Iced out: Artist Christopher Reme's designs from the future

Artist Christopher Reme poses in booth at the Crystal Lake Park Art Fair last month. His unique, afrofuturistic graphic designs are characters he creates not only visually, but also each with their own personality and legend.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

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URBANA - Christopher Reme remembers starting to draw when he was around six years old. Unable to stay quiet during church services, his grandmother handed him paper and pens to keep him occupied during sermons. It was not long after he became obsessed with art. Influenced by comic books and cartoons, his technical ability improved to the point that he could enroll at the Art Institute in Chicago.

After two years, he left the program to continue his art education along a self-directed path. Eventually, he pursued other interests, putting art on hold. Nearly 15 years later, he rediscovered his passion and talent.

One of the many characters created by Christopher Reme. The Champaign native creates designs featuring characters and creatures doing everyday things. For every demon, warlord, or mutant he has created, each has an elaborate backstory.

Illustration provided

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"When I first started doing this, I didn't expect anybody to like it or care about it," Reme said from behind a table in his booth at the Crystal Lake Park Art Fair on August 3. "I would draw while at work or school and be like that's nice. That's cool. But that was as far as it went."

That was until his wife Sara convinced him to take the next step.

"You're good at this," she told him three years ago. "We're doing a show."

Reme only had four pieces ready for his first show at the annual Boneyard Festival. He was taken by surprise with the initial reception to his work at his very first show.

"People showed up and they were like, 'Hey, this is awesome' and 'this is nice'," he said recounting the experience. It was then he learned his style and vision had a name, Afrofuturism.

"All of my characters have a back story and a whole lore with them," Reme said. "None of them are heroes, and none of them are villains. They're just people and creatures doing stuff because they have to."

Many of the festival-goers Reme spoke with at the Boneyard Festival compared his work to that of a University of Illinois professor.

"People kept coming up and asking, do you know Stacey Robinson? And we're like, no."

Robinson, an Associate Professor of Graphic Design at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is known for his multimedia work through collages, motion graphics, and illustrations featuring Black people in the futuristic, sometimes fantasy world. He eventually met Robinson and said the two exchange tips and discuss their work regularly.

Reme's creative process is simple.

"I just pick up the pen and the table and go at it," he said. "It creates itself. I'm just a vessel it flows through."

Reme plans to release a graphic novel or book by the end of the year. View his artwork and portfolio at www.theicedoutnomadstudios.com. See additional designs at https://www.artstation.com/christopherreme.

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Sims-Fletcher joins the Illini gymnastics program

CHAMPAIGN - Illinois women's gymnastics program appointed Aja Sims-Fletcher as an assistant coach. The announcement of the staff addition came Thursday from Fighting Illini head coach Nadalie Walsh.

"From the very first conversation in the hiring process, it was immediately apparent to me that she is a woman of positivity, gratitude, resilience, and excellence," Walsh said yesterday in a statement. "I believe she will connect incredibly well with the student-athletes and will help us continue to cultivate a champion-minded team."

Aja Sims-Fletcher joins the Illinois women's gymnastics program this fall.

Photo provided

Sims-Fletcher joins the Illinois program after serving one year as the first head coach of Talladega College’s women’s gymnastics team. She is the second individual in the history of HBCU athletics to coach gymnastics. In February, the Tornadoes became the first HBCU program to win an NCAA-sanctioned meet, defeating the University of Alaska Anchorage and host Centenary.

Despite Talladega's success, last month Interim president Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough announced the private school's gymnastics program would close two weeks later citing the lack of financial resources to continue.

A standout gymnast at Alabama, Sims-Fletcher holds a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and exercise science, as well as an MBA from the University of Alabama.

She is excited to join the Illini program and looks forward to helping continue the team's success on the national stage.

"I'm honored to join the University of Illinois gymnastics program," said Sims-Fletcher. The Orlando, Fla., native has coached at various levels, including high school, club, and college. She was a volunteer assistant coach at her alma mater. "The passion and dedication of the athletes, coaches, and the entire Illini community are truly inspiring. I am excited to work with the team and contribute to our collective goal of achieving excellence, in and out of the gym. This program has a proud tradition of success, and I look forward to starting this new chapter with this amazing team!"

Nourish hearts and minds: The unseen benefits of eating together

Photo: Luca Morvillo/PEXELS

Family Features - According to the U.S. Surgeon General, Americans face a lack of social connection that poses a significant risk to individual health and longevity. "Loneliness and social isolation increase the risk for premature death by 26% and 29%, respectively. More broadly, lacking social connection can increase the risk for premature death as much as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day," per the report.

One way to address this epidemic of loneliness is by sharing a meal with friends and family. Learn five of the specific advantages of family meals identified by the Family Meals Movement and take advantage of these benefits during National Family Meals Month this September by sharing one more meal together each week.

Meals Together Foster Togetherness and Connectedness

Staying connected can be hard when schedules conflict and life gets busy, but shared meals with friends, family or however you define your family can be the glue that holds people together. Studies demonstrate a positive relationship between family meal frequency and measures of family functioning, which is defined as family connectedness, communication, expressiveness and problem-solving. The key is for family members to engage in conversation with one another during mealtimes and take advantage of the one-on-one time without distractions or interruptions from smartphones or other devices.

Meals Together Strengthen Mental Health

An often overlooked benefit of family meals is mental health support. Multiple studies show family meals have long been associated with improving mental health, including reducing symptoms of depression, decreasing violent behavior and lessening thoughts of suicide among youth. Among adolescents, frequent family meals can help mitigate the risks of destructive behaviors by boosting prosocial behaviors and life satisfaction. Data from the FMI Foundation's "Staying Strong with Family Meals" Barometer shows family meals also help restore a sense of peace, with one-third of survey respondents saying family meals make them feel calm. In short, family meals are a recipe for strengthening emotional well-being among children and adolescents.

Meals Together Improve Nutrition

There is one easy way to help ensure your family is eating fruits and vegetables: a family meal. Research shows family meals improve fruit and vegetable consumption. It also pays to start this trend early, with research finding preschool-aged children who eat frequent family meals are more likely to eat more fruits and vegetables. Overall, research indicates families who eat together frequently have a better overall healthy diet and lower body mass index.

Meals Together Improve Academic Performance

Helping students' academic performance begins around the family dinner table. Eating more meals together as a family is associated with improved overall adolescent health, including higher grades. Multiple studies show students whose families eat together frequently perform better academically in areas such as reading and vocabulary. Research also supports a correlation between frequent family meals lowering incidents of risky and harmful behaviors, including drug and alcohol abuse, which may also contribute to school performance.

Meals Together Teach Civility

The family dinner table is a perfect place to show younger generations how to communicate respectfully, according to the Family Meals Barometer summary. In fact, 76% of survey participants agreed family meals are a good opportunity to have and teach respectful interactions while 70% said frequent family meals create a safe environment for families to discuss thornier societal issues. Another 68% affirmed their belief that sitting at a meal together tends to keep conversations more civil.

Learn more about the physical, mental and social benefits of family meals at familymealsmovement.org and follow #familymealsmonth and #familymealsmovement on social media.

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