There's a moment every summer when the whole neighborhood smells like wood smoke and something wonderful. Someone's grilling and smoking. You can hear the sizzle two yards over, smell the smoke from your fishing boat across the lake, and suddenly your dinner plans change (yes, really!).

Every summer, that neighbor is us.

This is NOT a 'how to stay on a diet' or 'how to keep losing weight' type of article. If that’s your journey, you do you, but you won’t find any advice on that here. I’ll focus on something much more important, which is how to keep eating healthy when you go back to college.

Landscapes, friendships, moments, memories: these are all parts of what helps to keep us grounded through shifting times.

They are part and parcel of the things musicians draw on to create, too.

For those who have had any kind of experience creating an X presence for any period of time, the question has undoubtedly crossed your mind: what's this worth? It's not a vanity exercise. Monetization of the creator's work, partnerships with brands, and direct account acquisitions are all now commonplace in the social media economy, and your X account is becoming a legitimate digital asset just like a newsletter subscriber list or a domain name.

Late spring and early summer: a time of graduations, engagements, weddings, relocations, and other sorts of moves.

Musicians sometimes address these changes directly, and at other times they choose indirect ways to go about it.

“Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning.” - Thomas Edison

I don’t know about you, but these days I feel like much of society has the attention span of gnats. We aim to play the long game but are interrupted by something shiny on aisle six. We set goals, make those bucket lists, and say ‘someday’ more times than we can count.

Floral decor for your home: ideas from around the world serves as a universal language that bridges the gap between distant cultures and our private sanctuaries. 

As times continue to shift, as ways continue to change, the power of community, connection, and friendship can continue, too, as a source of hope and possibility. Friendships old and new, brief connections as you go about your day to day life, friends at distance and close by, long conversations and occasional messages: all those nurture connection. They are reminders of ways to keep balance and focus as world events and personal ones fill the world with change.

Here are several ways artists have explored connection in their music.

Art For All Spaces in partnership with The Obsidian Gallery at Faith Arts Village Orlando (FAVO) proudly presents The Shape of Our Surroundings, a compelling solo exhibition by artist Chad Pollpeter. The exhibition will be open to the public during FAVO’s First Friday and First Saturday art walk events on May 1 and May 2 from 6-9pm at The Obsidian Gallery (#244).