049 Mixed-media Dreamer: Yasmin Youssef

Memory, and connection, and maybe even transformation during this time. Like, what is going to happen, how are we all going to be different at the end of this. I think the moon can offer ways to just sit and ground into yourself and simultaneously reach out. And so, I called this series “Lessons from the Moon,” because I thought it was really, it was a deep experience for me during the pandemic.

That’s Yasmin Youssef. Full-time multi-layered visual artist. Previously a User Experience Designer and professional dancer. Ethereal observer and watcher of the moon. Her gilded artwork can shimmer in your very own home, or would make a thoughtful gift for someone special since–hint, hint–some gift-giving holidays are coming up. Yasmin’s art studio is located in east Austin, and you will hopefully be able to catch her at some upcoming art shows, depending on the pandemic. Sidenote: the podcast took a 6 month pause so I could grieve a snowball of losses in the family, but I’m trying to channel that into my art, which perfectly aligns with this month’s guest.

Find (and BUY!) Yasmin’s artwork online here: www.yasmin.ws and look for a special Holiday Bundle will be available on her website in November.

Find her on instagram, twitter, Facebook: @thegoldcurrent

UPCOMING ART SHOWS/VENUES SHOWING HER WORK:

Red Dot Art Spree at Women & Their Work Gallery is September 30th through October 12th, 2021

The Other Art Fair in Dallas will be Oct. 21-24, 2021

E.A.S.T. (East Austin Studio Tour) will be three weekends in November, 2021

Her studio is located in Canopy, located in east Austin. Artists open their studios the first Saturday of the month

Two of her pieces have hung in The People’s Gallery in Austin City Hall

Check out the upcoming schedule at The Cathedral (the HQ for ATX gals), which is a co-working space that hosts events in the evenings in east Austin

Travis Heights Art Trail is first week in November

Art Us Co – in Arboretum, a brick and mortar store (grown from a pop-up) with 80+ artists and artisans represented

Some of her cyanotypes are hung in Limbo Jewelry in the Domain

Belly dancing photos by Breezy Ritter Photography

045 Chatty Kid Takeover

I think creativity is incredibly important right now. You can feel really stifled if your voice isn’t heard and if you’re kind of stuck in an endless summer that doesn’t feel any different than the last 3 months. I think that it’s important to find your voice and a way to spend your time to express your self because, you know, you can go stir crazy and watch TV for endless hours a day or you can feel like you’re using your time in a valuable way.
(teaser to episode)

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That’s me, Angelica Norton. For this episode, my chatty daughters, Eloise and Ansley, took over my hosting duties to ask me some of the questions I normally pose to my guests and to give crafting advice. Now, more than ever, it’s important to be creative so we don’t feel stir-crazy in the midst of a pandemic, and in order to find ways to express our tumultuous feelings during social unrest. Let’s all shift perspective and ask questions to see what we can learn from each other – and like Eloise says, “actually listen.”

We actually recorded a month ago, just as the Black Lives Matter marches started, so I put this one on hold recorded another episode to amplify an artist of color (shown in Episode 44 Inner City Dreamer: Kendall Angelle).

Eloise, Ansley, and I talked about kids on YouTube shows, sewing as therapy vs sewing for profit, the endless summer because of Covid, White Privilege, storytelling and appreciating grandparents, overcoming being bullied as a child through creative, supportive friends (shown in Episode 43: Handbag Poetry Night), the positives and negatives of the pandemic, and tips on staying creative.

Art by Eloise

Art by Ansley

Quilt squares by Angelica

Eloise’s mask as a headband

Eloise’s mask

044 Inner City Dreamer: Kendall Angelle

It can be both. Most artists do it for selfish reasons. But when you’re putting it out there for people to, you know, experience – some judge – but mostly just a general experience. It adds an aspect that’s not selfish anymore. It’s just the nature of art. You can’t help it. I don’t care how money-driven a creative is, at the end of the day, it still lends itself to the people because you’re putting it out there for people to interpret to appreciate.

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That’s Kendall Angelle. As a Black creative with his finger on the pulse of art, music, fashion, and culture, he curates and shares incredible artists and ideas on his website, Fresh Aesthetic. We were good friends in high school back in Houston and the early years of when we both moved to Austin after graduation. In support of Black Lives Matter and protests against police violence, I wanted to use my platform to elevate voices of color, so I reached out to my old pal. And it seems especially appropriate to support someone who is going out of his way to support other creatives.

Links from our convo:

The Neil deGrasse Tyson essay Kendall mentioned: Reflections on the Color of My Skin

The Business of Hype is the podcast by clothing designer, Jeff Staple

Refashionista is the website on thrift store finds I mentioned that are tailored, dyed, and reworked to reduce clothing waste

Shameless Plugs:

Kendall’s website: ¡Fresh Aesthetic!™: freshaesthetic23.com. Find him on Twitter @freshaesthetic, Facebook @freshaesthetic23, and Instagram @freshaesthetic23. I’ll update when his Culture Fresh podcast is back up.

Fresh Aesthetic

Kendall Angelle

Kendall’s cool socks

Kendall Angelle

029 Color Explorer: Sharon Loy Anderson

I love to paint twelve hours a day. I will work on a painting three days in a row–that’s why I can finish a painting in three days because I spend twelve hours on it– I’ll start in the morning and paint till almost midnight.

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That’s Sharon. Multi-media artist with a penchant for acrylic paint, landscape photographer, and my sweet mother. She knew from a young age that she had a gift and was hungry to learn anything and everything about art. This creative appetite was genetic, so it was a delight to sit down with her to explore her path from being a talented child and a career student, to teaching art, to ongoing exhibits at galleries in central Texas.

A portfolio of her art can be found at www.sharonloyanderson.com, her art facebook page @sharonloyanderson, and her instagram @sharonloyanderson. She signs her art with “Loy,” her middle name. That’s how you know it’s a finished piece.

The intro and outro music is always by by Berm and Swale, (unless the guest is a musician themselves).

Blackfoot Daisy on a Summer’s Day by Sharon Loy Anderson

Texas Gent by Sharon Loy Anderson

ew Beginnings by Sharon Loy Anderson

Central Texas River by Sharon Loy Anderson

Dolan Falls on the Devil’s River by Sharon Loy Anderson

Echeveria ‘Afterglow’ by Sharon Loy Anderson

Echeveria ‘Encatata’ Sharon Loy Anderson

028 Generative Farmer: Sean Henry

I’d been cooking for a long time and then I started the farm so I think both recognizing and engaging in that ends up in some aspect of life being healthier and happier and…kind of heading in the same direction: the ultimate destination is learning how to cook and prepare your food is very closely related to growing and taking care of the land around you. And that’s kind of a fundamental part of life that in the modern day we’re kind of detached from.

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That’s Sean. Musician, culinary scientist, and cook of much the food he lovingly produces. He officiated my wedding, is a godparent to my girls, and teaches us all the connectivity between food production, cooking, and renewable systems all while prototyping generative communities of the future. Stay tuned for our chat – with special guest, Matt Norton.

His mushroom farm Hi-Fi Mycology (with business partner Cory Nellisson) has a delightful Instagram page with all sorts of delicious and photogenic fungi that can be purchased at farmers markets and local Austin restaurants. His other business, a hydroponic lettuce farm called Francis and Thatcher can be found a grocery stores like HEB and Whole Foods in Austin.

Mushrooms from Hi Fi Mycology

Sean sorting mushrooms for dinner

Sean holding greens from Francis and Thatcher

Sean and business partner Wes Kenner at their hydroponic farm

Sean on a banner at Whole Foods for Leaf Safari

We mentioned his wife Yasmin Youssef again this week, who’s art is produced in a studio in Cement Loop, which is where Sean is taking piano lessons. Follow her on Instagram @thegoldcurrent as well.

Yasmin Youssef at EAST 2018

Yasmin Youssef at EAST 2017

Some of Yasmin’s work

My weekly inspo is my mother, Sharon Loy Anderson‘s art show at A Propos Pop Up Gallery by Zeina and Bob Cook.

Sharon Loy Anderson at an art show

Her portrait of Ansley

Blackfoot Daisy on a Summer’s Day by Sharon Loy Anderson

027 The Questing Quilter: Diana Stahl

That’s what I think quilting has been able to do for me, is to give me an outlet to express those little beauties, those little things in my spirit that I want to get out. Imagine that feeling could be in an object around your house and you could see it and go like, oh, oh! Nice, nice nice! I think that’s what we’re all trying to do when we buy something and put it in our home.

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That’s Diana. Teacher, crafter, serene mother of 3…and my beloved college roomie. Even back in her wildest days, she possessed a tender heart, impossible patience, and an enduring fondness for fine fabric, nostalgia, and one more cup of coffee. In the blanket she made for my daughter, every square was a tiny slice of affection sewn together with her signature calm just for me. – Amber Moreno

**Thanks so much to Amber Moreno for the countless hours she’s put into producing this little podcast for 27 episodes. I have appreciated every second she’s nudged and carefully spliced to get such thoughtfully crafted episodes from our hour-plus long chats. Her work will be missed, but I certainly am thankful that I get to see her regularly for non-podcast related hangs.** -Angelica Norton

Weekly inpo: Yasmin Youssef’s art exhibit at E.A.S.T (East Austin Studio Tour) can be found at @thegoldcurrent on Instagram and her website: http://yasmin.ws

Diana’s favorite quilting book is 501 Rotary Cut quilt blocks by Judy Hopkins and she uses a Pfaff Varimatic sewing machine. You just need a problem-free sewing machine, an iron, and an ironing board, and you’re all set! TIP! Try a 70% cotton/30% polyester batting so it doesn’t shrink, but double-check the size on your pre-sized batting so your finished quilt top matches up correctly!

Her quilter in Winnipeg, Manitoba is Brenna Sneesby at thequilteddaisy.com

An example of the hand towels Diana mentioned around the middle of the episode:

aunt-marthas-flour-sack-towels-vintage-aunt-marthas-flour-sack-tea-towels — Source: http://searchluke.info/aunt-marthas-flour-sack-towels/

Diana’s lovely quilts and workspace:

Diana’s quilt

Diana’s workspace

020 Pragmatic Crafter: Jamie Webster

If i had any control over my ADD it would probably be the most useful super power in the universe but I’m fighting it – I want to do things and it’s preventing me from even knowing how to start. Or there’s something entirely different that I need to be doing but what should take 30 minutes can take an indefinite period of time.

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That’s Jamie. Executive vice president, problem solver, mom, and organizing tornado. Recently delivered from a long bout of postpartum depression, she joined us by phone to chat about seeing color again and reclaiming her crafty cravings.

Shameless plugs: Check out Jamie and her dad Dennis’ fence company, Texas Fence Supply, in Denton, TX. Fun fact: Jamie’s fence was Open Envelope Studio (Angelica’s landscape design/build company)’s very first project back in 2011, and used material from TFS, obviously. Also, check out the Bearded Monk, just off Denton’s square, where you can get your craft brew fix, play a board game, or fill a growler to go. Jamie’s brother-in-law owns and her husband manages this cute little gathering space.

QOTW: Show us your closet disasters and organizational traumas on social media (#chattycrafties)! We know we’re not the only ones hindered creatively by ALL OF THE PILES that we know we eventually we need to do something about. Design solutions are out there, but first, let’s commiserate.

Hitchiker’s guide pillow by jamie

1/2 a carseat cover by Jamie

Jamie’s endless boxes

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”

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