The Department of Homeland Inspiration

Art Ranger, along with her colleague Michael Sheridan, review "War is a Racket" by Brigadier General Smedley D. Butler. This highly decorated war hero becomes dogged activist and tours the country giving speeches about how he was in effect, a bully for the corporations, then quit.  Art Ranger and Sheridan share excerpts of the text as well as a piece of their minds. Sonic textures provided by our back up band, The Dirty Pens.  Check out Tea With Michael to learn more.

Art Ranger shares a rant-with-reflection from those blurring Pandemic months, while paying more granular attention to the contents of her neighborhood, namely the several Little Free Libraries that reside within a mile radius of her corral.  Some riffs provided by our 2023 virtual band, Dirty Pens.

Art Ranger reads a passage from her great grandfather's book, "Across the Plains" An 1862 journey from Omaha to Oregon by William Smedley. The original palm-sized leather journal currently resides in a Colorado Historical Museum. This emblematic "Go west young man" story quest, contains raw struggles, dicey encounters with "Indians", descriptions of beautiful landscapes, and especially treacherous river crossings, that have never ceased to inspire members of the extended Smedley family.  For the 160th anniversary of his journey, some of his great great grand children arranged a contemporary re-enactment of the crossing - Across the Plains 2022, traversing the very same landscape while contemplating ways that this narrative continues to feel relevant and to shape our family identity.  In the highlighted river crossing, William invokes Greek mythology: "in avoiding 'Charybdis' we encountered 'Scylla'" referring to set of sea monsters living under rocks/ harrowing whirlpools that signify finding the least worst pathway through a tough situation, which he managed to do. 

Adapted from a 2019 performance called, Mad 2 Go, and part of an art show named after the book, "Good and Mad". Now called, Madder 2 Go, the artist grapples with more recent slow-mo gutpunch, and flabbergasted anger and disgust over the churn of events concerning the assault on women's rights. Podcast vocal track is provided by the band, DIRTY PENS, a virtual anonymous set of noise making enthusiasts.  

For this episode, Art Ranger performs a written work by the recently departed Claes Oldenburg. What Beat Poets were doing for the word and the freeing of spirits, Oldenburg and his visual artist contemporaries were embracing a shift toward everyday encounters, away from rarefied and toward a plug or a clothespin. "I am for an art ..." conveys this unmuseum (art is everywhere) enthusiasm that the Art Ranger relishes and interprets for the listener.

A re-introduction to new and continuing listeners. This 3 minute description is Art Ranger's mission statement and quest to share her absurd way of being in the world, through the lens of art.  We compose our audio narratives and interviews alongside a homegrown soundscape. This podcast is attuned to creatives and curious folk who enjoy literature, images, and art making processes. 

A quick overview of what the listener may experience here at The Department of Homeland Inspiration, audio art narrative brought to you by The Art Ranger, who watches out for art in its many forms, conducts interviews, writes essays, slams poems, rants, keeps an audio diary, etc.  

A conversation and soundscape featuring documentarist, artist and creator of Community Supported Film, Michael Sheridan.  This audio portrait contains parts of our conversation in a matrix of soundtrack clips from the collection. The collaborative works discussed and sampled herein have been created in Afghanistan, Haiti, and among new immigrant and refugee communities in the greater Boston area with Michael serving as teacher/ facilitator/ producer. An inspiring version of nurturing the art within others.  

Art Ranger delivers two spoken word pieces that came about due to a collaborative art show called Courage Within Women Without Shelter. Critical Ground is a collective of four women artists in Monterey, California who tackle the subject of "homelessness" using art workshops as a way to connect with the women, learn more about their circumstances, and to raise awareness and funds. If you wish to see the art show virtually and meet all the artists involved, here is a video produced by Monterey Museum of Art. This being "women's history" month feels fitting for the episode.    

Unearthed from a drawer, Art Ranger reads from - And Being, but an Ear, a 29 year old essay based on one Emily Dickinson poem, a poem that seems morbid but goes transcendental. She also reads selections from her copy of The Gorgeous Nothings (2013), a generous art book displaying images of Emily's envelope poems, in her own hand upon slightly torn, butter-colored paper fragments of actual size.  See, Art Ranger's love has always been fed by books, such as Susan Howe's My Emily Dickinson, which likely inspired the essay, and of course, The Archives. 

In celebrating cool people you've probably never heard of, Art Ranger catches up with poet and entrepreneur Gerda Govine.  She's now completing her sixth book of poetry and you can find out more about the artist here. Gerda was born in St Thomas, raised in New York, and currently lives in Jamul, California. This episode is an audio portrait woven of Gerda's poems and our dialog, and she knows how to make "Poetry Within Reach"!

Art Ranger's celebrates Bob Dylan's 80th birthday, in part due to Patti Smith, who declared this May: Bob Month. Herein we explore the affects of the early analog experience and how it can shape one's internal musical library throughout the decades.

The title of a poem from the book "Starting from San Francisco" by the late Lawrence Ferlinghetti interpreted by the Art Ranger. Welcome to season 2 of this podcast:  Homeland Inspiration is about discovering things that might have been there all along, stumbling upon them and taking note.  Due to a book falling off the shelf (and seeming oh so relevant) during Season 1, we read Tentative Description of a Dinner to Promote the Impeachment of President Eisenhower and Big Fat Hairy Vision of Evil by Mr. Ferlinghetti.  

Art Ranger reads a poem by Lawrence Ferlinghetti that seems both current and historical, the first of three with permission granted by New Directions Publishing Corporation. Using various musical items lying around her studio, the Art Ranger gives it a certain contextual texture.

Art Ranger takes on the recent wowy, Beeple-NFT story; as a practicing artist drawn to absurdities, rant she must.

Art Ranger weaves conversation with multi-multi-media artist, Doris Bittar into an audio portrait. Here at the Department of Homeland Inspiration, we believe one of the perks of being an artist is the other creatives you meet along the route. Doris has been the recipient of numerous grants, awards and commendables; she exhibits her work nationally and internationally, always in process. Plus, you can learn an easy and delicious recipe with Doris, called Mishi Malfouf/ Deconstructed Cabbage on vimeo.

Powerama is an aspirational radio play - monologue wherein, a middle aged lady takes stock of her technologically "assisted" brain on 2021.  Art Ranger has been collecting her thoughts about (tech) on posit notes for years, which formed the basis for this rant.

This Tea for Two is the first of a series of conversations, where art is in the intersection. Herein,  Art Ranger interviews artist Terese Garcia, who also writes poems.  While living in Big Sur, Terese's creative method took root, developing into an intricately textured, non-representational art practice. Several years ago, she also began exercising her voice as a writer; we're delighted to present three of her recent poems.  And for those of you who don't often take in poetry, come along with us; we think you'll be carried away by this intriguing word delivery experience.

Art Ranger conducts her train through a storytelling recount of the January 2017  Womens March and inaugural weekend, in an effort to reharness some of that energy, what she calls a Flashback Action Pack, with hope, and hopefully humor, confronting the hemorrhaging hypocrisy as it unfolds.  Amongst the sonic infield bits are some Tibetan bowls played with our art friend from the ancient neighborhood, Maggie Stewart.

Art Ranger shares a recipe by creative director and friend, John Crane.  We all have a lot to get through, don't we? - If you're perhaps fishing for "something to take the edge off" or to stoke reverie, here's where mixology meets riffing while sipping.  Guitar vibe segments provided by offspring, Noah Lindenthal.  And we do recommend checking out John Crane's work.

Art Ranger has dispatched her favorite four letter word to help sponge up our general sense of overwhelm with so many kinds of &#@% storms brewing. Well,..has your cusssss word count skyrocketed these past four years!??  Adding to the soundscape, trombone notes were provided by Evelyn Proffit,  recent graduate of Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

What if someone took a swab of all our dreams? In this episode, Art Ranger performs the second of three poems by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, used by permission from New Directions Publishers.  If you are looking for a sugar coating for our times, or a soft-serve yoga mantra, you should probably not click here.  However, If you are interested in bits and bytes of art, curated and created, squeezed through some h(e(ar)t) valves, then we sincerely hope you'll join us.

Art Ranger wonders over "sheltering" while introducing a collaborative art adventure. Four artists known as Critical Ground working with Fund for Homeless Women and project partners: Women in Transition, I-help, The Gathering for Women.  We created art workshops with women without shelter and now explore our own art expressions about this topic to be exhibited at the Monterey Museum of Art (date TBD). Learn more about the artists: Dora Lisa Rosenbaum, Amanda Salm, Denese Sanders, and (Me)lissa Smedley.

Art Ranger shares an excerpt of her ever morphing essay about her love of drawing.  She also asks two other artists for their thoughts about the practice of drawing and how it intersects with their general practice: we'll hear from Jean Vengua and Nanette Yannuzzi Macias.

Your host, The Art Ranger, introduces her way of processing the world through the lens of art.  She welcomes your participation in this new  adventure which happens to coincide with a worldwide panic attack.  Her multi-media art forms have included sculpture, slam poetry, video, performance, and blogging short essays; this podcast will draw from all previous life experience.