Tom Ray's Art Podcast

I begin my quest to meet artists in Madison, WI with Holly Meyers. After moving to Madison she was inspired by life changes and her new city's creative energy to devote herself more fully to art. She tells me about how early in life she lost all of her artwork in a fire. Then took that opportunity to reinvent what she does. We discuss how, even with kids and a job, she finds the time to create. Plus, she found out that claiming your living room as a studio on your taxes is an actual thing you can do! 

This week I meet Robin Leigh Kling. Robin is an artist that has made watercolor landscape paintings over the years. She took time off to raise her son but still managed to find ways to stay involved in the arts. She recently launched a Facebook page to showcase her portfolio called Memories In Watercolor.

This week I meet painter Philip Salamone One interesting thing I find out in this conversation... my studio is literally across the street from his and we have never met before. So I'm glad I got a chance to talk to him. Philip's work is all over town, including the "Faces of Incarceration" exhibit at the Overture Center. He teaches at both the University of Wisconsin - Madison and also has classes at his studio, the Atwood Atelier.

This week I meet author, Chris Lester. Chris saw my post about looking for artists in Madison for the show. He responded with the question, “What about writers?” I thought he had a good point. Writers are creative people also. So I set up a time to meet him. Chris is a Sci-Fi writer and he also releases his stories as a serialized audio podcast on his website. 

In this weeks episode, I meet Salma Carreon. She makes ceramics, etchings and paintings. This includes hand painted shirts and a few commissioned murals around town. But what she really wants to do is become a tattoo artist. All this and she has only just graduated high school. 

This weeks episode I meet Jason Scott. Jason is a sculptor of large and small-scale pieces, which includes jewelry. And it all seems to relate back to when he studied to be a sushi chef years ago. 

This week I meet Colin Holden. Colin's work has a cartoon style, but he prefers to work on a large scale format, usually around five feet tall. He uses this platform to make pieces that express a timeline something that dates back to when he returned home after being sent away to boarding school as a kid.

This week I meet Jake Jensen. Jake is a house painter that has the luck of being able to use an endless amount of art supplies thanks to his job. He recently changed the entire concept of what he makes because of an obsession he has with something smaller. 

This week I meet Hanifa Debling. Hanifa had a career in banking. During that time she went to school for Jewelry and Silversmithing. She made jewelry and other pieces for friends. Then, when she retired from banking she decided to launch her own boutique line. You can visit Bittersweet and Hanibling by Evie Designs on Facebook