Art 101: The Secret Life of Artists

Tap Into Your Inner Goddess with Mexican Artist Andrea Arroyo

Fine artist Andrea Arroyo immigrated to New York from Mexico in the early 1980s to study in the professional program of avant-garde choreographer Merce Cunningham. She danced professionally for years, then transitioned to the visual arts. She became a star there, too. In fact, President Bill Clinton selected her to create the award bestowed in 2011 on recipients of The Clinton Global Citizen Awards. Those are just some of the many accomplishments achieved by this talented woman who brings attention to issues of gender justice and discrimination. Today, we are here in New York City looking at her current exhibit at the Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial Center on Broadway. In this podcast interview you’ll learn: * About the Goddess show that’s currently featured on the walls of Malcolm X Center — the place where Malcolm X was shot — and why having the show here is so important to her * How she got into the fine arts business after starting her career in Mexico as a dancer * Andrea’s fascination with the female form — and why it spurred her quest to research women’s images and their stories * Her prolific career, which includes studio work, public art, and commissions, which total 31 individual and more than 100 group exhibits in such prestigious collections as The Library of Congress, The Smithsonian Institution, and The National Museum of Mexican Art * What it was like to work on President Clinton’s Global Citizen Awards [http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org/ourmeetings/2011/meeting_annual_GCAwards.asp] * What’s left on her wish list Download the podcast interview now! To learn more about Andrea Arroyo, don’t miss her Q&A with illustrator and designer Michael Gibbs in Be Inkandescent magazine. [http://www.beinkandescent.com/articles/1056/andrea-arroyo]

Having “Frog Trouble?” Children’s Book Author Sandra Boynton Has the Cure

Yeeeee-haw! Sandra Boynton goes Country! With three Gold Record albums and a Grammy nomination to her credit, Boynton now brings you “Frog Trouble,” a terrific CD and illustrated songbook of her new and wildly original Country songs. And they’re sung by a truly amazing roster of Country Music’s biggest and brightest stars: There’s Brad Paisley with “Copycat,” Dwight Yoakam singing “I’ve Got a Dog,” Alison Krauss on “End of a Summer Storm,” Ben Folds rocking “Broken Piano,” and Darius Rucker with “Beautiful Baby.” The lonesome-cowboy title track is performed by the low-voiced moody rocker Mark Lanegan (yes, of Queens of the Stone Age.) Add Josh Turner, Fountains of Wayne, Ryan Adams, Linda Eder, and quickly rising Country star Kacey Musgraves — all accompanied by Nashville’s finest instrumentalists — and whoa. You’ve got yourself some mighty fine music, with a whole lot of gumption and heart. Created for children ages 1 to “older than dirt,” this is Boynton’s fifth foray into merging music, words, and art. Like the others she’s created with keyboard player Michael Ford, it’s not hard to know why these ditties are a New York Times best-seller. The message of the book is as charming and iconic as the lyrics and illustrations by Boynton herself. It was a privilege to interview this iconic artist, who shares: * How the book-CD combo come to be. * Her writing process, and her longtime partnership with musician Michael Ford. * How she developed her easily identifiable illustration style. * How she rounded up such stellar singers as Ben Folds, Darius Rucker, Dwight Yoakam, Ryan Adams, and many more for the “Frog Trouble” CD. Download the podcast now, by clicking on the link above. * And for more insights, read our article and check out Boynton’s work in Fine Artists column of the October 2013 issue of Be Inkandescent magazine. [http://www.beinkandescent.com/articles/1833/sandra-boynton-s-frog-trouble-will-make-you-sing] * Also be sure to visit her website: www.sandraboynton.com. [http://www.sandraboynton.com] Yee-haw!

Matt Woolman Is Turning Art Students Into Entrepreneurs

Matt Woolman is a radical. Not only is he the director of Creative Entrepreneurship in the School of the Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University—the former designer is teaching art students how to be entrepreneurs. Crazy talk? Not according to Woolman, who knows that to making a living as an artist means running your own business. “Entrepreneurship translates to skills, a mindset, and a confidence to go out and if you want to sell your paintings around the world, the ability to do just that at VCUarts,” he explains. Although there was pushback at first, especially from traditional fine artist teachers, Woolman says students are embracing this big idea—and slowly but surely he’s seeing a positive change of mindset for the school. You’ll learn why—and more—in our podcast interview with Matt, including insights about: * VCU School of the Arts—and why it has become the number one public arts school in the country. * VCUarts entrepreneurial program—its long- and short-term goals. * Why the Millennials are eager to balance their artistic sensibilities with a business mindset—and how their fine art-focused teachers feel about it. * VCU’s Creative Disruption Lab—and how it’s engaging business leaders from around the region, an the country. Download our podcast interview now! And coming Sept. 1 read our Q&A interview with Woolman, which also features artwork by the talented art students in his program.

Meet Robert Meganck—AKA: The delightfully fuzzy-headed raconteur

Matthew Porter of Communication Arts Magazine has called Robert Meganck “a delightfully fuzzy-headed raconteur.” Style Weekly named him one of Richmond’s top 25 most influential artists in September 2007. And those are just a few of the accolades that the art world has bestowed on one of their most beloved. So we are thrilled to have had the chance to sit down with Meganck, a professor of illustration, graphic design and digital imaging, who is also chair of the Department of Communication Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University. In our podcast interview, you’ll learn: * Why Meganck knew he had to have a career in the illustration business. * What attracts art directors to him—including US News and World Report and Governing magazine, to Newsweek and the Society of News Design’s Quarterly Journal. * How his style evolved over the years—especially his switch to digital. * How he got into teaching? * The most important lesson he has shared with his students. Listen to our podcast with Robert Meganck, by clicking download at right. * Check out our interview with Meganck in the June 2013 issue of Be Inkandescent magazine. [http://www.beinkandescent.com/articles/1722/Robert%2BMeganck] * Read the Culinary Road Trip that Meganck’s daughter Shana wrote for our Restaurant column. [http://www.beinkandescent.com/articles/1750/Best%2BRestaurants%2Bin%2BRichmond] * Learn more about Robert Meganck at meganck.com. [http://www.meganck.com]

Composer Joel Goodman On PBS' "Makers"

Joel Goodman is an Emmy-winning composer who has written music for more than 100 films. His work has appeared at every major film festival in the world and collaborated with an impressive array of distinguished directors and producers including Wong Kar-wei, Kevin Spacey, and Albert Maysles. He wrote an article for the March 2013 issue of Be Inkandecscent magazine’s “Women in Power” issue about one of his latest scores for the PBS special, Makers: Women Who Make America. [http://www.makers.com] The documentary tells the story of the women’s movement through personal accounts of the leaders, opponents, and trailblazers who created a new America in the last half-century, and is part of a historic video initiative from AOL and PBS. It made its debut on Tuesday, Feb. 26 on PBS, and showcases hundreds of compelling stories from such notable women as Oprah Winfrey, Erin Brokovitch, Alice Walker, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Rita Moreno, Rita Mae Brown, and more. In this podcast interview we discuss: * Joel’s career, and how he broke into the music business. * What it was like to compose the music for award-winning films such as “Being Elmo.” * What it was like to work on the “Makers” project. * If someone wants to get into the music composing business, what are good first steps? * And what’s next for this high profile composer. Download the podcast with Joel, at right. * Click here to read his article about “Makers” in the March 2013 issue of Be Inkandescent magazine. [http://www.beinkandescent.com/articles/1662/makers] * Click here to read our article on Joel’s entrepreneurial venture, MusicBox. [http://www.beinkandescent.com/articles/518/musicbox]