When we started the Meet an Artist Monday feature a couple of years ago, we thought of it as an essential aspect of the storytelling energy I wanted to bring to the arts section. A regular, lowkey opportunity for artists to introduce themselves to L.A. in their own words -- as many or few words as they liked. Even though (or perhaps because) they all get the same questions, the unique personalities and surprising anecdotes, eclectic interests and mediums, and true diversity of thought and personality that animates our art world has a chance to shine through.

For me there was a special value to the series this year of pandemic; as it also served to highlight the resilience, innovative, and deep power of the arts to nurture human connections even in a time of physical separation. Thank you to everyone who has been part of it so far, and thank you in advance to everyone we will get to meet in the new year. I love these check-ins and I'll never stop doing them.

For some light and inspirational holiday reading, catch up on the whole archive (it's up to about 120 profiles now!) and get ready to meet more artists again, starting bright and early next Monday.