Hello Atelier

Did you know that actor and director Karen Allen is also a fiber artist? Listen in as we talk with Karen about her introduction to textiles, her love of Kaffe Fassett, and how she balances her film career with fiber art.

Ronald and Lonnie McFadden have been performing on stage their whole lives. Listen in as we talk with Ronald and Lonnie about how they learned to tap from their father, performing around the world, and the challenges of making a living as entertainers.

Ana Reinert takes us on a deep dive into the world of stationery and fountain pens. Listen in as we talk about how Ana got into stationery supplies, the ins and outs of fountain pen collecting and how she created her own product to fill a niche in the market.

Melissa Averinos is a painter, quilter, and artist who has made her mark on everything from books to award-winning quilts. Listen in as we talk with Melissa about how she learned to sew, how art got her through some critical times, and why she is all about weird cats forever.

Writer Mercedes Lucero talks to us about the pressure of being a first-generation college student, where she got her love of reading and how, in her book Stereometry, she combined poetry and math to create an ordered world into which she could explore the ideas of grief and loneliness.

Before settling down as an artist, Momoko Usami wanted to widen her experience, so she decided to move from her native Japan to America. After a number of stops she has landed in the Missouri countryside. Here, wide open spaces allow her imagination to take hold and present itself as beautifully crafted ceramics that straddle the line between functional and fine art.

Artist Kathy Liao paints from a distance. Or, she paints her subjects from a distance. Kathy’s family is spread about the globe, but she keeps them near with her paintings that portray her memories: Her mom watching TV, her grandmother in the kitchen, all recreated through a haze of color and collage. Listen in as we talk to Kathy about how her family influences her work, the importance of learning new techniques and how painting self-portraits grounds her in a space.

Sisters Michelle and Angie Dreher of Two Tone Press create bright, textural letterpress prints and founded the community print shop, Print League KC. Listen in as we talk about how to get over workplace disagreements, the joy of getting your hands dirty, and how they have incorporated Lego into their business.

Artist Glyneisha Johnson uses collage art as a way to represent the "dislocated, collaged nature of Black history due to colonialism." Much of her work comprises of domestic spaces, bright, colorful images that invite you to sit and visit on the front porch. In this episode of Hello Atelier, we discuss the teachers who have been influential in Glyneisha's life, artists that she looks up to as father figures and her wariness about social media.

Designer Luke Haynes creates quilts in an effort to start conversations. Whether it is a take on a traditional pattern or an innovative portrait quilt, Luke approaches each design as the start of a new dialogue. Join us in Luke's studio as we talk about success, travel, and how he approaches quilt design through his training as an architect.

Jillian Youngbird is an artist of many colors: sculptor, illustrator, textile artist, quilter. But whatever form her art takes, her artistic style manifests itself in an earthy quality that is directly tied to the nature that surrounds her. Listen in as we talk about her childhood in the Ozarks, sustainability in art, and her experience at the Standing Rock protests.

Evie Englezos is a printer turned potter who imbues her art with tangled tales of mythology. She is also a modern-day Snow White and devotes much of her time to wild bird rehabbing. In this episode we discuss how the struggles of nature, death and destruction find their way into Evie's pottery design. We also discuss how she made the decision to be a full-time artist, and her surprising introduction to the world of ceramics.

Lizzy was determined from a young age to be a fabric designer, a goal she realized before she was even out of college. Her career brought her more than a creative outlet - through her work as a quilting instructor she has traveled the globe, encouraging confidence and creativity through sewing. In this episode we talk about determination, what being a teacher taught Lizzy, and the dark side of creative burnout.

Artist Grace Chin's work is a contrast of the fragile and the forceful. She creates delicate paper flower wreaths that frame strong political slogans. The results are cheerful reminders of positivity in an often turbulent political atmosphere. Listen in as we talk about Grace's political heritage, her love of Sister Corita Kent, and why she thinks it's important to share her struggles online.

Seth Smith is a landlocked Midwesterner. The only sea surrounding him is a majestic ocean of gently waving green fields. But that is just where he is physically. Mentally he has time-traveled back 60 years, to a rosy-colored mid-century hotel with a deep turquoise pool. That is the magic of his paintings – they aren't just pictures, but transportation devices to a sunny state of mind. Watch out now, any minute the waiter will be here with your umbrella-topped drink.

Nedra Bonds is a quilter, dollmaker and activist. She makes a statement - and generates change - using the non-confrontational medium of textiles. As you'll hear in this episode, Nedra isn't afraid of, well, anything. She isn't afraid to speak out against an injustice. She isn't afraid to explore her world, and she isn't afraid to take on a disease as dire as cancer. Listen in as we talk quilting and craftivism.

Muralist Phil Shafer, a/k/a Sike Style, is part of a revolution that is turning graffiti into a public artform. Forget the image of an artist in the dead of night attacking a building with spray paint. While Phil does paint with spray can in hand, he also taps into his background of art history and hip hop culture to create intricately designed murals that become as much a part of the community as the building itself. In this episode we sit down with Phil to discuss his evolution as a muralist, the importance of public art, and the process of designing for a community space.

Like pop art icons Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, ceramicist Shalene Valenzuela transforms mass-produced images and objects into art. Recreating household items like rolling pins and telephones out of clay mutates them from a comforting everyday object to a hollow form, filling the viewer with uncertainty as they realize the object isn't what it seems. The graphic, retro women that cover the domiciliary items are forever trapped in a world of idealized femininity. Listen in as we talk to Shalene about creating art in the round, the magical Montana ceramics community and the ever present fear of a creative block.

Fabric designer Tula Pink has created a fantasy world that we can visit through her art. Her fabric designs are bright, colorful, and just a bit surreal - psychedelic cats, day-glo frogs, and swirling octopuses have all taken center stage in her fabric collections. Tula's designs have garnered her an international following of fans - dubbed Tula Troops - that collect, sell and trade her fabric. Listen in as we talk to Tula about her creative journey, love of quilting, working with her family and the importance of being identifiable as an artist.

Despite a late introduction to ballet, Devon Carney has spent his professional life as a dancer. Working with the Boston Ballet right out of high school, he was mentored by the great Rudolf Nureyev, from whom he learned the key to being a successful performer. Today, though retired from the stage, Carney is a choreographer and artistic director for the Kansas City Ballet. Now he acts as mentor for the company, which he guides through each performance, on a mission to push their artistry and create excitement in the community for the dance that he so loves.

Growing up, Kevin Kidney knew that he was destined to live at Disneyland. Once he realized that people don't actually get to live there, he did the next best thing. He got a job there. In the art department Kevin had the opportunity to work on design projects large and small for the Disney company – everything from collectible enamel pins to parades. In this episode we talk about his work with Disney, how he found a community in the world of Tiki, and how giving back has become a large part of his business plan.

Fifty years ago, a trip to Scotland changed the life course of now iconic textile artist Kaffe Fassett. Then a painter, Kaffe was mesmerized by the heathered colors of Scottish yarn and taught himself how to knit on the train ride back to London. Since then he has immersed himself in the world of textiles and becoming renowned for his knitting, needlepoint and fabric designs. As an artist, he doesn’t just spend all his time in his studio. He also travels the globe teaching and encouraging his students in their own textile work. In this episode we chat with Kaffe about his work as a teacher, his unending drive to create, and those inspiring first years when Kaffe found his calling in textiles.

A chance meeting at a bus stop propelled textile artist Brandon Mably from a career in catering to his life as a designer known for his bold and graphic use of color. Brandon isn’t content just to create by himself, he also shares his colorful talent with the many students he teaches around the globe. As he puts it, he lives in a world of education and he wants his students to learn to create with color and confidence, just like he did. Listen in as we talk about Brandon’s first steps as an artist, his design process, and the most important thing he wants his students to take away from his workshops.

Ten years ago, while designing screenprints, Maiko Kuzunishi stumbled across a product that would change her business – a simple clock. Since then she has challenged herself to take clock design as far as she can, incorporating whimsical creatures and flowers with graphic lines to create stunning pieces of home art. In this episode we discuss how Maiko found her calling, her move from Japan to the United States and how she balances work, life and stillness.

In a small white building in the midst of the Hertfordshire countryside, best-selling author Freya North works studiously day after day, bringing life to her caravan of characters. Now with 14 novels to her name, North doesn't think of herself as creating the characters, but acting as an antennae through which fully formed stories flow. Listen in as we talk about North's creative process, the agony of writer's block, and the first book that ignited her love of reading.

This week we welcome Alanna DeRocchi to the show. Alanna has become known for her large-scale sculptural pieces of animals - walrus, hippos, even tapirs. But, an artist is always evolving and, in this episode, Alanna talks with us about finding her artistic voice and transitioning her vision - even if it means alienating some of her fans.

This week we welcome Melissa McCracken to Hello Atelier. Melissa paints songs. Specifically, she paints the colors that she sees while listening to songs. For Melissa has synesthesia, a neurological condition which, in her case, causes her to visualize colors when listening to music. Through her paintings, Melissa tries to share what she experiences – to grab that fleeting vision and commit it to canvas. Through her work, we non-synesthetes finally get a taste of the full musical experience.

Sally Jane Linville has a mission. She wants to bring a little bit of farm life into everyone's home. How? Through chickens, of course! And not just any chickens, but her fabulous fiber chicken footstools. These locally-sourced chickens balance the line between sculptural and functional art and are created by a community of artists throughout Kansas and Missouri, though the chickens themselves have found homes as far as China. Listen to Sally Jane's story and, who knows, maybe you will be adopting a City Girl Farm chicken for your own home!

Emily Reinhardt is a ceramicist better known by her online moniker, The Object Enthusiast. Emily's pottery is both beautiful and functional - a combination that caught the eye of the social media world where she became a burgeoning online influencer with over 100,000 Instagram followers. As business continues to grow, Emily is learning to juggle the demands of being a full-time artist with a need to learn and grow her art.

In this season finale of Hello Atelier, we sit down with legendary fashion designer Barbara Hulanicki. From 1964 to 1975, Barbara's store Biba was where those in the know in London - including the likes of Mick Jagger, David Bowie and Twiggy - went for the best clothes. Barbara didn't quit designing after Biba. In fact, an opportunity given to her by Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones reinvented her as a successful hotel interior designer. Today, Barbara's designs are still sought after, and she is endowing everything from wallpaper to t-shirts with her special Biba glamour.

A lot of people change majors in college. It's expected, right? But few life shifts are as extreme as Kim Eichler-Messmer's, who switched from a double engineering and Spanish major to art. Inspired by artists like Sonia Delaunay, Kim has pursued her passion through her work with textiles. In this episode of Hello Atelier, Kim talks to us about textiles, travel and taking time to step outside.

As a struggling freelance designer, have you ever wondered how it’s done? How did that artist come up with that popular product line, how did they get it in the stores, and why does it look so easy? Well, very few things that look easy are, and designer Tammy Smith tells us about her journey from hobby sketcher to full-time product designer.

This week on Hello Atelier, we submerge ourselves into the world of letterpress with our guest, Brady Vest of Hammerpress, as our guide. Brady was at the forefront of the resurgence of letterpress as a design and production technique. His early interest in an endangered art has led to a more than 20 year career in design.

In episode four of Hello Atelier, we sit down with designer, author, and free-motion quilter Angela Walters. Angela shares how she went from fast food manager to nationally-recognized quilter and designer. Listen in and find out why Angela says that she is the perfect example of how even a blind squirrel can find a nut.

Host Betsy Blodgett sits down with Gregory Kolsto: Artist, coffee roaster, and all-around inspirational dude. Gregory talks us through his travels, his business, his art and how he is creating a culture of blowing people's minds through coffee. When Gregory gave Oddly Correct, his roasting company, the tagline "Freaking Out Your Morning Cup", he meant it.

Host Betsy Blodgett speaks with Meredith Host, a ceramicist and full time studio potter. They discuss how Meredith’s love of horror movies has influenced her work and inspired a series she once called a playful penchant for the bizarre. Listen in to find out what is inspiring her work these days (hint: you can find it in your bathroom!) and her strategies for maintaining a thriving ceramics business.

In this episode of Hello Atelier, host Betsy Blodgett talks with Jacquie Gering, who is a leader in the modern quilting movement. Jacquie has played a pivotal role in developing the Modern Quilt Guild to be an international organization, and is a powerful ambassador for the modern quilt aesthetic. Jacquie is the author of Quilting Modern: Techniques and Projects for Improvisational Quilts and her work has been featured in a number of other quilting books and sewing publications.

Host Betsy Blodgett previews the first season of Hello Atelier, which will include visits to the studios of sewists, ceramicists, jewelry designers, print makers, fashion designers and more.