brave space: a gathering of makers

In this episode of brave space, I chat and share a meal with Corey Garretson, Denver-based comedian, musician, and poet who describes himself as a “person who loves the stage.” I first met Corey through a mutual friend - I've since seen him perform music and improv comedy, but have never talked to him about his crafts. We start off with a lesson in Thwazz, or as Corey describes the language he created, “an endless mine of linguistic fun.”

Corey says good clean fun is something he tries to embody in all of his art. He also says that danger is the heart and soul of improv because of the possibility that it could fail at any moment; this is what makes it fun. He also talks about the beauty in failing live and the sublime feeling of being successful. Corey shares how his experience living in Chicago compared to that of living in his native Colorado and how that experience made him think about not valuing fame, but rather valuing his relationship with art.

Corey also shares the story of how Samba became part of his life, which is connected to him learning and becoming fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. Today he’s part of the Samba community in Boulder, CO, and he shares how united the community is in their love and honoring of Brazilian culture.

Corey cooked us dinner for our podcast recording session, so I ask him what it is about cooking that he enjoys. He says that cooking is soulful and what makes us human; he says that his kitchen has the best energy in his home. I ask Corey about promoting himself and his shows and he shares his strong dislike of it and of fishing for compliments, and we talk about the paradox of not wanting to over-share our creative projects but wanting an audience to experience them.

Thanks again to Corey for cooking us enchiladas! To learn more about Corey, check out his Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/thwazzcaptain/). If you're in the greater Denver area, you can see him perform with Glue N Stuff for No DQ at the Grafenberg Theater every Friday at 10pm,  Makeshift Shakespeare at Voodoo Comedy Playhouse, and Grupo Chegando Lá every 4th Thursday of the month at The Laughing Goat.

Our theme music is by Noon.

To find out more about this podcast, visit bravespacepod.com (bravespacepod.com). Like what you hear? Support us on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/bravespacepod)!

Welcome to the first episode of brave space in 2019! Meet Heather Kegel - an artist, potter, and the woman behind Heather Kegel Studios. I first met Heather on a group hike with Boulder Hiker Chicks. We quite literally climbed a mountain together before learning about our mutual love for handmade goods! Since then, we've continued hiking and "talking shop," and I'm so happy to bring you Heather's journey of finding her voice as a potter.

We talk Instagram and how Heather balances sharing her business life and her personal life. Branding is huge for Heather, and she tells me about how she curates her social media. Heather went to art school and has studied a variety of different artistic mediums, so I ask her about when pottery came into her life. Heather shares a story of how learning to center on the wheel changed her life in ceramics, and breaks down what centering is and how challenging of a skill it is to learn.

Heather defiantly labels herself as an artist, and she shares the story behind why. She tells me how nature found its way into her work in recent years as she found her way back to nature.

You can learn more about Heather Kegel Studios by visiting Heather's website (http://heatherkegelstudios.com/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/h.k.studios/), and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Heather-Kegel-Studios-358000234668759/) pages.

Our theme music is by Noon.

To find out more about this podcast, visit bravespacepod.com (bravespacepod.com). Like what you hear? Support us on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/bravespacepod)!

In this episode, I met up with Ellen Moershel and Mick Tresemer, two visual artists based in Colorado. I first encountered them this summer while they were live painting at a concert in Boulder, and we caught up in October. The two of them have been friends since attending art school in Oklahoma, and they originally started collaborating on artwork by sending drawings and paintings to each other through the mail. Ellen & Mick both say since collaborating, their painting styles have shifted. I ask them to describe their individual styles, and we quickly dive down a rabbit hole talking about organic versus geometric painting.

Both of them brought sketchbooks to our coffee meeting, and we talk about creating work in the moment versus revisiting past ideas. Ellen says they’re both improvisational and reactionary painters, which in addition to their friendship, makes their collaboration work. They share a secret with me… oops paint! Both say that with visual art, it’s impossible to run out of ideas, as the possibilities for different mediums are endless. For Mick, he says he's just scratching the surface of what he can do with climbing rope as a medium.

They talk about being inspired by abstract shapes and color in nature. When I ask about the community of people they surround themselves with, they both note that they don’t interact with a lot of visual artists, but rather have friends who work in the sciences, conservation, and music. The conversations they have with folks outside of visual art influence their work. They both think that travel and exposure fuels their art, and that it’s important to gain different perspectives, either from peers or experiences. They’ve both been full time artists, and talk about juggling their art making with other jobs and responsibilities. We chat about the cost of a work of art and how people often assume it should be lower than its worth. We also talk about one of my favorite conundrums – how much an art institution is or isn’t willing to compromise on the presentation of the work in order to be accessible to a variety of audiences.

Thanks to Ellen & Mick for chatting with me for this episode! To learn more about Ellen, visit http://ellenmoershel.com and her Instagram page @abstractually. To learn more about Mick, visit https://www.micktresart.com/ and his Instagram @trickymesmer.

Our theme music is by Noon. You can find and support his music on Bandcamp, Facebook, and Spotify.

To find out more about this podcast, visit bravespacepod.com.

For this episode of brave space, I met with multidisciplinary artist Kaitlyn Tucek in her home studio in Denver. Kaitlyn and I met this summer at a beer festival, but this was the first time we really dove into a conversation. We chat about her personal history as an artist, her work for various museums, and her experience as a transplant from New York City.

We chat about her family life, her children’s involvement in art and creative projects, and Kaitlyn's upbringing. Later, we ask the question, "How do you allow someone to have their own experience walking through a gallery, but also as an artist be allowed to tell your own story?" We talk about how this relates to accessibility of art. Kaitlyn says that ultimately, her goal is for each and every person to feel like they belong in the art world, and the only way to do this is to give people the tools they need to feel that way. Kaitlyn was an elementary school art teacher, so we also talk a bit about our teachers growing up and how much they inspired us.

Lastly, we talk about Kaitlyn's current inspirations, which include looking at sunsets from the vantage point of her home, thinking about underpaintings, and how food and company go together. She has a show at Alto Gallery in Denver that we discuss in this episode; it opens on December 7th, 2018, and if you're in the Denver area you should definitely check it out!

Thanks again to Kaitlyn Tucek for talking with me for this episode and welcoming me into her home. For more information on Kaitlyn and her work, visit www.kaitlyntucek.com or Instagram @ktucek.

Our theme music is by Noon. You can find and support his music on Bandcamp, Facebook, and Spotify.

To find out more about this podcast, visit bravespacepod.com.

For this episode, I spoke with Lindsay Schmittle, the Owner & Chief Maker of Gingerly Press, a letterpress design studio where she works with handset type. Lindsay is formally trained in graphic design, and she studied visual communication in college before working as a printer. After that experience, she began acquiring her own printing equipment, and then made the leap to start her own business. Gingerly Press started in her parents’ garage outside of Philadelphia, and is on its way to Pittsburgh in the spring.

She describes herself as an entrepreneur, and says all of her business skills are self-taught. Her dream is to have a studio space that will also accommodate workshops. Lindsay feels strongly about marketing the process of letterpress printing, and she notes that her letterpress is an antique from 1915. After she moves to Pittsburgh, she envisions staying in her new city for at least 10 years since the tools of her trade are very heavy and can be fragile – she calls it her “heavy metal baggage.” When thinking about her big move, Lindsay says she wants to cultivate a creative community, wherever she ends up.

Lindsay shares the origin stories of her decision to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail and the art she’s creating from that experience. In 2015, in preparation for her Appalachian Trail hike, she hiked Vermont’s Long Trail with her brother. Then, in the fall of 2016, she launched her Kickstarter project, The Printed Walk: Georgia to Maine, which funded her trip and kept her outdoor adventures tied to her budding business. She talks about fighting fear, in terms of fear of her ability to complete the hike, fund the Kickstarter, and creating work that she’s proud of afterward.

Many thanks to Lindsay for chatting with me, and to Rhiannon Hare, a previous podcast guest, for connecting us! To find out more about Gingerly Press, visit www.gingerlypress.com or Instagram @gingerlypress.

Our theme music is by Noon. You can find and support his music on Bandcamp, Facebook, and Spotify.

To find out more about this podcast, visit bravespacepod.com.

In this episode, I chat with Becky Bailey, a self-described textile and print designer by day and visual artist by night. She's based in Morristown, NJ and works with mixed media collage paintings which are shaped and have sculptural elements as framing devices. We spoke in October of 2018, right after she returned from a four week residency at MASS MoCA in North Adams, MA.

Having unrestricted time dedicated to making art is important to Becky. Her cohort at the residency was very productive, and she says she's motivated by those around her. The group also arranged informal critique and feedback sessions which Becky said was not just motivating but validating because she hadn't had them in a while. We talk about the benefits and challenges of living in different cities such as New York, Denver, and Philadelphia.

I ask Becky about how she defines contemporary art, and she says that she thinks the individual making work decides if they're creating "art" or not. I press her on what she meant when she said doing residencies makes her feel like a "real artist." She talks about realizing she's doing what she's supposed to be doing artistically and how good that feels. We also talk about seeking validation with our creative work.

Becky's mother is a master crafter, so I ask her what it was like growing up with the influence and presence of making.

Big thanks to Becky for chatting with me for this episode! To find out more about Becky Bailey, visit beckybaileystudio.com (beckybaileystudio.com) or Instagram @beckybailey__

Our theme music is by Noon. You can find and support his music on Bandcamp, Facebook, and Spotify.

To find out more about this podcast, visit bravespacepod.com.

On this episode of brave space, I caught up with Rhiannon Hare, a self described graphic designer, artist, illustrator, quilter, and doer or all the things. We met about four years ago when we were both in school in Delaware. Since then, Rhiannon's lived in Portland, OR; Washington, DC; and now Providence, RI.

Rhiannon started quilting around age eight, and she grew up going to quilt guild meetings with her mom. She considers herself to be a beginner quilter, even though she's been quilting for so long, because she's constantly learning new skills and variations. She shares a funny story about what it was like "growing up with quilts." We talk about our mutual desires to make and give heirloom gifts and the challenges with them.

Rhiannon shares how she avoids burnout with her design work since her day job and side projects are different. We talk about how both of our art/marking practices have shifted depending on our environments, and we share similar feelings of guilt when we're not productive and it seems we're not using our time wisely. We pine away for more for more hours in the day to create things, but celebrate the wonder of exploring new places and being a jack of all trades, even if masters of none.

Big thanks to Rhiannon for chatting with me for this episode! Visit her http://www.rhiannonhare.com/ and Instagram @rhihare to learn more about Rhiannon and her work.

Our theme music is by Noon. You can find and support his music on Bandcamp, Facebook, and Spotify.

To find out more about this podcast, visit bravespacepod.com.

In this episode of brave space, I spoke with Sara Emmitt, a self-titled songstress, in Boulder, CO. I was first introduced to her music at Etown Hall where I saw her perform at a Boulder In The Round event this summer. Sara grew up in the mountains outside of Boulder and comes from a long line of musicians. She says her she's highly influenced by her dad and the power of storytelling. Her musical family's background is in bluegrass music, and she says it was normal for her to fall asleep as a kid listening to banjos and mandolins being played in her living room while her parents jammed with other musicians. Early on in our conversation, Sara shares a powerful story about a personal experience that links happiness with health, writing the song that saved her life, and music as medicine.

Sara talks about her bond with her sister, jealousy as a teacher, and the birth of The Emmitt Sisters band and their first album. After Sara's journey of healing, she says that’s all she says she cares about. She talks about finding ayurveda, which she refers to as complimentary medicine, and tells me about studying it in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The story behind “The Desert Song” is related to her travels to that region, and Sara says the song emerged while she was crossing the border into New Mexico. She always has a journal on her for when songs come in on a whisper as poetry; she likes to say her songs come from spirit, or a great force, and that she believes we all have the ability to tap into in our own lives.

Sara likes to create a ceremony when she performs, and talks about what she does when she takes the stage. She believes that every single person in the room has a role in the performance, both with giving and receiving. When I ask Sara about how she keeps herself full while offering so much healing, she says that for her, healing isn’t healing unless all parties are receiving a benefit from the experience.

Many thanks again to Sara for chatting with me and sharing her stories! You can learn more about The Emmitt Sisters band by visiting https://www.facebook.com/sistersamsara.

Our theme music is by Noon. You can find and support his music on Bandcamp, Facebook, and Spotify.

To find out more about this podcast, visit bravespacepod.com.

I am so excited to share my conversation with Rachel Matusewicz and Bess Miller of Blunt Ensemble with you. First of all, thank you, dear listener, for your patience with me on this episode - the cafe we spoke in was much louder than I'd planned, and there is extra background and city noise in this episode. I encourage you to bear with it and listen to the entire interview; just pretend you're having drinks with us on a hot summer day in The Village in New York.

Blunt Ensemble is currently touring their adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard III. A theme we kept coming back to during our conversation was the current political system in the United States versus in Shakespeare's day. Rachel and Bess say it wasn’t intentional for them to have an all-female cast, but once that fell into place they ran with it. We talk about casting the actor with the right energy for the role and the process of filling the shoes of a role that’s already been cast when an ensemble member leaves.

We talk about gendered language ("actor" vs. "actress" stickiness) and gendered casting. Rachel and Bess both share how they got into Shakespeare; Rachel fell in love with his use of language and storytelling, whereas Bess was exposed to a "mind-blowing" production of Hamlet as a young teen while grappling with the concept of her own mortality and was forever changed. As we continue this thread, the three of us acknowledge our high school English teachers (Ken McGraw and Jackie Laba) for making learning about Shakespeare, language, and theater so engaging.

Blunt Ensemble truly functions like an ensemble, a group of people who are working toward the same story. Rachel and Bess underscore that the energy of an ensemble is crucial, and they relate their group's collaborative style to that of improv.

Best wishes to Rachel, Bess, and Blunt Ensemble on the future of this project! To learn more about Blunt Ensemble, visit https://www.facebook.com/BluntEnsemble. The cast of Richard III currently includes: Ellie D'Eustachio, Rachel Matusewicz, Bess Miller, Ryan Natalion, Elizabeth Berkman, and Brooke Shilling.

Our theme music is by Noon. You can find and support his music on Bandcamp, Facebook, and Spotify.

To find out more about this podcast, visit bravespacepod.com.

In this episode I spoke with Teri Quinn, a singer, songwriter, and musician based in Kansas City, MO. I saw Teri perform in Boulder, CO at one of The Laughing Goat's monthly Women in Song showcases. I was absolutely blown away by Teri's ability to take me on a journey through her music, and I'm so glad she agreed to experiment with a long-distance recording for brave space.

We talk about all-ages venues, and Teri shares how those types of spaces (and late-night venues) influenced her work. Teri says that her songwriting stems from a personal event, emotion, or experience, and she often meditates on the banjo, her current primary instrument. Her sound can be described as a "misty melancholy," and she strives to create a soundscape and world that she can bring others into. Music is therapy and a tool for release for Teri, and she says that what she does isn't meant to be overlooked. Because of this, she is intentional in choosing where she plays. We also discuss a bit of her musical journey that lead to this point.

Teri says she lives a "dual life," but still an "artist's life." She shares a story about a former boss telling her to "give yourself a raise" and how that lead to other opportunities creating bone jewelry and working with natural science and oddities. As an artist whose hobby is science, she really enjoys sharing facts about animals and bones with others - especially young children who might feel like they can't be into natural science and the macabre because that makes them "different." Teri talks about modern society needing to shift its perspective on death and how there can be a lot of light in the places that scare us.

We chat about Teri's daily rituals which include teas, tinctures, stones, and breathing exercises for daytime centering. She (like myself) values alone time in addition to walking around. Teri finds inspiration in natural science, and is learning more about geology and the concept of humans living in layers, like how we measure geological time.

Big thanks to Teri Quinn for experimenting with technology with me for a long-distance interview! To find out more about Teri, visit teriquinn.com

Our theme music is by Noon. You can find and support his music on Bandcamp, Facebook, and Spotify.

To find out more about this podcast, visit bravespacepod.com.