Making money, going viral, and having peers compliment your work are all ways of measuring results as an artist. Joy and Teresa are trying to figure out the best barometer for success in art. In the penultimate episode of season one of Artsy Types, they’re asking if there’s shame in chasing social media, if wanting to have sales is a bad thing, and they’re confronting the daunting possibility that creators may never know if they’ve arrived as an artist.

While not the bibliophile Joy is, Teresa confidently claims her territory as an audio-bibliophile and surprises with a recommendation instead of a rabbit hole. Joy has just discovered an R&B EP that re-imagines Radiohead classics. She deftly asks permission to interject princess snark into the segment and wraps the episode up with brief musings about walkie-talkies, but not before the two commiserate that “bespoke” has made its way into the mainstream.

~Show Links and References~

Follow Artsy Types on Instagram for more conversation and references that relate back to the show.

Humanity, Can We Please Stop Abusing the Word 'Bespoke'?

Joy's Short Story: The Bats

Learn about the Libby App for AudioBooks, e-Books and More

This Album of Mashed-Up D'Angelo and Radiohead Covers Is All You Need

From catastrophes to rolling vineyards to beautiful, but sorrowful, felled birds, Joy and Teresa are talking about the themes that make repeat appearances in their artistic expressions and try to understand why. They share a story they received in response to the last episode that talked about creative ways to find time for art. In Rabbit Holes and Recommendations, the discussion starts with the early works of Thomas Kinkade and moves to Elizabeth Siddal, one of art’s most famous muses and the surprising twist to the story of her life (and death!) This episode’s nostalgia segment puts to rest the story of how Teresa was allowed (and whether she even had permission) to paint a Peter Gabriel mural in her college dorm.

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The Unseen Art of Thomas Kinkade by James Gurney

The Art of James Gurney

Ophelia by Sir John Everett Millais, 1851

The Pre-Raphaelites

Elizabeth Siddal as Herself: Artist, and Muse.

Highgate Cemetery

So, by Peter Gabriel

The Art of the Band T-Shirt

Teresa and Joy commiserate that their creative pursuits have been put on the the backburner as Teresa helps her mom move and Joy has kids home from college. All hope is not lost, however, as the two share ideas for keeping creative sparks alive when life gets hectic—including a technological idea that may surprise! In Rabbit Holes and Recommendations, Teresa raises the bar with her acquisition of a Chautauqua Desk and Joy immediately lowers it with a glowing recommendation of. . . truck stops. The episode ends with memories of two books from their childhood, a Tolkien classic and Misty of Chincoteague, a beloved story of a horse that results in a meandering discussion of plastic cemetery flowers.

~Show Links & References~

The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams

This is Just to Say by William Carlos Williams

Billy Collins's Tips for Writing Prompts

Chautauqua Desk

Love's "Travel Stops"

Time Magazine's Retrospective on The Hobbit

Smithsonian Magazine's "True Story of Misty"

Misty of Chincoteague Foundation

Etsy's Selection of 1970s Plastic Flowers

From Andy Warhol to Picasso to a few sayings that just get tossed around, we’re counting down the quotes that rattle around our heads while we’re creating. Teresa’s rabbit holes have again led to photography techniques, this time exploring the history of spirit photography and methods for recreating ectoplasm tintype photographs, while Joy is at the kitchen table playing cribbage. In the throwback segment, Joy quizzes Teresa on her memory of banana clips and Candies clogs, while Teresa disavows the invention of scrunchies and comes clean on her history with Birkenstocks.

~Show Links & References~

Picasso Quote

The History of Spirit Photography

Recreating Ectoplasm Tintype Photographs

Alarming Examples of Creatures in Medieval Art

How to Play Cribbage

How to Play Spite and Malice

Candies Clogs at Free People

The History of Banana Clips

In the first of what will be a recurring segment featuring case studies of artistic failures and attempting to turn them into opportunities, Joy unravels after not being able to paint a basic lemon tree, while Teresa provides input on what might be happening and methods for turning lemons into lemonade—or in this case a painting that works! In Rabbit Holes and Recommendations, Teresa introduces the concept of a poetry volta and Joy is studying the Twilight Zone. There’s also discussion of Easter Hymns, Enameling and the Schwabinchen fair ride (who was the wench in the middle of that ride?)

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What is a volta?

Writing in the style of the Twilight Zone

Schwabinchen Fair Ride

Bayern Kurve Fair Ride

Teresa is helping to pack up her childhood home, documenting the process with Polaroids, while Joy sketches poolside in Las Vegas. The two get into a discussion about the role mentorship plays in the development of an artist, and end with their rabbit holes and recommendations segment, where Teresa discovers braided hair in her mom’s attic and Joy eats an exotic fish. The show ends with a memory from the late 80s that involves a cassette tape, the basketball playoffs, Three Dog Night and AC/DC.

~Show Links & References~

Teresa's mentor, Pamela Argentieri

Victorian Spiritualism

The History of Victorian Hair Jewelry

Bobby Flay’s Amalfi in Las Vegas

After a quick update on Teresa’s recent collection release, Joy and Teresa get into the topic of artistic fears, with each counting down fears that accompany creating and sharing their art. While some of the fears are universal. . .several are surprises. In rabbit holes and recommendations, Teresa talks about discovering ex-voto paintings and Joy makes a confession. Closing out with an anecdote from growing up together, the two recount the horrors of taking the President’s Physical Fitness Test in gym class.

~Show Links & References~

Teresa's Dead Poets Society Collection

“Ex-voto: The Mexican Art of Gratitude,” by Jimena Escoto Daily Art Magazine

Graphic Audio Version of A Court of Thorns and Roses

“The Origins of the Presidential Physical Fitness Test” by Vince Guerrieri. Mental Floss

With time on their hands, new artists emerged during the Covid years. Joy and Teresa discuss how the art world views newcomers to art, seeking input from accomplished artists including a goldsmith, painter, ceramicist and writer. Teresa gives an update on her signet ring collection and goes down a rabbit hole into the language of flowers. Joy talks about oil painting on wooden cigar boxes and reviews J. Geils Band frontman Peter Wolf’s memoir. The episode ends with the twosome discussing the dangerous playground equipment they enjoyed as grade schoolers and lamenting the loss of the Witches Wheel.

~Show links and references~

Mrs. L. Burke's "The Illustrated Language of Flowers" from 1867: https://archive.org/details/illustratedlang00burka/page/26/mode/2up

Examples of playground equipment mentioned, including the Witches Wheel (also called Witches Hat) https://honey.nine.com.au/parenting/retro-dangerous-playground-equipment/78495888-3249-4de9-86c1-7f0db3a1d129#15

In the debut episode of Artsy Types, Teresa and Joy talk about the magical concept of talent and the role practice plays in artistry, but not before a shot of tequila. The two artists have a quick discussion of signet rings, their high school English teacher Dr. Henery, and the composer Sibelius.

~ Show links and references ~Read one of Joy’s short stories, The Bats.See Teresa’s signet rings.Listen and learn more about Sibelius’ Symphony No. 1