AART (Chris Stafford)

Alexa King has been a lifelong artist whose passion and talent combined to achieve success from the start of her career. Since early childhood, she became absorbed in drawing, combining her love of horses with a fascination for art. She has always owned horses and ponies so her intimate knowledge of anatomy and understanding of a horse’s gait gave her a unique perspective from which to create her sculptures. Her mother’s artistic eye and her father’s skills in construction provided the spring board for her to pursue her education in art by studying studio art as a painting major at Ball State University in her home town of Muncie, IN. Once she had established skills in creating three dimensional forms, she moved to Scottsdale, AZ where she cast her first bronze. This proved to be the launch pad for her career, which led to solo exhibitions at the Morris Douglas Fine Arts and Phippen O’Brien Gallery in Scottsdale. Her first major commission was to create a series representing the Pony Express for Nelson Rockefeller Collections in New York City. The memorial statue of 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, which stands at Churchill Downs, Louisville, KY, is probably her most famous piece and the one of which she is most proud. With so many commissioned pieces now on display around the world her creative impulse is never still; she begins each day with drawing before she sets to work on a sculpture at her home in Verona, Wisconsin.

What does Alexa listen to while she's working?
Podcasts including The Daily, Terry Gross and currently the audiobook; Caveat Emptor, a secret life of an American forger, Ken Perenyi.

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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Debbie Mueller is a self professed late-bloomer who is making art her second career. When she is not painting, Debbie is an OB GYN physician and surgeon who considers herself an accidental artist. As a New Englander, Debbie went to medical school in Connecticut and later settled in New Hampshire with her husband and children. Her mother was a hobby painter and she grew up with musical influences, which extended to an interest in dancing. But aside from regular creative outlets as a child she had no aspirations to paint. It was a rainy day on a family vacation that was to change her outlook when her mother encouraged her to spend some time painting. It was the feeling that it gave her that proved her motive and inspiration to continue. Debbie has spent time studying with a number of artists including Peggy Kroll Roberts, Anne Blair Brown, Sarah Sedwick and Julie Davis. She began exhibiting in 2016 and has since shown her work extensively in New England and beyond. Debbie has won numerous awards from Art Guilds to Best in Show and Plein Air Festivals. She is a member of Oil Painters of America, American Women Artists, American Impressionist Society and National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society. This year Debbie has a full schedule of traveling for workshops, exhibitions and plein-air tours.

What does Debbie listen to when she paints?
‘For the most part, I enjoy the quiet. Or I ask Siri to play music from the 70s.’


Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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Hello I’m your host Chris Stafford and welcome to The AART Podcast where we will be sharing the stories of female artists from across the country and around the world. I’ve been a podcaster since 2009 in the world of women’s sport. Now, as an amateur artist I want to focus on the talented women whose art has made them stand out. We will dig deep into their background, how they got started, their inspiration and aspirations, mediums and muses. The purpose is to shine the spotlight on women who have historically been kept hidden behind the easel. We explore the female gaze and how it translates to art. Our conversations are unscripted so that you get to know these women up close and personal. We have a terrific line-up of artists including the renown sculpture Alexa King, landscape artists Lindsay Mullen and Julie Davis.

Join me for season one of The AART Podcast starting April 1, 2023 wherever you get your podcasts.

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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English artist Lindsay Mullen spends her time either in her studio on the island of Menorca or in Washington, DC. A lifelong artist, Lindsay was born in Hertfordshire and graduated with a B.A. from West Surrey College of Art and Design. An opportunity in her teens led her to the Spanish island of Menorca where she worked diligently and in relative isolation to establish herself as an artist. Painting on hemp sacks and surviving on a diet of chicken wings were just some of the sacrifices she made in those early days. This clearly paid off and before long she was exhibiting around the island and enjoying her first commissions. Her career took off and she has not looked back as her work has garnered international awards with showings in solo and collective exhibitions around the world. She says: ‘I focus on creating work that both captures my eye and enters my soul, so that a palpable inspiration has no choice but to emerge and be shared with others.’ Lindsay’s next exhibition is in Ca n’Oliver, Menorca entitled "Menorca and the light of the North” from Hartung-Bergman” curated by Carles Jiménez, opening April 22 through September 24.

What does Lindsay listen to when she’s painting?
"Music - Keith Jarrett, London Grammar, 80’s Radio - BBC Sounds, radio plays. Art related YouTube, fine art history programs, currently listening to Cecily Brown, Maggi Hambling, Hans Hartung, Joan Michell, Gerhart Richter."

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios

Lindsay’s website: https://fineartmenorca.com/ Instagram: @fineartmenorca

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Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com.

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My guest this week is a landscape artist who has a special relationship with trees. Some call her the tree lady. A Texan through and through, Austin-based Julie Davis came to art following a law degree and three children. She had an early interest in 35mm photography but it wasn’t until 2008 when she began taking art classes and meeting artists with whom she developed friendships, that she began to develop her own artistic pathway. Julie is now a full-time artist, attending workshops, showing her work around the country and inspiring women to do the same.

Women artists who have inspired Julie: Jill Carver Laurel Daniel Allie Zeyer Erin Spencer Kathie Odom Christine Lashley Jane Hunt Suzie Baker Pam Padgett Karen Philpott Hunter Ash

What does Julie listen to while she’s painting? ‘My playlists on Spotify are really random; Paint Vibes and Painting 2.0 are the ones I most frequently listen to.’

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Instagram @theaartpodcast

Julie Davis - https://www.juliedavisstudio.com/
Instagram: @juliedavisstudio

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This week's guest is professional artist and plein air teacher Suzie Baker from Shenandoah, Texas. Growing up Suzie was the child who was always drawing, although she began her career in advertising. While Suzie’s adopted parents were not artistic, her birth father and grandmother were. In 2008, when she was in the Middle East with her husband she started painting full-time, eventually establishing herself as a representational artist. Nowadays Suzie divides her time between painting and teaching plein air around the country.
Host: Chris Stafford Produced by Hollowell Studios Instagram: @theaartpodcast hollowellstudios@gmail.com
Women artists who have inspired Suzie:

• Aimee Erickson
• Jane Hunt
• Michele Byrne
• Kathleen Hudson
• Brienne Brown
• Christine Lashley
• Michele Usibelli
• Michele Byrne

What does Suzie listen to while she’s painting?

Audiobook list: “In Montmartre,” by Sue Roe The Judgment of Paris,” by Ross King The Emerald Mile by Kevin Fedarko Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Anything by David Sedaris
Fiction Authors: Jane Harper Nevada Barr Louise Penny
Music: I have a “Drivin-n-singin” playlist that includes everything from Simon and Garfunkel to James Taylor, from Patsy Cline to all manner of show tunes, from Nanci Griffith, and The Bird and the Bee, to Katy Perry and Bruno Mars.

https://www.suziebaker.com/
Instagram: @suziebakerartist

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Jess Firshein is an amateur artist from Rockville, Maryland. A parent of two young children, Jess is an executive with the global tech consulting company Accenture. While her artwork is often a meditative exercise, she does not have the luxury of a studio in which to paint. Instead she uses a corner of the kitchen counter and finds a few moments here and there to paint or sketch. Her preferred mediums are acrylic, charcoal, and gouache, in which she captures beautiful still life impressions and figure sketches. She says her still life is an extension of real life as she finds inspiration around her home and even in the fridge! As a child, Jess was ‘doing a ton of art’ which later turned into ‘doodling’ at work. Nowadays Jess shows her work on Instagram and enjoys engaging with a global virtual art community.

Jess on Instagram @jessfpaints

Jess's playlist:
Beyoncé
Lizzo
Stevie Wonder
SZA
Kendrick Lamar
Sia
Missy Elliot
Miles Davis
Ella Fitzgerald
Biggie
Florence + the Machine.

Jess’s favorite women artists:
Maggie Siner
Ingrid Christensen
Ann Blair Brown
Lynne St Clare Foster
Carla Bosch
Kayla Martell
Susie Baker
Amy Erickson
Suzy Schultz
Trisha Adams
Jihea Yang
Felicity Joy Starr


Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Instagram @thearrtpodcast

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Sarah Sedwick was born and raised in Cleveland, OH where her father was a member of the Cleveland Orchestra. She graduated with a BFA from The Maryland Institute, College of Art. After school, Sarah worked as a waitress and watered plants to make ends meet and took a break from art. In 2007, she moved to Oregon where she has her studio and runs an Online Art Mentorship Program and now divides her time with traveling to teach workshops on still life painting in oils. Sarah describes her style of oil painting still life and portraiture as Loose Realism—her paintings explore the undercurrents of meaning we impart to the objects around us. She sells between 50-100 paintings a year and her paintings are now signed with just her last name but as Sarah explains there was a time she would use only her initials so as to hide her gender. Sarah is the author of Dynamic Still Life for Artists, published in November 2022.

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
@theaartpodcast @sarahsedwickstudio on Instagram

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Claudia Concha describes herself as a Gestural Expressionist, painting with both hands at the same time, sometimes just with sticks and mostly with her eyes closed. Claudia was born and raised in Bogatá, Colombia and moved with her husband to Santa Monica in 2003 where they live with their two children. Her studio is every artists dream in an aircraft hanger at Santa Monica airport where she holds exhibitions. While she was not artistic as a child, she was always creative. Subsequently her college education in architecture and studies in Italy clearly influenced her work on a large scale. Her paintings can occupy an entire wall to accommodate the physical effort they demand. Her art is self described as a conversation connecting with every part of her body using the Gestalt method and other techniques. For Claudia her art has a deeply spiritual emphasis, which she also conveys in her workshops and art therapy.

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
@theaartpodcast
@claudiaconchaart
claudiaconcha.com

What’s on Claudia’s Playlist:
“I like a lot to paint in the silence to balance silence, after listening to meditations and/ or music, helping me to get attuned to the moment. “
Music playlist: Josh Groban Meredith Monk Cesária Evora Jazz/ Claude Bolling & Alexandre Lagoya Carlos Santana Rock- Pink Floyd , Peter Gabriel, Roger Waters, Rush, Yes, Sting.. Tibetan Bells music Nadama Radio from ( Pandora) Cirque du Soleil Music, particularly “ O”

Claudia’s Favorite Female Artists: Gelah Penn Eline de Kooning Joan Mitchell Mary Abbott Deborah Remington Judith Godwin Ethel Schwabacher Juana Gaviria, Contemporary Colombian Artist Olga de Amaral, Colombian Textiles/ Installations

Art suppliers: Dick Blick

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British born Emma Gray is a contemporary artist, art advisor, curator and gallerist based in Santa Monica, California. She is passionate about fostering and mentoring female artists by building private collections. A former editor of ArtReview who had studied at University College London as well as portraiture at Heatherley Art School, London, Emma has been what she describes as a secret painter for the past decade. A student of Reiki, and of breath work having studied healing and spirituality in Santa Fe, Emma focuses on energy and spirituality in her practice working from the inside out. Her Los Angeles project space 5 Car Garage, established in 2013, is a haven for the female artists that she promotes. Among the many artists on her roster are Megan Daalder, Rebecca Farr, Jesse Fleming, Kyla Hansen, Jennifer Sullivan and Raychael Stine And now, as an empty nester, Emma is looking forward to the next phase in her life where she can nurture her time as an artist.

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com
Emma on Instagram @emmagrayhq
Online: emmagrayhq.com

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Cuban-born photo-based artist, María Martínez-Cañas, first came to the US at the tender age of three months with her parents, and four years later, in 1964, they relocated to Puerto Rico. Maria recalls her earliest fascination for photography as an eight year old when she started working with a Polaroid Swinger camera that her parents gave her. Her mother also gave her an old Twin-Lens Rolleiflex that she brought out of Cuba, which Maria still has today. It wasn’t long before she asked her parents for a darkroom in the house, and thus began her passion for the process of creating images and processing film. Maria has been called a precocious photographer with an insatiable appetite to explore the art of photography and it wasn’t long before her talent became apparent when she had her first exhibition in 1977 at the age of seventeen. Between 1978 and 1982 she attended the Philadelphia College of Art, where she studied with the likes of Joan Redmond, Ron Walker, Eileen Berger, and Arno Rafael Minkkinen. In 1985, Maria received a Fulbright Hays Grant, which enabled her to travel to Spain to study and where she culled archival sources, such as historical maps and documents, which inspired her to create negatives based on Cuban maps. She returned to the United States in 1986 where she settled in Miami. Two important series from the 1990s—Totems and Quince Sellos Cubanos (Fifteen Cuban Stamps)—epitomize her interest in a photomontage aesthetic and use of imagery drawn from her Caribbean childhood. Maria is the recipient of numerous awards and grants, including a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Photography Fellowship (2016), a National Endowment for the Arts grant (1988) and a Civitella Ranieri Foundation fellowship (2014) in Umbertide, Italy. Her photographs are in many private and public collections, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; American Art Museum, Smithsonian Institution; the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia; and the Museum of Modern Art and International Center of Photography in New York. She is currently working on a project that involves the work of early 20th century German photographer August Sander. When she is not in her studio, Maria enjoys deep sea diving for which she is a certified diver, and watching her favorite basketball team, the Miami Heat. She says: “I think that visually, when you look at a work of art, be it sculpture, be it painting, be it photograph, whatever it is, you as a person, you’re bringing yourself, who you are, what we call the baggage, you bring your iconography, you bring your identity, you bring your experiences as a person … with your eyes you’re looking at an art work but with your head and with your heart; two very different things, the brain and the heart, but when they are communicating with each other, it’s a very interesting dialogue. You don’t have to know about art, you just have to relate to it.”

Maria’s Favorite Female Artists:
Eva Hesse
Kiki Smith
Barbara Blondeau
Barbara Crane
Louise Bourgeois
Doris Salcedo Gego
Amelia Pelaéz
Zilia Sánchez
Jess T Dugan

Maria’s Playlist:
Si*Sé
Federico Aubele
Mazzy Star
Natasha St-Pier
Silvio Rodriguez
Coldplay
Simply Red
Sarah McLachlan
LisseEe
Gal Costa
Maria Bethania
Norah Jones
Omara Portuondo
Shawn Colvin
Francis Cabrel Mandalay
Luz Casal
Cesaria Evora Bebe
Ednita Nazario

https://mariamartinez-canas.com/
Instagram: @mphotogram

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
@theaartpodcast
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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Finding poetry in the landscape is how Erin Spencer portrays her work as she connects with nature. Born in Northern California, the second of seven children, Erin moved to Maryland as a toddler. She showed an early interest in writing, dancing and archeology and would later study archeology and history at Brigham Young University in Utah. Her father, Boyd, was a chemistry professor, as well as a pianist and composer, and her mother Janine, a teacher who encouraged all her children to be creative. In her 20’s, Erin spent 18 months in The Netherlands as a church missionary, where she took photographs, which provided her with the inspiration for her early paintings. After returning to the US, Erin married her husband, Peter, and in 2008 the couple moved to Rhode Island where they have raised three children. Faith and family are the most important aspects of Erin’s life — she reads her scriptures daily and spends time each day at the easel. Her inspiration for her landscapes comes from California to New England via Europe and she captures her scenes in plein air or in the studio. “I think what’s so exciting about the art, what I produce but also art that I get to see from others, not just paintings but anything that people create, it’s an exciting thing to see.” Erin also spends time studying art and teaching workshops. Her paintings are included in private collections across the United States and around the world including Canada, Europe, Israel, Australia, and Japan. She says: “My personal process begins with observation and study of the natural world in all its splendid variation. Whether working from life or from sketches back in my studio, my paintings become translations of what I perceive. The beauty of this is that I will always have work to do, poems to create from my personal impressions of the world.”

Erin’s favorite female artists:
Maria Josenhans
Mary Tonkin
Laura Rios
Bethann Moran-Handzlik
Sarah Manolescue
Jennifer Moses

Erin’s playlist:
“It varies. Sometimes it's a podcast (often an art podcast or This American Life). I often listen to music. Currently I'm playing Johnny Flynn, Gregory Alan Isakov, Kishi Bashi, and Dar Williams. It changes, but music is a huge part of my practice.”

https://www.erinspencerart.com/
Instagram: @erinspencerart

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
@theaartpodcast
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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This week the painter and curator Kristin Calabrese. Kristin was born in 1968 in Mountain View, a suburb of San Jose, CA and spent her childhood moving back and forth between Massachusetts and Arizona. Her father, Bill, was an engineer and her mother, Karen, a housewife. Kristin has a younger brother Greg and they grew up in the 70s in a middle-class white American suburb with an abundance of children in the neighborhood. However, Kristin’s childhood was not easy; her father was an authoritarian and she was bullied by children in school. She says her family environment was very sexist and she vowed to live a very different life to her mother’s. In 1995, Kristin graduated with a Bachelor in Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute and Master of Fine Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1998. She found her way as an artist after exploring a variety of mediums in college, venturing into graphic design and creating websites before eventually concentrating on oils. She says: “My paintings speak plainly, make jokes, and are irreverent. I paint to make my thoughts, feelings, and experience into monuments that mark my small and large, personal existence.” The focus of Kristin’s work includes psychology, humor, politics and formal issues of composition and representation, primarily through painting. Since the mid 90’s, Kristin has held numerous shows in the US and Europe. Solo exhibitions include Gagosian Gallery in Los Angeles, Brennan & Griffin in New York, and Michael Jansen in Cologne. She has also curated many group exhibitions, including at the Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions and Honor Fraser Gallery. Her work is featured in numerous collections, including Saatchi and The Armand Hammer Museum. Together with her husband, artist Joshua Aster, they have a small business for art supplies, such as canvases and framing, and then they spend the evenings painting. Kristin says that she is now in a happy place as an artist and curator at home in Los Angeles.

Women artists whose work Kristin admires:
Mary Weatherford
Susanna Coffey
Michelle Grabner
Anne Harris
Deb Sokolo
Lucy Bull
Lauren Quin

Kristin’s Playlist
“I don't listen to music in the studio. I listen to podcasts and books on tape. Once I recognize a song, I find it annoying and distracting, so I listen to podcasts and books on tape. I'm pretty interested in history right now, stuff I never learned in school like the 30 Years War, The Reformation, even more current American history, like J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI. I play podcasts all day long, need it to sort of distract myself from being antsy, they help me focus on the painting.
Here are some or my current podcast faves:
American Prestige
Background Briefing
Know Your Enemy
The Majority
Report Chapo
Trap House
The Tom Hartman Show
Left Reckoning
Letters and Politics
AndI've adopted a couple astrology podcasts:
Chani Nicholas Astrology of the Week Ahead
Anne Ortelee weekly weather
Also some comedy podcasts, here's one: Thought Spiral".

Kristin's website: https://kristincalabrese.com/
Instagram: @only_future_thing

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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This week mixed media artist Rebecca Youssef. Rebecca was born in Lebanon, PA in 1973. The daughter of teachers Chic & Linda Hess, she was the middle of three children; she has an older brother and younger sister. Art runs in her family in different mediums; her sister and a cousin are graphic artists, an aunt was a fashion designer, and her paternal grandmother was a hobby painter. At the age of 9, her family moved to Hawaii where Rebecca began to appreciate the connection between nature and nurture. She developed her interest in gardening and arboriculture, which established the foundation for her focus on eco-culture. Her love of trees and nature is reflected in her work as she strives to bring awareness to the importance of sustainable art. She says: “I’ve been an avid gardener since the age of ten. Even then, I recall understanding the importance of growing and nurturing native plants. I was already in awe of California’s lush topography, and knew that a balanced ecosystem was key to survival for all its members.” Rebecca graduated from the University of Arizona in Tucson with a Bachelor in Fine Arts and a Masters in Art Education from Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. After college she worked as a graphic artist and in fashion before teaching art. She met her husband Ike in LA where they live with their three children; Andrew, Caroline and Margaret. Rebecca returned to art seven years ago and after initially finding it a challenge once she found how her art belonged in her soul and with her eco-friendly values, she settled into what has become her niche; using natural materials and sustainable practices for eco-conscious mixed media art. She says: ‘Beautiful things can be made by working with the planet, not taking from it.” As the saying goes: one man’s trash is another man’s treasure and Rebecca has proved how waste can be transformed into beauty. A cultivator of native California oak trees, her family’s acorn project has seen over 25,000 acorns planted in the Santa Monica Mountains over the past ten years. Rebecca is currently an artist-in-residence at the 18th Street @ The Airport art complex in Santa Monica, CA.


Rebecca’s favorite female artists: "Jaclyn Gordyan, who uses objects found in nature in her work Laurey Bennett-Levy, who is a printmaker using cyanotype Joan Wulf, who uses smoke and fire to create marks Julie Mehretu, who creates layered, abstracted landscapes Mickalene Thomas, whose collages incorporate glitter, rhinestones and enamel."

Rebecca’s playlist:
"Podcasts: I Like Your Work, Art Problems, The Flying Fruitbowl, Arts To Hearts, Armchair Expert, Pivot Music: Hip Hop only Audiobooks: Everything from fiction to self help. I just started Finding The Mother Tree and am loving it."

Rebecca's website: https://www.rebeccayoussef.com/
Instagram: rebecca.youssef_studio


Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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Textile artist Carmen Mardonez was born in Santiago, Chile in 1988. She is the oldest of nine children with seven sisters and one brother. Her father Joaquim is an engineer and her mother, also Carmen, was a psychologist until raising her family took over. As a child, Carmen was into crafts and soon learned to sew, knit, and embroider. She studied History and Arts at the University of Chile, and earned a master’s degree in Community Psychology, also at the University of Chile. Whilst in school, Carmen volunteered at the local women’s prison and studied art therapy as a way of helping the prisoners. In 2017, she moved with her husband Paulo to Los Angeles where her dreams and aspirations to becoming a textile artist aligned with her passion for social justice. Carmen’s vibrant artwork using vivid colors seeks to radically reimagine intimate spaces of memories, dreams, and discovery. She transforms discarded textile waster such as bed sheets, pillow covers, and pillows through her labor-intensive freestyle embroidery to create provocative fabric sculptures and installations. She says: “I seek to connect with these radically intimate spaces that store memories of exploration, discovery, and suffering.” Carmen has held exhibitions across LA, at the Jackson Dinsdale Art Center, JKR Gallery, Provo, Utah, Stay at Home Gallery, Paris, TN, Oranj Studio Gallery, Portland, OR, and the Friend of a Friend Gallery, Denver, CO. Her work has also been shown in “Building Bridges Art Exchange” and “Craft Contemporary”, and has received the support of several grants, scholarships, and art residencies. Later this summer, Carmen will be relocating to Oxford, England with her husband and their six year old son Juan.

Carmen’s favorite women artists:
Sarah Plamodon
Sarah Detweiler
Amy J. Dyck
Nagu
Ash Woodworth
Bushra Gill
Tara Centybear

What does Carmen do while she’s working with fabric?
“Usually I work in silence or talking with one of my sisters/grandmas/friends by phone. Or watching something on Netflix to keep practice my English.”


Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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This week's guest is Botanical Artist, teacher and exhibition organizer, Carol Woodin. Carol was born in 1956 in Salamanca, Upstate New York inside the Allegany Indian Reservation, one of two governed by the Seneca Nation of New York. Her father James was a construction worker and her mother June, a library clerk who also enjoyed oil painting and playing the piano. Carol is the middle of six children with four brothers and one sister. Her childhood was one of making her own fun outdoors and with sketchbook in hand she pursued an early interest for art. At first this would be still life and landscape paintings until an introduction to orchids became a passion and one that developed into a level of expertise she did not plan on. In fact, she never wanted to be a botanical artist; her foundation for illustration started in high school and then at the Williamsport Area Community College (now known as the Pennsylvania College of Technology) as a technical illustrator where she was one woman amongst 50 men. But before she could make art her career, Carol spent time as a draftsman, surveyor’s cartographer, UPS manager and for three years a tractor-trailer driver. In 2016, she married Paul Harwood who is also a painter and gardener. For the past 30 years Carol has focused exclusively on botanical art; as a painter, teacher and exhibition organizer. Most recently her work has been shown at Jonathan Cooper Gallery, London; Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC; Shirley Sherwood Gallery, Kew, UK: UBS Galleries and Newhouse Galleries in New York; Museum de Zwarte Tulp, in the Netherlands; and the Marciana Library, in Venice, Italy. Her work is also in numerous private and corporate collections throughout the Americas and Europe. Carol was recently invited to contribute to the Grootbos Florilegium, a project to document and raise awareness of the Cape Floral Kingdom in South Africa. In 1995 Carol received a Gold Medal from the Royal Horticultural Society for her watercolors of Paphiopedilum orchids, and was the recipient of the 1998 “Bouchier ASBA Award for Excellence” from the American Society of Botanical Artists. In 2013 she received the first Lankester Award for Orchid Art in Cartago, Costa Rica and in 2016, the Orchid Digest Medal of Honor. Carol lives in Catskill, New York where she also cultivates her own flora and fauna.

Carol’s favorite contemporary artists:
Tanya Marcuse (contemporary photographer)
Rosie Sanders (botanical artist)
Jean Emmons (botanical artist)
Asuka Hishiki (botanical artist)
Mieko Ishikawa (botanical artist)
Katie Whipple (oil painter)
Andrea Kowch (oil painter)

Playlist:
Bill Staines- Travelling Shoes Les Paul and his Trio – It’s only a Paper Moon (That Crazy Rhythm) instrumental Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Bach: Contatas BMV 82 and 199 Mike and Ruthy The Farmer (Bright as You Can) Dianne Reeves – Nine

Podcast: In Defense of Plants

Books: Anne Cleeves’ Vera series Mick Herron’s Slow Horses series Ron Chernow’s historical biographies (Hamilton, J.D. Rockefeller, J.P Morgan, Washington, just started Grant) Geraldine Brooks—historical/contemporary novels—People of the Book, Horse, The Secret Chord, Caleb’s Crossing


Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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This week’s guest is movie poster illustrator and designer Akiko Stehrenberger. Akiko was born in South Lake Tahoe, California in 1978. A first generation American, she is the second youngest of four children with one sister and two brothers. Akiko’s father, designer Mark Stehrenberger is Swiss German and her mother Aichu Yeh from Taiwan—which, until she was eight years old was under Japanese rule— and they met when they emigrated to Los Angeles in the 60’s. Akiko’s mother spoke both Japanese and Mandarin but fostered more of a Japanese culture. Although she was not a professional artist, she encouraged Akiko to take up drawing and apply for art school; that being the preferred option to her enlisting for the army, which came close to being a reality. And so, in 1997 Akiko began studying illustration and design at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. She also worked a variety of jobs to get through college and after she graduated in order to pursue her career and pay off student loans. New York beckoned and she moved from Southern California to learn the trade of becoming a designer and illustrator. When her mother became ill, Akiko moved back to LA. It was also coincidentally at the time when magazines were moving online that she fell into the movie poster industry, which changed the course of her life. In 2004, she officially began her career as a movie poster artist. It would be the film Funny Games, for which her poster was chosen, that put creative directors and the film industry on notice that here was an artist making her mark. Akiko is now a 23-time CLIO Award winner who was deemed the “Poster Girl” by Interview Magazine. Vanity Fair included her Funny Games and Kiss of the Damned posters in their “Best Movie Posters of All Time” list. Her "Da 5 Bloods" is on view at the Academy Motion Pictures Museum. Akiko’s portfolio includes Portrait of a Lady on Fire, TÁR, Dune, Beef and Everything, Everywhere All at Once, to name just a few. Akiko combines traditional illustration techniques and modern graphic design to create textural elements with fearless experimentation showcasing her crafty intuition and versatility by capturing the essence of a film in a single image. New Life director John Rosman said: “Akiko is simply one of the best poster artists of all time.” Her first book, Akikomatic: The Work of Akiko Stehrenberger, published in 2020 will be updated with more recent posters later this year for its second edition. Akiko lives in Los Angeles with her son Barrington.

Akiko on Instagram: @doyrivative
https://akikomatic.com/

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
@theaartpodcast on Instagram

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/aart--5814675/support.

American conceptual artist Kathryn Andrews was born in Mobile, Alabama in 1973. The only child of Judy, an entrepreneur, and Lamar, a salesman and erstwhile poet, Kathryn’s early days were transient because her family’s business determined where they lived. Kathryn’s childhood influences in terms of culture, politics and religion would form the backdrop to her emergence as an artist. Her formal art education began with a BFA from Duke University and an MFA from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. She also studied photography at the Rochester Institute of Technology, NY prior to becoming interested in sculpture. She says that initially she did not consider being an artist—working in mixed media came later. Kathryn spent time traveling through Europe and working a range of jobs, including with Bosnian refugees in Slovenia. She then spent five years in Manhattan as a researcher and working for the fine art photographer, Rosalind Solomon. Kathryn then moved to LA in 2000 and began exhibiting her work in 2002. She has exhibited in numerous shows both shared and solo as well as holding performances at institutions including the Broad Art Museum, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI (2017), the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, (2015), The High Line, New York, (2016), and the Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany (2013). Kathryn is the founder of The Judith Center, which seeks to engage women artists, activists and thought leaders in conversation around the topic of gender equality. It will launch in the spring of 2024 with 50 artists featured in 30 museums over the next five years. Meanwhile, Kathryn’s work will be featured in a new exhibition at Kunstmuseum Thun in September 2023, called Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys. Kathryn lives in Los Angeles with her two Bedlington terriers, Coco and Cooper.

Kathryn’s favorite female artists:
Agnes Denes Marisol
Alison Knowles
Barbara T Smith
Barbara Jones-Hogu (d)
Lutz Bacher (d)
Gae Aulenti (d)
Cini Boeri (d)

Kathryn’s Playlist (but not when she’s working)
Bill Frissell
Pauline Oliveros
Leo Kottke
Dizzy Gillespie

Kathryn’s website: https://kathrynandrews.net/
Instagram: @crib_z

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Instagram: @theaartpodcast
Email:hollowellstudios@gmail.com


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Costumiére Christian Joy Hultquist first established her name when she collaborated with Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ lead singer, Karen O to design her stage costumes, and she has never looked back. Christian was born in Marion, Iowa in 1973, the second oldest of six children to Connie and Jim Hultquist. Her parents had their own challenges raising a family while each spending time in the prison system. Her mother became a ‘born again Christian’ and so instilled a religious upbringing to her children. She was creative, teaching them to be resourceful using DIY—a skill Christian would later adopt in her craft. Connie was also a writer, and her father a singer. Coming from a poor background, Christian soon learned that she needed to make her own way and, while she excelled at sport in school, she had no academic ambitions. Instead she decided to make her own way and is entirely self taught—aside from one year studying photography, she had no training to become an artist or costume designer. Once she left Iowa and headed east to Chicago, her world began to open up and she spent time in Europe before, at the age of 24, realizing her future was destined to be in New York. It was there that she worked in retail and made the most of networking, which paid off, and it wasn’t long before she met Karen O, herself a burgeoning artist. Thus began a partnership that would showcase her work on stage, and give her the name recognition she needed to establish herself in the industry. Consequently, international success followed. Christian’s work has been exhibited in The Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Mode Museum in Hasselt, Belgium and The Museum of Art and Design in New York City. She has also held her first solo show at the AVA Gallery in New York. Christian’s work has been featured across all major publications, including The New York Times, Time Magazine, Vogue, Vanity Fair, The Guardian, Billboard, Spin and Rolling Stone. Her next show will be in September 2023 at a new gallery space in New York alongside her husband, the actor and artist, Jason Grisell.

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

Christian's website: https://www.christianjoy.us.com/
Instagram: @christianjoycostumes

Christian's favorite women artists:
Melissa Godoy Nieto
Alex Murray-Leslie
Julia @ioulex
Mariangela Lopez
Caroline McAuliffe
Janelle Rabbott
Naomi Sarah Clark
Rachel Nelson
Michelle Im
Camilla Carper
Cammi Climaco

Christian’s Playlist:
Our Lips Are Sealed: Fun Boy 3
Here Come the Warm Jets: Brian Eno
Night Shift: The Commodores
Art Star: Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Only You- Yaz
Sinead O’Connor- Jump In the River
Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou: The Homeless Wanderer
Gaby Les Soul Men:
Oh Maloya Kronos Quartet: Oh mother the handsome man tortures me

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Ingrid Christensen is a Canadian still life and figurative oil painter. Ingrid was born in 1964 in Golden, British Columbia—a small town in the mountains in western Canada. She is the third of four children with an older sister and between two brothers. Ingrid’s parents, John and Ella Anderson, were German immigrants who arrived in Canada after WWII and eventually made their way to running a motel. As a child, Ingrid was not exposed to the art world but she was keen on drawing, and is self taught as an artist. After high school, further education took her away from growing up in a small town to Vancouver where she earned a BA at the University of British Columbia (UBC). This was followed by a BEd from Queens University in Kingston, Ontario. Upon graduating, Ingrid spent a few years in teaching but eventually realized that this was not her calling. Once she married, she set off on bigger adventures; to Australia and New Zealand, and later to Japan, and Thailand where she learned the art of silversmithing. Upon returning to Calgary the couple started a family. It was then that Ingrid began her journey in painting; first in watercolors then later in oils, which is her preferred medium. Her art has won both national and international awards and has been highlighted in International Artist, Avenues, and Arabella magazines. Ingrid has written articles about art and creativity for Artsy online magazine. She says she is, first and foremost, a painter of light. Her work is an ongoing exploring of light's ability to elevate even the most mundane object into the glowing subject of a painting. When she is not painting, Ingrid is teaching either online or with in-person workshops. Ingrid has two sons, Zac and Ben, and is married to film producer David Christensen. She lives in Calgary, Alberta.

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

Ingrid’s website: ingridchristensen.com
Ingrid on Instagram: @ingridchristensenartist

Ingrid’s favorite female artists:
Cecily Brown
Zoe Frank
Jennifer Pochinski
Erika Seguin
Joanna Logue
Claudia Rilling
Lisa Golightly
Amy Dury
Amy Brakeman Livezey
Lucy Stopford
Cathy Chin (@realandplastic)
Mary Beth Mckenzie
Karen Silve Natalia
Tomas Segovia

Ingrid’s Playlist:
Aruna Chandra/Mashti, Deep Dive Corp.
Kidz of Tibet/Kleintierschaukel, Badau
It’s a Beautiful Day (Reprise)/The Kiffness, Rushawn, Jermaine Edwards
Cassiopeia/Dan Bay
Poseidon/Dan Bay La Rubrique
September Fields/Frazey Ford
Heart of Glass/Lily Moore
Righteously/Anna Ash
Chaise Longue/Wet Leg
Downtown Train/Tom Waite
Never Going Back/Fleetwood Mac
Adriatica/Opez
Hallelijah (I’m a Dreamer)/Luther Dickinson, Amy LaVere
Sweet Dark-Haired Man/Joan Shelley
Walking on Broken Glass/Annie Lennox
Not Fair/Lily Allen
You Know I’m No Good/Amy Winehouse
Hello (feat. Dragonette)/Martin Solveig, Dragonette

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American Vinnie Bagwell is a sculptor and representational-figurative artist who has become a pioneer for African American women in her field. Her works of public art have become her raison d’etre as she strives to give a voice to underrepresented and enslaved Africans. Vinnie was born in Yonkers, NY in 1956 and grew up in the Town of Greenburgh with her sister. Her parents, Edward and Viola Bagwell were both artists in their spare time. As a child she showed a gift for drawing and developed a passion for painting in high school. She graduated from Morgan State University in Maryland with a BS in Psychology. Vinnie spent some time in car sales, which she said taught her communications skills. In 1993, she began sculpting completely self taught and with ambition and purpose it wasn’t long before she was making a name for herself. Vinnie’s first public artwork, “The First Lady of Jazz Ella Fitzgerald,” located at the Yonkers Metro-North/Amtrak train station was commissioned in 1996. She has since won numerous public-art commissions and awards around the United States. Connecticut commissioned a seven-foot bronze of Hartford educator Walter “Doc” Hurley, which is the first public artwork of a contemporary African American in the state. In 2012, Vinnie created a 24” bronze, “Liberté,” for the inaugural exhibition at the Freedom Rides Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. She is also a journalist and co-authored the book: “A Study of African-American Life in Yonkers From the Turn of the Century”. Vinnie is the Co-founder, vice president, and executive director of the Enslaved Africans’ Rain Garden whose mission is to honor, dignify, and restore the humanity of enslaved Africans in America by transforming them from objects to subjects through art in a public garden in Yonkers. Vinnie lives in Yonkers with her miniature French Bulldog Rio. She has a daughter, Pierre, who is a mid-wife and artist. It was seeing her magnificent 7 foot statue of the abolitionist Sojourner Truth at the entrance to the Walkway Over the Hudson that introduced me to her work.

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

vinniebagwell.com
@vinniebagwell

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Michele Byrne is a figurative Plein Air painter known for her social scenes and palette knife work. Michele is originally an East Coast girl, born in 1959 in Reading, PA, she spent her childhood growing up in the countryside. She was, she says, a tomboy enjoying the outdoors, but her real passion began as a small child drawing and painting, showing an early talent that was recognized by her teachers. Her parents, Sam and Fay, encouraged her artistic leaning and as the third of three children she was encouraged with art classes and given the freedom to follow her passion. At the tender age of eight, Michele decided she loved art so much that she wanted to become an artist. From 1977-1981 she attended Kutztown University in Pennsylvania from where she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Communication Design, and Minor in Illustration/Painting. While she only took one class in mechanical drawing it was to prove invaluable in learning perspective, which has helped her with painting buildings. As a graphic designer, Michele made her way to New York but it wasn’t long before she realized she wanted to be her own boss. While marriage and raising a family would take over her life, once she divorced she discovered a freedom to pursue her career as an artist. Michele has held numerous exhibitions and solo shows, winning awards around the U.S. She is also a sought-after instructor offering plein-air workshops both online and in person across the United States, Mexico and Europe. Michele is also the author of two books entitled The Art of Conversation. In 2020, Michele moved to Sante Fe, New Mexico and is an active member of its flourishing art community. She has two sons, Colin and Seamus who have inherited her artistic gene.

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

Michele's website:
https://www.michelebyrne.com/
Instagram @michelebyrneart

Women artists whose work Michele admires:
Ann Gale
Aimee Erickson
Zoe Frank
Mary Cassatt
Berte Morisot
Gene Kloss
Georgia O’Keefe
Elaine De Kooning
Frida Kahlo

Michele’s Playlist
Pink Floyd,
Neil Young and Reggae Music Buddha Bar
Healthy living podcasts
Jay Shetty,
Chase Jarvis,
Eckhart Tolle (newest Fav is Dr. Joe Dispenza on meditation and manifesting what you want into your life)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/aart--5814675/support.

Maria Josenhans is a landscape artist working both outdoors and in her studio. An artist for nearly four decades, Maria's work plays back and forth between representational and abstract as she allows each painting to find its own unique path. Maria was born in New Jersey, one of two daughters to parents James and Janet. Her mother was a librarian, and her father an engineer and keen photographer. Maria had an early introduction to the art of photography in her father’s dark room and developed an interest that shaped the early part of her career. As a child her mother introduced her to Scottish Highland dancing, which still today is a passion that she shares through teaching and adjudicating. Her talent for painting was discovered in High School where her teacher Mrs Erich would prove influential in guiding Maria into a career as an artist. From 1982-86 she studied at the Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts), in Philadelphia, PA and graduated with a BFA in Illustration with Honors. In 1994, Maria studied Large Format Black & White Photography with Paul Caponigro. Her early career in photography and illustration was spent in New York before she moved to New England. Once she met her Canadian husband her path changed course and she turned exclusively to painting. In 2000, they moved to the west coast of Canada where Maria has enjoyed a climate that allows for year round plein air painting. She has always been a nature lover, and she is also a student of Zen Buddism. Maria currently lives in Burnaby near Vancouver with her husband Marcel and their new dog Basil.

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

Maria’s website: http://www.mariajosenhans.com/about/
Instagram: @mariajosenhansart

Women artists whose work Maria admires:
Pat Steir
Lois Dodd
Joan Eardley
Joan Mitchell
Helen Frankenthaler
... and many many many more.

Maria’s Playlist:
Philip Glass (particularly solo piano)
Domenico Scarlatti, sonatas
Moby Beck (mutations)
Jeff Beck
Bob Dylan
Patti Smith
Neko Case
KD Lang
Pasty Cline

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/aart--5814675/support.

Sarah Rossetti, aka 'Invader Girl', is a Contemporary Acrylic Artist painting evocative scenes of war, law enforcement, veterans and, more recently, horses. Sarah was born in Nonnweiler, Germany in 1987, the oldest of five children—she has a younger sister and two younger brothers. Sarah’s other young sister Lisa was tragically killed in 2004; a traumatic event that would impact Sarah in different ways. Her father John was a communications specialist in the Air Force, stationed in Germany where he met his wife Regina. As a military family they moved around and whilst in Germany her parents divorced and Sarah stayed with her mother who moved the family to the island of Guam, eventually helping her in the bar business that she operated. It was there that Sarah met the military personnel whose war stories would leave an impression that has influenced the art genre she specializes in today. Those graphic stories would create powerful images and inform the style of art that has become her trademark. Sarah did not feel at home as a student and once she graduated high school in Guam she bucked the idea of college, preferring to find her own way untutored as an artist. She endured a struggle with alcohol that she eventually won and, realizing that she needed a new direction, she moved to the US in 2017. She married Phil, a retired navy CMC, and after a spell in Alexandria, the couple found their home near Haymarket, which accommodates a large studio. For the time being, Sarah is not represented and prefers not to show her work in galleries. Instead she has a website and takes commissions, and has an impressive work rate of 3-4 paintings a day.

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

Sarah’s website: https://www.invadergirlart.com/
Instagram: @_invadergirl_

Favorite female artists:
L. M. Hankins
Ashley Gessler Davis

Sarah’s Playlist:
Storm - Josh Vietti
Greed - Godsmack
The story of OJ- Jay Z
Rekt - Rob Bailey
Nice n Easy- Frank Sinatra
Scherzo for Piano no 2- Frederic Chopin
Pink Moon- Tash Sultana
The Ballad of londinium- Daniel Pemberton
23- chayce Beckham
Mftr- Pusha T
Fortunate So - CCR
Young and Free - Dermot Kennedy

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Madeleine Bunbury is an English equine artist who paints life portraits of horses and ponies. At just 28, Madeleine is aspiring to follow in the footsteps of her idol, George Stubbs, aligning with other great equine painters, such as Agasse, Munnings and Herring. Madeleine was born on the island of Mustique in 1995, one of four children; her mother Lotty is a fashion designer and her father Michael, a doctor. She grew up in an an island playground and from an early age sketching and painting was instinctive, and more accessible than riding ponies which she dreamed of. It was when she began her education at boarding school in England that she was able to indulge herself and become a horse-mad teenager taking every opportunity to ride. Her love of horses became the catalyst to her initial plan to become a veterinarian but she had to abort that idea once she failed the required science exams. It was then that she decided on a career in art with the confidence that this was something for which she had a talent. With the guidance of an artistic uncle and aunt, Madeleine spent three years studying traditional portraiture at the Charles Cecil Studios in Florence, Italy. It was to prove the launching pad for her to embark on a career as an equine artist and she was soon making a livelihood painting horse portraits. Madeleine can be found either in her studio in Fosbury, Wiltshire or traveling to horses across the UK and around the world. Her latest project is a series of 16 breeds of British native horses and ponies which, as well as producing very large paintings will also be a coffee book, and perhaps a documentary.

Playlist:
Eminem- Lose Yourself (Gets me out of bed and revved for the day)
Claude Debussy - Claire de lune (The first piece I learnt to play on the piano)
Chopin - Nocturne no.20 in C-Sharp Minor (so melancholy and beautiful to paint to)
Destiny's Child - Independent Woman (after various boyfriends let me down this is how I feel)

Favorite artists:
Isabella Watling
Daisy Sims
Hilditch Henrietta
Abel-Smith
Eleanor Cardozo

Madeleine’s website: https://www.bunburyart.com/
Instagram: @bunbury_equine_art


Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/aart--5814675/support.

This week guest is Korean-American ceramicist Michelle Im aka RATxCHICKS. Michelle was born in Atlanta, GA in 1984 to Kun Sook Im, a home-maker, and Jong Seong Im, an environmental engineer. She has one brother; Sewon Im, who is a financial consultant also living in the US. Her grandmother was a poet and calligraphy artist in South Korea. As a child the family moved around from Michigan to Boston and South Korea. Michelle returned to the US for college and since graduating with a degree in Biology and Art from The State University of New York at Buffalo, she has lived in New York City. She was named one of Ceramic Monthly’s 2022 Emerging Artists and is an award recipient of the American Craft Council’s 2022 Emerging Artist Cohort Program as well as a grant recipient of the Center for Craft’s Teaching Artist Cohort in 2023. Michelle was a Visiting Artist in Residence at the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts in 2022 and she was selected for a Distinguished Fellowship at Penland School of Craft during her winter residency in 2023. Before becoming a full time ceramicist, Michelle spent time in the service industry and since 2021 she has had her own studio in Queens where she lives with her partner, artist, John Almanza and her dog Inky. She teaches ceramics at Greenwich House Pottery in Manhattan, NY.

Michelle on Instagram: @ratxchicks
Michelle’s website: https://ratxchicks.club/

Michelle’s Playlist
Wu Tang Clan
Talking Heads
The Velvet Underground
Kendrick Lamar
Richie Hawtin
Jeff Mills
Mike Parker
LSDXOXO

Michelle’s favorite female artists:
Christian Joy
Haylie Jimenez
Sydnie Jimenez
Kristy Moreno
Soojin Choi
Mary Cassatt
Joanna Powell
Eun Ha Paek
Sulo Bee
Shea Burke
…and many more.

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/aart--5814675/support.

Robin Antar is an American rock sculptor who moves seamlessly between Realism and Expressionism. From hyper-realistic icons of American pop culture influenced by Robin’s wry sense of humor, her art explores personal and social trauma and conflict. Robin’s parallel and intertwining bodies of work span her 40-year career as an artist-observer of human nature with a broad lens on the American life. Robin was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1957, one of four daughters. Her father Leon Betseh was a retailer and her mother Linda, an oil painter. In 1973, the family moved to Brooklyn, NY, which proved to be a tough move for Robin as a shy teenager in the city. She began learning to carve in stone in school and in the family’s basement as a means of coping with urban life, using art as her emotional lifeline. In 1976, at the age of 16, Robin discovered she suffered from retrolental fibroplasia causing blindness in her right eye since birth. While her vision was compromised it became an integral tool among the techniques she used to create her art despite an absence of depth perception. After graduating with a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York in 1981, Robin set up a working studio in Brooklyn, creating abstract sculptures in a loose, intuitive style deeply rooted in her emotional experiences. Her themes address marriage, motherhood, divorce and trauma through a series of Conversations, Relationships and Meditation that reflect the process of releasing life’s traumas and their importance to survival, healing and positive change. Trauma has visited Robin in devastating ways with the loss of two of her three sons whom she has memorialized through her art work. A series of stone D-Knots were carved in honor of her youngest child, David, representing his struggles with the trauma of child abuse and addiction. His death at the age of 26 resulted in one of Robin’s most personal and powerful creations, David’s Knot in Flames, carved from a 1,500-pound block of Turkish marble. The sculpture is permanently installed at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, New York, where her son received treatment during his short life. A sculpture is memory of Leon is in progress, out of a 10,000 pound piece of carrara marble. Robin has a studio and showroom in her home in New Jersey.

Robin’s website - https://robinantar.com/
Robin’s Instagram @robinantar

Robin’s favorite artists:
Barbara Segal
Madaline Weiner
Carol Turner
C.C. Griffin
Carole Feuerman

Robin’s Playlist
Carole King
Country music

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/aart--5814675/support.

This week the English contemporary abstract artist Genevieve Leavold. A self-taught painter who draws on her love of eastern philosophy and organic forms found in nature as foundations for her work. Her intuitive process has developed initially through deep observation of nature and subsequent abstraction of essential qualities of form and color from the worn, overgrown and overlooked parts of urban spaces where nature had re-claimed parts of the city. Genevieve was born in Frome, Somerset the fifth of eight children. Her father Lawrence Oliver Hatton-Brown was a builder and Janet was a stay-at-home mother and volunteered her time for costume creation and design at a local theater. She also fostered a creative childhood that Genevieve nurtured in nature. Upon leaving high school Genevieve attended the Theater College for Design, she also worked in the local theater in Frome, attended painting classes at the Central St Martins School in London, as well as being a PA in London. It was then that an opportunity to visit Belgrave in Serbia for six months which turned into an eight year residency launched her career as an artist. She says that this was the birth of her work, which focused on drawing and the abstract. She soon became commercial, establishing herself in Europe and beyond before returning to the UK in 2022. A full-time artist Genevieve is currently showing her work in the US and UK. She lives in Frome with her husband James, a business coach, and two cats.

Genevieve’s website: www.genevieveleavold.com
Instagram: @genevieveleavold

Favorite artists:
Mira Schendel
Flora Yukhnovich
Georgia O Keene
Joan Jonas
Marina Abramovic
Helma af Klimt

Playlist:
White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane
I Tokuni -Eivor
What else is There. - Royksopp
The Painter - Future Islands
Containing it - B of Bris
The sensual world - Kate Bush
Utopia - Goldfrapp
Play Dead - Bjork
Dumb. - Portishead

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/aart--5814675/support.

This week’s guest is Cammi Climaco a ceramicist, multidisciplinary artist, educator and erstwhile stand-up comedian based in New York. Cammi’s art moves between performance, sculptural and functional pieces and ruminates on the history of women in ceramics, finding joy in unreachable places and ancient love poems. Cammi was born in Cleveland, OH in 1971, the youngest of six children. Her father John Climaco ran a printing press at a printing company in Ohio and her mother Wanda was a homemaker who later cared for the elderly. Cammi received her BFA at Kent State University in Crafts and her MFA in Ceramics at Cranbrook Academy of Art. After college, Cammi spent some time in the corporate world from waitressing to selling furniture and recruiting executives, none of which satisfied her. Eventually her part-time teaching in ceramics led to her becoming a regular educator in her preferred medium. She has taught at the Pratt Institute of Art and Design and the 92NY in Manhattan and currently also teaches at BKLYN Clay. Cammi attended The Pottery Workshop residency in Jingdezhen, China. And she is the co-host of The Ceramics Podcast. Her work can be found in galleries and theaters in New York. Cammi lives in Queen’s with her parter, musician Cru Jones.

Cammi’s website: https://www.cammiclimaco.com/
Instagram @cammiclimaco

Favorite artists:
Marguerite Wildenhain
Maija Grotell
Lucie Rie
Eva Zeisel
Yoko Ono
Cara Benedetto
Sarah Allwine
Dini Dixon
Katie Coughlin

Cammi’s Playlist:
We Live in Brooklyn,
Baby/Roy Ayers
Ubiquity Sweet Tears/Nuyorican
Soul Tryon/Erykah
Badu Loungin’/Guru Kiss
From a Rose / Seal

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/aart--5814675/support.

Nazafarin Lotfi is an Iranian multi-disciplinary artist who studies how the self and notions of identity are understood in relationship to architecture, landscape, space, and place. She explores humanness in relation to non-human bodies and places that are defined by practices of map-making and gardening. Nazafarin was born in Mashhad, Iran in 1984 during the Iran-Iraq war. She is one of four girls, her mother was a teacher who introduced her daughters to arts and literature. And her father owned a small business. Her exposure to the arts was limited as a child before she attended the University of Tehran where she earned her BA in Industrial Design. With ambitions to further her education in the West, Nazafarin headed to the US and gained an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. After graduating she took to teaching, always seeking a life that would reflect her art. She would soon find a place for her work in exhibitions and shows, nationally and internationally at venues such as the University Galleries at Illinois State University, Tucson Museum of Art, Artpace, Phoenix Art Museum, and Elmhurst Museum of Art. Nazafarin is the recipient of 2023 Eliza Moore Fellowship for Artistic Excellence. She says of her art: “I think placing myself between two very different aesthetics and ideologies allows me to create a more complicated personal language. And that does more justice to the complexities that I experience as an Iranian female artist living in the U.S. I grew up with social realist propaganda and had developed a mistrust of it. I come from a traditional society for which history weighs so much, and that can be limiting.’ Nazafarin is represented by Regards in Chicago. She lives in Tucson, Arizona with her husband Austin, a Professor of Persian Poetry, and two cats.

Nazafarin's website: http://www.nazafarinlotfi.com/
Instagram: @nazafarinlotfi

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/aart--5814675/support.

English artist Amy Dury paints people by extracting figures from photographs from the pre-digital age found in family photographs or home movies. She is most often drawn to peoples’ roles in society, the hierarchies and dynamics of power. Amy says: “Our history instructs, seduces and tethers us, and I look to use paint to examine these emotive memories, which reflect current themes and tensions in contemporary life.” Amy was born in London, England in 1971, one of four children, she has two brothers and a sister. Her mother Susan was a teacher and creative in textile art. Her father John worked in the City. Amy studied for her BA in Printmaking at Glasgow School of Art graduating in 1997 before earning an MA in Fine Art at the University of Brighton. Prior to moving to Scotland where she met her husband, Amy studied in Belfast during The Troubles - the Northern Ireland Conflict - which was an uneasy time with the constant threat of bombing. When the couple moved to Brighton, Amy pursued her love of art by teaching before focusing on her painting. Of her art, she says: “I like looking at historical, vintage imagery. I feel very connected but I didn’t even live in those times and I don’t know who they are. I feel very tender, very emotional… moved by their lives, especially when you watch them on home movies and you see them walking and talking and laughing. It’s very moving and you feel reconnected and you feel part of the change of people, of society, of culture. When I make the paintings I feel like I’m connecting with that and I’m reaching something about my own experience now or the current experience through looking back into the past.” Amy divides her time as Head of Art at a Sixth Form College in Brighton and painting in her home studio. She is married to Peter, an artist and architect, whose father was a Scottish landscape artist. The couple have two children and live in Brighton.

Amy’s website: https://www.amydury.com/
Instagram: @amy_dury

Favorite female artists:
Kaye Donachie
Jennifer Packer
Jenifer Pochinski
Lydia Petitt
Lynette Yiadem Boyake

Amy’s playlist:
Kate Bush
T-Rex, REM
The Smiths

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/aart--5814675/support.

Ashley Barron ACS is an international, award-winning Director of Photography with a string of credits across commercials, music videos, short films, TV and feature films. She is known for her work on Starz/Lionsgate's production Dangerous Liaisons, as well as the Australian Academy Award-winning series The Tailings, All Creatures Great & Small S2 for Channel 5 and PBS, and ITV’s The Tower S2. Born in Moscow in 1987 to her Russian mother Olga and Armenian father Sergey, Ashley draws on her international heritage, education and training, which gives her a unique perspective and approach to her art. At the age of seven, her family moved from Moscow to Limerick, Ireland where she adapted from Russian to English as she blended into Irish life with her older brother Nick. As a teenager, she and her mother moved to Perth, Western Australia after her parents separated and Ashley had to once again adjust to a new culture while deciding on her career path. She attended Curtin University in Perth where she gained her BA in Film & TV. From there her mother encouraged her to spend an Exchange Semester at the Ryerson University in Toronto, and then Hollywood where she earned her MFA in Cinematography at the American Film Institute Conservatory (AFI). In 2018, Ashley became one of 15 women to receive Accreditation from the Australian Cinematographer’s Society. Her work has earned a number of awards, including a coveted Gold Award from the Australian Cinematographer's Society (ACS), an AACTA Award (Aussie Oscar), a Nomination at the prestigious Camerimage Cinematography Film Festival, an invitation for membership of the Illuminatrix Collective, and one of the earliest memberships of the International Collective of Female Cinematographers (ICFC).

Ashley’s website: https://www.ashley-barron.com/ Ashley’s IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2551925/?ref_=nmbio_ov
Instagram: @ashleybarrondop

Some women whose work Ashley admires: Ari Wegner ACS Aga Szeliga ACO (Operator + founder of Women Behind the Camera) Catherine Goldschmidt BSC (+ Ness Whyte) (founders of Illuminatrix DOPs) Erika Addis (President of the ACS) Kim Snyder (President of Panavision)

Ashley’s Playlist: Foo Fighters "Everlong" The Pixies "Where is my Mind" Where is My Mind rendition Mumford & Sons "Hopeless Wanderer" Trent Reznor from The Social Network Smashing Pumpkins "Zero" Thomas Newman American Beauty Bicep "Atlas" Bicep "Cazenove" Nirvana "Aneurysm" Red Hot Chili Peppers "Dani California" The Dead Weather "Treat Me Like Your Mother" The White Stripes "Seven Nation Army" Foo Fighters "The Pretender" Nirvana "Heart Shaped Box" Mumford & Sons "Where Are You Now" Mumford & Sons "Hot Gates" Trent Reznor "In Motion" Of Monsters & Men "Dirty Paws" Requiem for a Dream Heroes by Bowie Where Is My Mind Everlong
I'm a Nu-Metal & Techno kid, otherwise I'm a big System of a Down, Manson, Slipknot, Korn, Mudvayne, Pendulum, Shapeshifter fan.

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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Gretchen Warthen is an American cinematographer whose work has taken her from Hollywood sound stages to shooting from the back of a camel in India, an elephant in Thailand, the bow of a boat off Venezuela, hovering over Alaskan glaciers and the deserts of the Sahara in a helicopter. Gretchen was born in Idaho, the only child of parents Kathryn Warthen, a retired horticulturist, and Brian Warthen who, after a lifetime of struggle, found his true success in graphic arts. As a child, Gretchen was a tough girl in school with a rebellious nature. After High School, she headed to Boise State University where she gained a Bachelors in Communications before moving to Washington State where she went back to school at the Evergreen State College for a Bachelors in Liberal Arts. It was at Boise State that she began taking an interesting in film-making and undertook projects that showed her natural talent for the art which led her to pursue a career in the industry. By now Gretchen had a plan to be a camera operator and she steered her course starting in wardrobe through set design and props until she was on set where she wanted to be. Her youthful defiance and determination paid off and led her to success across genres. Gretchen has worked as the Director of Photography for the Emmy-nominated Netflix documentary feature "Circus of Books," the epic international OWN documentary series "Operation Change," the Emmy Award-winning NBC series “Starting Over,” the Showtime documentary series “The Real L Word” and the award winning documentary feature “East LA Interchange." She has also DP’d two award-winning narrative feature films, Sharon Gless’s “Hannah Free” and “Jamie and Jessie are Not Together.” Gretchen has been a camera operator on popular Emmy Award-winning prime time reality programming, including “Project Runway,” “The Apprentice” and “America’s Next Top Model”. Her narrative credits also include FX’s “Mayans MC”, FOX’s “Call Me Kat” and FOX’s “Welcome to Flatch.” Gretchen has also been a camera operator on popular Live Comedy Specials including Netflix’s "Dave Chappell - Age of Spin” and “Hannah Gadsby - Douglas”. When she is not working, Gretchen’s passion is collecting Vespa scooters and driving fast cars. She lives in LA with her partner Documentary Director and Unscripted reality Co-Executive Producer. Natalee Watts.

Women whose work Gretchen admires:
Shana Hagan - I admire her mentorship, high standards and gentle guidance. Shana has the documentary career I have always dreamed of having.
Mandy Walker - I admire her creativity and ability to do it the way she wants to do it without being too heavily influenced by others. (Plus, works with Baz Luhrmann…)
Ana Amortegui - I admire her passion for life and having it all. Her gratitude for life’s struggles along the journey.
Chris Wairegi - I admire her motivation to make a difference in other people’s lives.

Gretchen's Playlist:
Superchick “One girl revolution”
Ladytron Metric Wax Tailor (discovered because of his remix of Doris Day’s “Perhaps”)
Silver Sun Pickups Old Madonna (Ray of Light is my fave record)
Doris Day - Fun Sydney Bechet - Jazz
Bessie Smith - Blues
Big Maybell - Blues
Nina Simone - Blues

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/aart--5814675/support.

Poppy Balser is a Canadian painter of maritime life and seascapes centered around the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. Poppy was born in St Stephen, New Brunswick growing up in its environs before crossing the bay to settle in Nova Scotia. She has spent a lifetime close to the sea developing a natural connection to its shoreline, which has given her a unique perspective and appreciation for it resources. Poppy is the oldest of three children—she has a brother Owen and sister Rosie—to parents Udo Buerkle, a German immigrant and scientist, and mother Beth, a potter and homemaker. With a number of artists on both sides of her family, Poppy was encouraged as a child to take an interest in arts with access to a variety of crafts but it would be later in life that she revisited her passion. Growing up in rural New Brunswick, Poppy attended Vincent Massey Elementary and Sir James Dunn Academy. She enjoyed the outdoors, especially the fishing village life and surroundings that would later make it a natural choice of subject for her paintings. In school, she enjoyed science and physics so it was no surprise that she chose pharmacy school at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia as the foundation for a career as a pharmacist. It was then that she met her future husband Robert who also became a pharmacist. The couple later moved to Digby, NS and, while raising two children - Nick and Alice, Poppy resumed her painting. She has taken several workshops with several artists that would become her mentors and inspiration. Poppy is an award winning artist participating in plein air festivals and competitions across North America. She is currently Vice President of the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour (CSPWC). Poppy is represented by galleries, including Teichert Gallery in Halifax, Amicus Gallery in Chester, the Flight of Fancy in Bear River, Harvest Gallery in Wolfville as well as Camden Falls Gallery in Camden, Maine.

Poppy’s website: https://www.poppybalser.com/
Instagram: @poppybalser

Poppy’s Playlist:
Podcasts, news, current affairs
RadioLab
Pop music

Poppy’s favorite women artists:
Watercolorists:
Shari Blaukopf of Montreal- fabulous sketcher and instructor Uma Kelkar of San Jose- urban sketcher, paints with abandon, is balancing two careers: engineer and painter, not afraid to experiment to make her art grow Linda Kemp, Ontario- beautiful painter, popular instructor Jean Pederson, Calgary, AB- fabulous painter, another one who welcomes experimentation in her art
Oil painters:
Nancy Tankersley, Easton, MD, gorgeous paintings, very skilled instructor. Nancy is one of the few (only?) woman instructor I have taken a workshop from Kathleen Hudson, Colorado Springs - balancing motherhood and painting Karen Blackwood, amazing seascapes, they take my breath away Barbara Jaenicke- paints snow like no one else, so stunning Olena Babak of Maine- beautiful light filled plein air paintings. I met Olena years ago at one of my first plein air events.

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/aart--5814675/support.

Zoey Frank is a Colorado-based painter who works one large multiple figure compositions and still lifes in oil. And a new mother. She received her MFA in painting from Laguna College of Art and Design, California after studying for four years with Juliette Aristides at Gage Academy of Art in Seattle, Washington. Zoey has received three Elizabeth Greenshields grants, her work has been featured in publications such as Fine Art Connoisseur and High Fructose, and she has exhibited in galleries across the United States, England, and the Netherlands. Zoey was born in Boulder, CO in 1987, the only child of Ina Robbins, a psychotherapist and Douglas Frank, an acupuncturist. As a child, Zoey was drawn to arts and crafts. In school, she also enjoyed sports and briefly aspired to become a basketball player. But from the age of 13, she knew that art would be her life-calling and she found her way to art programs that would give her the foundation for her career. While she was studying she worked as a figure model for art courses. Whilst in her MFA program she was already selling her paintings so she was encouraged that once she graduated she could make a living with her art. For a while, Zoey struggled with health issues, which eventually served to confirm her life’s purpose. As her success has grown, so too have her canvases and she is currently working on an 18 feet high by 20 feet wide piece that she began two years ago. Zoey also offers online courses on a variety of subjects. She and her husband Peter and daughter Ida Joan live in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Zoey's website: https://zoeyfrank.com/
Instagram: @zoeyfrank

Zoe’s Podcast Playlist:
Slate Culture Gabfest
Scriptnotes
Harry Potter and the Sacred Text

Some favorite artists:
Cecily Brown
Njideka Crosby
Lois Dodd
Susan Jane Walp
Susan Litchman
Catherine Kehoe
Jennifer Pochinski
Stephanie Pierce
Celeste Rapone

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/aart--5814675/support.

Ana Amortegui, ADFC DP, is a Colombian Director of Photography with a string of credits, including Resident Alien, Black Lightning, Into the Dark, Twenties S2, Gentrified, the web series, Heal and Quantum Leap S1 and S2 which is currently in production. Ana defines passion, determination and focus in her ambitions never letting anything or anyone stand in the way of her goals. And her journey from being a dancer in Colombia has taken her to the heart of Hollywood where women have to fight extra hard to break into the tough world of running camera. But Ana set herself a goal which she never lost sight of and worked her way up from Camera Assistant to DP. Born in Medellin, Colombia in 1979, Ana lost her mother Miriam when she was just seven years old so she was raised with her father Santiago and two brothers Jose and Javier. She proved herself a natural sportswoman, even playing softball for her country, but it was dancing that became an early passion and one that grew into her first career. Undeterred by her father’s opposition to her dancing ambitions she appeased him with being a diligent student and studying electrical engineer. Her talent soon drew the attention of casting directors and producers and she was hired on Protagonists de Novela as their dance teacher. Whilst on set Ana began to develop an interest in camera work and would take every opportunity to learn new skills. Following Electrical Engineering School, Ana graduated from video production and filmmaking at the Art Institute of California in 2010. While she was in school she would work a variety of jobs to make a living until she established herself in the industry. Her determination and passion on set led her from one job to another and she recalls that the turning point coincided with getting pregnant with her daughter Mila. Her friend and fellow Cinematographer Gretchen Warthen says: “Within four years, she achieved everything she told me she was going to do. Ana’s will and positive attitude is amazing. She inspires me always and I am so very proud of all she has accomplished.” During the actors strike Ana made use of the time studying a model of responsible parenting, as well as photography skills and face painting. Ana lives in Los Angeles with her husband actor Danny Pardo and their five year old daughter Mila.

Ana’s Playlist:
Salsa,
Tango,
Regueton
Marc Anthony
Carlos Vives

Some favorite female artists:
Kira Kelly, ASC, DP
Mariscela Mendez, DP
Alicia Robbins, DP
Kendra Jarnagin
Catalina Gomez Beuth, Colombian Painter

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/aart--5814675/support.

Sweden’s Sandra Wörding has established herself as a leading Director of Photography in the male dominated world of sports photography. In 2021 she was named the Sports Photographer of the Year and is regarded as the top female sports camera operator in the world. Sandra was born in 1981 in Dalarna, Sweden to Elisabet and Mauritz Lindström. She has an older brother Marcus and younger brother Martin. Sandra played a variety of sports as a child although not ice hockey but she began filming the sport at the young age of 16. She quickly adapted to the nuances of anticipating a fast paced sport and regularly found work either on the ice or on the ski slopes. From 2017 -2022, Sandra attended Bergklint Education to become a Personal Trainer and Lifestyle Coach. She then studied Photojournalism at Mittuniversitetet in Sundsvall graduating in 2005. Sandra covers a wide variety of sports and in the winter this involves enduring long hours on the ski slopes, filming Nordic sports such as biathlon and of course ice hockey. She lives in Timrå with her two daughters Isabell and Amanda.

Sandra on Instagram: @sandra.wording_camera.operator

Sandra’s Playlist:
Moov with Golden Temples E-Type with This Is The Way
Zara Larsson with End Of Time
Tomaso Albinoni with Adagio in G Minor
Miss Li with “Starkare"
Alessandra with Queen of Kings.

Women whose work Sandra admires:
Carolina Gynning - Swedish Free Spirit Artist
Veronika Eriksson - Swedish owner / Founder of Veronicc Arts
Malin Jansson - Swedish who uses her body to create amazing artistisk calisthenics in a male dominant genre.
Anna Caroline - Swedish painter

“I admire all the women who stood up for themself and other women that started #Metoo. And all the women and men who keep working for better work conditions for the women in the media industry."
- Sandra Wörding.

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/aart--5814675/support.

American artist Aimee Erickson, is an internationally renowned oil painter, teacher, and author. Aimee has exhibited and painted all over the world, and has won numerous awards. Aimee was born in 1967 at the American Hospital in Paris’s 16th arrondissement. She is the second of five children born to Ed, an astrophysicist and Beth Erickson, a high school English teacher, both from Seattle, Washington. When she was three years old her family returned to the US via a brief spell in England, settling in Sunnyvale, CA. As a child, Aimee “had lots of bonus extracurricular education and activities - cello, baking, sewing, soccer, lots of reading, and my mom taught us all to speak French, plus lessons or gear for anything I wanted to learn, like oil painting from the age of six, unicycling, gymnastics, and we were all required to play the piano”. Aimee gained her BFA from Brigham Young University in Utah in Visual Communication Design with an Illustration emphasis. But after college she struggled with depression and moved back to Oregon taking jobs in stage scenery. Growing up as a Mormon proved to be a challenge for Aimee and even though she spent 18 months in France as a missionary, she was never comfortable with the religion. In 2003, after much heartache she left the Mormon faith which she says was a turning point to liberating her both personally and professionally. Aimee has spent her life as an artist; her portfolio extends from landscapes to still life to portraits. She lives in Portland, OR.

Aimee’s website: https://www.aimeeerickson.com/
Instagram @1aim

Aimee’s Playlist:
Jason Isbell, "How to Forget"
Chris Stapleton, "Traveller"
Wilco, "California Stars"
The Finn Brothers "Won't Give In"

Favorite female artists:
Sophie Franz.
Kathleen B. Hudson
Jessie Wilcox Smith

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/aart--5814675/support.

My guest this week is filmmaker and cinematographer Hope Hall who has built a career that includes assuming the role as Principal Presidential Videographer to President Obama, a position that she considered was the best job in the world. Her journey however started a long way from the White House in a different world as a modern dancer. Hope was born in 1969 in Chicago to Tom Hall, a retired Navy officer and advertising account executive, and Betsy Hall, a secretary. She is the youngest of three children and has three more siblings from her father’s second marriage. Her mother navigates lifelong severe mental illness and Hope asked for her siblings and her to move in with her father and step mother, after living in Mexico and Brazil and her parents’ divorce. She then lived with her new family in Chicago, California and Connecticut. Music has always played a role in Hope’s life; she plays the piano, guitar, and now the drums, as well as being a singer. She also practiced gymnastics in her youth, and classical ballet proved to be the start of her dancing career. Hope took part in dance and theater in high school and college before making her way to Venice, San Francisco and New York as a professional dancer. From an early age she had a sense of social justice and enjoyed story telling so she was naturally drawn to photo-journalism, which gave her the foundation for film-making. Hope studied at the University of Paris III, IV, Center for Critical Studies (1989-90), the University of California, Berkeley, getting her B.A. in History and French (1991) and her M.A. at Stanford University in Documentary Film & Video (2000). Hope then moved back to NYC where she began incorporating music videos and projection design into her cinematography and directing practice. In addition to serving as President Obama’s videographer, Hope was Senior Advisor for Video & Senior Road Videographer to Senator Warren's presidential campaign, and then Director, Digital Strategy Advisor and Cinematographer for both the Biden and Harris campaign and administration. Hope lives in New York where she is now enjoying life as a freelancer.

Hope’s website:IMDB and Instagram:
https://www.hopehall.com/
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0355650/
https://www.instagram.com/hopiehall

Hope’s playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3XEjsZ56rsZcKydhZ7d4gY?si=fab36f6723184574

Some women whose work Hope admires:
Wendall Harrington
Penny de los Santos
Jessie Henson
Purcell Carson
Sadia Shepard

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/aart--5814675/support.

American sculptor Leah Jeffery transforms scrap metal into beautiful pieces of art depicting birds and animals. Leah was born in 2000 in Tampa, Florida one of eight children to Suzanne, a home-maker and home-schooler, and Craig, a business consultant. At the age of six months her family moved to Peachtree City, Georgia where she grew up. Her metalworking shop is in Hogansville, GA where she also works part-time in metal fabrication. As a child Leah struggled with school as dyslexia challenged her and she realized that college was not for her. While at school, she learned to weld and was fascinated by the process of being creative with metal so she decided to go to welding school. It was here that she explored techniques to create art beyond functional welding and realized she had a talent for multi-dimensional forms. Leah’s business has grown so much that she is planning to go full-time in the New Year. She says her commissions have taken off this year but her goal is to find a balance between exploring and creating new art forms combining her love of nature. In her spare time, Leah is building her own Cob house. She lives in Peachtree City, GA.

Leah’s website and Instagram:
https://www.bruisedreedstudio.com/
@bruised_reed_studio

Leah’s Playlist:
June - Briston Maroney
White Blank Page - Mumford and Sons
Surfing in Iceland - Goth Babe
Pyrotechnics - Jean Dawson
Fallingwater - Maggie Rogers
Be Around - Ocie Elliott

Leah’s favorite female artists:
Barbie the Welder
Kutovakika
Jen Phillips

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/aart--5814675/support.

This week’s guest is Director of Photography and Cinematographer Hannah Epstein has been with National Football League (NFL) since 2012 and is the first female camera operator on the staff. Hannah was born in Pennington, NJ in 1990 to Terri, a writer and artist, and Jonathan, a lawyer. She has a brother Harrison who works in finance. In her youth, Hannah was a keen sportswoman and played on lacrosse and basketball teams. She became fascinated with cameras at any early age, vigorously studying the fine art of still photography, which provided the foundation for film. She attended Middlebury College in Vermont, which had a film and media culture and where she also enjoyed cinema studies. Hannah also spent a semester in Ireland where she produced music videos. In 2005, Hannah volunteered for the Israel Lacrosse organization, coaching kids and filming the program’s U19 women’s team. Back in the US, Hannah interned in the camera department of the NFL, which led to her current position as Staff Cinematographer. She was DP for HBO’s “Hard Knocks Training Camp, and DP on the TV series Earnin’ It and Abby’s Places, and camera operator on 30 for 30. When she is not on the road with NFL Films, Hannah is working with her parent’s dog Winnie in agility training or taking still photos for fun. She lives in Haddon Heights, NJ.

Hannah on Instagram @hannah.k.epstein
Hannah’s IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm13357021/

Playlist:
Wavelength - Vance
Joy Sunrise - Norah Jones
Ivy - Taylor Swift
Crash Into Me - Dave Matthews Band
Broken Halos - Chris Stapleton
Keep It Loose, Keep it Tight - Amos Lee
Leon Bridges - Brown Skin Girl
If I Ain't Got You - Alicia Keys
Beatles "Rubber Soul" Album

Women visual artists I admire:
Lynsey Addario (photojournalist, conflict photographer)
Sophie Darlington (wildlife cinematographer)
Dorothea Lange (documentary photographer)
Krystle Wright (Nat Geo / Adventure photographer)
Rachel Morrison (cinematographer/director of Photography)

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/aart--5814675/support.

Our first guest of season two is Emmy-nominated TV producer, showrunner, and director Natalee Watts. Among her many credits, Natalee was Chef Jamie Oliver’s Producer for two seasons of ABC’s Emmy Award winning, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, and was a producer-director on his 7-part British documentary series Dream School for Channel 4. She was the Co-Creator, Executive Producer and Showrunner for the 10-part documentary series, Operation Change for the Oprah Winfrey Network as well as the Director and Co-Executive Producer of the 10-part documentary series Kentucky Ayahuasca for Vice. Natalee has produced 38 episodes of ABC’s Emmy-nominated Dancing With The Stars and 24 episodes of ABC’s The Bachelor. She has also produced series for NBC, CBS, FOX, TBS, MTV, OWN, E! Entertainment, and DISNEY+. Recently, Natalee served as the Co-Executive Producer of the CBS hit competition reality series, Tough As Nails. Tough As Nails celebrates hard-working women and men who are essential to America’s infrastructure. She has so far filmed in 31 countries around the globe. Natalee was born in Wilmington, NC, the middle of three daughters to Evan ‘Butch’ Watts, a retired financial services advisor and artist, and Vickie Tienken Watts, a teacher. After graduating from New Hanover High School, Natalee attended the Appalachian State University to study Broadcast Journalism & Psychology. Once she decided to embark on a career in television with her sights ultimately set on Hollywood, she headed for Chicago where she had her first break in the business. For five years she worked on the Jenny Jones Talk Show starting as a PA and leaving as a producer. Natalee has gained extensive experience in different genres within the television medium which have profoundly impacted her and now influence her future goals in TV production. In her spare time she enjoys designing websites and still photography and lives in LA with her partner cinematographer Gretchen Warthen.

Natalee's links:
Instagram: @nataleewatts
Website: https://www.nataleewatts.com/
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1451659/

Women whose work Natalee admires:
Beth Robinson, Film & TV Set Decorator
Anna Echols, Cake Artist
Kerry September, Makeup Artist
Anna Jones, ANNA JONES - Food Stylist & Author

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/aart--5814675/support.

Chris Wairegi is a New York based cinematographer, local 600 camera operator, ASC Mentee and creator of 600 Black Women. Chris was born in Cleveland, OH to parents, who are both entrepreneurs, and she has an older brother. A keen student, she enjoyed art and history as well as excelling at a number of sports. During high school she developed an interest in photography and decided to pursue a film career so she chose Rochester Institute of Technology where she would be able to make films in her first year. She already knew that she was destined for the Big Apple so armed with a dual degree to her credit she made her way into the industry. Chris emphasizes the importance of starting at the bottom and learning different roles, which has helped her appreciate the multi-faceted industry now that she is a cinematographer. Chris’ filming experience is cross genre from narrative to documentary, commercial to experimental, and short to long form works for streaming, television, and the big screen. Her credits include Netflix’ Survival of the Fittest, Starz’ Run The World, Black Girl Beauty for VH1, andMTV’s, Women in Rap. In 2021, Chris founded 600 Black Women whose mission is to create a more inclusive industry and for which she was the recipient of the very first Kodak Vanguard Award. She is a member of the ICG Scholarship Committee, a 2021 ICG Generation Next Change Maker and a 2023 ASC Vision Scholar. Chris lives in New York with her husband and their dog.

Chris’ links: Website: chriswairegi.com
600 Black Women: https://www.600blackwomen.com/
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6384689/
Instagram: @blackberryfilms


Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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Facebook: AART, the podcast
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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Christine Lashley is a American landscape oil painter who says the beauty of a moment held in memory and fusing reality and the abstract, are key elements of her style. Christine was born in San Francisco in 1967 but moved when she was still a baby. Her father Charles worked for the US government which involved being frequented relocated. Her mother Marta was a stay at home mom who, aside from raising Christine and her sister Rebecca, was a doll-maker. Because of the transient lifestyle of her family, Christine attended four different high schools. When her mother spotted her natural talent she was encouraged to pursue art. At the age of 17, Christine studied at the Sorbonne and Parsons in Paris. It was there that she was spotted for a different talent and offered work as a fashion model, which led to international travel and living the high life for a while. But after two years Christine decided she wanted to go back to school so she returned to the US and gained a BFA from Washington University in St. Louis. Her first job was in graphic design and creating murals for set design in theater and ballet. She met her husband in college and the couple moved to Seattle before moving east to Boston and then the Washington, DC area. Christine currently lives in Reston, VA and has two daughters who are both artistic.

Christine’s website: https://www.christinelashley.com/
Instagram: @christinelashleyart

Christine’s favorite female artists:
Suchitra Bohstle
Nancy Tankersley
Carolyn Anderson
Berthe Morrisot

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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Jana Büttner is a figurative sculptor who focuses on sculpting from life from her studios in Salzburg and Florence. Jana was born in Salzburg, Austria in 1997 and has what she describes as three half siblings. Her mother Petra, an art teacher is from Prague and her father Uwe is from Dortmund. She grew up in an artistic and musical family, learning violin and piano, and visiting museums and galleries around Europe. From 2008-2012 Jana studied at he Musisches Gymnasium Salzburg where she was exposed to music, dancing, literature and fine art. After graduating she decided to spend a year in New Zealand which helped her clarify her career goals. When she was 19 she was accepted at the prestigious Florence Academy of Art where she spent three years studying under multiple instructors including the founder of the sculpting program Robert Boden. Jana has won numerous awards and shown in exhibitions and permanent collections around Europe and the US, including “Face 2021,“ Society of Portrait Sculptors, La Galleria Pall Mall London, the Espaco Exhibitionista Gallery, Lisbon Portugal, and the Figurativas in Barcelona. She says her goal is it to provoke emotions and encourage empathy in the viewer. The viewer should be engaged by the work, so they can identify themselves within it.

Jana’s website: https://www.janabuettner.com/
Instagram @janabuettner.art

Jana’s favorite women artists:
Colleen Barry
Hannah Sutton
Mirjam Jahn
Hannah Brictson
Käthe Kollwitz (d)
Camille Claudel (d)

Playlist Cerca De Ti - Hermanos Gutiérrez
Mariella - Khruangbin, Leon Bridges
Jungle - Jimi Hendrix
Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Pts 1-5 - Pink Floyd

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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Julia Bangert is a book illustrator who crafts hand-made designs into text. Her work with the Gutenberg Society led to combine her passion for painting with theoretical knowledge and she worked for the Gutenberg Shop in Mainz, which reproduces individual pages from the Gutenberg Bible. Julia was born in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany in 1987. Her mother Katrin Hoffman is a writer and musician, and her estranged father, Oliver Streigel, a graphic designer. As the only child, Juliet indulged in drawing portraits and animals and although she enjoyed art she decided instead to focus her studies on book science, the German language, literature, and art history at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz where she graduated with her Masters degree in 2012 and a PhD in 2017. During that time she focused on the work of Johannes Gutenberg, the German inventor and craftsman who invented the printed press. She says: ‘I was particularly fascinated by the transitional phase, when the new technology allowed mass production of text, but the initials and decorations were still added by hand which made each copy unique.’ Since 2013 Julia has been working part-time as a freelance artist specializing in the field of book painting and takes commissions from around the world. She lives in Eisenberg, Germany with her husband Stephan.

Juliet’s website: https://www.julia-bangert.de/english/
Instagram: @book illumination

Julia’s favorite female artists:a
Tamar Cohen
Kelly Louise
Judd Ioana Pioaru
Tania Crossingham
Frida Kahlo (d)

Julia’s Playlist
Long Long Time - Linda Ronstadt
Bird set free - Sia
Surrender - Birdy
Look what I found - Lady Gaga
Waves - Dean Lewis
Control - Zoe Wees
Lovely - Billie Eilish, Khalid

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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Kerry September is a British Hair Stylist & Make-up Artist who has worked in theater, film, TV, music, fashion and beyond in her 30-year career. Kerry was born in 1971 in Bridgend, Wales. the oldest of five children; she has three sisters and a brother. Her father, Gideon September, emigrated to the UK from South Africa and worked as a service engineer. Her mother, Christine Blackwell was a housewife who, after raising her children, went back to school to become a psychotherapist. Most of Kerry’s family is in psychology and she says her work too is like being a therapist listening to her client’s share their life stories. When Kerry was two years old, her family moved to Twickenham and she went to Chase Bridge Primary School before being sent to Rosebery School, Epsom, an all-girls school for which she quickly developed a dislike. Her parents discovered she had a hearing deficit when she was three years old but Kerry rebelled against hearing aids which she felt put her at a disadvantage thus making school more challenging. Her mother told her she could do anything she wanted to so Kerry decided to pursue her studies at Epsom Art College, followed by two years at the London College of Fashion. As a teenager, Kerry was absorbed in American TV culture and so her parents agreed to let her attend Camp America in Pennsylvania. After 10 week’s work, for which she was paid $150, Kerry and her new friends spent four months traveling until her cash ran out and she returned to the UK. She found her first real job in the wig department in West End theater, which proved the foundation to her career. She did make-up for music videos such as Prodigy ‘Smack My Bitch Up’, Smashing Pumpkins ’Everlasting Gaze’ and Manic Street Preachers ‘Why So Sad’. Kerry has done make-up for a variety of photographers, actors, artists, politicians and celebrities. Nowadays she is also focusing on her health and fitness while studying quantum biology and looking forward to her next adventure. Kerry lives in Kent, England.

Kerry’s Playlist:
Light years / Kylie Minogue
Absolute beginners / David Bowie
Go your own way / Fleetwood Mac
Shannon / Let the music play
Fast car LIVE / Tracy Chapman
We are the people / Empire of the Sun
Cry to me / Solomon Burke

Women who inspire Kerry:
Zoe Irwin - Trend forecaster
Jane Howard - Superstylist/Editor of Archivist magazine
Cynthia Lawrence John - Artist/costume designer

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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Marit van Ekelenburg is a macro photographer who specializes in photographing insects and spiders in their natural habitat. She seeks out her subjects in the early morning light creating colorful backgrounds that compliment each creature. Marit works as an editor and enjoys combining her skills as a writer and photographer to tell stories. But photographing insects is her favorite occupation. Marit was born in Udenhout, The Netherlands in 1988 to Henk, a mechanical engineer and entrepreneur, and Olga, a gardener. She has an older sister, Kim, a psychologist, and younger brother, Thijs, who is an architectural draftsman. Marit was educated at Utrecht University, and Leiden University where she earned her Masters in Russian Studies and History. Her interest in photography developed a few years after graduating, and in 2018 she realized her true passion was learning the habits of the smallest of earth’s creatures and capturing them in larger than life images. Marit will be showing her work in an exhibition entitled Design by Nature at the State Museum Muiderslot from March 16 - May 12, 2024. Marit lives in Delden in the east of The Netherlands.

Marit’s website: https://www.macrobymarit.nl/
Marit on Instagram: @macrobymarit

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
AART on Facebook Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

Marit’s playlist:
Sting // Fields of Gold - When we Dance - If You Love Somebody Set Them Free
Keane // Bedshaped - Somewhere Only We Know
Dire Straits // Money for Nothing
Coldplay // Trouble - God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
Fleetwood Mac // Little Lies - Dreams
John Mayer // Vultures - Stop This Train
Enya // Lazy Days - Wild Child
Fleet Foxes // Ragged Wood
Saybia // 7 Demons - Fool’s Corner
Muse // Supermassive Black Hole - Pressure
Elderbrook // Old Friend

Marit’s favorite female artists:
Alison Pollack
Carlijn Kingma
Kristine

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Tamar Cohen is a self-taught creator of miniatures and diorama. Her work reflects her passion for architecture, particularly European gothic, castles and art nouveau. Tamar was born in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1981, one of four children; she has an older sister who lives in New York, and an older brother and younger sister who live in Israel. She describes her parents as being crafty in an artistic sense; her father was an electrician by trade who enjoyed building furniture and her mother knits quilts and is an artist. As a child, Tamar studied painting, photography, sculpting and history of art. When she was 21, she learned silversmithing for a year, but decided not to make that a career. Instead, she went to college and then, having enjoyed gymnastics in her youth, she became a personal trainer for six years. In 2016, Tamar moved to Canada. It was during the COVID pandemic lockdown in 2021 that she began building dolls houses for her daughter. This proved to be the start of a new career building miniatures and diorama, which is now a full-time job. Tamar lives in Montreal with her husband Zac, a concept artist, and their daughter Sophia.

Tamar on Instagram: @miniatureit
Tamar’s website - https://msha.ke/miniatureit
Tamar’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/miniatureit

Tamar’s Playlist:
P!nk - Just Like Fire
Celeste - Stop This Flame
Celeste - Love Is Back
Teddy Swims - Lose Control
Teddy Swims - Devil in a Dress
Teddy Swims - You're Still The One
Teddy Swims - Bed On Fire

Favorite female artists:
Céline B. La Terreur
Sunshine Kim
Sophie Alp
Sasha Tudvaseva

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
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Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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Felicity Starr is a contemporary realism artist who seeks to ‘celebrate life and excite the soul’ through her paintings, which portray still life, landscapes and portraits. Felicity was born in Colchester, England in 1982, the eldest of three daughters to Steve and Fiona Menadue. Her father was in IT and her Fiona a stay-at-home mom. At the age of 14, Felicity's family moved to Paris and she attended the British School of Paris. She focused on politics and international studies as a foundation for a career but instead found that she had a talent for sales. Whilst her career has taken her down that path Felicity has never stopped drawing and is mostly a self taught artist. Her dedication to art though has been a constant source of solace and self-discovery, allowing her to navigate the unique challenges associated with dyslexia and ADHD. Felicity has shown her work at the Royal Society of British Artists, The Royal Institute of Oil Painters, The Royal Society of Marine Artists and the Society of Wildlife Artists; exhibitions held at the Mall Galleries in London. In 2023, she also exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and the Royal West Academy. Felicity combines her art with a full-time job in IT as VP at Salesforce. She is married to Richard, who also works in IT, and the couple live in Hampshire, England with their two children, Annabelle and Charlie.

Felicity's website: https://www.felicitystarr.com/
Felicity on Instagrm: @felicityjoystarr

Felicity’s favorite women artists:
Haidee-Jo Summers
Ruth Fitton
Kate Bryan
Gail Reid
Zoey Frank
Melissa Scott-Miller
Catherine Gray
Rosemary Lewis

Felicity’s Playlist:
Birdy Turkish March - Mozart
Motown music
Taylor Swift
Stereophonics
Oasis
Disney
French songs


Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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Anna Echols is a cake artist, designer and bakery owner who creates life-like cakes celebrating every occasion. With painstaking attention to detail, her goal is to produce a cake that is hard to decipher from the real thing; almost too good to eat. Anna was born in Wilmington, NC in 1984 to Douglas and DeLonna Echols. She has one brother Douglas Echols, Jnr., a custom home renovator. Her father, who passed away in 2006, was a Commercial Real Estate Developer and entrepreneur who loved cooking, and Delonna, a stay-at-home mom. Her father once owned the shopping center where Anna’s bakery business is now based although he sadly did not live to see her business develop. Anna attended Cape Fear Academy for pre-k-12th grade in Wilmington and Meredith College, Raleigh, NC for her bachelors degree before she went to Orlando Culinary Academy for the Le Cordon Bleu Patisserie and Baking Program. It was while she was there that she took part in TLC’s “The Ultimate Bake-Off”, which Anna says was a defining moment in her career. In 2011, she returned home to Wilmington to her mother’s house where she started her bakery business and operated for the first two years. One Belle Bakery took off and she expanded her space for customers and, which now, has eight full-time staff whom Anna considers her family. Anna's creativity has attracted celebrity clients, including the late Country Music singer Charlie Daniels who gave her a cowboy hat in return.

https://www.onebellebakery.com
Instagram: @onebellebakery

Anna’s favorite women artists:
Liz Marek
Natalie Sideserf
Maggie Austin
Brooke Helton
Brooke Lupton
Jennifer Rose

Playlist:
Faith (with Dolly Parton ft. Mr. Probz)
Wake Me Up (Avicii)
I Just Wanna Shine (Fitz and the Tantrums)
Take a Walk (Passion Pit)
Sugar, Sugar (The Archies)

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
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Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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This week's guest is the media artist Kasumi whose career ranges from musician, filmmaker, author, designer, illustrator and painter. Her work features short and feature length experimental films, live shows, VJ, and public art projection, creating looping electronic sculptures, designing motion graphics and animated gifs, producing immersive 360 virtual reality pieces and making fine art prints and wearable art. Kasumi studied music at the Stadliche Musik Hochschule in Cologne, Germany playing the lute. She then moved to Japan, where she lived for 12 years and taught Baroque music at the Tokyo College of Music. Kasumi performed as a soloist throughout Japan, Europe and the U.S., recorded four albums, and performed twice at the Carnegie Hall. Whilst living in Japan, Kasumi explored her writing and published her first book; The Way of the Urban Samurai, in 1992. Kasumi married and raised her son, Kitao Sakurai who became a renown filmmaker. While simultaneously pursuing her work in painting and set design she continued to publish writings on music, politics and social issues for among others; the Asahi Shimbun, The Japan Financial Journal, The Early Music Quarterly Tokyo, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sacramento Bee. From prints and collage to films and video art installations at the Rocket Mortgage Field House; at the Lincoln Center with The New York Philharmonic and Carnegie Hall; performances with Grandmaster Flash and DJ Spooky; public art at The Cleveland Museum of Art, DC Tower, Vienna, and Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires; VR 360, post-production, and gifs for The Eric Andre Show; and interactive art-making apps. Kasumi’s work Surfacing, developed at The Cleveland Museum of Art, was expanded into a solo exhibition for The Sculpture Center. Perhaps her most impactful production came after being awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2011 when she embarked on the feature-length film project, ‘Shockwaves’, which included 25,000 plus short public domain film samples. It proved to be a life-changing project, which she says ‘was like being in therapy for five years’. Kasumi’s next production is ‘Farandole’, an hour long cinematic assemblage, selected as part of Lincoln Center Presents Women and Non-binary Artists in Tech. It will screen at 6:30 pm on March 14 at the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center.- free and open to the public.

Kasumi’s website - http://kasumiartstudios.com/ Kasumi’s
Instagram: @kasumifilms

Kasumi’s favorite women artists:
Amanda Bluglass
Flash Rosenberg
Leslie Swackhamer
Julie Patton

Kasumi’s playlist:
Lil Cherry & Goldbuuda - Mukkbang!
Miles Davis
David Starfire / Cobra
Harsh Kale / One Step Beyond
Ricardo Imperatore / Omelet Banana
Cheb i Sabbah / Ganga Dev
Nightnoise / Fionnghuala
Electronic World Music
Dublicator

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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English portrait artist and sculptor, Eleanor Cardozo, is known for her bronze sculptures and the dynamic movement in her work. Eleanor was born in London in 1965, the second of 10 children to Colonel Benedict Cardozo, a Military Attaché in the British Army, and Caroline Cardozo, an artist and musician. Her childhood was subjected to the typical adventures of a military family when her father was posted overseas to Aden, Malaysia, Germany, Malawi, Ghana, Cyprus and Gibraltar. Eleanor’s education began at a French school in Ghana, followed by boarding school from ages 8 -18 at St Mary’s Convent in Dorset. Her interest in art began as a small child so it was with a degree of inevitability that she chose the City & Guilds School of Art London for Fine Art in Sculpture, followed by the Florence Academy and Cecil Graves School in Italy for portraiture. She says: ”I think because I respected my parents so much and they had very high expectations, pretty much everything we did, whether it was piano or art or academics, they wanted it to be at the highest level.” This episode is more than an interview; it's an intimate portrait of an artist's life, filled with anecdotes that make you laugh, moments that inspire, and revelations that make you ponder the nature of creativity. Eleanor's reflections on her boarding school days, her family's musical legacy, and her spiritual journey add layers to her persona, revealing a woman who is as multifaceted as the sculptures she creates. We hear how being a gymnast and dancer through her teens informed her appreciation for athletic movement. Her love of beauty is evident in her work, which has adorned venues such as the Beau-Rivage Palace hotel in Lausanne, Cirque du Soleil, Harrods in London, Terminal 5 at Heathrow, Westminster Abbey, the Palais Wilson in Geneva to name a few. Her work is primarily commission based but, as she explains, she is also keen to explore other art forms. Eleanor and her husband Rupert live in Geneva and have three children, Cosima, Daniel and Harry.
 
Eleanor’s wedsite:
https://www.eleanorcardozo.com/ I
nstagram: @eleanorcardozo 

Playlist:
Ennio Morricone - Cinema Paradiso
Camille Saint-Saëns - The Swan
Stan Getz & Gilberto - Girl from Ipanema ( my phone ring!)
Diana Krall - Why Should I Care
Amy MacDonald - This Is The Life
Pharrell Williams - Happy
Pietro Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana
The Godfather Love Theme 

Favorite women artists:
Camille Claude
Elizabeth Frink
Luo Li Rong So many more painters

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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Carylon Cooper is an American contemporary artist whose work includes abstract, figurative, still life and animal portraits. Carylon was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1948, one of two daughters to Imogene & Herschel Cooper. She attended High School in Nashville and, since she was 19, she has called Chattanooga, TN home. Carylon’s art education began at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) and she followed that by majoring in art at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga (UTC) where she audited classes in printmaking and mono-printing. She spent time as a model in New York City before marriage and raising three children took priority. During a difficult first marriage, Carylon found peace in focusing on her fitness and became an endurance runner.  Her art proved to be her salvation through a second marriage, which ended after 30 years. Carylon is now happily single and feels stronger than she has ever been, She says: ”every single day of my life has been ordained.”  We hear about her discipline in the studio, and the profound impact of faith and perseverance on her life and legacy. Carylon now enjoys a happy mix of art, yoga, hiking and exercise routines. She also keeps busy as a grandmother of 10 and great-grandmother of 4 children.
 
Carylon’s playlist:
Vivaldi Four Seasons
Andres Segovia
Chris Botti
Brandenburg Concerto No. 61
Santana
Nora Jones
Chris Stapleton
Bonnie Raitt
Ero Ramazzotti
Podcasts including AART 

Favorite female artists:
Louise Bourgeois (
Camille Henrot
Tracey Ermin
Sunny Apinchapong
Peggy Kroll Roberts
Nancy Chaboun
Margaret Dyer 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
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Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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This week the filmmaker Kire Godal whose focus on African culture and wildlife has reached audiences through National Geographic, the Discovery Channel, BBC, Amazon Prime among others. Her purpose and goal is to capture and memorialize important stories that she feels need to be recorded for history and to educate a wider public at a time when both people and animals are under threat of radical social and environmental changes or extinction.  Kire was born in Aspen, Colorado in 1962, one of three children—she has two brothers—to Norwegian immigrants Inge and Bente Godal . Her childhood was spent exploring the back country of Colorado, riding and skiing. She soon developed a passion for the outdoors and animals, which drew her to ambitions of being an explorer. But first, after High School, she was going to find herself in the Big Apple, drawn to the world of modeling after being talent spotted on the slopes by the American modeling agency executive, Eileen Ford. Whilst on fashion shoots, and catwalks of New York, Kire became fascinated in the art of photography and was soon drawn to being behind the camera. It was also at this time that Kire met her first husband, the Italian model agent, Giogio Piazzi, which would take her in a new direction. Kire found herself living in Aguilla BWI and Caracas, Venezuela while raising her first two children before returning to the US. She had decided by now that she wanted a career in filmmaking and took herself back to school at UCLA to study broadcast journalism. From there she worked in TV news, but it was the draw of the wild that led her to Kenya where she met her second husband and started her own production company Malaika Media as an independent filmmaker while raising three children but by now as a single parent. Her dreams and ambitions led to make her own self-funded films, which gradually led to bigger and more ambitious productions. Her portfolio includes Maasai The Last Dance of the Warriors for National Geographic, Lion Warriors for National Geographic Wild, Skypaths, and many more ethnographic, and natural history wildlife productions. Kire lives in Kenya and is currently working on two productions; Tolstoy, The Tomato Thief about a Super Tusker Elephant, and Maasai Eunoto featuring the important Maasai Warrior passage to elderhood ceremony.

Kire's website:
https://www.kiregodal.com/
Kira on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kiregodal_filmmaker_in_africa/
Tolstoy The Tomato Thief:  https://www.tolstoythetomatothief.com/
Kire’s IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0323701/

Kire’s playlist
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4gzA9O48M99t6ddwJfhgdU?si=j9pCGQA0T-C8W3srs3ij9A&pi=u-1bohYGWNTsuR&nd=1&dlsi=152ed12c0d9a4342
 
Women whose work Kire admires:
Mirella Riccardi
Leni Reifenstahl
Angela Fisher
Carol Beckwith
Annie Leibowitz
Mandy Walker
Dame Jane Campion 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
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Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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American cinematographer Erin Haynes is making her way in an industry that she believes has a long way to go to increase diversity among its crews. Erin was born in New Orleans in 1999—one of two daughters to Denise and Joe Haynes. She grew up in the 7th Ward of a complex city as a young Black woman mindful of the challenges facing minorities. Erin attended Cabrini High School in the shadow of New Orleans Museum of Art where she was drawn to English Literature, writing, art and film. She developed a talent as a sketch artist and at Loyola University she studied Mass Communications; Journalism and French.  Erin describes herself as a ‘shy, nerdy kid’ who surprised everyone by leaving the Big Easy for the Big Apple in pursuit of modeling opportunities; something she is still open to today alongside her day job. Her immersion in fashion modeling led to an interest in the photography and filmmaking. She prefers film that makes you think like psychological thrillers and horror. Her early inspiration in filmmaking came when she discovered Greta Gerwig’s work in the 2017 Comedy Romance Lady Bird, and Christopher Nolan’s 2014 SciFi/Adventure Interstellar, which captured her imagination for its visuals and soundtrack. Erin’s career path has so far led to being a Second Camera Assistant, FAA Drone Pilot and an emerging Steadicam and Underwater Camera Operator at the age of 24. She says: ‘I want to be a complete master of the camera.’  Erin’s ambitions align with her mission to champion the need for diversity, visibility and possibilities for women of color in the film industry.
 
Erin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erinhaynesofficial/

Some Female Visual Artists Erin admires:
Supermodel Coco Rocha
Supermodel Naomi Campbell
Cinematographer, Camera Operator, and Founder of 600 Black Women, Chris Wairegi Cinematographer, Camera Operator, and Founder of @ladycameraguy on Instagram, Gretchen Warthen
Cinematographer and Steadicam Operator, Megan Masur
Actress Zendaya
Director and Cinematographer Chloe Weaver
Cinematographer Mandy Walker
Fashion Model and Activist Bethann Hardison (whose film Invisible Beauty was shot by Cinematographer Mia Cioffi Henry)
Photographer Nadia Lee Cohen
Fashion and Beauty Influencer: Karen Blanchard (@karenbritchick on Instagram and YouTube)
Singer, songwriter, entertainer, performer and business woman Beyoncé Knowles Carter
Filmmaker Ava DuVernay
Filmmaker Shonda Rhimes
Fashion Designer Donatella Versace
Visual Artist and Painter Hill Spriggins
Photographer Kris Davidson
Actress, Filmmaker, Fashion Icon, and Founder of PATTERN Beauty Tracee Ellis Ross
Director, Writer, and Actress Greta Gerwig
Actress, Writer, and Producer Meryl Streep 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
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Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com


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This week the American equestrian artist, oil painter, landscape artist and retreat host Weatherly Stroh. Her unique palette and eye for horses brings a soft light to her work as she captures the gestures and movement of her subjects She says: ‘My paintings reflect the inspiration I find in the world around me, with a deep appreciation for slowing down to capture and appreciate the everyday magic that surrounds us.’  Weatherly was born and raised in Metamora, Michigan in 1974 the youngest of four children—including two step-siblings—to Gari Melchers Stroh (d) and Susanne Stroh. Her parents' love of horses brought them together and they subsequently conveyed their passion for riding to a young Weatherly who became a competitive rider. Her mother is also an artist and sculptor who instilled an artistic eye in her daughter so it was not surprising that, after high school at Cranbrook-Kingswood (affiliated to the renowned art academy graduate school) in Michigan,  Weatherly chose to major in art and photography at the University of Colorado. Whilst in college she spent a year in Florence, which stoked her interest in travel as well as inspiring her art. After college, she pursued various personal and professional directions including: racing mountain bikes, working for a magazine, a non-profit organization and teaching elementary school. It was during her twenty years in Colorado (Boulder for 10 years and then in the Vail Valley for 10) that Weatherly would also negotiate a divorce before she made a decision to relocate to Florida in 2011 where she has established herself as a professional artist. When she is not in her studio in Wellington, Weatherly is riding, playing tennis, and organizing Art of Life creative retreats. 
 
Weatherly's website: https://weatherlystroh.com
Instagram: @weatherlystroh 

Some favorite female artists:
CJ Hendry
Lizzie Larock
Claudia Rilling
Jill Soukup 

Weatherly’s playlist:
Fleetwood Mac
Tracy Chapman
Country
Classical
Pop 
“Depending on my mood, I listen to pop music in my studio when I need energy, classical music for focus or a random mix of opera, country, oldies, and pop.” - Weatherly
 
Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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This week the portraiture, mixed-media artist Diana Bittar whose large canvases convey bold, uninhibited figures reflecting the artist’s new found confidence and expression. ‘I am constantly fascinated by faces, and how the personalities and thoughts of each individual inspire me to form delicate relationships with each canvas’, she explains. Diana was born in London in 1974, the middle of three children—she has an older sister and younger brother. Her father Doraid is Syrian and her mother Helen, a Czech, who met while studying mechanical engineering in Prague. Diana was born during her parents’ visit to London for her father who needed medical attention following the loss of a leg when the oil refinery at which he was working in Syria was targeted during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. The family returned to Prague until 1980 when they moved to Syria. From the age of two, when her mother first gave her crayons, Diana has shown a natural talent for the fine details of her art. By the age of 17, despite being an introvert, she was receiving her first commissions. Meanwhile, following a chance encounter in the pool, Diana proved to be a natural swimmer and would go on to win national championships. But it was her passion for art that would eventually decide her career path. She chose to major in Visual Communications and Graphic Design at the Fine Art University in Damascus, graduating in 1995. Shortly after, she met her Syrian husband, Tarek, an orthopedic surgeon, and followed him back to California. Diana took a break from her art to raise her three sons. When she returned to her easel she changed her focus from landscapes to what she describes as Abstract Realism in Portraiture. She lives in Granada Hills, Los Angeles where she has held a number of shows in the area.
 
Diana Bittar Website: https://www.dianabittar.com
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/diana_bittar_art/

Diana's playlist:
The Weather Report
Lettuce
The Blackyards
Alfa Mist
Otis McDonald
Herbie Hancock
Miles Davis
Ron Carter
Pat Metheny

"I mainly listen to instrumental, like fusion Jazz or old traditional Arabic music. Also love old school rap and hip hop. At times my heart craves 80s music every now and then." - Diana


 
Host: Chris Stafford
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This week the Fine Artist, Michele Usibelli, whose work ranges from landscapes and animals to still life and figurative art. A Washington State native Michele was born in Seattle in 1962 then spent time in Utah and Alaska before returning to Edmonds, WA where she divides her time with another studio in Montana. Michele is the eldest of three children—she has two brothers—to John Hampson (d) a former navy serviceman and realtor, and mother Carol who was a home-maker, pianist and seamstress. Michele’s childhood was spent mostly outdoors and playing sport. She was she says something of a tomboy, and she also followed in her mother’s footsteps by playing the piano and sewing. Michele’s interest in fine drawing led her to study architecture at the University of Washington and pursue corporate architecture. She also worked as Director of Marketing for the National Park Service, which involved extensive traveling. It was while she was on a business trip to Denali, AK that she met her husband, and after raising her three children—Nathan, Jacqueline and Angelina, that Michele returned to her love of art. Aside from painting most of the week, she also teaches workshops. Michele has won numerous awards, including the Silver Medal Award at the prestigious Salmagundi Club, NYC and the UCI Institute and Museum of California Art Award. Her work is in the permanent collection at the University of Alaska Fairbanks/Museum of the North the Brinton Museum/Wyoming, and her painting "First Light, Pioneer Mill Smokestack", was acquired by the State of Hawaii for their permanent collection. Michele lives in Edmonds, Washington State with her husband Mitch.
 
Michele’s website: https://www.micheleusibelli.com/about
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/micheleusibelliart/
 
Michele’s playlist: One Eskimo - Kandi, Amazing Amos Lee-Windows Are Rolled Down Lord Huron - The Night We Met Two Feet - Winter Alt J - U&ME BORNS - God Save Our Young Blood Dennis Loyd - Nevermind Absofacto - Dissolve Moby - Love of Strings BORNS - Man Two Feet - Quick Musical Doodles Sir Sly - High Michael Kiwanuka - Love & Hate
 
Michele’s favorite female artists:
Susan Woolgar
Kellie Weeks
Abigail Gutting
Ingrid Christensen
Wendy Conklin/Upholstery
Annie Leibovitz
Mary Cassatt (d)
Berthe Morisot (d) 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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This week the Russian born felt-maker Elena Bondar who has established a second career as an artist in her adopted country of Finland. Elena taught herself the art of wool and felt-making, and since 2010 she has been crafting bespoke wool paintings, infusing them, she says, with the strategic planning, self-reliance, and dedication to excellence honed during her athletic career. Elena was born in the Ural Mountains near Ekaterinburg, Russia in 1981—one of two children—she has an older brother, Andrey, to parents Svetlana Moskovskikh, a technology engineer, and Yuri Moskovskikh, a chemical engineer. She spent a happy childhood learning crafts from her mother and grandmother before attending the School of Art in Novouralsk for eight years. She then turned to sports at the Secondary School for Olympic Reserves, Ekaterinburg as a Specialist in Physical Education and Sports from 1999-2002 followed by the Ekaterinburg State Institute of Education for Physical Education Teaching from 2002-2007.  In addition to music and art school Elena also participated in sports such as volleyball and track and field. However, it wasn’t until she was16, with encouragement from her new coach, that she started taking sports seriously. Elena subsequently began a professional career, which led to becoming the 2009 European Rogaining Champion. She also competed in the 2009 World Ski-Orienteering Championships in Rusutsu, Japan, and Adventure Racing World Series in South Africa, Portugal, Sweden and Turkey. After retiring from pro sports, Elena moved to Finland where she met her partner Ville Rissanen, and decided to revisit her interest in art. She attended the JEDU Vocational Education Centre, Piippola from 2015 - 2017 earning a Bachelor of Arts and Crafts degree. And she is currently undergoing specialized vocational education specializing in industrial arts and design in Jyväskylä. As well as crafting her wool and felt-making, Elena teaches the art in person and online both in Finnish and English. She lives in Palonurmi, Finland with her family and three dogs.

Elena;s website: https://woolrealm.com/ 
Instagram: @ellunhuopa 

Elena’s playlist:

• INOSSI (Somewhere)
• Pink Floyd (Dark Side of the Moon)
• 50 Cent (Candy Shop)
• Simon & Garfunkel (the Sound of Silence)
• Guano Apes (Big in Japan)

Elena’s favorite female artists in visual arts:

• Feltmaker Marjolein Dallinga
• Fingerpainter Iris Scott
• Ceramist Heather Knight
• Ceramicist Iris Apfel

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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This week the figurative painter Lisa Golightly whose work revolves around memory and how snapshots shape and influence change. Lisa was born in Eugene, OR in 1974—one of two children; she has an older brother— to parents Frank, an accountant, and Patty, a teacher. Her father was also an amateur painter and sculptor who guided Lisa’s introduction to art. She was also a keen rider and enjoyed showing hunter-jumper.  Lisa’s early academic interest was photography and she graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor in Fine Arts leaning towards a career in photography. It was after she married her husband, John, that she turned her attention back to art and progressed to becoming a professional artist. Lisa works exclusively in her studio and shows her work at several galleries, including Billis Williams Los Angeles, CA., George Billis Gallery, NYC/CT, Maya Froedman Gallery Jackson Hole, WY, Julie Nester Gallery, Park City, UT and the Patricia Rovzar Gallery in Seattle, WA. She lives in Portland, OR with her family and two dogs.

Lisa on Instagram: @lisagolightlyart
https://www.instagram.com/lisagolightlyart 
Lisa's website: https://www.lisagolightlyart.com/

Lisa’s playlist:
Pixies-Hey Pixies-U Mass Pixies- Monkey Gone to Heaven The Stone Roses- Don't Stop Arcade Fire- Neighborhood (tunnels) Arcade Fire- Wake UP The Verve- Velvet Morning The Temper Trap- Summer's Almost Gone M83- Midnight City Blur- The Universal Radiohead- Thinking About You Radiohead-Let Down
 
Lisa’s favorite female artists:
Kathryn Lynch
Lynette Yiadom-Boakye
Cayce Zavaglia
Erin Lawlor
Lois Dodd
Boo Saville
Kaye Donachie
Rose Wylie

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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This week the National Geographic explorer and award-winning wildlife film-maker, photographer, presenter, and founder of Bambee Studios, Aishwarya Sridhar. Aishwarya was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India in 1997, the only child to parents Sridhar Ranganathan and Rani Sridhar. Her father is a chartered accountant and her mother an advertising professional. Both her parents help Aishwarya with the business aspects of her film studio and have been instrumental in introducing her to wildlife and conservation from an early age. She has always been passionate about protecting the natural environment, climate change and the impact on India’s wildlife. Although career pathways for women in filmmaking in India are limited, Aishwarya created her own opportunities beginning in college at Pillai College of Arts, Science and Commerce where she studied Mass Media. Her first two films were picked up by DD National and National Geographic WILD respectively, and it wasn’t long before the awards came her way for her conservation work, including the Sanctuary Asia Young Naturalist Award,,which she won at age 15, The Princess Diana Award for Young Change Makers aged 9-25, the Woman Icon Award, and the International Inspirational Women's Award. In 2020, she became the first Indian woman to win at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award.  Aishwarya also became the youngest conservation storyteller from India to join the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP) as an Emerging League Fellow. Her work has been telecast on leading networks like National Geographic WILD, Discovery, Arte, KBS, NHK, Love Nature and BBC Earth and her images have been published worldwide in newspapers and magazines, such as BBC Wildlife, The Guardian, and Times of India. Aishwarya is currently working on.a documentary about a leopard, Rana, in the Jhalana Leopard Reserve.
 
Aishwarya's website: https://www.aishwaryasridhar.com/
Instagram: Chikoo_wild https://www.instagram.com/chikoo_wild/

Ash’s Playlist:
Taylor Swift
Michael Jackson
Hindi Bollywood Soundtracks 
 
Ash’s favorite female artists:
Beverly Joubert
Shannon Wild
Vanessa Berlowitz
Rathika Ramaswamy
Alia Bhatt
Priyanka Chopra
Kartiki Gonsalves
Guneet Monga 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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Arkansas native, Paulette Pearson, is a colored pencil artist who captures whimsy and humor in her drawings. She creates work that she says ‘reflects a unique blend of artistic skill and storytelling,’ and has an eye for detail that harmonizes with originality, authenticity and depth.  Paulette was born in Big Bear, California in 1982, the oldest of three children to Ben, an engineer and business/property owner, and her mother Paulette, an artist. She grew up on her family’s ranch in Arkansas and as a child, her New Orleans grandmother encouraged her artistic interests as she quietly amused herself not knowing that one day she would become a professional artist. It was journalism and the law that would initially appeal as a career; Paulette earned her BA in English from Lyon College, her MA in Journalism and a JD—both from the University of Arkansas, before spending over a decade as a magazine editor—first in Arkansas and later in Texas, covering luxury interior design and architecture. Paulette met her husband Rich in law school, and after spending time in Washington, DC, the couple moved to Dallas, TX where Paulette most recently served as the Texas editor for Luxe Interiors + Design magazine. Once commissions started to come in and stores picked up her work, she knew she could become the full-time artist she dreamt of being so she decided to take the plunge and return to the art that she loved. Paulette recently held her first exhibition in Austin, TX. By combining realism with imaginative elements, she says: ‘ I invite the audience to embark on a journey of discovery, where the boundaries between reality and imagination blur, and where every pencil stroke tells a story.’
 
https://paulettepearson.com/
Instagram: @paulettepearsonstudio 
https://www.instagram.com/paulettepearsonstudio/'

Paulette’s favorite female artists
Jamie Beck
Bella McGoldrick
Inslee Ferris
Katie Rodgers
CJ Hendry
 
Paulette’s Playlist -The Beatles – My favorite band of all time. I especially love Yesterday, In My Life, Let it Be, Blackbird, Get Back… -Ella Fitzgerald – It’s A Lovely Day Today, Dream A Little Dream, etc. -Louis Armstrong – La Vie En Rose, Cheek to Cheek, What a Wonderful World, etc. -Pomplamoose – Les Champs-Elysées, Sympathique -Something’s Gotta Give movie soundtrack (Astrud Gilberto - Summer Samba (So Nice), Coralie Clement - Samba de mon Coeur qui bat) -Nat King Cole – Unforgettable, Smile -Billie Holiday – Blue Moon, I’ll Be Seeing You.

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Visual storyteller, Flash Rosenberg, is a self described 'Attention Span for Hire' who photographs, draws, writes and talks as a performer. Flash was the pioneering artist in residence for ‘LIVE from the New York Public Library’ for seven years, capturing live-drawings of literary discussions in real-time to create panels and animated summaries known as “Conversation Portraits Flash was born in Mt. Vernon, NY; one of three children—she has a younger brother and sister— to Marilyn, an early childhood educator, and David, a chemical engineer and rocket scientist. Her family moved to Delaware when she was four years old. Flash attended the University of Delaware where she graduated with a BS in Graphic Design as a Dean’s Scholar in Visual Communication. In 2011, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in the Creative Arts. Her animations have been commissioned for Broadway shows. Her Main Stage stories for ‘The Moth’ have been broadcast nationally on NPR. “FlashThink Cartoons” were a weekly, online feature on the Conde Nast site, Archetypes.com. Flash has had an elaborate and original teaching career, specializing in provocative approaches to art, including workshops in Visual Humor, and a Perception Studies class conducted entirely in the NYC subways for Cooper Union. She lives in Harlem, NY.
 
Websites: http://flashrosenberg.com/ https://www.archetypes.com/flash-rosenberg (http://www.nypl.org/live/conversation-portraits
Instagram: @flashrosenberg
https://www.instagram.com/flashrosenberg/
 
Flash’s playlist: Blackbird - The Beatles The Penguin - Raymond Scott Gymnopédies - Erik Satie Toc - Thom Ze Hot in Heere - Nelly Atomic Dog - Parliament Funkadelic Incense Peppermint - Strawberry Alarm Clock Sunshine Superman - Donovan Hava Neegila - Harry Belafante Oh Yeah - Yello Crazy Women - Jess Korman Both Sides Now - Joni Mitchell Old Man - Neil Young Dust in the Wind - Kansas Another One Bites the Dust - Queen In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel Somebody I Used to Know - Gotye You Don't Have to Cry - Crosby, Stills & Nash The Humpty Dance - Digital Underground Gangnam Style - PSY Mustt Mustt- Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn Trigger Hippie - Morcheeba Computer Love - Kraftwerk Drumbone - Blue Man Group Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is - Chicago King Kong - BETTY Tubthumping - Chumbawamba Get Lucky - Daftpunk Happy - Daftpunk Technologic - Daftpunk Yeah! - Usher Calabria 2007 (Club Mix) - Enur (featuring Natasja Scream & Shout - will.i.am (with Britney Spears) Dare - Gorillaz Clint Eastwood - Gorillaz Walking and Falling - Laurie Anderson Super Bon Bon - Soul Coughing/Michael Doughty Ruby Vroom Paint Kiss From a Rose- Seal Here Comes the Hotstepper - Ini Kamoze
 
Host: Chris Stafford
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This week the Vietnamese photographer and author Ngoc Minh Ngo. Ngoc was born in Vietnam in 1963 and grew up during the Vietnam War. Her father, Chau Minh Ngo, was a colonel in the South Vietnam Army and her mother Phi Truong became a nurse's aide after raising eight children. Ngoc was the sixth child—she has four sisters and three brothers. Despite enduring a brutal war, Ngoc describes her childhood as enchanting and beautiful. Her parents did all they could to protect their family and offer some normalcy to those troubling times by spending time on the beach. At the age of 12, shortly before the end of the war in 1975, the family were evacuated to the US and settled in Sacramento, California where, with the help of sponsors, they began a new life. Ngoc described herself as a very shy and reserved child but that did not hinder her development. She found her own way to the University of California, Berkeley where she earned a BA followed by a Masters of Landscape Design at Columbia University. After spending some time traveling to Japan and Europe Ngoc made her way to New York with a view to working in painting restoration. But after a chance encounter while working on a feature film she discovered her true passion was to be photography, so she learned black & white photography and developing. Ngoc's images have been published The World of Interiors, T Magazine, Vogue, Architectural Digest, Cabana, and House & Garden UK. She is also the author of five books: Bringing Nature Home: Floral Arrangements Inspired by Nature; In Bloom: Creating and Living with Flowers, and Eden Revisited: A Garden in Northern Morocco, The House of a Lifetime, and New York Green. She is currently working on a new book entitled Roses in the Garden inspired by her father’s death. She has, she says, always been independent and self-contained, paving her own way as a refugee and re-imaging her life as a reflection through the beauty of the images she creates.  Ngoc and her husband, the photographer Julian Wass, live in New York. They have a daughter Lily who works in public health and is also a poet.
 
Ngoc’s website: https://www.ngocminhngo.com/
Instagram: @minh_ngoc 
https://www.instagram.com/minh_ngoc
 
Ngoc’s playlist:
"The Rip by Portishead (I love Beth Gibbons, both with Portishead and her solo work)
The Spoils by Massive Attack with Hope Sandoval (I'm a fan of both Hope Sandoval and Massive Attack) 
Wildfires by Sault (A song about George Floyd that happens to be very catchy)
Diamonds and Rust by Joan Baez (Poignant song about her relationship with Bob Dylan)
Purple Rain by Prince (bog fan of Prince for his fearless originality and incomparable talent)
Halo by Ane Brun (Ane Brun is brilliant at reinterpreting other people's song in her inimitable way) Hope We Meet Again by Brit Marling (I love her folksy songs)
La Rua Madureira (I love this French interpretation of an iconic bossa nova song)
Paradis Perdu by Christine and the Queens (I love the way she combines one of the favorite songs of my childhood with a Kanye song and makes it completely her own)."
 
Ngoc’s favorite female artists:
Agnes Martin
Anni Albers
Ruth Asawa
Hilma af Klint
Kiki Smith 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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This week the Belarusian soft pastel artist Tanya Avchinnikova. Tanya’s love of water and its translucency is the focal point and inspiration for her art. She says: ‘I specialize in seascapes and landscapes – places where you can feel a deep unity with nature, and trying to capture the illusion of presence.’  Tanya was born in Minsk, Belarus in 1988. Her mother Elena is a nurse and she has a brother, Anton.  Tanya studied music and began performing as a pianist from an early age so it was only natural that she would pursue a career in music. Tanya studied music at the Belorussian State Academy of Music and earned her Post Graduate degree in Performance at the Urals Mussorgsky State Conservatoire (Ekaterinburg) in Russia. She spent two years in China teaching piano at the Nanchang Normal University in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province.  In 2006, Tanya moved to the UK and earned her Masters Degree at the Royal Birmingham Conservatorie.  She currently works as a ballet pianist at the Performers College, which is part of BIMM University. She lives in Birmingham, England with her husband, the classical pianist Roman Kosyakov. Tanya is a Member of The Pastel Society and a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America.
 
Tanya’s website: https://tanyaavchinnikovaart.co.uk/
Instagram: tanyaavchinnikovaart 

Tanya’s favorite female artists:
Mary Cassatt
Michele Ashby
Amy Webber
Olivia Dunn
Reisha Perlmutter

Tanya’s playlist:
Radiohead (or solo Thom Yorke projects)
Kiasmos (or tracks by Olafur Arnalds)
Puscifer (or The Perfect Circle)
Tomas Dvorak (or his project Floex)
Boards of Canada
Aphex Twin
Ulrich Schnauss
Jon Hopkins 
 
Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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This week the contemporary impressionist Anne Blair Brown. Her work centers on intimate scenes inspired by local surroundings as well as travel in the US and abroad. She says: “My artwork starts in reality and evolves through my imagination. As an impressionist, I believe in a painting process that enables me to tap into my creativity rather than trying to copy and perfect. My goal is to invite you, the viewer, to connect to the painting such that you personalize the experience and use your own imagination to complete the story.”  Anne was born in North Kingstown, Rhode Island and at the age of four her family moved to Tennessee. Her mother is Rachel Blair, a licensed clinical social worker and caterer, and her father James Brown is a financial advisor. She is the youngest of three children, she has an older brother and sister. Anne attended Saint Henry School and The Harpeth Hall School in Nashville followed by the University of Georgia, and Watkins College of Art & Design, Nashville where she earned an Associate Degree. She began teaching art some 25 years ago and offers online courses and workshops for painters of all skill levels. Her in-person sessions take place at Bluebird Hill Retreat in Santa Fe, TN. Anne lives in Nashville, TN with her husband the impressionist & abstract artist, Trey Finney.
 
Anne’s website: anneblairbrown.com
Instagram: @ablairbrownstudio
Facebook: anneblairbrown & anneblairbrownstudio 

Some favorite female artists:
Haidee-Jo Summers
Carolyn Anderson
Ann Larsen
Yer Za Vue
Dawn Whitelaw
Ivetta Lokhmatova 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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Colleen Laffey is a camera operator whose credits include: Love is Blind, World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji, American Grit, Capture, Master Chef, Jersey Shore, The Bachelorette, Kings of Pain, Are You The One, and MotoMaidens. She has, she says, become obsessed with photography, it’s her drug of choice and gets in her flow state when she’s shooting. Colleen was born in Pittsburgh, PA in 1960, the oldest of three children—she has a brother, Marty, and sister Maureen. Her mother, Dale was a homemaker, and her father Marty a bank loan officer. Colleen’s childhood was largely spent outdoors and when it came time to graduate from High School she chose to attend the Art Institute of Pittsburgh where she graduated with an Associate Degree in Photography.  From there she began working in outdoor recreation as a still photographer, a river guide, video kayaker, ski instructor and ski patrol. She worked 4 years at WVPB, and chance opportunity to run camera on a large show changed the course of her career, and at the age of 44 she settled into the unscripted TV industry becoming a sought-after camera operator. Colleen lives in Fayetteville, WV, in a house she designed, and in her spare time she can be found mountain biking or whitewater kayaking.

Colleen’s IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1837418/
Instagram @cococam https://www.instagram.com/cococam/
 
Colleen’s playlist:
Talking Heads, A Naive Melody
Restless, James McMurtry
Counting Stars, One Republic
I Don’t Know, Lisa Hannigan 

Some favorite female artists in visual arts:
Annie Lebowitz, photographer
Ellen Kuras. cinematographer
Zaha Hadid, architect 

Produced by Hollowell Studios
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The Romanian Botanical Artist Irina Neascu began her career in architecture and now her journey transcends academia, science, art and illustration. Irina says: “I approached botanical art to continue investigating the cultural landscape from a natural perspective of the reciprocal influence and fragile intersections between culture and nature.” Irina was born in Bucharest in 1982, the only child of Daniela and Mihai who are both economists. She attended the Architecture University in Bucharest, Romania where she graduated with both a BA and MA. Irina then earned a postgraduate MA in Fine Arts at Rome University of Fine Arts. Following her graduation, she turned to interior design where her name became an international brand, with exhibitions at various fairs and events throughout Europe. The main collections focus on bespoke upholstery and chairs, crafted with textile collage techniques and digital printing. Irina has worked on both old and new furniture, restoring and customizing items according to the specific needs of her clients. Her interior design collections include home accessories and furniture, in unique series or limited series. In 2016, Irina moved north of Bucharest to the Transylvania area to be closer to nature; hiking is one of her favorite activities. Here, she opened the Irina Neacșu Studio then founded an art school, Cembra School of Botanical Art and Design, where she teaches courses and workshops in painting, drawing, textile art or design and encourages creative knowledge inspired by nature and heritage. Irina is currently  a PhD candidate at the Art University in Bucharest, and later this year she will be a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Yale Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, History of Art Department. Irina lives in Brasov with her Weimaraner, Scala.

Irina’s website: https://irinaneacsu.com/
Instagram: @irinaneascu https://www.instagram.com/irinaneacsu/
 
Some favorite feamle artists:
Georgia O’Keeffe
Rachel Ruysch
Giovanna Garzoni
Hillary Waters
Jackie Mulder
Christiane Fashek 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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This week the award-winning Cinematographer, Shana Hagan, ASC. In the words of fellow cinematographer Gretchen Warthen: “Shana is the biggest documentary female DP/Operator in the world… and one of the kindest DPs I have ever worked with on set. You would never know who she is in the cinematography world without looking her up.” Her work includes DPing the 1997 Oscar-winning Documentary Short BREATHING LESSONS: THE LIFE & WORK OF MARK O’BRIEN and shooting additional cinematography for the 2014 Oscar-winning Best Documentary Feature: 20 FEET FROM STARDOM.  She worked on the Oscar nominated 2010 Documentary FOOD, INC., and DP’d the 2020 Oscar nominated Documentary Short: WALK RUN CHA-CHA as well as the 2005 Sundance Film Festival Award Special Jury Prize Winner - AFTER INNOCENCE and the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Award Grand Jury Prize nominee - THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES. Shana has firmly embedded herself in the industry. Born in Phoenix, Arizona, to parents Robert Hagan, MD and Peggy Hagan, a Girl Scout Camp Director and Troop Leader, Shana is the middle of three children. Her parents instilled many important values in her which have helped her throughout her life and career. As a schoolgirl, she became a competitive swimmer at the age of five through to her Freshman year at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles where she attended film school. It was a natural career path for the enthusiastic young photographer who had already developed a keen eye for filmmaking. Shana was the ‘official’ family videographer with a curious mind, appetite for storytelling and a passion that grew as she established the foundation for her craft, opening doors and creating opportunities right out of school. Shana was the first woman to shoot on the hit reality series SURVIVOR and was nominated for an Emmy for her work on SURVIVOR: CHINA. She shot four seasons on NBC's PARKS AND RECREATION, was the 2nd Unit DP on Netflix’s ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT and has shot commercial spots for Disney, Electronic Arts, Kohl’s, the US Army, Kodak, Verizon and others. Shana’s current scripted work includes the critically acclaimed, Peabody Award-winning series SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE for HBO and Fox’s half hour docu-comedy WELCOME TO FLATCH. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband Peter, daughter Iris, two dogs and two cats.

 
https://www.shanahagan.com/ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0353248/
Instagram: @shanahaganasc
https://www.instagram.com/shanahaganasc/

Shana's Playlist:

"I love classical: 

• “Appalachian Spring” by Aaron Copland – so cinematic and nostalgic for summers on Grandma and Grandpa’s farm in Oklahoma.
• Saint-Saens’ “Carnival of the Animals: 7 / Aquarium”
• Vivaldi – “Four Seasons / Spring”

I love world music:

• Ali Farka Toure  “Kaira”
• Cesaria Evora  “Sodade”
• Buena Vista Social Club  “Chan Chan”
• The Chieftains  “The Wind That Shakes the Barley / The Reel With the Beryle”

More random faves and some new stuff too:

• Dave Brubeck’s  “Take Five”
• Bill Withers  “Lovely Day”
• U2  “Beautiful Day” 
• Coldplay  “A Sky Full of Stars”
• Bonobo  “Recurring”
• Khruangbin   “Texas Sun”
• Lord Huron  “The Night We Met”
• Radiohead  “Big Sleep”
• Black Pumas  “Colors”

Some favorite female artists in visual arts:

"I absolutely love Dorothea Lange’s photography.  Her work during the depression is some of the best documentary photography there is.  See “Migrant Mother” and it’ll rip your heart out.  also love Georgia O’Keeffe – did a doc about her years ago and was just in love with her story, her passion for her work, her friends (Steiglitz, Ansel Adams, etc).  Would love to have a drink with her."

 
Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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This week the painter, singer and poet Jamie Derr.  Jamie says: “I don’t usually know what I am visualizing until I see it emerge on the canvas, making me an intuitive artist.” Her portraits are both bold and nuanced depicting characters known and unknown. Jamie was born in Providence, RI in 1981, one of three children to parents Debra and Manuel Ribeiro. Her great-grandparents  emigrated from Portugal in the early 1900s and established Sunset Bakery in Bristol,Rhode Island in 1929. Besides owning the bakery, her father Manny was also an artist and musician which Jamie inherited. She started singing as a child which led to a singing career right out of High School. She later earned a full Davis Scholarship, and graduated from Wellesley School with a Bachelor of Arts continuing to perform till her late 30’s. Among her recorded songs under musical name “Jamie LaPearle” are Don’t Want to Let You Go, Next to You, and So Torn (all available on Spotify). At the age of 18, she had her daughter Lianna and worked as a make-up artist while continuing writing songs and performing. Jamie later transitioned to becoming a visual artist focusing on landscapes and portraits in both watercolor and oil. She is a member of Oil Painters of America, an Artist Member at the Rhode Island Watercolor Society and was recently accepted as an exhibiting artist at the Providence Art Club. She has received numerous international awards and exhibits frequently. Jamie has an upcoming show in September, 2024 at Deblois Gallery in Middletown,RI and Greenville Library in Greenville, RI in December, 2024. She lives in Cranston, RI with her husband James, two dogs and a cat.
 
https://www.jamiederrart.com/
https://www.instagram.com/jamiederrart/
@jamiederrart 

Jamie's favorite female visual artists: 
Kesja Tabaczuck
Irena Roman
Julia Powell 

Host: Chris Stafford
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This week the American cinematographer Alicia Robbins who is the first female to become a full-time Director of Photography on a Shondaland series. Alicia was lead DP on  season 17 of GREY’S ANATOMY, and also lensed episodes of season 3 of the Netflix series, ‘BRIDGERTON. Other credits include a 2022 mini-series for Netflix titled KEEP BREATHING. She also shot four episodes of season 2 of the NBC re-boot of Quantum Leap. The feature BABYSPLITTERS, lensed by Alicia, won Best Feature Film at the 2020 Santa Barbara International Film Festival and Best Comedy Feature at the San Diego International Film Festival, and received a mention in Variety for its "sparkling" cinematography. And THE WEDDING INVITATION won Best Romantic Comedy at the Manhattan Film Festival and Best Comedy at Burbank International Festival in 2016. Alicia is the 2018 recipient of the prestigious Emerging Cinematographer Award from the Cinematographer's Guild for her work on the short INTERNET GANGSTERS.  Alicia was born in San Diego, California in 1979, the youngest of three children—she has an older sister Theresa and brother Tommy—to parents Mary Lynne and Tommy—both musicians, piano and voice teachers. Her parents lived in San Diego for over 20 years but when Alicia was four years old, the family moved to Trussville, AL where she grew up.  At the age of seven, she became a competitive swimmer through high school. Despite a musical background, Alicia chose a career in cinematography and in 2003, she graduated with an MFA from the American Film Institute (AFI).  Alicia will be returning to BRIDGERTON to shoot Season 4 later this year. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, fellow DP, David Smith.
 
Instagram:
@aliciacamchick
Website:
 https://www.aliciarobbins.com/
IMDB:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0730281/?ref_=nv_sr_1
 
Some favorite women in visual arts:
Mary Lynne Robbins
Mandy Walker
Natalie Kingston
Jeanne Tyson 

Host: Chris Stafford
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This week the British wildlife artist Lucy Joyce. Lucy’s painstaking attention to detail is her signature on portraits of a variety of animals. Her artistry is crafted from photographic images, and in some cases her own compositions, as she meticulously accounts for every hair and whisker. Lucy was born in Northampton in 1979, the oldest of two children—she has a younger brother Robert. Her mother Jackie Smith, is a part-time seamstress, and her father Brian was a precision engineer in motorsport. Lucy completed her GCSE and A Levels at Chenderit School in Oxfordshire including two GCSEs in Art and A Level Art, before working in print and design. She then attended Southampton Solent University where she earned a degree in Marketing Design. Lucy met her husband at uni and upon graduation the couple spent a year working in Canada before returning to the UK. After the birth of her two sons, Lucy returned to her art and built a clientele for pet portraits. In 2016, she became a full-time artist and now has commissions for her wildlife and pet portraits that extend far into next year. Lucy lives near Newbury in Berkshire with her husband Simon, two sons; Jack and Charlie and two Cocker Spaniels.
 
www.mrsjoycedraws.co.uk
Instagram: @mrsjoycedraws
TikTok: @mrsjoycedraws
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mrsjoycedraws
 
Some favorite female artists:
Carla Grace
Dina Brodsky 
Zoe Fitchet
Demi Lang
Georgia Hart
Jennifer Gennari 

Host: Chris Stafford
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This week the British make-up artist Patsy O’Neill whose career was founded in the 90’s in MTV and has spanned the world of TV, music, commercials, film and editorial. Patsy was born in 1975 in the shadow of West Ham football ground in East London. Her parents Robert O’Neill, an electrical engineer and Julia Dooley, a nurse & practice manager were Irish immigrants. Patsy is the middle of three children—she has an older brother and younger sister— and was educated at the Ursuline Convent School for Girls in Forest Gate, London. Her love of the arts could be seen in her constant drawings as a child and interest in fashion so it was no surprise that she chose to study Design Fashion Styling For Make - up and Hair at the London College of Fashion from where she graduated in 1993. From there she chose to start working in the business to get hands on experience, which is where her early opportunities created a pathway for her career. She has, she says, done just about everything in the business and loves to share her knowledge by mentoring interns and graduates.  Her roster of celebrity clients are some of the most recognizable women on the red carpet and have led her to having her work showcased at the Oscars. Patsy lives in London with her partner Richard Jakes and son Arlo.

Patsy’s website: https://www.patriciaoneill.co.uk/
Instagram: @patsyoneillmakeup
https://www.instagram.com/patsyoneillmakeup
 
Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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The American photographer Jamie Beck is known for focusing on portraying life and her natural surroundings in the Provence. Jamie is the author of two books: ‘An American in Provence: Art, Life and Photography’ published in 2022 which became a New York Times Bestseller, and The Flowers of Provence published in 2024. In the last few years Jamie has created an online marketplace for her custom designs and also founded The Starling Club, an online social club for creative women.  Jamie was born in Arlington, TX, one of two children to James Beck, a law enforcement officer and Gina Pine, an accountant. She has an older brother and a step-father. Her early interest in photography began as a child wanting to memorialize images, which led to taking photos once her mother gave her her first camera. Jamie’s love of fashion led her to starting her career in fashion photography once she graduated from the New York Fashion Institute of Technology with a degree in Fashion Photography. She then worked in New York as a fashion and commercial photographer for 13 years before moving to the South of France. Jamie’s raison d’être is to capture the beauty of nature most notably through her love of flowers and the lifestyles of the Provence. Jamie lives in Apt with her husband Kevin and daughter Eloise.
 
Jamie's website:
https://jamiebeck.co/
Jamie on Instagram: @jamiebeck.co
https://www.instagram.com/jamiebeck.co/
The Starling Club https://club.jamiebeck.co/
 
Jamie’s favorite female artists:
Maria Rose
Natasshia Neary
Ronni Nicole
Katie Whipple 

Host: Chris Stafford
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This week the multi-media artist Carla Ciuffo whose innovative image making process and utilization of experimental printing and installation techniques, create a layered and immersive, often mystical environment. She says her approach treads the boundary between documentary and experimental arts. Carla was born on Long Island, New York to father Armand, a dentist and artist, and Loretta, a home-maker and amateur photographer.  She has two sisters who are also artistic: Adrienne is a documentary filmmaker and Roberta works in the Nashville Arts and Arts Education.  Carla attended some college but dropped out but then later proudly obtaining her Harvard ID when she did a study residency with the Disease and Biophysics Group. Prior to becoming a full-time artist, Carla worked a variety of jobs during her 20 years in New York City from candy stores to book printing. In her 40’s she left New York for Arizona where she trained as a massage therapist and became an entrepreneur starting small businesses. From Arizona, Carla moved to Tennessee in 2010 to become a professional artist and now an aspiring author of queer fiction. Carla and her wife Angela live in Nashville, TN.
 
Carla’s website: https://www.carlaciuffo.art/
Instagram: @Carla Ciuffo 
https://www.instagram.com/carlaciuffoworks/
 
Carla’s favorite female artists:
Jennifer O’Connell-Knoerzer
Courtney Minor
Suzanne Theodora White
Louise Dumont
Lea Craigie
Anna Karvounari
Olga Fedorova
Connie Hansen
Ursula von Rydingsvard  
Ana Francisca 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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The South African acrylic painter Carla Bosch is known for her vibrant colors and bold strokes that trademark an unapologetic style. Her landscape paintings represent a wide range of nature’s palette uniquely capturing its light. Carla was born in Pretoria in 1976 to Anton, a pharmacist and amateur artist, and Ronel Gericke a home-maker and keen musician. She has a sister Murentia.  Carla describes her childhood spent enjoying family hikes around South Africa as happy and loving. Her father encouraged an interest in art and she would follow his lead as she explored different mediums. Carla studied Interior Design at the University of Pretoria and although she says she has always had high energy and a limited attention it would be art that would fully absorb her as as self taught artist. By the age of 25 she found herself a full-time artist, and with the help of her husband Elroy, Carla operates a successful business with clients around the world. The couple moved to the US in 2013 spending five years in California before relocating to Texas.  Carla is represented in galleries in France, the UK, South Africa, Maryland and Texas. Carla has two children: Sarah and Daniel, and lives with her husband Elroy and their Chocolate Labradoodle Jamie in Austin, Texas.
 
Carla’s website: https://www.carlabosch.com/
Carla on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlaboschart
@carlaboschart
 
Some of Carla’s favorite female artists: 
Isabel Le Roux
Irma Stern
Maggie Laubser 

Host: Chris Stafford
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This week the Filipina artist Goldie Poblador who works in scent and glass interactive instillation art.  Goldie specializes in glass flameworking combined with performance, video, installation, and scent embodying themes of feminism, the environment, and decolonization as it relates to the body.  Goldie was born in Manila, The Philippines in 1987. Her parents; Napoleon Poblador, a lawyer and painter and Gizela Poblador, a home-maker who had earlier studied dentistry. Goldie is the eldest of four children; she has three younger brothers. She was, she says, an imaginative child who enjoyed creating worlds and performing. Her parents exposed her to art and music; she visited art shows, galleries and museums, learned the piano, and performed in a drama club. By the age of 18 Goldie was performing in a Punk band; something she likes to recreate today for fun. But it was her fascination with glass and painting that would steer her through college. She graduated from the University of The Philippines in 2009 with a BFA in Studio Art and later with an MFA Glass from the Rhode Island School of Design. Between colleges Goldie was introduced to the Scuola Abate Zanetti in Murano, Italy. She also worked as an artist and attended the Pilchuck Glass School in Seattle, co-founded by the renown glass sculptor Dale Chihuly.  Goldie has been exhibited internationally at such institutions as the Yangon Secretariat Building Knockdown Center, Cemeti Art House, Singapore Art Museum, Bangkok Art and Culture Center, Fine Art Museum of Hanoi and The Cultural Center of the Philippines. She is currently working on a show for the Art Fair in The Philippines in 2025. Goldie will be a featured artist in the Sensorium, Stories of Glass and Fragrance; an exhibition that will explore the millennia-long relationships between glass, perfumery, and the storage of scent, at the Corning Museum of Glass (CMoG) from September 7, 2024 - February 1, 2025.  Goldie is married to Joseph Sousa and the couple live in New York City. 
 
https://goldiepoblador.com/Information
Instagram: @_goldieland 
https://www.instagram.com/_goldieland
 
Goldie’s favorite female artists:
Janine Antoni
Agnes Arellano
Joan Jonas
Camille Claudel
Kiki Smith

Host: Chris Stafford
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This week the South African camera operator and steadicam operator, Ashlea Downes. Among Ashlea’s credits are the popular Netflix series Bridgerton on which she is working with a previous guest on this podcast, Alicia Robbins. Ashlea has also worked on House of the Dragon, Wicked, Skyfall, Spider-Man: Far From Home and His Dark Materials. Ashlea was born in Pretoria, South African in 1985. Her father, Ant, was an accountant and business owner, and her mother, Alex, an artist and art teacher. Her brother, Scott, is a hand painted sign artist. Ashlea grew up enjoying sports and the outdoors; she was a competitive rider, taking after her mother who was a keen horsewoman. She also swam, played water polo and netball but academia was not her rap. Instead she followed her father’s interest in photography and her mother’s talent for art. Her love of wildlife gave her aspirations to be a wildlife documentary filmmaker so it was no surprise that these influences steered her to the AFDA Film School where she graduated with a degree in Cinematography. After college, her relentless determination and ambition to break into the industry opened up opportunities that would prove the foundation of her career, and soon she would find herself being called up for the Bond movie Skyfall filming in Turkey and then to the UK to film at the London Olympics. A turning point in her career was moving to the UK shortly after where she met her partner and found steady work from trainee to 2nd AC/ loader and then making her mark as a camera operator. Ashlea lives between Reading, England and Cape Town, South Africa with her husband Karl Taggart. She is currently working as a camera operator on Season 4 of Bridgerton.
 
Ashlea on IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4701569/
Instagram: @ashlea_downes 
https://www.instagram.com/ashlea_downes
 
Ashlea’s favorite women in visual arts:
Charlotte Bruus Christensen
Mandy Walker
Reed Morano
Rachel Morrison
Catherine Goldschmidt
Alicia Robbins
Alice Brook
Elana Garret 

Host: Chris Stafford
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This week's guest is the South African wildlife acrylic artist Ilse de Villiers. Ilse works in detailed realism of her subjects, which portray the dramatic wildlife of Africa in its natural habitat drawing mainly from photographic reference. Ilse says although she was  always considered relatively talented she was not encouraged to pursue art so making it her career was never in her wildest dreams. Ilse was born in Durban in 1965, one of two daughter to father Frik Kleynhans (d) an education inspector, and mother Julie Kleynhans, a secretary, talented batik artist, horticulturist and watercolorist. An outdoor child, Ilse was always an animal lover with a wandering mind. She describes herself as a neat and organized person who preferred pencils to paint as a child. Ilse graduated with a B.A degree and Diploma in Higher Education at Bloemfontein University before teaching at a High School.  In 1987 she married her college boyfriend Abraham de Villiers and the couple eventually moved to his family’s farm in Middelburg, Bethal where they raised a family while Ilse became a farm girl, cooking, sewing, baking and gardening. The tragic loss of their eldest son Abraham Jnr. in 1996 in a farm accident would prove a pivotal point in Ilse’ life when some months later a friend encouraged her to start painting which turned out to be the therapy she needed. She says she found a creative expression and that became the beginning of her life story as an artist.  Ilse and her husband live in Tzaneen in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Her husband’s photographs are often used by Ilse as reference.  They have a son Herman and daughter Julése.  Ilse annually shows her artwork at two shows and in galleries across the US.

Ilse’ website https://ilsewildlife.com/
Ilse on Instagram: @ilse_wildlife 
https://www.instagram.com/ilse_wildlife/
 
Women who inspire Ilse:
Danielle Fisher
Carla Grace
Thalia Stanton
Annie Drew
Dina Brodsky
Louise Hancock
Samantha Greenhill
Sandra Bartels 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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This week’s guest is the American multi-media artist Sydney Swisher whose work on fabric creates a unique dimension to weaving photography and digital art with textiles. Her tapestries explore memory, materiality, and machine intelligence as she references family photos to generate locations based on descriptions of childhood memories.  Sydney was born in Olney, Illinois in 1994 the oldest of three children; she has a sister Maci and brother Sutton. She comes from a family of educators; her mother Melissa was a kindergarten teacher and father Martin, a high school science teacher.  But it was a BA Mass Communications studying TV and Radio with a Minor in Art that Sydney chose at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville from where she graduated in 2016. Her internships included graphic design while photographing weddings would help her develop her skills as a photographer. Sydney returned to Illinois to focus on her art career and her first solo exhibition, Fabricate, was shown in Peoria, Illinois in March 2024. She is currently preparing for a new show in Chicago this month. Sydney and her husband Nash live in Newton, Illinois with their two whippets.

Sydney’s website: https://www.sydneyswisher.com/
Instagram: @sydswisher https://www.instagram.com/sydswisher/
 
Sydney’s favorite women artists:
Jenna Gribbon
Megan Lewis
Holly Andres
Sasha Gordon
Njideka Akunyili Crosby 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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This week's guest is the American wildlife biologist, conservationist and filmmaker, Jocelyn Stokes. Jocelyn has filmed programming for PBS NATURE, Mongabay, National Geographic, the BBC, Waterbear, ILCP, Health in Harmony, the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, Future Alam Borneo and Borneo Futures, among others. She is most at home filming endangered species in some of the world's most remote wilderness locations. Her technical skills in long lens shooting, gimbal work and drone operation to capture unique natural history sequences have led to award-winning conservation films. Jocelyn was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, the eldest of three; she has two brothers. Her father Robert Stokes is in media marketing and her mother Debra a medical assistant and artist. Growing up in the desert, Jocelyn spent her childhood outdoors exploring nature and wildlife. And she was fascinated by still photography from an early age immersing herself in storytelling with her camera. By the time she had graduated high school Jocelyn knew the career she wanted and achieved her BA in Photography from Lewis & Clark followed by graduate studies at Oregon State University for Wildlife Sciences. Jocelyn traveled to South East Asia after college and began to lay the foundation for her career of combining her passions of wildlife conservation and filmmaking from producing a documentary to conserve sun bears in Borneo to environmental journalism pieces for the conservation news web portal Mongabay.  She is currently filming and producing a PBS NATURE series In Her Nature focused on female wildlife conservationists around the world, beginning with Nepal, Indonesia, Costa Rica, and Madagascar, which will air in March 2025. Jocelyn is married to wildlife photographer, Peter Mangolds, and the couple live in Jackson Hole, WY. 

Jocelyn’s website: https://www.jocelynstokes.com/
Her Wild Life https://www.herwildlife.com/
Instagram: @wiledandstoked 
https://www.instagram.com/wildandstoked/

Host: Chris Stafford
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This week we hear from the British seascape artist Victoria Obolensky whose work has been sold worldwide to high profile collectors, including Prince Albert II of Monaco, Ralph Lauren and Joely Richardson. Victoria was born in 1972 in Hammersmith, London, the only child of Linda White, an artist and journalist. Her father Gavin Cowper left the family when Victoria was just six months old and she was raised by her mother and stepfather Alex White who owned Gresham Publishing. The family moved to Malta in the Mediterranean when Victoria was two years old returning to London when she was seven. She attended the Sacred Heart School in Malta followed by the Glendower Girls Primary School in South Kensington. When the family moved to Hampshire, Victoria attended the Rookwood School in Andover. An interest in photography attracted her to the Chelsea School of Art and later the Camberwell School of Art in London and she soon made her mark as a talented photographer exhibiting in the Andipa Gallery in London. Her first career was in journalism following in her mother's footsteps by working for glossy magazines such as Homes & Gardens, Elle, Vanity Fair and Tatler. In 2019, her focus moved to painting and during the Covid lockdown period she established herself as an artist. In the past two years Victoria has sold 480 paintings through her website, social media and galleries.  Victoria lives in Dartmouth, Devon with her son Max and Persian cat Toby.
 
https://victoriaobolensky.com/
Instagram: @victoriaobolensky.art 
https://www.instagram.com/victoriaobolensky.art 
 
Victoria’s favorite female artists:
Katherine Burns
Judy Chicago
Irina Cumberland 

Host: Chris Stafford
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This week is the Australian landscape and still life oil painter Natasha Ruschka. Natasha says: “Taking seemingly simple scenes and transforming them into a beautiful and interesting vignette with only oil paints feels like my very own form of  magic.”  Natasha was born in Subiaco, Western Australia in 1974 and has two step sisters. Her mother Linda is also a prolific artist, as is her biological father John. Natasha was raised by her step-father David, who was an army officer, which meant the family frequently relocated in the South Pacific region.  At the age of four, Natasha moved to Papua New Guinea for two years and again later as a teenager. She attended St Hilda’s School in Southport on the Gold Coast before moving back to Canberra to her family to finish school. After graduating high school Natasha decided to study business computing as a way to find employment.  At the age of 18 she found herself working in the Hyatt hotel where she met her future husband. The couple moved to Brisbane for his work and later to Colorado. It was there that Natasha discovered an interest in art at the Park Hill Art school and she never looked back. The couple returned to Canberra in 2019, by which time Natasha had established herself as an artist. She say’s she doesn’t believe in talent but has a good eye. She loves the excitement of a blank canvas and the promise at the beginning. Natasha lives in Canberra with her husband Greg. They have three children, Nadya, Vienne and Zach.

Natasha’s website: https://www.natasharuschka.com/
Instagram: @natasharuschka 
https://www.instagram.com/natasharuschka_art
 
Natasha’s favorite female artists
Carol Marine
Lori Putnam
Haidee Jo Summers
Clarice Beckett (d)

Margaret Ollie (d)
Hilda Rix Nicholas (d) 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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The New Zealand-Australian photo realistic artist Bella McGoldrick says her intention is first to present the subjects to which she's had a connection and secondly to bring a connection between those subjects and the viewer, to take them back to a place, to a time, to a taste or even a smell. Bella was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1993, the youngest of three girls to parents, Mel McGoldrick and Mark O’Sullivan. When Bella was seven years old, the family moved to Melbourne in search of a new life. Bella developed an interest in art from an early age and her talent soon became apparent when she started taking commissions for portrait drawings as a teenager. But it was her interest in fashion design that guided her career and she graduated from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Fashion Design degree. As a student Bella spent time in Paris surviving on a minimal budget until she sold her first artwork and then took off for a tour of Europe before returning to school in Melbourne. Her lust for travel became her focal point and with her heart set on New York she made her way to the Big Apple finding work as an intern in the fashion industry. Meanwhile Bella continued to take commissions for her art and with a new boyfriend—who later became her husband—they spent time in London before moving to Colorado. It was from there that Bella was deported from the US and with her now fiancée travelled around until finally returning to Australia.  Now as an established and sought-after artist Bella is settled in Byron Bay with her husband Tyler and twin boys Rome and Ruby.
 
Bella’s website: https://bella.gold/
Instagram @bellamcgoldrick
 https://www.instagram.com/bellamcgoldrick
 
Bella’s favorite female artists:
Chloe Wise
Caroline Pinney
Peggy Guggenheim
Stevie Dance
Sophia Coppola 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
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Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com


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This week we meet the Russian-Australian contemporary realism artist Anna Speirs. Anna says: ‘My work is inspired by the beauty of Australian nature, focusing on tone, shape, and contrast. I often use objects from my local surroundings in my compositions.’  Anna was born in Kalyazin, in the Tver region of Russia in 1981. She has an older sister Marina. Her mother Natalia is an accountant and her father Mikhail, a carpenter. Anna’s interest in art began at an early age and she was mostly preoccupied with drawing and painting at home. Her parents recognized her talent and supported her educational choices; she attended the Kalyazin Art School from 1995-2001 followed by the Tver Art College from 2001-2005 where she graduated with a Degree in Design and Monumental Decorative Art, and the State Academy of Arts and Industry S.G. Stroganov in Moscow from 2013-2014. It was whilst she was at the State Academy that she took a vacation to Bali and met the man who would become her husband. Their romance took precedence over finishing school and Anna decided to move to Australia where her new life enabled her to become a professional artist. Anna has been a finalist for numerous awards and her work can be seen in various countries as well as being shown extensively across Western Australia and South Australia. Anna is married to Ben and the couple live in Perth, WA with their three children; Mitchell, Jackson and Ashlee.
 
Anna’s website: https://www.annaspeirsart.com/
Anna on Instagram: @annaspeirsart 
https://www.instagram.com/annaspeirsart/

Anna’s favorite female artists:
Robin Cole
Bernadett Timko
Kristen Valle Yann
Charlotte Sorapure
Samantha Dennison
Zoe Young
Ruth Fitton
Kayla Martell 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
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Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com


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This week the French underwater filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin. Nathalie has produced and directed 12 critically acclaimed underwater documentaries that have received numerous awards at international festivals and been distributed globally. She has also contributed to more than 200 feature films, documentaries and productions as a director of photography, underwater cameraman and divemaster.  She is known for her 2013 Sustainability at Sea, the 2015 TV Mini Series Ascension and the 2021 Secret of the Whales. Nathalie is also in demand as a speaker and expedition leader.  She says: “The more I travel around the world, the more I realize the multitude of small actions we can take to change the health of our immediate environment.”  Nathalie was born in the north of France in 1970.  Her natural curiosity for the planet and the environment has guided her since childhood to become an explorer and to produce images that have an impact on educating and informing a wider public. Nathalie graduated from the University of Montreal in 1992 in Movie Studies, by which time she had already decided that she wanted to leave her native France and settle in Canada.  Nathalie’s mission is to push the limits, to go deep within yourself and share the riches and fragilities of our earth through 360° exploration. Nathalie has been inducted into the Women Diver Hall of Fame and The Explorers Club. She lives in Montreal with her partner.
 
Nathalie’s links: https://nathalielasselin.com/en/
Instagram: @quapixnat 
https://www.instagram.com/aquapixnat/
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0489811/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
 
Nathalie’s favorite female artists:
Maroesjka Lavign
Gayle Kabloona
MissMe 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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The American cinematographer Christina Dobre was drawn to cinematography through her combined interests in storytelling, photography and psychology.  She say: she strives to create emotionally-driven imagery that helps us to feel, to connect and to heal. Her first professional production as a crew member was the 2013 drama CREEDMORIA about a teenage girl growing up in a dysfunctional family. It was a story she says that resonated with her. Christina was born in New Jersey in 1995, the middle of three children; she has an older sister and younger brother. Her father Dumitru was an immigrant from the Communist state of Romania - he emigrated to the US as a teenager and eventually became a Public Service Electrician. Her mother Donna is a nurse and instilled in Christina diverse values which have shaped her personality. an early interest in photography that she picked up from her father began the foundation to her career and by the time she attended Pennsbury High School in Fairless Hill, PA, Christina knew that story telling through film was her calling. In 2019 she graduated Fordham University in New York with a BA in Communications with a focus on Film Studies. Her determination to break into the industry was soon rewarded with a variety of productions from commercials to music, including THE KING for Sarah Kingsley, and narrative shorts, like AT NIGHT that was screened at an Academy Qualifying Festival.  Christina also advocates for women in camera through online education and by sharing her experiences as a woman in camera with her filmmaking community on social media. Christina was accepted in the ASC Vision Mentorship Program for 2024-25. She lives with her partner Johann Beute in New York.
 
Christina’s links: https://christinadobre.com/ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5992321/
Instagram: @christinadobre
https://www.instagram.com/christinadobre
 
Some of Christina’s favorite women artists:
Polly Morgan
Rina Yang
Kira Kelly
Kate Arizmendi
Alicia Slimmer
Barbie Leung
Kat Castro
Charlie Gillette 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
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Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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This week the Russian-born Illusion Body Artist Vika Bren. Vika says: “At the heart of my work is the fascinating interplay between reality and illusion. Each piece I create is a visual journey, where things aren't always as they first appear. My illustrations and paintings often feature subjects that seem to shift, transform, or disappear depending on the viewer's perspective.”  Vika’s talent has attracted millions of followers on social media making her something of a rock star in the world of body art illusion. But her versatility as an artist is no surprise given her lifelong flair for creativity.  Vika was born on New Year’s Day, 1989 in Moscow. She is the oldest of five children whose parents Marina and Dimitri were both architects and also talented artists. When Vika was still a toddler the family moved to Israel and from the age of seven to eleven she had a private art teacher. After that she said she has been completely self taught. Once she left school she tried her hand at graphic designing but soon realized that this would not fulfill her artistically. During the Covid pandemic, Vika saw the opportunity to develop her art work online and even through two wars she has managed to establish herself with a global reputation. Through the daily threat of rockets and background of sirens, Vika works in a converted garage, which has become her studio. She will be a visiting artist at Art Basel Miami Beach on December 6, 2024. Vika lives in Shavei Zion, Israel with her partner, the musician Assaf, and daughters Yahel and Lia.
 
Vika’s links:
Website: https://vikabrenart.com/ 
You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/@VikaBren
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/vikabrenart?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=d7b8a77d-9ef6-467a-ba90-fcbec1ee71de
 
Vika’s favorite artist: Dain Yoon
 
AART Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
AART on Facebook
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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This week the American ceramic artist Heather Knight.  Heather says: "With my work I hope to bridge modern design and the natural world by paring down the essence of things to repetitive textures and basic form.” Heather’s all-hand built creations become unique pieces of art of the finest heirloom quality. Heather was born in Houston, TX in 1977; the second youngest of ten siblings in a blended family, which she describes as chaotic. She attended numerous schools as a child and after discovering ceramics in high school she eventually blazed her own trail by choosing colleges with arts programs. However, in 1999, Heather left the College of Charleston to pursue cooking, then later in 2006 she graduated from the University of North Carolina, Asheville with a BFA in Ceramics. After spending time as a chef, Heather returned to art and decided to turn it into a business. She opened Element Clay Studios in Asheville, NC in 2007 and established her style, which is widely recognized for its striking combination of modern textures, patterns and shapes by nature. Heather now lives in Savannah, GA with her two sons Caleb and Oliver.
 
Heather’s link:
https://www.elementclaystudio.com/#/
@elementclaystudio 
https://www.instagram.com/elementclaystudio
 
Heather’s favorite female artists:
Giselle Hicks
Pamela Sunday
Valeria Nascimiento
Ariele Alasko 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
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Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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On the season finale of Season 2 our guest is the Chinese Sculptor Lirong Luo.  Lirong says: "Most important for me is to create my artwork freely and show people what I am ready to show and what is interesting for me to show the world.”  Lirong’s sculptural work is influenced by Renaissance and Baroque techniques, an interest she developed while studying art in Beijing under the tutelage of Sun Jia Bo. This influence is evident in the life-like quality and grace of her figures, often women, captured in motion. Their poses are elegant, elongating their bodies, and Lirong’s attention to detail in skin folds and garment drapery imbues them with a sense of vitality. The dresses and garments of her sculptures often appear windswept, creating a compelling dichotomy between realism and a fantastical element. But her early life was not easy. Growing up in a small village in China, Lirong's path was filled with hard work and a determination to prove without anyone to show her the way that a Chinese woman could become a successful international artist. In this episode, she shares her story of resilience, her vision and artistic process, and how she created her own path in the art world. Lirong was born in the Hunan Province in 1980. Her parents, Huaifu Luo and Aiyu Guo are both farmers. She has a brother, Liping Luo. In 1998, Lirong entered the Changsha Academy of Arts in Changsha, Hunan, and from 2000-2005 she studied sculpture at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing graduating with honors. Lirong met her future husband the Belgian sculptor Arnaud Laroche while they were students together and once Lirong graduated the couple decided to move to Europe. They first lived in Paris where Lirong worked in a chocolate factory before moving to Belgium. It was here that she established a studio and in 2014 held her first exhibition. By 2017 Lirong had hit the big time and now her work can be seen in galleries in France and Belgium. Lirong lives in Beersel, Belgium with her husband Arnaud Laroche and their daughters Olivia and Maya.
 
Lirong’s links:
Instagram: @luo_li_rong_art 
https://www.instagram.com/luo_li_rong_art/?hl=en
Facebook:  LUO Li Rong
https://www.facebook.com/p/LUO-LI-RONG-100044201991035/

Lirong’s favorite female artists:
Camille Claudel
Kiki Smith
Beth Cavener 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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Hi I’m Chris Stafford host of the AART podcast about women in the visual arts and I wanted to let you know  lyou that I will be back in the New Year with a new season and we have a wonderful line up to kick off Season 3 starting in January with Jeanne Tyson the Los Angeles-based cinematographer and filmmaker. Her work includes narrative and documentary features, shorts, and series, and has been featured in film festivals worldwide. Jeanne has been the Director of Photography for ABC’s Gray Anatomy for the past two seasons and will shortly begin shooting Season 22.
 
Also in January the Toronto based Romanian Hyperrealist Artist Sinziana Lordache who specializes in Detailed Graphite Drawings of luxury Watches. Sinziana’s produces photorealistic and hyperrealistic drawings with each meticulously placed stroke, every shade and tone, carefully chosen, her artwork reflects not just timepieces, but the epitome of horological elegance. 

If you’ve been a listener to the show you will know we have 90 episodes across seasons 1 and 2.  And season 3 will offer another great selection of talented creative women from across the spectrum of visual arts.
 
I’m thrilled that this podcast has been so well received and given me the opportunity to introduce you to so many brilliant women artists and I look forward to another season. Keep in mind that Season 3 will be bi-weekly. The reason for that is so I have more time in post production.  So I hope you’ll stay with me, follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram and on YouTube Just look for The AART Podcast. We also have a new email address and that’s theaartpodcast@gmail.com.
Please share this podcast with anyone you think will enjoy the show and tell them they can listen won any podcast app.
 
I hope you will join me for season 3 in 2025.

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Canadian based Romanian Hyperrealist Artist Sinziana Iordache specializes in detailed graphite drawings of luxury watches. Sinziana’s produces photorealistic and hyperrealistic drawings with each meticulously placed stroke, every shade and tone carefully chosen. Her artworks reflect not just timepieces but the epitome of horological elegance.  Sinziana was born in Constanta, Romania in July,1986, the only child of Elena Chris, an accountant and web designer, and Ion Iordache, a consultant and trainer in security management. While she was still a toddler, her family moved west to Resita near the Serbian border—her father was serving as a captain in the military—and where she says she had a very happy childhood. Her mother’s interest in precision art appealed to Sinziana from an early age and she would easily amuse herself for hours. Education began at the Traian Vuia High School and Politehnica University, Timisoara studying architecture before Sinziana moved to Canada in 2007 following her mother and step-father who had emigrated in 2003. Sinziana attended the Ryerson University in Toronto where she studied Interior Design which would become the catalyst for her starting her own business. Nowadays she is a partner at Unfold Creative Studio and spends much of her time outside the business on drawing luxury watches, which can be time consuming. It can take 150 hours to draw one watch. Sinziana lives in Toronto with her partner, the artist Alex Sauret and her cat.
 
Sinziana’s links:
https://sinzianaiordache.com/
'https://www.instagram.com/sinzianaiordache
 

Some of Sinziana’s favorite artists:
Elizabeth Waggett (painting, drawing)
Kit King (painter) CJ Hendry (hyperrealist)
Golsa Golchini (painter)
Vanessa Hogge (ceramist)
Karen Konzuk (jewelry)
Heather Knight (ceramist)
Gaby Wormann (mechanical art)
Carla Grace (wildlife painter)
Zai Divecha (paper artist)
Lauren Williams (textile artist)
Julia Ibbini (paper art) 

Host: Chris Stafford
@theaartpodcast on Instagram
The AART Podcast on YouTube

Email: theaartpodcast@gmail.com Produced by Hollowell Studios

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On this new season of AART our first guest is the cinematographer Sarah Thomas Moffat. Sarah’s work has spanned across all genres from docs, factual and commercial with a focus now on scripted. Her productions have aired worldwide, including on CBC, History Channel, CTV, Hulu and Netflix. Sarah was the first woman to run as a Racer-Cam Operator on the Canadian reality competition show Amazing Race Canada. She has won multiple awards across genres including film festival awards for Best Cinematography. along with three CSC nominations.  Sarah’s parents emigrated from Scotland to Canada shortly before Sarah was born in Toronto. As a child she developed an interest in still photography through artistic parents which led to Sarah studying Film, Radio, TV Broadcasting at Centennial College, Ontario. She describes herself, at that time, as focused and determined when she realized that this was her calling and she could make a career as a cinematographer. Sarah is a dual citizen of Canada and the UK. She is a member of IATSE, a CSC Associate Member, an ASC Vision Mentee Alumni, and Illuminatrix DOP based in London. 
 
Sarah’s links:
https://sarahthomasmoffat.com/
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3511986/
https://www.instagram.com/sthomasmoffat
 
Some of Sarah’s favorite female artists:
Mandy Walker
Eva DuVernay 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
The AART Podcast on YouTube
Email: theaartpodcast@gmail.com

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This week the American impressionist painter Ellen Howard. Ellen says: "My art is centered around living a faithful life and trusting in the unfolding of the great tapestry of life. As an avid explorer and traveler, I’m curious about the transitory elements of nature and love discovering quiet unexplored areas. Seeing the light move across the land, cascading off a mountain range, streaming through the leaves, dancing on the top of the waves, and creating a beautiful ray of warmth in the sky and clouds is pure serenity; where I find my center and solutions through art for life.” Ellen has been a professional artist for 15 years since she raised her two children Rachael and Jonathan and attending a range of art classes covering a variety of subjects and mediums. Her work has been shown extensively across the country and in a number of publications.  Ellen was born in Summit, NJ in 1965 to parents Joyce and Jim Guter. Her mother was a nurse who dabbled in watercolors as a hobby, and her father was a musician and high school band director. Ellen grew up with her younger brother Mark in NJ and Massachusetts but her parents divorced when she was just 14. Ellen immersed herself in swimming, running track and dancing with her friends as she navigated her teenage years. She graduated from Syracuse University with a B.S. in Marketing and Human Resources and at the age of 24, moved to San Fransisco where she embarked on a career in finance which, she says, stood her in good stead for running her own business. It was here that she met her husband and started a family. Now a full-time professional, Ellen divides her time behind the easel in her studio or in plein air. When she is not painting she is giving classes and workshops in the US and Europe. Ellen lives near San Fransisco with her husband Mark and two dogs. 

Ellen’s links: https://www.ellenhowardart.com/
https://www.instagram.com/ellenhowardart/

Some os Ellen’s favorite female artists:
Adrienne Stein - painter

Kim Lordier - pastelist Jill Carver - painter 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
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Email: theaartpodcast@gmail.com 

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The American painter and sculptor René Romero Schuler creates powerful images that speak to the complexities of the human condition and the spirit that connects all human beings. René did not have any formal art training but since a small child felt that she was always meant to be an artist. She endured a difficult childhood and those real life challenges are imbued in her work illustrating her appreciation for the struggles and triumphs of humanity. René was born in Chicago in 1968 to parents Maryanne, a retired nurse and Rocky, who René describes as a bit of an enigma, though always in sales. René and her siblings grew up in Chicago, though she spent a year and a half in Quito with her grandparents. By time she reached her teenage years her home life was becoming difficult with a troubled relationship with her mother and an intrusive fear of her father. At the age of 14 René ran away from home and lived rough pulling on all her resources and determination. She eventually found work as an artist, painting murals in commercial properties. When she was 17 René moved into her own apartment and worked a variety of jobs from waitressing to bartending. By collaborating with a variety of artists around Chicago, René was gradually becoming a full-time artist with her own studio and plenty of commissions. In 1999 she met her future husband and for a while the couple lived in New York before René was drawn back to Chicago to focus on her art. It was here that she was able to reconnect with her contacts in art galleries and establish herself as a professional artist. René is represented by galleries across the U.S., Canada and Europe, She has had major exhibitions throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia, and has work included in the permanent collections of numerous museums and institutions. René now lives in Monterrey, CA with her husband Rick and two sons Ian and Owen.

Rene’s links: 
https://www.reneromeroschuler.com/ 
https://www.instagram.com/reneromeroschuler/

Some favorite female artists:
Maryann Kolb
Kelly Reemsten
Bisa Butler
Joan Brown
Annie Leibovitz
Tamara de Lempicka
Helen Frankenthaler
Louise Bourgeois
Tracey Emin 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
The AART Podcast on YouTube
Email: theaartpodcast@gmail.com 

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Bex Simon is a British Artsmith who has overcome difficult mental health issues to become highly sought after for her creative work in metal. Bex is unconstrained in her approach to design by combining geometric shapes and textures. Her sculptures and public art tell stories relative to the surrounding environment and can be found around the UK. Bex was born in Chertsey, Surrey in 1973, the third of four children—she has an older sister and brother and a younger brother. She reflects on a very strict upbringing from parents Tim, a computer programmer and Gel a retired teacher who later volunteered at a school for handicapped children; a relationship which has mellowed with time and understanding of Bex’s mental health. Bex was attracted to the art of blacksmithing as a teenager and despite struggling at school with dyslexia, she studied at the Surrey Institute of Art and Design – Foundation graduating in 1992.  In 1995 she graduated with a BA in Three-Dimensional Design in Metal Surrey from the Institute of Art and Design; followed in 1998 by a Diploma and National Certificate from Hereford College of Technology and in 2017 a Level 3 Diploma in Advanced Forge Work DFS from Herefordshire and Ludlow College. In 2019 she began studying Geometry at the Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts. In 1999 Bex moved to London and established her creative blacksmithing business with the help of the Prince’s Trust. Initially, she worked on private commissions acquired from exhibiting regularly at RHS Chelsea and Hampton Court Flower Shows. Later, she moved on to larger scale public artwork projects via collaborations with a selected group of artist blacksmiths. Her biggest commission to date being a forty meter public artwork for Westminster Magistrates’ Courts in London. It was for that installation that she became the first woman to receive the Tonypandy Cup; the most prestigious award given by the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths.  Bex lives in North Devon with her husband Dave and their daughters Molly and Lyonie.
 
The book that Bex recommended on the YouTube video -
 https://www.youtube.com/@theaartpodcast -
The Creative Art, A Way of Being by Rick Rubin
 
Bex’s links:
https://bexsimon.com/
https://www.instagram.com/bexsimonartsmith/
 
Bex’s favorite female artists:
Zaha Hadid
Emma Kunz
Lousie Bourgeois 

Bex’s playlist:
Beastie Boys / Sabotage
Sinead O’Connor / Troy
Doja Cat / Paint the Town Red
Radiohead / Street Spirit
Sleaford Mods / Nudge It
The Sundays / Can’t Be Sure
Chase & Status / Backbone
Goldfrapp / Ooh La La
System of A Down / Chop Suey
Royksopp Robyn / Monument
Nia Archives / Off Wiv Ya Headz

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
The AART Podcast on YouTube -  https://www.youtube.com/@theaartpodcast
Email: theaartpodcast@gmail.com


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This week the British Fine Artist Frances Featherstone. Frances says her art is guided by an appreciation for storytelling. Narrative serves at the heart of her work with which she seeks to fill her paintings with ideas and conceptual depth. Her creative explorations revolve around the interplay between figures and interior spaces offering viewers a window into intimate emotions that are entangled with the spaces we occupy. Frances employs aerial perspectives to craft patterns seen from above that compress and flatten the spatial dimensions. These pieces venture beyond the constraints of conventional perception and seek to challenge our normal sense of space. One of two children—she has a brother Walter, Frances was born in 1976 in Roade, England, to parents Jane Gill, a teacher —formerly a silversmith and jeweler—and Michael Featherstone a furniture designer. Art runs throughout her family and Frances was always encouraged and supported in her talent which naturally led a formal art education. She achieved an Art Foundation Distinction and First Class Degree in Fine Art and Visual Culture from the University of the West of England, Bristol. before changing direction for her Post Grad in Interactive Multimedia at Bath Spa University, graduating in 2000. She worked as a Designer in the BBC’s Interactive Factual and Learning Department for six years. In 2006 she got married and started a family, at which point she returned to painting, firstly by taking commissions for portraits. Her work took off and she was quickly gaining recognition. In 2019 Frances was shortlisted for ‘Artist of the Year’ by ‘Artists and Illustrators Magazine’. In 2021 she won the ‘The Chair’s Purchase Prize’ at the ING Discerning Eye exhibition at The Mall Galleries in London. And in 2024 was awarded a Certificate of Commendation for ‘an exceptional work selected for the Royal Institute of Oil Painters’ annual exhibition. She has also won Sky Arts Portrait of the Week twice for her paintings of Booker Prize winner Bernardine Evaristo and the singer Dannii Minogue.  Frances is represented by the Fairfax Gallery in Tunbridge Wells and Arcadia Contemporary Gallery in New York. She lives near Groombridge in East Sussex with her husband Munir Hassan and children Sam and Layla.
 
Frances' links:
https://www.francesfeatherstone.co.uk/
Instagram: @francesfeatherstone 

Some favorite female artists:
Paula Rego
Jenny Saville
Frida Kahlo
Joan Mitchell
Rachel Whiteread 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
The AART Podcast on YouTube has bonus content not included on the podcast. Email: theaartpodcast@gmail.com

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Hungarian Esther Horvath is a multi-award winning polar photographer whose work focuses on climate research in the polar regions. By documenting the work and life of scientists who deliver important data, Esther hopes to help make a difference in how people understand what actually is occurring, and her collaborations with scientists help raise public awareness about these increasingly fragile environments. Esther was born in 1979 in Sopron, Hungary. Esther grew up behind the Iron Curtain and even though she lived only a few kilometers from the Austrian border she was ten years old before the ‘curtain’ came down and she was able to explore the Austrian mountains where the Alps start, discovering a world that held a fascination which would become a life-long passion for her as an explorer.  Despite a childhood interest in art and photography Esther chose to study Economics at West Hungarian University for her Masters Degree. Upon graduating she worked in the private sector in Vienna  and at 25 she owned her first camera which would prove to be life-changing. With a growing passion for photography she decided to go to New York to study Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at International Center of Photography, (ICP). After finishing ICP, she received an assignment from Audubon magazine, to the Arctic Ocean, which was the next most important milestone in her life. Today she documented 25 scientific expeditions in the Arctic and Antarctica. From 2019 – 2020, Esther spent almost four months on board the Polarstern icebreaker during polar nights in extreme conditions, documenting the MOSAiC expedition in the Central Arctic Ocean, the largest ever Arctic Ocean science expedition.  In 2022 she was the official photographer of the Endurance22 expedition, searching and finding Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship the Endurance. Esther won the first prize in World Press Photo Award, Environmental single category in 2020. In 2022, she received the Infinity Award from the International Center of Photography in New York for her work in raising awareness about conservation, environmental justice and climate change. Esther is a contributing photographer and explorer for National Geographic Explorer, and a Nikon Ambassador and photographer for the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research. Esther has homes in Sopron, Hungary and Hamburg, Germany even though she spends most of her time traveling. 
 
Esther’s links: https://estherhorvath.com/
https://www.instagram.com/estherhorvath
 
Some of Esther’s favorite female artists:
Ami Vitale (photographer)
Lyndsey Addario photojournalist)
Deirdre Hyde (painter)
Rita Rebecca Kirady (interior designer) 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
The AART Podcast on YouTube
Email: theaartpodcast@gmail.com


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