Wisconsin-based ROB STANGROOM, a former marine biologist turned intuitive painter, gets a thrill having one foot in the known and the other in the unknown. From tracking whale migration to landscape architecture, Rob has learned to see the “open doors” in life and never hesitates to explore what is on the other side. Inspired by a lifelong love of nature and a persistent desire to work with his hands, Rob shares how he has crafted his art career, never being afraid to ask for help to get to the next level. This is a particularly great listen for anyone who is new or returning to art a bit later in life.

What do Winnie the Pooh, Ernest Hemingway and Langston Hughes have in common? They all have works that entered into the public domain in 2022. Jennifer Jenkins, the Director of the Duke Center for the Study of Public Domain, helps us understand the purpose and benefit bringing works into the public domain on the ARTish Plunge podcast.

A relentless work ethic, persistence and teamwork are just a few of the qualities football instilled in watercolorist Rich Samuel that have allowed him to create a booming art practice and studio that has grown into an East Austin community hot spot. Rich shares how the responsibility of being the only Black-owned gallery in Austin gives him a sense of purpose that energizes his own art practice. Rich also reveals how he uses TikTok to fuel his art sales.

In this first ARTish Words episode, podcast host Kristy Darnell Battani celebrates the life of Wayne Thiebaud through the writings of fellow painters JENNIFER KAHN BARLOW and HEDY BUZAN. Battani also introduces listeners to the Slow Art movement and shares how to participate this April.

As an up and coming painter and singer-songwriter, Mothh (formerly known as Adelaide Tai) intentionally shapes her work and identity to match the energy she wants in her life. Splitting her time between Atlanta and Los Angeles, Mothh’s artwork is as fluid and bold as her own personal choices. Using enamel, oil, acrylic, and resin, Mothh creates dreamy, celestial forms.

Massacussetts-based ceramic artist KERI STRAKA is fascinated with micro worlds: those inside the human body and those in nature, like the small dramas of a tide pool. Her love of quiet observation takes shape in her organic ceramic forms that hint of aquatic life, internal human structures and laboratory experiments.

Swedish mixed media artist Jenny Grant approaches her work with the same adrenaline she channels while mountain biking—remembering to look ahead, absorb the bumps and just keep going. Jenny shares how she works with seasonal flow and the importance of really listening to yourself to be able to identify your own creative energy peaks and valleys.

How do you create an 85-foot mural with a whole city eagerly watching? Kyle “Black Cat Tips” Brooks knows. The creator of whimsical creatures and curiously engaging street poetry, Kyle has a loyal following in Atlanta and throughout the Southeast. With homespun authenticity, Kyle shares the challenges of working really big, organically growing a fan base, and creating work for public spaces.

Seattle-based performance artist and poet MIMI ALLIN uses walking as a way of investigating new places for her work. Mimi frequently walks 50-100 miles weekly, often as part of the “ritual of entering a project.” Starting each project with a question, Mimi invites the public into her work, knowing the parameters but not necessarily the outcome for each piece. Mimi shares the challenges of funding, documenting and scaling her performance work.

Abstract painter Robin Davisson carefully considers the variables when designing her artistic experiments with paint fluidity and viscosity, a skill that comes naturally after twenty years as a researcher and professor of molecular physiology. Robin shares the common element for her love of both science and art—“the exhilaration of discovery”—as well as her survival skills for a research career adapted for the arts and the characteristics of a good mentor.

Hungarian Intuitive Abstract Painter Beáta Bősze spent twenty years as an intensely focused economist for financial giants like AXA Insurance, when, on the verge of burnout, she received a mysterious flyer for “How to Be a Creative, Happy Woman.” Thus began a journey towards self-discovery and the expressive, abstract paintings that now fill both her personal and professional lives.

Italian/Swiss embroidery and textile artist Cecilia Roger has always had an eye for luxurious details. Initially, she trained her eye on ancient manuscripts as a paleographer, but later transitioned to the details of the family wine business. Throughout, Cecilia’s hands were always busy with a different kind of detail—sewing and embroidery, initially focused on exquisite handbags but now embracing the meticulous details of Japanese embroidery.

Spirituality. Love. Impatience of the young. Power of the female human being.

Twenty-seven-year-old Austrian poet and novelist RAINER MARIA RILKE managed to tackle all of those weighty topics in his letters to a young aspiring artist in the early 1900s. Collected and published after his death, Letters to a Young Poet addresses all that we fear and question about the life as a creative. But as Rilke attests, the quieter we are, the closer we move towards our art. Fate emerges from within us.

For all of us who have struggled with the questions of “Am I an artist?” “Am I any good?” “What does it mean to be an artist?” —and I dare say that is all of us—I hope you will come along with me to 1903 to a small Parisian apartment where 27-year-old Austrian poet and novelist RAINER MARIA RILKE has taken pen to paper to respond to an aspiring young writer’s inquiry, “Are my poems any good?”

British printmaker and painter ALISON SAUNDERS makes no bones about it—she doesn’t like boring beige. While her bold use of color belies her initial career as an accountant, Alison generously offers her professional insight on how to track expenses for art shows, weekly business check-ins and an old-school index card system to manage inventory. Alison also shares personal stories about growing up in a family of artists and making art during times of emotional upheaval.

The Artish Plunge shares an uplifting chat with Liz Murphy, a New Jersey-based painter, interior designer, illustrator and graphic designer who grew up in Surrey, England. Inspired by her mother’s ability to inject joy and stability through art and creativity into an otherwise turbulent home life, Liz has used her design skills to create meaningful spaces, and ultimately, found her own voice and truth through painting.

The Artish Plunge explores the power of the arts as language with multimedia artist, curator and professor HUMBERTO RAMIREZ. Escaping the political turmoil in Chile of the 1970s, Humberto came to the US to study molecular biology before he pivoted to art. While his early paintings represented his social concerns, he shares how his current work reflects his surroundings and stage of life, using space, light and color to create contemplative botanical fantasies.

Continuing our conversation with metal sculptor and painter VALERIE CHAUSSONNET, we learn how Valerie’s work with the Smithsonian inspired her to take art classes. After moving to Austin, Valerie raised her children, created a French-immersion school and surrounded herself with colorful art and colorful people, all of which are reflected in the sculpture and paintings she makes today.

The ARTish Plunge podcast explores how VALERIE CHAUSSONNET, a French metal sculptor and painter who now calls Austin home, honed her sculpting skills as a way of better understanding the Inuit artifacts she was studying for the Smithsonian Institute.

MIKE LYON, a Kansas City-based artist creates meticulously detailed large-scale drawings using marks made by traditional tools manipulated by non-traditional means, usually computers he has built and coded to suit his artistic vision. After using his innovation skills in the family cattle hide business, Mike returned to his art, becoming an innovator in wood block and post digital printmaking. With an innately curious mind, Mike also creates handcrafted guitars, ukuleles and other furniture, plays the violin in the Kansas City Civic Orchestra, and holds a 4th degree black belt in karate.