I Like Your Work: Conversations with Artists, Curators & Collectors

I Like Your Work supports artists! Each week artist Erika b Hess interviews artists, gallerists, collectors, and curators to cover topics that will help you in your art practice! From inspiring interviews from the lives of artists to business practices you will walk away ready to get in the studio!

Narratives on Family, Community and Materials: L.A. Artist Kim Garcia 04/26/2024

Narratives on Family, Community and Materials: L.A. Artist Kim Garcia Kim Garcia is an artist working in sculpture, drawing, and painting. Through her 2nd-generation Filipino American lens, her practice explores social dynamics and residual trauma from interpersonal relationships, community structures, and memory. Kim comes from a background in creating collaborative community projects that often employ alternative spaces to explore studio art practices, site-specific collaboration, and museum and exhibition research. She is the founder of The Cold Read, an online critique group and artist collective that engages gestures of care and support through writing and is one of the co-founders of after hours gallery, an art gallery in Los Angeles that hosts two-person exhibitions. Kim is based in Los Angeles and received her BA from UC San Diego and her MFA from UC Irvine. "Through the fusion of reality and fiction, my work emerges from personal encounters, aiming to complicate narratives surrounding second-generation Filipino American histories. I delve into the intricacies of post-colonial identity, exploring themes of intimacy and influence stemming from social interactions. Sculptures form the vibrant outcome of the work, fictionalizing personal events to probe power dynamics, trauma, community structures, and memory. Utilizing materials like medical casting tape, my artworks simultaneously display trauma and symbolize healing. Gradient colors evoke movement, while layered hues express emotional complexity. The sculptures breathe life into color, activating motion and tension. I perceive my work as a form of storytelling, where the malleability of oral narratives inspires a nuanced approach to archiving personal histories. By combining sculpture, drawing, and painting, my hybrid material practice investigates enduring tensions accumulated over time, unearthing possibilities for constructing a future from a suppressed past." LINKS: Artist Shout Out: Yubo Dong at of studio photography for the amazing documentation of my work. I Like Your Work Links: Check out our sponsor for this episode: The Sunlight Podcast: Hannah Cole, the artist/tax pro who sponsors I Like Your Work, has launched Business Deduction Deep Dive: For artists and self-employed creatives. and is everything you need to know about self-employed tax deductions. It’s just $97 and one hour to save you thousands on your taxes, this year, next year, and forever. Get it at . Chautauqua Visual Arts: 2-week residency Join the Works Membership ! Watch our Youtube channel: Interviews Say “hi” on /episode/index/show/ilikeyourworkpodcast/id/30986248

Opportunities and Thank You 04/19/2024

Working with Glass & Public Project Advice with Artist Laura Sallade 04/12/2024

Working with Glass & Public Project Advice with Artist Laura Sallade Laura Sallade is an artist living and working in Philadelphia. Sallade earned a Certificate in Sculpture from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 2013 and is completing a coordinated Bachelors of Fine Arts at The University of Pennsylvania. During her time at UPenn, the artist has also worked toward a Certificate in Positive Psychology and an Advanced Certificate in Creative Writing. While completing her degree, the artist has worked at the intersection of painting and glass, exhibiting in New York, Philadelphia, and beyond, creating large scale multi panel works. Her most recent solo exhibitions include Cairn University in 2023 and Massey Klein Gallery in 2022. Notable group exhibitions include the Susquehanna Art Museum, Future Art Fair, and The Woodmere Art Museum. Laura has completed public commissions for Atlantic Aviation Airport, Jefferson Hospital, and The Ritz Carlton, among many others. Recent awards and residencies include The SIM Residency in Iceland, The Pilchuck Glass School Scholarship, and The Nextfab Fellowship. Laura is currently preparing for a two person show at Works on Paper Gallery in Philadelphia. "Without light we can’t see matter—inversely, without matter we can’t see light. This interdependent relationship is the crux of my practice. I’m interested in colloquial references to light as a fleeting presence—a shadow appears, the sun sets, a beam of light enters the room. In reality, we know that light is the constant and we are the variable—it’s our physical world that is shifting, our planet that is rotating, our galaxy that is hurling through space. I observe these paradoxical understandings of the world and emphasize our skewed perception of light by capturing moments of flux. Using glass, silver, and mixed media, I investigate the link between light and matter. Integrating scientific and intuitive processes, I create evocative gestural works that walk the line between image and object. Rather than rendering light, I rely on its interaction with opaque and translucent shapes and textures to capture the ephemeral. Paying homage to the fickleness of memory, I indiscriminately excavate large portions of a composition through hand-cut elimination and rely on suggestive remains." LINKS: Artist Shout Out: I Like Your Work Links: Check out our sponsor for this episode: The Sunlight Podcast: Hannah Cole, the artist/tax pro who sponsors I Like Your Work, has launched Business Deduction Deep Dive: For artists and self-employed creatives. and is everything you need to know about self-employed tax deductions. It’s just $97 and one hour to save you thousands on your taxes, this year, next year, and forever. Get it at . Chautauqua Visual Arts: 2-week residency Join the Works Membership ! Watch our Youtube channel: Interviews Say “hi” on /episode/index/show/ilikeyourworkpodcast/id/30785333

Moving Through Fear as an Artist to Grow 04/05/2024

Looking for Hope Instead of Facts in Painting with John Paul Kesling 03/29/2024

Looking for Hope Instead of Facts in Painting with John Paul Kesling John Paul Kesling (b. 1980, USA) was born and raised in Northeastern Kentucky in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. He received his BFA in Arts from Morehead State University (Morehead, KY, 2003) and spent a summer in Europe studying art history (Summer 2002). He went on to receive his MFA in Painting from The Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA, 2010). He spent the next six years in Brooklyn, NY immersed in the NYC art scene. In March of 2016, while attending a month-long residency at The Vermont Studio Center he realized how integral time, space, and nature were to his studio practice and in 2016, relocated to Madison, TN, just outside of Nashville. His work has been featured in various group exhibitions at Ground Floor Contemporary (Birmingham, AL), Lowe Mill (Huntsville, AL), Gallery 85 (Chelsea, NY), The Parthenon (Nashville, TN), CultureLab LIC (Queens, NY), Piano Craft Gallery (Boston, MA), New York Hall of Science & SciArts Initiative (Queens, NY), Prince Street Gallery (New York, NY), Flatwork Contemporary (online), I Like Your Work Podcast (online and print), ArtMaze Mag (online and print), Create Magazine (online) and the NYC Crit Club Winter Session 2023 (curated by MEPAINTSME). In 2022 he was accepted to the White Columns Curated Online Artist Registry (New York, NY). His work is included in the permanent collections of The Savannah College of Art and Design (Atlanta, GA and Lacoste, France), Vanderbilt University Medical Center Community Arts Initiative and Soho House Nashville. He has attended artist residencies at Vermont Studio Center (Johnson, VT), Art Residency Chattanooga (Chattanooga, TN), Azule (Hot Springs, NC), Jx Farms (Cleveland, MS), and Mudhouse (Crete, Greece). He has had solo shows at Wheelhouse Arts (Louisville, KY), Oz Arts (Nashville, TN) and The Red Arrow Gallery (Nashville, TN). He has an upcoming residency at On:View Artist Residency at Sulfur Studios (May 2024, Savannah, GA) and a solo show at The Ellis Gallery at Sulfur Studios (July 2024, Savannah, GA). In April, 2024 he will also be included in a group exhibition at Tyger Tyger Gallery (Asheville, NC). In 2024, Kesling will also be showing in two-person shows at The Gadsden Museum of Art (Gadsden, AL), Wheelhouse Arts (Louisville, KY), and Ground Floor Contemporary (Birmingham, AL). Kesling is a member of the artist collective at Ground Floor Contemporary (Birmingham, AL) and is represented by The Red Arrow Gallery (Nashville, TN) and Wheelhouse Art (Louisville, KY). "My practice delves into the complexities of human intimacy, both romantic and familial. After the death of my younger brother and many of my friends to the ongoing opioid epidemic of my Appalachian hometown and the country at large, my own mortality became embedded within my active mark-making. Driven by a need to understand the world around me, my work serves as a visual exploration of the emotional and psychological intricacies of relationships, personal loss, and our place in the natural world. Imbued with a deep sense of nostalgia, the work harkens back to the excitement and vulnerability of new human connections and experiencing nature in a new light. For me, painting is as necessary as digging in the dirt - dragging your hand through a body of water - across a freshly buzzed head." LINKS: Artist Shout Out: Brett Douglas Hunter @brettdouglashunter Marlos E'van @marlosevan Lindsy Davis @lindsydavis_ I Like Your Work Links: Check out our sponsor for this episode: The Sunlight Podcast: Hannah Cole, the artist/tax pro who sponsors I Like Your Work, has launched Business Deduction Deep Dive: For artists and self-employed creatives. and is everything you need to know about self-employed tax deductions. It’s just $97 and one hour to save you thousands on your taxes, this year, next year, and forever. Get it at . Chautauqua Visual Arts: 2-week residency 6-week residency Join the Works Membership ! Watch our Youtube channel: Interviews Say “hi” on /episode/index/show/ilikeyourworkpodcast/id/30583428

Collaboration, NYC Shows & Our Spring Catalog Curated by Morgan Lehman Gallery 03/22/2024

Artist Marc Mitchell: Experimentation, Authenticity, and the Connections That Fuel an Artistic Career 03/15/2024

Artist Marc Mitchell: Experimentation, Authenticity, and the Connections That Fuel an Artistic Career Marc Mitchell holds a M.F.A from Boston University. His work has been included in exhibitions at the Schneider Museum of Art, Southern Oregon University; University of Wisconsin, Madison; University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa; Florida Atlantic University Galleries, Boca Raton; TOPS Gallery, Memphis, TN; GRIN Gallery, Providence, RI; Laconia Gallery, Boston, MA; and others. Mitchell has been featured in publications such as the Boston Globe, Burnaway, and Number Inc; and was selected for New American Paintings in 2014, 2017, 2018, and 2020. Mitchell has been an Artist-in-Residence at the Banff Center for Arts & Creativity, Ucross Foundation, Vermont Studio Center, Hambidge Center for the Arts, Jentel Foundation, and Tides Institute/StudioWorks. In 2021, Mitchell was a Fellow at The American Academy in Rome. In addition to his studio practice, Mitchell has curated exhibitions that feature artists such as Tauba Auerbach (Diagonal Press), Mel Bochner, Matt Bollinger, Mark Bradford, Tara Donovan, Chie Fueki, Daniel Gordon, Sara Greenberger-Rafferty, Philip Guston, Josephine Halvorson, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Jenny Holzer, Rashid Johnson, Mary Reid Kelley, Ellsworth Kelly, Arnold Kemp, Allan McCollum, Kay Rosen, Erin Shirreff, Lorna Simpson, Jered Sprecher, Jessica Stockholder, Jason Stopa, Hank Willis Thomas, Carrie Mae Weems, Lawrence Weiner, Wendy White, Molly Zuckerman-Hartung, and many others. "I am influenced by many things—1980’s guitars, VHS tapes, World War I battleships, sunrise/sunset gradients, moiré patterns, and more. Over the past 3 years, ‘notions of cycle’ have played an increased role in the development of my paintings; and I’m curious how the avant-garde succeeds and fails within popular culture. Currently, I’m interested in how the landscape has been depicted throughout American culture. Whether it’s Thomas Cole and Albert Bierstadt of the Hudson River School, Georgia O’Keeffe’s monumental work at the Art Institute of Chicago, or an Instagram post of a sunset—each conveys a romanticized view of our world. The most recent paintings are an amalgamation of experiences that I’ve had within the American landscape; with each painting flowing freely between representation and abstraction." LINKS: Artist Shout Out: UARK Drawing --- https://www.uarkdrawing.com/ and @uarkdrawing UARK Painting --- https://www.uarkpainting.com/ and @uarkpaintning I Like Your Work Links: Check out our sponsor for this episode: The Sunlight Podcast: Hannah Cole, the artist/tax pro who sponsors I Like Your Work, has opened her program Money Bootcamp with a special discount for I Like Your Work listeners. Use the code to receive $100 off your Money Bootcamp purchase by Sunlight Tax. Join Money Bootcamp now by clicking this link: and use the code LIKE. Chautauqua Visual Arts: 2-week residency 6-week residency Join the Works Membership ! Watch our Youtube channel: Interviews Say “hi” on /episode/index/show/ilikeyourworkpodcast/id/30375308

Cultivating Relationships in the Art World 03/08/2024

Exploration, Ecology, and Public Projects with Artist Rebecca Rutstein 03/01/2024

Exploration, Ecology, and Public Projects with Artist Rebecca Rutstein Rebecca Rutstein is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice bridges art, science and technology. For over twenty years she has created painting, sculpture, interactive installation and public art inspired by the natural world. Her work sheds light on places and processes hidden from view to foster deeper connection in the face of our climate crisis. As an artist-in-residence, Rutstein’s collaborations with scientists have taken her around the world including seven expeditions at sea and two deep-sea dives to the ocean floor in the Alvin submersible, supported by the National Science Foundation. Her work with oceanographers, ecologists, microbiologists, molecular scientists and planetary geologists give her a unique perspective and broad view of the interconnectedness of all things in the natural world. A recipient of the Pew Fellowship in the Arts with recognition from the National Endowment for the Arts, her work has been featured on NPR, ABC, NBC, CBS, in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, Vice & Vogue UK magazines. Rutstein has exhibited both nationally and internationally in over thirty solo shows, and her work can be found in more than forty public collections including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Georgia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, National Academy of Sciences, US Department of State, US Consulate in Thailand, and Yale University. Rutstein received an MFA from University of Pennsylvania and a BFA from Cornell University. LINKS: Artist Shout Out: @sarahagamble, @wmlachance, @jeremy_miranda I Like Your Work Links: Check out our sponsor for this episode: The Sunlight Podcast: Hannah Cole, the artist/tax pro who sponsors I Like Your Work, has opened her program Money Bootcamp with a special discount for I Like Your Work listeners. Use the code to receive $100 off your Money Bootcamp purchase by Sunlight Tax. Join Money Bootcamp now by clicking this link: and use the code LIKE. Chautauqua Visual Arts: 2-week residency 6-week residency Join the Works Membership ! Watch our Youtube channel: Interviews Say “hi” on /episode/index/show/ilikeyourworkpodcast/id/30172018

Chat GPT and Artist Statements: Do You Use It? 02/23/2024

Exploring Identity, Belonging, and Social Practice Through Art: Artist Jac Lahav 02/16/2024

Exploring Identity, Belonging, and Social Practice Through Art: Artist Jac Lahav JAC LAHAV (he/them) is a multi-disciplinary artist, curator, parent, arts writer, children’s book author, and community organizer. Born in Jerusalem Israel with Iranian and Polish roots Lahav was raised in the United States and lives in Connecticut. Lahav’s work investigates community, belonging, and cultural history through expansive series of paintings and installations. With solo shows at Richmond Art Museum Indiana, Longview MFA Texas, Saginaw Art Museum Michigan, Florence Griswold Museum Connecticut, Lahav’s work can be found in multiple public collections including the Jewish Museum Milwaukee, Mount Holyoke Art Museum, Jewish Museum NY among others. Their current exhibition exploring foster care is at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum, New London until December 2023. Lahav also has an active social practice over the past 10 years. Lahav’s curatorial projects have been written about in Hyperallergic, New York Times, Gothamist, Artnet, among others. During the pandemic, Lahav expanded this social practice, becoming an advocate for foster parents and helping start the group Public Art For Racial Justice Education (PARJE). Through their community work, Lahav helps facilitate large-scale mural projects, hosts educational artist talks, and runs children’s art projects to educate about under-represented narratives and equity in America. LINKS: I Like Your Work Links: Check out our sponsor for this episode: The Sunlight Podcast: Hannah Cole, the artist/tax pro who sponsors I Like Your Work, has opened her program Money Bootcamp with a special discount for I Like Your Work listeners. Use the code to receive $100 off your Money Bootcamp purchase by Sunlight Tax. Join Money Bootcamp now by clicking this link: and use the code LIKE. Chautauqua Visual Arts: 2-week residency 6-week residency Join the Works Membership ! Watch our Youtube channel: Interviews Say “hi” on /episode/index/show/ilikeyourworkpodcast/id/29974133

Artist Freebies & Artist Date Ideas for Valentine's Day 02/09/2024

Artist Mothers and Education in the Arts with Artist Jennifer Combe 02/02/2024

Artist Mothers and Education in the Arts with Artist Jennifer Combe Jennifer Combe is a mother, artist, and associate professor of art at The University of Montana. Before shifting to higher education, she taught K12 in Washington State public schools for fifteen years. Her artwork investigates gender, contemporary mothering, and children’s development. Her visual work has been exhibited at The Missoula Art Museum, Holter Museum of Art, Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, The Gift Shop exhibition space at The Henry Art Gallery in Seattle, the NAEA gallery in Virginia, and The Washington State Center for Performing Arts. Her work is featured in the book An Artist and a Mother, published by Demeter Press. Her work in art education spans early childhood education, community arts, and social theory. Her educational work has been featured in The Journal of Social Theory in Art Education, The Journal of the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement, The Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education, and Visual Arts Research. She has lectured for The National Art Education Association in New York, Chicago, San Diego, Dallas/Fort Worth and New Orleans. She lectured on mothering and art education in Florence, Italy for The Motherhood Initiative on Research and Community Involvement. She lives outside of Missoula, MT with her family. "My research and artistic work explore cultural constructs around gender and mothering, ability, and schooling. Drawing from autobiography, I locate the essence of an experience and then distill my understanding of that experience into simplified, often geometric, forms. This process helps deconstruct cultural paradigms that complicate interpretation and meaning—ultimately how we perceive ourselves. Working in the studio involves a form of meditation and contemplative translation of experiences and anxieties through the direct process of applying paint or fabric to various surfaces such as glass, panel, linen, or paper. Non-objective abstraction allows an ambient space for the ambiguities of memory and the tumult of emotion to be freely realized. Often working in multiples, I process experiences in singular works and then rejoin the simplified forms to make a complex, yet fleeting whole. My hope is to claim control over the ambiguities of experience and emotion, if even for a moment." LINKS: Artist Shout Outs: Artist/Parent/Academic group: Artist/Parent/Academic service project by Motherscholarship and art education: Dr. Shana Cinquemani Dr. Lillian Lewis I Like Your Work Links: Check out our sponsor for this episode: The Sunlight Podcast: Hannah Cole, the artist/tax pro who sponsors I Like Your Work, has opened her program Money Bootcamp with a special discount for I Like Your Work listeners. Use the code to receive $100 off your Money Bootcamp purchase by Sunlight Tax. Join Money Bootcamp now by clicking this link: and use the code LIKE. Chautauqua Visual Arts: 2-week residency 6-week residency Join the Works Membership ! Watch our Youtube channel: Interviews Say “hi” on /episode/index/show/ilikeyourworkpodcast/id/29755918

Having a Consistent Studio Practice 01/26/2024

Painting the Studio of an Artist Mother with Painter Suzanne Schireson 01/19/2024

Painting the Studio of an Artist Mother with Painter Suzanne Schireson Suzanne Schireson is an artist based in Providence, Rhode Island. She is the recipient of a Rhode Island State Council on the Arts Fellowship and two Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grants. Her work has been featured in Hyperallergic, The Providence Phoenix and The Boston Globe. Recent solo exhibits include “Inside Room”, Tiger Strikes Asteroid GVL (NC), “Aftercare”, Eleanor D. Wilson Museum (VA) and “Night Studios”, University of New Haven (CT). Her work has been exhibited at The Woodmere Art Museum (Philadelphia, PA), the New Bedford Museum of Art (New Bedford, MA) and the Sori Art Center (Jeollabuk-do, South Korea). Suzanne attended Indiana University (M.F.A. ‘08), the University of Pennsylvania (B.F.A. ‘04) and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (Certificate ‘03); she is an Associate Professor of Art and Design at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. “My paintings focus on the intersection of caretaking, motherhood, and creative practice. This work began just before the pandemic through conversations with other mothers and caretakers about balancing creative practice (be it writing, music, running or painting) with daily care responsibilities. My images are based on a mother or a caretaker, and I paint a studio for them. Through painting, research, and installation, I continue to analyze and imagine new ways that motherhood and artistic practice contribute to each other. My paintings invent spaces for nocturnal women, working against distraction in marginal hours of the day. These works are on paper due to a material shift that enabled me to paint at home on a smaller scale at the start of the pandemic. I am rediscovering color for myself in these works, finding new networks dictated by the twilight of a fluorescent painting ground. I intend these spaces to be more psychological than physical. They are not about escape; they are about a deep desire to reflect and refuel. My work is inspired by a desire for solitary space, which was so valuable during the pandemic. In quarantine, I occupied more time with those I care for, making flashes of solitude particularly rare. Increasingly, my buildings struggle to hold the figure inside, or the women get to work before the structure is complete. This often leaves an open edge between architecture and landscape, no longer making the studio a fixed place.” LINKS: I Like Your Work Links: Check out our sponsor for this episode: The Sunlight Podcast: Hannah Cole, the artist/tax pro who sponsors I Like Your Work, has opened her program Money Bootcamp with a special discount for I Like Your Work listeners. Use the code to receive $100 off your Money Bootcamp purchase by Sunlight Tax. Join Money Bootcamp now by clicking this link: and use the code LIKE. Chautauqua Visual Arts: 2-week residency 6-week residency Join the Works Membership ! Watch our Youtube channel: Interviews Say “hi” on /episode/index/show/ilikeyourworkpodcast/id/29548728

Combating Loneliness as an Artist 01/12/2024

Capturing & Creating a Moment with Artist James Everett Stanley 01/05/2024

What Kind of Artist Were You Ten Years Ago?- Reflections on Wellness by Nathan Hill 12/29/2023

Get Your Free Goal Setting Workshop for Creatives with Erika b Hess 12/22/2023

Working with Metal, Form and Light: Artist Gina Herrera 12/15/2023

Working with Metal, Form and Light: Artist Gina Herrera Born in 1969, Gina Herrera was raised in Chicago and currently resides in California. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In the course of her studies, she was deployed overseas in support of several war contingencies with the United States Army. While serving in Iraq, miles of mountainous trash heaps amidst the devastation of combat galvanized a life-long love of nature into an activist’s calling. Her art practice evolved to lessen her environmental footprint, and to consciously channel Mother Earth in a spiritual and aesthetic ritual drawing from her personal affinity to nature as well as her Tesuque and Costa Rican heritage. Once her final tour was complete, she obtained her Master of Fine Arts from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Herrera has received fellowships and grants and residencies from The Harpo Foundation/Vermont Studio Center, Virginia Center for the Arts, Hambidge Center, Ox-Bow, Peripheral Arts Foundation, Ruth and Harold Chenven Foundation, Puffin Foundation, Kasini House Artist Lab in conjuction with 516 Arts and the Albuquerque Museum and Self Help Graphics In 2022, she participated in the Conversations in Practice Online Residency at Ox-bow, and received a grant from the Demil Art Fund for Veterans. In 2023, she was a National Endowment for the Humanities Veteran Fellow, participating in Surviving the Long Wars 2023 Veteran’s Art Summit, where her work was on display at the Chicago Cultural Center. Most recently, she was awarded the California Arts Council Established Artists Grant. She is currently creating and exhibiting work in galleries around the country, as well as exploring avenues for creating larger scale permanent public art projects, to bring her message of environmental mindfulness to even more people. Her first temporary public art installation was in residence at the Valencia Town Center in Santa Clarita, CA for the first four months of 2016, and from 2017-2019 an installation was on display at the South Bend Museum in South Bend, Indiana. In 2022, her work was featured on an episode of Bel-Air on the Peacock Network. Herrera’s dedication to service extends to all aspects of her professional life – from her almost 25 years in the United States Military to educating and inspiring the next generation as an art teacher at Arvin High School and adjunct professor at Bakersfield College. "As an artist of Native American (Tesuque Pueblo) and Costa Rican heritage, I embark on a spiritual journey of self-knowledge and reflection on the planet’s uncertain future. Through my art, I utilize natural materials and organic forms, such as branches, rocks, cocoons, and nests, as a juxtaposition to industrialization and environmental damage, symbolizing the somatic process of creation. Drawing from my experiences during my 25 years in the Armed Forces, where I witnessed the long-term effects of conflict and war, including the large-scale abandonment of ruined machinery by the military, I question my own practices and environmental impact. My artistic practice is deeply informed by my passion for environmental justice and involves spiritual and aesthetic rituals to honor Mother Earth. I engineer unexpected assemblages using metals and found materials, repurposing salvaged materials like plastics, fabrics, jewelry, domestic tools, bottle caps, and military insignia. The resulting sculptures are human-like yet mysterious and fluid, reminiscent of calligraphy or hieroglyphics. Dark humor and violent beauty are juxtaposed with a post-apocalyptic industrial energy through techniques such as welding, powder-coating, and plasma cutting. Like a scavenger, I play an active role in removing garbage from the landscape, preventing further damage. My artistic process is intuitive, letting the forms reveal themselves. Through my art, I aim to awaken individual and societal consciousness, examining and healing our relationship with Mother Earth. Herrera’s dedication to service extends to all aspects of her professional life – from her almost 25 years in the United States Military to educating and inspiring the next generation as an art teacher at Arvin High School and adjunct professor at Bakersfield College." LINKS: I Like Your Work Links: Check out our sponsor for this episode: The Sunlight Podcast at Join the Works Membership ! Watch our Youtube channel: Interviews Say “hi” on /episode/index/show/ilikeyourworkpodcast/id/29083663

What to do When your Open Studio is a Bust 12/08/2023

Gallerists Ashley Noyes & Bryce Smith on Creating a Collaborative & Innovative Space for Artists 12/01/2023

Giving Thanks 11/24/2023

Finding Creative Ways to Support the Arts: Artist Devin Howell Curry 11/17/2023

Finding Community and Flexibility: Artist Mother Jordan Buschur 11/10/2023

Finding Community and Flexibility: Artist Mother Jordan Buschur Jordan Buschur is an artist, educator, and curator based in Toledo, Ohio. Her paintings focus on collections of objects ranging from stacked books to interiors of drawers, all united by a system of value based on mystery, sentimentality, and a matriarchal connection. Buschur received an M.F.A. in Painting from Brooklyn College, the City University of New York. Her work has been shown in numerous locations, including exhibitions with the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts (Grand Rapids, MI), Center for Book Arts (NYC), and Field Projects (NYC). She participated in residencies at the Wassaic Project, Chashama North, the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, and the Vermont Studio Center. Awards include the Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award and the Kimmel Foundation Artist Award. Her work has been featured in print in New American Paintings and UPPERCASE Magazine, and online with The Jealous Curator, Young Space, and BOOOOOOOM, among many others. She is a co-founder of Co-Worker Gallery and has curated exhibitions at Cuchifritos Gallery + Project Space (NYC), Spring/Break Art Show (NYC), and the Neon Heater (Findlay, Ohio). Buschur was the Director of the Eisentrager-Howard Gallery at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln and currently teaches drawing at the University of Toledo. "My paintings imply a human presence through depictions of accumulated collections. Contents of desk drawers, stacks of books, packed boxes, and objects on display, are united by systems of value shaped by mystery, sentimentality, and the matriarchal connection. Each painting focuses on the oscillation between personal resonance and public view, reality and invention, fixed meaning and open interpretation. I’m interested in the assignment of non-monetary significance onto objects as an inherently interior and idiosyncratic act. In this way, the paintings are portraits as I meditate on the details (both mundane and magical) of the accumulated stuff of friends and family (and my own things too). Simultaneously, the collections point towards the material weight of modern life, the anxiety of consumption, and the endgame of anonymous personal effects. Looking through the lens of inheritance, accumulations of sentimental objects can link to ancestors, while also becoming a burden of junk. A well loved thing, so deeply felt by one, shapeshifts in meaning when passed to a new owner and generation." LINKS: Artist Shoutouts: Crystal Phelps Lindsay Akens I Like Your Work Links: Apply to our Winter Exhibition Catalog: Join the Works Membership ! Watch our Youtube channel: Interviews Say “hi” on /episode/index/show/ilikeyourworkpodcast/id/28571813

How to Organize and Archive Your Work 11/03/2023

Black Astronaut: Kamal X -Searching for Beauty in a Divided America 10/27/2023

The Most Important Part of Your Open Studio That Most Artists Forget 10/20/2023

Artist Karen Lederer: Painting, Printmaking and Patterns 10/13/2023

Tips on How To Have a Successful Open Studio 10/06/2023

I Like Your Work: Conversations with Artists, Curators & Collectors

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