Today I’m talking to Tiffanie Turner… now, normally I’d be calling her in San Francisco, but today she’s in a beautiful barn in New Hampshire. Yep, she’s in the middle of a wonderful, creative, soul-restoring residency where she’s knee-deep in paper flowers. When we met in 2012, Tiffanie was an at-home-mom who had put her architecture career on hold (indefinitely) and was, well, in flux. Clearly, she has found her way! Book deals, workshops, shows, residencies… and from time to time, she takes her clothes off in front of a crowd. Seriously. Listen right up there, or subscribe on iTunes. As you’re listening, take a look at the things we talked about in the order that we talked about them. First up, a few of her stunning, handmade, often large-scale, paper flowers:

Sigh. Gorgeous. And now, to the barn! This is where she is right now… working away in complete, wonderful, creative solitude:

That’s the mess she was able to leave all over the place… a luxury when you’re used to a studio that also doubles as your family dining table! Oh, and that is the shot of her glue covered fingers that I was concerned about. Next up, a couple of shots from her workshops:

Lovely. Speaking of lovely, here’s Tiffanie in all her burlesque/paper flower beauty:

… gorgeous! Man oh man, I’d be terrified! Tiffanie learned the ropes from Bombshell Betty in San Francisco. Also in San Francisco, a beautiful shop & gallery called Rare Device. This was the location for the “Dead of Winter” show that Tiffanie curated last year. Here she is in action, followed by my collage (that I was thrilled to have included), and her stunning/huge decaying paper flower:

Love. So from a residency in a barn, to a month-long residency at the de Young. Look at this insane space that she’ll call her own next May:

Whoa. Crazy. And I could have stopped there, but I had to include this photo from her gorgeous Instagram feed:

Sexy lady. Maker of beautiful handmade flowers. Exhausted mother. Yep, Tiffanie in a nutshell!  Thank you so much for talking to me, Tiffanie! Thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting the episode, and thank you for listening… there will be more ART FOR YOUR EAR next weekend!

………

Other links mentioned:

Our friend Katharine Daugherty’s residency in Hudson, NY: Drop Forge & Tool 

Arts funding groups: Fractured Atlas, NY  & Intersection for the Arts, SF

*photo by  Liz Daly

Have you ever wanted to write an art book? Well then you’re going to want to listen to this episode of Art for Your Ear! I’m talking to San Francisco based book editor and literary agent, Kate Woodrow. She was my editor on Creative Block, and she’s working on my new book now {and has talked me off a few creative ledges along the way!}. She’s got four important ingredients that should go into every pitch, so grab a pen because you’re going to want to take notes. Listen right up there, or subscribe on iTunes. As you’re listening, take a look at the things we talked about in the order that we talked about them. First up, a few of my favorite books that Kate worked on during her decade at Chronicle Books:

Um, yes, I put my book on that list! And of course Art, Inc and Blog, Inc … and there’s Mom, Inc and Creative Inc on that list too! Here is the link to the blog post she wrote after speaking at Alt Summit 2012 {where we met}, titled “From Blog to Book: How to Turn Your Ideas into Reality”. Next I totally put her on the spot and asked her to list a few of her favorite illustrators. It was hard for her to only name a few, but here is who she mentioned/the projects she worked on them with:

So many fantastic projects! Then of course there were her answers to the speed round… two of her favorite novels that she’s read this year: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, and Purity by Jonathan Franzen. And clearly I had to include a link to this answer: The first slow song she ever danced to… In Your Eyes. Sigh. The light, the heat.

So… if you have an idea that you want to pitch, Kate is ready to hear it! You can find her at her new company {so excited for her and this whole new chapter… pardon the pun}, Present Perfect Dept., and she’s on Instagram and Twitter too. Oh, and if you’d like to sign up for the webinar she’s doing with Modern Thrive on September 21, 22, 23 you can find more information right here. Thanks so much to Kate for sharing all of these behind the scene secrets, and thanks to you for listening. There will be a new episode up next week!

Ahhh… dreamy, sun-drenched negative space. Today I’m chatting with LA based photographer Max Wanger… not Wagner. I’ve written about Max, and featured a few of his pieces in a show at The Fig House, but we’ve only met once very quickly. I didn’t know much about his story, but I do now. The first thing that shocked me – spoiler alert – he’s completely self-taught! Anyway, I can’t give it all away… you can listen right up there under those little legs, or subscribe on iTunes. As you’re listening, take a look at the work we talked about in the order that we talked about it. First up, design bloggers. That’s who Max reached out to when he finally decided he wanted to follow his bliss and become a photographer:

And it worked! Not only did they write about him, but he also photographed them… and became good friends along the way. If you follow design blogs you might recognize (above) Bri Emery from Design Love Fest  ; the hands of Joy Cho (and her husband) of Oh Joy  ; and Joanna Goddard (and her husband) of Cup of Jo. So, how did a self-taught photographer who was working at Fox Sports get the attention of a bunch of design blogs? He staged a fake wedding, with a fake ring, starring his sister as the bride, photographed it, and sent them these images:

So smart! This was in 2007 or so… and he hasn’t looked back. In fact, he’s still doing weddings! Here are a few of his more recent shots:

Gorgeous. He splits his time between weddings and commercial work. He has all sorts of clients (Vans, Nordstrom, Outrigger Resorts, and more), but my favorite stuff is the work he does for LA based ban.do:

See? Sun-drenched and so happy! We talked a bit about the brilliant woman behind ban.do, Jen Gotch. She does some really cool personal Polaroid work, if you want to check out what Max and I were both drooling over. This of course led us to talking about Max’s Polaroids. I asked if he had a favorite… iPhone or Polaroid. See if you can decide. First up, a few shots from his iPhone:

Love! … and a few of his Polaroids:

Oh, more love! He voted for iPhone at the moment, but I think it’s a tie. I might even be leaning toward his Polaroids! It’s cool to see some grit on his normally perfect images. Speaking of which, I dare you to look at these perfect beauties and not immediately book a trip to Hawaii:

Ahhhhhhh. Yes. That. And finally, the little peanut that was being put to bed while we were talking, Max’s two year old son:

Oh my goodness. Ridiculously cute. So, I learned a lot about Max, the most shocking information being that he’s never had a gallery show. That is crazy. Ok, galleries… someone scoop him up! And with that, I’ll say thank you to Max for skipping bedtime reading to talk to me, and thanks so much to you for listening (and looking)… there will be another episode waiting for you next Saturday!

ps. here’s a link to Max’s print shop.

Another Saturday, another episode of ART FOR YOUR EAR! This time I’m talking to full-time graphic designer turned full-time collage artist, Chattanooga Tennessee based Hollie Chastain. We talk materials {there is a lot of gel medium in her world}, being an artist & mother, and she even threw in a hilariously mortifying phone anxiety love story at the very end. You can listen right up there under those lovely ladies, or subscribe on iTunes. As you’re listening, take a look at the work we talked about in the order that we talked about it. Let’s start with the very first piece of Hollie’s that I ever saw/wrote about. It was the lead image in the “curated” blog post that I did for Etsy way back in the day:

Ah, I still love that piece so much! And below is the piece, titled “Afterthought”, that she mentioned when talking about using gel medium not only as glue, but also for image transfers:

I have to try that! Speaking of things I need to try… book covers! Oh, so many found book covers. Her favorites of course being old school text books complete with scribbles by bored children:

Gah! Her book cover pieces are my absolute favorites! Turns out she has a studio FULL of them… see:

Oh. Jealous! Next up, the illustration she did for The Baffler:

Mixed media, indeed! I quickly mentioned that Hollie was one of the artists in my book, Collage… this was the fantastic original she made for the book, along with a shot of one of her double page spreads:

Love. So. Much. And finally, we didn’t actually talk about her studio space, but I found this photo on her site and I absolutely love this crazy beautiful mess:

Doesn’t that make you want to make something right now!? Me too. And with that, I’ll say thank you to Hollie for joining me today, and thanks so much to you for listening {and looking}… there will be another episode waiting for you next Saturday!

ps. oh, and a link to Lisa Congdon’s book, Art Inc. & a link to Dolan Geiman’s site.

This is probably the craziest story I’ve had on the podcast yet. You have to listen {try not to throw your phone across the room in a jealous rage inspired excitement!} I’m talking to New York based Artist, with a capital A, Rachel Ryle about her crazy amazing Instagram feed that changed her life within a matter of weeks. Literally. You can listen right up there under the paper latte, or subscribe on iTunes. As you’re listening, take a look at her animations… although you might want to watch after we chat because the songs in the animations might play over our talking. Technical glitch! Ok, first up, a few photos from Alt Summit this past June, where Rachel and I met:

Oh, Alt Summit photo booths… the location of so many new friendships. Alright, let’s get on with the animations that go along with her crazy inspiring story! This first one is the project she was working on until 4am, that caused her to sleep in past our recording time {totally worth it}:

I’ve teamed up with @kindsnacks to give away custom pieces of my art that are truly one of a KIND! In celebration of their new & yummy Popped bars, we’re looking for the #MomentThatPopped in your summer! By simply sharing your favorite summer photos, you’ll be entered to win a custom vintage lunchbox featuring a recreation of your special moment hand illustrated by me! Here’s all you have to do: 1. Post a photo of your favorite summer moment on Instagram or Twitter 2. Tag @kindsnacks and use #MomentThatPopped + #giveaway in your post Boom! You’re now entered to win a customized lunchbox of your favorite summer moment, kindly brought to you by @kindsnacks & me! #stopmotion #animation #summer #summertime #art

A video posted by Rachel Ryle (@rachelryle) on Aug 3, 2015 at 6:04am PDT

Gah! So cute! And now, stepping back two years, this next piece is the first animation, titled “Make Something & Grow”, that started it all:

Make something & grow. #stopmotion #sketch #art A video posted by Rachel Ryle (@rachelryle) on Jul 13, 2013 at 7:56pm PDT

Oh, and right around here she mentioned a music video that she had seen years before she ever did any animating, that kind of blew her mind. This is it. Ok, more animations … this is a very early latte animation, just a couple of weeks in, that got her an interview on a morning show in California:

Latte Art #stopmotion #animation #sketch #art #coffee #latte #barista #latteart

A video posted by Rachel Ryle (@rachelryle) on Jul 31, 2013 at 11:43am PDT

… the sneaky beer animation that led to one of her first paid animations … clever lady. 

It’s 5 o’clock somewhere. #stopmotion #animation #art #sketch #caseofthemondays #colorado #beer #ontap #fattire #upslope #averybrewing A video posted by Rachel Ryle (@rachelryle) on Aug 12, 2013 at 9:56am PDT

… and now she’s got a huge list of clients including Volkswagen, Goop, Rag & Bone, [lots, lots, lots more], and Starbucks:

@Starbucks sent me a note & asked “#whatwouldyoudo if you won #StarbucksForLife”? Piece of cake, I would have a Caramel Macchiato & Cake Pop Party…with extra whipped cream! #ad #stopmotion #animation #starbucks #coffee #caramel #latte #caramelmacchiato #cakepop #cakepops #whippedcream #celebration #confetti #balloons #party

A video posted by Rachel Ryle (@rachelryle) on Dec 30, 2014 at 6:00am PST

Now I want a cake pop. And she’s not only doing client work … she creates so many animations just for the love of making. Here are a bunch of my favorites from her personal collection. These range from early pieces, to more recent. You can actually see her getting more and more creative with each one!

Cotton candy, anyone? #stopmotion #animation #art #sketch #cottoncandy #vintage #yumminess   A video posted by Rachel Ryle (@rachelryle) on Aug 20, 2013 at 8:25am PDT

Goodbye 2013! I hope you all have a fun & safe New Years Eve & may New Years Day be the start to an amazing 2014! #cheers #happynewyear #newyearseve #newyear #newyears #2014 #stopmotion #animation #art #sketch #drawing #champagne #celebration #holiday #glitter #sparkle #instavid #instavideo A video posted by Rachel Ryle (@rachelryle) on Dec 31, 2013 at 7:52am PST

“Sushi Makes Miso Happy” – A New Year’s resolution of mine is to eat healthier, which is the inspiration for this animation. Bon Appétit! #stopmotion #animation #art #sketch #drawing #cartoon #instavid #instavideo #sushi #chef #fish #avocado #cucumber #rice #orchid #japan #japanese #cooking   A video posted by Rachel Ryle (@rachelryle) on Jan 6, 2014 at 9:10am PST

Bubble Gum Goodness! Made you a little something sweet to start your week! Enjoy 🙂 #stopmotion #animation #art #sketch #drawing #cartoon #bubblegum #candy #bubble #pink #instavideo A video posted by Rachel Ryle (@rachelryle) on Jun 2, 2014 at 7:58am PDT

This #throwback animation is my tribute to Banksy & his epic visit to New York! Almost 2 years ago Banksy spent a full month creating art & excitement around the city. Every day he would make something new on the walls of New York & hundreds would search the streets to find his hidden work. It was brilliant & inspiring to watch. In this animation I feature his clever creation, “Graffiti Is A Crime”. It was the 1st piece that he created out of 31 total, and personally is one of my favorites! Banksy – whoever & where ever you are, I want you to know that you inspire me! #stopmotion #animation #art #drawing #spraypaint #graffiti #graffitiart #banksyny #banksy #nyc #ny #newyork #tbt #throwbackthursday   A video posted by Rachel Ryle (@rachelryle) on May 21, 2015 at 6:13am PDT

And there are zillions more where these came from! Be prepared to get sucked in when you visit her Instagram feed … they’re like chips … one is just not enough! And with that, her latest personal animation, that just bumped her over 500,000 Instagram followers!?

The time has come where students young and old are heading back to school! To cheer everyone up I baked us an after school treat, just like our moms would! Whether or not you are attending school, I hope you all enjoy my freshly made cookies & milk! PS sorry if this song gets stuck in your head, but it’s a childhood favorite of mine! 😉 #stopmotion #animation #art #drawing #backtoschool #baking #cookies #cookiesandmilk #milkandcookies #whereswaldo A video posted by Rachel Ryle (@rachelryle) on Aug 19, 2015 at 7:54am PDT

Well there you have it … one of the craziest stories ever, and a really good lesson in following your gut! Thank you so much to Rachel for doing this with me {note to self: next time ask her about her perfect, colorful manicures!}, to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode, and big thanks to you for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

Ah, the dreamy work of Portland based artist Lisa Golightly. I have known Lisa for a long time, and I was actually surprised that I convinced her to do this with me. Neither of us “love” making phone calls, so to not only do a phone call but to also allow me to record said phone call? Let’s just say that there was wine involved! Anyway, you can listen right up there under that faded day at the beach, or subscribe on iTunes. As you’re listening, take a look at the work that Lisa and I talked about, in the order that we talked about it. Grab a drink… we did! First up, just a few of my favorites from Lisa’s portfolio:

Sigh. So dreamy. And so amazing that she actually studied photography, and is a self-taught painter… true story! Some of her work was in my show at the Bedford Gallery last December, this is it, and us:

Note the very insightful quote from Lisa on the wall. Love. Speaking of love, these are a few of the pieces from the “Fade Away” show she mentioned that was shown at pushDot Studio in Portland. I love how personal her reason for doing this work is. So touching.

Love all of those. Beautiful, and a tiny bit sad. Up next, her washy, delicate, easy to ruin, have to know when to stop abstracts that we mentioned:

Stunning! A few of these are available through Good Eye Gallery. And finally, not Lisa’s daughter, but the other Holly Golightly:

Ha! Sorry Holly… I had to do it! Thank you so much to Lisa for “doing something that scares her”, to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode, and big thanks to you for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend!

ps. some of my favorite pieces are available as very affordable prints in my online gallery.

Oh, I love the work of Chattanooga, TN based artist Mark Bradley-Shoup. Not only is his work fantastic, but so is he. So kind, so smart, and a fabulous teacher/lecturer at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. I love this episode because it’s so full of great advice! Listen right up there under the abandoned gas station, or subscribe on iTunes. As you’re listening, you can look at the work that Mark and I talked about, in the order that we talked about it. Oh, and at the beginning, when he mentions me having a shaved head and 5 o’clock shadow, it’s because I use my husband’s skype account, and so it’s his bio photo that shows up… apparently it’s quite strange to hear my voice and see that face! Anyway let’s take a look at a bunch of Mark’s work – from architectural paintings, to abstract, to collage:

Gorgeous. And so talented… what a range of work! Up next, a couple of shots from the “beautifully boring” show that I curated in Chattanooga in February of 2013. In the photo below: Samantha French, Me, Mark, Leah Giberson, and in front of us, Angela Usrey the gallery director {we missed you Holly Farrell!}

Ah, that was such a fun week in Tennessee! Below are a few images of Mark’s pages in “Collage”:

… and some studio shots {these are actually from his old studio, but they give a sense of his process… notice the HUGE mound of tape!}

We also talked about his most recent exhibition in Nashville at the David Lusk Gallery. Here are a few installations shots:

And finally, making Mark’s dream come true! He has always {since his teens} wanted to design a skateboard, surfboard, snowboard – I think his architectural pieces, or his collages would be amazing on any and all of those surfaces. After all, if Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst can do it, why not Mark Bradley-Shoup!

If you do such things, reach out and let me know… let’s make this happen! Ok, thank you so much to Mark for putting up with my time zone issues, to Saatchi Art for supporting the episode, and to you for listening! There will be more art for your ear next Saturday.

I have been a big fan of the The Novogratz for ages. Robert & Cortney Novogratz are a married couple, who also happen to be an amazing interior designer team. And Robert {aka Bob} loves art… which is how we “met” just over a year ago. I wanted to ask him how they went from being a finance guy and an actress, to sought after interior designers. I also wanted to know how he chooses art for clients, if he has any favorites in his own collection, and I really wanted to know how they manage to do everything they do {TV shows, books, design projects} while having seven kids. Seven. Let’s find out, shall we? Listen right up there under the entire Novogratz crew, or subscribe on iTunes. As you’re listening, you can take a peek at the things that Bob and I talked about, in the order that we talked about them.

Alright, first up, the first “real” piece of art that Bob bought… a stunning pearl button Queen by British artist Ann Carrington:

Gorgeous! That’s their son Major {a few years ago} enjoying a bath right below that stunning piece! Speaking of his kids, these next two pieces were done by his son Five {yes, the fifth of seven kids}… he’s obviously a young up and coming artist to keep an eye on:

I asked Bob about a few of his favorite pieces from his own collection. Obviously the pieces above by Ann and Five were on the list, and here are a few others:

Amazing! And I love seeing them actually hanging in their home. Jealous? Yeah, me too. Here are links to all of those artists: Erwin Olaf / Francisco Larios / Vic Muniz … and it turns out he knows my friend Trey Speegle quite well too {you can hear my interview with Trey right here}. This is Trey’s piece that Bob and Cortney hung in one of their hotel projects:

… and a peek at a few of the pieces from the art/chair project that Bob and Cortney organized at Art Basel Miami:

And finally, their castle! Yes. A castle. They’ve just moved from New York to LA and are currently renovating this insanely cool castle… just imagine the art they’re going to hang in here:

It’s going to be amazing. They have a pretty fantastic Pinterest board going at the moment if you’d like to see their design plans for this crazy place. There might even be a show {TV or webisode} coming soon… keep an eye out! And with that, I will say thanks so much to Bob for doing this with me, to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode, and to you for looking ‘n listening. The next episode will be ready for your artsy ears next Saturday.

ps. You can find the Novogratz on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube.

Today I’m talking to Portland based artist, Lisa Congdon. Yep, Portland! She just moved from her long time home of San Francisco… oh, and for the ‘speed round’, please note the ‘California’ tattoo on her arm in the photo above. Alright, listen right up there, or subscribe on iTunes. As you’re listening, you can take a peek at the things that Lisa and I talked about, in the order that we talked about them. If you’re not listening, I’ll be honest… this post won’t make much sense!

Ok, let’s do this. This is the glamorous “recording studio” that I mentioned right off the bat:

Very high tech. {Oh, and I mentioned the interview she and her wife Clay just did on the Being Boss podcast, which you can listen to right here.} I asked if she still had the first painting she ever did… this is the first still life painting from the first painting class she took {just for fun} in her early 30’s. She did this in 2001:

Love it! {thanks for sharing this little gem, Lisa!} This next piece was part of the 2012 Dorothy Saxe Invitational Exhibition at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco:

Gorgeous! And what an amazing full circle moment when her teacher stumbled upon this at that show, years after teaching her how to paint! So cool. I also wanted to include a bunch of her current abstract work, along with some of my favorites of her mixed media pieces from a few years back {that large abstract below makes me think of the “painting curve” that she talks about}

Love. And then we had to talk about her books, because there are so many of them … this isn’t even all of them! These are just the ones we had time to talk about:

Ah, they’re all so great! The new swimming book {“The Joy of Swimming: A Celebration of Our Love for Getting in the Water”} is going to be gorgeous, and will be out next Spring! Ok, next… I asked her what she loves drawing the most:

Patterns and flowers, obviously! Those images above are directly from her sketchbook. Also directly from her sketchbook? A gorgeous new line of textiles that she made with Cloud 9 Fabrics:

I wonder when she sleeps? And finally, this is the sketchbook course she was talking about:

You can find info for these classes here:  “Sketchbook Explorations” and “Line Drawing” {and there is a new “Sketchbook Explorations” class starting this fall, so keep an eye out for that} Phewf! She is a busy lady, and that was an action packed post! Thanks so much to Lisa, to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode, and to you for looking ‘n listening. The next episode will be ready for your artsy ears next Saturday.

*The top-most photo of Lisa was taken by Sarah Deragon, and the two photos of Lisa painting the large abstract were taken by Victoria Smith.

Today I’m talking to Vincent Serritella, a very talented, highly trained {and generous} artist who, somewhere along the way, also taught himself to be an animation effects specialist … which landed him an amazing job at PIXAR! What? Yep. We’re chatting about free drawings, a bizarre artsy family tree connection, and the inside scoop about working on PIXAR’S latest film, Inside Out! You can listen right up there, or you can subscribe on iTunes. Here is what we talked about, in the order that we talked about it. First of all, a few images from his ‘365 FREE DRAWINGS project’… which is how I scored that awesome blow-pop above!

Obviously this is just a fraction of the 365 drawings he gave away, but these are a few of my favorites. Here is the final, self-published, kickstarter-funded book! If you want one, you can order them here, through the Children’s Creativity Museum … to which Vincent has donated 100% of the proceeds. For real. Generous on top of generous!

Alright, now on to his day job. Inside Out... have you seen this yet? It’s the latest film from PIXAR and it’s so good! Vincent is an “Effects Technical Director”, and he worked on this {very exciting to see his name go by in the credits!}. Building magically appearing trestles and cables for the “train of thought”, and shooting fire out of the top of Anger’s head… that sounds like a pretty fabulous day job to me!

Ha! Love that angry little guy! And finally, a very weird discovery that Vincent’s mom made… he is related to a 17th century Baroque painter from Spain, named Pedro Nunez de Villavicencio. Hm. Notice anything similar about their paintings:

What?! So insane! Vincent painted that self portrait years before he found out about this artsy connection to the past. Look at the pose?! And the color palette!? So weird. And amazing. And a bit spooky. Alright, and with that bit of craziness, I’ll say thanks to Vincent {who totally sounds like Mark Ruffalo, no?}, to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode, and to you for looking ‘n listening! So excited for next Saturday… my friend Lisa Congdon will be on the podcast!