Something (rather than nothing)

Vanessa Stockard is an Australian painter. I had the great pleasure of speaking with her about:Cats borne of heaven and hellPaintingHer time in Oregon, USABecoming a MumSomethingNothing. Her paintings, generously displayed on instagram, will steal your heart. When I see her paintings, I instantly feel like I am living and laughing and loving. Make sure you take the time to experience them. Your li...

First episode of the ‘Something (rather than nothing) podcast’ 2020 was such a joy to record with Ana del Rocio. Keep your ears and ojos open for this great conversation. We spoke about mothering, epistemology, philosophy, women of color, politics, writing, music and so much more. ANA DEL ROCÍO (she/her/hers), is the Executive Director of Oregon Futures Lab. del Rocío is a first-generation Chicana...

Great new episode with JACK KENT! This episode was so much fun!!‘Sketchy People’ is the people-watching-comic by Jack Kent. Hailing from Portland, Oregon, Jack draws the residents of his hometown and beyond. This project started in 2016. Jack's caricatures are drawn in a wacky pen and ink, cartoonist style. Portland’s sketch flag flies high and proud in each volume of ‘Sketchy People.”Who qualifie...

This episode is a joy. Stay for the whole visit. PRUDENCE FLINT is a Melbourne based artist. She has held solo exhibitions in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart and has exhibited in major state and regional galleries. She is a seventh time finalist in the Archibald Prize. She won the Len Fox Painting Award (2016), the Portia Geach Memorial Award (2010), and the Doug Moran National Portrait Pri...

Christopher St. John is an artist and curator living in Eugene, Oregon. His work touches on the the incredible luck we have in living on a planet with a biosphere, the joy of form, and the importance of listening. Animals make regular appearances in his work. Christopher St. John’s work has been exhibited and collected across the United States and internationally across Europe, Japan, Canada, and...

DANGUOLE LEKAVICIUTE is a creative living in Portland, Oregon.  Born in Lithuania and raised/educated in Reno, Nevada, she found her creative outlet via a food and cocktail recipe blog that allowed her to hone her writing voice and photography skills that also formed a foundation for creative discipline. Pursuing that on the side, she spent 6.5 years post-college graduation working in state govern...

Mystery/Thriller Writer ALLEN ESKENS!Allen Eskens is the bestselling author of The Life We Bury, The Guise of Another, The Heavens May Fall, The Deep Dark Descending, The Shadows We Hide, and Nothing More Dangerous. He is the recipient of the Barry Award, Minnesota Book Award, Rosebud Award (Left Coast Crime), and Silver Falchion Award and has been a finalist for the Edgar Award, Thriller Award, a...

"Seamus Murphy grew up in Ireland and is based in London. He is the recipient of seven World Press Photo awards for his photographic work in Afghanistan, Gaza, Lebanon, Sierra Leone, Peru and Ireland. He received The World Understanding Award from POYi in the USA for his work from Afghanistan and a film he made based around this work was nominated for an Emmy and won the Liberty in Media Prize in...

I am so excited about this episode. Can't hold it back! This week on 'Something (rather than nothing)' VICKO ALVAREZ VEGA - in her words -***I never planned on being a comic artist. I never planned on being a teacher. I never planned on being an organizer or an activist. But I am so happy that I have done all that and more. I’m a native Tejana that has called Chicago home for 12 years and the crea...

Another great listen this week with Artist VERONICA CASSON!***************************************************************************************"I'm Veronica, an illustrator and queer mom, living the dream with my family in Portland, Oregon. After being born on the east coast and spending many years in New York City, San Francisco and Mexico, I have recently moved to the Pacific Northwest. I am...

Zora Von Pavonine was born on a full moon and raised on 20 acres. Surrounded by animals, held most dear was the peacock family that allowed her to follow them around, telling stories, inventing all kinds of life. Momma Pavonine saw the creative spirit encapsulated in her precocious little Scorpio and encouraged music, dancing, painting and writing across the early years. Zora spent her teenage cha...

Great chat this episode with Joey Bauer! JOEY BAUER is a musician under the alias Theo B. Veeus (can be found on Bandcamp). His albums are great journeys. I highly, highly recommend you travel these roads. Bauer also manages the great ***Darkside Cinema*** in Corvallis, Oregon. Listen in to hear about the intertwining of sound and image. This discussion really got me thinking about language and ho...

A native Vermonter, Ethan attended the Maine College of Art and graduated from the Joe Kubert School of Illustration and Design in '98.Ethan has self-published his own comics since Year 2000,  taught a youth program for intro to comics at a day camp for Burlington City Arts for five years, has had work published in roughly a dozen role-playing game books for AEG and many more for 3rd party publish...

Don't miss this episode! This week we talk Hip-Hop, Art, Comics, Chicago, Rap history, women in geek culture, action figures, sci-fi, fantasy, Oddisee, Little Brother, Rapsody with . . . SEAN WYNN A.K.A. Baddwolfe A.K.A. CeriusBlaq A.K.A. Hank McCoy Beast MC Comic enthusiast, Hip Hop Junkie, Marketing Nerd, Activist. General in the Preytorians Army. Owner of Strange Solutions Marketing & Consu...

Joanna C. Valente is a ghost who lives in Brooklyn, New York. Joanna is the author of Sirs & Madams (Aldrich Press, 2014), The Gods Are Dead (Deadly Chaps Press, 2015)  Marys of the Sea (The Operating System, 2017), Xenos (Agape Editions, 2016), Sexting Ghosts (Unknown Press, 2018), and No(body) (Madhouse Press, 2019). They are the editor of A Shadow Map: Writing By Survivors of Sexual Assault...

CLAIRE PAPOULIS has always been interested in the path of holistic healing, forging a personal mission from a very young age to bring wellness and balance to her own life. After discovering the Amma Therapy program at The Wellspring School for Healing Arts, these values began to blossom as a career path. As a therapist, she strives to create a comfortable space in which clients can explore and enh...

Check out the newest episode with poet Bunkong Tuon. We delve into (or at least mention) - Bukowski, The State of Nirvana, Cambodian Genocide and Diaspora, War, Censorship, What to do about Morrissey, The State of Poetry, Something, Nothing, Emily Dickinson, Amherst, Family. Bunkong Tuon is a Cambodian-American writer, critic, professor, and, most importantly, father. He is the author of Gruel (NY...

I have been lucky to have so many wonderful artists join me in these early episodes, including Nicole J. Georges - a deeply funny and wise soul. Here is more about Nicole - Nicole J. Georges is a writer, illustrator, podcaster & professor from Portland, OR.Her Lambda Award winning graphic memoir, Calling Dr. Laura, was called “engrossing, lovable, smart and ultimately poignant” by Rachel Maddo...

Aunia Kahn is a multi-faceted creative entrepreneur and a globally awarded, collected, and exhibited figurative artist/photographer, published author, instructor, and inspirational speaker. She is also the owner of Rise Visible a full service creative digital marketing agency and Create for Healing. Her work has been in over 300+ exhibitions in over 10 countries; at places such as San Diego Art In...

 Very excited this month to debut an episode with Hannah Hull - an English artist and musician (check out her TED talk entitled Mad Love!) Two approaches to explain her work - “I make situation-specific art and undertake social research. My practice catalyses dialogue & change for socially-excluded and at-risk groups.  My approach is dynamic and responsive: an open mechanism that allows things...