I Art Asheville

     On this episode of I art Asheville we spoke with brewer, distiller and label designer, Zak Rutherford. This was a cool one for me for many reasons, First, Zak is one of the very first people I met here in Asheville at my brewery job, so it was very cool recalling the history of how we met and how our stories intertwine. It Seems so long ago now, nearly 5 years, but what a path Zak has weaved for himself in the world of craft beer and spirits here in Asheville, a town that is no stranger to those industries as it has been voted for years consecutively as “Beer City USA”.  As one who has been inundated, excited and enamored with the craft beer scene for many years now, even prior to living here, I jumped at the prospect to feature Zak and talk about what has done as it is a perfect fit for the show: a blend of the arts and a very Asheville specific approach to them. After working together for a year or so, Zak decided he wanted to formally approach the world of Craft that we enjoyed discussing so much by enrolling in the well-respected school of fermentation at the local ABtech. This is a 2-year program which covers all aspects of commercial brewing, distilling and fermentation, with some really cool courses mixed into the program, including one semester of marketing and design; a class that would change the course of his overall approach to his place n the industry. Being curious in photoshop and editing naturally growing up, Zak was rather comfortable and embraced the idea of designing for his newfound career, and quickly upon his first hiring at HnH distillery here in Asheville, found himself in positions that he would have never imagined himself in the industry, the commercial side. And it all stemmed from that one design class, where after being pleased with one of his projects, he figured, hey, might as well send this out to the brewer y I designed it for and see what they think… that leap of faith and confidence in his work, was all he needed to start his transitions into the world of label making and design for the craft beer world. Now you can see his work all around town, at the many retailers who sell these fine liquids, on well-known Asheville brands such as Pisgah Brewing, Greenman Brewing, and Urban Orchard cider. So freakin cool! There’s a good chance you’ve seen one of his designs if you’ve been out hunting for craft here in town. We got to geek out a little bit on design elements, printing styles, and the legalese regarding designing for an alcohol label, which can be a bit challenging on your artistic vision. Zak and I got to talk about some of our favorite Asheville staples, geek out on some old music that brought us together, and just talk generally about being creative and that the only thing stopping anyone from their dreams of supporting their creative ventures, is just doing it. What a perfect Asheville oriented episode! I hope y'all enjoy it!

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Zak Rutherford

https://www.instagram.com/zak_rutherford/

Intro music by: Connor Golden

https://www.instagram.com/con.golden/

https://soundcloud.com/connorjgolden

Sponsored by: RAD Printworks

https://www.instagram.com/radprintworks/

Hosted and created by: BRAXTON

https://www.instagram.com/braxtonart/

https://www.instagram.com/i_art_asheville/

Also, check out my radio show; would love to have you come find some new music you like!

https://soundcloud.com/braxtonart

I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out and let me know what you think of the show!

inquiries: [email protected]

On this episode of I art Asheville, we spoke with visionary Artist extraordinaire Juliana Garces! Juliana has a very distinct style that sits firmly rooted in the world of visionary and psychedelic art and it was a pleasure to explore these influences with her in what was really our first time sitting for an extended conversation, and it was Awesome. Fresh off the election results of many States decriminalizing drugs, this was a perfect opportunity for us to explore the concept of where Psychedelic culture now sits in the minds of Americans and how the sentiment of these once banned substances could now potentially be embraced for the many therapeutic values touted by the many peer reviewed studies coming to light. As the shroud and mystery is beginning to lift on this once mysterious and taboo world, Juliana has embraced her mission of being an advocate for the plant medicines that have helped her realize her place in the world and her creative process and the potential for many to be healed in a similar way. I’m so glad we got this recording in when we did because, serendipitously, Juliana released a brand-new art project shed been working on this same day, a poster project that reads loud and clear “Legalize Psychedelics”. She’s released this project for fair use, which means anyone who wants to support this movement can print these posters and place them wherever their heart desires! I’ve got to say the Imagery and overall composition of the piece is Amazing, and you’ve definitely got to go check that out on her Social Media pages! We spent a good portion of the beginning of the podcast discussing the benefits and safe ways in which legalization could help create a road map to healthy therapy. Our conversations weaved in and around so many amazing topics in this vein; such as, does where you have a vision experience have an effect on the overall experience; epigenetics and the role of DNA and RNA and the memory that it may have, the concept of sovereign mental exploration, the idea of pure consciousness and how one may try and translate that into art, in addition to many more insightful discussions where we try to describe in so many words, the ONE. I had so much fun chatting with Juliana, I really hope you all enjoy this one!

Really quick I’d like to give a quick disclaimer to the show, throughout our discussions, it was emphasized that a safe and responsible approach to any kind of personal exploration should be of the utmost importance. If you would like more resources on therapeutic psychoactive studies, their efficacy, and the amazing accounts of individuals who have had life altering experiences with some of the many therapeutic psychoactive compounds, I will highly recommend going to the MAPS website, That is the Multi-Disciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies, an FDA approved and accredited source and fully legal organization spearheading the movement and exploring the benefits of these medicinal compounds and psychedelic research and education. You can find them at MAPs.org. Now, let’s get into it!

Please Like, Subscribe, and Follow!

Juliana Garces

https://www.instagram.com/julianagarcesart/

https://www.julianagarcesart.com

Educate yourself on the topic:

https://maps.org/

Intro music by: Connor Golden

https://www.instagram.com/con.golden/

https://soundcloud.com/connorjgolden

Sponsored by: RAD Printworks

https://www.instagram.com/radprintworks/

Hosted and created by: BRAXTON

https://www.instagram.com/braxtonart/

https://www.instagram.com/i_art_asheville/

Also, check out my radio show; would love to have you come find some new music you like!

https://soundcloud.com/braxtonart

I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out and let me know what you think of the show!

inquiries: [email protected]

On this Episode of “I Art Asheville” we spoke with Artist, writer, musician, thespian and creatrix of this divine plane, Amelia Doll! Wish I could take credit for that fancy intro, but of course, these are the words of Amelia herself.  What a great chat this was, this is the kind of chat that “I art Asheville” was made for; and we got to play Some of Amelia’s music which was lovely and a super extra bonus! So where to begin; Let’s see; Our conversation started discussing the idea of Artificial Intelligence and whether or not it will have the ability to actually create, a very thought-provoking idea I must say. This conversation segwayed nicely into one of the themes of this episode, one that I didn’t think would happen so soon in this project, and that is the theme of Faeries!! For the introduction to this podcast, I stated Faeries among the many weird and esoteric things that I love to discuss, and I never thought I’d get the chance to have a detailed discussion about this mystical realm! We discussed Amelia’s affinity for the fae realm, and we recalled many older folklores about the magick that’s been inclined to happen around them and their cultural relevance in Nordic and Celtic traditions, as well as where the worlds of Faeries and Ufos meet. We also spoke about the differences between Faerie realm and the practice of Witchcraft and where and how those two worlds interact. After that we got to take a deep dive into the world of divination and Archetypes, an absolutely fantastic conversation that weaved in Quantum Physics and discussed the idea of the observer and its effects on the messages that may come through from the divine. Super Interesting! And then this Amazing conversation culminated with Amelia’s recount of her Near-Death Experience, and holy moly what an incredible recount of such a pivotal moment in her life. So glad she could share this amazing story with us, it is truly moving, and you’ve got to hear for yourself! Throw in some more heady chats about sacred geometry, Metatron’s reversal, Fibonacci vs. Pi and a great talk about Truth vs. Belief, something near and dear to my heart, and you’ve got yourself an Episode of “I Art Asheville”. Thank you so much for checking it out! I hope you enjoy!

Please Like, Subscribe and Follow!

Amelia Doll

https://www.instagram.com/dollgurl7/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I18EwxxxHJI&feature=youtu.be

Intro music by: Connor Golden

https://www.instagram.com/con.golden/

https://soundcloud.com/connorjgolden

Sponsored by: RAD Printworks

https://www.instagram.com/radprintworks/

Hosted and created by: BRAXTON

https://www.instagram.com/braxtonart/

https://www.instagram.com/i_art_asheville/

Also, check out my radio show; would love to have you come find some new music you like!

https://soundcloud.com/braxton-withexpression

I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out and let me know what you think of the show!

inquiries: [email protected]

On this Episode of I art Asheville, we had the pleasure of chatting with amazing musician and local producer Connor Golden! Connor is the one who created our intro music for the show which hopefully you’ve heard by now, so I jumped at the prospect to have e him come chat! There was a lot of firsts in this episode including this being our first Musician feature where we premiered some of Connor’s brand new music. It was an awesome episode in so many ways! Connor graduated from the Frost school of music at the University of Miami, a prestigious program, arguably one of the best music schools in the country, and man does it show in his style and production value. Connor and I have been friends for close to a year now since he moved up here and there are so many cool things that led us to our current friendship and lend to his amazing story of how he got here to Asheville, man what a ride! You’ve really got to listen to this whole thing because it is a wild and amazing story! Our discussion started with us chatting about his wizardry on a fairly obscure instrument called the Linnstrument: basically, an amazing piece of technology that allows musicians to play with octaves in a digital manner. Hopefully that helps paint the picture a little bit.  Having seen this thing and witnessing him play it in person, you have just got to go check out what it is and how he plays it over o his Instagram! It’s so cool! Now, this particular instrument coupled with an absolutely tragic incident where Connor became an amputee, has played a pivotal role in Connor’s journey here, and without giving away too much of the story, hearing the sequence of events and hearing Connor’s optimism about the scenario kept me on the edge of my seat for the whole show! Such an amazing story! And no surprise that his musicianship and skillset in the industry has landed him with a job at the world-renowned Moog factory here in Asheville. So of course, we chatted about that. And Connor and I have a really cool story of how we met, and it was really cool to relive that as well. This one is packed with Synchronistic magic and the funkiest of tunes! I really hope you all enjoy this one! Thank you so much for listening!

Please Like, Subscribe and Follow!

Connor Golden:

Intro music by: Connor Golden

https://www.instagram.com/connor_golden5/

https://soundcloud.com/connorjgolden

Sponsored by: RAD Printworks

https://www.instagram.com/radprintworks/

Hosted and created by: BRAXTON

https://www.instagram.com/braxtonart/

https://www.instagram.com/i_art_asheville/

Also, check out my radio show; would love to have you come find some new music you like!

https://soundcloud.com/braxton-withexpression

I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out and let me know what you think of the show!

inquiries: [email protected]

      On this episode of “I Art Asheville” we spoke with illustration wizard Fian Arroyo! I’ve been a fan of FIan’s work for some time now as his highly illustrative and fantasy work caught my eye quite starkly while perusing the Asheville gallery scene when I first moved to the area. It was so cool getting to meet and chat with him! We got to hear Fian's story of how he got here to Asheville by way of Texas, through Miami. It was real fun hearing his accounts of his experience in those Areas and led to a really interesting story about Julio Iglesias; I’ll say no more, haha. We also spoke about the Arts scene in Miami and Wynwood, and how it has changed so much since the time he lived and skated in the area. Fian’s got his hands in so many different projects all the time and it was cool to get a glimpse into the kind of things he keeps busy with, everything from the occasional corporate business Holiday postcard commission, to working with some of his favorite skaters and skate companies, to learning how to navigate the Pop culture phenomenon exploding around the world, and that is if course Comic Con type conventions that take place throughout the country. It was really neat hearing how he became involved in that circuit; I’ll give you a hint, “He just Applied…”. Our local story highlighted our local Buncombe County health syringe exchange and how it is beginning to operate again after being suspended for some time, an action that we both had some interesting insights to. And of course, in true Asheville form, we got to speak with Fian about his involvement with local brewery Eluvium and what he’s been up to with them! This was such a great time, and I can’t wait to sit down and have a beer and chat with Fan again!

Please Like, Subscribe and Follow!

Fian Arroyo:

https://fian.com 

https://www.instagram.com/fian_arroyo/

Intro music by: Connor Golden

https://www.instagram.com/con.golden/

https://soundcloud.com/connorjgolden

Sponsored by: RAD Printworks

https://www.instagram.com/radprintworks/

Hosted and created by: BRAXTON

https://www.instagram.com/braxtonart/

https://www.instagram.com/i_art_asheville/

Also, check out my radio show; would love to have you come find some new music you like!

https://soundcloud.com/braxton-withexpression

I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out and let me know what you think of the show!

inquiries: [email protected]

     On this episode of I art Asheville, we spoke with long time art friend and local painter Dillon Endico! Dillon and I go back a little ways and it was fun reminiscing about our past. The story of how we met starts at the beautiful Suwannee music park down in north Florida, where we were both doing live painting. What I didn’t know at the time was that our first meeting was actually Dillon’s first experience as a live painter and this event had proved to be a pivotal moment in his own art journey. We spoke about our early childhood influences in art which brought up a cool conversation about street art and graffiti and how influential it can be for children who are naturally interested in the arts but don’t necessarily have artistically inclined families.

 We had a real fun time imagining the future of what art may look like with all the influences that the younger generation has, including all the street art influences and the growing available access to digital technologies such as procreate and photoshop amongst others.

Dillon’s work is very dynamic and weaves amazing natural imagery with a really thoughtful palette. We got to chat about what goes into his process and also his amazing side project Medicine Heart murals; a power house trio of Muralists here in Asheville who have created some stunning imagery at festivals across the country. They use the local flora and fauna of whatever area they are in and weave in imagery indigenous cultures that trace their heritage to their respective areas into their paintings. We chatted about Dylans upbringing in the Fl Keys and his journey up to Asheville by way of Taos. We chatted about the uniqueness of Taos and some fun stories about the intriguing earthship community that is over in the area. We spoke about acknowledging your dark side and working through it with art as well. All in all, I thouroughly enjoyed this conversation and it was so great to chat with Dillon,  and Im so happy to have his presence here in this amazing creative community! Hope yall enjoy it!

Please Like, Subscribe and Follow!

Dillon Endico

https://www.instagram.com/dillon_endico/

https://www.instagram.com/medicineheartmurals/

Intro music by: Connor Golden

https://www.instagram.com/con.golden/

https://soundcloud.com/connorjgolden

Sponsored by: RAD Printworks

https://www.instagram.com/radprintworks/

Hosted and created by: BRAXTON

https://www.instagram.com/braxtonart/

https://www.instagram.com/i_art_asheville/

Also, check out my radio show; would love to have you come find some new music you like!

https://soundcloud.com/braxton-withexpression

I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out and let me know what you think of the show!

inquiries: [email protected]

On this episode of “I Art Asheville” we spoke with visionary artist Justin Struble! I love episodes like these where we get to document our first conversation in audio format! We started talking about our musical influences and backgrounds and how certain songs or artist can allow your musical styles to transition into something new that you may not have seen yourself liking before. It’s so interesting hearing each person’s musical journey! Our local story of the day discussed how certain groups are petitioning to have the Vance monument taken down; a giant stone obelisk in the center of downtown named after a bigoted North Carolina politician from the 1800’s. This led us into a more general discussion of obelisks and the role they play in marking ley lines; a practice that so many ancient cultures seemed to be tapped into. We spoke about life in a temperate rainforest and how precipitation may increase our electromagnetic connection to each other and overall! This segwayed us beautifully into a discussion about the electric universe theory and how it strongly supports the concept of Astrology. It was so cool getting to talk hear Justin’s influences and hearing about the creative process for his very powerful imagery. This was so much fun and I can’t wait to chat with him again. I hope yall enjoy it!

Please Like, Subscribe, and Follow!

Justin Struble:

https://strublejustin.wixsite.com/jstrubleart

https://www.instagram.com/j_struble_art_/

Intro music by: Connor Golden

https://www.instagram.com/con.golden/

https://soundcloud.com/connorjgolden

Sponsored by: RAD Printworks

 https://www.instagram.com/radprintworks/

Hosted and created by: BRAXTON

https://www.instagram.com/braxtonart/

https://www.instagram.com/i_art_asheville/

 Also, check out my radio show; would love to have you come find some new music you like!

https://soundcloud.com/braxton-withexpression

I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out and let me know what you think of the show!

 inquiries: [email protected]

    On this episode of I art Asheville, we spoke with visual artist, illustrator and all around storyteller, Julie Armbruster! This is another one of those cases where I’ve seen Julie’s iconic work all around Asheville for years, so it was such a pleasure to have her come speak with me about her life and her process. Julie has been practicing her current style of art for over 15 years now after moving to Asheville with a masters degree in Fine Art at NYU, which I thought was very interesting considering the overall aesthetic of her highly illustrative style. We discussed her studies and influences of this highly renowned art program and the summers she spent abroad in Italy studying fine art masters. This led us into an interesting discussion about the influence of religion on art and some of the crazy things she witnessed while in this program regarding the Catholic tradition of Sainthood. This brought up some thought-provoking comparisons to some other cultures around the world that have similar traditions and stories. We spoke about what being a parent is like for practicing artists, a seemingly unique journey to all those brave enough to enter it. And then of course we spoke a ton about Julie’s art and her process, and we got an amazing glimpse into the kind of character detail and development Julie lends to in her paintings. Throw in talks about a hip-hop making husband, vandalism’s place in expressive arts, and a preacher that threw a bag of kittens into a lake, and well, I think that’s what you’d call an episode of I art Asheville! Hope you enjoy this one! Thanks for listening!

Please Like, Subscribe, and Follow!

Julie Armbruster:

https://www.juliearmbruster.com/

https://www.instagram.com/julie_armbruster_art/

Intro music by: Connor Golden

https://www.instagram.com/con.golden/

https://soundcloud.com/connorjgolden

Sponsored by: RAD Printworks

https://www.instagram.com/radprintworks/

Hosted and created by: BRAXTON

https://www.instagram.com/braxtonart/

https://www.instagram.com/i_art_asheville/

Also, check out my radio show; would love to have you come find some new music you like!

https://soundcloud.com/braxton-withexpression

I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out and let me know what you think of the show!

inquiries: [email protected]

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of "I Art Asheville"! On this episode, we spoke with visual artist and otherworldly dreamweaver Brett Warniers! We jumped right into some juicy topics on this one. Brett started our talk describing one of his latest digital paintings titled "Watchers from Dreamland" inspired by an entity that Brett has encountered multpile times in the dream space and how this imagery has connections to the Hopi indigenous tribe. We discussed his inspiration for a lot of his work and how he conceives a lot of his imagery through the intrigue of the UFO phenomenon, which led us into a really great talk about Dr. Steven Greer, James Gilliland and those individuals who seem to have consistent "encounters of the fifth kind". We learned about a life long project that Brett has wanted to see come to fruition for some time now; an animated series titled "Quantum Soup" and what his long term vision for that project is and what he's doing to make it happen. Sprinkle in a little chat about fungi, cordycep mushrooms, and nootropics, and you've got yourself an episode of "I art Asheville" Thank you so much for listening! 

Please Like, Subscribe and follow!

Brett Warniers;

http://brettwarniers.com 

https://www.instagram.com/brettwarniers_art/

Intro music by: Connor Golden

https://www.instagram.com/con.golden/

https://soundcloud.com/connorjgolden

Sponsored by: RAD Printworks

https://www.instagram.com/radprintworks/

Hosted and created by: BRAXTON

https://www.instagram.com/braxtonart/

https://www.instagram.com/i_art_asheville/

Also, check out my radio show; would love to have you come find some new music you like!

https://soundcloud.com/braxton-withexpression

I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out and let me know what you think of the show!

inquiries: [email protected]

On this episode of "I Art Asheville", we spoke with my friend Gavin Gerundo! Gavin's paintings are mesmerizing and it was so fun exploring his process! We started our discussion about Guy Fawkes and mask making, how demonstrations hit close to home here in Asheville, and how the media needs to be one of the most accountable facets of the current social climate. We spent some time talking about his journey into becoming a live painter and the amazing puns he come up with for his titles. And then it got wild when we chatted about how art could possibly foretell the future and the synchromysticism movement, and then of course Gavin's experience in the hemp and CBD industry and the future of cannnabis in North Carolina. This was a blast! Thank you so much for listening!

Please Like, Subscribe, & Follow:

https://www.instagram.com/gavinger_/

https://www.gavinger.com

Intro music by: Connor Golden

https://www.instagram.com/con.golden/

https://soundcloud.com/connorjgolden

Sponsored by: RAD Printworks

https://www.instagram.com/radprintworks/

Hosted and created by: BRAXTON

https://www.instagram.com/braxtonart/

https://www.instagram.com/i_art_asheville/

Also, check out my radio show; would love to have you come find some new music you like!

https://soundcloud.com/braxton-withexpression

I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out and let me know what you think of the show!

inquiries: [email protected]