Dr. Lisa Gives a Sh*t

I’ve admired Dave Zackin’s work on Instagram for years, so when I opened a very small gallery at the Bushwick Comedy Collective to bring funny art to comedians, I was THRILLED when Zackin said yes. His show opens at The Dog House Gallery at The Brooklyn Comedy Collective, Friday,137 Montrose Ave., Friday, Sept.13, 6-9pm. It will be up through Oct. 21, 2024.

I was curious about Dave. His work is literally the funniest work I see on Instagram, plus he sells everything he makes, yet he works on his own, not interested in expanding his practice into a gallery/art world situation as many artists would aspire too.

I learn a lot from Dave in this session. A lot about how he came to do what he does, which involves a completely original practice of repurposing other people’s rejected pottery in the pottery studio. Dave’s life has balance, a job he loves, his art-making that he loves and most of all his wife and 7-year-old son. Dave turns out to be a great example of simply how to live.

We also discuss this wonderful film that Dave made in 2002 while studying animation at the Rhode Island School of Design, titled Tunanoodle, so I’m including it HERE.

See Dave’s work on Instagram HERE. Dave’s website is HERE.

Here's some quotes I found from Dave that helps explain his work/process.

"I grew up in Newton, next to Boston, but have been in Brooklyn for the past 18 years. I have always collected junk, and as a kid, I drew on my old adam/colecovision computer with a permanent marker. I drew on the old black and white tv we had in the attic. Drawing on top of things made them mine, and made them more than just junk. I did some drawings of Fred Flinstone as a kid and then added a mustache and told people they were drawings of my dad. I like modifying things to change their meanings."

"I create functional artwork made from discarded pots at a community ceramic studio in Brooklyn, NY. The challenge is to make something new out of half-finished pottery. 

I was never great at drawing from life, but I know how to put eyes and noses together to make some funny faces. The first ceramic studio I worked at had a big pile of unwanted pottery in the back yard that they let people glaze for free to test out different glaze combinations. I quickly became obsessed with drawing faces and writing notes on the discarded dishes. I loved that quick throw-away jokes could be applied to a material that, if not dropped on the floor, could last for thousands of years. "

Dave Zackin Bio

Dave Zackin is a designer and a fine artist working in New York City. Zackin earned a bachelor’s degree in animation at the Rhode Island School of Design, a Master of Public Health at the Hunter/CUNY School of Public Health, and a Master in Urban Studies at Queens College. His short animated film, Tunanooda, was screened in more than eighty film festivals, including New Directors, New Films at Lincoln Center, and the Kodak New Filmmakers' Showcase at Cannes, and won top prizes at the Student Emmys and the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Zackin's work has been featured in Chronicle Books' The Where, They Why, and The How, and in Time Out New York Magazine. He is the designer of the now ubiquitous City of New York Public Space Recycling Bins, recycling how-to stickers and hundreds of posters, public health info-sheets, and other things for the City of New York.

This is my 7th episode with radio show host, Ben Louis—one every year, since 2018. For listeners who don’t know about Ben Louis, he started his career in radio right here at Radio Free Brooklyn in 2018 and found his calling. It was exciting for me, Dr. Lisa, to see someone like Ben with all the talent, hard work, drive and ambition to pursue his dream and he’s been taking me along for the ride. This year, specifically the last few months have been pivotal for Ben. He got a promotion, raise and HIS OWN SIRIUSXM SHOW, Sundays 5pm + midnight on channel 47, Sunday Mimosa, which has about 3 million listeners. Getting this show puts Ben squarely in an industry position as a taste-maker in R+B music. He is sent to festivals, he’s interviewed Patti Labelle, but he’s the same old guy, just a little more grown. Ben has truly realized some goals and is now in the position of maximizing his opportunities, so no time to sleep. As always Ben is growing and inspiring. At this point, it seems his mission is bigger than him.

Instagram: @benlouisradio/

Listen to Ben's personal and professional journey as recorded with Dr. Lisa annually since 2018:

Ben Louis: First session DLG1204 - 2018 Fellow RFB "Ben Talks" host, Ben Louis talks recent gf breakup.

Ben Lous: 2nd Session, DLG1840 2019 Ben Louis, host of RFB's BEN TALKS, comes in for a follow-up session!

Ben Louis: Third Session - DLG220 2020 Fellow RFB host, Benjamin Louis of BEN TALKS, talks candidly about his personal growth.

Ben Louis: Fourth Session DLG260 2021 Ben Louis, former RFB host is on the cusp of living his dream!

Ben Louis: Fifth Session DLG286 2022 Former RFB host (now at Sirius), Ben Louis, comes in for an annual check in with Dr. Lisa

Ben Louis: Sixth Session DLG319 2023 Former RFB Host now SiriusXM Host, Ben Louis. Ben's life in a creative career is inspiring.

This is the sixth year in a row that Ben Louis has been my first guest of the year. I absolutely love starting the year this way. Ben is a beacon of positivity. Five years ago, when I first met Ben, he was an intern at Radio Free Brooklyn. We all knew he was on his way to big things. I think it's taken more patience and hard work than he could have originally imagined, but today I think Ben is pinching himself thinking, "Is this my life?" and it's poised to get even better. Ben is working with his radio heroes and interviewing celebrities like Vivica A. Fox, Chaka Khan, Babyface and so many more. Also Ben has just had a one-year anniversary of living with his girlfriend, Scarlet, and it's going great-fun to hear about too!

If you go back to the first episode in 2018, the very beginning of Ben's radio career, you can hear Ben has just fallen in love with radio and it's disrupting his life—his girlfriend had just dumped him—if only Ben could have looked into the future at that moment—

More about Ben @benlouisradio/

Listen to Ben's personal and professional journey as recorded with Dr. Lisa annually since 2018:

Ben Louis: First session DLG1204 - 2018 Fellow RFB "Ben Talks" host, Ben Louis talks recent gf breakup.

Ben Lous: 2nd Session, DLG1840 2019 Ben Louis, host of RFB's BEN TALKS, comes in for a follow-up session!

Ben Louis: Third Session - DLG220 2020 Fellow RFB host, Benjamin Louis of BEN TALKS, talks candidly about his personal growth.

Ben Louis: Fourth Session DLG260 2021 Ben Louis, former RFB host is on the cusp of living his dream!

Ben Louis: Fifth Session DLG286 2022 Former RFB host (now at Sirius), Ben Louis, comes in for an annual check in with Dr. Lisa

I tried to get #GenevieveGagnard to admit that she is driven by her anger and resentment from being brought up in a mized race family, but I was way off base. It turns out that it just made her curious and inspired to find out more about different sides of her personity which is what inspires the wide range of characters she creates in her work. Also-her mother is great at finding and collecting cool shit which she can use as much of as she likes. My advice to her is to be friendly to shy guys because they don't realize she's shy too, since it's quite hidden in her. http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2016/01/07/fashion/genevieve-gaignard-a-photographer-collagist-and-installation-artist/s/20120107Genevieve-slide-QBQU.html?_r=1

I have to say, Eryn Levine, host of RFB's Game Play Radio on Thursday's 2-3pm does not hold back on diving into her exploration of doing more than she needs to so other people will be happy. Eryn is an impressive young woman who is intelligent, responsible, initiative taking... all those things that will make her a huge success. She sees how her people pleasing is getting in her way and is becoming vigilant about jettising some of this behavior. I would say Eryn's affliction is not uncommon, but her honestly and drive to change her behavior is. We explore Eryn's background on how this behavior has developed in her past and we figure out some tactical ways to change her behavior so she can focus all that valuable energy on her own goals. Eryn has smarts and motivation, so we agreed she will come back for a second appointment in a month or so. I anticipate great progress which we can all learn from. Eryn is a gem. Her show Game Play Radio harnesses her prodigious storytelling skills.

Comedian Myq Kaplan a veteran of both America's Got Talent and Last Comic Standing talks with me about his time in weekly therapy with me a few years ago. Also Myq has had more than one open relationship and we learn how those were similar/different. http://myqkaplan.com/ #comedy #psychotherapy #art

I was prompted to invite David Humphrey on my show due to his recent exhibition-terrific!-at blue chip gallery, Fredricks and Fraiser. http://www.fredericksfreisergallery.com/artists/david-humphrey We had a great talk about his work and explored how he wants his viewers to make up stories with the elements in the work. I had a crush on David in my youth - he was friends with my neighbor-but we were both involved with other people and he never found out. It was fun bringing it full circle on this show now that we are both happily married grownups. His wife, Jennifer Coates is an amazing artist as well and has a show up till April 16 at http://www.freightandvolume.com/ #psychotherapy #art

Clifford Owens is late so Dr. Lisa continues her discussion with station direct Tom Tenney about the effect working on the show has had on her life and they exchange tips on local thrift stores. Clifford Owens comes in and we hear about his childhood and about his directly and indirectly sexual,intimate performance video and photography work. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Owens

Lauren Hennessy is a transgender man but in saying that it is SO simplifying our conversation. Hennessy helped me understand her particular brand of transgenderness in a way that I could really understand that I never have before. She's also charming and fun and sexy in a dude way. She's married to Keith and the Girl podcaster, Chemda Hennessy and works as comic Judy Gold's assistant. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/23/transgender-man-medical-intervention_n_5869118.html

Marielina is a New York native, LaGuardia School graduate and accomplished actress. Likely you've seen her on TV. Marilena is the only child of a doctor (dad) and a trained nurse (mom) whose high level job involved running a hospital. The emotional machinations that Maralina has gone through with her parents, her mom in particular, (her dad died when she was 9) has likely contributed to her skills and success as an actress. The circumstances around her mom are emotionally confusing—I don't want to say more here as it would be out of context, but it is uplifting to hear how Marilena has negotiated her life to have a successful career and marriage.

More about Marilena HERE.