Creative Arts Episodes

Gena Destri is a semi-abstract expressionist landscape painter. Her pieces are color-oriented and intuitive, celebrating nature, energies, humanity, womanhood and growth. Usually, Destri works from life or photographs to start with, then finishes up from memory. Most of her artwork is completed in acrylic, watercolor, and oils with possible additions of drawing materials. She was the Buda Art Brawl winner in 2019 and was the Buda Plein Air Festival 2021 Best in Show(1st) & 3rd place winner. See ...

Elizabeth MacDuffie is the Editor-In-Chief of Meat for Tea: The Valley Review. It was founded by Elizabeth MacDuffie and Alexandra Wagman. MFT is a non-academic affiliated magazine committed to recognizing and featuring the work of the artists, writers, and musicians living in western Massachusetts and beyond. I had the pleasure of sitting down to talk with Elizabeth a few months ago about her creative life, and passions, and how she got started running a literary journal. She, and her husband...

Musician and Luthier, Jonathan Wilson of TogaMan GuitarViols makes updated versions of Appreggione’s an instrument from the 1800’s. His instruments can be heard in a variety of places from movies to videogames. We dig into his amazing journey, what it takes to make these instruments, and he offers insider stories and wise words. Exclusive to his episode are 3 VIDEO clips on YouTube. You can find those, and other videos here. TogaMan GuitarViols Instagram: @togaman_guitarviols Website: https:/...

Co-host of podcast, The Creative Exponent, Marian Parsons joins the show to discuss her winding creative road, her love of musicals, dispenses fantastic creative advice, dishes on books that inspire her, and more. Marian is a paint enthusiast & natural encourager. She is the epitome of a multi-passionate entrepreneur with a spiderweb of creative endeavors including writing, photography, design, fine art, furniture refinishing, and home décor. She has a habit of turning every hobby into a busine...

Hannah Lipsey is a professional commission based artist, creating highly realistic portraits in both graphite and coloured pencils. Born near Liverpool, England, Hannah Lipsey gained her BA (Hons) in Fine Art from the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff in 2011. This was where she discovered and developed her style of acrylic painting. It wasn't until 2016 she then picked up pencils and started to experiment with drawing realistically. Between then and starting her art career she worked at ...

Acclaimed portrait photographer Darío Acosta gives rare glimpse behind the lens. Portrait photographer Darío Acosta’s brilliant work capturing top musicians, artists, CEO’s and more can be seen across advertisements, magazines and CD covers. A graduate of The School Of Visual Arts, he’s been focusing his lens and creating mesmerizing photos for the past 15 years. In this episode, he gets honest about life as a photographer, and shares wise words. This is an inspiring episode about a phenomenal...

NYT bestselling author, and one of my personal favorite living authors joins the show to talk about choosing joy, writing tips, her journey to become an author, a fave scene from her newest book, and much more. This uplifting episode is great for writers and readers alike! Katherine Center is a NYT bestselling author of 8 books including HOW TO WALK AWAY, THINGS YOU SAVE IN THE FIRE, WHAT YOU WISH FOR and THE LOST HUSBAND which is currently a film. Her books are bittersweet comic novels. She be...

Creative artist, Michael "Flip" Yingling joins me on the show to talk about how he got into the field, life at LEGO, gets serious about living a creative life, and does a deep dive into Danish food and desserts. Don't miss this insightful look at life in the arts from this talented individual. Michael Yingling, also know as Flip, as Sr Product Lead at LEGO working on digital experiences for kids. A seasoned creative and voice over performer, Flip has worked in the the theater, on television, fo...

Author John Cotter is the latest guest on the podcast, which marks the 25th episode. John gives one of the most moving interviews to date as he goes deep sharing stories of personal health struggles with Meniere's Disease which sparked his upcoming memoir, LOSING MUSIC. We also discuss the creative process, music that touches our souls, and more. John Cotter is the author of the memoir Losing Music, forthcoming from Milkweed Editions, portions of which have appeared in Raritan, Catapult, Indian...

A.S. Hatch, brilliant author of the stunning thriller, THIS LITTLE DARK PLACE, joins the podcast to discuss his favorite writers, books that changed his life, his creative process, and shares the story of how he got published. To learn more about A.S. Hatch or to buy his books click here. IG: https://www.instagram.com/as_hatch/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashatchauthor/ Support the showLove the show? *Click here to leave a review!* Blog https://tstakaishi.wixsite.com/music Insta @c...

Artist and educator, Melanie Trout Anderson joins to show to talk about teaching during the pandemic, what inspires her, how she got her start, her ADORABLE dog art, and more. Anderson earned her BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Memphis and her Masters of Art Education from Memphis College of Art. She began her career as a graphic designer and served as the Director of Advertising for Catherine's Stores Corporation for fifteen years before becoming an art educator. She is a working ...

The brilliant Thomas Echols joins the show today to talk about musical barriers in his life, various philosophies, current trends in electronic music (hint it's quite a surprise), his diverse career, and more. To find out more about Thomas Echols, follow his websites below. http://www.thomasechols.com/ http://www.manwomanfriendcomputer.com/ Thomas Echols’s work is an amalgam of classical, modernist, and pop music forays. As visiting artistic director for Austin Classical Guitar, Thomas curated...

Honored to have Dr. Jennifer Higdon, a Pulitzer Prize and three-time Grammy winning composer on the show today! Tune in to hear the story of her musical beginnings, what it's like to win the Pulitzer, and what she was up to in 2020 (hint A TON OF COMPOSING), inspirations behind one of her most popular pieces, and more. Jennifer Higdon, a Pulizer Prize and three-time Grammy winner, is one of the most performed living American composers working today. She is the recent recipient of Northwestern U...