Something (rather than nothing) show

Something (rather than nothing)

Summary: A podcast by Ken Volante. Why is there something rather than nothing? This podcast is a philosophical and psychological exploration into the act of creation (poets, musicians, writers, painters, thinkers, all of us)

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  • Artist: Ken Volante
  • Copyright: Copyright 2019 All rights reserved.

Podcasts:

 Episode 115 - Aunia Kahn | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 01:14:41

Aunia Kahn was the 2nd guest ever on the SRTN podcast and I am so pleased Aunia is back with this lovely conversation that delves into art and its ability to heal and help us persevere. Aunia Kahn is a multi-faceted creative entrepreneur and a globally awarded, collected, and exhibited figurative artist/photographer, published author, instructor, and inspirational speaker. She is also the owner of Rise Visible a full service creative digital marketing agency and Create for Healing. Her work has been in over 300+ exhibitions in over 10 countries; at places such as San Diego Art Institute, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, iMOCA, St. Louis Art Museum, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, Mitchell Museum, and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. She has also been a guest on podcasts like Entrepreneur on Fire, with 70 million downloads & 1 million monthly listens. Aunia has curated several internationally recognized books and projects, including Silver Era Tarot, Inspirations for Survivors, Obvious Remote Chaos, Minding the Sea: Inviting the Muses Over for Tea, Avalanche of White Reason, XIII: The Art of Aunia Kahn, Witch’s Oracle and the Witch’s Oracle 2nd Edition, Moon Goddess (Modern Eden Gallery) exhibit, Tarot Under Oath (Last Rites Gallery), Lowbrow Tarot Project (La Luz De Jesus Gallery), etc. Her forthcoming projects include; An Epidemic of Retrospective, Disintegrating Stars, and the Ethereal Realms Tarot. She loves Animals, Prussian blue, Psychology, Design, Miracles, Hummingbirds & Life. https://auniakahn.com/

 Episode 114 - Liz Medina | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 49:14

Liz Medina is the Executive Director of the Vermont State Labor Council, AFL-CIO. She previously served as the co-chair of the Goddard College Staff Union, UAW 2322. Last year, she launched an oral history podcast called En Masse in an effort to build working-class culture. En Masse is part of the Labor Radio Network. She is also a member of DSA.  

 Episode 113 - Joyce A. Miller | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 33:16

When Joyce A. Miller turned 60, her curiosity fueled the writing for her debut historical fiction novel, Joe Harris, the Moon, based on her granduncle’s life at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. Her cousin, Bob Harris, who is a huge baseball fan and cares deeply about their family history, did most of the research for the story. It was a joy for Miller to piggyback on his research and dig deeper into the history of southwestern Pennsylvania and the baseball world. She wanted to unravel the truth of Joe Harris’ story through fiction. Miller retired at 60 and moved to the Church Hill section of Richmond, Virginia. She moved to Richmond to be closer to her adult children, who went to college at VCU and never returned home. She lives in renovated, red brick building that was once a 1910 industrial brush factory. Miller can almost see her Uncle Joe as a young man leaning against the massive twelve-inch by twelve-inch oak wooden pillars in her living room.   Miller lives with her husband, Alan, and her retired racing greyhound, Coheed. Coheed, like all racing greyhounds, was registered with a racing name. The breeder gave him and his littermates the names of rock and roll bands, and he became CoheedandCambria. Miller just kept the Coheed part. Miller wonders if Coheed could name her, would he keep “Joyce” or name her something else. Before Miller retired to write full time, she worked as a mechanical designer at Jefferson Lab, a nuclear physics laboratory, in Newport News, VA for over thirty years. How does a little girl born in southwestern Pennsylvania grow up to work at a state-of-the-art, cutting edge nuclear physics laboratory? She always loved to draw but was also good at math. Her dad told her to “learn a trade.” So, after a short stint at college to study German, she switched to a technical school and became a draftsman. Miller believes she had the same wanderlust that her granduncle Joe had. Her first job, where she was the only woman draftsman, was at a vacuum products company in Pittsburgh where most of their archived drawings had been destroyed in a flood. Her job, since her hand lettering was so neat, was to lay a piece of vellum over the wrinkled and water stained drawings and trace them. She learned about vacuum drying systems like freeze dryers for coffee, rotary dryers for pharmaceuticals and autoclave dryers for impregnating telephone poles with creosote. Because she had gained a little vacuum experience, her next job was at a German company that produced vacuum vane pumps in the United States. Miller’s job was to translate the German drawings into English. When she moved to Virginia, she worked for a ship design company making waste and oily wastewater piping drawings for Navy frigates. And with that accumulated experience of vacuum and piping, Miller got the job at the nuclear physics laboratory designing cryogenics piping, vacuum systems and superconducting magnets.  It was at the physics laboratory where she met several French colleagues who came to the laboratory to do their experiments. As their work relationship blossomed into friendship, Miller traveled with them to unique areas of France about once every three years or so. They introduced her to great wine, stinky cheese and gourmet food. One day, Miller will have them take her to the Argonne Forest where Joe fought in the trenches. When Miller is not writing, her friends say that she intentionally curates experiences for them. She still likes to draw and paint like she did when she was a child. In 2001, Miller adopted her first ex-racing greyhound named A Bar Kit and trained her to be a therapy dog. She and Kit visited the local library where kids would read to Kit. A friend suggested to Miller that she should try canine freestyle, also called dog dancing, with Kit. Canine freestyle is a dog sport where one teaches the dog to do certain tricks which are then choreographed to a piece of music; and it looks like the dog and handler are dancing. So, when Miller turned 50 years old, she signed up for an adult tap and jazz class so she could be a better dog dancer with her greyhounds. She likes to tap dance because it makes such a joyful noise. She continues to train dogs and volunteers with the greyhound adoption group. She likes to practice yoga and swim at the beach now and then. But if Miller really had to swim to save her life, she would just perish.

 Episode 112 - Anika Orrock | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 41:50

Anika Orrock is an award-winning illustrator, writer, designer, cartoonist, storyteller & author of The Incredible Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and the illustrator of “Birdie Can, Too!” by Malaika Underwood. Anika’s work is included in the Society of Illustrators 62nd Annual exhibition & book and has been featured in national publications, including The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post and on NPR. Her illustration work has been commissioned by The Worcester Art Museum, National Pastime Museum, ABC News & FiveThirtyEight, Merrill Lynch, Resy & American Express, The International Women's Baseball Center, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association, Major League Baseball organizations and international sports publications, as well as by a variety of musicians and record labels.  

 Episode 111 - Laryssa Birdseye | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 42:52

With her ever-growing and enthusiastic fan base, Portland-based pop-soul singer-songwriter Laryssa Birdseye is probably most known for her emotionally- powerful, sometimes scathing “break-up” songs. Laryssa’s ballads and pop anthems effortlessly tap into the universal psyche of women her age around the world who have all experienced heights and pitfalls in that rocky battlefield called love. But, Laryssa’s innate talent as a songwriter, accomplished vocalist and skilled instrumentalist prove she’s much more than just the latest incarnation of an eternally lovelorn female pop artist. She builds a depth into her songs and live performances inspired by soul and folk/roots influences, without taking herself too seriously while letting her decidedly wicked sense of humor shine. All-in-all, one could say Laryssa is a next-gen musical artist with a dirty mouth and a heart of gold. Vocally, she’s been in line with the likes of Norah Jones (perhaps with an itty-bitty anger problem), and has been known to elicit comparisons to hit-maker pop sensibilities of singer-songwriters Katy Perry, Pink, and Adele. Laryssa will have you shouting right along with her during one of her empowering anthems, yet can also emotionally-clutch you in the palm of her hand during a somber, intensely moving ballad. Along the way, listeners should be prepared to laugh - a lot, and to feel - a lot. Backed by her dedicated full band, Laryssa has been gaining recognition as a rising star in her home turf of the Pacific Northwest and – increasingly – the West Coast and wide World beyond. Her 2nd official album, 'Press Play', is a concept EP exploring grief -and its different stages - and was released late 2019. A prolific live show performer, fans can catch her while touring regularly up and down the West Coast and other cities. This episode features the tracks 'Shame' and 'Barely Friends.'  

 Episode 106 - Gabe Valentin | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 57:56

“My name is Gabriel Valentin and when it comes to comics and video games, I am a hopeless romantic. I’m talking rose petals on the bed, champagne in the ice bucket and of course a little bit of mood lighting before I stock up on potions and head into the next dungeon. My deepest passions have forever been music and storytelling. I’ve spent over a decade touring, working with writers and assisting music producers in their recording sessions. In 2014 I decided to unite my loves of music and storytelling together, to create the live art show known as Digital Lizards Of Doom. It has and always will be a love letter to the sci-fi/fantasy genre. At every D.L.O.D. performance I feature silly songs that build upon the world of the two main characters, a heroic lizard named Dizzy Doom and an evil robot named Commander E.K.O. Within the first year of D.L.O.D.’s conception, I had completed three national tours, was showcased on six different cable networks, secured a record deal with Noize Cartel Records and was asked to create a pop culture YouTube series for Meltdown Comics and Collectibles, a noted Hollywood comic store. Having the chance to work with Meltdown only added fuel to my passion for the arts and gave me the ingredients needed to feed my hunger for all things nerdy. I have helped develop entertainment for channels like Nerdist, SYFY, SPIKE TV, Warner Bros and Nintendo. With all of the relationships that I have made in the entertainment industry, I sincerely believe I have the ability to work in any environment of the entertainment world, so lets get together and write another sappy love letter to all things wonderful and exciting.”

 Episode 105 - Kristina King | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 48:53

Kristina King is an amateur weirdo based out of Portland, Oregon. Professionally, she is a former English teacher who now manages a technical support team for a leading developer of effects plugins and 3D software. While she’s had a video camera in her hands for much of her life, she is most passionate about making community and getting folks to create together. She’s been producing for Fetus in Fetu Productions for a dozen years and will say “Yes" to any project a Fetoid asks her to take part in, whether it’s acting as a fighter in a D&D play or opening her house for some pickup shots for a schlocky vampire movie. Creating art with any medium is awesome, but it’s even better when you build relationships at the same time—at least, that’s how she copes with existential crises.

 Episode 104 - Frances McKee | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 56:43

Frances McKee is a Scottish singer / songwriter best known for her work with the band, The Vaselines. Frances is also a Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher and runs her own studio at The Yoga Extension, based in Glasgow.

 Episode 103 - Betty Jaeger (Dame Peaches von Killingsworth/Baroque Betty) | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 31:23

Betty Jaeger is a self taught vocalist and seasoned performance artist hailing from Kalispell, Montana and writes the entirety of the group‘s song repertoire. Daughter of Montana’s Poet Laureate 2017-2018, Lowell Jaeger, she is naturally groomed to be the captivating vocalist and songwriter she has become. Her own lyrics are replete with animal and nature imagery, but it’s a fairy tale more in the fashion of Grimm than Disney, with minimalistic guitar styling to accompany them. She also graces stages across the Pacific Northwest as a burlesque performer.

 Episode 102 - Leticia Spence | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 32:16

Tansi! Hello! My name is Leticia Spence, I'm from Pimicikamak and Opaskwayak Cree Nation and I am a freelance graphic designer and illustrator based in Treaty One territory. I specialize in branding and campaign work, package and logo design for both print and social media and I occasionally dabble with website development. I am passionate about coming up with creative solutions and marketing strategies to visually communicate with your target audience. I have a large focus on Indigenous designs and I am passionate about delivering well researched, authentic and visually strong work to my clients.

 Episode 101 - Dylan Jett | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 27:44

Dylan Jett is a self-taught pianist, singer, songwriter, rapper, producer and performer from Melbourne, Australia. With an equal passion for music and acting, starring alongside Russell Crowe, Olga Kuylenko, Jai Courtney, Isabelle Lucas, Steve Bastoni and Ryan Corr in ‘The Water Diviner’, Dylan plans to take the music and acting worlds by storm!

 Episode 100 - Raven Juarez | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 55:47

Born and based in Seattle, Raven Juarez is a contemporary native artist, teacher, and presenter. Juarez attended Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY and spent a year abroad in Florence, Italy, to study painting, drawing, print-making as well as Italian art and film history. She graduated in 2013 with a BA in the liberal arts, with concentrations in Child Psychology/Development and Visual Arts. Raven’s work is characterized by intricate designs blending the abstract into symbolic meaning to tell her stories. Created in a process Raven describes as “conversations with herself”, her pieces offer a glimpse into her subconscious and conscious wantings, wonderings, memories, and dreams.  In 2015, her first solo exhibition, Don't Touch, was in Brooklyn, NY, at The One Well in Greenpoint. Since returning to the Pacific North West, Juarez's recent work has been shown in Tacoma and Seattle.

 Episode 99 - Graig Kreindler | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 45:52

Graig Kreindler grew up in Rockland County, New York. In 2002, he graduated with Honors from the School of Visual Arts in New York City with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration. His award-winning sports work has appeared in juried shows and museums across the United States, and has been featured in nationally-distributed books, newspapers, magazines, on the Internet and television. To Graig, no other sport embodies the relationship between generations and the sense of community like baseball. His goal is to portray the national pastime in an era when players were accessibly human, and the atmosphere of a welcoming ballpark was just as important as what happened on the field. He is proud to act as a visual historian, recreating a history that he has never experienced, yet, like millions of fans, maintains a profound connection with.

 Episode 98 - Brandi Milne | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 35:41

Brandi Milne is an American painter. Born and raised in Anaheim California in the late 1970's, Milne's surrounding world of classic cartoons, toys, candies, Disneyland and joyous family Holidays fascinated and deeply influenced her young imagination.  Self-taught and emotionally driven, Brandi's work speaks of love, loss, pain and heartbreak underneath a beautiful candy-coated surface.  Using elements as language from her child's mind, Brandi creates a unique surreal world that is undeniably hers.   Brandi's work is celebrated and supported in fine art galleries and museums internationally and across the US, and has been featured in both written and online publications such as Hi Fructose & Bizarre Magazine.  She published her first book So Good For Little Bunnies in 2008 and her second, Frohlich, in 2014, both with Baby Tattoo Books.  Brandi has collaborated with many companies including Hurley, Billabong, Disney, Sugarpill Cosmetics and Acme Film Works for CVS Pharmacy.  Brandi is pleased to present her new exhibition  —— October 29, 2022 at the Corey Helford Gallery in Los Angeles, CA.  http://www.brandimilne.com  

 Episode 97 - Emily Somoskey | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 32:02

Emily Somoskey is a 2-D mixed media artist and painter from Northeast Ohio. She pursued a BA in Art Education/Painting at The University of Akron in Akron, OH (2013) and her MFA at Michigan State University, in East Lansing, MI (2020).  Emily is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor in Painting at Whitman College, in Walla Walla, WA. Emily’s mixed-media paintings use representational and abstract methods to explore the ways we simultaneously experience physical and mental space. On a material level, her work is largely built through layering paint and various forms of photographic imagery.  These disparate mediums collectively create a complex and nuanced language that weave together moments of clarity and ambiguity. Through her work she references the shifting and overlapping nature of our experience with the sensate and psychological realms; giving form to the complexity, instability, and enigmatic nature of our lived experiences.

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