Humankind has a penchant for creating social molds and insisting everyone fits somewhere. In the art world, particularly the academic art world, the expectations are heavily tied to the conceptual; pieces and exhibitions are meant to reflect or impose on audiences some higher insight into the human condition. But I would argue that many artists don’t fit that mold, hesitating to consider themselves artists under such conditions. Audiences typically can’t look at a byproduct of concentrated effort without more heavily weighing the byproduct over the hours upon hours spent in its creation. So what mold fits the visual artist who prefers process and material over making an obvious statement?

Thanks for joining us for part three of Living in Uncertain Times. So far, we’ve talked about dealing with uncertainty and the importance of connection, and now we’ll talk about everyone’s favorite topic, grieving. Something most of us avoid.

We’re often led to believe that our voices in matters concerning the world at large are infinitesimal, accepting dismissive questions concerning our impact as gospel. Well, what are you going to do? I mean, who am I? Heather DuBois Bourenane, executive director of Wisconsin Public Education Network (WPEN), never really bought it. “I think folks should feel empowered to be actively engaged in the civic process because those voices are the ones that are needed the most. And they are also ones that are excluded from the decision-making conversation.”

Taliesin is the 800-acre home, studio, and estate of Frank Lloyd Wright. Education has a long history here, and today it continues to serve life-long learners in a variety of ways. Wright created a learning laboratory in the 1930s with the creation of the Fellowship, his apprenticeship program. Taliesin Preservation takes that model of apprenticeship and brings it forward to something that is essential to all of us: food.

Even with nearly 25 years of restaurant experience, opening Cadre Restaurant on University Avenue was certainly not easy for owner Chef Evan Dannells in late 2019. Temporarily closing only four months later due to the pandemic was harder.

One of the lesser-known elements of customer experience is the unexpected. At Louisianne’s Etc., diners arrive through an ordinary front door on Hubbard Street in Middleton, but as they descend the stairs, they feel like they’re slipping down into the French Quarter of New Orleans. It starts with the aroma of Cajun cuisine and the sound of hot jazz piano filling the air. At the bottom of the stairs, a quaint and charming atmosphere carries through rustic stone walls, curved arches, chandeliers, and the low light of flickering candles on ivory tablecloths atop dark wood tables.

Rita pulls up to the red farm building and hands Vitruvian co-founder Tommy Stauffer a five-dollar bill after he places grocery bags into the trunk of her car. She tells him the tip is beer money as she smiles, sporting her Vitruvian t-shirt.

Designated a Madison Landmark in 1980 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the Jackman Building, at 111 S. Hamilton Street in Madison, is a bold, early 20th century commercial building. Designed by architects Louis Claude and Edward Starck and built by Findorff, the building housed the offices of the Richmond, Jackman, and Swanson law firm as well as rental spaces. The cream-brick building is basically a right triangle rounded at one point of its base on Carroll Street, pointing toward the Capitol and squared on the Hamilton Street side. The design stands out with a spatial effect conveyed by many large windows. At least one window is in every room, as well as in the stairwells and current owner Peter Wadsack’s small office, which looks out to the alley on the third side of the building.

Staff and volunteers at Dane County Humane Society (DCHS) have been positively affecting change in the lives of animals for more than a century. DCHS will mark the 100th anniversary of its incorporation in 2021 by commemorating the impact it has made locally, regionally, and nationally.

Society wasn’t built on second chances. It was built on third chances, fourth chances, fifth chances, and beyond. Yet when it comes to individuals, it seems the fool-me-once mentality finds sure footing. But what if we changed from a position of vulnerability coated in skepticism to empathy holding the ladder of opportunity—from feeling like we’re being taken advantage of to helping someone take on a struggle that we can’t completely comprehend. Just Bakery provides marginalized individuals access to the tools and knowledge needed to start becoming their best selves, all while making award-winning baked goods.

At Four Lakes Veterinary Clinic, we’re off and running the minute we open with clients waiting outside to drop off their pets, a cacophony of ringing phones echoing from every corner, and, without fail, the first dog of the day singing us the song of its people the moment we close the cage door.

As I begin to write, there are 18 days, 3 hours, 44 minutes, and 8 seconds remaining in the year. 12:00 a.m., January 1, 2021, may elicit the single greatest sigh of relief ever across every time zone worldwide. While the chiming in of a new year doesn’t immediately lift us past the impediments of 2020, it does feel like a beacon of light after what was a dark, weighty 365 days that felt more like 365,000 days.

“We have something for everybody at Bekah Kate’s,” says owner Rebekah Stelling. “Madison day-trippers are a huge part of our business, especially in the summer and fall. And Madison people come for the cooking classes too. Maybe because the classes are not expensive and offer a more intimate feel.”