More Than A Muse

Stauney talks about a beloved American painter, Anna Mary Robertson Moses, also known as "Grandma" Moses. With a 20 year farming career alongside her husband and ten children, Moses didn't start painting for profit until her late 70's. However, her climb to acclaim was fast paced thereafter with her being featured in Times Magazine for her 100th birthday, selling paintings for $5 to $10,000 within...

In this month's bonus book episode, we sat down to chat with Ruth from @eveningcrickets who recommended on TikTok, this month's book "This Woman's Work: Essays on Music" edited by Kim Gordon and Sinead Gleeson. This book is a beautiful collection of essays from different women about the musicians that inspired and fascinated them throughout their lives. We discussed the collection of essays from t...

Today Sadie introduces us to one of the most accomplished women in history. Maya Angelou is one of those women who have been quoted so many times, it almost overshadows the incredible woman and her marvelous life behind the memorable words. Known for her famous memoirs, Maya Angelou's life has been riddled with lessons and accomplishments that could fill multiple lives, including being the first f...

If you think of cave paintings, you think of animals and handprints and dark caves. But have you ever wondered who was behind those prehistoric works of art? You probably immediately assumed men, and you wouldn't be alone in that. However, recent studies have found that nearly 75% of the handprints found in most primitive caves were women leading to immediate outrage from many researchers... and w...

You probably haven't heard of Angle De Cora, (or Hinook-Mahiwi-Kalinaka) but this artist and designer from the Winnebago/Ho-chunk indigenous community and once was considered "The First Great Indian Artist," (which today we're able to see as a twisted, backhanded, and incorrect compliment), but shows how prominent her creative work was at the time, with her even being referred to as a genius by ed...

On October 21st the world was graced by THREE killer pop albums from three pop icons. Taylor Swift released her 10th studio album 'Midnights' breaking around 15 records within only a week of release. Meghan Trainor is topping TikTok with her 5th studio album 'Takin' it Back' and Carly Rae Jepsen isn't far behind with her 6th studio album 'The Loneliest Time'. We talk about the TikTok relevancy of...

It's a bonus episode perfect for the end of this spooky month and we're wrapping up with our thoughts after reading the iconic monster novel, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. If you've been watching our Instagram lives where we've been recapping the books, then you know the ultimate sorrow we feel for the darling monster and the utter horror at the neglect of Frankenstein. Join us for an episode as w...

It's Halloween and the last official episode of More Than A Muse Monster month! Have you ever noticed modern monsters are mostly men... or some form of man? The creatures of mythology are often similarly afflicted... and yet, hidden history is riddled with the stories of women who turned into monstrous forms... but maybe for good reason? This week we are diving into the deep mythology and folklore...

It's another installment of More Than A Muse Monster month! Today we're talking about the woman behind arguably the most famous gothic monster ever created, Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, which also happens to be the first science fiction novel ever written, AND the first monster story. Mary Shelley was a true goth icon with many spooky life events perfect for October including - losing...

If you've ever watched a Halloween classic, you've seen one of the most iconic spooky leading ladies ever - the extremely talented Winona Ryder. From her recent popularity in Stranger Things to her earlier roles in Beetlejuice, Heathers, Dracula, Edward Scissorhands... Should we continue? Her birthday is even only TWO nights before the iconic spine-chilling holiday.  We talk about the early life o...

Are You Smarter than the Podcast Hosts? It's our podcast birthday and we're back with the second year of our trivia, to test our knowledge on all of the female artists we've discovered and covered in the past 12 months! If you've listened to all of our episodes, this is a great chance to show us how much smarter you are than us (we can't remember everything and DEFINITELY get some wrong). If you h...

IT'S SPOOKY SEASON!!! We're so excited to kick off October with Stauney talking about Milicent Patrick, the only female movie monster maker, most known for her design of the Gill-man from the Universal classic horror flick, "The Creature of the Black Lagoon". From growing up on the major architectural site of Hearst Castle to being a part of the first round of female animators ever hired at Disney...

This week, we're talking FUNNY GIRL. Did you know that Fanny Brice was an actual female performer and comedian? We talk about the original inspiration for the now famous show, the constant setbacks and drama it faced since its inception, and the star Barbara Streisand became on the show's set. Then we get to sit down with the Lovely Lena, a co-host of the podcast 'Recovering Gleek,' and a New York...

This week, Sadie memorializes the stunning Olivia Newton-John who just recently passed away. Although most famous for her starring role in Grease, the Australian actress had a long and pretty successful country music career before settling on the screen for her iconic role opposite Travolta, as well as Xanadu and a slew of other films, and then releasing the MOST popular song of the eighties 'Phys...

You've probably heard of the recent Elvis biopic that came out this year, but do you know more about the man behind the screen... or even more so, the women that stood behind him, were overshadowed by him, and even inspired him? Today we're talking about the women BEHIND Elvis. From Big Mama Thorton to Priscilla Presley, Ann-Margret Olsson, and beyond, we discuss the controversial relationships wi...

This week, Stauney is talking about one of her personal inspirations, Bea Feitler, a groundbreaking graphic designer from the sixties and seventies who wasn't afraid to embrace the bizarre and unconventional. Feitler was one of the youngest art directors ever when she took her co-director position with her contemporary Ruth Ansel and the two took the major magazine world by storm winning award aft...

We made it to 100 Episodes!! We get to be all reflective and reminisce on our favorite people, topics, and more that we covered that have inspired and helped shape us into the women and artists we are. We also talk about female friendships and the difference they make. Episodes Like This One: Introducing More Than A Muse , One Year Pop Quiz ,  Follow us on Instagram @morethanamuse.podcast See Priv...

This week, we're spending our time in 18th and 19th century Paris with four great ladies and fundamental artists of Impressionism: Marie Bracquemond, Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, and Eva Gonzalès. All four spent significant amounts of time in the Paris inner circles, with many (if not all) of them related to the most prominent figures in impressionism. They also all overcame family obstacles, gen...

This week, Sadie introduces us to a Nashville country icon, Minnie Pearl. A significant character of comedic history, Pearl was a fixture at the Grand Ole Opry (and the first solo female member) for more than 50 years and was the first female comedian inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. She also starred for a short time on a country television show and even had a short stint in the fried...

You may think you know what Hula is, but you might want to rethink your concept of it. From its origins as a spiritual practice for Hawaiian culture, the Hula has been used by tourism to exploit and promote a "Hula girl" image that is in real life not accurate at all. We talk about the history of this dance as an art form and cultural tradition and discuss the exploration and misperceptions of the...

This week, Stauney brings us up to speed on Marion Mahony Griffin, one of the first female licensed architects in the whole world, and a major pioneer of the prairie school architectural style. She also carried a lifelong grudge against the famous Frank Lloyd Wright after working with him closely for over 15 years. Not only did he steal some of her drawings without attributing her, but he also dis...

This week, Stauney talks about Beatrice Wood, otherwise known as the "Mama of Dada" due to her influential role in the early Dada art movement in New York. Although she grew up in a wealthy affluent household, she ran away to become a painter and actress against her family's wishes, mingling with the early avant-garde artists of New York Society before joining the theoreticism movement and landing...

This week, Sadie presents a remarkable journey through the vibrant world of British pop art with the pioneering Pauline Boty, the sole female artist and founder of the movement. In a time when the art world was predominantly male-dominated, Boty fearlessly embraced her femininity and sexuality, emerging as an emblem of 1970s feminism. Stauney and Sadie delve into Boty's formative years, where she...

This week, we are giving an overview of the movement of feminist art and its power for modern protest. We discuss what feminist art is, the beginning of its movement in the 60s and 70s, and then we discuss some different works of art that made major headway in the feminist art movement and how it continues today. Episodes to check out after this one: A Brief History of Western Feminism , Vanessa B...

It's our monthly bonus episode and this month, we're talking about the book "When Women Invented Television: The Untold Story of the Female Powerhouses Who Pioneered the Way We Watch Today" by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong. This book focuses on the stories of four women who pioneered soap operas, talk shows, family sitcoms, and television variety shows. Irna Phillips was a single mother who took her...