Art Ladders: The Creative Climb

In this latest episode, Armin and Val discussed the importance of maintaining focus as artists. This can range from adopting simple habits that promote concentration to being fiercely protective of your studio time. Artists thrive in that magical state of flow, which requires a natural ability to focus. Whenever an artist is sidetracked from their vision, it may take hours, days, or even weeks to...

What a lovely weekend I had in Texas visiting my Aunt! It was jam packed with artistic and cultural experiences. A very special Friday morning was a studio visit with my Instagram Robin Maria Pedrero. It was our first time to meet in person and we had so much to discuss. On my return to Michigan, I said to Armin that we needed to invite her to be our podcast guest and here we are! Robin Maria Pedr...

Grab a cup of coffee and join us for an informal discussion on art that includes upcoming exhibits, free offers, technique ideas, and "what if" solutions for your art. Val and Armin recreate the free wheeling style of their weekend discussions. It was that kind of week, so this conversation lends a spontaneous hand to the work load. Often our best ideas come from just sitting around talk...

Armin and I discuss different aspects of success that artists can find as they present their art and themselves to the world. At each stage of an artist's journey the wins can be small, large, planned, unplanned, each step of the way varied and most times unpredictable. We share our personal experience on this topic and hope by sharing our stories you can find useful and relatable information. Our...

Armin and I established three values early on for our Art Ladders mission. They are connection, commitment, and community. We feel this episode shares our personal experiences to bring those values to the forefront. We are encouraging our artist community to dive deep and examine the root reasons that you create art. What is your why. It is a soul searching session that will lead to your own story...

Kimberly Kelly Santini says it all in her tagline for her bio: Painter, Dreamer, Instigator. When I composed her bio for our podcast introduction, I learned that Kimberly is an artist that creates her environment not only for inspiration but for a springboard that propels her curiosity into new territories of nature. In this episode, she bullet points exactly how she does that and we feel our audi...

Welcome to 2025! Armin and I wish you all a wonderful start to the new year. In this episode we continue our tradition of announcing a guiding word for the year. We started this in 2022 and our first word was Discover. That word served us well as we had so much ground to cover in creating a new podcast using tech and editing skills we continue to learn. In 2023, we chose Courage as our inspiration...

Armin and I were thrilled to have artist Samantha Williams-Chapelsky as our guest for Episode 88. Samantha was recently awarded 2025 Artist in Residence for the province of Alberta, Canada by the Arts, Culture and Status of Women and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. She also talks about her recent residency at the Sam and Adele Golden Foundation in New Berlin New York. I personally enjoyed lis...

These are a few of our favorite things that would make great gifts for artists in our lives. Some are dream big ideas while others are more on the stocking stuffer budget. Armin and I had fun revealing our quirky ideas to each other and we hope you find food for thought as you buy for your artists friends or ask for what you need from others. Here are a few links to what we covered. Val's big tick...

Join us on this timely release of Episode 86 with Dr. Yanina Gomez, psychologist, author, educator, and speaker. She will be discussing the issue of navigating these uncertain times as artists. Her proactive approach is both enlightening and energizing. Dr. Yanina talks about the importance of cultivating a catalyst mindset instead of a victim mindset. As a catalyst of change, artists can think ab...

We examine the topic of anxiety, angst, and stress in creating art during these difficult times. Give me hope, help me cope, is a line from George Harrison's "Give me Love (Give me Peace on Earth) that sums up this podcast. We share the wats you can share with others plans to promote helpful ways to self-treat anxiety. It is a lifelong regulation of our nervous symptoms that will bring lasting res...

We are happy to introduce artist Maggie Bandstra to our podcast audience. Maggie is a painter who delves deep into the connections we have with nature, healing and each other. She is committed to bringing artists together through her work at Ox-Bow and recently organized a fall artist retreat that Val attended a couple of weeks ago. Maggie is also the founder of Lakeshore Visual Arts Collective an...

How would you respond to taking a risk of being on stage with the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra? Well, like I did, you would say Hell Yes! What a wonderful way to express your creative process, be a collaborative being in our Great Lakes Bay Region community, and expand your horizons. Armin does a great job asking me questions in this episode and lending performance roles he has held in the past....

Join us in this enlightening episode as we dive into the creative mind of renowned conductor and composer Fouad Fakhouri of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra in Michigan and the Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra in Texas. During our conversation we explore the fascinating similarities and contrasts between the worlds of visual arts and music and discover how the principles of art and design transc...

In this coffee talk style discussion we are focusing on a new direction that Armin is taking with his artwork. Makes sense that we would put the spotlight on each other once in awhile and I had a such a great time coming up with questions for this interview. In October of 2023, we had the good fortune of our downtown studio space opening up with a couple of spaces that would fit our needs. One for...

Armin and I had a great time in conversation with artist Meighen Jackson. I recently heard Meighen give a juror's talk at Anton Art Center for their Michigan Annual. She was the juror of the prestigious exhibition that is now in it's 51st year. After hearing her speak I knew she would be an excellent podcast guest. Meighen has been part of the Detroit art scene for many years and she has s...

Today, we explore the correlation between Olympic athletes and visual artists. Val's research unveiled intriguing connections that could infuse inspiration and resilience into your artistic journey. We identified six categories to spark contemplation for artists aiming to envision the broader scope of their careers. Even artists who use art as a break from daily routines can delve into self-im...

We are joined by artist John Sabraw for this episode. Armin has known John for quite awhile through their connection of working together at Good's of Evanston, an art supply and frame company. I met John as the curator at Studio 23 when I invited him to participate in the Land to River Exhibit. That exhibit was a collaborative experience with the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy. John Sabraw is...

Artists, visual and performing, have an extra layer of thought process fueled by energy. Energy is a precious commodity in the art world or in any world where one is passionate about a topic that is beyond the mundane. It can be found in our creative DNA as explained in Twyla Tharp's book The Creative Practice. In this episode we describe our own relationship with energy as it pertains to our...

Val here, and I had the distinct pleasure of reuniting Armin with his artist friend, Trung Cao. Trung and Armin met in the day of conversation boards specializing in art. Now these conversational threads have reinvented themselves. as groups on Facebook or other social media platforms. Who knew after all those years we would have a wonderful opportunity to interview Trung. Trung lives and creates...

We had a lovely conversation today on the making of art. Each of us has our own process with specific tools and art materials and in this episode we share them with you, our audience. Even if you are not an artist, you may find insights into the creative practice that fires up your imagination to see things in a different light. This episode is dedicated to visual artist and fine art framing desig...

We are so happy to have artist Rebecca Crowell as a guest on our podcast. She is well known in the world of painting and contemporary abstraction. Her portfolio of paintings in oil and cold wax are a visual feast of atmospheric color, profound depth, and the sense that the works are living and breathing. Rebecca with co-author, Jerry McLaughlin, wrote the book : Cold Wax Medium: Techniques, Concep...

Welcome to the panel discussion with seven members of the Great Lakes iPhoneography Group better known as GLIG. It is a rare time when we can have so many artists gather together for a discussion on their art. Thank you to speakers Cindy Bancroft, Nancy Brooks-Siebert, Julie Close, Steven Parkhurt, Elizabeth Sullivan, and Janis Taylor. Also thank you to artists Gaylene LeVally and Carol Whitney fo...

I met Amy Keever at the wonderful ADC Fine Art Gallery in Cincinnati. We were both attending the 2023 Art Summit led by our past podcast guest Litsa Spanos and her sister, Sylvia Rombis. She walked in with the most wonderful hot pink pom-pom earrings and white artist smock and I, of course had to comment. That's all it took for us to hang out for 3 days before the Art Comes Alive Gala. Amy end...

Passion can be elusive and it is always a good thing to consider how you can find your muse when times seem rough or even dull. Armin and Val approach art making as a relationship that needs to be cultivated and held in esteem. Let us know how you keep passion alive in the studio. Show Notes: Valerie Allen Art Armin Mersmann Workshops for the Summer: Armin at Atelier in April now 20% off until Apr...