ARTish Plunge – Details, episodes & analysis

From Communist Romania, through the forests of Transylvania, touching down in San Francisco before settling in Austin, MALINA CIPLEU shares her joy of discovering the art of fused glass. After a career in psychology in Romania, Malina’s role as a mother ultimately opened the door to art, first as a hobby and ultimately to a profession in glass. Malina’s evident love for the art form is infectious; she revels in the magic and element of surprise in every project. Perhaps not surprising, elements of her own childhood fascinations continue to find their way into her art forms and ideas.

Website:  malinacipleu.com 
Instagram:   @malinacipleu

Mentioned:

• Ear Wax Vacuum / (you know you want to see this thing!)
• Helios Fuse Glass Studio / Austin TX (explore) 
• Bran Castle / Transylvania, Romania (explore) 
• Cluj, Romania  (see) (more)
• Fabrica de Pensule / former paintbrush factory creative space (explore) 
• Constantin Brâncuși / Romanian sculptor (learn) 
• Blanton Museum of Art / Austin TX (explore) 
• Georgetown Art Center / Georgetown, TX (explore)
• Patrick O’Brien / photographer (learn) 
• “Luminance Abstracted” / Malina’s show at GAC / Aug 16- Sep 29, 2024 (info) 
• Pilchuck Glass School / glass art residency in Stanwood, Washington (learn) 
• Amy Maricle / mindful art journaling and the “Inchie Challenge”  / (learn)  / Listen to Amy’s interview ARTish Plunge Episode No. 46 (listen) 
• No Rules Textile Society, Jayne Emerson / British textile artist and educator (explore) 

Find Me, Kristy Darnell Battani:
Website:    https://www.kristybattani.com
Instagram:  kristybattaniart
Facebook:  kristybattaniart

Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please take a moment to leave a review on Apple Podcasts
 
Music:"Surf Guitar Madness," Alexis Messier,
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Are you willing to put your art out into the world—to put yourself out in the world—knowing that you may not get the validation you seek. My conversation with Southern California abstract painter PRIYA SHARMA ASENCIO digs into the nitty-gritty reality of making the transition from a prior profession (in Priya’s case advertising media) to being a full-time painter, including the highs and lows of showing your work in public forums like art fairs and growing into your art practice within the social media gaze.

Priya’s dogged optimism has helped her weather the disappointments and recognize how all of her art experiences are interconnected. Rather than relying on external measures of success, Priya is learning how to validate herself first and appreciating the relationships each new stage presents.

Find Priya:

Website:  www.priyasharmaasencio.com 

Instagram:   @priyaasencioart

Mentioned:

• The Other Art Fair- Dallas (learn)
• CAFE Call For Entry (explore)
• Art San Diego, Redwood Art Group fair (learn)  
• Peter Scherrer, California painter (learn)
• Malibu Village Bookstore (visit)  
• Jay Rubin, author, inspirational mentor (read)  

Find Me, Kristy Darnell Battani:
Website:    https://www.kristybattani.com
Instagram:  kristybattaniart
Facebook:  kristybattaniart

Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please take a moment to leave a rating and a comment: https://lovethepodcast.com/artishplunge
 
Music:"Surf Guitar Madness," Alexis Messier,
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What’s it like to be a “non-traditional” art student at age 55? For Texas-based portrait painter CLIFFORD BUNN, seeking a BFA in Studio Art after a career in law enforcement with the Oakland PD was both cathartic and the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.  As a police officer, Cliff worked among “the layers of lives existing around us” that most of us don’t see, but he often felt like his own voice was not being heard either. Initially turning to art as a therapeutic way of dealing with grief for  loss of his son and other family members, Cliff eventually decided to seek a degree in Studio Art at the University of Texas. 

Cliff shares his fascinating journey from the streets of Oakland to art school critiques, as he begins the next phase of life as a working artist. His perspective is unique, current and inspiring for artists at all stages of their own art exploration.

 Find Cliff:
Instagram: @klyffsart

 Mentioned:

• The Space in Between: 2021 Senior Art Exhibition, University of Texas, Visual Arts Center (explore)  
• The Russell J. Efros Foundation, 2021 Sprout Fund Recipient (learn) 

Find Me, Kristy Darnell Battani:
Website:    https://www.kristybattani.com
Instagram:  kristybattaniart
Facebook:  kristybattaniart

Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please take a moment to leave a rating and a comment: https://lovethepodcast.com/artishplunge
 
Music:"Surf Guitar Madness," Alexis Messier,
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What would you give to have a lifestyle that allowed you to “drop everything and have a swim” in the ocean any time the mood struck you? Cornwall painter TARA LEAVER has created that life for herself, finding inspiration in the sensory experience of being immersed in the “magical garden of wonders” in the cold Atlantic waters. A self-proclaimed introvert, Tara has created a “balance in constant motion” between creating her own fluid paintings and developing an online community for like-minded artists.

But life was not always so easy-breezy for Tara. Tara candidly shares how she grappled with depression and how she found her way back to art making. Tara acknowledges that her personal struggles have better enabled her to manage her own art “demons” while helping other artists tackle their own. An equally talented writer, Tara’s considerate wisdom provides guidance and reassurance to her Happy Artist community.

Find Tara:
Tara's Art Website:  taraleaverart.com
Happy Artist Studio (artist membership) happyartiststudio.com
Instagram: @taraleaverart   
Pinterest:  www.pinterest.com/taraleaver

Mentioned:

• Happy Artist Studio, membership art courses (explore) 
• Olympus Tough TG-6 Waterproof Camera (shop)
• The Creative Introvert: How to Build a Business You Love, by Cat Rose (read) 
• Byre Gallery, Sea Level exhibit, Cornwall, UK (explore) 

Find Me, Kristy Darnell Battani:
Website:    https://www.kristybattani.com
Instagram:  kristybattaniart
Facebook:  kristybattaniart

Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please take a moment to leave a rating and a comment: https://lovethepodcast.com/artishplunge
 
Music:"Surf Guitar Madness," Alexis Messier,
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Often associated with haute pate painting, Atlanta-based abstract painter BOB LANDSTROM found his preferred art medium through metaphysics and Southwestern landscapes—hand-colored volcanic rock. After decades juggling a conflicted existence as both an electrical engineer and an evening/weekend painter, Bob’s persistence in getting his artwork seen has paid off. Now, only a few weeks into his new “full-time” painter role, Bob shares how he has built his presence in the art world, including an upcoming release of his first NFT on Super Rare.

As Bob says, “part of being an artist is being out over your ski tips most of the time.”

Find Bob:
Website:  www.boblandstrom.com
Instagram: @boblandstrom
Twitter:  boblandstromart

Mentioned:

• Matter Painting or haute pate (learn) 
• The Hermetica: The Lost Wisdom of the Pharaohs, by Timothy Freke (read) 
• Quadrivium: The Four Classical Liberal Arts of Number, Geometry, Music, & Cosmology, by Miranda Lundy (read)  
• Rimbaud: Poems, by Arthur Rimbaud (read) 
• Selected Poetry and Prose, by Stephane Mallarme (read)  
• Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar...Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes, by Thomas Cathcart (read) 
• Video of Bob in action, including the great yoga swing (watch)
• Procreate for iPad (explore) 
• Alan Avery Art Company, Atlanta GA (explore)
• New American Paintings, publication (read) 
• PR For Artists, public relations firm (explore)
• BG Gallery, Santa Monica (explore)
• Super Rare, digital art market on Ethereum for art NFT  (explore)

Find Me, Kristy Darnell Battani:
Website:    https://www.kristybattani.com
Instagram:  kristybattaniart
Facebook:  kristybattaniart

Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please take a moment to leave a comment on Apple Podcasts

Music:"Surf Guitar Madness," Alexis Messier,
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Chilean watercolorist GERALDINE MACKINNON didn’t find her artistic direction in art school. Instead, the defining moment in her creative career occurred while assisting an archeological study on Easter Island, crawling through the caves with her sketchbook and headlamp trying to capture the “truth of the plants.”

Fastforward, Geri has developed a sustainable career in the demanding practice of botanical watercolor illustration. Botanical illustration requires the artist to remove all of her assumptions about the subject matter and focus intently on what she actually sees, which for Geri serves as a kind of meditation. Geri's newest adventure: luscious, meticulously handcrafted mineral-based watercolors available from her storefront in Santiago and online.

Find Geraldine:
Piedras y Agua (watercolor shop): www.piedrasyagua.com
Piedras y Agua Etsy Shop: www.etsy.com/shop/piedrasyagua
Piedras y Agua Instagram: piedrasy_agua
Geraldine’s Artist Instagram:  naturalistamac

Mentioned:

• Pueblito de Los Dominicos, artesanal market, Santiago, Chile (explore) 
• Easter Island history (learn)  
• Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (explore)
• Three color palette: Indigo blue, Indian Yellow, Alizarin Crimson
• Favorite Winsor & Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable No. 6 brushes (buy); also recommends  No. 1 and No. 10 size

Find Me, Kristy Darnell Battani:
Website:    https://www.kristybattani.com
Instagram:  kristybattaniart
Facebook:  kristybattaniart

Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please take a moment to leave a comment on Apple Podcasts

Music:"Surf Guitar Madness," Alexis Messier,
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Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/artishplunge)

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With her hands in prayer, still life painter MARYAM AMIRYANI begins each day in her studio with the simple request:  The courage to start; the courage to persevere; the courage to finish.

From her childhood in Iran to Paris, Washington and New York, Maryam followed a professional career path in and around the arts, helping to show and sell other artists’ work before she finally settled into her own painting practice. Sharing her elegantly sparse, light-filled studio in Marfa, Texas with her husband and fellow painter Nick Terry, Maryam now creates small, intimate oil paintings often influenced by textures and colors of her early years in Iran. Maryam  balances the solitary nature of an artistic life with an abundance of community service projects that benefit a variety of communities.

Find Maryam:
Maryam's Work: Ulterior Gallery, NYC (visit) 

Mentioned:
Nick Terry, artist / Maryam’s husband (see work)
Ulterior Gallery, Takako Tanabe, gallerist (explore)
Venus of Willendorf, feminine goddess artifact (learn)
Marfa, Texas (visit)
Donald Judd, artist (learn)
The Chinati Foundation (explore)

Find Me, Kristy Darnell Battani:
Website:    https://www.kristybattani.com
Instagram:  kristybattaniart
Facebook:  kristybattaniart

Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please take a moment to leave a rating and a comment: https://lovethepodcast.com/artishplunge
 
Music:"Surf Guitar Madness," Alexis Messier,
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Blacksmith, Metalsmith, Queen of the Forge— all fitting titles for Atlanta-based artist CORRINA SEPHORA. Introduced to welding before she finished elementary school, Corrina crafted an intentional career path in metal that has allowed her to make her living as an artist for over 25 years. In this episode, Corrina shares how she overcame the barriers to entry of her chosen field and how she manages her team with transformational leadership principles to create towering sculptures and celestial paintings that explore navigation, transformation, love and loss.

Find Corrina:

Website: corrinasephora.com
Instagram: @corrinasephora.metalartist
Linkedin: corrina-sephora-mensoff
Facebook: corrina.mensoff
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC69uM-WCFUCx4GwEDSVOi5w

 Mentioned:
Transformational workshops, Landmark Wisdom (featured panelist)
Goat Farm, Atlanta GA, artist community (learn)
Diamondback Art Surfaces , wood panels (buy)
Alyson Stanfield, art business coach (learn)
Louise Nevelson, sculptor (learn)
Louise Bourgeois, sculptor (learn)
Kiki Smith, sculptor (learn)
James Turrell, light and space artist (learn)
Flowing is Water, Corrina Sephora fairytale, video (watch)
A Reckless Insistence on Beauty, Elaine Sutton (read)
Chastain Arts Center, 2022 Spring Show (visit)
Spalding Nix Fine Art, gallery  Atlanta GA (explore)
Blue Heron Nature Preserve, Roswell, GA (explore) 

Find Me, Kristy Darnell Battani:
Website:    https://www.kristybattani.com
Instagram:  kristybattaniart
Facebook:  kristybattaniart

Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please take a moment to leave a rating and a comment: https://lovethepodcast.com/artishplunge
 
Music:"Surf Guitar Madness," Alexis Messier,
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How has a small peasant woman with rudimentary art supplies and childlike paintings of fantastical beasts forced the world to acknowledge the absurdity of war? Ukrainian folk artist MARIA PRYMACHENKO  (1908-1997) —dubbed the People’s Artist of Ukraine—produced hundreds of small, colorful gouache paintings of imaginary creatures, flowers and village scenes filled with traditional Ukrainian decorative patterns that captured the heart and soul of a nation. In this ARTish Words episode, we discuss why the recent Russian bombing of a small art museum that housed some of Maria’s works has unified resistance, why art matters in this moment, and what efforts are being made to protect artworks like Maria’s.

Find  Maria:

• UATV Virtual Museum Tour of Maria Prymachenko work and life / UATV is the Ukrainian state foreign language broadcaster providing international audiences with news from Ukraine (watch three-part series) 
• Prymachenko Family Foundation (follow) 
• Rug Your Life + Prymachenko Family Foundation Collaboration (support) 
• PPARTEM + Prymachenko Family Foundation Hoodie Collaboration (support) 
• Center for Art Law, (learn) 

Learn More About Maria and Current Ukrainian Crisis:

• Ukrainian Artist Maria Prymachenko’s Fantastical Visions Have Captivated the World—Here Are 3 Key Insights Into Her Life and Work, Artnet News  (read) 
•  Artworks of Ukrainian Folk Artist Maria Prymachenko Reportedly Burned During Russian Invasion, by  Madeleine Muzdakis on My Modern Met, March 3, 2022 (read) https://mymodernmet.com/ukrainian-folk-maria-prymachenko/ 
•  Flowers for Peace: The Spirited Art of Ukrainian Artist Maria Prymachenko That is Now Becoming a Symbol of Hope, by Shira Wolfe on Artland (read) 
• How Ukrainians are desperately fighting to protect their cultural heritage amid an invasion, by Rupendra Brahambhatt on DME Science  (read) 
• ‘All art must go underground:’ Ukraine scrambles to shield its cultural heritage, Washington Post, by Max Bearak and Isabelle Khurshudyan , March 14, 2022  (read) 
• Under threat of Russian bombs, Lviv hides away its priceless heritage, by Joel Hunter on BBC News  (read) 

Support Efforts / How You Can Help:

• Overview of General Ukrainian Relief Efforts, compiled by NPR (learn) 
• Links for Emergency Efforts to Support Ukrainian Artists, including emergency housing, studio space, art relocation (learn) 
• SUCHO (Saving Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Online) /  cultural heritage professionals – librarians, archivists, researchers, programmers – working to

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How do you create a sustainable art career over 40 years? New Orleans native ADELE SYPESTEYN shares how paying attention to everything— what’s working, what’s not—and not being afraid to change directions has allowed her to  maintain a successful career as a contemporary artist and educator, including walking away from gallery representation, embracing new venues, Instagram sales and YouTube videos.

Find Adele:
Website:  adelesypesteynstudio.com
Art with Adele Academy:   adelesypesteynstudio.com/art-with-adele
Instagram:   @adelesypesteyn
Facebook:  adelesypesteynstudio  

 Mentioned:

• POSCA paint pens (buy)
• reworksHOME, by Willem Sypesteyn and Chotsie Gregson / elegant pieces crafted from beautiful and unusual objects sourced from around the world (explore) 
• Otis College of Art and Design, Extension Workshops and classes (explore) 
• Sunny Lenarduzzi, YouTube leader, creator of “Helping You Be Your Own Boss,”  (watch) 
• Adele’s Art With Kidz (explore) 
• Sliding Doors, early Gwyneth Paltrow movie (watch trailer) 

Find Me, Kristy Darnell Battani:
Website:    https://www.kristybattani.com
Instagram:  kristybattaniart
Facebook:  kristybattaniart

Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please take a moment to leave a rating and a comment: https://lovethepodcast.com/artishplunge
 
Music:"Surf Guitar Madness," Alexis Messier,
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Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/artishplunge)

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