Cut the Craft – Details, episodes & analysis

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Recorded June 6, 2023. 

William Deresiewicz is a non-fiction writer whose work includes The End of Solitude, Excellent Sheep, and A Jane Austin Education. In this episode he speaks with us about his book The Death of the Artist: How Creators are Struggling to Survive in the age of Billionaires and Big Tech. Over the course of our conversation Bill gives us a synopsis of the book and highlights different factors that have resulted in the current marketplace for creatives. He includes the new formation of “parasocial relationships” with fans and customers that are a part of selling creative work and acknowledges the death of institutional gatekeepers, which is a double edged sword. This interview is one you will not want to miss.

To find more of Bills’s work visit: https://billderesiewicz.com/

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Recorded September 19, 2022. 

Dr. Esra Alhamal creates illuminated paintings and works out of England.  In this episode, she clears up the language surrounding biomorphic patterns and the western idea of Islamic Art. Instead, Esra promotes the Arabic word Nabati; meaning “from plant” to describe the organic curvy patterns she uses to create illuminated paintings. She guides us through regional differences in the stylized visual patterns and talks about her own process as she creates different pieces. She teaches illumination, has her own paint company, and publishes a podcast about art, but still finds time to relax with the repetition of her own practice. As she says, it’s nice to have a goal but being true to your creative self leads to satisfaction.

Clarification: Esra was referring to two different books. Richard Sennet’s “The Craftsman” and Peter Korn’s “Why we make things and why it matters”

To find more of Esra’s work visit her website: https://www.islamicillumination.com/, or bristleandbrush.co.uk, and listen to her Podcast: https://www.islamicillumination.com/podcast

Instagram: @artilluminatedpodcast, and @islamicillumination

Help keep the podcast alive! Visit our Patreon, pick up some Merch, or make a one time donation! Listeners make it all possible. THANK YOU SO MUCH! 

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Recorded July 25, 2022. 

Ceramic artist David “Swen” Swenson creates his utilitarian wares in Clearwater, Minnesota. His work is a cacophony of design elements and motifs that fit together like quilt pieces. Swen draws inspiration from a variety of places, from ancient pottery in museums to art history, but always manages to work his own narrative into his pieces. He gives credit to his dyslexia for his spatial acumen, and also for understanding how students learn in different ways when he’s teaching. As an artist, he remains flexible while he brings many elements together into something that remains playful and is a joy to use.

To find more of Swen’s work visit his website: https://swenwares.wixsite.com/swenwares, or his Instagram @swenwares.

Help keep the podcast alive! Visit our Patreon, pick up some Merch, or make a one time donation! Listeners make it all possible. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

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Recorded April 25, 2022.  Episode contains some language.

Textile Artist and surface designer Aliyah Salmon has had a recent breakthrough with her large hand-tufted wall hangings. The opportunity came quickly to start working with tufting during the pandemic and she’s taken the opportunity in stride as she builds her work and creates larger contemporary yarn paintings. Aliyah offers a fresh perspective on building a vocabulary of motifs and the complex meaning behind the images she hand-tufts. She is truly synthesizing her observations and making sense of them through her artistic process as she uses yarn, an approachable material to spark conversation about uncomfortable topics. 

To find more of Aliyah’s work visit her website: https://www.aliyahsalmon.com/, 

Instagram @tyrabanks_official, and TikTok @aliyahsalmon.

Help keep the podcast alive! Visit our Patreon, pick up some Merch, or make a one time donation! Listeners make it all possible. THANK YOU SO MUCH! 

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Recorded May 2, 2022. 

Bladesmith Andrew Meers focuses his creative practice on making a variety of knives. Most of his knives are heavily embellished art and are not strictly utilitarian. Conversely, he also sometimes makes batches of kitchen knives. Andrew often incorporates story and narrative themes to his work, especially in his decorative inlay which includes anything from a leaping fox to a bee pollinating a flower. His relationship to his work has changed overtime, and he notes that it seems paradoxical: sometimes freeing, sometimes constraining. He also points out his need for balance when incorporating automated machine systems and wonders where the line is formed around his creative work within those processes; a question many craftspeople grapple with in their own work.

To find more of Andew’s work visit his website: https://www.andrewmeersstudio.com/, 

Instagram @mr.meers, Facebook: Andrew Meers.

Help keep the podcast alive! Visit our Patreon, pick up some Merch, or make a one time donation! Listeners make it all possible. THANK YOU SO MUCH! 

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Recorded April 18, 2022. 

Soapmaker Andrea Davis is the owner of Motherland Essentials in South Carolina. She focuses on cold process soapmaking and loves the interplay between art and science that soapmaking allows. During our interview she guides us along her path into soapmaking: from a traumatizing situation in the corporate world to how she relied on creativity to help the healing process as she dealt with personal loss. She is making more than nourishing skin and body products; Andrea is resting healing spaces and community with her craft in direct contrast to her previous career. 

To find more of Andrea’s work visit her website: https://www.motherlandessentials.com/, 

Instagram + Facebook + TikTok  + Pinterest @motherlandessentials, Twitter @motheressential, 

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Recorded March 28, 2022. 

Blacksmith Caitlin Morris is the founder of Ms. Caitlin’s School of Blacksmithing in Frederick, Maryland, and  “is dedicated to sharing the craft with as many unsuspecting people as possible!” Caitlin is a dedicated teacher who learned the perils and triumphs associated with learning when she first started her craft. As a smaller-built person, she noticed the difference between technical nuance and brute strength. She learned how to get the results she wanted by breaking down body mechanics to make blacksmithing accessible to anyone and everyone who was interested. During our conversation, she underlines the importance of allowing for failure and the ways in which risk and certainty inform the processes involved in being a successful craftsperson. Caitlin’s ability to observe her students and teach to their skill level is a fantastic example of the craft of teaching itself. 

To find more of Caitlin’s work visit her website: Ms. Caitlins School of Blacksmithing, Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/mscaitlinsschool Instagram @mscaitlinsschool, and Youtube: Ms Caitlin  https://youtu.be/hIw8J9h55_I

Society for Inclusive Blacksmiths 

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Recorded April 4, 2022. 

Ceramicist Makeda Smith took a leap of faith during 2020 to start her own business. She had dabbled in ceramics in college, but when a friend saw her talent and encouraged her to take her creative side more seriously, she decided to accept the challenge. The acknowledgement and support she received from her community culminated in her own home art show called Funktion. From then on, Makeda was hooked. Since then she’s opened a storefront, and was able (with the blessing of her students) to leave her teaching career and become a full-time small business owner. Makeda has so many wonderfully encouraging things to say in this episode. Do not miss the chance to hear them; she’ll brighten your day and change your perspective.

To find more of Makeda’s work visit her website: www.sioceramics.com and

Instagram @sioceramics and her storefront at 716 Monroe Street NE Studio 11, Washington DC.

Help keep the podcast alive! Visit our Patreon, pick up some Merch, or make a one time donation! Listeners make it all possible. THANK YOU SO MUCH! 

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Episode Recorded February 28,  2022. 

Jesse Merrill is a craft baker and greenwood worker/turner from Ontario Canada. He has his feet in two areas of craft. Running Polestar Hearth Bakery supports his family through the planned obsolescence of bread baking which gives him room to delve heart first into green woodworking and turning. During this conversation we talk about craft vs. industry and where those lines are drawn. We elaborate on how we all manage our perfectionism and how loosening up our grip is something very personal, and how it affects various aspects of creativity. Join us Tuesday for more of this introspective conversation!

To find more of Jesse’s work visit his website: www.polestarhearth.com

Instagram @sapwood.and.stars, @polestarhearth 

Help keep the podcast alive! Visit our Patreon, pick up some Merch, or make a one time donation! Listeners make it all possible. THANK YOU SO MUCH! 

Support the show