The resurgence of plein air painting, over-the-top maximalism, visibility of the artist’s hand laid bare in finished work, the way museums treat sensitive subjects--Joy and Teresa look at cultural and artistic trends, extending the topic all the way into the Gen X segment and debating whether any 80s trends should return. “The Last Thing I Wrote” segment comes back, bringing with it roadkill and an eerie take on the neighborhood reaction to the HOA. The episode ends with a look at the creator and ArtsyTypes Instagram follower, Arthur Hash, who uses 3-D modeling in his jewelry practice with wonderful results.

~Show Notes and References~

Plein Air Painting Flourishes in the Adirondacks

Schiaparelli's The Agony and the Ecstasy Collection

The New Surrealism: On AI and Hallucinations

The History of Atari

Jeweler Arthur Hash

Artists are creatures of habit, and those habits either help creativity flourish or get in its way. Teresa is sharing the habits that have helped build her metalsmith practice, and Joy is asking for ideas to combat the dreaded bad habit of social media distraction. The episode begins with an anecdote about how the art of Gerald Scarfe made an early impact and ends with a back-and-forth about the merits of high school class rings. Joy has discovered a podcast that focuses on grief, and Teresa has entered the rabbit hole of artist John William Waterhouse. Things wrap up with a surprise profile of one of the creators who follow the artsytypespod Instagram account.

~Show Links and Notes~

Illustrator Gerald Scarfe

All There Is with Anderson Cooper

John William Waterhouse

An accident, a coincidence, a life event. Conversations between mothers and daughters. Sheer boredom. Teresa and Joy are putting words to the alchemy that took place in their lives to transform daily routine into lifelong pursuits of creativity. Before taking on the task of unraveling creative alchemy, they do some quick warm up calisthenics trying to spit out words that start with GN, and they bookend the discussion with a rabbit hole into Mary Shelley’s favorite keepsake and a recommendation of Patti Smith’s new book, Bread of Angels. Teresa tests Joy’s memory of the various ways they paid for school lunches through the years, from tokens to college coupon books, and they end by highlighting an artist, jeweler and educator from the Artsy Types community on Instagram.

~Show Notes and Links~

Mary Shelley's Favorite Keepsake

Love and Tragedy: The Stirring Saga of Mary Shelley and Percy Shelley

Queen Anne of Brittany's Heart Reliquary

Patti Smith's New Memoir, Bread of Angels

In this second “Is This Something” episode, the tables are turned, and Joy and Teresa are thinking through Teresa’s idea fragments for a new collection based on Polaroids and poems she crafted last year while saying goodbye to her childhood home. The back and forth conversation is a template for how creators can talk through concepts to transform rough ideas into finished pieces of art. The creativity back-and-forth continues with a “last thing I wrote down” segment where they share notations from their journaling, and ends with memories from the dreaded “After School Specials” that contained dire warnings of the dangers of life for 1980s kids. The episode ends with a quick profile of Instagram follower @poeticallyfound and the world of blackout poetry.

Salvador Dali's Surreal Jewelry Designs

Ancient Tombs and Temples that Align with the Sun

The Unforgettable Lessons We Learned from 80s After School Specials

Joy and Teresa count down the three tips they each think every artist should know, and at least one of the tips is something that will surprise listeners! Whether you are a painter, a jeweler or an every day creative, there will be a takeaway to use from this episode. Teresa goes down a fascinating rabbit hole of video archives from days gone by and Joy does a round-robin of tv, book and music recommendations. The discussion wraps up with memories of 1980s soap opera, followed by a shout out of one of the many incredible artists who have jumped on board the Artsy Types Instagram account.

~Show Notes and Links~

The Prelinger Archive at the Library of Congress

The San Francisco Library Collects Print Materials You Were Never Meant to See

MIddlemarch, by George Elliot

1980s Soap Operas

@karlafullerartist on Instagram

Joy and Teresa walk through the process for setting annual creative goals and lay out what they each hope to achieve in the coming year. From creating a collection of paintings, to writing a poem a month, producing a newsletter and improving photography, this year’s goals are ambitious and not without revenue goals and software tools to help achieve them. Teresa has gone down the rabbit hole of creating miniature crime scenes through craft, and Joy is recommending a new literary podcast that she thinks is intended for men. The Gen X discussion centers on school cafeteria food growing up. Any wax beans and graham crackers with pink frosting fans out there?

~Show Links and References~

The Trello App

Murder Is Her Hobby: Frances Glessner Lee and The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death

Old School with Shiloh Brooks (Book Podcast)

Pizza Day Secret Recipe

Joy and Teresa are goal-setters by nature, even when it comes to creativity. To close out the year, they take a look back at the 2025 goals they each set as creators and disclose whether they accomplished them. Before kicking off the main topic, though, Joy quizzes Teresa on her knowledge of terms-of-art. . .for art! In Rabbit Holes and Recommendations, Teresa discovers a hidden message in an old book left behind by someone in her past, and Joy talks about writing reviews for Nancy Drew books when she was a kid. A discussion of favorite 1980s movies has the two podcasters revealing very different tastes in the movies they loved growing up.

~Show Notes and Links~

Chiaroscuro

From Here to the Great Unknown

War Games

Pretty in Pink

How do two Artsy Types celebrate the holidays? With home cooking, homemade crafts and one very peculiar tradition involving 80s vinyl records. Joy and Teresa also count down their favorite holiday songs, finding themselves knee-deep in a difference of opinion about the Gen X holiday anthem, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” The two also share memories of their favorite TV Christmas specials from the 1980s and reminisce about an early form of co-branding involving Norelco razors.

~Show Links and References~

The Story Behind If We Make It Through December

The Dark Legacy of Do They Know It's Christmas

Top Rankin Bass Christmas Special Ranked

The Norelco Razor Commercials

Sometimes creators need more than the voice in their own head--they need a nudge from a friend. Joy and Teresa assign each other surprise creative challenges in this episode, laying out a path for listeners to try their own projects. Joy kicks off the episode reporting on her visit to Milan to see DaVinci’s Last Supper. Teresa recommends an Instagram rabbit hole where followers can see famous songs coming to life, and Joy is recommending a thousand-page novel about building a cathedral. The discussion ends with contemplation of why time passes differently at various ages and phases and a memory swap of being in high school the day of the Challenger accident.

~Show Links and References~

Leonardo's Last Supper Museum

Fresco Painting Method

@SongsBeingMade (Account on Instagram)

Ken Follett Talks About The Pillars of the Earth

The Pandemic Altered Our Perception of Time

Gen Xers wonder how the Space Shuttle Challenger tragedy would be handled by adults today

Whether or not to take commissions is a question every creator is faced with at some point. Joy and Teresa are talking pros and cons, logistics, and reliving a commission gone awry involving an airbrush and a Harley Davidson. Rabbit holes and recommendations is on a hiatus, and taking its place is a new segment, “The Last Thing I Wrote Down.” Joy is taken to task in real-time for gatekeeping Gen X culture, and Teresa laments not having any Garanimals in her closet as a kid.

~Show Links and References~

10 Questions to Ask Before Accepting an Art Commission

Art Commission Agreement

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King

A History of Garanimals