Art and Soul Radio with Lesley Riley

  Patti Mosca is a self-taught artist who learned the slow hard way to give herself permission to call herself an artist. In a dark point of her life she discovered that giving herself permission was just the answer she needed to find happiness and embrace her creativity. Her permission journal became the basis for the just released book, Permission Slips for the Heart and Soul (Storypeople Press). Patti is with us today to share her story of permission and the rewards it brings.

  Bridgette Guerzon-Mills is drawn to the inherent beauty and spirit of the natural world, and her artwork is a personal dialogue that reaches into the stillness of that spirit. Through both imagery and medium, Bridgette creates organic pieces that speak to the cycles of life, growth and decay, memory and the passage of time. Her mixed media paintings incorporate moments captured by photographs with the richness of paint, creating a bridge between two worlds – the real and the reconstructed. By laying down layers of paint and pieces of photo transfers, papers or fibers she creates depth in both form and meaning. The canvas becomes a multilayered surface that speaks to both the visual and tactile senses. This integration of diverse layers creates an intimate connection that invites exploration. It is this insight and meaning and how where it comes from that we will discuss.

  Deanne Fitzpatrick is an artist who creates hooked rug inspired by her life in the Canadian Atlantic areas of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Shehas a rug hooking studio in downtown Amherst, Nova Scotia where she shows and sells her one of a kind hooked rugs, creates rug hooking kits, patterns, hosts workshops, and sells supplies. It is a big creative space with a dye kitchen in the back where Deanne transforms old clothes and fancy wools into hooked rugs. In this warm colourful space Deanne also writes books on rug hooking, and creates the designs for her kits and patterns. You allprobably think we’re going to spend an hour talking about rug-hooking, but as I discovered when reading her book, Inspired Rug-Hooking: Turning Atlantic Canadian Life into Art, the mechanics and how-to of hooking a rug take a backseat to the wisdom Deanne shares about creating in any form.

  Wen Redmond has been creating art quilts since the 70s, a time when art quilting was in its infancy. Over the years it has morphed and grown to incorporate digital imagery and processes that have garnered her quilts attention for her unique vision and processes. Her work has appeared in numerous publications and shows, including 500 Art Quilts by Lark Books, Quilting Arts magazine and TV show, exhibits throughout the US and most recently, the mecca of all art quilting, Quilt National 2011. Wen’s current work explores digital imagery and combining fabric with a variety of mixed media and surface design. 

  Judith Heartsong has been working as a professional artist for thirty years, after a public school education which was completely art-centric. As a child she was always out in nature, in the woods and along the creek beds of northern Pennsylvania where she developed a sense of awe and respect for the natural world early on and that devotion has never wavered. Special allowances were made in the course of my education to provide art instruction and the time I needed to focus on it. I studied privately with some tremendous artists and worked with every sort of material I could get my hands on to build my knowledge of mediums. Judith is currently a professional artist and prolific painter with an impressive resume and a mover and shaker in creating and sustaining the art community in the Washington DC Metropolitan area. She has painted a mural at the National Zoo, licensed artwork for collector plates, created a limited edition series of prints sold on Princess Cruise line, She has served on the board of a local art center and most recently works as a corporate art consultant. And if that’s not enough, Judith hosts an artist’s salon each month at her fabulous new studio. We’ll find out about that and so much more.

Katie Kendrick lives along the banks of the Tahuya  River in western Washington, surrounded by the Tahuya State Forest. The peaceful beauty of the nature that surrounds her is a constant source of inspiration and nourishment for her creative spirit. She finds art making to be one of the most powerful ways to connect with her innermost essence while at the same time discovering her authentic voice. She enjoys the experimental and intuitive layers of creating, where she can explore inner and outer worlds simultaneously. She has a passion for sharing her love of creating with others, and teaches mixed media workshops across the U.S. While her work has been featured in many books and magazines we can now finally get our hands on Katie’s first book, Layered Impressions: A Poetic Approach to Mixed Media Painting. I’ll be talking about that and so much more,

  Virginia Spiegel’s artwork focuses on nature and the environment It is most often collaged paper and/or cloth, multi-layered, and stitched and reflects the fact that beauty is in the details of Nature which take time to appreciate. In her work, Virginia admires and attempts to emulate the power of Nature in order to make complex forms from simple materials and to endlessly recycle materials. Virginia exhibits in the U.S. and internationally in museums, art centers, and galleries. Her artwork is held in private and permanent collections and is featured in magazines and books. She has self-published a book of essays entitled Wild at the Edges: Inspiration from a Creative Life.  I am talking with Virginia today about her art but primarily about her work as founder of Fiberart For A Cause through which she has raised over $215,000 for the American Cancer Society. One woman CAN make a difference. Let’s find out how.

  Jill Berry has been a graphic designer and painter for 27 years, after an education in design and graduate studies in art in . She has designed many books for various publishers, and began making handmade books in 1997. Her work is content driven with an emphasis on color and text, and is often centered on social issues. Her work can be seen in Letter Arts Review, Somerset Studio, the Guild of Book Workers show and catalog, and finally in her own book based on her passion for maps and mapmaking - Personal Geographies. Her paintings and artists’ books have been shown in national invitational and juried shows and can be found in public and private collections across the country. Jill also teaches workshops across the and in 2013 she’ll teach one in . She lives in with her husband and two kids, who also make books.

  Quinn McDonald had every intention of being an obedient child, a dutiful wife, and the mom who baked cookies for PTA meetings. Due to an unexpected wrinkle in the space/time continuum, that didn’t happen. In graduate school Quinn became fascinated with how people faced the changes that life washed over them. The daughter of immigrants, she had to know what formed the dreams for women who left everything they knew for an unknown, different life. Quinn was particularly impressed by the strength of the women who kept journals–the stories of countless women who stepped into the unknown, armed only with a sense of duty, adventure, and a pencil. From their lives she learned that we don’t FIND meaning in life, we MAKE meaning in life. That meaning-making sparks curiosity and interest in the journey we are on. So now, Quinn says, I am what I was meant to be–curious about life, restless but content. A writer, a creativity coach, a woman who rides a motorcycle across the Sonoran desert. All that shows up in her first book, Raw Art Journaling which we will be talking about today….and more!

January 2, 2012 is trhe perfect time to talk with Barbara Call, author of The Crafter's Devotional: 365 Days of Tips, Tricks and Techniques for Unlocking Your Creative Spirit.   Barbara is a professional writer and editor specializing in crafts, food, and health & wellness. In addition to The Crafters Devotional, Barbara has written a craft and a four book children’s series called Get Active.  If that’s not enough, Barbara launched several magazines and a couple in particular that our listeners may be familiar with, Cooks Illustrated and Handcraft Illustrated. She teaches magazine writing and at one time had her own writing and editing business at Wren Creative Services. Barbara is currently the director of content at Greenough, a company that focus on the art of storytelling to advance brands and business.

  Cate Coulacos Prato is Online Editor for Cloth Paper Scissors Today. She is the former editor of Cloth Paper Scissors Studios Magazine, and author of Inside the Creative Studio (Interweave, October 2011) and Mixed-Media Self-Portraits (Interweave 2008). Cate lives in Central Massachusetts with her husband, teenage daughters, various pets, and piles and piles of fabric.

  Nancy Soriano has worked as a publishing and media executive for over 15 years.  Passionate about handmade and a creative lifestyle, Nancy is an innovative thinker and collaborator.  Nancy was the editor in chief of Country Living Magazine for 10 years, where she built the magazine into a multi-platform brand to include branded books, the Country Living Fair, licensed home furnishings, special interest publications, Country Living broadcast specials with A+E, DIY Network and the Style Network, and digital. She then went on to co-found, The Creative Connection Event, a 3-day conference/event that brings together, into one venue, creative women and women entrepreneurs in the handmade, and food communities along with social media classes, business panels, and creative hands-on workshop classes.  Recently, Nancy was Community Leader|Publishing Director for Craft @ F+W Media where she acquired books and talent while transforming the traditional craft book business and experience into online communities of ecommerce (store.marthapullen.com), flash sale site (stitchsocial.com), online learning (webinars), events, and ebooks. She is a frequent guest on Good Morning America and Martha Stewart Sirius Radio as well as a speaker at Etsy and Vogue Knitting Live where she outlines the process of launching a creative business based on your passion and how to take that business to the next level. You can often see Nancy in her good friend and colleague, Jo Packham’s magazines Where Women Create and Where Women Cook.  Follow her on Twitter @NancySoriano.

  Seth Apter defines himself as a mixed-media artist from New York City, focused primarily on paper arts, book arts, and textural assemblage. His blog, The Altered Page, is a visual journal of his artwork, photography, and his creative experiences in NYC. Seth enjoys collaborating with other artists, as well as showcasing artists he admires. He exhibits his art in shows as well as on many websites and his writing appears in books, national magazines, and independent zines as well as other online sites. Seth’s first book, "The Pulse of Mixed Media" will be published by North Light Books in Spring 2012.

Martha Sielman has been Executive Director of Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. (SAQA) since 2004. Her career in art quilts began in 1988, when she learned to quilt, and has included more than 20 years of work as a professional artist, author, lecturer, curator, juror, and arts administrator.  She is the author of Masters: Art Quilts (Lark Books 2008), Masters: Art Quilts, Volume 2 (Lark Books 2011), and coming next year, Art Quilt Portfolio: The Natural World (Lark Books 2012). Sielman has written articles about art quilts for Quilting Arts, Fiberarts, Quilter's Newsletter, and Machine Quilting Unlimited, and has appeared on the HGTV show Simply Quilts. She was curator for the exhibit Masters Art Quilts: 1, which travelled to the International Quilt Festivals in Houston, Chicago, and Long Beach, the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky and the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts; and she served as a juror for “Pushing the Limits: New Expressions in Hooked Art” and “Niche Awards 2008.”

  Jeannine Stein is a journalist by trade and a passionate bookbinder. What better way to combine a love of words than with a handmade book. The author of two wonderful, and may I say, beautiful books, 2009’s re-bound and, new this summer, Adventures in Bookmaking, Jeanine has taught bookbinding at venues such as CHA, Unique Los Angeles and Renegade, also in LA. Her work has appeared in Cloth Paper Scissors and Stampington’s GreenCraft Magazine. Jeanine continues to improve her own skills and knowledge of bookbinding and has a desire to do commission work in fine bindings and create high-end books, as well as work with historic books from 1800s. Join us for tricks and tips on bookbinding as well as some how-tos for Jeannine's beautiful books.