Cherry Bomb! The Podcast

At the age of 37, Raudric dusted off an idea for a comic book series that he had in college. He gathered up a team of like minded, talented illustrators, artists and writers and started Royal House Comics, specializing in Afrocentric storylines and characters..

This team of eleven professionals, scattered across the globe, have five new books coming on line and are building a new business model for the indie comic industry.

Join us as we go down the indie comics rabbit hole and talk about creating a cross culture, sustainable business model.

www.royalhousecomics.com

instagram @royal_house_comics

and his Royal House Comics podcast on anchor.fm https://anchor.fm/raudric-curtis

And, on podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/creators/raudric-curtis-107abGhElG

Sara Mraish Demeter's Art Resource Collaborative for Kids (ARCK) has eyes on rethinking our aging education system.

Confidence, critical thinking, and communications are not taught today at the same level as the hard skills, like math and science. But, these skills are at risk of being obsoleted by AI and other technologies.

So, how do we teach new, competitive skills, such as confidence, critical thinking and communications and give our students - our children - a leg up in the world?

Sara's answer is simple: build these "soft" skills into the curriculum by bringing more art to the classroom.

Art, built into the rest of the curriculum, like math and science,  helps our students to gain confidence, grow, contribute and become better communicators.

The ARCK program integrates art skills with core classes, with the goal to do exactly that: give our future generations the tools they need to succeed in our modern world.

Join Sara and myself as we talk about this program that has successfully been running in Boston public schools for a decade and see what you think.

You can learn more about ARCK, and get involved, at arckboston.org

One consideration that most people don't think about when visiting The United States National Parks is "where do you use the bathroom?"

Someone has to design these public restrooms, taking into account the local resources, the climate, and human behavior (not to mention animal behavior) so that we can poop safely and in peace.

Cynthia Moscoso has spent a good portion of her 28 year career engineering the intersection of our nation's natural treasures and the inevitable output of the millions of people who visit our parks each year.

Yes, we are talking poop, folks. And, lots of it. While we don't get too far down the, ahem, rabbit hole technically, our conversation explores how a few of her projects were put together to find the balance between the call of nature and nature's call.

This is an important subject for us to step into as our climate changes and we have to adapt to using less water.

I hope you enjoy the show and, as always, if you have questions or comments, please email me at [email protected]

The parks mentioned in this episode include Denali National Park, Crater Lake and The USS Arizona.

Tom Butterfield has built a premiere art museum on an island that is only 21 square miles in size.

Join us as we talk about how his idea has worked to create a sustainable community on this tiny, multicultural speck in the middle of the ocean.

The Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art preserves the history and culture of more than just the tourists and artists visiting the small island. It has come to represent Burmuda's place in the world.

We also delve into his latest photography project, Bermuda in Another World: A Photographer's View (https://bernews.com/2021/02/bermuda-another-world-photographers-view/), and how it continues the theme.

You can learn more about Masterworks Museum of Burmuda at www.masterworksbermuda.org

Jessica Scranton (www.jessicascranton.com), international photographer, came by and chatted with me about creating images all over the world. We discuss cultures, food, and travel while shooting in places like India and Africa.

She has quite the adventurous spirit, an infectious laugh and shares some wonderful stories.

If you get the opportunity, check out her web site www.jessicascranton.com or on her instagram @jessscranton to see her amazing images.

Share this episode to your facebook, twitter and all your social media so your friends can listen and join in the conversation.

See more about Cherry Bomb! The Podcast, with program notes for every episode, browse the Sweet Blast collection of limited edition art, and more, at www.theartofmattmckee.com

This episode was produced by Matt McKee, with consulting help from Suzanne Schultz at Canvas Fine Arts, the Specialists in Coaching for Creative People, and editing from Bill Shamlian at Orb Sound.

How Eric and Kayla Gibson, former "everything but farmers", are building a regenerative farm in Ohio.

After a career in the Cheer industry, they have turned their not inconsiderable energies to creating a commercial farm for the long term benefit of the health of our soil, our families and our communities.

Their love of nature and its processes are helping them to offset a perceived tax that the previous generations have levied on our current and future workers.

Join us as we talk about the techniques they use that leverage the innate behaviors of their animals to create healthier food sustainably. And, to build a legacy that they can pass on.

You can find out more information about their practices and their products at https://sugarbuttefarms.com/

Tom Kershaw created the perfect pub for Cheers. And it lead to so much more!

As we sat down in a beautiful events room at The Hampshire House, in Boston, I had no idea that he had influenced my decision to move to Boston so many years ago.

The atmosphere and community he built in his Bull and Finch Pub, located in the basement of The Hampshire, was the spiritual touch point for the TV show Cheers. And, between the bantering of Sam and Diane, Norm and Cliffy, and the exteriors, shot in Boston, I was hooked.

But, like any life lived, Tom is so much more than just The Bull and Finch.

We discuss his entry into the restaurant business, the influence of his Boy Scout experiences, and how he has built a career out of the tourism industry, both in Boston and on the national scene.

Join us as we delve into the adventure that is Tom's life!

See more about Cherry Bomb! The Podcast, with program notes for every episode, browse the Sweet Blast collection of limited edition art, and more, at www.theartofmattmckee.com

This episode was produced by Matt McKee, with consulting and booking help from Suzanne Schultz at Canvas Fine Arts and editing from Bill Shamlian at Orb Audio.

Artist Renée Ricciardi shares with me her “Earth is an Island” project, where she walked the island of Malta with her camera, exploring the myriad of different cultures and personalities that have populated this cross roads in the Mediterranean Sea.

An avid bee keeper, she also draws parallels to the world through her relationship with her hives. She explains to me her fascination with bees and the world around her.

She is a story teller, with both her words and her photographs exploring what boundaries mean.

“We only have one earth.”

See more about Cherry Bomb! The Podcast, with program notes for every episode, browse the Sweet Blast collection of limited edition art, and more, at www.theartofmattmckee.com

This episode was produced by Matt McKee, with consulting and booking help from Suzanne Schultz at Canvas Fine Arts and editing from Bill Shamlian at Orb Audio.

Joel VanPatten is a comic book artist, illustrator and painter who moved, with his family, to the top of a mountain in Southern New Hampshire.

Our conversation covered how he began as an artist, through his current projects, which include the comic book Jöl (pronounced yule) and Livid Comics.

The esthetics of his paintings, both of still life and urban scapes, are dark and frenetic, but at the same time, draw you in. He took a moment to chat about both how he creates this style and why.

He also talked about the reasoning behind the move to the mountain top and how he and his family are making adjustments to a life that aspires to be off the grid in these modern times.

As always, it is fascinating to me to take a moment to look through another person’s eyes and see what they see about the universe.

I hope you enjoy it!

And, I can’t wait to get my first issue of Jöl, Livid Comic’s premier issue.

Joel, and Jol, can be found at www.vanpattenstudios.com

Tell two friends to listen this episode and tag me in the posts and I’ll thank you personally!

See more about Cherry Bomb! The Podcast, with program notes for every episode, browse the Sweet Blast collection of limited edition art, and more, at www.theartofmattmckee.com

This episode was produced by Matt McKee, with consulting and booking help from Suzanne Schultz at Canvas Fine Arts and editing from Bill Shamlian at Orb Audio.

Mary Lattouf, owner of Lulu Green, an organic plant based café, bakery and juice bar in South Boston, really wants to change the way people see plant based eating.

Being an omnivore myself, I have a hard time wrapping my taste buds around the concept. However, Mary’s story brings a new perspective to the space. And, I am always open to trying anything.

In this episode, we go down the organic rabbit hole about her healthy life style and how she has turned her passion for education into her life long dream.