Neil Callander is an artist and an educator. Born in Louisville KY, Neil earned a BFA from Indiana University (2003) and an MFA from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University (2006). In 2005 he received a full fellowship to be a resident at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. After graduate school Neil worked as a painter for the artist Jeff Koons in his New York studio.

In 2007 Neil and family left New York City to pursue careers as artists and academics. This decision has offered a tour of the South with time spent in Louisville KY, Starkville MS, and Tuscaloosa AL. Neil and his wife Adrienne are currently professors of Art at the University of Arkansas and live in a household of makers, dogs, and sheep on three acres in Fayetteville AR.

Neil has exhibited widely including solo exhibitions at Goose Barnacle (Brooklyn NY), Studio Break Gallery (West Chicago IL), Bowling Green State University (OH), MANIFEST Gallery and Drawing Center (Cincinnati OH), Elon University (NC) and The Kentucky School of Art (Louisville). Group exhibitions include MANIFEST Gallery and Drawing Center (Cincinnati OH), The Huntsville Museum of Art (AL), The Mississippi Museum of Art (Jackson), The New Gallery of Modern Art (Charlotte NC), First Street Gallery (NYC), Washington Art Association (CT) and many others. He has presented on his work and practice at institutes of higher learning including Boston University, UMass Dartmouth, Arkansas State University, and the University of Mississippi. He is a member of ZEUXIS (an association of still life painters based in NYC), and SECAC whose conferences he regularly attends.

Recent creative endeavors include participation in Art Week (July 2022) at the fabled family home of painter Fairfield Porter on Great Spruce Head Island in Maine. Neil returned to the island in 2024 and will again in 2025 to facilitate a painting retreat he developed.

"Cinema is the king of story-telling. Photography is a much more efficient form of documentation. Music is superior at catharsis. Television and the Internet own propaganda. That leaves painting the domains of materiality and ambiguity. I pack a painting with cultural and personal references and work toward an image that is provocative yet conceptually flexible. As more is added the compositions grow thicker, tighter, and more refined over time – like the tangle of a garden in late summer. The act of viewing my paintings is an unlocking of these internal relationships. Experiencing dense paintings that slowly reveal their nature can help us contend with the pervasiveness of fast-talking, slick images. In a media-riddled world, painting is a stabilizing force."

LINKS:

neilcallander.com @neil_callander

Artist Shout out:

2024 Great Spruce Head Island Painting Retreat participants: Gabbe Grodin @gabbegrodin https://gabbegrodin.com Amanda Millis @amandacmillis http://www.amandacasemillis.com Elise Schweitzer @eliseschweitzer https://easchweitzer.com Aaron Thompson @paintlanguage http://www.aaronmichaelthompson.com Kimberly Trowbridge @Kimberly_trowbridge https://www.kimberlytrowbridge.com

I Like Your Work Links:

Thank you to our sponsors: Naomi Vladeck with Creativity Matters Coaching: Registration for The Fear Less Creator Method Intensive is NOW LIVE

This transformational experience for women artists and creators begins on February 24 runs through April 7 2025.

Register on https://www.creativitymatterscoaching.com/customtrainingsandtalks

Or email her at [email protected] to learn about her early-bird spots!

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Criticism is an inevitable part of being an artist—but not all feedback is worth your energy. In this episode, we dive into the different types of criticism artists receive and how to discern what's constructive, what's just opinion, and what should be ignored altogether.

You'll learn:

How to tell the difference between valuable feedback and unhelpful noise When to embrace critique and when to let it roll off your back Practical ways to respond to criticism (or not respond at all) How to build confidence in your artistic vision while remaining open to growth

Whether you're facing tough critiques from professors, gallery directors, collectors, or the dreaded comment section on social media, this episode will help you develop a strong filter—so you can take in what serves your work and let go of the rest.

I Like Your Work Links:

Thank you to our sponsors: Naomi Vladeck with Creativity Matters Coaching: Join the Artist Accelerator Create Magazine: https://www.createmagazine.co/call-for-art Deadline is February 1 https://www.ilikeyourworkpodcast.com/community

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Sachiko Akiyama received her MFA in sculpture at Boston University and continued her studies at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Akiyama lives and works in Portsmouth, NH. Akiyama has had solo exhibitions at Brattleboro Museum (Brattleboro, VT) and Tracey Morgan Gallery (Asheville, NC) and group exhibitions at Dunes Gallery (Portland, ME), Night Gallery (Los Angeles, CA), and Center for Maine Contemporary Art (Rockland, ME). Among numerous honors, Akiyama was awarded a Joan Mitchell Fellowship, an Artist Resource Trust Grant, and residencies at Millay Arts and Ucross. Akiyama's work is represented by Tracey Morgan Gallery.

LINKS:

sachikoakiyama.com

https://www.instagram.com/woodchip47/

Tree at my Window exhibition at Mrs. Gallery in NYC, NY January 18 through March 8

Artist Shout out:

Jennifer Caine: https://www.jlcaine.com/

Don Voisine: http://donvoisine.com/

I Like Your Work Links:

Sign up for the free class, Do It Afraid - Planning Your Creative 2025: https://theworksmembership.com/freeclass-register-q1/

Thank you to our sponsors: Naomi Vladeck with Creativity Matters Coaching: Join the Artist Accelerator Create Magazine: https://www.createmagazine.co/call-for-art Deadline is February 1 https://www.ilikeyourworkpodcast.com/community

Apply for a residency at Chautauqua Visual Arts:

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Leah Triplett is a curator and writer, currently serving as the Director of Exhibitions and Contemporary Curatorial Initiatives at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA). Her writing has appeared in ArtAsiaPacific, ArtNet News, Sculpture, Public Art Dialogue, Flash Art, Hyperallergic, The Brooklyn Rail, and others. As an independent curator, she has organized projects for Abigail Ogilvy Gallery, Boston University Art Galleries, Praise Shadows Art Gallery, and others. She taught critical writing in the painting and sculpture MFA programs at Boston University from 2021 to 2023. She is the 2024 Mary Ann Unger Estate Fellow, researching the artist's late 1970s and early 1980s works. "As a curator and writer, I consider the convergence of craft, performance, new media, materiality, and globalism, using Feminist theory as a framework for my exhibition-making and publishing projects."

LINKS:

www.instagram.com/leah_triplett

I Like Your Work Links:

Sign up for the free class, Do It Afraid - Planning Your Creative 2025: https://theworksmembership.com/freeclass-register-q1/

Thank you to our sponsors: Doubworks: https://www.doubworks.com/ Use code LIKE for 20% off of any order of Belgian Linen by the yard. NYC Crit Club Canopy Program: https://www.nyccritclub.com/ Applications for the Canopy Program close January 12 Create Magazine: https://www.createmagazine.co/call-for-art Deadline is February 1 https://www.ilikeyourworkpodcast.com/community

Apply for a residency at Chautauqua Visual Arts:

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Welcome to a brand-new year of creativity, inspiration, and fearless action! In this episode, I dive into the transformative power of "doing it afraid." Whether you're starting a new project, setting ambitious creative goals, or facing the ever-present inner critic, this episode will guide you toward embracing fear as a motivator rather than a barrier. I share actionable tips to help you kickstart your creative year with clarity, momentum, and confidence—even if fear is along for the ride.

Plus, don't miss the sneak peek into my upcoming free class, Do It Afraid - Planning Your Creative 2025, happening January 22! Learn how to plan meaningful, courageous goals for the year and create a personalized action plan to achieve them.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• How to reframe fear as a sign that your work matters.
• The power of small, consistent actions to build momentum.
• How to identify and break down creative goals that stretch and excite you.
• Details about Erika's free class on January 22 to help you plan your most creative year yet.

Links and Resources Mentioned:

• Sign up for the free class, Do It Afraid - Planning Your Creative 2025: https://theworksmembership.com/freeclass-register-q1/
• Follow Erika on Instagram for more creative inspiration: @ilikeyourworkpodcast and @erikabhess

Quick Action for Listeners: Write down one creative goal for 2025 and the smallest possible step you can take toward it. Share it with Erika on Instagram or during the class on January 22 for a chance to connect and celebrate your progress together! Follow and Subscribe: Never miss an episode of I Like Your Work! Follow the show and leave a review to support fellow creatives!

On this week's mini episode I'm talking about why it's so important to jump first into your creativity even when you're scared.

I Like Your Work Links: https://theworksmembership.com/freeclass-register-q1/ https://www.thisamericanlife.org/837/transcript Thank you to our sponsors: Doubworks: https://www.doubworks.com/ Use code LIKE for 20% off of any order of Belgian Linen by the yard. NYC Crit Club Canopy Program: https://www.nyccritclub.com/ Applications for the Canopy Program close January 12 https://www.ilikeyourworkpodcast.com/community Apply for a residency: https://www.chq.org/

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Hillary Waters Fayle is an artist and Assistant Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she directs the fiber/textile program. She has taught embroidery and textile workshops around the world and is an alumna of the Oak Spring Garden Foundation's Artist Residency Program. Her work is in the permanent collections of the AKG Museum in Buffalo, NY, Grace Farms Foundation in New Canaan, CT, the United States Embassy to Sri Lanka, Colombo, the Kalmthout Arboretum & Botanical Gardens in Belgium and is on view at the US Embassies in Algiers, Algeria and Dhaka, Bangladesh. Recent professional projects and publications include collaborations with Domestika, L'Occitane en Provance and the New York Botanical Garden.

"My work brings together materials and processes that express the union of humanity and the physical world, most often textile traditions in collaboration with botanical material. The deep historical and lived experience we have with cloth echoes our connection to the botany all around us-both are entwined with our evolution and survival, and they are now so completely integrated into our lives, that they become nearly invisible. Both flora and cloth represent powerful and symbolic connections to place, time, people and our past. Whether stitching, drawing, planting seeds, or harvesting, my hands echo the gestures made by thousands of hands over thousands of years and I feel connected to the lineage of people working with textiles, plants and the land. Stitching, like horticulture, can be functional-- a technical solution to join materials/a means of survival-- or, both can be done purely in service of the soul, lifting the spirit through beauty and wonder."

LINKS:

www.hillarywfayle.com @hillary.waters

I Like Your Work Links:

Thank you to our sponsors: Doubworks: https://www.doubworks.com/ Use code LIKE for 20% off of any order of Belgian Linen by the yard. NYC Crit Club Canopy Program: https://www.nyccritclub.com/ Applications for the Canopy Program close January 12 Create Magazine: https://www.createmagazine.co/call-for-art Deadline is February 1 https://www.ilikeyourworkpodcast.com/community

Apply for a residency at Chautauqua Visual Arts:

Chautauqua Visual Arts

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Watch our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ilikeyourworkpodcast

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In today's mini episode, I'm chatting about how to reconnect with what really matters in your studio as we approach the busy holiday season and how leaning into your creativity is sometimes the best thing to do.

I Like Your Work Links: Thank you to our sponsors: Doubworks: https://www.doubworks.com/ Use code LIKE for 20% off of any order of Belgian Linen by the yard. NYC Crit Club Canopy Program: https://www.nyccritclub.com/ Applications for the Canopy Program close January 12 https://www.ilikeyourworkpodcast.com/community Apply for a residency: https://www.chq.org/

Watch our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ilikeyourworkpodcast

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On this week's episode, I'm chatting with Hannah Cole of Sunlight Tax about the effect of Hurricane Helene as an artist living in Asheville, North Carolina. Hannah joins me to share how you can prepare yourself as an artist for disasters or emergencies. Hannah Cole is a tax expert who specializes in working with creative businesses and mission-driven solopreneurs. A long-time working artist herself, she's helped tens of thousands of self-employed people skill up with accessible tax and money education, through her Money Bootcamp program, speaking engagements from Florida to Alaska, and on the Sunlight podcast. She is the founder of Sunlight Tax.

LINKS:

Free class: Make Taxes Easier and Stash an Extra $130k in Your Savings

Money Bootcamp program: To make taxes easy and build your funds for the future

Use the code LIKE on any Sunlight Tax Class or Bootcamp to save $100

Sunlight Podcast Episodes:

• Tax Relief You Get for Disaster Losses
• Emergency Preparedness Checklist: My Takeaways for You
• Mutual Aid: All the Tax Info You Need

Follow Hannah on Youtube and Instagram: @sunlighttax

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Apply for a residency at Chautauqua Visual Arts:

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Margaret Jacobs, Akwesasne Mohawk, is an artist, educator and independent curator. A metalsmith who creates fabricated steel sculpture and powdercoated, one-of-a-kind jewelry, her work reflects on kinship to the natural world referencing cultural, historical and personal narratives while exploring the lines of contemporary craft and fine art objects.

Overall, her life has been greatly influenced by rural living and her interest in object making stems from her youth in Northern New York and a constant respect for creating, repairing, refinishing and re-making objects that were vital to survival. Her artistic process involves steel fabrication techniques that intermingle traditional blacksmithing tools and techniques--primarily forging and hot forming with a forge--with more present day metalworking fabrication processes. This is a unique process that makes the steel feel alive and organic.

Jacobs is a 2024 Teaching Artist Cohort and Rural and Traditional Fellowship recipient; a 2024 Native Arts Fellowship through the NMAI Smithsonian; a 2023 Independent Curators International (ICI) Curatorial Research Fellow and a 2019 recipient of the Artist in Business Leadership Award through the First Peoples Fund. She has participated in several artist residencies including at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Sante Fe, NM and Franconia Sculpture Park in Shafer, MN. Recent exhibitions include solo-shows at the Boise Art Museum in Idaho; Burlington City Arts in Vermont; and Ma's House in Southampton, NY.

Jacobs attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH where she graduated with high honors for her thesis work and received the Perspectives on Design (POD) award.

LINKS:

margaretjacobs.com @margaretofsteel Artist Shout Out: Society of Inclusive Blacksmiths, https://www.inclusiveblacksmiths.com/ @inclusive_blacksmiths

I Like Your Work Links:

Apply for a residency at Chautauqua Visual Arts:

Chautauqua Visual Arts

Apply for our Winter Exhibition: deadline is November 15

Join the Works Membership! https://theworksmembership.com/

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Submit Your Work

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Exhibitions

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