So from all of, I guess, from that semester just really being or let me rephrase that, from that first part of the semester been a really transformative time. What was it like, you know, in March, when we got the email, that school is going to be online, and then eventually the rest of the semester. So what was that like for you, in terms of finishing up those classes, and also, like, continuing to create art.

Auzzie Dodson 1:02:39

Ah, I mean, for me, it was, I just left. I went back, came back to Louisville. I was like, there's no reason for me to be in Madison, like I'm going home to finish up the semester. And so that's exactly what I did. I went home, it wasn't too difficult to like, have to switch those classes online. I mean, I was taking 2D design. So pretty much everything I was doing was on the computer anyway. My 01:03:00professor just made sure to upload, like, videos and stuff. And so that was fine. Like both of my professors were very available for questions. And like, if you needed to have, like, a video chat and, or have, like, kind of a time, they made sure that you could get that time. So for me, it wasn't, it wasn't bad, it was actually a blessing. Like, I was able to come home and make art and just kind of like chill out. Like, I always feel the most relaxed when I'm in Louisville, Kentucky. So it was like, it's actually, it was a good thing for me. I pulled out, that was another semester, I did my best. Like I pulled out a 3.5 that semester. Like, it was two classes, but it's like it was two studio classes during a pandemic, you know, like, so I was really excited, I started creating some, I was just, I was finding my way in art. Even though I've been doing art in different ways, all these years. I am at that point, I still did not know who I wasn't as an artist. My first art class. I was like, "I don't know, I'm doing in any of that stuff, you know." But I was fortunate to be able to, like, produce work that I felt proud of. And also to just, like, produce work that felt authentic to me. And I was able to do that. Surrounded by my family and like yeah, it was the middle of a pandemic and things but it didn't necessarily feel like it for me. For me, it just felt like a chance to, like, relax and explore and really figure out, like, who I am as an artist and what I want to do next, you know.

Sophia Abrams 1:05:01

Um, so from that, what was that this past summer like for you in terms of like. I mean, it was a very tumultuous summer. But like, how did you continue to create art? And then like, also, I guess, like, how did you prepare for the upcoming semester, for the fall in the summer?

Auzzie Dodson 1:05:23

I'm sorry, during summer, I don't do anything. During the summer, that's my time to do whatever I want. And if that includes art, that's beautiful. It usually does. If it doesn't, I'm not pressed, because I know that I'm going to be making art in the fall. Um, I don't know, like, art is definitely a discipline and a practice and like, yeah, like, like, do it every day, all that stuff. But that's not realistic to me. I don't sit here and like do art every day, that's a lot. I'm an art major. I got to do art all the time. Like, during the summer, kind of the last thing I want to do is like, set myself in front of a blank anything and 01:06:00like create in that way, that's I don't want to do that during the summer. So I spent a lot of time, I have like little journals, I spend a lot of time like in nature and walking around. And kind of just taking in a lot. The summer is a very, like, I spend a lot I spent a lot of time observing and kind of just like react, relaxing during the summer. And that is how I prepare for the upcoming semester. And I usually take the summer to kind of just like unpack things that I didn't have time, or I felt like I didn't have time to unpack during the fall, or the you know, the previous school year. So I didn't create like any super major works. This past summer, I was really focused on just like, just relaxing. To be honest, I did, I didn't create a bunch of new things I did. However, I did a lot of pop up stuff in Milwaukee over the summer, selling prints like trying to make some money and get my art out there, network. And all of that. I feel like that's what I should spend the summer doing. Rather than like forcing myself to try to create or like having that be the goal to like create during the summer. I just, I don't like to do that. Because I I put my get myself in a rut. Like if I say that I want to do something and then I don't do it. I'm very hard on myself. So usually during the summer, I'm just like, we're just going to carry this notebook around. And if we see something we like, you know, I'll draw it. If I, if I feel so inclined. But I'd like to be lenient with myself in the summertime because it's nice and sunny and warm. And I really just want to be outside.

Sophia Abrams 1:07:58

So from that, what was this past fall semester like, so the fall 2020 semester like for you?

Auzzie Dodson 1:08:07

I am very grateful for this semester, I took "Intro to Painting." I took "Intro to digital Forms." I took "Current Directions in Art." I took the colloquium class, and I took something else I can't remember at this time. But I was like, fully immersed in art, like going from two classes in art to now taking five classes that are all. I was taking an art history class, but all geared in the art major was it was stressful. I'm not gonna lie. Um, but it wasn't bad. I don't like art history, but it's okay. It was really different, though. Like, 01:09:00online classes are not necessarily terrible for me. Like I've taken online classes before coming to UW. I think I took a couple of classes in high school online. Um, and they're totally doable. But usually, you know, like, I still have somewhere to that I'm supposed to be. I didn't have nowhere to be this semester, except for in my room. So that was like hard in that aspect. Because even in the spring when I was at home, it was like, yeah, you know, like, I have to be. I have like to turn this in online in this format. But the classes weren't synchronous, last spring semester, because we hadn't, even though like what was going to happen with that. So having a mixture of like synchronous and asynchronous classes, it gets really confusing. I didn't know what was going on for like the first month of school, to be honest, like, the first month I-- It wasn't until like, October when I finally sat down and like got things into a schedule and got myself situated. And by then I was behind. Just like, it was a it was a wild turn of events that way. However, I really enjoyed my. I enjoyed most of the classes I took this this semester. Again, I didn't like the digital class I was taking, it wasn't bad, I liked it. It's just I don't really, it's just not my area. So I struggle so hard in those classes. And then art history, I'm also yeah. I love history. I love art. I don't ever want to take another art history class, because it's just not for me. Um, but the studio classes that I was taking have been very impactful this semester, specifically my "Intro to Painting" class. Again, you know, I never taken a painting class, I just hear, like, some stories from my friends who have taken painting classes and things like that. And I was like, ah, I already know what's gonna happen, they're gonna make us just write a whole bunch of still lives or draw, you know, paint still lives. And we're probably going to be doing portraits and all that boring stuff. You know, alright, cool. The first day of classes, my professor was like, yeah, I'm looking through the syllabus, they have, like, I have some kind of stuff that I have to do. But like, I feel like it's gonna be boring. So what do you all want to do? I was like, what, what do you mean, what do I want to do? Like, mind exploded. And so that first class, which started out as an in person class, but of course, that was never gonna work, like we were. The whole campus shut down. Like two weeks later, I literally had one in-person class for painting, and then I never was in person again. Um, but I remember after that first class 01:12:00I, or I think whatever. After that first class, I went up to him, and I was like, so I've never taken a painting class. But like, I am really intrigued by the fact that you asked us what we wanted to do, and all of that. And so me and him started chopping it up. And he starts asking, "Well, what do you like to do?" Like, have you ever painted before? [inaudible], and I was like, Yeah, I've painted a lot, just never in a actual class, like, but he really, my professor, his name is [Guzzo Pins]. He really helped me to just deconstruct the way that I view art and painting specifically. Um, like, he just gave me a lot of, like, freedom and permission to do what I wanted to do in the class. I still had to follow, like, you know, guidelines and things like that. But from then on, he was like, "Don't let this limit you." He was like, "do not let these like their assignments and the requirements, do not let them limit you, if you want to do something else. Like if you want to explore a certain medium, or you're trying to do a certain thing, please do that." He was really heavy on the please explore. And maybe that's all I need. I was doing a lot of different things this semester. I've used paints, paint in ways that I had never even thought possible. I didn't even know what medium was until like, this semester, to be honest. Like, I didn't know any of that. And so I was exploring in this like taking in so much for painting and just like, figuring out what kind of paint I liked to use and like getting those more like foundational skills that I needed, but then not having to stick to that like being able to add that to what I feel like my style already is or the style that I'm developing is, um, and it's also just, it's really helped me like to think the way that I think about art, the way of viewing art is completely different now then when I had first started, you know, in the spring or even when, before then I feel like I've been able to develop pretty rapidly by just looking at the body of work that I've produced this semester versus the body of work that I produce any other time. I feel like I'm just, I'm producing art that is me. I'm finally producing what I want to put out into the world instead of what I feel like I have to produce for a class like I feel like an artist now. I've also just been working on, like, a lot like art outside of just creation like you know like showcasing. How do you become a professional artist? Like how do you brand yourself? How do you market yourself? 01:15:00And I've been very fortunate to have each of my, like, every professional that I've reached out to this past semester, and had questions about, like, "Yo, how are you?" You know, you're, you're one of my professors and grad students, like "You're a grad student, how are you? Like, what is that? Like? How are you getting yourself into shows like, how do you go about, like producing your work?" Like what is art beyond, like, being in school like? And I've really been working with that question, and I really wanted to do the BFA program, I just, I'm, in order for me to do the BFA program, I would have to be here a whole extra year, and I'm not doing that because it's expensive, and I don't need to. But I'm still, like, set on creating BFA quality work, like there's nothing stopping me from, like, creating that caliber of work. I just won't get the degree with that, but that's fine with me that little extra letters don't matter, my portfolio will. Um, so I've kind of, I've been taking that mindset into each of my classes, and like going to my professors and being like, "Yo, here's my portfolio, here's what I'm working towards, like, how does your class fit in with that?" Instead of previously, I was like, "Well, how am I going to do well in this class? No, what is this class gonna do for me." Like, I just been able to, like, gain that confidence and that assurance and like that clarity and what I want from art now that I don't think I would have had if I had not taking the, like, the set of classes that I've taken. I'm also taking the art colloquium. If you have not taken that class, I do recommend it, it's a one credit class, all you have to do is keep a journal and write responses. Pretty easy A to be honest. And you get to see so many different kinds of artists, and they come in and they talk to you like they're there, they are there to tell you what their work is about. And like, you can ask any questions you want, like, it's pretty lit. I'm getting to see like what people are doing in the quote, unquote, "real world of art," you know, people who are not that much older than I am, you know, people who are my age, like out there, people who are way older than me, you know, like, pushing out art and like, keeping that journal has been really inch, like, really instrumental. At first, I was like, I don't want to write a response for each one of these things. But looking back, like when I flip back to that journal, there's like some really key points talked about. I mean, because in art, like you talk about everything, you're not just talking about your art, usually you're talking about the state of the world or like yourself, or identities within your art. And it kind of draws to some larger questions. There are also, like, some people who came in and talk that I 01:18:00wouldn't even have thought about, like, we had a curator come in. Of course, that makes sense. But like that blew my mind. I was like, "Oh, yeah, that's right." Like, there's so many levels to this. And so in that class, we were talking about, like hospitality as an art form, like what it means to curate a space and how that is also like, working with art and doing all of that. There have been some questions like, I wish I had my.I do. Hold on, I'm gonna grab my notebook really quickly, because it'll help me get my mind. There's just like, just like really detrimental questions like being asked about art. So I'm, like, how, how are you doing like art? Oh, there was one guy who came in. His name is Adam D. Marcel. Phenomenal artist. He also was not even trying to be an artist, like his brother had OD on drugs. And so, and the police didn't do, like, anything about it. Like, they pretty much treated him and his family like, nothing like they don't take that as a serious thing, I guess where he's from, and it gets swept under the rug a lot. And so him just, like, trying to process all of that he ended up creating, like all of these flyers, he did screen printing and drawing and things. He ended up creating all of these flyers just from him, like trying to grapple with the fact of his brother's, like, death and things like that. And that turned into activism for him. And it's like, I always think of, like, activism as being very, like intentional and pointed and like, I'm an activist and I'm gonna do this but like, he literally stumbled upon it, but has been able to, like, really break a lot of barriers within the art program. And so it's just like it's getting to see people like that, oh, there was another artist Her name was Dorian Gardener. And she was asking like, there was one exhibit where she had the audience entertain her. Instead of her putting on an entertain, instead of, like, putting on a show for the audience, she sat like in a box filled with like, she did a lot to do with, like, body parts. And like, the black human body, especially, like, in the medical field, and things like that. So she sat in like, this bin of like, body parts that she made herself, and she just scared me people the whole time. And like, that's pretty remarkable, like to think about how you flip your audience like that, you know, like, what type of experience are you creating for the audience? And how does that tie into what you're talking about. So it's just like, a lot of those types of I was able to, like, ask a lot of those questions for myself during this semester, which is definitely helps me to think about, you know, next steps in 01:21:00art, because I don't want to just be in college doing art forever, you know, like, I would like to have my own art brand, my own art Empire, essentially, like I have a whole plan that I want, but that wouldn't have happened had I not taken the classes I took this semester.

Sophia Abrams 1:21:24

Um, from that it sounds like this past semester, you were able to get a lot of clarity for your art. One thing that I'm curious is, a lot of times black artists might feel, like, constrained to produce, like inherently black work, or like, they might feel pressure from, like, peers or colleagues or professors. Did you find that you felt that or like, as you mentioned, like, it was a pretty, like, it was a time of clarity for you.

Auzzie Dodson 1:21:54

Um, it's really a time of, it was really more clarity. Like, I've once I got the permission to create whatever I wanted to create it, I ran with it. You know, like, and for me, that will be inherently black art, I'm black as hell, like. So you know, like, I use my art to express and explore a lot of the identities I hold and a lot of the things that I see in the world. So I don't necessarily feel pressure to do that, because I'm going to do it anyway. Nobody is asking me no weird questions like, or made me feel like I needed to produce, like, a certain caliber of work, you know, so far. And even if that does happen, I'm just going to be like, I'm going to create what I want to create. And if you're putting all the extra on, that's on you, but here's what, here's what this piece is for. You know, like, I don't owe anyone anything with my art.

Sophia Abrams 1:22:57

From that, so, we're about to start school next semester, I guess. And then you're going to be a fifth year right for another semester.

Auzzie Dodson 1:23:07

Yeah, I'll be a fifth year starting next fall.

Sophia Abrams 1:23:12

So I'm curious to know, like, as we get to the end of this, like, you kind of alluded to it before, but like, what do you hope to achieve or do post-Madison?

Auzzie Dodson 1:23:24

Actually, I really been wrestling with. I want to go WWOOFing, which is doing like light farm work in exchange for room and board. I think that's the best bet for me because I really want to just travel and explore and create art. Um, so I want to use WWOOFing to do that. I mean, it also merges like, again, multiple things that I'm passionate about. I am very interested in, like, not necessarily, like, mass scale agriculture, but I do want to be able to create my own food source. And like, My dream is to like, once I'm done with like, being, 01:24:00you know, in the public who whatever, I really just want to have my own patch of land somewhere secluded, and have like a little self-sustainable, like, place. And so I think wolfing will be good for that. Because I'll be a I mean, it's hands on experience in growing food and taking care of animals and like, I mean, there's you there's so many different like, categories for it. So like you could do just if you wanted to focus on just a specific area, you pretty much necessarily could. So I think that'll be a good spot for me, because I'll be able to travel and explore and be in a whole bunch of, like, different places and network. Um, and my plan is to keep creating during that time, because I do want to go to grad school, but I want to take like two years off. I've been in school for 20, no I've been in school for 19 years at this point like just back to back right on through, so I'm just ready to like not be in school for a second. And I want to figure out what it means to be an artist outside of being a student, because I have no idea what that is like, right now, am I going to be creating the same type of art? Like, what is it? What does that whole process going to look like? So right now, that's what I'm planning on doing is to travel around experience life, you know, but I have, like, it sounds very, to me, it sounds like very, like, impulsive and not structured, but like, there's definitely like a plan and a structure for it, you know, with WWOOFing, it's like you have, you're not like doing stuff all day, you know, so I'll still get to live my life, you know, like, experience, whatever city I'm in, you know, go to art shows, you know, network with different people who market myself and things like that. But the plan is to continue on in my art brand. I feel like this last semester, and this semester, like these couple of like, this year, I'm really focusing on like, what, what type of art I want to create, um, and like what it means to be, like an art brand, like as an artist, like, what does that mean? And how, what kind of brand do I want it to look like? I'm really, I'm thinking about all of that. So that way, it can emerge like it continue to grow in momentum, so that by the time I'm ready to like, not even just be out of school, but when I'm ready to, like, just continue on in my career, like I have some substance there. And I just really, I really want to beef up my portfolio so that I can for grad school. Especially since I'm not, you don't need a BFA to, you know, go get an MFA, but it certainly does help, you know, and since I'm 01:27:00not taking that route, I want to make sure that I'm still secure in being able to continue on to get an MFA. But it's so much bigger than that. Like, it's all it's much bigger than that, but like that's, those are the small steps.

Sophia Abrams 1:27:19

And then I guess my last question for you is, do you think that there's anything that we missed talking about? That it's important, important to talk about?

Auzzie Dodson 1:27:31

Um, no, I feel like, I feel like we hit it. In some way or another. I've talked about like, the, what I create, my process and things like that. So I feel like, I feel like we're good.

Sophia Abrams 1:27:52

Well, thank you so much for allowing me to talk with you. On this Thursday morning. I really enjoyed hearing about your experience, and I'm so excited to see what you continue to do. And I think that this interview will be really helpful and, like, important for you know, both future generations as well.

Auzzie Dodson 1:28:13

Yeah, for sure. Thanks for having me.