Art on the Air

Art(s) on the Air - Two-year anniversary chat w/ Tamara, Rob, and David

It's the 2-year anniversary of Rob Hessler handing the podcast over to Tamara Garvey (after having done it for 5 years)!

To celebrate, Tamara, Rob, and David Laughlin - who also did the show for a few year with Rob - met up for a looooong wild chat about Savannah's creative scene and the art(s) of interviewing and writing about it. 

(One thing we all agree on is the excitement of getting feedback from people who are listening to/reading our interviews HINT HINT!)  

 

Do you want even more of our unhinged thoughts? Check out each of our social media here:

https://www.instagram.com/tamgarv/
https://www.instagram.com/work_by_rob_hessler/ 
https://www.instagram.com/thedavidlaughlin/ 

 

Topics in our chat include:

Rob insulted his way into a regular writing gig at the Savannah Morning News; the in-and-outs of the current publishing cycle of the SMN; how the nature of the 1-on-1 interview is much easier for (introverted) creatives to talk about their work than at public Artist Talks; how creating each interview episode is an art project in itself; how rewarding it is to interview a burgeoning artist and give them a little boost; particular interviews that have stood out to each of us; the time David recorded a car crash during one of his interviews; the fact that Savannah has been a cultural mecca for years and we are wondering if it has/is peaking (a la Key West), because of housing prices; we each answer a few of David's "studio questions," including a great piece of advice we've each received; Rob talks about a recent article he wrote that has drawn some heat; choosing interview subjects and the necessity of being inspired by each other; "art decorates space and music decorates time;" the shared experience of trying to protect our time and our creative labor when society tries to get these things for free.  

Bonus article David found that related to our talk about Savannah!

Tune in and get all the details!

Art(s) on the Air with Autumn Gary

Join Tamara and David for an interview with Autumn Gary, a largely self-taught American/First Nations painter, sculptor, and art instructor from Portland, Oregon. Her practice revolves around therapeutic art outreach, public art, and intertribal collaboration with indigenous/native arts communities.

Mark your calendar: Autumn and Alexis Javier (of Sulfur Studios) will have a joint exhibition at the #art912 space in the Jepson Center from July 19 until next February 9, with an Artist Talk & Reception on July 18! 

Check out Autumn's work and follow her here:

https://www.instagram.com/autumn.gary.art/
https://www.telfair.org/exhibitions/of-one-mind/ 

Topics in their chat include:

Growing up in an artistic and inclusive environment; making pilgrimages to the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory in Quebec; learning the Mohawk language and discovering how many words and feelings are untranslatable between it and English; having moved to Savannah in 2008, largely as the result of a dream; her sculpture project at the Savannah Center for the Blind and Low Vision, which was a collaboration with the blind users of the center; the center's Training Sidewalk, which recreates the various topographies of a city, so blind people can practice getting around; what she and AJ are planning for their collaborative sculpture and immersive Jepson Center exhibition coming up in a few months; the unstructured way she teaches at the Telfair's art summer camps; the awesome surfing metaphor we came up with toward the end of the show; and dancing with seniors. 

Tune in and get all the details!

 

* And some cool podcast news: Feedspot has highlighted Art on the Air as one of the Top 3 Georgia Art Podcasts on the web. Hooray! 

https://blog.feedspot.com/georgia_art_podcasts/

Art(s) on the Air with Melyssa Amann

Join Tamara and David for an interview with Melyssa Amann, who was born and raised in the Caribbean country Trinidad and Tobago. She came to Savannah in 2016 to attend SCAD, and after trying a couple of directions, earned a BFA in illustration with a minor in scientific illustration.

Her website shows a wide variety of her work - portraiture, editorial and commercial work, murals, and scientific illustration - and she does a great job including sketches and progress images for each project. 

Since graduating, Melyssa has gotten a steady stream of mural commissions. You can go see her public work at Kanpai II on Chatham Pkwy., the new Artstryngs Gallery on Liberty St.; and the JEA's basketball court. 

Check out Melyssa's work and follow her here:

https://www.melyssaamann.com/
https://www.instagram.com/melyssaamann/ 

Topics in their chat include:

A little background info on Melyssa's birthplace of Trinidad & Tobago; her roundabout journey to studying illustration at SCAD after trying engineering and industrial design, due to not knowing how one would make a living in the arts if not in a "serious" design field; the weirdness of graduating college in spring 2020; how working at Wasabi's on MLK while studying at SCAD led to her first mural, of koi fish, which has in turn led to multiple other mural commissions (even today!); the agony of seeing your chalk mural getting accidentally smudged by restaurant diners; the pluses and minuses of having many different styles and types of projects on one's website; the arduous experience of painting on a basketball court during June in Savannah;  her desire to continue breaking away from just depicting strict and tight representation, but to be able to incorporate concepts as well; and a lovely piece of advice Melyssa would give to other artists.

Tune in and get all the details!

 

* And some cool podcast news: Feedspot has highlighted Art on the Air as one of the Top 3 Georgia Art Podcasts on the web. Hooray! 

https://blog.feedspot.com/georgia_art_podcasts/

Art(s) on the Air with Stephen Kasun

Join Tamara and David for an interview with Stephen Kasun, who moved to Savannah and began working in the City Market studios back in 2009, and now has two ground-floor studios/gallery spaces. Before that he went to art school at Memphis College of Art, and then University of Cincinnati, and then sold his work in art fairs for years.

Lately painting with acrylic paint and a palette knife, Stephen says: "My subject matter can be anything--as long as it’s about mood and light. My direct, deliberate approach requires a lot of pre-mixing my colors and doing most of the "thinking" on my mixing plate. Each paint stroke is carefully considered beforehand." 

Check out Stephen's work and follow him here: 

https://www.kasunstudio.com/
https://www.instagram.com/kasunart/

 

Topics in their chat include:

His switch from oil paint to acrylic 10 years ago and the experimental nature of acrylics; how both pig bladders and earwax (!) have figured into creating paint through the centuries; falling in love with Savannah and City Market back in the 1990s; his recommendation to young artists starting out; the time he lost an entire wall full of paintings into the Savannah River because of a gust of wind during a River Street art fair; how does one pronounce the word "scourge?"; the benefits of selling art through a gallery even though they're taking a commission; is a palette knife the Ferrari of painting materials?; the requirement when you have a ground floor space in City Market to staff/open your studio 7 days a week, but the tradeoff of how high your sales are; the specific qualities of acrylic paint that allow Stephen to be a "mad scientist" and do experiments with air brushing, mediums, etc; Stephen's bespoke palette knives (!); how the Six Pence phone booth is a "gift to artists;" and his upcoming work hopefully to be based on his new drone photography hobby.

Tune in and get all the details!

Art(s) on the Air with The Maxines

Join Tamara and David for an interview with The Maxines, "a badass all chick rock band in Savannah, GA - grunge w/ a kiss of metal."

They're led by AJ Grey on vocals, with Emma Smith on bass, and twins Coco and Maddie Oke on drums and guitar. You might remember them from our musical episode back around Thanksgiving - if not, go have a listen!

The Maxines released their debut album "Skin Tight" - named after the first song they ever wrote - back on October 1. 

Their next show will be Feb 24 at El Rocko! 

Listen to The Maxines and follow them here: 

https://www.instagram.com/themaxinesband/
https://themaxinesband.bandcamp.com/album/skin-tight

 

Topics in their chat include:

Their great experience recording their recent and first album, Skin Tight, with Scary of Black Tusk; their new bassist Emma, who replaced Veronica Garcia-Melendez (a previous interviewee on the show!); the addition of an instrument called a "donkey jaw;" how the band formed through word-of-mouth of various female musicians around Savannah, and all of the shared songs they wanted to cover; AJ's physicality during their performances and her philosophy on preparing ahead of time for that; Madonna's lifelong influence; working through the stage fright of their first performance; the complicated bass solo in their song "Letter to a Pill" and how Emma faces it; the success of their first show - an open mic in late 2021 at the Wormhole; their collaborative process of songwriting; going on their recent first tour, lasting 2 weeks, with Savannah band Neckromance; how Coco and Maddie have taught themselves screenprinting to produce all of the band's merch; the excitement of getting CDs made (they still have some available!); their brand-new band manager!; the success of the album release party / music fest they threw in October; new experimental sounds they look forward to trying, such as megaphones; and how metal singers take care of their voices, both in general and especially on tour. 

Tune in and get all the details!

Art(s) on the Air with Logan Artisan

Join Tamara and David for an interview with Logan Artisan, a painter who works in an impressionistic style and who shows/sells her work primarily at the Savannah Gallery of Art.

Originally from Fayetteville, NC, she earned an undergrad degree at Wingate University in music & vocals, with an aim to becoming a professional opera singer (!). After moving to Savannah, she studied fine art and illustration in graduate school at SCAD.

Stick around for the 54-minute-mark of the show, when Logan sings "Habanera," an aria from Carmen!

 

Check out Logan's art and follow her here: 

https://loganartisanart.weebly.com/ 
https://www.instagram.com/loganartisanart/ 

 

Topics in their chat include:

Challenging the "artistic snobbery" against painting Savannah landscapes; painting soft edges and working in an Impressionist style; earning an undergrad degree in music & vocals, with an aim to becoming a professional opera singer (!), but then unfortunately being waylaid due to the effects of Lyme disease; her success in selling at Savannah Gallery of Art; the occasional horror of countryside living, as far as animals killing each other; the beauty of Ginnie Springs in Florida; Logan's practice of making a daily "drawing of a girl;" quitting drinking; her early years living in Savannah and working in the service industry (complete with server nightmares); discovering a love of egg tempera during her MFA in Illustration program at SCAD; and the wild realization during the interview that she was attempting to do illustrations in her painting classes, and paintings in her illustration classes.

Tune in and get all the details!

Art(s) on the Air with Bobby Bagley

Join Tamara – and David Laughlin, previous co-host of the show! – for an interview with Bobby Bagley, a full-time painter. Born and raised on a military base in Arkansas, he painted his first piece during his freshman year of college.

After moving to Savannah, he spent 10 years spent selling every painting he created through the Morris & Whiteside Gallery (now the Red Piano Gallery) in Bluffton. After that relationship ended, he moved into his own City Market studio (307 W. St. Julian Street, Upper Level, Studio #11), where he now works and sells his art.

In his highly realistic paintings, he typically depicts landscapes that are "a perfect bubble," like his childhood environment, yet they always include some winks to Black history as well. His titles are evocative and include "The Brown Girl You See" and "Come Sunday."

Check out Bobby's artwork here: 

https://www.instagram.com/bobbybagleyfineart/
https://www.connectsavannah.com/savannah/bobby-bagley-painting-his-own-story/Content?oid=19995496 

Topics in their chat include:

Bobby burying hints/nods to Black history in his paintings and/or titles; composition, story, and color are the most important elements in his work; "Come Sunday" is a nod to the items in his grandmother's purse during church services; why he doesn't depict a person's entire face; Bobby's view that "art doesn't always have to be fun," because it's work, and making it can be tedious; his 10 years spent selling every painting he created through the Morris & Whiteside Gallery (now the Red Piano Gallery) in Bluffton; how that relationship eventually ended because of a disagreement over Bobby's desire to experiment with a different direction with his art's content; currently he works out of a studio in City Market (on the south side), juggling a few paintings at once; the surprising disclosure that Bobby listens to "the saddest music possible" while he works (!); how his color palette is heavily influenced by the colors in stained glass windows, because of all of his church memories; and Bobby's recent practice of revisiting old drawings from years ago, working in a quicker and less detailed way than he usually does.

Tune in and get all the details!

Art(s) on the Air with Ron Martinez (Hostess City Hot Glass)

Join Tamara – and David Laughlin, previous co-host of the show! – for an interview with Ron Martinez, owner of Hostess City Hot Glass, and his assistant Chris Charley.

A native of nearby Metter, GA, Ron was first introduced to glassblowing while in college in the Pacific Northwest. While supporting himself in jobs ranging from salmon fisherman to antiques dealer, Ronald continued to pursue his love of the ancient craft in Seattle, the Bay Area, and even on a program in Sweden! Ron eventually returned to Savannah with his wife and daughter, and after a few years of working at the now-closed Drayton Glassworks, he opened Hostess City Hot Glass in 2018. 

In his amazing glassblowing studio you can take a class, book an event, and shop online and in-studio. They even put on seasonal "epic little scavenger hunts" called Glass Hunts, which allow folks to explore a certain spot in Savannah and find their very own one-of-a-kind hand blown piece of art! 

Check out Ron's glasswork and follow the shop here: 

https://www.hostesscityhotglass.com/
https://www.instagram.com/hostesscityhotglass/ 
https://www.etsy.com/shop/HostessCityHotGlass 

Topics in their chat include:

Ron considers himself to be a glass turner, as opposed to a glass blower; how a glass business is really difficult to maintain, not least because your electric and gas bills are super high - the temperature in his studio frequently reaches 2300 degrees so they have fans running and much of their making is done at night; Ron's belief that his business's success is due to keeping a balance of both making/selling products, and teaching glass making; his term "glasshole" for the jerks in his business; the glass hunts they put on every few months - keep an eye out on their social media! - basically an Easter Egg hunt in a particular spot in town, but you're finding and keeping one of Ron's small glass objects!; at the beginning of the second half Ron goes into the history of glassmaking and info about the modern scene, how the two major tracks are Venetian and Swedish; creating all of the art for his show last year at the Mansion on Forsyth Park in one week; how Ron will be exploring light fixtures for his new/upcoming work; his focus on symmetry as the main technical element in his work; his loss of fingerprints on one hand (!); their new shopdog, Peaches the bulldog; and his awesome answer to David's last question: What's something you can do with glass that you can't do with other mediums?

Tune in and get all the details!

Art(s) on the Air with Ted Michalowski

Join Tamara - and David Laughlin, previous co-host of the show! - for an interview with Ted Michalowski, a Professor of Illustration at SCAD with a long career as an On-the-Spot/Reportage/Lifestyle Illustrator. He graduated in the inaugural class of Murray Tinkelman’s MFA Illustration program at the Hartford Art School, University of Hartford.

Ted went on to work as a courtroom artist in a variety of high-profile trials, broadcasted by CNN, CNN en Español, CBS News, ABC News, and Fox News. For ten years he also studied privately under Fred Brenner, prominent children’s book illustrator, wildlife artist, fashion illustrator, and educator.

He and his students got the chance to create live drawings of many actors visiting for the recent SCAD Film Fest, including Bob and Erin Odenkirk and Kevin Bacon. Ted also has an original piece in an exhibition opening Nov 17, at the Society of Illustrators in NYC! 

Check out Ted's work and follow him here: 

https://www.instagram.com/tedmichalowski/
http://tedmichalowski.com/ 

Topics in their chat include:

Ted's hilarious quote about courtroom illustration: "capturing people through drawing; drawing people who have already been captured;" his father's influence on Ted and instilling the value of making, keeping, and maintaining friendships; the "friendliness of drawing" in connecting with a person visually; teacher Fred Brenner who inspired him to start drawing people while sitting out in public, and his thoughts about a face being a landscape; a teaser of Ted's AMAZING rock DJ voice at the beginning of the show's second half; the annual live music and live drawing events Ted and a musician friend puts on throughout Poland; Ted's thoughts on society's salacious interest in violent video games and in the famous trials he's illustrated, vs. the real-life emotionally difficult experience of sitting near the families involved, having to listen to the testimony, etc; Fred Brenner's words: "the role of the artist is to reinforce the value of life;" Ted's compliments on the quality and emotional depth of the movies shown at the recent SCAD Film Fest, especially "American Fiction" and "Poor Things;" and his thoughts that becoming a teacher was about finding something he loved that gave him meaning, and then turning around and passing it along to a new generation.

 

Tune in and get all the details!

Art(s) on the Air with Erin Dunn

Join Tamara and David as they interview Erin Dunn, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Jepson Center. Her retrospective "Feels like Freedom: Phillip J. Hampton," has recently opened and will run through January 2023, and you have to go see it! 

We chat about how Erin got into curation, tips and advice for anyone looking to enter the field, and the steps a museum takes when art arrives for an exhibition and needs to be checked over for any degradation, plus lots of specifics about the Hampton exhibition and his incredible artistic range. 

Toward the end David gets to ask her his favorite query, and she really knocks it out of the park!

Connect with Erin and her curatorial life here:

https://www.instagram.com/erindunn_art/

https://www.telfair.org/exhibitions/feels-like-freedom/ 

 

Bonus - a mini-interview with painter Laura Till Barton (at 56 minutes) about her most recent series of large-scale figures and interiors.

 

https://www.instagram.com/laura_barton_fine_art/ 

Get the answers to such burning questions as:

What are Erin’s favorite and least favorite aspects of being a curator?
What were the steps involved for her to curate and put up her current exhibition?

How did Philip J. Hampton’s work run the gamut from social realism and speaking about the Black experience in Savannah, to the expressionist/conceptual art that had begun to boom in the art world in general? 

Why might artists want to avoid making too much work on newsprint? 

 

Tune in and find out!