STRETCH & EXPLORE
To stretch and explore means learning to reach beyond your supposed limitations, to explore playfully without a preconceived plan and to embrace the opportunity to learn from mistakes and accidents along the way.
Touring musician, Olivia Awbrey, believes that to stretch and explore is a vital part of her music. Her parents gave her a guitar when she was 15 years old and she taught herself how to play it. She understands that mistakes are necessary for her art and that improvements only occur when you are not afraid to make them.
REFLECTION PROMPTS
BIO: OLIVIA AWBREY
After three years as the front woman of Eugene-based folk/rock band Small Joys, Olivia set out to share new songs from her first solo EP "New Wheels." She draws inspiration from her past year as a true road-musician, as well as issues of place and politics, gender and identity, friendships and romance. Olivia has played more than 75 shows in the past year in venues throughout the West Coast and a few in Germany, but her favorite place to play is still in the living rooms of her friends and family.
What did Olivia want to tell her middle school self?
“The joy of art is in the making. If you focus on why you love it and create what you want to see/hear/feel, you will get better. Anything positive that comes from creating your art is just a sign
that you’re doing the right thing.”