Art on the Air

Art(s) on the Air with Kristopher Monroe

Join Tamara for an interview with Kristopher Monroe: "writer, editor, and freelance culture assassin with over two decades of experience writing about the arts and other symptoms of human creativity." He was born and raised in Atlanta, where he began his freelance writing career, then lived in Seattle and NYC before settling in Savannah in 2013. 

You've probably read Kristopher's arts column in the Savannah Morning News, which he wrote for many years. He's also contributed to publications ranging from The Atlantic Monthly, Playboy, Village Voice, Juxtapoz, Dazed & Confused, Beautiful/Decay, and Swindle. Lately he's been serving as the current Chair of the Savannah-Chatham County Historic Site and Monument Commission, AND has returned to his first writing love - sci-fi and cyberpunk - and is actively looking for an agent for his recently-completed first novel!

Check out Kristopher's work and follow him here:

https://www.cultureassassin.com/
https://www.instagram.com/savartscene/
https://www.amazon.com/What-Tired-Web-We-Breed-ebook/dp/B07XPD8PH6 

Topics in their chat include:

What Kristopher means by calling himself "a cultural assassin;" how the World Trade Organization protests impacted his life trajectory; how he fell into writing about fine art, street art, and pop art despite no formal art education; how 2013 was the last time that either Kristopher or I had a full-time job (!); his years spent balancing a weekly SMN column with 1-2 columns in the Do magazine; how he has blossomed into full adulthood in his community work; and how in the past couple of years he has gotten back to his early love of sci-fi and surrealist creative writing - one short story is available on Amazon for $1 (with cover art by local designer and art aficionado Don Sanders!) - plus a full novel; and his obscure skills with running and fixing a 35mm film projector. 

Tune in and get all the details!

Art(s) on the Air with Anna Young Byrd

Join Tamara for an interview with commercial photographer and SCAD grad Anna Young Byrd, who works out of Sulfur Studios. She fell in love with Savannah at age 12 when her sister came to attend SCAD, and has now lived here since 2017. Two years out of school, she's at such an exciting time in her career - just about to transition into doing her freelance photography full-time! 

Anna's goal during a shoot is to make the subject feel like "the coolest person ever," and her dream project would be shooting Dave Grohl for a Rolling Stone cover. 

The main design element she focuses on in her work, especially during the editing process, is color. From her site: "Anna is a forward-thinking, hard-working, and inquisitive artist. She is the first to introduce herself, the first to think, and the first to solve a problem. Her fulfillment in life is to bring joy to others. What better way to do that than taking some kickass photos."

Check out Anna's work and follow her here:

https://www.annayoungbyrd.com/
https://www.instagram.com/annas_eyeball/ 

Topics in their chat include:

How being a people person is so beneficial to her work in making her photo subject feel comfortable as quickly as possible; how coming to Savannah and finding other creative people made her transition from introversion to extroversion; using a digital Nikon as her first camera when she was young and experimenting; how the current trendy look in digital photography is to make it look like it was done with film - light leaks, grain, dust marks - i.e. the perks of digital but with the aesthetics of film; an added bonus of working in photography is working with her hands - putting lights and backgrounds together, and breaking things down; how getting her "big boy camera" allows her to take photos with huge file sizes, big enough to print at billboard size; the importance of using a reference photo to show clients her inspiration/direction/essence of her idea; she takes us through the start-to-finish process of a shoot; how choosing the wrong music once hurt her connection with a model on a shoot; being the creator of her set; how photography is the study and control of light; what is a "treatment book?"; how one's artistic community can help each other through imposter syndrome; and the elaborate setup and editing process it took to create her beautiful shot of a Neutrogena jar leaning over in water. 

Tune in and get all the details!

Art(s) on the Air with the Nomadic Photo Ark

Join Tamara for an interview with Monica Jane Frisell and Adam Scher, who have been on the road since July 2021, working from their Nomadic Photo Ark - a converted cargo trailer equipped with a full black & white darkroom and photo editing space. Together they're creating A Portrait of US, "photographically exploring and recording audio of the divisions and similarities in ideologies within our current American culture as we emerge from the pandemic." 

Monica & Adam are documenting the U.S. one community at a time, one person at a time, one story at a time, and have been working here in Savannah since early March. They have an exhibition up at Sulfur Studios, with a closing reception this Friday, April 7. 

Check out the Nomadic Photo Ark project and follow them here:

https://portraitofus.substack.com/
https://www.instagram.com/nomadicphotoark/
https://www.nomadicphotoark.com/ 

Topics in their chat include:

How this project perfectly combines Monica's training in analog photography, plus Adam's experience of traveling and working in audio recording and editing; what is the first radio station that ever played Lady Gaga?; Monica's 1800's-type steel camera that was built in the 1940s; the process of shedding your worldly goods to live on the road; how this long exhibition at Sulfur Studios has allowed them to analyze their how they pair art & sound for display; how they made a typical "rookie mistake" with their trailer early on in their project; how they juggle the administrative tasks involved in their work, such as constantly booking artist residencies; and how Adam edits peoples' response down to 5 minutes.  

Tune in and get all the details!

Art(s) on the Air with Kamryn Shawron

Join Tamara for an interview with Kamryn Shawron, who moved to Savannah from Ocoee, Florida about 10 years ago to earn her SCAD degree in Fibers, and now works as a multimedia artist. Her work focuses on the integration of portraiture, embellishment, and fibers, and she describes it as "stitching and sewing beads into both found and original photos, canvas, and everything else."

Kamryn has created a large body of work stemming from her own photos shoots, which she directs and designs, using friends and family as models, and then embellishes the photos to craft her desired narrative(s). In the past 2 years, she's had both a group and a solo exhibition at galleries in Atlanta, and she also installed a large piece in the Whitaker Street Windows, which locals will know as the tall windowed column just outside of Starland Yard. 

Check out Kamryn's work and follow her here:

https://www.instagram.com/kamrynleelu/
https://www.kamrynshawron.com/

 

Topics in their chat include:

How Fibers artists Tricia Cookson and Sam Norgard influenced her early career; describing her art as "painting with beads;" the post-college transition and how being furloughed during COVID was what really gave her the time first to create a big extensive piece, and then to launch her full-time art career; lessons she has learned about running a needle back and forth through a photograph as opposed to a piece of canvas; does Kamryn's way of working make her a crow, a raccoon, or a surgeon?; her words of wisdom when it comes to stitching various areas across a large surface; her "Mystery Bag" pieces and how she loves decorating and embellishing them; and the theme of celebration/joy/happiness in her work.

Tune in and get all the details!

Art(s) on the Air with Jessica Leigh Lebos

Join Tamara for an interview with Jessica Leigh Lebos: Writer, Adopted Southerner, Anti-Socialite, Camellia Thief (and, as we decided during the interview, Public Menace).

She arrived in Savannah around 2005, and then spent years writing 3 columns a week during Jim Morekis's era of the Connect Savannah, where she was voted Best Newspaper Columnist. She's also a 2022 Winner in the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.

In 2018 she compiled her essays into a book called "Savannah Sideways." Since then, she publishes regularly to a Substack (which you can subscribe to), and has a second novel due to come out soon! 

Read Jessica's work and follow her here:

https://jessicaleighlebos.substack.com/ 
https://www.instagram.com/savannahsideways/
https://www.amazon.com/Savannah-Sideways-Jessica-Leigh-Lebos/dp/0692950877  (But we encourage you to shop local ;) )

Topics in their chat include:

Spending her first Savannah year living on Tybee Island; her view that the writing is just the deliverable for the privilege of the research, thought, visits, and conversations she gets to do; how a Savannah River visit by Ralph Nader in the 70s eventually led to the Clean Water Act; her recommendations for for the best camellia viewing around town; will Jane Fishman's musical "Johnny Mercer and Me!" eventually make it to Broadway?; juggling other copywriting gigs, including for Savannah Bee Company; and can she be a cross between Carrie Bradshaw and the Joan Didion of Savannah? 
 

Tune in and get all the details!

Art(s) on the Air with Ashley Havy

Join Tamara for an interview with Ashley Havy of Pashley Pottery, who works on the wheel to create mugs, pots, TINY pots (!), vases, and ceramic jewelry, using such varied techniques as mishima, sgraffito, hand painting, carving, and sculpting. She describes her inspiration as coming from flowers/nature, Art Deco patterns, nail art, and clothing. The first ceramicist Tamara has interviewed, Ashley wisely stated that "ceramics is the art of letting go."

https://www.pashleypottery.com/
https://www.instagram.com/pashley.pottery/ 

Topics in their chat include:

Living in Alaska for 6 months post-college to work in a brewery; is Ashley the last person left who has a few undeveloped film canisters sitting around?; how she defines pottery vs. ceramics; what is "trimming"; why have there not been more horror movies that take place in photography darkrooms??; how her pop-up art show in the notoriously haunted upstairs room in Moon River went; how she makes her 1" mini pots; why are handles so complicated to make and attach?!, and what is the thickest that a ceramics piece really can be before it won't ever dry sufficiently.
 

Tune in and get all the details!

Art(s) on the Air with Veronica Garcia-Melendez (of Bero Bero and The Maxines)

Join Tamara for an interview with Veronica Garcia-Melendez, who is half of synth band Bero Bero - described as Sade meets Kate Bush - as well as a member of the more recent grunge/metal band The Maxines. You might remember hearing a few of Bero Bero's songs on our Local Music show at Thanksgiving, and there'll be 3 clips that play during this interview as well. Awesome to be learning the details on how they were created! 

Check out Bero Bero's videos on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSeLKL2d5alzeNSpMAQHDVg

And follow both bands for news about shows and upcoming releases here:

https://www.instagram.com/beroberoband/
https://www.instagram.com/themaxinesband/ 

Topics in their chat include:

The importance of a music teacher/tutor being a consistent presence in kids' lives; the success of using Craigslist to find musical opportunities in NYC vs. Savannah; getting up on stage at a Wormhole open mic night; which Bero Bero song is most often filmed at their shows and shared online; recording on others' albums as a hired musician and/or singer; what are Timbales?; what is a layered ostinato?; how the keytar has changed Veronica's live performances; and singing karaoke at the Jinx. 

 

Tune in and get all the details!

Art(s) on the Air with Sarah Cuda

Content note: in the 2nd half of the interview, we discuss Sarah's advocacy with sexual assault issues and navigating the legal system.  

Join Tamara for an interview with Sarah Cuda, local photographer, hairstylist, and barber. Her favorite subjects to shoot include musicians and dancers during performances, as well as nature closeups - she believes that everyone has a different viewpoint of the world that one can capture with their photos. 

Sarah loves to collaborate with other businesses, to bring growth to the small business community, and one of her many upcoming projects is a photo blog promoting other Savannahians' life and work. 

https://www.sarahcudaphotography.com/
https://www.instagram.com/sarahcudaphotography/ 

Topics in their chat include: leveling up your camera lenses; working at the Legion in 2007; going on nature photography trips; what is an Anhinga?; shooting concerts at Victory North and the Juneteenth festival on Tybee; putting on her first art show last May at the Sentient Bean; and what is a soft box? 

Bonuses!

Mini-interview at 49min with Gullah artist Sabree, a long-time City Market favorite. http://www.sabreesgallery.com/ 

A song by beloved local musicians Maggie & Jackson Evans at 56min. "Red and White," written by Jackson Evans. http://jacksonevans.com/maggie/ 

 

Tune in and get all the details!

Art(s) on the Air plays Bero Bero and the Eric Jones Trio

Happy Thanksgiving week! We're celebrating with a special show of music by two of Savannah's beloved local groups.

First, Bero Bero - a synth band that has been described as Sade meets Kate Bush - made up of Veronica Garcia-Melendez and David Murray. Here are songs from their EP called DANCE (2020), and they are currently working on their 4th EP, set to release early 2023. Follow their IG to keep up with their news, including lots of live shows! 

https://www.instagram.com/beroberoband/
https://www.beroberoband.com/ 

Next up, music by the Eric Jones Trio, who play every Sunday and Thursday nights at Good Times Jazz Bar downtown, and have also appeared at the Savannah Jazz Festival. These songs are from from their 2020 album Azubuike (which our show's theme song is also from), provided to us by their bass player Marc Chesanow. 

https://www.ericjonesmusic.net/ 
https://goodtimesjazzbar.com/ 

Art(s) on the Air with Jennifer Mack Watkins

Join Tamara for an interview with Jennifer Mack Watkins, a printmaker with a studio in Sulfur Studios. She was born in Charleston and holds a B.A. in studio arts from Morris Brown College, an M.A.T. from Tufts University, and an M.F.A. in printmaking from Pratt Institute. Her work investigates the societal constructs that can leave women feeling isolated, resisting definitions of femininity based on widely held notions of beauty and cultural norms.

If you happen to be in NYC in the next couple of months, Jennifer currently has a piece on view in The Metropolitan Museum of Art(!) - "The Power of Portraiture: Selections from the Department of Drawings and Prints," October 13, 2022–February 7, 2023.

https://www.instagram.com/mack_jenniferprints/
http://www.mackjennifer.com/
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/675828/you-gotta-meet-mr-pierce-by-chiquita-mullins-lee-and-carmella-van-vleet-illustrated-by-jennifer-mack-watkins/ 

Topics in their chat include: Shina plywood (a soft wood for woodblock printing), what Jennifer's dream print shop would contain, what is risograph?, what getting rejected from an AP art class in high school inspired in her, and the soon-to-be-published children's book she illustrated: "You Gotta Meet Mr. Pierce!" 

Tune in and get all the details!