Creative Culture

This week I spoke to Jared Polin of FroKnowsPhoto about Photoshop's new generative AI and other apps such as MidJourney AI.  They are dramatically changing everything about art and photography. Do we really need humans to take photographs? Are graphic designers becoming irrelevant?    We also talked about the trend for shooting film and how a lot of people are simply wasting their time by not unde...

Joining me today is Prano Bailey-Bond, the filmmaker who wrote and directed Censor, a movie that takes place during the U.K. "Video Nasties" era and tells the story of Enid, a film censor who screens all these videos to implement cuts of scenes deemed too dangerous to be viewed. The movie asks if watching violent movies causes people to act violent, then what prevents censors from also becoming vi...

Help support this podcast! https://www.patreon.com/creativeculturepod     Nick Lewis is a designer with the goal of simplifying interior design. He's not afraid to voice his opinions on design trends that might be here to stay and others that need to go. Nick represents such a rational voice in what can be very subjective, even divisive topics. Why is interior design important in our lives and why...

Scott Dixon joined me this week to discuss his YouTube channel, Everyday Home Repairs, which has detailed tutorials on how to fix just about anything in and around your house. Ever wonder how to add an electrical outlet in a wall without access to an attic or crawlspace…and not rip apart the wall? Do you have a crack in your concrete driveway that needs fixing or a faucet that won't stop dripping?...

Zack Nelson is the creator of JerryRigEverything, a YouTube channel mostly about technology. With over 1.6 billion channel views, you've probably seen one of his many videos taking apart phones, testing their durability, or showing you how to repair them.  Or maybe you've seen his videos on electric vehicles: he built his own electric Hummer.    Zack is also interested in accessibility issues and...

Cassandra Aarssen the world's leading expert on decluttering and organizing. She helps people to understand why we have such a hard time dealing with all the stuff in our lives. In addition to general organizing advice, I wanted to have Cas on the show to help the artists and creative people who listen to this show with our workspaces. I've talked to thousands of people who seem to have the same s...

Within 5 years, the U.S. is likely to reach a critical juncture where is will be difficult to hire anyone to fix a leaky pipe or worse, repair a structural problem with your house. Ethan James is a leader at the forefront of research and education on the trade labor shortage. In this episode of The WTS we discussed what is being done to encourage young people to learn a trade and fill the massive...

Morgan Eckroth is the reigning US Barista Champion who finished second in the 2022 World Barista Championship. Morgandrinkscoffee is a blend of real world experience, practical advice, art, education, business, and pure entertainment: all revolving around coffee.   In a sea of angry videos, cynical videos, confrontational videos, endless clickbait and short-attention span noise, Morgan's short for...

Basia Adamiec is a metalsmith and silversmith who crafts fine jewelry and shares her work with the world on her YouTube channel, The Art of Metalsmithing, a great resource for learning the tools and techniques needed to make your own jewelry and become a jeweler. Check out her work:   https://www.youtube.com/@TheArtOfMetalsmithing     Support The WTS at https://www.patreon.com/thewts     Website:...

Benjamin Sinclair is the bass player for The Beths , as well as a hand tool woodworker. He also plays saxophone and keeps a detailed online journal of his experiences touring on the road. In this episode, we talk about art, performing with The Beths, and the convergence of creative interests.  Read Ben's travel blog Listen to The Beths on Spotify Support The WTS

It was fun to catch up with Jason Hibbs from Bourbon Moth Woodworking and talk about the life cycle of woodworkers on YouTube, the Airstream cult, and why TV can't draw any audience for woodworking shows. We also have a formal statement from Blacktail Studio about the river table debate.    Bourbon Moth on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Bourbonmoth Help support The WTS: https://www.patreon.com/...

Jon is a graffiti artist and teacher whose videos transcend mere education and touch upon other topics and philosophy in the world of art. In this episode we get into the future of art and how artificial intelligence can create art much quicker and, in many cases, just as good as humans. Will we really need human artists for most art creation, especially commercial art and graphic design?   Jon's...

Help support The WTS: https://www.patreon.com/thewts      Kseniya Simonova's art is engaging, challenging, emotional, and inspiring…and she does it all with sand. Real-time stories, performed with sand.   I first discovered Kseniya back in 2019 when I saw her perform on America's Got Talent and was sent directly to the finals when Terry Crews gave her the golden buzzer. She also was a finalist on...

Justin McElroy is a comedian, voice actor and podcaster known for long running podcasts such as Adventure Zone, Sawbones,  My Brother, My Brother, and Me, and more. Woodworking has been his life's work since late May of 2020. In this episode we talk about woodworking, podcasting, comedy, and how I caught a cold.    Check out all the McElroy stuff: https://www.themcelroy.family/ How to fake in inte...

Support the podcast at: https://www.patreon.com/thewts     Cam Anderson from Blacktail Studio is back for the 3.5th time to talk about epoxy, big slabs of wood, and YouTube.   Blacktail Studio is still the most popular woodworking channel on YouTube, recently passing 2 million subscribers, a significant number of whom are probably hate-watching. (You know who you are.) Cam's got over 227 million c...

  Bonsai is an artform unlike any other in the amount of time, dedication and patience it takes to see results. It's a form of sculpture that can take years to see how your efforts will take shape. Bonsai trees can be centuries old and require very special care to keep them beautiful and healthy.   And that's where Darren George comes in. Darren describes himself as a bonsai practitioner. On his Y...

Anne-Marie Faiola has created a soapmaking empire with Bramble Berry, a company she founded in 1999 in a 400 square foot space. Today she is CEO, the company has more than 100 employees   With over 60,000 customers, Bramble Berry is THE place to shop online for supplies and kits as well as being a vast educational resource for people getting into the craft of soapmaking or starting their own busin...

With the Halloween season upon us, I'm happy to have Jaime Nakae and Jay Grenier joining me back on the podcast.   Their YouTube channel, Wicked Makers, is THE place to go for all your DIY Halloween decorating needs. You can learn how to make spiderwebs, creepy skulls, haunted mirrors, floating ghosts, pirate chests and much more.   Suppoprt The WTS! https://www.patreon.com/thewts   Wicked Makers...

Jared Polin started posting videos on YouTube in 2008 and has been grinding ever since. His channel Fro Knows Photo is a great place to learn photography and keep up with the latest cameras, gear and photography news.   In this episode we catch up with Jared's business, YouTube, the craft of photography, what kind of gear to consider, and ways you can get better shots.    Jared's YouTube Channel:...

Support the podcast by becoming a WTS+ member: https://www.patreon.com/thewts     Florian Gadsby is a ceramicist who creates hand thrown stoneware and pottery out of his studio in North London. He's made thousands of exquisite cups, mugs, bowls, vases, jars and more which he sells on his website at floriangadsby.com. About 5 or 6 years ago he began diligently  posting his work daily on instagram a...

Enjoy the podcast? Become a WTS+ member! https://www.patreon.com/thewts     What exactly was Andy Warhol trying to say with his Marilyn Monroe series? Why are people emotionally moved, sometimes to tears, by viewing a large, geometric shape of color painted by Mark Rothko? Why does Nighthawks by Edward Hopper feel so cold and lonely? What makes Michaelangelo's David different from other depictions...

Please help support the WTS! https://www.patreon.com/thewts     This is one of the most kickass stories you're going to hear on this podcast. Of all the artists and makers I've talked to, none have embodied the DIY spirit of this show more than filmmakers Toby Poser, John Adams, and their two daughters, Zelda and Lulu: The Adams Family. They are the ultimate DIY family: they take turns acting and...

Please consider supporting The WTS and becoming a WTS+ member. https://www.patreon.com/thewts     Grady Hillhouse is a civil engineer and creator of Practical Engineering, a YouTube channel devoted to explaining the man-made infrastructure of the world surrounding us. His videos teach us about how aquifers and dams work, or how water towers supply our homes with water. You'll learn about the impor...

This week I talked to Sam Raimondi, the DIY Huntress, in her professional capacity as a psychologist to see if she can offer us all some strategies for dealing with the funk we all seem to be in after the past couple years. It's great to have hobbies to give us an outlet to relieve some of the stress we feel, but with inflation, the cost of materials, looming recession, and general uncertainty, it...

Martina and Hansi are the Norwegian duo behind Nerdforge, a YouTube channel devoted to creating art and building projects often with a fantasy and swords and sorcery focus.   In this episode we talked about how they make books, armor, models, dioramas, and much more. And we discussed how Martina lost a finger using a tablesaw.    Visit Nerdforge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Nerdforge    ...