Authentic Obsessions

Monumental undertakings through multimedia narrative projects, travel and deep introspection, embracing chance and spontaneity, baseball, and how people define happiness, all come up during my conversation with Milwaukee interdisciplinary artist and writerJon Horvath.

Influenced by his early formal education in creative fiction writing, philosophy, and composing music, Jon's practice has since expanded into the mixed use of photography, video, performance, sculptural objects, and other mediums brought into a combined space. He desires to share open-ended, poetic narratives rooted in an exploration of how we build personal and cultural mythologies as a way to better understand the world around us.

Takeaways

1. The making is driven by intuition.
2. Let go of having to know everything about every choice to allow unexpected moments.
3. Don’t let something that's making you fearful influence choices that you’re making.
4. Some distance from your more regular experience allows you to have permission to entertain other possibilities.
5. Pictures are influenced by that which surrounds them.

Jon Horvath

Jon Horvath on Instagram

This is Bliss

Throughline

Slow Burn

Listen in as Stacy Bogdonoff talks about using verbs as she works on a project, the importance of not putting too much (psychologically) into social media, slowness and control,  living at the intersection of design and art, and why the media & the process – the heart and head of knowing and being known- is her authentic obsession.

Stacy is a mixed media artist who divides her time between her very messy studio in Kent, CT. and her neater tabletop workspace in NYC. Stacy works with textiles, vintage fabric, paper, paint, dyes, and found objects to explore the theme of “Home, Safety, and Shelter”, and how those change as we age and move through life. "My inspiration comes from three directions.  I am deeply drawn to a wide variety of unconventional media, and I love to explore tools and new ways to use them.  I am also equally driven to explore my inner world and understand my feelings."

Takeaways

1. Understanding the context behind the work enhances the experience.
2. You don’t always know. You sometimes find out.
3. Know what you like to do and clear the decks to do it.
4. The phone works both ways.

Stacy Bogdonoff

Stacy Bogdonoff on Instagram

Rick Lowe

Martha Tuttle

El Anatsui

Death of An Artist podcast

Desert Island Discs podcast

Trauma journalism, social activism, igniting and changing conversations, and telling stories in a visual way are all integral part of Amy Putman’s life. Amy is a collagist and mixed media artist with a passion for issues of social justice. She helped create and brand the Million Mom March for Common Sense Gun Laws with her logo and slogan “Looking for a Few Good Moms.” 

Amy says: “I am drawn to texture, materials pattern, and color in their own right. Working with found objects expands my visual vocabulary. These materials, each of which brings its own history and associations, give a deeper and multi-dimensional reading to the work, work I hope will ignite conversation.”

Participating in artist groups, non-profit organizations, art community adds to her depth and breadth of the work she creates. She is a Trustee of the Montclair Art Museum in New Jersey, SKIP of New York and the Trust for Trauma Journalism, a founding member of the New York Collage Ensemble, and Co-Chair of the Artists and Talent Peer Group for the Impact Guild. Her studio is in Manufacturer’s Village Artists, East Orange, New Jersey.

Key takeaways

1. “I have an obligation to myself to not run away from what I have to say.”
2. You have to fill your puzzle box with all the pieces before you put the puzzle together.
3. Being out there in the world helps you become aware of what’s relevant and is inspirational for the art.
4. Art is an adventure. Keep growing, as a person, and bring those adventures to your art.
5. Art is definitely therapy, whether you know it or not.
6. Know when to say no, but remember to say YES to opportunities!

Amy Putman

Amy Putman on Instagram

The Jealous Creator - Deborah Roberts episode 190, Bisa Butler episode 185

Austin Kleon

Million Mom March

NY Collage Ensemble

The Camp Gallery – The Contemporary Art Modern Project Gallery

Tish Lampert

The effect of knitting during the birthing process, the importance of resting, felting as the wild sister of fiber arts, and the role of felting in community practices and traditions all comes up during my convo with Megan Henderson. And the always impactful practice of letting go and surrendering to the present moment.  Megan is a fiber artist living on a few wooded acres in Central Ohio who is inspired by nature, our connection to it and to each other, myths, lore and symbols, shadow work and the mysteries that lay just beyond our grasp.

Key takeaways

1. Pay attention and notice when fear needs to be conquered and when it is our intuition giving us a warning.
2. Don’t beat yourself up when you find yourself going down the path of thinking you’re not doing enough. But if you try and notice when it happens, those feelings might lessen.
3. You don’t have to EARN your rest.
4. “We are not meant to understand it all. We are not meant to grasp it. We are meant to make guesses about it.”

Megan Henderson

Megan Henderson on Instagram

Megan Henderson on Facebook

Nuno felting

Insight Timer meditation app

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, Oliver Burkeman

Rest is Resistance, Tricia Hersey

The Leftovers

ArtHoles, 7 episodes of Frida Kahlo

Pulling the Thread podcast, Knitting Together our Lives (Peggy Orenstein)

Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole, Susan Cain

Antieau Gallery

Sue Bulmer is an artist, educator, Art Psychotherapist and Inspiration Facilitator. Her expressive, energetic and colourful work is inspired by landscape and seasonal alignment. Sue believes we are all creative souls and is a passionate advocate for the well-being benefits of living a more creative life. ​She has a deep understanding, stemming from personal experience, of the many benefits of living a more creative life and the barriers and beliefs that stop us. We chat about paying attention to when it’s time to rest, confronting the fear that tries to keep you small and safe, being stuck and what happens when you stop fighting it, putting yourself out there even though it can be scary, the payoff is worth it!

Takeaways:

1. Make art just for you.
2. Nature takes a rest during the year. Why don’t we?
3. Categorizing things help us understand things, but they come with rules and those rules can be limiting.
4. It’s in the spaces that the ideas come.
5. “Stress is caused by being here and wanting to be there.”
6. It’s never too late.

Sue Bulmer

Sue Bulmer on Instagram

Sue Bulmer on Facebook

Sustain Your Creativity through Autumn & Winter, A free guide from Sue Bulmer

The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative, Florence Williams

Environmental Arts Therapy and the Tree of Life, Ian Siddons Heginworth

Rick Rubin on Feel Better Live More

Sue’s Creative Soul Sketchbooks course

Kellee Wynne Conrad, Build it Remarkable

Beltane, Gaelic May Day Festival

Feedback loops in the art world, finding ways to accumulate more moments of joy, the in-between spaces, writing vs. storytelling, not fitting into a box, and the orange couch are all part of Bela Suresh Roongta’s story. Bela is a Milwaukee-based visual artist, writer and storyteller. She has shown in solo & group exhibitions, been featured as a writer & speaker and recognized for innovation and success in art and storytelling. Committed to the rituals of drawing, journaling and traveling, Bela makes art, writes stories and curates experiences that explore identity & place, dance with memory and tradition and tell of the times we live in. Her art and storytelling honors those who came before us, our shared experiences and our differences.

Key Takeaways:

1. The more personal you are, the more personal your work is, and the more universal it becomes.
2. Find the magic in the unknown.
3. Allow yourself to be seen so that others can be seen. The more story we know about you the more connected we feel.
4. Art is a very self forward profession.
5. Find ways to accumulate more moments of joy.

Bela Suresh

Bela Suresh on Instagram

Part 1 | Night Country Origins with Showrunner Issa López and Executive Producer Mari Jo Winkler
The True Detective: Night Country Podcast

Saint Kate Exhibition: Relief — The Stories We Carry by Bela Suresh Roongta

Robin Davisson Episode 69 on Authentic Obsessions

Susan Lerner is  a New York City based contemporary hand-cut collage artist drawn to vintage imagery and maps, evoking a sense of familiarity and nostalgia.  Her work is a reflection of the power of visual storytelling and its ability to connect us to our memories and emotions. Susan’s work has been published in periodicals and books, she’s the co-founder of the New York Collage Ensemble, and she is currently licensed with Jiggy Puzzles and Jiggy Studio. Enjoy our conversation about tag sales, boundaries, trying new things, taking pauses, and challenges of selling your work. 

Takeaways

1. “Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.” Twyla Tharpe
2. Having too many options can drive you crazy.
3. Moving your body helps with problem solving and artistic creativity.
4. Find different outlets to sell your work.

Links

Susan Lerner

Susan Lerner on Instagram

Jiggy Puzzles, City of Dreams

92NY

Hollie Chastain

Galen Gibson-Cornell

Art and Cocktails podcast

The Jealous Curator, Art for Your Ear podcast

The feminine form has returned in Denise Daffara's latest work along with every day familiar objects such as her much loved chairs and cups of tea. Denise is an artist, soulful seeker, wild wonderer, deep listener, sacred space holder, Creativitea Time inspirer & private priestess, Intentional Creativity Guide & Certified Color of Woman Teacher.

Denise's art practice is an intuitive, light and colour fueled exploration of her life’s journey. Her paintings are filled with Australian and New Zealand botanicals and plenty of tea related moments. You’ll also find Matisse inspired feminine figures visiting her painted interiors and table settings depicted in a non-realistic, contemporary style. Her art expresses the sacred union between beauty and healing for the heart.

Takeaways

1. Creativity can help us hold space for our grief. 
2. Pay attention to the beginning, middle and end energy while you’re creating a piece of work.
3. Share your art journey in an open and honest way.
4. When it's more uncomfortable to NOT do it, creative inspiration shows up.
5. “Your vision is stronger than your fear.” Kylie Slavik

Links

Denise Daffara 
Denise Daffara on Instagram
Little dd on Instagram
Denise Daffara on Facebook
Denise Daffara on Youtube
Insights at the Edge with Tammy Simon podcast: Chip Conley: Midlife: From Crisis to Chrysalis
Gertrude and Alice bookstore and coffee shop

The monumental labors of women that often go unnoticed, and the resilience of women under the invisible weight they carry are themes interwoven in the current work of interdisciplinary artist Nirmal Raja. 

Nirmal's current solo exhibition at the Portrait Society Gallery of Contemporary Art is titled Grace and Grit, and highlights her current authentic obsession with material intimacy.  Nirmal’s keen observations and curiosity during her 3-month Kohler Arts/Industry residency resulted in an inspirational and wide body of work, including works cast in iron and brass, sound recordings and photographs. Nirmal is also part of the Paglees, a feminist collective of artists of South Asian origin living across the United states, currently exhibiting their work at the South Asia institute in Chicago. 

Nirmal collaborates with other artists and strongly believes in investing energy into her immediate community while also considering the global.

Takeaways

1. Despite all the restrictions, I am strong.
2. “Share your excitement for your practice and your own work.” Jason Yi
3. “There is mud and there is the lotus, and you cannot have the lotus without the mud.” Thich Nhat Hanh
4. Push against restrictive boxes we put ourselves in.

Links

Nirmal Raja
Nirmal Raja on Instagram
Nirmal Raja on Linkedin
A Brush With… Cornelia Parker
Portrait Society Gallery of Contemporary Art, Grace and Grit- solo exhibition 
South Asia Institute, The Paglees: Between Reason and Madness
Grace and Grit Catalog
John Michael Kohler Arts Center Arts/Industry Residency Program

Stones, learning, confidence, pattern and line, expressing beauty, and promoting your work are just a few topics artist Rena Diana covers today.

After retiring from a fulfilling career as an educator in Baltimore, Rena started focusing full time on her artwork. She worked every day in a studio at the Art Students League in New York City, where she began painting abstract landscapes. Rena is fortunate to divide her time between Baltimore and her home on Lake Champlain in Vermont, which is the source of much of her inspiration. 

Rena on art journals and sketching: "Throughout my adult life, I have kept notebooks chronicling my observations and experiences.  Gradually these became art journals, filled with sketches and collages, along with personal narrative and remarks about the creative process. As these notebooks evolved into more formal exercises, I realized that they were distinct art forms in themselves. At that point, I began creating larger, single pieces. These art journals remain a core part of my studio practice."

Takeaways

1. You develop confidence as you learn to trust yourself and the process. Believe in yourself and that what you have to share with other people is valuable.
2. It’s a marathon. A long game.
3. Learning is the best antidepressant.
4. First think about who YOU are before you decide how and where you’re going to promote your work.

Links

Rena Diana

Rena on Instagram

City Arts and Lectures, Ann Patchett

Mary Lynn O’Shea

The Art Students League of New York

Last Light, How Six Great Artists Made Old Age a Time of Triumph, Richard Lacayo