In The Art Scene. Show about artists, their journeys, art business, successes, failures, inspiration

Jay Bell is a businessman, artist, printmaker, a founder of Campana Studios art non-profit, and a newly appointed Commissioner for Arts and Culture in San Diego County. This man is a whole orchestra of different roles and he is successful in every one of them. I love bringing guests like this on the show because we can learn so much from them!

Jay's biggest goal is to create as many economic opportunities for local artists as possible and change the narrative of making artists volunteer their time and talent because their work should be valued and compensated! It's a huge undertaking, and as a San Diego artist myself, I am the most curious to follow Jay's journey.

Jump on this episode to learn more about Jay's vision for the local Arts and Culture and how he applies his philosophy to his own non-profit work.

This episode is different because my guest has very little to do with art besides opening his company's office for local artists as an alternative space for art shows and workshops. This unique choice is the result of changing work style after the pandemic. What else would you do with your underutilized facilities when 2/3 of the time you and your team work remotely? You might as well help out a local art community. Johnathan Hanwit, CEO of THINK Parallax did exactly that.

Photographer from Australia Tania Malkin spends most of what she makes at her day job to hire a plane and travel to inhabitable places only to take pictures from thousands of miles above the earth. And if you think that this is too much, I've got a surprise for you - this is only a tiny part of what goes into making this kind of photography! Listen to Tania explain her entire process in this episode!

Corinne Whitaker, aka the Digital Giraffe, has been acclaimed for 45 years as a pioneering artist in digital imaging and digital sculpture. Her journey as a woman artist exploring completely new media for that time is fascinating! Join us for a full conversation and learn more about Corinne, the Digital Giraffe, and more!

In this episode, I'm chatting with Morgan Hancock, a US Army veteran, mother of two, and founder of a unique art non-profit in Kentucky. Morgan decided to bond two things Kentuckians love - bourbon and art and created a truly fun and purposeful community-based organization that is shaping the arts and culture scene in the state. And the best thing is that Morgan is trying to make this model scalable so every state can have its own version of Bourbon With Heart!

In this episode, I'm venturing away from traditional visual media. My guest Susan Hensel has found a way to use industrial embroidery machines with their complicated software to create some amazing works of art! We are geeking on the details of her process because I actually have some experience with such machines as well. She is telling the story of her entire journey from being a traditional artist to discovering and developing her current art practice. We are also talking a bit about running an art studio and a gallery, getting grants, and other interesting things.

Join us!

My today's guest Sylvia Becker-Hill is a successful executive coach by trade and an artist by heart. After years of coaching, she realized that creativity is a missing component in helping her clients with their transformation. She successfully incorporated intentional creativity into her coaching practice. What it looks like? Listen to my conversation with Sylvia to learn more.

Fine art photographer Kristina Varaksina has traveled from Russia to California, to New York, and then to London to create an environment and opportunities for pursuing her creative career. Kristina's work is internationally recognized and awarded by professional art and photography organizations. In her portraiture, Kristina is telling vulnerable stories about the personal struggles of her subjects, social injustice, and lack of communication about various issues of our times.

Multimedia artist and former therapist Ingrid Hoffmeister on how the Jungian concept of dreams and active imagination changed the way she creates and took her art to a new level.

Watercolor artist, photographer, and grassroots activist Jena Olson found her passion in non-profit operations and is working hard on making the world a better place one artist at a time. She started as a teaching artist at AjA Project and now is a Director of Operations at WIA (Women in Animation), an organization that helps women-identified folks find jobs in the Animation industry.

Listen to the full episode and learn more!

My guest, an educator, and youth advocate Dr. Michael Bitz is a founder of a Comic Book Project, a literacy and creativity initiative that has engaged young people in planning, writing, designing, and publishing original comic books since 2001! Comic Book Project is one of those rare gems that are not shining on social media but have spread their influence all over the country and abroad and inspired hundreds if not thousands of kids to explore their creativity.

I am a huge fan of Sarah Stieber's colorful art, her vibrant personality, positive attitude, and strong confidence in all the great things. She works hard to make her way as an artist, although it may look on the outside like things are just happening in the best possible way. I'm honored to live in the same town with Sarah! And I really appreciate her time to tell her story and how much it takes to live a truly authentic, integrated art life.

Soon after this episode is out, Sarah is opening a pop-up gallery in the heart of San Diego. So, if you are local or planning to visit at the end of April - May, 2023 I highly encourage you to check out her event page

Keeley Miller is a San Diego based photographer specializing in boudoir portraits for women.

Her studio combines contemporary black and white boudoir photography with an empowering experience that will change the way you see yourself. Her mission as a photographer is more than just photography — it’s about creating an entire self love experience that shows her clients as the works of art that they are, at all ages, all shapes, and all sizes.

Japanese calligraphy artist Rie Takeda who mainly resides in Europe is telling a story of her discovery of the traditional art of Shodo (Japanese calligraphy) when she was just a child and how it transformed her life. Rie is so beautifully describing her relationships with her art, and the way she is bringing it to the new century.

A photographer from California Allison Davis took a leap of faith and traveled the entire Pacific coast by herself in 30 days while documenting everything along the way. She turned her adventure into a stunning art book called "Revealed at the edge". These days, Allison is planning a trip along the East Coast and many other brave things she wants to do as an artist. 

Australian-born multimedia artist Cybele Rowe lives on two and a half acres in Joshua Tree where she feels unconstrained to oursue whatever art ideas she wants. In her words, it's better to invest 100% of your time to strive to make good art than be spending 50% of your time making money for someone else. 

Her abstract work includes scuplture, painting, tufting and many other mediums. She is inspired by the scientific discoveries, litrature on psycology and phisics. 

In this episode, I'm speaking with Canadian artist Amy Friend whose love for photography and history and a passion for family roots exploration is beautifully manifested through her work with vintage photographs and slides. I was fascinated by her stories, her vision of our global connection, and her out-of-the-box experimental processes.

Russian-born artist and designer Masha Kechaeva expresses herself in a multitude of media: from costume and set design to photography and performance. Her ideas are based on dreams, ancient rituals and unconscious memories. And the result is absolutely unique, deeply sensual, and thought-provoking surrealistic work that you have to see for yourself to fully comprehend it.

Peter has been photographing for several decades, specializing in documentary, portrait, and fine art forms. He has been working with socially oriented non-profit organizations for over 30 years. Some of Peter’s prison arts photography was funded by the California Arts Council, which administers the state’s Arts in Corrections program.

I've known Wendy for a few years but only recently did I learn her story about becoming an artist. Today, she is a successful artist and art teacher. Her work is being featured in TV shows and magazines. We talked about how to live life, teach art and license your artwork (listen till the end to learn more!)

Artist from California Annalise Neil is taking cyanotypes to a whole new level. Her multi-step highly precise process and manual enhancement of every piece result in complex surrealistic artwork full of philosophical meaning and messages about the world around us. 

What do you see when you look into your trash can? Trash? Ruby Silvious sees opportunities. Throughout her career, she painted on eggshells, pistachio shells, acorns, and other stuff, she used fast food wrappers to create bras. But more than anything, she is known for her work with teabags. Not only she has been painting intricate scenes and portraits, but she also used teabags as a medium to create collages and even clothing garments.

What on Earth is a visual anthropologist?.. When I first saw Tatiana's work I thought 'Ooh, this is a very unique multimedia'. But in our conversation, Tatiana uncovered so much more about her project with indigenous women in the Ecuadorian forest. With her work, she truly created a multisensory experience that brings a deeper understanding of the culture and people's concerns with the environmental situation in the region.

Named after her renaissance ancestor, poetess, and muse to Michelangelo Buonarroti, VITTORIA COLONNA carries a strong lineage in the world of art.

A strong advocate for women in the arts globally, Vittoria became a World Women Hour 2020 honouree #Shesmyhero for empowering change through her work in the arts and entertainment.

Vittoria will be part of XIV Florence Biennale 2023

https://www.instagram.com/vittoriacolonnastudio/

https://www.colonnavittoria.com/ 

Cori Derfus, the creator of Fur Beast Forest who you might remember from Season 2, recently came up with a new art enterprise. She is making organic, natural watercolors - and they are beautiful!!! The brand is called Dusty Bee and is available on Etsy. The quantities are limited for obvious reasons. But if you have a chance to get your hands on Dusty Bee paints it is going to make the perfect gift for an artist in your life or for yourself!

Luz Maria Clayton is a digital artist and a small business owner in San Diego, CA. Her tiny art shop in City Heights just turned 2 years old and it's already a landmark of the neighborhood! Luz and her mother create and sell gift items, jewelry, art prints, crocheted hats, aprons, throw blankets -- you name it! The items that will make truly unique gifts from San Diego for any visitor to our city!

Each of Betsy Silverman's collages involves an intensive search for images with the correct value, intensity, and hue, as well as printed words to represent a new photorealist form with layered meanings.

When I first heard Adelina Gonzales's story I immediately knew I gotta get her on the podcast! An artist and a concert industry insider, she figured out how to turn wasted drumheads and trashed vinyl records into artworks. And she didn't stop there.