art-parlor

Episode Notes This month, it was our pleasure to speak with Jessica Tomlinson! Jessica is an eclectic composer, synthesist, keyboard player, and recording engineer based in the Tampa Bay area who happens to be legally blind. When she isn't playing pop rock with the band Rainbow Portal, she's crafting boundary-pushing experimental compositions in her home studio. She serves on the Audio Engineering...

Episode Notes Welcome to The Art Parlor for April, brought to you by Friends in Art ! It's been a spell and we are very glad to be back! Join us for an inspiring conversation with the creators of NVision Guitars, a mother-and-son team building custom adaptive guitars for musicians with disabilities. From tactile designs for blind players to ergonomic solutions for mobility challenges, their work i...

Welcome to this month's edition of The Art Parlor! This session was recorded at the 2025 ACB Conference and Confvention on June 28. Poetry is meant to be read aloud. In this session, poems written by Langston Hughes, Mya Angelou, Denise Levertov, Alan Ginsberg, and other powerful talents were performed and discussed. Facilitated by: Annie Chiappetta. We thank you for your support and hope you enjo...

Episode Notes Welcome to the September edition of The Art Parlor, brought to you by Friends in Art ! In this episode, we speak with author and entertainer, Abbie Taylor. Join us as we explore her journey starting as a music therapist, with music entertainment and writing following in step. We also learn about her newly-published book, Living Vicariously in Wyoming: Stories . It was a pleasure havi...

Episode Notes Welcome to the May edition of The Art Parlor! This month, oru guest is Johnny Cassidy. He is a BBC journalist and a fellow for the Reuter’s Institute for the Study of Journalism. Johnny Cassidy has been a TV and radio producer at the BBC for more than 17 years. He has recently moved into a new role into digital news, working on longer-term projects, specifically on how to best reach...

It was a pleasure to visit with our guest, Izzi Guzman, in this edition of The Art Parlor! Listeners may remember her from previous Friends in Art showcases. A dynamic trombonist, composer, arranger, and educator, Izzi is passionate about sharing joy, creativity, and authenticity through music. Based in Miami and Orlando, Florida, she aims to bring stories to life through her art and foster access...

Episode Notes On this edition, we're talking with author, Michael W Moran. He wrote his first book, a memoir titled "I did it Without Looking – a Blind Man's Recovery from Addiction" . In his introduction, Michael writes, "I am blind and I'm an alcoholic." There was no cure for the glaucoma causing his blindness. Thanks to a twelve-step program and lots of help from others, he put down the drinks...

Hello, everyone, and welcome to our September edition of The Art Parlor! This month, our guest is author and historian, Mark Carlson! Mark Carlson is a witty writer, ravenous reader, historian, and author of nine books. He is a freelance writer and aviation historian. He is a member of several military, maritime, historical, and veteran organizations. A contributing writer for over a dozen nationa...

Welcome to our edition of Art Parlor for June, 2024! This episode is a recording of our first Town Hall meeting, which was recorded in May. You will be informed about what FIA has planned, hear feedback from members and other participants, and learn how to become a member, among other topics. As always, you can learn more about us at < www.friendsinart.org >. Thank you for listening!.

This month, we welcome author Elizabeth Sammons to the Art Parlor. She eloquently describes many aspects of her life and the myriad experiences that lead her to write her book, "The Lyra and the Cross". You can find out more about Elizabeth's book here and also, listen to her play the lyra, an ancient, Greek harp.

The Art of Disability Culture: Nontraditional Visually-Impaired Artist panel Originally Aired June 25, 2022, on ACB Media during the ACB Conference and Convention Visually-impaired artists from different creative springboards: pottery graphical art movement theater shared their experiences presenting and working with curators to provide interactive and accessible connections to their work.

This month, our featured guest is Andrew Leland, the author of the book, "The Country of the Blind: a Memoir at the End of Sight". Listen as we engage with him and he gives us background, tells his story of becoming blind due to retinitis pigmentosa, and all he continues to learn in the process.

Episode Notes In this episode, we turn back a year... We bid you season's greetings as we bring back FIA member, Jason Castonguay, to talk about how he goes about arranging music. In this case, we're talking Christmas music. Yes, you, our listeners, will get to enjoy some hand-picked selections from Jason's Christmas album, as well as some other pieces recorded for an accessibility development fun...

This episode is an archive taken from the 2022 ACB Conference and Convention when Friends in Art held its Writers Workshop on June 25, 2022.

Welcome to the October edition of The Art Parlor! This month, we feature a returning guest, Matthew Shifrin! He tells us of his college work, a one-man musical he's created, his company's continued efforts with Lego, and much more! This talented, clever, innovative man has a lot going for him and it was a pleasure to visit with him again.

Meghan Downing, the recipient of FIA's 2020 scholarship, is our guest in this edition of The Art Parlor! She tells us of her music interests ramping up in high school, learning the guitar, and takes us through her college adventures - the most recent of which was studying in Valencia, Spain. While there, she recorded her first song-writing effort and you will get to hear it on the show! Music Ther...

Art Parlor for August, 2023 Presents: AI, Music, & Pictures In this edition of the Art Parlor, we visit an archive of the 2022 National ACB Conference and Convention. Held on June 23 of that year, our guest and FIA member, Derek Lane, along with attendees explore artificial intelligence, music, and pictures and how we, as blind people, can use these to our advantage.

Episode Notes Welcome to this edition of The Art Parlor where we shine a spotlight on an organization called I See Music and the gracious people there who will be helping us with our upcoming, in-person Showcase of the Performing Arts at this year's ACB national conference and convention! You'll hear from I See Music's owner, Byron Harden and two trainers who work with him - Derek Lane and Kevin R...

Episode Notes In this edition of Art Parlor, you'll ear an FIA presentation made in honor of FIA Past President, Lynn Hedl, at the 2022 ACB National Conference and Convention. You'll learn about the harp through presentations and performances by hosts Nancy Pendegraph and Jason Castonguay.

In this episode, we interview author, Feather Chelle. From her website , Feather Chelle is a single mother of five, living in Texas, along with two grandpuppies and two grandpiggies (guinea pigs). She is totally blind due to a battle with cancer and enjoys homeschooling with her family. She has been in love with the ocean since she was five years old and loves to learn more and more about it every...

Welcome to this month's edition of The Art Parlor! We are excited to feature our multi-talented guest and actor, George Ashiotis! George Ashiotis was born in London, England to Greek Cypriot parents. He came to the United States when he wasn't quite two years old and grew up in Astoria Queens, NY. When he was five, it was discovered that something was wrong with his vision. After many doctor's vis...

Happy New Year and welcome to this month's edition of The Art Parlor! In this edition, we speak with artist and advocate, Jennifer Justice. You may remember her from the 2022 ACB and Friends in Art Art of Disability Workshop, where she and four other west coast artists discussed curation and exhibition practices and how to design exhibitions to include both artists and visitors with disabilities....

We bid you season's greetings as we bring back FIA member, Jason Castonguay, to talk about how he goes about arranging music. In this case, we're talking Christmas music. Yes, you, our listeners, will get to enjoy some hand-picked selections from Jason's Christmas album, as well as some other pieces recorded for an accessibility development fundraiser. Happy Holidays and enjoy the program!

Welcome to this month's edition of The Art Parlor! Our guest, Chris Kuell, has quite a story to tell. In that his career began in the field of medicinal science and he is now a writer, this has at least a couple of meanings. Sit back and enjoy as Chris shares his journey with us! You will see, among other things, how challenging circumstances in his life lead to not only a new way of seeing the wo...

Alas, Summer has come to an end and these first, cooler days of Autumn are upon us. After a brief hiatus, we are back! Remember when we spoke with FIA President, Mike Mandel, in January? We said we wanted to continue that discussion and that’s what we’re here to do this month! We continue Mikes story involving his early days with Friends in Art, talk a bit about the MIDI Mag list, some music techn...