Art Ladders: The Creative Climb

Painter Lewis Noble shared an afternoon conversation with us and describes his working methods, his teaching philosophy and outlook on the art world. HIs motivational attitude truly guides him through his successful career as a full-time artist. As you listen, you will discover many of Lewis' thought processes to add to your own creative practice. He has strong opinions on painting what you want-- not what you think others want. This honest and authentic approach to art making serves him well and leads to paintings that are truly personal and expressive.  Lewis teaches both online and in-person classes. He also leads a membership group that includes monthly prompts and spotlights for artists around the world. Many thanks to Lewis Noble for joining us for this podcast episode! Please share with other artists,

Lewis Noble Website

Lewis Noble Instagram

Lewis Noble Upcoming Online Class starting in April

Lewis Noble Ongoing Membership

So many questions reveal themselves as a painting or drawing comes to life. Val and Armin share a lively conversation on a snowy day in Michigan asking each other questions like how do you start and how do you know when you are finished? They each have predictably contrasting answers but there are definitely some overlaps and common thoughts. The tempo of creation has a different rhythm for each. Inspiration can come out of nowhere and the ending can also happen at any point of the journey. Deadlines can drive the completion but more often it is that knowing feeling an artist picks up when entering the studio from a good night's rest and saying, that's it!

Show Notes

Ampersand Art Supply 

Atelier School of Art

Online Workshop with Valerie: Concept to Creation in Abstract Painting

In-Person Workshop with Armin: Contour Drawing

Learn To Paint Podcast 

Art Juice Podcast

Meet painter, calligrapher, and teaching artist, Jaqueline Sullivan during an engaging conversation where we learn more about her art, travels, and classes. 

Jacqueline Sullivan has been a teaching artist for 30 years and she loves to teach! She has had the honor to be invited to teach for Art Centers and Studios across North America as well as having been chosen as a faculty member for several International Calligraphy Conferences. Seeing the joy in a student’s face when they create something that pleases them brings Jacqueline much joy.

Mixed media, acrylic paints, calligraphy, bookbinding, and fiber arts - She has loved them all since she first discovered each medium. She has a degree in graphic design and worked for many years as a publication, marketing and advertising designer. But her passion has always been with color and paint, no matter what the surface.

Personal artistic development has been a lifeline as Jacqueline worked her way through the challenges life brought. Her mixed media, book art, calligraphic and acrylic work has been shown in galleries and top juried art fairs nationwide. She believes that asking “what if?” and keeping a spirit of adventure and discovery is important as she follows her creative path and attempts to create something original. Jacqueline  experiments with texture, layers, marks, paint, and dyes as part of her process. She is a  Certified Artist Educator for Golden Paints, an Ambassador for Ampersand, and she is on the education teams for Silver Brush and Marabu Creative.

This summer, Jacquline will be leading to painting workshops in Europe. The May workshop will be to France and the September workshop will be in Italy. You can learn more about the workshops in the show notes below. 

Jacqueline Sullivan Website

Workshop in France

Workshop in Italy

Upcoming Workshops both online and in-person

Descriptions of Classes

We are excited to announce our word of the year for 2023, and it is courage!

Last year our word of the year was discover and wow, we did just that. We made many discoveries in ways to up our game in producing art as well as increase our reach through our podcast and online classes. 2022 was a wonderful year of growth and we look forward to 2023.

We took some time to land on our new word for this coming year. We both agreed on the word "courage" to be our focus. Courage for artists is found in many ways. Everything from taking a chance on a new medium to taking on a speaking engagement as a juror or curator all require a confident attitude and a bit of courage to put yourself out there.

We discuss having the courage to make mistakes, join a new class, or introduce yourself to the world as an artist and really believe it.

The Creative Climb takes courage step by step to reveal personal stories in artwork and present them to the audience without knowing in advance the reactions that will be voiced. We encourage all artists to embrace taking chances and pushing their comfort zones to the max. We also encourage artists to come up with their own Word of the Year.

Show Notes: 

Art Ladders: The Creative Climb Facebook Page

Art Ladders: Instagram

Armin Mersmann Website

Valerie Allen Website

Online Exhibit "Sanctuary" Grosse Pointe Artist Association. Armin Mersmann: Best of Show with Aggregate. 

Valerie Allen's New Workshop Just Announced! Register here for two-day Concept to Creation Workshop. 

We are joined by fellow artists, Barb Hranilovich, Sal Strom along with a clip from James Steigenga. Sal is a multi-media artist from the coast of Oregon, Barb has worked as a commercial artist, illustrator and now an exhibiting artist, and James is an accomplished photographer who has the patience and timing to capture images that through the lens achieve the intent without filters or manipulation for the most part. These talented people were our studio mates during the August residency at Golden Apple. We shared many a meal with great art-themed conversations directed by Shelley Stevens the director of Golden Apple Residency. Our two weeks also included a day trip to take in the artistic locations in Downeast Maine that we will never forget. 

If you have ever thought of participating in an artist residency, this episode along with episode 6 and 7 would be time well spent for a listen. 

Show Notes: 

Website of Barb Hranilovich

Artist in Residence: Friends of the Porkies

Barb's representation at  Nelson Gallery

Website of Sal Strom 

Sal Strom's project  "Connecting US 20"  

Video on "Connecting US 20.

Artist Communities Alliance to search for residencies. 

Playa Residency

Sitka Center for Art and Ecology

Horned Dorset Artist Colony

Santa Fe Art Institute

Sal's residency group at I-Park video

Virginia Center for the Creative Arts

New Residency Opportunity in South Carolina: South Porch Art Residency

Facebook Page of James Steigenga

Golden Apple Studio and Residency

Here we are at 2023! Happy New Year and thank you to everyone who helped make 2022 a wonderful year for Art Ladders. Thanks to guests, our podcast producer Taylor Cramer of Cold Shower Media and our listeners! We appreciate you!

In this episode we reveal our resolutions for 2023 and discuss our top painting picks that have influenced us on our creative journeys. 

Armin choose Le Gros by Franz Kline, Winter 1946 by Andrew Wyeth, and The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch. 

Valerie choose Rouen Cathedral Series by Claude Monet, Paris Street-Rainy Day by Gustave Caillebotte, and Veil Series by Robert Rauschenberg.

">Post to images on Facebook. 

Link to our online classes. 

What a blessing to be with our friend, Jolin Wilks McElroy for a holiday conversation on art and spirituality. Jolin and Armin first met in the 1990s while working together at the art materials and frame store of Good's of Evanston. During her time working at Good's led Jolin to rethink her calling as a artist and pursue another path to attend a theological seminary for a Masters in Divinity. 

Here is her bio in more detail:

Jolin Wilks McElroy has been Pastor at First Christian Church in Charlotte since July of 2000. During her tenure there, she has watched the congregation grow into presence in the Charlotte and Dilworth communities–branching out into service through the Dilworth Soup Kitchen, supporting many missions and outreach groups, and providing a meeting place for classes and events. She has also rejoiced as this church has been transformed by other cultural groups joining the congregation.

With a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Colorado State University in 1990, Jolin Wilks intended to paint for a living. The call to ministry challenged her to consider a new direction for her life. In 1995 she enrolled at Lexington Theological Seminary and received her Masters in Divinity in 1999. Rev. McElroy still finds some time to draw and paint while also serving the church in more traditional ways. In addition to gallery shows and auctions, First Christian Church has a display of her pastel portraits of church members lining the walls of the education building. Another exhibit, Holy Communion, a series of watercolor portraits of Disciples of Christ members and leaders, began traveling the denomination since the Fall of 2004.

Because of her dual vocations of art and ministry, she has been a desired speaker on the topic of creativity and spirituality for retreats and workshops. One significant endeavor was sketching portraits of 33 children of two Head Start programs for the benefit of their families, sponsored by The Craddock Center in Cherry Log, Georgia.

Prior to accepting the call to her current position, Rev. McElroy served as: Associate Minister to First Christian Church, Falls Church, VA (1998-2000); Chaplain Intern at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, DC (summer of 1998); and Pastor of First Christian Church, Carlisle KY (1995-1998). In addition to her work at First Christian, Rev. McElroy has been active in the life of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) at the regional level, and was the recipient of a Clergy Renewal Grant from The Lilly Endowment in 2004. Other organizations in which Rev. McElroy has been active include: Charlotte Clergy Coalition for Justice (CCCJ) 2014 – present, Crisis Assistance Ministry (2002-present); United Family Services (2001-2006); General Board of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in North Carolina (2001-05); North Carolina Regional Commission on Faith and Understanding (2001-02).

Born in Iowa City, IA, Jolin Wilks McElroy was raised in Mt. Prospect, IL, where her parents Alan and Irvana Wilks still reside. Rev. McElroy currently lives in Charlotte, NC, with her husba​​​​nd Tom and their young son.

We are honored that Jolin joined us for episode 39 of our podcast. During the interview you will hear her quote Frederick Buechner: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.”  Art and ministry fulfill that for her. 

Thank you very much, Jolin!

First Christian Church of Charlotte, North Carolina

Artist Makoto Fujimura

Art + Faith by Makoto Fujimura

Registration is open for Art Ladders Virtual Winter term classes being taught by Val and Armin. 

Val and Armin have been teaching artists for over 30 years each. The role of the teaching artist is to ignite and inspire students, as well as to encourage them to explore their own creativity. Both feel that teaching has added dimension to their own art making through the research they study to create a class plan and the curiosity to explore new techniques and materials. Why does teaching art matter? It's in our DNA. Everyone is an artist. We all use art to express ourselves and the world around us. Artists teach others to understand the process of creation, and that makes them better problem solvers and communicators. Plus, it's fun!

We are excited to announce our new online art class schedule starting in January or 2023. These virtual classes will allow you to learn at a time and place that is convenient for you. We also have several in-person workshops scheduled around the state of Michigan and we would love to see you there! Listed below are links for registration. 

Valerie's Online Class: Introduction to Abstraction (Three hour workshop) 

Valerie's Online Abstraction Now! Class (Five Weeks)

Valerie's Free Facebook Group: Abstraction Now! Community

Armin's Online iPhoneography Experiments in Creativity

Armin's Online Intermediate and Advanced Drawing Class

Armin's Online Art Talk Class

Valerie's In-Person One Day Workshop: Acrylic Painting thru Thick and Thin

Valerie's In-Person Two Day Workshop: The Process Project at Atelier School of Art

Valerie's In-Person Two Day Workshop: Exploration in Abstraction at Grosse Pointe Art Center 

Armin's Virtual  Intermediate Drawing Weekly Class with Atelier School of Art

Armin's In-Person Workshop on Contour Drawing  

Austin Kleon's Post on artist Tom Phillips

This conversation with Cal Cullen, the co-founder and executive director of Wave Pool Art Center in Cincinnati was a reunion of sorts to catch up on the happenings of an art center near and dear to the hearts of Art Ladders. Since 2016, we have been following the fast growth of positivity that radiates from Cal and the team and we are always amazed about the creative programming that is a huge asset to this venue. 

Take a look at this uplifting mission statement! 

Wave Pool Creates Community Fulfillment Through Artistic Opportunities. With exhibitions, creative engagements, and collaborations we:

Wave Pool is community driven, exploring the stories and needs of the diverse communities we serve.

Wave Pool is artist led, reflecting the concerns and interests of contemporary creatives.

Wave Pool uses our platform to amplify the ideas, expressions, and work, through which the world is made more joyous and equitable.

In the neighborhood of Camp Washington, just a few minutes from downtown Cincinnati, co-founders Cal and Skip Cullen have turned a historic fire station and storefront across the street into a hub of activity for artists, neighbors and art collectors. Since their launch, other businesses have located to Camp Washington where there is no shortage of interesting architecture and studio-worthy space available. 

It is satisfying to hear Cal explain the deep meanings of the work being accomplished at Wave Pool. You cannot help but be moved emotionally when all the dots connect to create a world where artist fulfillment benefits community. Congratulations on your creative journey, Cal and Skip. Happy Thanksgiving! 

Please review the links to learn more about Wave Pool and The Cincinnati Art Scene

Wave Pool Art Center 

Cincinnati Magazine article Cal Cullen Making Waves 

Wave Pool Facebook Page

Wave Pool Instagram 

The Welcome Project

Women of Cincy: Cal Cullen Changing the Current

Artswave 

Contemporary Arts Center Cincinnati

Movers and Makers: Wave Pool at the Armory Show

Valerie and Armin started out as students of art and now are teaching artists. Along the way, they discovered ways to enhance the learning process to get the most out of the class and their instructors. In this episode they share those ideas with their listeners. Topics include joining the community of an art class and learn from both the other students and the instructor, asking questions all along the path, and the importance of timely attendance. Passion and perseverance are the hallmarks to achieving success in the learning process of art.