By Dana Cowell, President, Cherry Capital Toastmasters (Club 5116)

On ArtPrize’s opening weekend, our club secretary Merek Roman and I made the trip to Grand Rapids to visit one of our own. We found Justin Shull right where he said he’d be: at The B.O.B., standing beside his painting, greeting a steady stream of strangers, explaining his process, and fielding questions no one could prepare for. Watching him, I couldn’t help thinking about all the Thursday mornings that helped get him there.

331,776 dots and a second try

Justin’s entry, Moonshot, is a six-foot-square painting on four panels: a “down-rezzed,” pixelated take on an iconic Apollo 11 image from the lunar surface, overlaid with video game elements like a classic health meter. It’s his most ambitious painting to date, made of 331,776 individually painted dots and more than 300 hours of work. Seeing it in person, the scale is something else.

Getting to ArtPrize took persistence. Justin submitted Moonshot last year and wasn’t accepted. He refined his application to better explain the intricacy of his process, and this year it was selected for one of ArtPrize’s premier venues. That kind of persistence is something every Toastmaster will recognize.

Where Table Topics comes in

Justin has been at Cherry Capital nearly every week for the past year, and when I asked him whether that practice made a difference at ArtPrize, he didn’t hesitate.

“I’ve always been nervous about public speaking, and if I’ve been out of practice for some time, getting up in front of a group of people and speaking off the cuff can be pretty intimidating. The more regularly I practice, the less I’m focused on being nervous and the more present I can be for the presentation of my art and the conversation that follows. Toastmasters, and especially the impromptu Table Topics, is such good practice for this.”

He’s honest that the nerves haven’t disappeared. Instead, showing up week after week has helped him “be familiar with the nerves that attend public speaking without letting them take over.” I think that’s one of the truest descriptions of what Toastmasters does that I’ve heard.

I also asked Justin what he’d say to someone who’s thought about visiting a club but hasn’t quite made it through the door:

“Standing up in front of the group for the first time is the hardest. I was so nervous the first time I stood up to answer a Table Topic question that I could barely get out a clear answer. Know that everyone at Toastmasters is here to support you, and share your goals with the group. That will disarm your fear. Let folks see you’re nervous, acknowledge the fear, and it will get easier to show up again and again.”

I’m so proud of Justin, and proud that our club gets to be a small part of his story.

Visit Cherry Capital: the club meets every Thursday at 7:30 AM, alternating between Horizon Books in downtown Traverse City and Zoom. Guests are always welcome — or find a club near you.

Have a member milestone worth celebrating? Submit it to District 216.