Women United ART PODCAST

Every artist reaches a moment when technical skill is no longer enough, and the real work becomes discovering a voice that is unmistakably their own. In this episode of Women United ART PODCAST , Mona Lerch sits down with Courtney Bae , whose thoughtful and deeply personal practice explores identity, memory, perception, and the quiet beauty found in everyday experience. As a 3rd place winner in th...

In this episode of Women United ART PODCAST , Mona sits down with multidisciplinary artist Claudia Fuentealba , whose powerful fiber-based works explore cultural identity, displacement, resilience, and the invisible structures that shape our lives. Born into a Chilean family and raised in Puerto Rico, Claudia brings a deeply personal perspective to her artistic practice, drawing from experiences o...

What does it mean to belong—to a place, to a memory, to yourself? In this deeply thoughtful episode of Women United ART PODCAST , Mona Lerch sits down with artist Eleftheria Easley , whose work explores the emotional terrain of memory, identity, and belonging. Drawing from her multicultural background and lived experience across different geographies, Eleftheria creates poetic visual narratives th...

In this episode of Women United ART PODCAST, we are joined by Kathy Cornwell , a Northern Virginia–based artist whose vibrant and intricate works combine monotype printmaking, collage, and paper cutting into richly layered compositions. Kathy’s practice is rooted in intuition, repetition, and the exploration of shape as a visual language. Through her distinctive process, she creates dynamic works...

Today’s episode is a deeply moving and powerful conversation about love, visibility, and the radical act of painting tenderness into history. I’m honored to be joined by Joan Cox, a Baltimore-based painter and the second-place winner of the Women United ART PRIZE 2025 in the Painting & Drawing Category. For more than two decades, Joan has been creating vibrant, emotionally rich portraits of le...

In this deeply introspective and expansive episode, we welcome Nimea Ariana , a multidisciplinary artist whose work bridges painting, sculpture, textiles, writing, and immersive installation to explore the profound connection between art and spirituality. Nimea’s practice invites us beyond the visible—into a space where consciousness, identity, and cosmic awareness unfold through meditative and tr...

In this deeply personal episode of Women United ART PODCAST , we sit down with Midwest-based photographer and educator Paige Young to explore how photography can become a powerful language for grief, memory, and emotional healing. Paige’s work lives at the intersection of psychology and visual storytelling. With over fifteen years of experience running her photography business and teaching at Kend...

In this bold and timely episode of Women United ART PODCAST , we welcome back artist, writer, and digital rights advocate Emma Shapiro for a powerful conversation about censorship, body politics, and the future of artistic freedom online. After facing censorship of her own work, Emma transformed personal frustration into global advocacy. As Editor-at-Large of Don’t Delete Art, she now works at the...

In this inspiring episode of Women United ART PODCAST , we sit down with Dr. Quahana Hendree — art consultant, theological art historian, and Founder & CEO of Q. Hendree Art Consulting — to explore the powerful intersection of art, faith, and community transformation. With more than 25 years of experience across art history, theology, curation, and arts management, Dr. Hendree brings a rare an...

Welcome to another episode of Women United ART PODCAST . In this conversation, we’re joined by Marish , a New York–based visual artist whose journey is a powerful story of reinvention, persistence, and creative courage. Born in Czechoslovakia, raised in Ukraine, and now building her career in New York, Marish began her artistic path with no contacts, no shortcuts, and no guarantees—only vision, di...

In this episode of Women United ART PODCAST , we welcome Lidia Russkova-Hasaya , a Georgian-Russian interdisciplinary artist and director whose work transcends the boundaries of form, space, and geography. Through sculpture, sound, video, and immersive installations, Lidia transforms personal history, displacement, and emotion into tangible, sensory experiences — a language she calls “Emotional Ar...

In this episode of Women United ART PODCAST , Mona Lerch sits down with Samara Couri — a London-born, Hawai‘i-based artist whose luminous mirror paintings blur the boundaries between self and world, mythology and material, art and empathy. Samara’s journey has taken her from the studios of London’s City & Guilds Art School to the vibrant natural landscapes of Honolulu, where her work continues...

Celine Gabrielle returns to the Women United Art Podcast, revisiting her journey since her first appearance on Episode 19 in July 2022. From self-taught beginnings to bold, multidisciplinary explorations, Celine shares how her work has evolved into immersive, unapologetically brazen pieces that confront societal expectations of women, success, and self-worth. In this episode, we dive into her late...

In this unflinching episode of Women United ART PODCAST , I’m joined by Maria Gvardeitseva—an extraordinary Belarusian-born, London-based artist whose practice confronts political exile, memory, and feminism through performance, video, and installation. Maria’s art is both deeply personal and profoundly political. Born in Belarus, she carries the lived experience of displacement and exile, transfo...

In this inspiring episode of Women United ART PODCAST , I sit down with Jocelyn Benford , an abstract painter who took a bold leap from a 21-year career in elementary education to embrace her passion for art full-time. What began in 2020 as a creative outlet during the pandemic quickly grew into a daily practice—and a thriving career. Jocelyn shares how she built her artistic journey step by step:...

In this episode, we sit down with London-based interdisciplinary artist Claudia Tong , whose work spans painting, illustration, mixed media, visual computing, photography, and music. Claudia brings a unique perspective to art, merging her background in computer science, psychology, and finance with her creative practice. She shares how knowledge from diverse fields can fuel originality, conceptual...

In this heartfelt episode of Women United ART PODCAST , host Mona Lerch welcomes celebrated artist Susie McColgan for a moving conversation about resilience, rediscovery, and the emotional power of painting. Susie shares how her lifelong relationship with art began in childhood, growing up in northern Michigan where nature, color, and light first stirred her creative soul. After earning a BFA from...

In this powerful episode of Women United ART PODCAST , I sit down with Meryl Lettire —an accomplished artist, illustrator, and educator whose remarkable career has woven together creativity, storytelling, and service to others. From working with major publications like The New York Times and The Boston Globe to dedicating over two decades to art education , Meryl has made an indelible impact acros...

In this heartfelt episode of Women United ART PODCAST , I sit down with Cecilia Lopez , also known as Ceci Loel —a Mexican-born visual artist and designer whose vibrant, culturally rich work is a true celebration of self-expression and heritage. With a background in Industrial Design and a PhD in Sustainable Architecture , Ceci’s creative journey has taken many turns, but her love for art has alwa...

In this episode of Women United ART PODCAST , I sit down with artist, coach, and founder of A Mighty Practice , Christine Garvey . Christine has spent over a decade helping artists navigate the challenges of sustaining a creative practice—from overcoming scarcity mindset to building financial stability. With an impressive career spanning international exhibitions, a Fulbright Research Grant , and...

In this deeply moving episode of Women United ART PODCAST , I sit down with a visual artist Deborah Pearse to discuss her powerful journey through art, grief, and advocacy. Deborah has spent the past 12 years separated from her daughter due to parental alienation , a heartbreaking phenomenon in which one parent is unjustly cut off from their child’s life. Through her artistic practice, she has pro...

Welcome to another episode of Women United ART PODCAST, Season 4, in which Mona chats with Stephanie Morton-Millstein, a Los Angeles-based painter and sculptor whose work explores the ever-evolving cycles of nature, identity, mood, and consciousness. Embracing an intuitive, abstract expressionist style, she allows her mediums—oil and clay—to guide her, layering and sculpting until each piece feels...

Welcome to another episode of Women United ART PODCAST - today with a special guest, Ashara Shapiro, the founder and owner of ArtWRKD, a full service art consortium, with a mission for discovering, fostering and sharing all mediums of original work by today's best emerging artists through its curated exhibition space. From the stage to the studio, Ashara Shapiro’s creative journey has been an...

In this deeply resonant episode, artist Lucy Cade explores the intersections of mental health, motherhood, and art. Known for her evocative female portraiture, Lucy delves into themes of subjectivity, agency, and the transformative potential of extreme emotional states. She shares her journey of engaging with her own postnatal psychosis through art, recounting her Arts Council-funded project and c...

In this episode, we’re joined by acclaimed fine artist Gabriela Gonzalez Dellosso, whose work pays homage to historical women artists and explores the female image in social and historical contexts. With a career spanning over three decades, Gabriela has exhibited in renowned museums, been featured in prestigious publications, and is currently presenting a traveling museum retrospective. Gabriela...