The ADHD Artist Podcast

Check out this interview with Brandon Tessers, where I pick his brain about executive functioning, creativity, getting an ADHD diagnosis, and lots more!

Brandon's bio:

Brandon Tessers (he/him) is a licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC), a trained professional actor, an amateur singer/songwriter, a former schoolteacher and tutor, and an enthusiastic if sometimes ill-prepared husband and father.
He’s been helping children and adults with their executive functioning for over a decade, and has been doing so as a licensed therapist since 2016. He’s always been focused on working with people who exist outside the norm in one way or another and is particularly focused on helping people who consider themselves neurodivergent and/or creative.
Among other things, Brandon is a playwright and the DM for his longtime D&D group.  He’s also a national presenter and has conducted professional development for therapists and teachers.  He is passionate about his work–so much so that his friends and family sometimes wish he would stop talking about how everyone’s brain works. He couldn’t stop thinking about how to help people gain self-awareness and make changes in their lives if he tried.

Cody Vrosh is an artist and illustrator based in California. He works in a graphic watercolor style, fusing science fiction elements with bold female characters and playful creatures to create unique speculative illustrations. He is the creator of Coffee Creatures, Teeth Creatures, and Little Satellites, and the co-founder of Binary Winter Press, an independent book and screen printing press. 

Check out his work at binarywinter.com and follow him on social media: @cody-vrosh on IG, Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook

Check out episode 8 with Stacey Machelle, the creator and star of the new Youtube show "ADHD Is The New Black"! We talk about her show, her past career of newscasting, writing, laughter, representation, shame, and lots more.

A  graduate  of  The  Second  City,  Stacey  Machelle  is  a  sketch writer/performer,  producer  and  comedian  and  was  a  finalist  in  the Disney/ABC  Writing  Program.   In  her  past  professional  life  she  worked  as  a  professional journalist  for Scripps  Howard  News  Service  and  as  an  on-air  news anchor for  CBS and  later  on  air  talent  and  writer  for  TMZ. Stacey  currently  works  as  an  audience  warmup  comic  on  various  talk and  game shows in  Los Angeles. She is currently the warm up comic for A Little Late with Lilly Singh. Her  video “pitch”  for  The Halftime Show placed  among the top  three finalists  in  the  People’s  Choice  Awards “Spinoff  Contest.”  The  top  three  finalists  were  chosen  by  the creative  board  of  the  New  York  Television  Festival  and  the  internet voting community.

Anna is a young and talented ceramics artist who just graduated from art school (DURING A PANDEMIC!). In this episode, we discuss Anna’s experiences with ADHD and the side effects of medication (the choice between one’s physical health and the ability to focus). We chat about managing social anxiety, what it feels like to work with clay, and many other fun things! Check it out!

Bio:
Anna Wagner was born in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and has lived most of her life in Wichita, Kansas. In
2014, she moved to Arkansas to receive her Associates of General Studies at Arkansas State University - Beebe.
From 2015 - 2020, she attended UCA and graduated with a BFA in emphasis in Ceramics. In undergrad, Anna
received Internship Scholarships for artist Jason Briggs (2020) and the Clay Art Center (2019). Other scholarships
include a one-week class scholarship for Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts (2019), UCA Performance
Scholarship (2018-2019), Wingate Foundation Scholarship (2018-2019), and Arkansas Academic Challenge
Scholarship (2015-2019). The artist was awarded The Student of the Year (Spring 2020), Senior Show Exhibition
Honors (Fall 2019), and Honorable Mention for the Annual Student Competitive (Spring 2019). She was
interviewed for UCA Artist Spotlight on ESPN (2019) and was interviewed for the UCA Vortex Podcast (2019).
Throughout academia, Anna was an active member of four of UCA’s fine art clubs: Vice President in Clay Club
(2018-2020); Sculpture Club (2017-2018); and BFA Critique Club (2018-2019). She and her peers brought multiple
arts and professional development opportunities at UCA, such as: reaching out to artists and bringing community
events like fundraisers, field trips, ceramic sales, pop-up shows, and public outreach. Anna volunteered and demoed
for art events around Conway such as the Empathy Project (2019), Eco Arts Fest (2018), and Female Foundry iron
pour (2018). She assisted and taught clay building and pottery throwing for her internship at the Clay Art Center in
NY (2019), Downtown Conway (2019), Clay Club’s Potluck (2018), and has taught a basic figurative drawing
session for her Study Abroad group in Spain (2018). She has also assisted artists, such as interning Jason Briggs
(2020), Adam Chau at the Clay Art Center gallery (2019), visiting artist Peter Pincus (2018), and visiting artist Ben
Butler (2017).

Artist Statement:
My body of work stems from the perspective of someone dealing with ADHD and draws
attention to the effects of taking Adderall mentally, socially, and physically. Since I began
discussing my experiences a few years ago, I have gathered inspiration from those who have
dealt with similar disabilities and medication side effects. With that I began illustrating these
narratives through portraiture and some text. The functional ceramic shapes signify my
personal struggles with medications that restrained my appetite. The looseness of the forms
juxtaposes against the detailed renderings of the portraits; a constant battle between who I
truly am verses who I wish to be. The individuals in my work are drained of color yet see and
experience world of gaiety and distractions.
Since childhood I have enjoyed the loud and vivid cartoons from comic books and television
shows. These vibrant hues find their way to the vessel forms. The translation results in bright,
colorful objects that seem to vibrate and hum with potential energy. Aiding in this perceived
movement, I created forms from pieced together shapes sometimes making no sense as
separate parts but finding their place as supports, feet, lids, or additions. This
discombobulation can be said as well for anyone with invisible mental disabilities, finding
their place and support in a community recognizing the struggles of those dealing with it.
If the vessels are used in a utilitarian sense, the imagery or discussion with these portraits
would be disrupted. Therefore, the function of these vessels is not the primary reason they are
vessels, but rather used as an esthetic, similar to the repeated “?!” speech bubble referencing
confusion. All to discuss the absence of a desire for food while taking Adderall. Some of the
portraits chosen are of those who have dealt with learning disabilities and felt ‘othered’ and
outcasted in some way. The work is physically structured and presented as portraits of those
who need a voice, filling the empty forms with stories, each one echoing my own.

Check out this interview with Dominic Velando, where we chat about his ADHD drawings, navigating a late ADHD diagnosis, how to chill the f*** out, his goals and dreams, and much more!

More about Dominic:

"Hyperfocus Dopamine":  webcomics/cartoons depicting a hulking man child with ADHD. This is the kind of thing Tampa FL artist Dominic Velando is doing with his life. He is also directing an ADHD beginner series produced by ADDA(add.org) and scheduled for release in late 2020. Follow him on Instagram: @hyperfocusdopamine

Join me in a short BONUS solo episode where I discuss some things that have come up in conversation since I launched this podcast. This includes my advice on where to start if you think you have ADHD, thoughts on self-discovery and awareness (regardless of whether or not you have ADHD or are an artist), and also some awesome resources. 

https://howtoadhd.com/

https://www.additudemag.com/

https://chadd.org/

https://www.instagram.com/theadhdgoodlife/

Join us as Graham and I chat about being a dad, childhood trauma, painting vs acting, what it's like being on set, connecting with other ADHD artists, and more!

Graham Sibley is an Emmy-nominated actor, writer, and painter born to a ballerina and an architect. He has premiered multiple films at The Sundance Film Festival as a writer and actor, most recently Blush directed by Debra Eisenstadt. He has also worked with Oscar-winning directors Clint Eastwood and Bill Guttentag and guest starred on many television series including Showtime’s On Being a God in Central Florida and USA’s Dirty John: Betty. Sibley is a co-founder of IAMA Theater Company for which he sits on the Board of Directors. His artwork has been shown in galleries in Los Angeles, including a solo show at the Soho House in West Hollywood. Sibley lives in Los Angeles with his wife, screenwriter Marilyn Fu, and their twin boys, Lyon and K.P.

Check out his website here:

https://www.grahamsibley.com/

Roxanne Jarrett is a multilingual singer and coach who helps motivated creatives finish their passion projects.   She also facilitates workshops to unleash creative expression and deepen social connections.  Roxanne is living proof of the healing power of creativity: she practiced multiple art disciplines to recover from PTSD and no longer meets the criteria for diagnosis.   Her gutsy street performance of “It’s A Man’s World” became a rallying cry after the 2016 election, and she served as Arts Organizer for the Women’s March on Washington.

Websites:

www.roxannejarrett.com

www.swellhead.com

Singer reel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoLlHquZg3c

Facebook: www.facebook.com/RoxanneOnTheRox

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OpenMicOnTheRox/

Instagram: @Roxanne Jarrett

Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roxannejarrett/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/roxannejarrett

Quotes from Roxanne Jarrett in this episode:

"I sing so I can breathe."

"Face the facts. There are parts of a job that we don't like, right? Claim that I don't like this. I'm not good at this, or I'm struggling with this. Just say it."

"I want to adjust to it. Just paying attention to and honoring who I am and what I do."

"People with ADHD, more than you know, need to be able to sustain attention. We have to do what we love."

Join us as we hang out with Charlie and discuss spatial awareness, her love of theatre, "naps" under the teacher's desk, fitting in as a kid, medications, and more!

Info on Charlie:

Charlie Irving is an actor and writer in Chicago. She is a company member of New American Folk Theatre and has appeared in many of their shows including HOT PINK and The Summer of Daisy Fay for which she received a Jeff nomination. She has also worked with theatres like the Factory Theater, Artemesia and Metropolis. She was trained at the Gately/Poole Conservatory. In January Charlie was featured in a reading of her first play CRUSH with The New Colony's Writer's Room that explored the relationship women have to porn. She is continuing to work on her writing during these crazy pandemic times and is excited for the return of theatre... whenever that may be!

In this episode, we get real about some of the stresses that come with taking ADHD medications as an artist. We also talk about Dru's love of Hip Hop, getting misdiagnosed as having anger issues as a pre-teen, and keeping a sense of play and wild abandon even as an adult. 

Here is some information on Dru:

Dru Smith’s artistic mission is to continually create art that aims to lessen the gap between those who are marginalized and those in power. He’s a director/writer/actor/musician who lives and works in Chicago. He co-wrote and co-directed Concerning Foster, a play about the desegregation of District 65 schools in Evanston, IL. He also co-created the play, I.D., which was a vignette-style production that asked hard questions about racial and cultural identity. I.D. received a remount due to its unprecedented success. While working as an actor, Dru has been seen on stage at The Gift, Urban Street Theatre Company, and Chicago Shakespeare Theatre - where he understudied the production of Othello: The Remix. He was also an ensemble member of the former company, Chicago Slam Works. There, he was on a team of artists who created slam-poetry-forward theater around different social justice themes, and he was also lucky enough to direct their final show before closing, Carrier. Dru received his BFA in Acting from SUNY Purchase before moving to Chicago, and is a proud graduate of The School at Steppenwolf. He serves as the Education Director for Mudlark Theater Company.

You can find some of his music on Bandcamp: Sir Andrew The Bard: The Prologue