Well that was hilarious and fun! I had Philadelphia based artist Martha Rich as my guest on the VERY FIRST Art For Your Ear, 71 episodes ago… annnnnd, she’s back! The book we worked on together was just released this past Tuesday, so what better way to celebrate than having Martha come on the podcast to talk about inner critics, pantyhose, and the possibility that armadillos are actually dinosaurs that still roam our planet. For reals. You can listen right up there, or you can subscribe on iTunes.
First, a few of my faves… and no little kitty, we will NEVER stop talking!
Hell yes, indeed!
Martha was saying how crazy busy she is these days (YAY!), but that her crazy projects have been taking a backseat. You know, things like painting on rocks and leaving them around Philadelphia to be found by passers-by, and also working on a painting a day for a year type of projects:
How badly do I want the finger rock!? Sooooo badly.
And now, onto the book… “Your Inner Critic Is A Big Jerk”. We worked on this for almost two years, and had so much fun together… mind you, we both also had a few very meta moments when our inner critics told us there was no way we could pull this off. Luckily we ignored those jerks and got it done! Here’s a few pieces from the book {including the “speech bubble coming out of a butt”}, and some of Martha’s sketches:
LOVE! Those final two paintings are the pieces that got into this year’s American Illustration Magazine! Very big deal in the illustration world and so exciting for Martha {and me… living vicariously}. I wish I could be there this November to see them hanging on the wall at the big par-tay, but at least I got to be there last year. Here’s a few Instagram shots of me and Martha being very New York fancy/pink:
Isn’t that stunning? Quite a venue for a party {ps. I think Sarah Jessica Parker got married there.}
Next… SPEECH BUBBLES! I love her wooden bubbles oh so very much:
Weird and wonderful! And, that little guy is a perfect segue into one of the not-so-speedy speed round questions… favorite animal to draw? We all knew it was either going to be a lobster or an armadillo:
… what I didn’t expect was our crazy tangent about armadillos being dinosaurs. Oh my word, hilarious! Please don’t judge us!!! Oh no, prom photos are up next, so not judging us is totally out of the question now:
Hm, where’s Martha’s photo? Conveniently, she “couldn’t find it”, so now I’m forced to make a guess as to what she and “Mark” looked like at their Senior Prom. I bet this painting is pretty darn close!
And the final question in the not-so-speedy speed round… would she rather “wear pantyhose everyday for the rest of her life, or shave her head”. She voted for “shave her head”:
Bahaha! Pantyhose. She really does hate them so much. And with that, I’ll say thanks to Martha for doing this with me, AGAIN; thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode; thanks to audible.com for making my new book into an audio book – it will be out on October 25th! To preorder a copy for FREE {or to pick up any other book you might want} just use my link: audibletrial.com/JealousCurator. And you know it, high fives to you for listening… there will be more art for your ear next weekend.
Other links:
- Episode no.1 with Martha Rich
- Atlanta Magazine
- ArtCenter College of Design, LA
- Clayton Brothers
- FIT, New York
- Natural History Museum of LA County
- American Illustration
- Skylight Books, LA
Thank you both so much for brining me back to my sand candle making memory! rock tumbling, macrame…another great episode, very inspiring. Love the cat illustration so much.
Fun interview. BUNGY jump! It’s awesome!!
ok. never ever have I even remotely wanted to go to an art workshop in Palm Springs until now. bucket list. you ladies are awesome.
It always takes me a few days to get the courage to hear myself talk. Is that how I sound? So weird. Thank you again for being so cool!
ha! yep. is that how i sound!?
OOHH I would love to come to your workshop! It would be so much fun with the two of you!! x
What kind of paint does she use for painting on rocks?
not sure… i’m gonna guess acrylic. martha?
I’ve said every single one of those excuse bubbles to myself, word for word…
Danielle:
Of all the things I love about listening to your podcasts while eating my lunch at my desk, I CANNOT BELIEVE my comment is this:
Ristretto is not half the shots. It is actually a short shot or “restricted,” leaving you with the sweetest part of the espresso shot and not the bitter part. No discernible difference in caffeine content, but the flavor is so much better and naturally sweet. So when Martha talked about whole milk lattes being sweet, she was right, but if she gets those whole milk lattees with ristretto shots, she’ll love them even more.
Knowing the best way to drink coffee is just good studio practice! Enjoy and thanks for what you do!
ah! thank you! see, the podcast is informative on so many levels 😉
This episode was SO. MUCH. FUN! Thanks to both of you for making my weekend brighter.
Also, I was going to get the book on audio (because that’s how I “read” most of my books these days), but after seeing this post and all of Martha’s amazing illustrations, I’m going to have to get the hard copy!
Thank you for having the BEST podcast for artists, Danielle!
With gratitude,
Jules
ha! excellent decision! : )
man, i used to tumble rocks and would make horrible jewelry, like this heavy-ass rock glued to a hair beret, and give to my mom and cousin. good times! i tried doing it with my kids, but we all got sick of the tumbler sound after a while.
haha! yeah, it is an annoying sound for sure. but all of those smooth rocks?! #worthit
Hey I can’t reply directly to a comment.
I use acrylic on the rocks. It’s not archival and can rub off if you are rough with them. Looking into varnishes that might help protect it, but it hasn’t been a top priority as the rock painting is supposed to be low-pressure and fun and care-free!
Also I didn’t paint all those rocks. Mine are the eyeball and the tan-mom rock. The rest were done by a group of wine-drinking broads. Finger by Gena Senior, I do believe.
ah! well they’re all pretty fan-freakin-tastic!
I too would shave my head rather than wear pantyhose even 2 days in a row. One evening of fancy is my annual max. Ok, to be honest, I have worn a pair one evening in my whole life, & that was enough. Love listening to both of you ladies!