Fain House Radio: Creative Living Podcast

Is it possible to create within fashion-culture and not create environmental waste? For fiber artist and natural dyer, Lesley Darling, this question is as much a part of her lifestyle as it is her artwork. Her passion for whole systems (from animal to thread) have landed her in places such Sweden, Whales and various folk schools in the U.S. foraging and growing natural dyes and contemplating not o...

Years ago, a class Emileigh Zola signed up for was canceled last minute and she ended up in a traditional broom making class. This serendipitous turn of events put her on the path to what would become a big love of her life as well as her main livelihood. It's more than just how good it feels to make things with our hands, Emileigh has what she describes as "a fierce devotion to the beaut...

The medium where Ginger Huebner feels most at home is the mixing of collage and chalk. Trained as an architect she realized that what called to her more than how a building was designed and put together was how a space "felt." She now uses these mixed media as a way to translate those feelings and, in her words, considers the process her second language. She reminds us that creativity comes in man...

Lindsey Liden has had quite a few creative step-stones in his life. He has played full drum kit for a punk band, painted huge colorful wall paintings that couldn't even fit into his car, worked in various restaurant kitchens, toured as a fiddle player and completed a university degree in classical percussion. Little did he know that all steps would lead to his now career as a banjo builder and fin...

Quilter, natural dyer, Jason Pierson has all kinds of ways of folding his making life into his work and family life. Sometimes it means working on smaller wall hangings rather than large, full-scale quilts. Sometimes it means stirring the dye pot on the stove in-between work meetings on his computer or always having his hand sewing nearby, road trips and visits with friends included. He reminds us...

Seamstress, quilter, mom of three, Rachel Yearick, loves to sew so much and has sewn for so long that she doesn't even remember learning how. At some point she found herself with a big batch of tossed king size, hotel sheets from the second hand shop and started experimenting with natural dying. Eventually these sheets got cut into pieces and became a source for her dress fabrics. She now makes an...

Painter, fiddler, banjo player Hannah Seng feels deeply that not matter what we say, we're all creative. We put so much pressure on ourselves to do things just right, even from the beginning, forgetting that we are just not going to hit the mark the first time and that's ok. Hannah knows from experience that it all boils down to alot of repeating of gestures by regularly "doing the thing." Though...

Dance has been the main guiding force in Becky Hill's life. Her love of, and involvement in, percussive dance has quite literally shaped friends she's made and places she's been. With banjo playing and square dance calling added to the mix, Appalachian music and dance traditions have become a sacred connection to place and community for her. She reminds us that some of our creative loves may be re...

For Kate King the world of creativity has always felt like a safe place to be. As an artist, author, licensed counselor, art therapist and creator of the Radiant Life Project, Kate's approach to overall wellness is to honor the connection point where psyche meets spirit meets art. This holistic perspective of using art for healing, growth and insight involves a mix of clinical analysis with what s...

Should you make just what you know will sell or just what your heart wants to make? Or both? This question and many more flow through Kelcey Loomer's head as she paints for hours at her canvas. Working mostly with oils and prepared mixed media surfaces, on both large and small scales, she finds inspiration from everything to time in the woods and her kids to facing grief and a new favorite song pu...

Margaret Cogswell's artistic style appears, at first glance, childlike. With closer inspection is comes clear that much contemplative and technical savior faire goes into each piece she creates. Her range of mediums include everything from paper mâché sculpture and artist books to mixed media crowns that can really, truly be worn on your head. After years raising her two children, she decided that...

Annie Erbsen grew up in a musical family and as a child equated people jamming in the kitchen as community. She later studied and worked as a physicist which she describes as "using math as your toolbox to figure out literally every thing about the universe, known and unknown," and as one of the most satisfying creative times of her life. Her varied and fun list of endeavors include being a soap m...

In his college years David Hughes was a guitar/banjo playing math major who converted vehicles to run on restaurant waste grease. As the years passed he found himself in a stressful, all consuming job, but the desire to take his music more seriously never left him. He has since taken the leap and now teaches music, works for his local arts council and has made a record inspired by his love for old...

Jen Swearington's creative life seems to boil down to one main thing: A strong sense of curiosity which has led to a love of constant learning. Though she is most known for her textiles her creative ideas span a range of media including paper cutting, bookarts, drawing, quilts and sculpture. Drawn by the belief that art is everywhere, she finds inspiration not only from international travel and ar...

Musician, singer, builder of things (and my very own husband) Géraud Barralon is a great believer in the power of accumulation. If you have something new you want to learn or a skill you want to maintain, take just 15 minutes every day and you will start to see, what he describes as, "positive consequences." In his mind, song and music are spiritual food and are things meant to be shared. If shyne...

Daniel Nevins is a painter turned psychotherapist. Looking back he thinks that even as a painter he was, in a sense, trying to do "some form of therapy...with shapes and colors." Though he still paints, his work as a therapist has shifted his perspective in a way that he describes as "the change from being the painter to being the painting." He reminds us that one of the best ways to turn the dial...

Improv quilter extraordinaire Zak Foster's specialties are memory quilts, burial quilts and community quilts made with salvaged and repurposed materials in his self-described wonky, free-form style. All is connected to his main project of "how to live the good life." After years of planning and prep he made the leap from his day job into the world of self employment where he pursues what he calls...

Jessica Kaufman loves passing on what she knows so much that she created a masters degree in Craft Education. She has experience in various mediums both as a maker and a teacher including knitting, group harmony singing, hand dying and developing craft focused businesses. After years leading the craft cabin at the camp where she worked, she realized she could take all she did to order, organize an...

By the age of six Jessica Johnson was already hooked on singing and loved collecting her seashell, snake skin, rock "treasures." Eventually she picked up the guitar, studied herbalism and wellness, started a garden and became a mother. Through struggles along the way she has found that lots of healing and creativity can come from being in community with others. She reminds us that if you need to t...

When Rachel Bell's grandmother suggested she pick up the accordion her answer was "No way!" Eventually her education in music led her straight back to the accordion and this time around she fell in love. It's different than other instruments in a variety of ways and as Rachel says, "you can strap it on, it welds into your body and you can feel the vibrations as you play." Collaboration is where he...

We are all on a quest for a more satisfying life in our own ways and Alex McLeod is no different. With the support of his family he chose to leave his corporate job in exchange for a bit of financial struggle paired with the opportunity for more daily life happiness. His working theory is that each of us has a genetic memory for things like living in community, being outdoors in all its forms and...

Through the years designer/jeweler/metalsmith Erica Stankwytch Bailey started to figure out who she was as an artist and that, in fact, she had always known it. She is now sure that all the "I should"s and "I have to be"s might be the biggest barriers we all face, both in daily life and in creative life. As we are all on that quest for the enigma that is balance we have to give ourselves space to...

Why are we compelled to make? For mixed-media collage artist, Hannah Burnworth, it is something so deep inside that it's hard to get in touch with it until she's doing it. She says making art makes her feel good about herself and it "pulls the joy out of the inside" of her. She reminds us that the more and more we make, the more that deep part of ourselves is fed and it becomes bigger and bigger....

Elizabeth Garlington describes herself as a treasure hunter. She goes into her studio, gathers her collected treasures (fabrics, threads, buttons and imagery), gets in the flow and comes out with narrative art quilts meant to hang on the wall while sharing a story of human experience. She believes it's important to "play hard at work and work hard at play" and that if you are stuck, go in your stu...

Karl Engelmann is a producer of food and music (including an annual Christmas album!). He discovered early on that work in kitchens dovetailed nicely with his calling to be a musician. He would sometimes work all day in the restaurant, leave to play a night-time gig, sleep a few hours and then show up again for his work shift. As the years passed, and as adult responsibilities increased, he found...