009 Manic Maker v. The Harmonizer: Angelica Norton and Amber Moreno

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This week on Chatty Crafties: Angelica Norton: Landscape Designer, Mother of 2, and binge-crafter vs. Amber Moreno: career-averse Personal Organizer, Mother, of 1 and serial procrastinator. Will one out-craft the other? Will questions and answers clash in a heated discussion while the a/c remains off to minimize background noise? Will it all end up on the cutting room floor? We’re pitting host against producer this week for a very special episode.

YOUR HOMEWORK THIS WEEK: make TEN of something, or scribble out 3 morning pages.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Do you ever go back to read, listen to, or watch your old work? Also, show us pics of your personal workspace.

Let us know on Twitter and Instagram using #chattycrafties or reply on the QOTW post! We like to incorporate your answers in our interview. Shout out to Mortimer Ex for her “music to create to” playlist idea. On that note, check out our Chatty Crafties Spotify playlist. While you’re at it, Amber’s blog, Morenovision for some wildly cute baby pics.

Angelica performing in Testify

Angelica’s baby blanket series

Angelica’s renditions of 10

Angelica’s mermaid skirt

Angelica getting her hands dirty

Angelica’s jewelry organizer (collaboration w/ Matt)

Amber in Cabernet Cabaret singing Too Darn Hot

Amber’s Chalk handwriting from her library days

Amber’s morning pages

Amber on set for One Room Schoolhouse’s “Audition”

Amber polishing a wedding bouquet before it went down the aisle

Amber backstage during “The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told”

008 After-hours Creator: Jon Chambers

You have the part of yourself that goes to work and is a parent and is functioning in the world and then you have something else that is much more intelligent than that and is bigger than that and it can help you piece things together.

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That’s Jon. Drummer, dad, distresser of doors, and assembler of beats. Musically, he goes by Flameburger Jonesies, but if you want to dabble in real estate with the man behind the mix, look up Jon Chambers at Realty Austin. Jon joined us to chat about parenting, inspiration, collaborating, his art process of choice, and your word of the day, “palimpsest.” Definitions and more coming right up in this week’s episode.

Do you make art out of everyday objects in your house? Are there repetitive themes in your art? Chat us up on Instagram or Twitter via the hashtag #chattycrafties

Painting by Jon Chambers in Angelica’s living room

Distressed door by Jon Chambers

Door by Jon Chambers

Art by Jon Chambers

Art by Ronny Cheddar

007 Artistic Analyst: Bianca Aquino

Everything that I make or everything that I’ve created is a reflection of someone’s influence on me.

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That’s Bianca. She introduced me to computer games, AOL chatrooms, showed me how to straighten my hair, and how to dance to R&B while watching BET’s Midnight Love. She has a trumpetous laugh, an impressive set of skills, and her craft room is always a disaster, which speaks to her boundless energy for creating new things. She joined us to talk about dance and appreciating projects long after they’re done.

Between walking dogs and stitching seams, Bianca makes a fine cup of english tea and a delicious bacon curry. She has a long queue of pro bono projects going, so if you’re looking for some help, that money better talk. You can find her on Facebook, and if you see her wearing really flattering, really comfy looking pajama pants, feel free to compliment her – ’cause she made those.

Have you ever performed a choreographed dance at a wedding? We’d love to see the video! Tag #chattycrafties on Twitter and Instagram to show us, and/or let us know in the comments below.

Costume by Bianca ((from her Facebook)

Pajamas by Bianca (from her Facebook)

Old pals: Bianca and Amber

Single Ladies choreography by Bianca for Amber’s bachelorette party in Nov 2009

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Single Ladies choreography by Bianca for Amber’s bachelorette party in Nov 2009

005 Daydream Believer: Aaron Saenz

So, I’ll try to engage people around me more – and that is not in my nature. That is the nurturing aspect of being told that I’m funny, and that people will come watch me, and that people want to be in shows with me. You know, if you stroke someone’s ego enough, it gets healthy.

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That’s Aaron. Improvisor, writer, and reluctant physicist with the voice of a news castor. Stay tuned for a human interest story about the cult of improv, building realities, and how to play nice with other grown-ups.

Aaron Saenz’s writings can be found at Strange But False. He can often be found doing improv at Austin’s Hideout Theatre.

Do you perform improv? Are there ways a novice could get started? Tell us about your love or fear of making it up on the fly in front of strangers in the comments, or via #chattycrafties on Instagram and Twitter.

Some of Aaron’s press includes:

Wanderlust – 2018

Hideout Theatre’s The Kindness of Strangers – 2017

Date Night – 2017

The Sunday Interview: Aaron Saenz – 2013

The Big Bash – 2013

Celebrity Improv 101 at the Hideout Theatre, Austin (Steve Rogers Photography)

The International Improv Experience (Steve Rogers Photography)

Soul Grudge Showdown VI – Intergenerational Tag Team (Steve Rogers Photography)

Start Trekkin’ (Steve Rogers Photography)

44 Hour Improv Marathon Hour 6 PGraph (Steve Rogers Photography)

The Kindness of Strangers (photo by Jay Mahavier)

At the Hideout Theater, Austin (Steve Rogers Photography)

A Bedtime Gorey: Improv Inspired by Edward Gorey (Steve Rogers Photography)

Genevieve and Aaron on their 10th wedding anniversary (photo by Hanna Peck)

004 Collager: Matt Norton

…Finding the space in between your thoughts. And…I think music does that for me. It’s an escape where I kind of lose my concept of what room I’m in, or what day of the week it is or, all of the kind of subtle things that keep you in reality, and let some of my other senses start to take over.

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That’s Matt. Also known as Berm and Swale. Landscape designer, synthesizer fanatic, and creator of many a transcendent meal, this week he stepped out of the kitchen and joined us to chat about his architectural appetites, sobriety, and his personal antidote to creative stagnation.

You can find @bermandswale on Soundcloud, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (although the latter currently doesn’t see much activity). You can also check out Open Envelope Studio‘s landscape design/build portfolio on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

We heard Is There Hope and Thankful People in this episode. He also compiled this video of collaged vintage snippets to go with his song, I Forgot Her.

Do you like to play electronic music? What’s your favorite program for sound design? Tell us below or on Twitter and Instagram via the hashtag #chattycrafties

Matt making music as Berm and Swale

Matt cooking dinner

Matt being handy, making a stand for his music equipment

Recording our daughter for a school project

Taking apart and repairing synthesizers

Matt and Angelica designing landscapes together for OES

003 Crafty Storyteller: Kate Caldwell

What I love about storytelling is…going to places with myself, and my own experiences, that I don’t necessarily explore if I’m not trying to explain them to somebody else.

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That’s Kate. Storyteller, writer, actor, and yarn-worker. Kate is a powerful orator, and she assembled the team that gave birth to Testify, Austin’s monthly storytelling show. She sat down to chat about building a creative institution, shaping stories, savoring the dynamic exchange between a performer and audience, and knitting in public.

Testify’s performances take place on the last Thursday of every month in at Spiderhouse Ballroom at 7:30pm (in Austin, Texas). There are different themes each month, and you can submit your story HERE. You can also find @testifyatx on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, or become a supporting member via Patreon.

Have you been to a Testify show to perform or watch? Tell us about it in the comments or write to us on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #chattycrafties. We’d love to hear about your experience!

Kate performing at Testify (images provide by Kate Caldwell)

Kate performing (images provide by Kate Caldwell)

Kate writing (image provide by Kate Caldwell)

Embroidering lace (image provided by Kate Caldwell)

Lace project (image provided by Kate Caldwell)

002 Chopped up Amateur: Cole

Something that you see a lot in history is people that have been able to make changes in certain fields, people that had no business doing that…

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That’s Cole. You may know him as Purple Bastard – his musical alter ego. If you’re like us, you know him as drama department royalty from back in the 90’s, when we all met in high school. These days, Cole’s a family man, substitute teacher, and a keeper of a formidable beard. He stopped by to chat about writing comedy, slicing and dicing sound, and drop some his heady, slowed down grooves on us.

Purple Bastard performs at Leon’s Lounge in mid-town Houston on the 3rd Thursday of every month for Vibes. You might have caught his bi-monthly hip hop event called Turnin’ Headz.

The song we heard during the Episode was H Up off of Purple Bastard,’s 2018 release, FA’LEAL. The song during the outro was Astral, off of Beat Cinema, also put out in 2018.

Have you performed or gone to Vibes or Turnin’ Headz? What did you think of the show? Tell us in the comments or on Twitter or Instagram by using #chattycrafties.

To learn more about him, check out some of his press:

That Purple Bastard: Houston’s Reluctant “Remix King” – 2012

Purple Bastard Returns with Fresh New Casette – 2017

Warmer Mixtapes #1628 by Cole C. – 2018

You can also find him on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Cole from a show at Bodega Aragon in Tijuana, Mexico (pics by Jason Lee)

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001 Creative Conjurer: Genevieve Saenz

Whatever I can do, to get through, to get the creativity out. I’m a vomit artist. I’m not a – I mean, I will, like, just throw up art, all over the place. I need to make it. Once the idea is in my head, I need to make it. And if it doesn’t come out the way it looks in my head, that’s fine. I’m expressing.

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That’s Genevieve. Therapist, Celebrant, soon to be mother-of-two…and my very first artistic rival from 1999. She joins us on our maiden voyage to chat about poetry, playtime, and the sinister presence of artistic wounding. If you or someone you know suffers from such a thing, don’t go away.

Genevieve Saenz is a celebrant and expressive arts therapist, providing marriage and family counseling services through her practice Passageway Arts. You can also find her via @passagewayarts on Instagram.

Have you ever tried art therapy? It’s a lovely way to explore feelings and emotions that don’t always translate perfectly into words. Leave a comment or write us on Twitter and Instagram using #chattycrafties.

Artwork (photos provided by Genevieve Saenz)

Genevieve and Kate at the Art of the Heart workshop

Mobile making (photos provided by Genevieve Saenz)

Leading us through an office blessing in February 2018

Process (photos provided by Genevieve Saenz)

Podcast Origin Story

sewing1 — Angelica sewing a baby-sized quilt FTW

I recently made a baby quilt in a fun collaboration with the friend I was making it for (Genevieve Saenz, our first podcast interview). While deciding what fabric swatches to use, we talked about our individual approaches to sewing and what setting aside time for making things does for our wellbeing. Then somehow after an exhausting week of work, I was energized by figuring out how to piece this bad boy together and level up from basic blankets to a real quilt with binding. As I pieced it together, I realized it was just as exciting for me to TALK with my friend about why we make various kinds of art and what goes through our brains during these creative sessions. I also realized I had a community of friends with similar hobbies, be it music, performance, painting, writing, architecture, building, and growing… and I wanted to set aside time to celebrate their processes. I then asked my old high school pal, Amber Moreno, if she’d help me put this podcast together as my producer. We’d been crafty together more times than I could count, and I value her creative direction to elevate the ideas in ways I couldn’t imagine without collaboration. Plus, her sultry delivery from previous radio and voice-over work make for a fine intro and outro.

Hopefully, our discussions will inspire our listeners to try the project they’ve been putting off or been intimidated by, because sometimes it’s the DOING that makes art worthwhile. I’ve heard people tell me from time to time that they aren’t creative when they asked about a project I’m working on, and I promise you, that’s their own critic getting in the way. We are all creative. We were all daydreaming kids who colored for hours or put together dance routines. We all played with instruments to explore sounds. We only learned to be self-conscious of our imperfect efforts when trying new things as we got older or someone told us we weren’t good at it. Around here, we encourage each other. So how about we just all agree that we are amazing and we should all go out and make some art?