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Detours Ahead
Conversations on creative living
Mike and Elizabeth introduce their new podcast.
Mike and Elizabeth talk about the ways in which having a baby changes one's approach to art and creative living.
In this episode we talk with Steve Schuler, master woodworker and Milton scholar, about making beautiful things out of wood and living a creative life.
Check out Steve's work on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/steve_schuler/?hl=en
And his blog - https://literaryworkshop.wordpress.com/
What is the point of art? In this episode Mike and Elizabeth ask and DEFINITIVELY answer this most BEGUILING question.
Cheryl is a transplant from the east coast, living and working as a professional artist in the mountain west. She draws, illustrates, photographs, and designs things, mostly out of compulsion but also for money. Besides art, she loves people, music, nerdy books, and travel, specifically to Mongolia, over and over again.
Take a look at her work here -
cherylsart.squarespace.com
Mike and Elizabeth (with their usual mix of wit, charm, and casual brilliance) discuss a strange phenomenon in the life of the creative type: Awkwardness in telling people about your dreams and goals. Perhaps you've had this experience yourself? Either way you should DEFINITELY listen to this.
In this episode we speak to Phillip Counselman, visual artist, sculptor, potter, boat maker, and professor, about living a creative life, the role that formal education and mentors play in shaping an artist's life, the role and function of art in society, and other topics.
You can see some of Phillip's work here - https://www.phillipcounselman.com/
It isn't all doom, gloom, and Zoom. Dark times call for creative minds.
In this episode Mike and Elizabeth discuss how this time of Covid-19, and other difficult eras in history, have affected creative living and artistic output. Some BIG names are dropped, including Jane Austen, Leo Tolstoy, and Zadie Smith, all of whom are HUGE fans of the podcast.
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Bill Moran is a performance poet and former medic from Houston, TX. He is a two-time Austin Poetry Slam Champion, and has an MFA Poetry degree from Louisiana State University. He has toured regularly since 2011, performing and teaching throughout Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia, and the US. His work has been featured on Button Poetry (video), University of Hell Press, Alien Mouth, Pressure Gauge Press, and Phoebe. He currently lives and works in Houston as a teaching artist for Writers in the Schools.
Check out his work here -
http://www.billmoranpoetry.com/
Music licensed through Creative Common license -
https://freesound.org/people/joshuaempyre/sounds/250750/
If you want to share your creative projects with the world you have to use social media. The only problem is, social media has the tendency to make us go INSANE! How do we navigate these treacherous waters? As usual, Mike and Elizabeth (resident geniuses) have some AMAZING answers.
Mpho Molepo is our first South African guest. Mpho is an actor, writer, producer and musician. He achieved wide recognition for playing Digger in Zone 14, and Fats in Rhythm City. Mpho is is also very active in the South African theatre scene. Most recently he's created the Covid awareness show Sanitized Ville available on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBQageI6HfFlr-G52E8EEiA
In this interview we discuss Mpho's varied and successful career, the importance of his relationship with his father, the legendary South African artist, Arthur Molepo, how art is a great tool for communicating important messages, the importance of staying connected with your spirituality if you want to be creative, and much more.
Music licensed through Creative Common license -
https://freesound.org/people/joshuaempyre/sounds/250750/
Dargan Ware is a poet, novelist, and consumer protection attorney who lives in Birmingham, Alabama. He is the author of the novel, The Legend of Colgan Toomey, available on Amazon.
In this interview we discuss Dargan's unique creative journey, his writing process, story as the bedrock of civilization, his novel, the process of publishing and marketing his work, creative writing vs legal writing, and many other topics.
You can check out his novel here -Â
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07V65G33J/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
Mike and Elizabeth discuss
the great dilemma faced by all
GREAT artists who STRUGGLE, as all
great artists must:
Should you quit your day job?Â
Short answer: It depends.
Long answer: You'll have to listen to the podcast.
2020: Creativity in a world gone MAD.
​Mike and Elizabeth discuss creativity and the madness of the world.
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The Deep South is both romanticized and disparaged. As non-Southerners who've lived in the South for nigh on seven years, we (Mike and Elizabeth) offer our views on life in the region. Such things as these are discussed: the friendly folk, the sweet tea, the southern ramblers (old timers who sound like characters from Faulkner novels and will keep talking  literally to the end of time unless you walk away from them, and even then they will follow you and continue to talk), beautiful streets dripping in Spanish Moss, confederate flags, swamps, alligators, hurricanes, wonderful neighbors, southern charm, the fact that folk from the south are basically the same as folk from anywhere else in the world, the fact that the south and its people seem to be utterly unique, old mansions filled with ghosts, streets and elementary schools named after civil war generals, the fact that we don't know what we're talking about, the fact that we think we might know what we're talking about and so we're both setting novels in the South, and other topics.Â
Please forgive us real Southerners. We love you.
Hanneke Mackie, a proudly South African woman, is the Founder and Managing Director of Buzz. She is a self-proclaimed: ‘child-whisperer’ and has managed to combine her love for children and the performing arts and gave birth to her life’s dream and passion: Buzz!
In this interview we talk about Hanneke's journey from drama student to business tycoon, and what it takes
to turn a creative dream into a sustainable reality.
We speak about what children learn from engaging with arts and drama, and what we (as adults) can learn from
kids. For this and much more, listen now!
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Check out the Buzz website:
​https://buzzdrama.com/
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Mike and Elizabeth reflect on this uniquely unique new year's moment.
The two sages unravel the mysteries of writing, motivation, vague vs specific goals
(and the benefits and pitfalls of each); they talk about plans that have failed and plans that have worked.
As always, this episode comes with a double your money back guarantee.
Listen now for FREE!
Yvette Keller is an audio book voice artist, and the voice behind the popular Viola Roberts Cozy Mystery Series.
She is also a Douglas Adams super-fan, and author of the upcoming book Forty Two Places, which takes the reader on a journey through forty two earth locations found in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Fans of Adams will no doubt get the reference. And also... it's been forty two years since this classic book was published. Did we mention Yvette is a bestselling audiobook artist?
You should really listen to this interview.
Check out her work at:
www.yvettekeller.com (For everything)
www.fortytwoplaces.com (For the Douglas Adams work)
https://yvettekeller.com/love-audiobooks/ (For audiobooks)
In this special episode, Mike and Elizabeth discuss one of the two great themes of art: Love!
That's right, it's all you need.
Love, love, love.
Tara started writing fiction when she was in first grade, but she didn’t discover the thrill of screenwriting until she studied Communications Media at John Paul the Great Catholic University. Screenplays are her favorite way to tell stories. After successfully self-publishing two screenplays as paperbacks and ebooks, she partnered with two of her former film professors to create Story Masters Film Academy.
Tara resides in Colorado, and in 2016, she became a Consecrated Virgin Living in the World in the Diocese of Colorado Springs. In addition to making things up and writing them down, Tara enjoys praying, hiking (definitely not running), going to the symphony (especially movies at the symphony), discovering new craft brews, and spending time with family and friends.
Mike and Elizabeth return with a comic take on something all creative people must face—rejection.
In this brilliant, insightful and transformational conversation, the two sages draw on their own life
experiences, and those of famous creatives. They even discuss what it's like to be a redhead in this
cold and unforgiving world.
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