Y Crazy Mind

Today our guest is J. Ben Moss ("art name" PLOID). He is an artist & illustrator from Shreveport, Louisiana. He tends to do a sort of edgy comic book/lowbrow/graffiti-inspired kind of style, often at odds with the prevailing culture in which he lives, the southern USA. We have conducted an interview with him. Why did you choose 'PLOID' as your "art name"? That’s actually kind of a silly story. A few years ago, when I first started really getting into graffiti and street art, I was in an art crew. Of course, it’s far easier to spray paint a tag name than your full real name, so I decided to choose one that reflected my background in comics. The term “plewd” was coined by famous cartoonist Mort Walker to denote those little “beads of sweat” that were sometimes drawn above a character’s head to express excitement or anxiety. I misremembered the term as “ploid,” and went with it. I later came to realize my mistake, but a lot of artwork I ...

Tonight our guest is Tony T. Williams from Shreveport, Louisiana. He is currently residing in Seoul, Korea. Tony is very interested and active in the community and loves politics and community service organizations. His current focuses are with the Military Order of the Cootie #, Korean War Veterans (KWVA) INC #299, American Legion #38 and Veterans of Foreign Wars #8180. As a Cootie, he visits the local hospital monthly presenting fruit, snacks and candy to patients and staff. What do you like most about being active in the community? What I like most about community involvement is making a difference. It gives me great joy to see how volunteering affects others. My religious beliefs also drive me to help others. What draws you to politics and community service organizations? What draw me to politics and community service is ownership. Anyone can complain, but not everyone can lead. It takes a special type of person to identify a problem, create a plan to rectify the pr...

Karen T. La Beau is a Louisiana visual artist that resides in Shreveport but she is originally from New Orleans. She found her artistic voice after Hurricane Katrina and she is developing a series of work on the "blue crawfish." We have conducted an interview with her. How does the Blue Crawfish inspire you? In Louisiana, we love our crawfish. I once saw the elite blue crawfish. Royal blue is my favorite color. So, I became drawn to the “Blue Crawfish.” I decided to give them personalities almost creating an alternate universe with them doing various activities. What is the story behind your artwork? Drawing came naturally. My grandfather was an artist, most of my aunts and uncles down to my cousins all have the talent. However, it was not until after Hurricane Katrina that a need was born to create almost day and night. I was depressed having to relocate from South Louisiana to North West Louisiana. Painting saved my mental health. I missed home every d...