What if your creativity was the loudest voice in the room?
In this episode of the Creative Slash Podcast, Brad and Dustin sit down with illustrator and letterer Mary Kate McDevitt to talk about aliens, simulated realities, and the messy balance between creativity and commentary.
From punk shows and fake IDs to organizing art around advocacy, Mary Kate opens up about her journey from skater poser to full-blown creative powerhouse living in a Vermont farmhouse with disco balls and barn concerts.
They unpack:
- The risks and rewards of speaking up as a creative
- Why vulnerability online doesn’t have to mean being polarizing
- The chaos-to-clarity loop behind making art and organizing a creative life
- How a “tornado” of ideas becomes a career (and a pond full of frogs)
It's real, it's hilarious, it's inspiring, and yes, you’ll probably want to move to Vermont by the end of it.
Join the Creative Slash Patreon
Want more than just the episode? Join our free Patreon community for:
• Early episode access
• Behind-the-scenes content
• Bonus clips and tools
• A space to connect with fellow creatives
It’s free, fun, and helps keep the podcast ad-free.
Join the Creative Slash Community
Brad Woodard
Brad is an illustrator and designer behind Brave the Woods, a full-service studio working with clients like Nickelodeon, Target, USPS, and NASA. His bold, playful style and heart-led storytelling shine through everything from brand campaigns to children’s books.
Dustin Lee
Dustin is the founder of RetroSupply, a shop for retro-inspired brushes, textures, and digital tools used by tens of thousands of creatives — from indie artists to major studios. He shares what it’s really like to run a creative business while keeping it small, weird, and intentional.
Credits
Audio/video editing: Clara Wright
Cover art: Brad Woodard
Intro animation: Seth Austin
Intro music: “Snakes and Fire” (Instrumental) by Pär Hagström
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!