The Art Box

Hosted by MJ Stiles | Recorded at the Mesquite Works STEAM Center

In this soulful and moving episode of The Art Box, MJ Stiles sits down with acclaimed musician and storyteller John McAndrew, a man whose music has reached audiences around the world, featured in major films, national events, and Grammy-considered albums.

With a voice as raw as it is inspiring, John shares his journey of redemption, resilience, and the relentless pur...

In this episode of The Art Box, Steve reconnects with muralist and musician Tanoo, a passionate artist whose mission is to bring public art and deeper meaning to overlooked spaces in downtown Las Vegas. After meeting Tanoo at the Fremont Street Spring Fair hosted by our friend Liezl, Steve knew this was a conversation worth having.

What started as a simple idea for a podcast took a profound turn when Tanoo revealed he’s also a Budd...

In this special episode of The Art Box, host Steve sits down with Ian Wright and Lexie Little, leaders of the Utah Cultural Site Stewardship Program, to discuss a powerful intersection of history, preservation, and storytelling.

Ian and Lexie share the journey behind their extensive research and collaboration to create the Buffalo Soldiers Heritage Trail, a statewide interpretive project that shines a long-overdue spotlight on the ...

Welcome to The Art Box! I’m your host, MJ Stiles, and today we’re recording from our Mesquite Works STEAM Center studio with someone who’s been lighting up the local art scene since his early teens.

Liam Gutierrez has been a featured artist at Juniper Outpost Boutique in Mesquite, Nevada since he was just 14 years old. Beloved by customers and deeply appreciated by shop owners Charlotte and David, Liam’s work is a staple of the bou...

Welcome to The Art Box. If you're one of our many loyal listeners tuning in from across all 50 states and 59 countries, you know that while we often focus on the arts, we occasionally wander—intentionally—into other realms of creativity, heart, and human experience. After all, we believe that nearly everything in life holds an element of art.

Today, we’re joined once again by our friend and frequent guest, Shannon McConnell, in our...

In this vibrant episode of The Art Box, MJ sits down with her friend and fellow creative spirit, Melissa Osburg, for a wide-ranging and heartfelt conversation about art, healing, and finding joy through color. A self-taught abstract and mixed media artist originally from New Orleans and now based in Texas, Melissa shares how painting became a form of therapy during a challenging time in her life.

Since 2016, Melissa has embraced ar...

In this heartwarming episode, Steve had the pleasure of sitting down with his friends, and the dynamic brother-sister duo, Ara and Juan Fernanda, at the Mesquite Works STEAM Center studio. Together, they share the story behind Fat Dough Bakery, where baking is more than a craft, it’s a sensory experience and a service-driven passion.

We journey back to their childhood memories of the aromas and flavors from their homet...

Steve was deeply honored to sit down with one of his art heroes, Reno-based artist and professor Candace Garlock, whose generous spirit and boundless creativity make her not only an extraordinary talent, but also one of the kindest souls in the art world.

Candace’s richly layered printmaking and mixed media work delves into memory, identity, and the emotional threads that connect us all. In this conversation, she shares her journey...

In this episode of The Art Box, we welcome back Utah author and longtime friend Kase Johnstun to talk about his powerful new book Cast Away. Co-hosted by published author and Art Box regular Sandi Randelle, the conversation dives deep into the heart of Kase’s storytelling—from the raw truths of Cast Away to the lyrical beauty of his earlier novel Let the Wild Grasses Grow (a personal favorite of Steve’s).

Sandi and Kase spark some ...

In this special episode of The Art Box, Sandi and Steve sit down with two powerful voices in the humanities: Bobbie Ann Howell from Nevada Humanities and Kase Johnstun from Utah Humanities. Together, they explore the vital role the humanities play in shaping the cultural and civic fabric of underserved and rural communities across the West. In an age of shifting priorities and tightening budgets, their conversation sheds light on w...

In this heartwarming episode of The Art Box, MJ sits down with children’s book author Chantel Murray, whose children's book You Are a Light, Shine Bright is already lighting up hearts and homes. A devoted mom to two boys, wife to her best friend, and sunset-chaser at heart, Chantel shares how small moments of beauty and kindness inspire her storytelling.

We talk about her mission to help kids discover the light within themselves, h...

Welcome to The Art Box Podcast! This is the fourth of five special episodes recorded on the road in Goldfield, Nevada, a place where creativity meets resilience in the heart of the high desert.

Our featured guest is Bob Dewhurst—known locally and lovingly as Sign Painter Bob.

With over 50 years of experience painting large-scale signs across San Francisco and the vast stretches of Nevada, Bob shares stories that stretch as far and ...

Welcome to The Art Box Podcast! This is the final of five special episodes recorded on the road in Goldfield, Nevada, a place where creativity meets resilience in the heart of the high desert.

In this episode we sit down with artist and community leader Astrid Larsen, whose creative vision reaches far beyond her own studio walls.

Astrid is a founder of the Esmeralda High Desert Institute (EHDI), a dynamic nonprofit working to organ...

Welcome to The Art Box Podcast! This is the third of five special episodes recorded on the road in Goldfield, Nevada, a place where creativity meets resilience in the heart of the high desert.

In this episode of The Art Box, we sit down with Adrianne Beard, a creative cornerstone of Main Street Goldfield, manager of the whimsical Rusty Cove Boutique, and an artist whose work dances between the intuitive and the intricately imagined...

Welcome to The Art Box Podcast! This is the second of five special episodes recorded on the road in Goldfield, Nevada, a place where creativity meets resilience in the heart of the high desert.

In this episode of The Art Box, we sit down with Tim Hipp, a key force behind the revitalization of Goldfield, Nevada. As a leader with Main Street Goldfield, manager of the Miners RV Park, and a former Esmeralda County Commissioner, Tim bri...

Welcome to The Art Box Podcast! This is the first of five special episodes recorded on the road in Goldfield, Nevada, a place where creativity meets resilience in the heart of the high desert. We’re kicking things off by tuning in to the soul of the town: Radio Goldfield KGFN 89.1, and sitting down with the voice behind it all, Carl Brownfield.

Carl and his wife have transformed this small-town community station, housed in a caboos...

Thanks in part to generous support of the Nevada Arts Council The Art Box had the distinct pleasure of sitting down with Las Vegas-based creator Zoë Camper. We caught up with her in a lively hallway (please pardon the occasional comings and goings—and those charmingly squeaky chairs) at the Historic 5th Street School, just hours before the U.S. debut of the exhibition she co-curated with Julie Samuels: Creativity Is a New Formula f...

Welcome to our fifteenth and last episode of The Art Box recorded at the Tuscarora Pottery School in the spring of 2025, thanks in part to a grant by the Nevada Arts Council. In this episode of The Art Box, we’re honored to sit down with Ben Parks, a true giant in the world of ceramics and former director of the Tuscarora Pottery School. As the son of renowned potter and founder Dennis Parks, Ben has spent a lifetime immersed in th...

Welcome to our fourteenth episode of The Art Box recorded at the Tuscarora Pottery School thanks in part to a grant by the Nevada Arts Council. In this episode, Steve took the easiest (and most rewarding) walk of the week, just next door from the Tuscarora Pottery School, to sit down with the incredibly talented Sidne Teske, a pastel artist whose work captures the spirit and serenity of the high desert landscape she calls home.

Liv...