I got a weird call a few weeks ago.

My fiancée informed me a car had driven into the coffeeshop where she works, breaking a window and causing structural damage.

That night, large pieces of plywood were installed over the broken window, which, to be nice, did not look great.

Then a few days later, an artist agreed to help spruce up the plywood until fixes could be made. He painted over the plywood to show a scene of a few tree branches in a forest with some geometric green shapes.

Something that clearly didn’t belong — a large piece of plywood in place of a window — became something much more attractive that belongs.

This reminded me of my love for all the arts — it just makes our days and life brighter and thorough.

Here at the Herald, we’re working to give people with Austin and Mower County ties a place to publish their artistic endeavors.

We are taking submissions for Austin Expression, a literary magazine set for its third year in the July-August edition of Austin Living.

And we were able to bump back the submission deadline a few days. The new submission deadline will be 8 a.m.on Monday, May 22.

With Austin Expression, we strive to give the creative people of Austin a place to share their work with their friends and neighbors.

With the Austin ArtWorks Festival turning the focus to the arts every August, the July-August edition of Austin Living magazine has morphed into our annual arts issue with arts-focused stories and, of course, Austin Expression.

Austin Expression

What is Austin Expression? A literary magazine set for its third year in the July-August edition of Austin Living.

When do I submit? Submissions will be due at 8 a.m. on Monday, May 22.

Who can submit? Any Mower County resident, former Mower County resident or someone with a tie to the community.

What can you submit? Anything that can be represented in print: art; poetry; short stories; song lyrics; mixed media; photographs; illustrations; pictures of sculptures, pottery and origami; and more. Written submissions must be 1,500 words or less. Images must be  the largest possible file sizes for print quality. That may mean sending images in multiple emails or even via sites like Dropbox.

Where do you submit? Submissions should be sent to newsroom@austindailyherald.com with “Austin Expression” in the subject line. Call 507-434-2235 with questions .