Meet Rebecca Peebles | Artist, Curator and Creative Facilitator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rebecca Peebles and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rebecca, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I’m originally from Chesterfield, VA south of Richmond. My parents were both educators and we lived a very DIY life of cooking, home projects, landscaping, etc. I guess I learned that I was capable of many types of tasks and that strength (of body and character) should be put to good use in community, neighborhood and family. I always remember innovating creative projects as a young person. My twin sister and I were taught to be loyal and reliable, honest and hardworking and, I think my parents’ greatest achievement with us is teaching us to serve and be stewards of our home, community and the environment. For me, community development and healthy personhood are priorities now after years of ambiguity over what it means to “make it” as a professional artist in some exhibiting or performative way. I still treasure sharing my art work, but now, my artwork is all about creating and fostering belonging in personal and collective mental health and community. I make art that inspires belonging in this humans-on-Earth-club and I want to create more access to creativity and arts’ transformative, healing and connecting potential.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My art has almost always been about engaging mindfulness and contemplative practice (an effort toward sustained awareness with an attitude of equanimity and curiosity). At first it was more about the repetitive practice – I studied weaving and printmaking – and the flow state that I sometimes felt. Over the years though, the more I contemplated the purpose of mindfulness as a means to present-being, the more my art came to be about compassionate mutuality with others, transmuting confusion into clarity and eventually mental well-being and community development. I think I’m different from others in that I’m a particular flavor of weird and I am a unique voice, but like everyone, I am going through the perennial challenges of human life and I want to use my life and experiences to ease the hardships we all face and foster connection through the joy of belonging. No, it’s not easy. I feel disappointment in our society for its neglect of mental health, undervaluation of human health servants and continued doubt and de-prioritization for the power of creativity and art to heal and fortify society itself. I struggle with my own disappointment, but then I remember how impactful my parents, my mentors and my teachers have been in their humble lives, showing up for their communities and boldly standing up for and working at causes to improve the lives of everyone – one. person. at. a. time. I have learned that there is no urgency in the present moment, no need to succumb to the hustle and that I can trust myself to be courageously receptive and personally responsive as situations and context demand. To be specific about my work as Hol Sum and creating Home Safe Projects, these new iterations of my creative work aim to connect individuals to their own authenticity while fostering mutuality through creative facilitation and gatherings. Both ventures prioritize relationship and the tandem of giving and receiving. Through both 1:1 and group initiatives, my work in Creative Practice Facilitation is oriented toward developing self supporting habits and promoting creative mental fitness.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My best friend visits me in Denver and we’d spend a lot of time walking – I love wandering a city when I’m traveling abroad, so why not treat our city like that? From the Cole neighborhood, we’d start early and walk to Nowhere Coffee or Crema and grab a coffee and a snack before walking over to the new Art Park on the Platte River. From there, the long stretch along Platte River, which has become so pleasant compared to 15 years ago, and we’d walk SW to the Union Station area. I love that part of the city in the summer, so let’s say it’s summer and the farmers’ market is happening, so we get a snack – fresh peaches from Ella Orchard and visit the Museum of Contemporary Art. The MCA is just the right size effort for an out of town visitor and art.. you know? Can’t miss it. Walking East toward home, we could visit Matter Design and Book shop – always something worth investing in there. and oh! it’s lunch now? Stop at La Diabla for some Pozole and a mezcal and then meander through the weirdness of RiNo’s Larimer Street. I like to see the changing murals and I have to point out my mural, The Golden Hour on the Empire Collective’s building. May as well grab an ice cream – High Point Creamery or Heaven? – for the remaining walk home. Honestly, I love to cook at home, but since this is about showing a person I love what I love in my city, we’d likely go enjoy dinner from El Chalate – yes, El Salvadorian! – taking it to go and have a picnic at the Denver Botanic Gardens at dusk.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
This is weird, but I have to shout out to my former husband, Christian Butler. Ok, so we got a divorce and decided to pursue different agendas for our second half of life, but we worked together on numerous projects throughout 19 years in partnership and our relationship took me to amazing places worldwide that inspired me to trust my intuitive art process, seek out teachers all over the world (in person and in literature), and, at home create opportunities for my community that offer back what I have received. He’s an architectural developer, and I had a lot of contribution to the overall design of his projects, the finishes and landscaping and we were very hands-on in building those projects, so I learned so many skills. His entrepreneurship affected how I consider my own life as a series of projects and exposure to his career helped shape my own philosophy of aesthetics and art as supports for human well-being. There were so many other fantastically influential people in my life along the way, and it’s hard to limit this to one person, so I also want to shout out to my dear mentors Suzanne D and Michael P. Johnson who we met while Christian studied at the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture. Suzanne is a humanist to the core, documenting artists and architects as a producer for documentary films and Michael is plainly genius and boldly unapologetic. They both inspire my style greatly and their wisdom helps me to relax into this disorienting journey through life. And, one more – Alvin P. Gregorio, artist, educator (CU Boulder) and generally phenomenal person who has improved my life immensely through our studio sessions, conversations, antics, adventures, and ideas – realized and yet unrealized. Alvin’s generous spirit pumps up his artwork, enables his students and inspires me to work with compassion.

Website: hol-sum.com and rebeccapeebles.com

Instagram: @home.safe.projects

Image Credits
Friday Photo, Sandra Fettingis, Rebecca Peebles, Charlie Smith