Newhem is a veteran writer, author, ghost, and literature/writing professor who’s written 100+ books, articles, stories, essays, etc. for major publications and publishers. He’s interviewed and/or written bestselling books for countless notable people in business, medicine, entertainment, and politics on his radio show, The Operative Word, on KABC Los Angeles, he interviewed cultural icons about language, communication, and the words that are critical to their achievements.
Now Newhem’s dealing with an oligodendroglioma – a brain tumor (nicknamed “Ollie”) – sitting on the language expression center of his left frontal lobe. No more teaching Chaucer in the original Middle English! Before he eventually loses his ability to speak – and to write – Newhem’s vowed to create as much as humanly possible. Starting in mid-2022, he began for the first time exploring other parts of his “storytelling animal’s” brain. With the guidance of a trusted mentor, Norman Mallard, he started to create collage art. With each successive piece – he’s done about 75 already – he attempts to experiment with technique, media, and materials.
One of Newhem’s pieces, Tabula Temporis (Map of Time), a paper and wood collage, won “Accessible Expressions Ohio,” an annual juried, statewide exhibition and tour of visual art created by artists with disabilities. Presented by Art Possible Ohio in conjunction with the Massillon Museum, OH, the piece will be exhibited at the museum from March 25–May 7, 2023, and then tour the state for a year. Another piece, Tabula Cerebri (Map of the Brain), a 12-panel paper and wood collage, won a juried contest and will be on display in the Healing Art Gallery’s latest exhibition, “Kaleidoscope,” at Stewart’s Caring Place’s new facility, the Thomas and Lisa Mandel Cancer Wellness Center in Fairlawn, OH from April 4–August 8, 2023. The piece also appeared in the Cleveland Arts Network’s CAN Journal, Winter 2022-23. In July 2023, much of Newhem’s collage work will be in display throughout Wild Oscar’s, the Akron Civic Theater’s underground black box theater in Akron, OH, as part of his concurrent production, The Blake & Ollie Show.
