Pep Talks for Artists

In this episode, Jennifer Coates returns to help me explore the spookily wonderful topic of Women Mystics and their connection to art and artists. In Part 1, we cover mystics from the Pythia of Ancient Greece to ecstatic visionaries like Hildegard von Bingen of the late Medieval era.

P.S.: Keep an eye out for Part 2 where we dip into our fave 20th-century mystical artists.

Ancient Mystics mentioned: The Pythia, priestesses of Apo...

Artists, Jennifer Coates, David Humphrey and Catherine Haggarty and are back for Part 3 of our series on Drawing. This time we switched things up and each artist brought both an artwork from art history and a related work of their own to discuss. Get ready to hear some vivid "ekphrasis" on our drawing picks (new vocab word unlocked-thanks, David!).

Jennifer brought “The Castle with the Angel” 1863 by Victor Hugo and he...

This is an episode about how acting on dumb ideas in the studio can be just the thing to get you out of artist's block or help you make a big change. Get ready for some choice bon mots from the likes of Weird Al Yankovic, Laurie Anderson, William Kentridge and others on the sage subject of being open to studio stupidity.

Mentions: Weird Al Yankovic, Laurie Anderson, William Kentridge, Jack Whitten, Epictetus, Susan Sontag, Mister T,...

*Disclaimer: This episode is meant to be funny and Amy would love to attend any of the aforementioned residencies. Please accept her if you find yourself on a panel. End disclaimer.*

Just got rejected from an artists' residency? Well, this is the mini-episode for you because I am going to let you in on a little technique I use to feel better. There's a curse word abundantly used throughout, so listen far away from small ears, Dear L...

This is a little episode about how I think a one-of-a-kind whale is kind of like the 16th -17th century Mannerist artist El Greco, and also like us. It sounds a little far fetched but admit it, you like me when I’m weird, you weirdo’s

El Greco:

Artworks mentioned: “The Vision of St John” 1608-14 and "View of Toledo" 1599-1600 (El Greco), “Les Desmoiselles D’Avignon" 1907 (Picasso), "Rocks at Fontainbleu" 1890's (Cézanne)

Artists m...

::CW: during the Kathe Kollwitz section, we discuss a print dealing with sexual assault::

Jennifer and I are back with our bushel baskets of researched artists of the past to soothe our shattered nerves. Tune in to hear about 6 artists that made exceptional work under strained circumstances: Käthe Kollwitz, John of Arderne - medieval surgeon and margin doodler, Gustav Metzger, William Gropper, David Hammons and Joan Miró.

Kät...

Today's episode is a special conversation and recap of Elisabeth Condon and my experiences collaborating as visual artists in the ballet project CounterPointe (now in its 12th year) produced by Norte Maar and staged at the Mark O'Donnell Theater (Brooklyn) in March 2025. Jennifer Coates kindly came on to ask us questions about making props and what it was like for 2 newbies to enter the world of dance. Thanks, Jennifer!

Special ...

In this audio essay, I roam from post-war France to the abstract expressionists to the artists of the East Village and even to outer space to consider times in art history when art was forced to bloom in the dark. These under-the-radar moments yielded deeply experimental work, and I wonder how we might channel some of that spirit in our own time.

Artists mentioned: Laurie Anderson, Joan Miro, Jean Dubuffet, Marcel Duchamp, David Woj...

I'm offering for you here a new mini ep about what I've been thinking about lately: the wackiness of Meret Oppenheim's titles - and how they expand the mystery of her images rather than explain them. 

I recently snagged the catalog from the Moma retrospective show from last year and highly recommend it if you don't have it yet. It's full of lovely color plates: https://store.moma.org/products/meret-oppenheim-my-exhibition-hardcover ...

This is Part 2 of Mandolyn Wilson Rosen and my review of "Lifeline: Clyfford Still" 2019 directed by Dennis Scholl. It's a juicy art bio tell-all with a crusty curmudgeon as its talented but embittered subject. Don't forget to listen to Part 1 too!

Mandolyn Wilson Rosen is back on the podcast! This time, instead of a book we are talking about an artist documentary. The film is called "Lifeline: Clyfford Still" 2019 directed by Dennis Scholl. It's a juicy art bio tell-all with a crusty curmudgeon as its talented but embittered subject. Come along with us as we enter a turbulently Still world.

Find the film on Amazon ($2.99 SD) or for free on Kanopy

Find Mandolyn online at: http...

Jennifer Coates is back with me this week to cohost Part 4 of our series about researching our way to feeling better as artists. This time we go all the way back to 1306 to the Mongol empire and then zoom forward to the 1970's in the USSR and with a few more stops in between. We studied hard (and maybe got C minuses) but we ended up feeling inspired and hope you will too.

The artists we spoke about:

Zheng Sixiao of Southern Chin...

Welcome back, Elisabeth! This time I am very excited to be speaking to Artist, Elisabeth Condon, about one of my favorite Chicago Imagists: Christina Ramberg.

Artist, Jennifer Coates is back for Part 3 in our series about finding artistic resilience through research! This time we look at these artists and how they adapted to their own gloomy times of foreboding:

Visit glögg glögg, a POP up ART sale, Dec 13-14 in Woodstock NY: website or IG

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What can an artist do during times of political unrest and instability? In this episode (Part 2 of our series), we aim to find out. Jennifer Coates joins me again to share some stories from the past of how artists coped throughout history, because somehow research is very reassuring right now!

We looked at the ways these specific artist...

Jennifer Coates, friend of the pod, is back to help me consider a new way forward (artwise) after the destabilizing event of the US election. She, herself, is finding comfort in the long history of rocks, geology and the cosmos, while I find myself turning to a book about how Matisse and his daughter, Marguerite, both reacted to the trauma of WWII in opposite yet valid ways. It's a bit of a potpourri, but we promise some great galv...

This bonus episode is a promotion for NYC Crit Club's "The Canopy Program" 2025, a year-long mentorship community for artists. Founder and artist, Catherine Haggarty, stopped by the pod to tell me more about what the program offers, who it's for, and which artists she has on deck to lead the cohorts next year.

I'm back in the interview seat with Kristen Mills, an artist working in video, sculpture and installation. We discussed her latest show at Turley Gallery where she covered an entire room with cardboard and made it into a spaceship cockpit. Her video work features clones of herself, multiplied, and combines humor and old school editing techniques to create surreal worlds of play and exploration. The digital elements are then ensconc...

Dear Listeners, it's spooky season. In that spirit, I offer you this mini episode about taking a mini break from the career grind. Why not instead light a spell candle while getting clear on what we really want? Shelve the "should's" for a bit and get witchy with me.