Kites and Strings

Yes, Kim-Joy Hewlett, of Great British Bake-Off fame, is the guest on this episode of Kites and Strings, and, well, she was a great joy to talk with. In this episode, we learned about how The Great British Bake-Off helped her build confidence and although only jumping full-force into baking a couple years prior to her 2018 Great British Bake-Off experience, we learned that she has been making and creating from when she was very young, starting by creating her own games.  We learn of the role her mother and father played in her creative origin's story and we learn about her long-time love board and card games.  She discusses the importance of space and she shares how she lets her emotions drive her bakes. In fact, we learn the details of what would be needed to create even a "sad biscuit"  (or cookie, for us Americans).

Kim Joy has published several baking books, her most recent being Christmas with Kim-Joy and she has even has a cooperative card game called Kim-Joy's Magic Bakery - you can find them almost anywhere that you'd but books, but check out her website, as it is there that you can get a signed copy. 

Kim_Joy's website: www.kimjoyskitchen.com
Twitter:  @kimjoyskitchen
Instagram: @KimJoy
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Kim-Joy
Linktree: https://www.kimjoyskitchen.com/linktree/

Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: @kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings
email: [email protected]

Kites and String's is produced and edited by Steve Ploum at Turning Stones Counseling, Inc.
Our theme music is by Harrison Amer, and all other original music by purple planet music at https://www.purple-planet.com

On the show today are two Mathies who overwhelmingly convince Catherine and Steve that Mathing is a creative endeavor, despite it's bad wrap in the creative world.  Jason Hartline is a  Computer Science Professor at Northwestern University, and works in the world of teaching applied mathematics and his path has taken him through Cornell University and the University of Washington, with stops at Microsoft and Harvard. He has a couple patents under his belt and too many publications and papers to mention in polite company. 

Jana Frank's work is equally impressive and  important, as she optimizes learning in another corner of the math universe. Jana is an owner of four Chicagoland Mathnasiums  and expert in the Mathnasium Philosophy,  that stands behind a very successful and effective math-only learning center for kids in grades Pre-K through 12.  Mathnasium's approach is all about helping kids really understand math by making it fun. This takes significant understanding and creativity.   Previously, Jana taught math in Jr high as well as 4th and 5th grade in the Chicago Public Schools. She has degrees in developmental psychology and a Masters in education. 

In this episode we learn that Jason and Jana are amazing and create in the world of circus and aerial arts. But today, rather than dig into their high-flying circus work, we explore creativity through the math lens. Both Catherine and Steve learn just how creative one can be in math with the help of two experts who you will soon learn, bring incredible passion to their work.

Additionally, both Catherine and Steve reveal new sides of themselves suggesting that grabbing their strings and flying their kites in the way similar to that of Jason and Jana is not completely out of the question.   

The Alan Turing article referenced in this episode - Computing Machinery and Intelligence

Jason Hartline -  https://sites.northwestern.edu/hartline/

Jana Frank - Mathnasium, Oak Park/River Forest, IL
                            https://www.facebook.com/MathnasiumOPR
                            Mathnasium, LaGrange, IL
                            Mathnasium, Mount Prospect, IL

Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: @kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings
email: [email protected]

Kites and String's is produced and edited by Steve Ploum at Turning Stones Counseling, Inc.
Our theme music is by Harrison Amer, and all other original music by purple planet music at https://www.purple-planet.com

Erin Davis is a award winning podcast producer, documentary filmmaker and instructor at Middlebury College in Vermont. She is also a host on the podcast, Playwork. 

She is the director of The Land , a documentary about the Welsh adventure playground of the same name. Since its premiere at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, The Land has been used widely by educators and play advocates, designers and parents as a tool to launch robust conversations about play, risk, freedom and children's culture.  Her radio work has aired on NPR’s All Things Considered, WNYC’s Studio 360, WBEZ’s Re:Sound and elsewhere

In this episode of Kites and Strings, Steve and Catherine have an engaging and informational chat with Erin about her teaching, what her students bring to the table, her approach to documentary filmmaking, her favorite game, and her immense love for play and the adventure playground philosophy. 

Use the New Day link below to access The Land and use the code shared at the end of the episode for a generous percentage off your purchase of this award winning film to launch your own discussions about parenting, play, learning and creativity.
https://www.newday.com/film/land
Erin's podcast.  https://www.playworkpodcast.com/

Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: @kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings
email: [email protected]

Kites and String's is produced and edited by Steve Ploum at Turning Stones Counseling, Inc.
Our theme music is by Harrison Amir, and all other original music by purple planet music at https://www.purple-planet.com

As Pittsburgh's "Lady Of The Blues," Miss Freddye keeps the blues alive in her hometown, and Steve and Catherine had a ball hosting her on Kites and Strings.  She's such a warm human and that is evident in so much of what she does.  Impressively,  Miss Freddye balances being not only a highly acclaimed and popular blues artist in and around Pittsburgh with being a nurse and a mom.

We have so much fun learning about how Miss Freddye got to where she is despite an early onstage failure. We learn  a great deal about how she approaches her craft as a musician and as an entertainer, but also as a nurse and a mom.   Her latest single, “Something To Believe In”  is from her forthcoming gospel album, scheduled for 2021 release, and in this episode you will get a sneak "peek" chance to hear that song, as well as a few others from any number of the bands that she leads. So settle in and enjoy as you listen to how Miss Freddye Stover grabs her string and flies her kite.
 
http://www.missfreddye.com
http://www.facebook.com/missfreddye
http://www.twitter.com/@missfreddye17
Instagram @missfreddyesblues

Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: @kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings
email: [email protected]

Today's episode features filmmaker, Graeme Watt, of Landing Lights Studio in Scotland.  Graeme Directed the first season of Weegies, a Scottish television series that was just picked up by and is available on Amazon Prime.  Weegies focuses on the lives of two young actors who are seeking their big break. In the meantime, they are figuring things out socially, financially, romantically and managing the burden of having to work a dead-end job at a call-center.   We learn of just how similar that very existence is to a life that Graeme himself once experienced.

Additionally, we learn about the role of the director, how Graeme motivates himself and how he has battled the procrastination beast; sometimes successfully and other times, not so much.  Graeme is honest about his process of working part-time as a filmmaker to having COVID create a situation where he can move to working as a filmmaker fulltime.  We also get a sense of Graeme's absurd sense of humor and how it manifests in his films.

Please sit back, grab some popcorn and get set to listen to how Graeme Watt grabs his string and flies his kite.  Action!
 
YouTube.com/landinglightstudios
Instagram -  @landinglightstudios
Facebook- @landinglightstudios

Weegies on Amazon

For Graeme's more individual projects, check out
8 Acre Films on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/8AcreFilms
Twitter - @8acrefilms
Instagram - @graemewatt8acrefilms

Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: @kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings
email: [email protected]

Today Catherine and Steve talk with Jason Hines, a puppet designer and engineer from Atlanta's Center for Puppetry Arts, a 40+ year-old institution showcasing puppet productions for children and adults, education programs and an extensive museum.  Jason has worked on many productions, several of which have been Halloween, spooky-themed puppet productions like the Ghastly Dreadfuls, as well as other projects that have appeared in TV and movies. We are thoroughly surprised and impressed by so much of what we learned about huge puppets, tiny, thumb-sized puppets, hybrid puppets and puppets married with computer graphic imagery (CGI).  One will be hard pressed to not gain an appreciation for and learn something new about puppets in this episode. 

Jason admits to having been a crafty, creative person forever, but be wasn't bit by puppets  until he was in college, where he discovered how fun the artform is.  He learned that he was a shy extrovert; meaning he was somebody that wanted to be at the center of attention while remaining under table and out of site.  He has his masters in puppetry arts and has worked in his field consistency for the last 25 years.  We learn from Jason about how he and the Center for Puppetry Arts collaborates with other organizations, including the film industry and opera companies and how he flies his own creative puppetry kite, in-part, through something that we think we all have to experience; puppet slams. 

The Center for Puppetry Arts - https://puppet.org/
The Moon and Me - BBC two seasons: https://g.co/kgs/SVq3Sn
Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/user/CtrPuppetryArts
FaceBook:  https://www.facebook.com/CenterforPuppetryArts?ref=ts
Twitter: @CtrPuppetryArts
Instagram:  @ctr_puppetry_arts

Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: @kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings
email: [email protected]

For a hot second this episode was gonna be called Nathan Sawaya: "From Lawyering to Legoing," and as much as that description of Nathan Sawaya and his life is accurate, it does not capture what we hope to convey in this episode.  Yes he was a NYC corporate lawyer and a quick study of his work will tell you "yes", Nathan uses Lego bricks to create large sculptural work, but one will also find that amazing, emotive and powerful works of fine art step immediately to the fore.  It will be quite easy to understand why he receives national acclaim and CNN referred to it as one of the top-ten must-see exhibitions globally.

In this episode we hear of Nathan's unique journey from art student, to corporate lawyer and back to artist.  He shares about how creativity was essential in helping him through the hardships of being in an unfulfilling job and career, but also how it helped him through mental illness (Depression). We learn too how more recently he is using his art to tackle issues dear to him like climate change and extinction through a collaboration between he and photographer, Dean West called PERNiCiEM.   Yes we learn about the the process and the particulars of working with Legos, but we learn of some angles to that work that are surprising and quite refreshing. Its a joy learning of the universality and approacability of Nathan's string grabbing and kite flying via the Lego brick.   

Web Presence for Nathan:  http://www.nathansawaya.com/biography.html
                                                              https://www.brickartist.com/
                                                              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeTY70VPAg0
 
Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: @kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings
email: [email protected]

Our theme music is by Harrison Amer, and all other original music by purple planet music at https://www.purple-planet.com.   Our logo-design is by Cole Monroe at Blue Stag Creative.

                                                             

Holy Cow, it's out 50th episode!  And it's a fun one.  Our guest in this episode is Adam Gottlieb, who was one of the the featured poets in the film, "Louder than a Bomb," which documented the Lounder than a Bomb poetry slam competition facilitated by Chicago Youth Authors in 2009.  In that amazing documentary, Adam was called a "rock star" while competing as a then 17 year-old, and in this episode we hear a recording from that competition featuring his piece called "Poet Breath Now." We also learn that he has done quite a bit since then.  After completing college, he has shared his love for poetry and spoken word with middle and high schoolers throughout Chicagoland and the midwest, while taking up the mantle of revolutionary in word and deed.  Simply Googling his name,  one will find that he identifies as a poet/emcee, musician, and teaching-artist from Chicago, but that he pushes and raises awareness on so many crucial issues, such as racism, homelessness, clean water in Flint MI, and peace everywhere.  Poetry is his weapon of choice, and he builds off that as a songwriter for his band Adam Gottlieb and Onelove.  In this episode we hear an impassioned, articulate champion for poetry, spoken work and helping others find their path through words.  It is with great pleasure that we introduce you to the string grabbing and kite flying of Adam Gottlieb.

Adam's Twitter handle - @adamgodlove
Adam's Instagram - @adampgottlieb
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/adam.gottlieb.391
Adam on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9YnV5qWOuav03MzjqsXqdw
Adam Gottlieb and Onelove on Soundcloud  https://soundcloud.com/adam-gottlieb-1

and referenced in this episode - Pedagogy of the Oppressed, text written by Paulo Freire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedagogy_of_the_Oppressed
Young Chicago Authors - https://youngchicagoauthors.org/
Lounder than a Bomb - film - https://www.louderthanabombfilm.com/

Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: @kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings
email: [email protected]

Our theme music is by Harrison Amir, and all other original music by purple planet music at https://www.purple-planet.com.   Our logo-design is by Cole Monroe at Blue Stag Creative.

Kites and String's is produced and edited by Steve Ploum at Turning Stones Counseling, Inc.

This episode, as much as any Kites and Strings episodes to date, looks at the process of creating creatives.  Denise Clyne is a veteran art teacher who midway through her 31-year (and counting) career, recognized that the curriculum she was using was off-base.  It focused on trying to convince the powers that be that there should be a place for art in the schools because it could cozy up to other more stayed subjects.  As if nervously screaming "hey every body, look at me in the artroom, we also do math and history and social studies and all sorts of stuff, can we be part of your school too."  Denise was good at that but realized that that approach failed at providing authentic experiences for her students and it certainly didn't  appreciate and celebrate the creative energy that they brought into the room. She saw that although they maybe could paint a picture that looked like an old master's, it was ultimately failing them in the task of helping them become creative, self-assured adults.  As such, she jumped whole-heartedly into the Teaching Artistic Behaviors curriculum. 

In this episode, Denise shares her own story of playing in the woods and fields behind her childhood suburban home, to getting goose bumbs in art museums, to her quick, yet strategic decision to head to Texas to teach art, but she also shares her plan to take some pretty cool ideas into her retirement.  All with a mix of live music and a bit of pole dancing for green jello.  We hope you enjoy this episode where we have a great time learning about how Denise Clyne grabs that string and flies her kite. 


For more information in  Teaching For Artistic Behavior
https://teachingforartisticbehavior.org/

Also referenced in this episode, The Land Adventure Playgrounds
https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/04/03/395797459/the-value-of-wild-risky-play-fire-mud-hammers-and-nails

Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: @kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings

Our theme music is by Harrison Amir, and all other original music by purple planet music at https://www.purple-planet.com.   Our logo-design is by Cole Monroe at Blue Stag Creative.

Kites and String's is produced and edited by Steve Ploum at Turning Stones Counseling, Inc.

This seemed like a no-brainer for Kites and Strings, bringing on an actual kite designer.  So what took us so long to figure this out?   At any rate, we are happy that we did because we learned so much about kite design from what many would consider the foremost authority on the topic, Glenn Davison, who has nine books published on the topic, has been part of at least two world-record kite teams, has lectured and taught around the globe and who did more than his share of teaching Catherine and Steve that there is so much more creativity at play that just design in the world of kites.  Who'd have thunk that choreography, creating a composition in the sky, sound, lights and a host of other elements contribute to the artistry of kiting.  We learned that kites can be made out of just about anything and that they can be flown anywhere, including school classrooms and hurricanes.  We can almost promise listeners will learn something about kites in this episode.

Glenn's website -  http://www.kitingusa.com/

Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: @kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings

Kites and String's is produced and edited by Steve Ploum at Turning Stones Counseling, Inc.
Our theme music is by Harrison Amir, and all other original music by purple planet music at https://www.purple-planet.com