Side Crafts – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, guest Nhut Le joins Jocelyn Hallman in conversation about pottery and many other forms of creative expression - including acting. Nhut is an actor whom you may know for his portrayal of Judomaster in HBO Max's Peacemaker. He is also a visual artist who has experimented with many art forms, from painting to woodworking, sewing and more.

We talk about what Nhut makes, his inspirations, and the materials he loves to work with. Nhut loves to learn new things, especially about ancient art forms, and is constantly challenging himself to grow. He speaks a lot about pottery as meditation and the experience of being in community in the studio. We also discuss perfectionism, embracing mistakes, and feeling okay about not knowing what exactly is going to happen in the kiln. Nhut shares how working with his hands translates into the sensory, immersive experience of working as an actor. 

After the episode, head over to my Instagram @sidecraftspodcast to see photos of some of Nhut’s work. While you’re there, please follow the show! 

Follow Nhut on Instagram @itsnhutle or on his pottery page @3circlepottery. 

His Etsy shop is at https://www.etsy.com/shop/3CirclePottery. 

In this episode, Jocelyn is joined by Anna Lambe, an actor and beadwork artist from Iqaluit, Nunavut. Anna has appeared in Three Pines on Amazon Prime, Trickster on CBC, True Detective, Alaska Daily, Diggstown, and more. She started beading during the pandemic and has become a skilled artist and designer of jewelry, primarily making beaded earrings in two-needle flat stitch and brick stitch.  

Anna and Jocelyn discuss how Anna got started with beading, her design process, how she shows love to family, friends, and community through beading, and her love for the Indigenous beadwork community online. She also explains how her practice as a beadwork artist compares to her practice as an actor, and Anna and Jocelyn discover that they each performed in only one play in high school - and it was the same one!

After the episode, go to @sidecraftspodcast on Instagram to see photos of Anna’s work!

Follow Anna on Instagram @anna.r.b.lambe. 

The beadwork artists we talked about include: 

Only Child Handicrafts - https://www.onlychildhandicrafts.com/ - Instagram: @onlychildhandicrafts

White Otter Design Co (Jaymie Campbell) - https://whiteotterdesignco.com/ - Instagram: @whiteotterdesignco

Astro-Knot (Krystal Cox) - https://astro-knot.co/ - Instagram: @astroknotco

Blu Hummingbird - https://bluhummingbird.ca/ - Instagram: @blu_hummingbird

Lisa.Beading (Lisa Walker) - https://www.lisabeading.com/ - Instagram: @lisa.beading 

City NDN Beadwork (Jana Schmieding) - https://www.cityndnbeadwork.com/ - Instagram: @cityndn.beadwork 

Jocelyn Hallman is joined by theatre artist and TV/film actor Amanda Schoonover (Dispatches from Elsewhere) to talk about sewing. Amanda is an amazing quilter who specializes in piecework, and her quilts tend to feature a vibrant rainbow color palette combined with dark, gothy, witchy imagery. In this episode we discuss Amanda's early memories of learning to sew, the origins of her aesthetic and the fabrics and techniques she uses to realize it, some of the ways she uses quilts to tell stories, and how the pandemic has affected community and creativity among artists.

Photos of the quilts mentioned in this episode may be found on the Side Crafts Instagram @sidecraftspodcast!

Follow Amanda on Instagram @amandabethschoonover.

Patterns and fabrics mentioned in this episode:

Flock Together by Stacey Day
Nova and Supernova by Tula Pink
Nightshade, De La Luna, and Parisville by Tula Pink
Nebula by Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts

Amanda's short film: In His Pocket

Jocelyn is joined in this episode by Annette O'Toole, who currently plays Hope McCrea on Netflix's Virgin River. Annette is a lifelong knitter, and this episode is a deep dive into all things wool and knitting! We talk about how she became a knitter, some of the various techniques and fibers she uses, past and current projects, knitting as meditation, how knitting can build community, and some of the ways that knitting contributes to activism. But most importantly, Annette shares how knitting is her constant companion, one that brings her solace and joy.

Photographs of the knitting projects mentioned in this episode may be found on the Side Crafts Instagram @sidecraftspodcast!

Follow Annette on Twitter or Instagram, where she regularly posts photos of her knitting!

Instagram: @annetteotoole4152
Twitter: @creamofwool

Books and patterns mentioned in the episode:

Folk Shawls by Cheryl Oberle
Tensfield by Martina Behm
Langfield by Martina Behm
Truss by Tanis Lavallee
Kierson by Rebecca Blair for Brooklyn Tweed (the garter and cable cardigan Annette mentioned)
Peggotty by Claire Slade
Rikke by Sarah Young
Garter Squish (Squishy) by Stephen West
Tomten Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman
Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman
Merle by Amy Christoffers for Brooklyn Tweed
Gro Shawl by Fiber Tales 

Yarns that Annette mentioned:

Suzanna Crampton
Instagram: @zwartblesireland

Brooklyn Tweed 
Instagram: @brooklyntweed

Other links:

Project Linus

"Loopy Lucy" from Fairy Tale Wool (the tool that Jocelyn's five-year-old daughter is using to learn to knit)

For more from Annette on knitting, follow up by listening to her interview with Sara Schaefer on The Schaefer Shakedown podcast!

In this very special first episode of the podcast, Jocelyn Hallman talks to Mary Catherine Garrison (Somebody Somewhere, Veep) about painting, weaving, ceramics, and more. We discuss her early memories of crafting, artistic inspirations, the freedom she seeks in creating and learning new crafts, art and our kids, and some of the political aspects of her work.  

Follow and comment on this episode on Instagram at @sidecraftspodcast 

Visit Mary Catherine online!
Instagram: @marycgarrison
Website: https://marycatherinegarrison.com/ 
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/mcatgarrison 

Please follow and review the show - this helps it grow! 

Transcripts coming soon!

Welcome to Side Crafts! Coming in September 2022, Jocelyn Hallman talks to actors, musicians, and other performers about the crafting, artmaking, building and creating that they do on the side. 

In this episode, Jocelyn Hallman talks to actor Aya Cash (The Boys, Welcome to Flatch, You’re the Worst) about her newfound love of ceramics. We talk about the rituals of working in the studio, embracing imperfections, accepting the loss of control that comes with the unpredictability of clay and glaze, making body parts, trimming as editing, and the narratives of ceramic pieces. Aya is an avid crafter, and in this episode we also talk about her other adventures in crafting - many of which she describes as failures - including decoupage, felting, painting, knitting, jewelry making, and on and on. We talk about making a lot of “bad art” and how Aya feels like she’s now found the visual art practice she’s going to stick with for life. 

After the show, go to @sidecraftspodcast on Instagram to see pictures of some of Aya’s work! You can also follow Aya on Instagram @maybeayacash.

Some of the things Aya mentions in this episode include Fat Cat Pottery in North Carolina, her friend Galen Djuna’s (@galendjuna) Etsy shop Knitty Titties, and the Playwrights Horizons (@phnyc) craft fair in New York City.  

Jocelyn is joined in this episode by Chasten Harmon, a deeply intuitive knitter and knitwear designer. Chasten is an actor who has appeared on Broadway in Mr. Saturday Night and Hair, has toured nationally with Les Miserables, and has appeared on many television series and films, including The Good Fight, Damnation, and Paterson. 

In this conversation we discuss knitting as sacred work, embodiment, her coaching practice, the creative force of Black womxn, and her work as a knitter and knitwear designer - including her collaboration with Free People. Knitting is also my primary craft, and it was a real joy to talk fibre, colour, and the creative process in knitting with Chasten. 

After the episode, go to @sidecraftspodcast on Instagram to see images of some of Chasten's work. You can also find her on Instagram @chastenharmon and @plusharmour. Her knitting can be found in her Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/PlushArmour. 

In this episode, Jocelyn Hallman talks to actors Pablo Azar and Ana Carolina Grajales, both of whom have appeared in many television series and films, including over 600 episodes between them of Spanish-language telenovelas. Pablo and Ana are engaged in a range of artistic projects that include paintings, murals, art classes, comedy videos, and NFT collections. 

We discuss how the arts showed up in their childhoods, how Toonymania (the painting style and then the business) came to be, their approach to creating large scale public art and to teaching art classes, the role of their comedy videos as part of their artistic practice, their venture into the world of digital art and NFTs, and the impacts of social media, online communities, and going viral. 

After the show, go to @sidecraftspodcast on Instagram to see pictures of some of their art!

Follow Pablo and Ana online: 

Instagram 

@toonymaniacs

@anacarolinasway

@azarpablo

TikTok

@toonymaniacs

@azarpablo 

You can also find them on Facebook and at http://www.toonymania.com. 

In this episode, Jocelyn Hallman talks to actor Michael Chernus (Severance, The Accidental Wolf, Orange is the New Black, Easy) about tie dyeing, music, gardening, art as community practice, and the act of caring for others through art.

After the show, go to @sidecraftspodcast on Instagram to see pictures of some of Michael's dye work! 

Follow Michael on Instagram @mchernus and on Twitter @MichaelChernus. You can also check out more about the Tie Dyen' 4 Biden project on Instagram @tiedyen4biden. 

Michael expressed huge gratitude to Jacquard Products for their support during the tie dye fundraiser for the Biden-Harris campaign. He and the rest of the team used Jacquard's cold water procion MX dyes for their shirts. Check it out at https://www.jacquardproducts.com/ or on Instagram @jacquardproducts.