Tom Ray's Art Podcast

Sophie Parr: Drawing Paths from Cartography to Viral Artistry

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 14 Apr 2024 14:00:00 GMT

In this episode of Tom Ray's Art Podcast, we delve into the meticulous world of Sophie Parr, an artist who has mastered the art of hand-drawn maps. Sophie's journey from urban planner to map illustrator is as fascinating as their detailed creations, capturing locations from a bird's-eye view with striking pen and ink techniques.

Sophie reveals how a simple family vacation activity evolved into a full-fledged artistic pursuit, leading to establishing a unique niche in the art world. We discuss her transition from urban planning to freelance work and how their love for maps turned into a thriving business.

Discover the behind-the-scenes of Sophie's process, from utilizing aerial views for accuracy to her decision-making on scale for optimal detail. Sophie also shares insights on the power of Instagram reels in building an engaged audience, with some of her videos reaching viral status.

As Sophie continues to navigate the art scene, they talk about the challenges and rewards of running a gallery-turned-studio, their approach to art fairs, and future aspirations, including a large-scale Chicago map project.

Sophie Parr's website https://www.mapsbysophie.com

Sophie Parr on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mapsbysophie

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website: https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Evie Woltil Richner: Crafting Stories for Children's Books

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 31 Mar 2024 14:00:00 GMT

In this episode of Tom Ray's Art Podcast, I meet Evie Woltil Richner, an artist and emerging author with a dream to create children's books. With roots in painting and drawing, Evie's journey has led to picture book illustration. Evie's transition from academia led to pursuing a passion for creating children's books. We talk about character design and the challenges of breaking into the competitive publishing industry. Evie shares experiences with online courses, the importance of community through critique groups, and the invaluable insights gained from writers' workshops. Discover the strategies Evie employs as they navigate a path towards securing a book deal, from researching agents to honing a manuscript. Evie Woltil Richner's Illustration on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evierichnerillustration Evie Woltil Richner's Website: https://www.eviewoltilrichner.com Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website: https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Sara Christenson: The Art of Bunny Attack Illustration - Tom Ray's Art Podcast

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 17 Mar 2024 14:00:00 GMT

In this episode of the Art Podcast, we dive into the quirky and slightly macabre world of Madison-based artist Sara Christenson, of Bunny Attack Illustration. Their pen and ink illustrations of "weird rabbits" blend the adorable with the eerie. Sara's bunnies aren't your typical fluffy creatures; they're fierce, sometimes spooky, and always captivating.

Join us as we uncover the origins of Sara's unique style, starting from a serendipitous owl drawing inspired by the grain of wood on her patio. We'll explore the personal narratives and life experiences that feed into their art, like the "arrows" piece, which cleverly symbolizes past relationships with a touch of dark humor.

Sara’s creative process is as spontaneous as the bunnies they draw, often beginning with a sudden burst of inspiration that evolves into intricately detailed works. Sara shares insights into meticulous stippling technique, the challenges of balancing art with a day job, and aspirations for future projects, including an adorable line of Halloween-themed bunny merchandise.

Bunny Attack Illustration Website: https://www.bunnyattackworks.com

Bunny Attack on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bunnyattackillustration

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Maria Amalia: Weaving Stories with Thread and Paper

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 03 Mar 2024 15:00:00 GMT

In this episode of Tom Ray's Art Podcast, I meet Maria Amalia, a Honduras-born, Madison-based artist with a penchant for community-focused art and a rich history that spans continents and mediums. From aspirations in architecture to graphic design, and finally, to the tactile world of paper making, Maria's artistic evolution is a captivating tale of resilience, adaptability, and profound personal growth.

Dive into her story of navigating life's unexpected turns, the therapeutic power of art during times of family tragedy, and her venture into the world of fair trade and empowerment through craft. Maria's dedication to creating art with and for the community is as inspiring as her journey, with projects that invite participation and foster connections across cultures.

Maria also shares her experience as an art educator, her passion for natural dyes linked to Latin American heritage, and the intricate balance she strikes between perfection and imperfection in her work. Discover her current exhibitions, including an embroidered portrait series celebrating Latina immigrants, and her plans for interactive art tables designed to encourage communal storytelling and understanding.

Maria Amalia's Website: https://www.mariaamalia.com

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website: https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Angel Manuel Lopez: From Comics to 3D The Digital Art Journey

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 18 Feb 2024 15:00:00 GMT

In this episode of the Art Podcast, I meet Angel Manuel Lopez. Discover how a truck driver's son turned a childhood filled with comic books into a career-spanning movie poster designs for films, branding for comedians, and creating comic book variants that capture the imagination. Angel's journey from traditional artist to a 3D modeling maven is a tale of relentless learning and passion. Angel Manuel Lopez on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_sonofasaint

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website: https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Jesse Mangerson: From Cartoons to Canvases A Painter's Journey

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 04 Feb 2024 15:00:00 GMT

In this episode of the Art Podcast, I meet Jesse Mangerson, a Madison-based fine art painter and educator with a passion for realism. Jesse shares his artistic evolution from aspiring illustrator, interning at the New Yorker, to a dedicated painter who finds solace in the act of painting itself. He opens up about his journey from illustration to fine art, the meditative qualities of his work, and the transition from imaginative pieces to direct observational painting. Discover the balance between artistic exploration and fulfilling commissions, and how Jesse navigates the modern art world with a thoughtful approach to creation and education. Jesse Mangerson's Website: https://jessemangerson.wixsite.com/jessemangerson Jesse Mangerson on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jesse.mangerson

Tom Ray's Art Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Sylvie Rosenthal: Sculptor Building an Artistic Business Online

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 21 Jan 2024 15:00:00 GMT

In this episode of the art podcast, we delve into the multifaceted world of Sylvie Rosenthal, a woodworker, sculptor, designer, and educator based in Madison, Wisconsin. Sylvie discusses their journey from New Haven, Connecticut, through various cities, and how a residency led to setting roots in Madison for love and grad school. We explore the complexities of managing a studio, creating large-scale works, and the challenges of storing and shipping unique pieces.

Sylvie Rosenthal's Website: https://www.sylvierosenthal.com

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

GG Green Goodies: Teacher Launches An Art Career

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 14 Jan 2024 15:00:00 GMT

GG of Green Goodies found purpose and community through art after starting their teaching career. When the pandemic hit, GG turned to TikTok, using live streams to combat loneliness. GG's videos led to a portrait project documenting unfiltered stories of life.

Green Goodies website https://www.greengoodies.art

Green Goodies on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/greengoodiesgives

Green Goodies on TikTok https://tiktok.com/@green_goodies

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Kamal X: Photographer Documenting Life's Journey

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 07 Jan 2024 15:00:00 GMT

Photographer Kamal X shares his journey from posting photos on Instagram to publishing books documenting real-life moments. After losing his best friend to cancer, Kamal began traveling the world and using his camera as an outlet. His work evolved into a quest to find answers through investigative journalism compiling his experiences into the book Black Astronaut. He aimed to provide a visual perspective on America's story beyond news reports and facts. Kamal discusses the challenges of getting published before connecting with a UK publisher. His mission is to capture life's raw moments and share new visual narratives. Kamal X website https://www.iamkamalx.com Kamal X on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/iamkamalx

Tom Ray's Art Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

I take a lot of marketing couses

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 31 Dec 2023 15:28:00 GMT

This is an experimental bonus episode! Since it's the holidays I wanted to wait until they were over to post the next artist interview. So I thought I would try a little experiment. I take a lot of marketing courses. And to tell you the truth they all teach the same thing. But one that I took talked about how to build an audience when you are starting out with nothing and building your own product. I thought I would just share what I learned. Let me know what you think!

Tom Ray's Website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews! Sign up here

Chelsea Ramirez: Delicate Artistry

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 17 Dec 2023 15:24:00 GMT

Visual artist Chelsea Ramirez discusses their delicate, layered drawings and installations using pigments and found objects. After discovering their passion at the New York Studio School, Chelsea has spent the last decade developing her signature style of "radical softness" to subtly resist social constructs. We explore Chelsea's large-scale piece "The White Room," her home studio practice, and upcoming projects expanding her ethereal aesthetic.

Chelsea Ramirez on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/chelsearamire.z

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews! Join my email list

Pat Henzy: An Illustrator Who Turned Instagram into a Career

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 10 Dec 2023 15:09:00 GMT

Pat Henzy has been creating art since he was young, covering his walls with drawings and finding inspiration in the artistic films of the 80s and 90s. While art remained a hobby for years, Pat eventually started posting illustrations on Instagram. By tagging breweries in these beer-inspired posts, Pat landed their first commission. From there, social media connections and engagement snowballed into designing beer labels, skateboard graphics, and prints. Hear the story of how Pat built this business and some tips for turning your passion into a profession.

Pat Henzy on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/phenzy

Tom Ray's Podcast Website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews! Sign up here

Lindsay Kovnat Davis: A Painter's Journey from Animation to Gallery Walls

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 03 Dec 2023 15:00:00 GMT

Surrealist pop artist Lindsay Kovnat Davis talks about their evolution from animation to painting and their first major gallery show. Featuring cats and invasive lantern flies, Lindsay brought their art to life with sculptural frames made of wood and foam. After a successful debut, Lindsay plans to do more shows, collaborate on animation, and even make a full-length animated film someday.

Lindsay Kovnat Davis on Instagram ⁠https://www.instagram.com/lindzartsenses⁠

Tom Ray's Art Podcast ⁠https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews! http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Pranav Sood: Painter

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 03 Sep 2023 14:26:00 GMT

On this podcast episode, painter Pranav Sood stops by again to talk. Pranav was born in Punjab, India, and now lives in Brooklyn, NY. He works primarily with acrylic, gouache, and watercolors both on canvas and paper. Last time we spoke we talked about the inspiration and technique of their work. But this time around we talk about trying new things and how Pranav was inspired to create a whole new series of work based on just a slight change in what they do.

Pranav Sood Website https://www.pranavsood.art/

Pranav Sood on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pranavsoodstudios/

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Jordan Baraniecki: 3D Collage Painter

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 04:20:52 GMT

On this podcast episode, I meet Jordan Baraniecki. Jordan is an artist from Saskatoon, Canada. His ink collage paintings are a mesmerizing blend of intricate detail and three-dimensional aspects, inviting viewers to experience a unique relationship with scale through the use of color, texture, and form. We talk about how Jordan discovered the style and method for the work they create and how they almost gave up on art completely before finding their voice.

Jordan Baraniecki Website https://www.jordanbaraniecki.com/

Jordan Baraniecki on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jordanbaraniecki/

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com/

Kate Rusek: Sculptor

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 20 Aug 2023 14:15:00 GMT

On this podcast episode, I meet Kate Rusek. Kate is a sculptor from New York currently working in Montana. Kate Rusek assembles highly tactile sculptures transmuting these themes into abundant maximalism. We talk about Kate's current project they are doing in Montana, other works they've created over the years, and how they create their unique pieces. Some of which are works made out of aluminum blinds.

Kate Rusek Website https://katerusek.com/

Kate Rusek on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thekaterusek

Tom Ray's Art Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Angela Cappetta: Photographer

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 13 Aug 2023 14:30:00 GMT

On this podcast episode, I meet Angela Cappetta. Angela is a photographer living in Manhattan. Angela's creative work has appeared on art blogs, in media as diverse as film, television, and thriving rights-managed collections like ImageSource. Angela's shooting philosophy offers a unique blend of poignant, candid, and sometimes humorous views of the human condition.

Angela Cappetta Website https://angelacappetta.com

Angela Cappetta on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/angelacappetta_

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Tom Ray's graphic novels "Then This Happened..." on Amazon - https://amzn.to/35SzQaJ

Amra Causevic: Mixed Media Artist

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 06 Aug 2023 14:08:00 GMT

On this podcast episode, I meet Amra Causevic. Amra is an artist living in New York. Amra creates their work in a very unique way, the work includes mixed found objects made into materials for the pieces and also uses different things they find that have a connection or a story to them. I talked with Amra about how this all started and the process for creating these works that have been displayed in galleries and other art shows.

Links

Amra Causevic on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ammmmraaaa

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Tom Ray's graphic novels "Then This Happened..." on Amazon - https://amzn.to/35SzQaJ

Debbi Kenote: Painter

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 23 Jul 2023 14:18:00 GMT

On this podcast episode, I meet Debbi Kenote. Debbi is a New York-based artist who creates paintings on their own unique canvases. We talk about how Debbi got started, how they discovered the style they make, and the different opportunities they have had since showing work publicly.

Links

Debbi Kenote website https://debbikenoteart.com

Debbi Kenote on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/debbikenote

Tom Ray's Art Podcast - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Get my webcomic book "Then This Happened... Going outside again" now on Amazon as an ebook or paperback

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews! Join my email list

Estefania Velez Rodriguez: Painter

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 09 Jul 2023 17:00:00 GMT

On this podcast episode, I meet Estefania Velez Rodriguez. Estefania is an American artist born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico living in New York. Her work often uses abstracted landscapes as well as non-objective visual spaces that are somewhat open field and bright. Estefania experiments with raw pigments, spray materials, oil mediums, and acrylic polymers. Her painting language ruptures visual spaces to open the viewer's receptivity to fleeting spaces, times, and emotional presence. We talk about Estefania's work, getting the word out, and having their art used in different areas and mediums.

Links

Estefania Velez website https://estefaniavelezart.com

Estefania Velez on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/estefaniavelezart

Tom Ray's Art Podcast https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Sfera Louis: Painter

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 18 Jun 2023 14:01:58 GMT

On this podcast episode, I meet Sfera Louis. Sfera is a painter living in Brooklyn New York. Sfera describes their paintings as Spherealism and works on several paintings simultaneously. With a background in working with music promotion, Sfera has a solid grassroots method of promoting creative work, which has led to making their own studio home to open mics for creatives and gallery salons!

Sfera Louis website https://www.sferalouis.com

Tom Ray's Art Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

Damone Harris: Video creator

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 11 Jun 2023 13:55:39 GMT

On this podcast episode, I meet Damone Harris of Mone Media. Damone is a video creator living in Milwaukee WI. I found out about Damone on YouTube a few years back because they have a weekly video series recreating Saturday Morning cartoon broadcasts from the 1980s and earlier. And I mean the commercials, station breaks, cartoon lineup, and everything!

But Damone also has a unique way of telling stories through other types of videos and short films they create.

Mone Media on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@monemedia

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

Melanie Sartori: Painter

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 14:00:41 GMT

On this podcast episode, I meet Melanie Sartori. Melanie is an artist living here in Madison WI. Melanie is a multidisciplinary, experimental self-taught artist creating abstract and surreal scenes with acrylic, oil and plaster. Melanie started selling artwork publicly in 2018 and one thing that worked was posting it on Facebook Marketplace!

Melanie Sartori on Etsy

Melanie Sartori on Instagram

Join my podcast email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website

Peter Schenck: Painter

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 28 May 2023 17:26:05 GMT

On this podcast episode, I meet Peter Schenck. Peter is an artist living in Brooklyn, New York. Their artwork is abstract, with what Peter calls a cartoonish language of his own world of symbols. We talk about how Peter got started and how their paintings have found their way into galleries and more!

Peter Schenck's website https://www.peterschenck.com

Peter Schenck on Instagram http://instagram.com/pbschenck

Tom Ray's Art Podcast https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Drew Sternitzky: Mr Hugh's History comics

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 21 May 2023 13:45:45 GMT

On this podcast episode, I meet Drew Sternitzky. Drew is an artist living in Wisconsin who draws a comic called Mr. Hugh’s History. It's a weekly comic strip about events big and small that have shaped our collective history. And it's also available now in a new book!

Mr. Hugh's History on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mrhughshistory

My New book Then This Happened... Going outside again available on Amazon - https://amzn.to/40LQmmX

Tom Ray's Podcast Website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Stephen Gilpin: Cartoonist and illustrator

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 14 May 2023 14:01:42 GMT

On this podcast episode, I meet Stephen Gilpin. Stephen Gilpin has been working professionally as an illustrator since 2001. He’s illustrated numerous picture books, chapter books, graphic novels and illustrations for a host of clients including Disney/Hyperion, Simon and Schuster, Harper, MacMillan, Scholastic and others. Since 2016 he's done a regular comic strip page for Scout Life (Boys' Life) Magazine.

We talk about how Stephen is currently trying to break out with his own comic ideas these days and trying to set their own path.

Stephen Gilpin's website https://sgilpin.com

Stephen Gilpin on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sparkgilpin

Tom Ray's Art Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Get my webcomic book "Then This Happened... Going outside again" now on Amazon as an ebook or paperback - https://amzn.to/40LQmmX

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Joseph Iorio: Painter

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Mon, 08 May 2023 03:31:45 GMT

On this podcast episode, I meet Joseph Iorio. Joseph is an artist living in New Jersey. Joseph had pursued art in the past but somehow it got away from him. Then a few years ago he found inspiration again and started painting again and working on getting his pieces out there and even showing them in galleries. We find out how he has been going through the steps to restart his art career.

Joseph Iorio on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ioriojoseph

Tom Ray's Podcast Website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Ryan Haugland: Painter and musician

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 30 Apr 2023 14:26:59 GMT

On this podcast episode, I meet Ryan Haugland. Ryan is an artist I know from Instagram who I knew as a musician. But recently Ryan has started painting and I was very interested in the paintings they were posting. So we got together to talk about how this new painting pursuit started and the answer kind of surprised me!

Ryan Haugland on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mosswedo

Ryan Haugland on Bandcamp https://mosswedo.bandcamp.com/album/north-flowing-rivers

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews! http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Liora Paniz: Children's Book Writer, Mediator and Dancer

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 16 Apr 2023 14:00:03 GMT

On this podcast episode, I meet writer Liora Paniz. Liora tells me about how a combination of dancing and Mediation led to being a writer. And how a vacation trip inspired Liora with the idea to start making children's books.

Miss Lynnie The Librarian Website https://sbgpublishing.com/product/miss-lynnie-the-librarian

Liora Paniz on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/liorapaniz

Tom Ray's Art Podcast - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Rob Parkinson: Relik Ragwear, Graphic design and T-shirts

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 09 Apr 2023 14:12:37 GMT

On this podcast episode, I talk with artist Rob Parkinson. Rob is a graphic designer who has worked as an artist for different companies and eventually went into business for himself as a full-time freelance designer. Rob also started an online t-shirt company of his own called Relik Ragwear where he recreates logos of Wisconsin places from the past that have gone out of business.

Rob and I used to work together when I was in high school at a store called Artwave where we hand-painted custom t-shirts.

Relik Ragwear Website https://relikragwear.com

Relik Ragwear on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/relikragwear_wisconsin

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

billy Z duke: AI Artist

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 14:00:12 GMT

On this podcast episode, I meet AI artist billy Z duke. billy lives in California and has been a musician for years. But recently billy started making fantasy paintings using AI. These aren't just prompted that billy is doing to make the artwork. The work is created section by section in the program creating fantasy portraits. We talk about how it started and the process of making them.

billy Z duke Website https://billyzduke.net

billy Z duke on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/inhumantouch

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Araceli Zuniga: Painter

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 26 Mar 2023 14:00:05 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I meet painter, Araceli Zuniga. Araceli who used to live here in Madison is a painter that creates amazing work using a unique mixture of colors and forms. We talk about Araceli's inspiration, and what they've learned since showing their work publicly in 2019.

Araceli Zuniga Website https://www.sleeplesstransgressor.com

Araceli Zuniga on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sleeplesstransgressor

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

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Shipping and packing orders from my online store: Q and A

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 12 Mar 2023 14:25:06 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I talk about some of the things I've learned over the years about shipping items I sell. Things like setting up shipping costs, the difference between priority mail and first-class mail, creating labels to mail them, packaging, and more.

Where I print my labels https://www.pirateship.com

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews! Sign up here

Sara Harvey Patrick: Comics artist

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 05 Mar 2023 15:30:12 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I meet Sara Harvey Patrick. Sara is a comics artist living in Rochester, New York. Sara tells me about starting out as a newspaper reporter, then writing comedy with improv groups, and eventually started making comics. Sara is also in the progress of starting a webcomic series.

Sara Harvey Patrick's website https://saraharveypatrick.com

Sara Harvey Patrick on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ambivalent_sun

Tom Ray's Art Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Christian Bernal: Collage, tattoo art and music

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 26 Feb 2023 15:00:18 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I meet artist and musician Christian Bernal. Christian lives in Illinois and is a tattoo artist. That work is also expressed in the digital collage art Christian makes. We talk about Christian being a tattoo artist, starting their website, and selling work on Etsy. Christian is also a musician who releases music on Bandcamp in the metal genre.

Christian Bernal's website https://www.thechristianbernal.com

Christian Bernal on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thechristianbernal

Tom Ray's Art Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Amanda Wirig: Pop artist & musician

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 19 Feb 2023 15:00:19 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I meet pop artist and musician Amanda Wirig. Amanda creates acrylic paintings, mixed media pieces, and screen prints that incorporate pops of vivid color that leap off the surface and a dark nostalgia for decades past. Amanda also has recently started a new virtual online gallery to showcase their own art and the works of others.

Amanda Wirig's website https://amandawirig.com

119 North Weatherly online gallery https://www.119northweatherly.com

Amanda Wirig on instagram http://instagram.com/amandawirig

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Krista Allenstein: Maps Painter

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 12 Feb 2023 16:00:42 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I meet painter Krista Allenstein. Krista is an artist here in Wisconsin who paints reimagined old roadsigns on maps they collect. The signs painted sometimes have different messages than the original. We talk about how Krista started out as a costume designer and how they started making paintings and putting their work out into the world.

Krista Allenstein's website https://www.followthesignspaintings.com

Krista Allenstein on instagram https://www.instagram.com/kristavallenstein

Tom Ray's Art Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Pranav Sood: Painter

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 05 Feb 2023 15:30:35 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I meet painter Pranav Sood. Pranav is an artist living in New York. I had originally seen the paintings Pranav did while they were going to college here in Madison. Pranav works primarily with acrylic, gouache, and watercolors on canvas and paper. What stood out to me were the characters in the painting and the detailed patterns of each piece. We talk about getting gallery showings and promoting works and more!

Pranav Sood's website https://www.pranavsood.art

Pranav Sood on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pranavsoodstudios

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Julie Navickas: Writer

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 29 Jan 2023 16:00:58 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I meet writer Julie Navickas who lives in Illinois. Julie writes contemporary romance books and is the executive director of The Writing Champions Project, a global writing community. Julie is also the academic advisor in the School of Communication at Illinois State University. We talk about how Julie goes about writing books and getting the word out when finishing a project.

Julie Navickas website https://authorjulienavickas.com

Julie Navickas instagram https://www.instagram.com/julienavickas

Julie Navickas Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJulieNavickas

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Michael Filippello: Painter

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 22 Jan 2023 18:00:55 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I meet Michael Filippello. Michael is a painter living in Hendersonville Tennessee. Michael paints landscapes and tells me about doing painted illustrations for children's books. Michael also talks about how going through a major surgery has driven him to really move forward with his art career.

Michael Filippello on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064063330900

Michael Filippello on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/artist_mikef_msdt

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Jake Jensen: Painter

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 15 Jan 2023 18:00:57 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I talk with Jake Jensen. Jake is a painter that I met in the first season of the podcast. He lived here in Madison and since we last spoke he had moved out of town to Beaver Dam and found some great artistic opportunities there. We catch up and talk about what Jake's been doing, getting involved in art walk pop-ups, and getting a new studio.

Jake Jensen on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/dada.art.studio.2022

Jake Jensen on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dada.artstudio

Tom Ray's Podcast Website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Casey Hulbott: Illustrator

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 08 Jan 2023 18:00:32 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I meet illustrator Casey Hulbott. Casey lives here in Madison WI. I've run into Casey around town many times over the years. Casey creates drawings and prints in pencil and ink. We talk about how Casey started a website and recently began showing artwork they make to the public. We also discussed when Casey started doing pop-up markets and how they got involved.

Casey Hulbott's website https://cthhulbott.portfoliobox.net

Tom Ray's Podcast Website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Rod Garcia: Writer and publisher

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 01 Jan 2023 18:00:14 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I meet writer and publisher Rod Garcia. Rod lives in Arizona and is a writer and their most recent series of books is called "indGame" in the YA genre. Rod also runs a publishing company for authors called Epiphanymill Publishing. We talk about writing books, promoting them, and what it takes to run your own publishing company.

Rod Garcia's website https://rodrgarcia.com

Epiphanymill publishing website https://epiphanymill.com

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Ryan Roberts: Bonebag comics

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 18 Dec 2022 18:00:58 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I meet webcomic artist Ryan Roberts. Ryan lives in Dallas, Texas, and has a comic series called Bonebag Comics. He created Bonebag Comics back in early 2012. He has spent much of his time honing his skills as a graphic artist and as an Illustrator.

We talk about making comics and promoting your own stuff and I even have a small rant during the conversation about the never-ending hashtag bots on Instagram.

Bonebag comics website https://www.bonebagcomics.com/

Bonebag comics on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bonebagcomics

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Eylul Dogruel: Mixed media artist

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 11 Dec 2022 18:00:09 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I talk with Eylul Dogruel an artist from Istanbul, Turkey. I went to Prague to talk at the Ubuntu Summit to talk about being an open-source musician and Eylul was also there to do a talk about creating art. We spoke a few times but we never really had any time to really sit down and talk for an extended period of time. So I asked Eylul to come on the podcast and talk!

Eylul's work focuses on the interaction between materials and their style elements and uses a wide variety of materials including code, photography, video, animation, pen and paper, and acrylic and canvas.

Eylul Dogruel's Website https://www.eyluldogruel.com

Tom Ray's Art Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews! http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Hilary Falk: Fovea Works Bone Jewelry

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 04 Dec 2022 18:00:30 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I meet Hilary Falk a creator here in Madison. Hilary runs Fovea Works and makes natural science bone jewelry. So of course I needed to know how does someone get started working with bones to make things and I find that it all started from an unlikely origin... Cosplay costumes.

Fovea Works Etsy https://www.etsy.com/shop/FoveaWorks

Fovea Works on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/foveaworks

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Susan Hensel: Textile Artist

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 27 Nov 2022 18:00:13 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I meet Susan Hensel. Susan is a textile artist in Minnesota who blends commercial embroidery processes with sculpture. We talk about Susan's process, the interesting storefront gallery Susan has, and how seeing a particular blue color of thread sparked the beginning of an artistic journey!

Susan Hensel's Website - https://susanhenselprojects.com

Susan Hensel on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SusanHenselProjects

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Tom Ray's Art Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Pumpkin Hollow Art Center: Old school house turned art gallery

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 20 Nov 2022 18:00:09 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I meet Marla and Val of Pumpkin Hollow Art Center. They tell me about how Marla started running the Momentum Art Tech on Madison's east side and how that eventually was moved to an old schoolhouse just north of Madison past the Dane county airport.

Pumpkin Hollow Art Center Website https://www.pumpkinhollowart.com/

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews! http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Tom Ray's Art Podcast - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

This type of Facebook ad really works for me

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 13 Nov 2022 18:00:42 GMT

In this podcast episode, I wanted to talk about a Facebook ad I use all the time. It's called a Facebook lead ad.

It's a way to collect emails to connect with people interested in what I do and add them to my email list.

And the best part? I don't have to create a landing page! It all happens in the Facebook ad itself.

Tom Ray's Art Podcast - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list - http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Posts that bring traffic to my artist website

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 06 Nov 2022 18:00:56 GMT

In this podcast, I talk about the different types of posts I tried on my website to get free traffic from Google by finding the questions people are searching for. I also talk about how I found a way to make money from these posts just by talking about what I do.

Links

Tom Ray's Website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list to find out when I'm scheduling interviews - http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Different ways I make money with my art blog

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 30 Oct 2022 17:00:09 GMT

In this episode of the podcast, I talk about different ways I make money with my art blog website.

I didn't have a store or anything really to sell when I started out. So I used other ways to make money doing what I love as I was creating things to sell in my store.

One way was by posting as an Amazon Affiliate.

I also talk about how I started selling my webcomic as a book on Amazon!

Links

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Join my email list:

I started my art website with no products to sell

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 23 Oct 2022 17:00:47 GMT

On the podcast, I continue my series talking about some behind-the-scenes information about what I do to create and manage my websites and my own business.

I explain how this site actually didn't start as a podcast. I didn't even start out drawing my daily webcomic at first.

I started out with just an idea, no artwork, and nothing to sell.

But after posting I found a voice for what I wanted to do and it grew into something I never expected.

I wanted to share this to help inspire anyone else out there to see what can happen when you start out with nothing.

Go to Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Easy websites to start an artist blog

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 16 Oct 2022 17:00:51 GMT

I'm going to be doing a series of podcast episodes that are some behind-the-scenes information about how I started my site and different things that I tried to get it started.

I'm doing this because I am going to Prague in November to speak at a conference and I wasn't able to schedule interviews.

In this episode, I wanted to talk about starting a website and the different services that are out there, including the one that I use for this site.

📬 Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews! http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Tom Ray's Website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Jeremiah Logemann: Flags Over Wisconsin

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 17 Jul 2022 17:00:41 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I meet Jeremiah Logemann. Jeremiah is a creator living in Madison WI. Jeremiah started his whole business by creating a version of a wooden flag that he saw. He wanted one like it so he made it. Then after posting it on Facebook other people started asking him to make one for them. This all lead to a series of events that involved finding reclaimed wood and then building larger pieces for people and eventually local businesses. Then Jeremiah started to wonder what else could I do? And through trial and error expanded into t-shirts and other household gift items.

Links

Flags Over Wisconsin Website https://www.flagsoverwisconsin.com

Flags Over Wisconsin on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FlagsOverWisconsin

Flags Over Wisconsin on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/flagsoverwisconsin

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

James Griffiths: Pottery, The Kiln Shed

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 10 Jul 2022 17:00:46 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I meet James Griffiths. James is a pottery artist living in Madison WI. James had started out working in retail but wanted to try making pottery full-time. We talk about how that transition to a full-time artist started and how James ended up opening their own pottery studio called The Kiln Shed in a space on Madison's east side!

Links

The Kiln Shed Website https://www.thekilnshed.studio

The Kiln Shed on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KilnShed

The Kiln Shed on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kilnshed

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews! http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Arielle Harmann: Pottery

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 03 Jul 2022 17:00:43 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I meet Arielle Harmann. Arielle is a pottery artist living in Madison WI. We talk about how Arielle started making pottery by taking some classes. Then eventually started teaching classes and later making work that sold in local shops. Arielle is now selling items online and talks about their experience with that as well!

Links

Arielle Harmann's Website https://www.ariellesart.com

Arielle Harmann on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/arielleharmannart

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Amy H. Peterson: Playwright

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 26 Jun 2022 17:31:45 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I meet Amy H. Peterson. Amy is a Playwright based out of Iowa. Amy started writing plays as a child but didn't pursue it until later in life. Amy submitted one of the plays they wrote to a call for writer's work. And at first, they passed. Then later, the people wrote back and said they would like to produce Amy's play on 42nd street in New York! Since then Amy has been working more as a Playwright.

Links

Amy H. Peterson on The E'ville Good https://theevillegood.bulletin.com

FIERCE good causes https://fiercegoodcauses.org

Artist sign up!

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Ashley Shaw Adams: Watercolor Artist

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 19 Jun 2022 17:00:40 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I meet Ashley Shaw Adams. Ashley is a Watercolor Artist living in Baraboo Wisconsin. Ashley talks about their beginnings in watercolor and starting a line of hand-painted greeting cards. Then realized that the supply and demand of that was easier said than done! Ashley has been hitting the craft markets and selling on Etsy for the past few years making a whole different range of items featuring watercolor artwork.

Links

Ashley Shaw Adams on Etsy https://www.etsy.com/shop/shawpawprints

Ashley Shaw Adams on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shawpawprints

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Visit the Art Podcast website at https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Bruce and Vox Henderson of Prejippie Music

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 12 Jun 2022 17:00:32 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, musicians and podcasters Bruce and Vox Henderson of Prejippie Music are back on the show. They recently finished an online course about marketing as an artist and we talk about what they learned from that experience.

Also they are just really fun to talk to :)

Links

Bruce and Vox's website https://www.prejippie.com

Bruce and Vox's Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/DIYrockstar

Blooming Prejippie on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bloomingprejippie

Bourgeoisie Paper Jam on Bandcamp https://bourgeoisiepaperjam.bandcamp.com/album/sugar-fit

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

G.A Dominguez: Webcomic Artist

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 05 Jun 2022 17:00:44 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I meet G.A Dominguez. He is a webcomic artist based in Mexico. We talk about how he got started making webcomics, his comic Little M, going to school for animation and his love of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Links

G.A Dominguez on Twitter

https://twitter.com/gadominguez1984

G.A Dominguez on Tapas

https://tapas.io/series/We-Are-The-Madrizas-ENGLISH

Join my email list to get a call out for artists when I'm booking interviews!

http://eepurl.com/g1uUSP

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

KG Fletcher: The Singing Romance Author

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 29 May 2022 17:00:02 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I talk with Romance author and singer KG Fletcher from Atlanta GA. Not only is KG Fletcher an author but is also a backup singer in the National Tour, "Remember When Rock Was Young – the Elton John Tribute." KG has written several romance novels and has even been listed as an Amazon best-seller.

Links

KG Fletcher's Website

https://www.kgfletcherauthor.com

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

David Van: Running The Madison Makers Market Pop-Ups

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 22 May 2022 17:00:45 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I talk with David Van who runs the Madison Makers Market. I had originally met David when I talked to him and his partner Megan on the podcast about their company Tacocat Creations. Back then David had just taken over the Madison Makers Market.

Today I talk with David about what the Madison Makers Market is, how people can get involved with it, and what it's like to run your own series of pop-up events for creators and artists.

Links

Madison Makers Market Website https://www.madisonmakersmarket.com

Tom Ray's Art Podcast website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Paul Leonard Williams: Writer, Detective Stories and Martial Arts

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 15 May 2022 17:00:21 GMT

In this episode of the podcast, I talk with writer Paul Leonard Williams. Paul has written a series of detective novels based on his central character Gideon Jones. But as we talk I find out that the idea for these stories started in high school but he was talked out of trying to be a writer by his parents. So for many years he actually went into the field of martial arts before deciding to reconnect with his original passion to be a writer later in life.

Links

Paul Leonard Williams Website https://paulleonardwilliams.com

Tom Ray's Art Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Thinking out loud about being my own creative enemy

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 03 Apr 2022 17:00:00 GMT

I turn on the mic and try to talk myself out of a creative rut. One of the things that motivated me? A podcast interview I did recently.

More at https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

My Facebook Video Ads Experiment

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 13 Mar 2022 17:00:00 GMT

What I’m trying out currently with Facebook and YouTube ads to promote what I do. And I’m testing this out for $1 a day

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Podcast Music by Tom Ray's band Lorenzo's Music, listen on Spotify https://spoti.fi/2JJF39Q

Marlene Santos: Webcomic artist

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 06 Mar 2022 18:29:55 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I talk again with webcomics artist Marlene Santos. Last time I spoke with Marlene on the podcast she was just starting a new series on the comic site tapas called JumpHero. Since then Marlene has built a new website and was featured on one of the Tapas website editor picks. We catch up on this episode and see how things have been going!

Links

Marlene Santos Website

https://jumpherocomic.com

Marlene Santos Webcomic on Tapas

https://tapas.io/series/JumpHero

Marlene Santos on Twitter

https://twitter.com/JumpHero_wcomic

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Making a Webcomic Book on Amazon Part 3

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 18:00:00 GMT

This is the last in a 3 part series I've been doing about publishing my webcomics as print-on-demand books on Amazon. I thought I would share this on the art podcast as I'm doing the setup for my fourth book this year.

In the previous episode, I shared how my webcomic transformed from something I was just posting on my website, to a thing that I could find multiple uses for at once.

In this episode, I go over the actual publishing process using Amazon KDP to make the book and what the royalties are after Amazon takes out the printing cost from the sale price of the book.

Links

Video: Making a book of my webcomic - publishing and cost - Part 3

You can check out the book on Amazon

Book 4: "Then This Happened..." Home Working on Amazon - https://amzn.to/34u7qHi

Making a Webcomic Book on Amazon Part 2

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 20 Feb 2022 18:00:00 GMT

I recently made a series of videos about publishing my webcomics as print-on-demand books on Amazon. I thought I would share this on the art podcast as I'm doing the setup for my fourth book this year.

I gave some background about how I started my webcomic in the last episode of the podcast.

This time I share how my webcomic transformed from something I was just posting on my website, to a thing that I could find multiple uses for at once.

Links

Video: Making a book of my webcomic - Artwork/Book sizes & Printing - Part 2

Check out the book!

Book 4: "Then This Happened..." Home Working on Amazon - https://amzn.to/34u7qHi

Making a Webcomic Book on Amazon Part 1

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 18:00:00 GMT

I've been doing my webcomics since 2017 and every year I put together a collected version of them into a book.

I hope that this helps anyone who has been thinking of making a book out of their own artwork or will benefit anyone that may have been thinking about transforming their own artwork into a book.

Links

Video: Making a book of my webcomic - How I add the images - Part 1

Check out the book!

Book 4: "Then This Happened..." Home Working on Amazon - https://amzn.to/34u7qHi

Amie Waters: Musician, composer and YouTuber

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 30 Jan 2022 18:00:00 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I meet Amie Waters. Amie has been making music and videos on YouTube for years and has turned it into a career. After going to school for music and putting out several albums Amie decided to dive in one year to really try and make music a career. After doing that for a time, Amie thought it wasn't going to happen and was about to give up when one of the releases did something big!

Links

Amie Waters on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/AmieWaters

Amie Waters on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/amiewatersmusic

Amie Waters on Twitter

https://twitter.com/amiewatersmusic

Tom Ray's Art Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Jason Lambeth: Artist, collage and music

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 16 Jan 2022 18:00:00 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I meet Jason Lambeth. Jason is an artist and musician here in Madison. Jason paints, draws, and makes music. I actually heard about him from a video suggestion on YouTube he was on a podcast about running a cassette tape music label. We talk about his music background, running a label, and the inspiration behind what he makes.

Links

Jason Lambeth's website

https://jasonelambeth.com

Jason Lambeth on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/jasonelambeth

Visit Tom Ray's Art Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Xizhou Xie: Painter, Galleries and online promotion

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 09 Jan 2022 18:00:00 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I meet Xizhou Xie. Xizhou is a painter that lives here in Madison WI. We talk about finding her art style, getting work hung in galleries, and even turning her own home into a gallery for her artwork.

Links

Xizhou Xie's website https://xizhouxie.com

Xizhou Xie on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/xizhouxie

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Tiffany Babb: Poet, Cultural Critic, and Diary Comics

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 02 Jan 2022 18:00:00 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, I meet Tiffany Babb. She's a regular contributor to many online publications and writes about the comics and not just that but how the comic stories have cultural relevance.

Tiffany also just released her first collection of poetry "A LIST OF THINGS I’VE LOST" that was published by Vegetarian Alcoholic Press. Plus Tiffany also makes a diary webcomic called "All About Me".

Links

Tiffany Babb's website

https://www.tiffanybabb.com

Tiffany Babb on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/explodingarrow

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Promoting my webcomic and drawings with Google Ads

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 26 Dec 2021 18:00:00 GMT

In the previous episode of the podcast, I talked about how I used Facebook ads to find people that might be interested in the things I make. I wanted to tell a story this time about something I tried to find people to read my autobiographical webcomic I draw using Google ads that ended up not costing that much. It started with promoting a physical book I made of the webcomic and then pivoted into a separate website that people could flip through to read it.

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

3 Facebooks ads I used to grow my audience, including one I'm trying now

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 18:00:00 GMT

This week I was unable to book an artist in time for the podcast. So I thought I would try something different.

I've been working on ads to promote the podcast and some of the art and music I create too. So I thought I would share how I've been using Facebook ads up until now to promote what I do.

Plus I wanted to share a new type of ad style for me that I've really been happy with.

I talk about my objectives for these ads, the interests I use to find the audience, and the type of ad sets that worked best for me on Facebook.

If you've been curious about creating Facebook ads I thought maybe this might spark some ideas and possibly help inspire others who want to try to do ads in the future.

I don't know I just wanted to try this format on the podcast and see.

Terry Huddleston: Comic book art, pop art and pinups

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 12 Dec 2021 18:00:00 GMT

Terry Huddleston is an artist living in Indiana who has been making comic book pinup posters and more. I saw his work at a ComicCon that came through town and one of the things that was really cool about what he was doing is he was printing these posters he was selling right there at his booth. We talk about how Terry started out making comics and then realized that he could be making fan art more quickly and sell more of it to people.

Links

Terry Huddleston's website

https://www.terryhuddlestonart.com

Terry Huddleston on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/terryhuddlestonart

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website

https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Craig Hutchinson: YouTube Cartoon Animator

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 05 Dec 2021 18:00:00 GMT

Craig Hutchinson is a YouTube cartoon animator living in Jamaica. Craig contacted me after seeing one of my animated cartoons I posted online. I had checked out his YouTube and he has been posting his own cartoons for the past year. One thing I found really interesting about them was that he was doing Storytime animation, animated stories about his life. Not only that but I find out during the interview that Craig makes these cartoons using only his phone!

Links

Craig Hutchinson on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/IamCraigHutchinson

Craig Hutchinson on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/i_am_craighutchinson

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Philip Salamone: Painter, Fine Arts and Teacher

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 28 Nov 2021 18:00:00 GMT

Philip Salamone is a painter living here in Madison WI. He was actually one of the first people I met on the podcast back when I started it in 2017. I was given the chance to do this podcast live on a local radio station here in town WORT FM and I asked Philip if he would want to come on the show with me. I thought it would be a great chance for us to catch up and talk about what he has been doing since he was last on the show.

We talk about his artwork and the classes he has been teaching at the new location for his art studio Atwood Atelier.

Links

Philip Salamone's Website

https://www.philipsalamone.com/

Philip Salamone on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/philipsalamone/

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com/

Amy Regutti: Painter, Surrealist Paintings and Portraits

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 21 Nov 2021 18:00:00 GMT

Amy Regutti is a painter living here in Madison WI. Amy had gone to school for art and gave it to become an acupuncturist.

Years later Amy started painting again. But after an automobile accident a few years ago started focusing more on painting during recovery. Now Amy sells art online and promotes it at pop-up galleries and in the comic cons.

Links

Amy Regutti's Website https://www.amyreguttiart.com

Amy Regutti on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/spacethrob

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

CJ Standal: Writer, Rebirth of the Gangster Comics

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 14 Nov 2021 18:00:00 GMT

CJ Standal is an indie comic book writer living here in Madison WI. We met while he was at the Mighty Con here in Madison. CJ writes and publishes the comics Rebirth of the Gangster, B.A.E Wulf, and has also published a series of essays about graphic novel writing called Outside the Panels from a course he taught to his high school students.

Links

CJ Standal's Website

https://www.cjstandalproductions.com

CJ Standal on Twitter

https://twitter.com/cj_standal

Tom Ray's Podcast Website at https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Neil Moherman: Comic book writer Cog & Flame

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 07 Nov 2021 18:00:00 GMT

Neil Moherman is an indie comic book writer living in Dayton, Ohio. We met while he was at the Mighty Con when it came through here in Madison. Neil contacted me to tell me about his Kickstarter campaign for his next issue of his comic Cog & Flame Issue #4.

Neil has been creating indie comics since 2017. He currently has two series in production, Cog & Flame and Doomspeaker. We talk about how he started his story while writing a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, how he finds people to draw and color his comics and also learned how to create lettering for comics too!

Links

Neil Moherman's Kickstarter

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cogandflame/cog-and-flame-issue-4

Neil Moherman on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/neilmoherman

Neil Moherman on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/Neilmohermancomics

Tom Ray's Art Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Zipporah Michel: Illustration, Painting and Fine Arts

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 26 Sep 2021 17:00:00 GMT

Zipporah Michel is an artist living in Florida. Zipporah has been painting and illustrating artwork highlighting underrated ancient figures, religious icons, and even current events in hues, and profiles as vibrant as known figures would be illustrated—lined with metallic and bold hues. We talk about gallery shows she has been doing, projects, and books she's worked on. Also, her love of anime sparks a discussion between us about the cartoon Sailor Moon.

Links

Zipporah Michel's website https://www.tzipora-art.com

Zipporah Michel on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tzipora.art.gallery

Tom Ray's Art Podcast website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Emma Groom: Comics and cloning plants

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 19 Sep 2021 17:00:00 GMT

Emma Groom is a comic book artist and writer living in Florida. Emma is working on a comic book called Recursions End doing the writing and the artwork. Emma decided to try and see what it would be like to pitch it to actual comics and book publishers and is in the process of doing that. During the conversation, Emma tells me that the whole thing started out as a text RPG game. While doing all this Emma also runs a plant cloning business that pays the bills.

Links

Emma Groom's comic on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RecursionsEnd

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Christine Merriman: Sculpture, Raku and Tile Artist

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 05 Sep 2021 17:00:00 GMT

Christine Merriman is an artist that lives in Vermont who is originally from here in Wisconsin. Christine has run an artist studio called Marry Woman Studios, created large-scale sculptures and tile artwork using a method called Raku to fire them, and has pieces that are in houses all over the US. And Christine is now focusing on art and trauma therapy.

Links

Christine Merriman on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/christine.merriman.79

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Dan Hardesty: Illustrator, 3D Art and Webcomics

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 29 Aug 2021 17:00:00 GMT

Dan Hardesty is an artist in Pennsylvania who does illustration and also makes computer 3D artwork that actually gets created and 3D printed for live stage sets for performances at the Sight & Sound Theatres a production the performs live stories from the bible. We talk about how Dan went from drawing to illustration to eventually creating these large set pieces. Dan is also starting a new webcomic on his Instagram page called The Almighty Sandwich.

Links

Dan Hardesty on Instagram http://www.instagram.com/danhardestyart

Dan Hardesty website http://www.danielhardesty.com

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Jamal Moore: Musician, Deeray Music

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 22 Aug 2021 17:00:00 GMT

Jamal Moore is a blind independent R&B artist that lives here in Madison, WI. We talk on this show about how in the past few years Jamal decided to pursue what he really wanted to do, make music. He's been recording song ideas and releasing them on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook and trying to promote what he does. His ultimate goal would be to find a group of other blind artists to help them too so he started his own label called No Sight Entertainment.

Links

DeeRay Music on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTHKQ6CAU4ncYYSi1d8WHtA

DeeRay Music on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/deeraymusic

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website

https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Joseph Arruda: Illustration, collage and mixed media

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 15 Aug 2021 17:00:00 GMT

Joseph Arruda is an illustrator in San Jose, CA. We talk on this show about the work Joseph does and other things like Illustration influences, the pens he likes to use. Plus, new things in life like finding a creative space and how in recent years mixing traditional art along with digital is something he is growing to like more. Joseph makes large mixed media collages as well and has in the past worked for the art website DeviantArt.

Links

Joseph Arruda on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/zeruch

Tom Ray's Art Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Art and Asanas: Painting and teaching classes

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 08 Aug 2021 17:00:00 GMT

Art and Asanas is an art studio in Ringwood, NJ that teaches a combination of stretching and drawing/painting for kids and adults. The focus is on drawing, brush techniques, mixing paint, posture, form and breathing. The gallery is run by Lynda Edwards who I've had on the show previously and today she brings along Kait Carter works with Lynda at the gallery. We talk about how the Art & Asanas gallery is evolving and what it has been doing over the past year.

Links

Art and Asanas Website http://artandasanas.com

Art and Asanas on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/artandasanas

Kait Carter on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kaitleodesigns

Lynda Edwards on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lyndaedwardsart

Visit Tom Ray's Art Podcast website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Stephen Lee Rich: Singer/Songwriter and Vaudeville

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 01 Aug 2021 17:00:00 GMT

Stephen Lee Rich is a singer and songwriter living here in Madison. Stephen has been playing music since the 1970s and has done so many things since then. We get together in my own band's studio to talk about what he does, how he got started, and how he ended up moving to Madison. We also talk about how he plans to start an internet variety show.

Links

Stephen Lee Rich Website https://stephenleerich.com

Andina and Rich Musical Duo https://andinaandrich.com

Stephen Lee Rich on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/StephenLeeRich

Visit Tom Ray's Art Podcast website at https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Julia Hacker: Painter, Mixed media and Fashion Design

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 25 Jul 2021 17:00:00 GMT

Julia Hacker is an artist in Toronto Canada who moved there from Russia where she worked as a fashion designer. After trying to find work in Canada Julia started a fashion design boutique of her own. Julia always drew and created artwork and later on after the shop closed decided to go into painting.

Links

Julia Hacker Website https://www.artjuliahacker.com

Julia Hacker on Instagram http://instagram.com/artjuliah

Julia Hacker on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/juliahackerart

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Craig Snodgrass: Sci-Fi Artist and Robot Art Toys

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 18 Jul 2021 17:00:00 GMT

Craig Snodgrass is a painter, graphic designer but a few years ago, Craig decided to break into the designer toy world with his own Kickstarter-backed action figure, DUP-1, or “Duppy”. Now he makes what he calls SnodBOTs and in addition started a subscription service of his creations called the Bot of the Month Subscription Box

Links

Craig Snodgrass Website https://www.snodgrassart.com

Craig Snodgrass on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/snodgrassart

Craig Snodgrass on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/craigsnodgrassart

Tom Ray's Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Mortimur K: Photographer, Writer and Musician

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 11 Jul 2021 17:00:00 GMT

Mortimur K is an artist, writer & musician living in Seattle. We talk about his work and how he ended up moving to Seattle on a whim. His photographs also become multimedia pieces and sometimes cross over into the poetry he writes. He reads his poems at story slams and we discuss the fear of performing in public. Check out the conversation as I meet Mortimur K.

Links

Mortimur K Website https://www.skinnytoothproductions.com

Mortimur K on Instagram

Art - https://www.instagram.com/mortimurk/

Writing - https://www.instagram.com/mortimurkwrites/

Music - https://www.instagram.com/slavesofsylvia/

Tom Ray's Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Cullah: Musician

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 23 May 2021 17:00:00 GMT

Cullah is a musician from Milwaukee WI. Every year for the past 15 years Cullah has released an album on his birthday. And this year was no different! We talk about making albums, what he's learned as a musician after a year of the shutdown, creative commons music, and even philosophy books.

Links

Cullah Website https://www.cullah.com

Tom Ray's Art Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Forrest Voedisch: Jewelry designer

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 16 May 2021 17:00:00 GMT

Forrest Voedisch is a Jewelry designer here in Madison WI, Forrest along with making and designing jewelry also bought a local jewelry-making studio and started what is now known as Metric Forrest Studio. We talk about how this business does its wholesale products and what it was like to buy a company just a few months before the national quarantine.

Links

Forrest Voedisch Website https://www.metricforreststudio.com

Forrest Voedisch on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/metricforreststudio

Forrest Voedisch on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Metric-Forrest-Studio-101929874561073

Visit Tom Ray's Art Podcast at

https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Angelica Contreras: Painter and mixed media artist

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 09 May 2021 17:00:00 GMT

Angelica Contreras is an artist here in Madison WI, Angelica is a painter who also includes mixed media into her work exploring the relationships between identity, tradition, and pop culture, incorporating techniques like acrylic, oil, and collage. We talk about why Angelica moved to Madison and how her father collected things and this started the idea of working with mixed media.

Links

Angelica Contreras Website https://www.angelicacontreras.net

Angelica Contreras on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/senoritagalleta

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Ciara Nash: Expressionist and Graphic Designer

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 02 May 2021 17:00:00 GMT

Ciara Nash is an artist here in Madison WI, She currently has a degree in art therapy and a minor in graphic design. She plans to become a certified art therapist to introduce the therapeutic benefits and positive influences of art. We also talk about how Ciara hosted online paint and sips and has plans to do more classes online. Plus, how she has started booking graphic design work through her Facebook page and has done public work and murals, speaking at these events to share the message behind her work.

Links

Ciara Nash Website https://ceenashsarts.com

Ciara Nash on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ceenashsarts_

Ciara Nash on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ceenashart

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Judy Robb: Painter, Bee Keeper and Technologist

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 17:00:00 GMT

Judy Robb is a Wisconsin-based painter who is inspired by history and the stories behind it. Judy's background also includes technology and running a honey business with her husband. Judy also has a lot of interesting stories behind her artistic pursuits including going out west to become a photographer and while working on a documentary about biker culture she met Rusty Dennis who was played by Cher in the movie Mask.

Links

Judy Robb's Website https://www.judyrobb.com

Judy's Honey business https://vandehoney.com

Judy Robb on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/vandehoney

Learn more about this podcast at https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Caroline Lee: Illustrator and Podcaster

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 18 Apr 2021 17:00:00 GMT

Caroline Lee is a podcaster based in England who in the past few years has started learning illustration and graphic design. I have actually known Caroline and her husband Dave Lee for many years from their podcast The Bugcast. So I was really happy when Caroline had agreed to be on the show to talk about her new venture to learn illustration to expand her career. Plus, it's always nice to talk to them! We discuss all the online drawing prompts and lessons she's been taking and her experience from using a tablet to trying to figure out vector programs like Adobe Illustrator.

Links

Caroline Lee on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theinstamoo

Caroline Lee and Dave Lee's podcast The Bugcast https://thebugcast.org

Tom Ray's Art Podcast https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Ben Walker-Storey: Illustrator, Author and YouTuber

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 11 Apr 2021 17:00:00 GMT

Ben Walker-Storey is an Illustrator and a YouTuber who also publishes coloring books and different types of low content books on Amazon. This is the second time I've had Ben on the show. This time I wanted to ask him about a new drawing video series he created called "Let's draw goths". A fun series where he finds old photos of goths in high school and draws pictures of them which he has also turned into one of his coloring books.

Links

Ben Walker-Storey's website http://benwalkerart.com

Ben Walker-Storey YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/benwalkerstorey

Ben Walker-Storey on Instagram http://instagram.com/benwalkerstorey

Tom Ray's Podcast Website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Scott C. Hamilton: Caricature artist and Illustrator

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 04 Apr 2021 17:00:00 GMT

Scott C. Hamilton is a self-taught illustrator and caricature artist living in Massachusetts. He started his caricature art career while working a comic book booth at a convention. He's been doing live drawing streams on his Twitch channel and is also a member of the National Caricaturist Network.

Links

Scott C. Hamilton's website http://www.hamiltoons.com

Scott C. Hamilton on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Hamiltoons

Scott C. Hamilton on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hamiltoons

Tom Ray's Art Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Bruce and Vox Henderson: Prejippie Music

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 28 Mar 2021 17:00:00 GMT

Bruce and Vox Henderson are musicians living in Michigan. They have been making music for years. They decided to start vlogging about their process and also run a Facebook group for musicians to talk and share their work. They also just released an album called Sugar Fit.

Links

Bruce and Vox's website https://www.prejippie.com

Bruce and Vox's Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/DIYrockstar

Blooming Prejippie on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bloomingprejippie

Bourgeoisie Paper Jam on Bandcamp https://bourgeoisiepaperjam.bandcamp.com/album/sugar-fit

Podcast website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Raheem Nelson: iPad artist

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 21 Mar 2021 17:00:00 GMT

Raheem Nelson is an artist based in New Haven, CT. Raheem has a BFA in Cartooning and is now working exclusively on my iPad. Raheem has been creating paintings, travel journals, and children's books. Raheem also has found work doing timelapse drawings for companies.

Links

Raheem Nelson's Website http://www.raheemnelson.com

Raheem Nelson on Instagram http://www.instagram.com/raheemnelsonart

Tom Ray's Website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Neal Tse: Fantasy Illustrator

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 14 Mar 2021 17:00:00 GMT

Neal Tse is an artist living in Indiana. He is a Fantasy Illustrator and has done artwork that ranges the realm of science fiction and fantasy genres. Neal also started live-streaming his drawing and painting process on the Twitch video platform.

Links

Neal Tse's Website https://nealtse.com

Neal Tse on Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/nealtse

Neal Tse on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/nealtse

Tom Ray's Podcast Website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Podcast Music by my band Lorenzo's Music, listen on Spotify https://spoti.fi/2JJF39Q

Shannon Wang: Illustrator, Painter and Tattoos

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 07 Mar 2021 18:00:00 GMT

Shannon Wang is an artist living in Maryland. After college Shannon worked for the Discovery Channel making larger-than-life window displays and later started a business called Shop 53, an all women run Tattoo & Art Studio. And during the shutdown, this past year became obsessed with drawing portraits inspired by an app called sktchy.

Links

Shannon Wang's Website http://shannonwang.com

Shop 53 Tattoo & Art Studio website https://www.shop53tattoostudio.com

Shannon Wang on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shannonwangart

Tom Ray's Art Podcast website https://www.tomraysartpodcast.com

Jeaux Janovsky: Cartoonist

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 24 Jan 2021 18:00:00 GMT

Jeaux Janovsky is a cartoonist living out in California. He is a person I have known online for maybe 15 years but we've never actually met... Until now! He has worked with legendary animator Ralph Bakshi, Fred Seibert of Frederator Studios, and cartoonist Gene Deitch. He also recently did some work for the Netflix show Nailed it! He is also currently working on a new comic called Tuna Tulip in the style of old Harvey comics.

Links

Jeaux Janovsky on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jeauxj

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Support the show!

My third webcomic book is now available! So three years, Then This Happened... Available now on Amazon as an interactive eBook or in Paperback https://amzn.to/3iCp8L8

Mike Lloyd: Animator

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 17 Jan 2021 18:00:00 GMT

Mike Lloyd is an animator and artist living out in California. He currently makes promotional animation and more for his day job but he has also done animation shorts for comedians and also for the Netflix documentary "Behind the curve" a film about theorists who defend the belief that the Earth is flat.

Links

Mike Lloyd's website

https://likemoyd.com

Mike Lloyd on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/mikelloydart

Tom Ray's Art Podcast website

https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Free Music Archive: A talk about the future of music and art on the internet

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 10 Jan 2021 18:00:00 GMT

One of my favorite music sites is opening again, the Free Music Archive!

I talk with Hessel van Oorschot from the Netherlands who's company Tribe of Noise bought the site after it was shut down a few years ago. We talk about his plans for the relaunch of this site.

But we also talk about the future of art and music on the internet. How different organizations like Coil and Grant for the Web are trying to find ways to help creators, artists, and musicians build their work outside of an ad-based revenue model.

This conversation isn't just for musicians is a discussion about what the future of art on the web could be and what some of these organizations are trying right now.

Free Music Archive https://freemusicarchive.org

Podcast website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Sean Chappell: Independent Artist and Game Creator

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 03 Jan 2021 18:00:00 GMT

Sean Chappell returns to the show to tell me about how life has been going since the last time we talked and he had just quit his job to pursue his art career full-time. Sean is an Airbrush artist from Canada and has learned a lot from his experience and even switches gears a bit after starting a Kickstarter campaign to create a table-top game he invented called Honey Bomb!

Links

Sean Chappell's artwork website Red Fracture

https://redfracture.com

Honey Bomb by Ramstar Games

http://ramstargames.com

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Support the show! Check out the vintage pop-culture items available in my eBay Store

https://ebay.to/2vMYStC

Awesomeness Studios: Webcomic artist

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 27 Dec 2020 18:00:00 GMT

Awesomeness Studios is the name Marlene S. uses for all the webcomics and drawings she makes online. Awesomeness Studios has created several different series and story ideas on the webcomics website Tapas.io. We talk about how she got started, how she came up with all of her comic ideas and how she would like to go to school for art, comics, and animation.

Awesomeness Studios Doing Fine, Supine Webcomic on Tapas https://tapas.io/series/Doing-Fine-Supine

Awesomeness Studios on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/awesomeness.studios/

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Support the show! Check out the vintage pop-culture items available in my eBay Store https://ebay.to/2vMYStC

Thann Clark: Photographer, professional and artistic

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 20 Dec 2020 18:00:00 GMT

Thann Clark is a photographer who lives in California who not only does personal artistic photos but found a way to do it professionally for an auction house. He takes pictures of older items that they sell but also gets the chance to photograph crazy Hollywood studio memorabilia!

Links

Thann Clark - Website

https://www.thannclark.com

Thann Clark on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/thann_clark/

Support the show! Check out the vintage pop-culture items available in my eBay Store

https://ebay.to/2vMYStC

Podcast Website

https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Mark Piotrowski: Drawing, painting and public art

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 13 Dec 2020 18:00:00 GMT

Mark Piotrowski is an artist in Michigan who has been painting public works since high school. He also creates his own personal work painting on large custom cut aluminum sheets. Recently he's turned all of this into a business called MARKed ARTs that he runs when his teaching position is on summer vacation.

Mark Piotrowski on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/markedarts

Mark Piotrowski on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/markedart

Mark Piotrowski on Ello https://ello.co/markedarts

Support the show!

Check out the vintage pop-culture items Tom Ray sells on https://ebay.to/2vMYStC

Podcast Music by Tom Ray's band Lorenzo's Music, listen on Spotify https://spoti.fi/2JJF39Q

Jessie Taylor: Painter and podcaster

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 06 Dec 2020 18:00:00 GMT

Jessie Taylor is a painter living in New Jersey who also hosts a podcast called Dream a little dream. We talk about her artwork and how she manages to carve out time to pursue her passions while working a full-time job.

Links

Jessie Taylor's website - https://www.jessietaylorpaints.com/

Jessie Taylor on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jessietaylorpaints

Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Angela Puerta: Music and Community

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 29 Nov 2020 18:00:00 GMT

Angela Puerta is a Colombian singer-songwriter and guitarist based in Madison. We talk about music, making videos and about how she also works with city planning and trying to bring a more diverse culture to music venues and festivals.

Angela Puerta music website https://www.angelapuertamusic.com

Support the show!

Check out the vintage pop-culture items available in my eBay Store https://ebay.to/2vMYStC

Podcast Music by my band Lorenzo's Music, listen on Spotify https://spoti.fi/2JJF39Q

Mr. Hydde: Canvas Art and Murals

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Thu, 26 Nov 2020 03:16:07 GMT

Mr. Hydde is a painter based in Canada in the greater Toronto area. He tells me how he went to Japan and while there got the chance to meet artists in the field of printmaking. He's done gallery shows and painted murals in different cities. He was inspired by Jean-Michel Basquiat and from that inspiration created a style he calls Low Brow. We also talk about why he goes by the name Mr. Hydde.

Mr. Hydde on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mrhydde_artist

Mr. Hydde website https://mrhydde.com

Support the show!

Check out the vintage pop-culture items available in my eBay Store https://ebay.to/2vMYStC

Podcast Music by my band Lorenzo's Music, listen on Spotify https://spoti.fi/2JJF39Q

Lynda Edwards: Freelance artist and teacher

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 15 Nov 2020 18:00:00 GMT

Lynda Edwards is a freelance artist who not only paints but has created an art school in the community where she lives. We talk about the interesting background of her family, her interest in expressing the history of things in her paintings and taking her art school teaching online.

Lynda Edwards on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lyndaedwardsart

Lynda Edwards website http://artandasanas.com

Support the show! Check out the vintage pop-culture items available in my eBay Store https://ebay.to/2vMYStC

Podcast Music by my band Lorenzo's Music, listen on Spotify https://spoti.fi/2JJF39Q

John Hazard & Lisa Burdige of Background Noise Comic

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 01 Nov 2020 18:00:00 GMT

John Hazard & Lisa Burdige are a couple that creates the autobiographical webcomic Background Noise Comic. John spent over a decade working at Nickelodeon where he provided game design, online animation and avatar character creation for the brand website. Lisa has published short fiction, essays, and plays. She also works for agencies and has developed award-winning ideas and content strategy for top brands. We talk about creating their comics, promoting it, the experiences they've had since starting Background Noise Comic and more!

Background Noise Comic on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/background_noise_comic

Background Noise Comic website https://backgroundnoisecomic.com

More of the podcast at https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Sophia Voelker: Painter and mixed media artist

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 25 Oct 2020 17:00:00 GMT

Sophia Voelker is an artist here in Madison who is a painter but also works with mixed media using alternate material, such as joint compound, paper products, cement and layered gesso texturing in her artwork. Sophia works online under the name Black butterfly Studio. We talk about how she came to live in Madison and the process of some of the different kinds of mixed media pieces she has made.

Sophia's Links

Black Butterfly Studio Website - https://www.blackbutterflystudio.com

Black Butterfly Studio on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/theblackbutterflystudio

Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

René Gauthreaux: Instagram comic artist

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 18 Oct 2020 17:00:00 GMT

René Gauthreaux has been creating autobiographical comics on Instagram this past year. But before that, he had gone out and tried a number of different things including starting a music zine and traveling to another town to break into the comic business. But there were things that stopped him along the way. He tells me the story about how it took really breaking down his fear of rejection to feel happy about the art he decided to make.

Links

René Gauthreaux on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arisde_art

Visit the podcast website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com

Henrique Nardi: Graphic Designer & Type Educator

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 11 Oct 2020 17:00:00 GMT

Henrique Nardi is a Graphic Designer & Type Educator. I got the chance to meet Henrique while he was working on the Madison mural that was recently completed on Monroe street with another local artist Triangulador here in town.

Since they were working I didn't really get a chance to talk too long with Henrique, so I thought why not have him on the podcast!

We talk about other murals that he's worked on, fonts & typography as an art form, and his recent work on translating his favorite band's new book "Do What You Want: The Story of Bad Religion" to another language.

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/tipocracia_

Behance:
https://www.behance.net/henriquenardi

Scott Pyburn: From comic art to making action figures

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 04 Oct 2020 17:00:00 GMT

Scott Pyburn is a person I actually met before on a previous season of the podcast. He was traveling with the Mighty-Con comic-book circuit.

While drawing at his booth and selling original artwork and custom drawings he saw that toys were really a big draw at these conventions.

After everything shut down this year and the conventions all closed he decided to try something he realized he was passionate about all along, making his own custom action figures under the brand Toyzaholiks.

Toyzaholiks on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/toyzaholiks

THE BOOTLEG IKEA TOY SHOW - https://www.slugtoys.com/ikea

Tom Ray's Art Podcast (Trailer)

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Fri, 02 Oct 2020 21:55:11 GMT

Bonus Episode: Tom Ray on the WFMU Radio Free Culture Podcast

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 24 May 2020 18:04:09 GMT

From 2010 - 2018 I used to do a show about creative commons and free culture music with a guy named Doug Whitfield called Music Manumit.

Years ago we were interviewed on the WFMU podcast Radio Free Culture with Cheyenne Hohman. I found this episode the other day and thought it would be interesting because I talk about my support of creative commons for art and music.

Creative Commons - https://creativecommons.org

Music for the podcast "Just in case" by Lorenzo's Music - https://www.lorenzosmusic.com

ReVINYLized: Creating things from old records

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 17 May 2020 17:00:00 GMT

ReVINYLized is an account I've been following on Instagram that makes things out of old records and pop-culture items. I got together with Betty who makes all of these items herself and we talk about what she does and how this all got started.

Learn more about ReVINYLized on Instagram @revinylizedmadtown

Music for the podcast "Just in case" by Lorenzo's Music - https://www.lorenzosmusic.com

American Bandit: A Band Making Music In The Mid-West

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 10 May 2020 21:29:42 GMT

American Bandit is a post-hardcore band from Milwaukee WI. I got the chance to talk with them when they came through town to play a show at the High Noon Saloon. I'm a musician myself in the band Lorenzo's Music and I have been making music long before I started this art podcast. One difference about being in a band is it has the advantage of creating as a group. We talk about how working as a group can help as far as promoting yourself and planning and creating new things.

Learn more about American Bandit - https://americanbandit.bandcamp.com/

Music for the podcast
"Just in case" by Lorenzo's Music - https://www.lorenzosmusic.com

Becky Weber: Mannequin Art, Horror Cosplay & Fashion

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 03 May 2020 17:00:00 GMT

Becky Weber is an artist here in Madison, WI who makes things from Mannequins and also makes horror and music-themed clothing. We sit down at a local coffee shop to talk and I find out that her other obsession is horror based cosplay. Learn more about Becky Weber on Instagram @artsybekka Music for the podcast "Just in case" by Lorenzo's Music - https://www.lorenzosmusic.com

Lindsay Kovnat: Animation, Illustration & Man Man Music Video

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 26 Apr 2020 17:00:00 GMT

Linsay Kovnat is an artist I reached out to online because of an animated video I saw she made years ago for the band Man Man. She's been living in New York and we talk about how she ended up creating this video and winning a Nicktoons award for it. Lindsay has also recently been working on a children's book.

Learn more about Lindsay Kovnat https://www.lindsaykovnatart.com

Man Man "Engrish Bwudd" Video https://youtu.be/wurEDf8z9tc

Music for the podcast "Just in case" by Lorenzo's Music - https://www.lorenzosmusic.com

Mike Lroy: Murals, Spray Paint & Digital Media

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 19 Apr 2020 17:00:00 GMT

Mike Lroy is an artist living in the Madison area. I had seen his work and was very intrigued by what he was doing on his Instagram. What he was doing there seemed surreal compared to the mural and other artwork he had created around town. I reached out and got to meet him one afternoon at the coffee shop right outside of my train car on West Washington Ave. Learn more about Mike Lroy - https://www.mikelroy.com/ Music "Just in case" by Lorenzo's Music - https://www.lorenzosmusic.com

Mandy Kron: Curator, Artist & Skull Enthusiast

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 12 Apr 2020 17:00:00 GMT

Mandy Kron is an artist in Madison who is also a curator for the UW Health clinic. Mandy creates prints and multi-media artwork that include found objects like seashells and skulls that I find out she gets on Craigslist!

Learn more about Mandy Kron on Instagram @atbkart

Music "Just in case" by Lorenzo's Music - https://www.lorenzosmusic.com

T.L. Luke: Illustrator & Selling Prints

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 05 Apr 2020 17:00:00 GMT

T.L. Luke is an artist here in Madison, Fascinated with the potential that children’s picture books have on the development of a child’s creativity, Luke explores this concept via dark and whimsical subjects with the adult viewer in mind. I got the chance to sit down and talk at T.L's home/studio and learn more! Learn more about T.L. Luke at https://www.tl-luke.com Music for the podcast by Lorenzo's Music https://www.lorenzosmusic.com

Jenie Gao: From the corporate world to full-time artist

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 29 Mar 2020 17:00:00 GMT

Jenie Gao is a full-time artist, creative director, and entrepreneur. She specializes in printmaking, murals, public installations, and arts project management. She strives to create records, cultural cornerstones, and community landmarks that claim space for diverse identities and connect us with our ecosystems. I got the chance to meet Jenie and talk at the studio she has here in Madison. Learn more about Jenie Gao at https://jenie.org Music by Lorenzo's Music - https://www.lorenzosmusic.com

Carli Ihde: Comic Drawing Tattoo Artist

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 22 Mar 2020 17:00:00 GMT

Carli Ihde has worked for comic book companies such as DC, IDW and Dynamite. Carli is a freelancer here in Wisconsin and has also created murals, installation art, chalk drawing and currently is working as a tattoo artist. Learn more about Carli Ihde - https://www.carlieyed.com Music by Lorenzo's Music - https://www.lorenzosmusic.com

Martel Chapman: Painting And All That Jazz

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 15 Mar 2020 17:00:00 GMT

Martel Chapman is an artist around the Madison area. As a kid, his interests were very similar to what mine were back then, comic book art and listening to rap and metal music. Then he found the music of John Coltrane and it changed everything for him, including artistically. Now his style is more Improvisation in sound; improvisation in form. Learn more about Martel Chapman - https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/martel-chapman Music for this episode by Lorenzo's Music - lorenzosmusic.com

TacoCat Creations: Creating For Cats

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 08 Mar 2020 19:09:16 GMT

TacoCat Creations was born out of a need for cool, quality, and unique cat toys and accessories. Megan started out making products for a pet store she worked at. Eventually, it turned into a full-time business and her partner David was able to leave his job and join Megan to help it grow. Also, I talk about how I have decided to start using my own name for the things I create from now on! Learn more about TacoCat Creations at http://tacocatcreations.com Music for this episode by Lorenzo's Music - lorenzosmusic.com

J.L. Westover: Mr. Lovenstein Webcomics

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 01 Mar 2020 18:00:00 GMT

J.L. Westover is the artist behind the webcomic Mr. Lovenstein. His work is known for its dark humor paired with a soft, cartoonish art style. I got the chance to meet him over a video chat and talk about how he made a living out of posting comics online. Learn more about J. L. Westover at https://www.mrlovenstein.com Music for this episode is by Lorenzo's Music - lorenzosmusic.com

Red Fracture: Air brush and game design

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 23 Feb 2020 18:00:00 GMT

Sean Chappell decided to try and give being a full-time artist a go. Sean created his own brand called Red Fracture and dedicated his time to creating his own work as products. He's also been going through the Shopify training course to get advice and help to learn how to do it. Learn more about Sean and Red Fracture at https://redfracture.com Music for this episode by Lorenzo's Music - lorenzosmusic.com

Gray Miller: From Bondage to Visual Practitioner Artist.

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 16 Feb 2020 18:00:00 GMT

Gray Miller got involved with an event known as "Open Space Technology." in a very unconventional way... In the kink and bondage community. He has made that experience into a career doing visual thinking artwork using images, words, and live, in-person visceral drawing to engage with an audience to communicate.

Learn more about Gray Miller at https://www.graymillercreative.com

Music for the show is by Lorenzo's Music https://www.lorenzosmusic.com

Triangulador: From Street Art to Murals

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 17:00:00 GMT

Triangulador, Liu Szwako is a Mexico City-born street artist and muralist working in Madison, Wisconsin. I got the chance to meet with him in an apartment he turned into an art studio.

Learn more about Triangulador at https://www.triangulador.com

Music for the show is by Lorenzo's Music https://www.lorenzosmusic.com

John Sanford: From Animation To Webcomics

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 15 Sep 2019 16:00:00 GMT

John Sanford is an animator from California who has made cartoons working for Warner Bros. Animation, Walt Disney Television Animation, DreamWorks Animation & Pixar. And during that time he created a webcomic called Chippy and Loopus. As we talk on facebook messenger he tells me he decided he wanted to try and turn his webcomic into a tv show!

Vicki Liu: Painting pets, traditional to digital.

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 16:00:00 GMT

I recently posted about how we had to say good-bye to our family dog spike in my daily comic. And Vicki Liu, an artist that I follow on Instagram reached out to me and did one of the nicest things ever. She painted a portrait of our dog and gave it to me.

You can visit Vicki's website and check out her work at https://www.vicki-liu.com/

Music is by Lorenzo's Music https://www.lorenzosmusic.com

Margaret Dent: Animal Portraits and Jewelry

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 01 Sep 2019 16:00:00 GMT

Margaret Dent is another person who contacted me from the American Bandito mailing list. Margaret is an artist in Canada who creates several things, including jewelry and portraits.

But her favorite type of portraits to work on are of animals, especially horses.

Tim Togstad: Abstract Art and Letting Things Go

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 25 Aug 2019 16:00:00 GMT

Tim Togstad is an artist here in Madison who I actually met right outside of the train car that I'm renting that I'm trying to turn into my own business. He was loading in his paintings into the place next door. So I walked over to introduce myself.

His artwork is a style of abstract expressionism, using biomorphic forms with a liberal use of color. He creates paintings and drawings, sculpture and woodworking.

Visit Tim's website https://www.timtogstad.com

Chris Prunckle: A Webcomic Artist Tells What He Really, Really Wants

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 18 Aug 2019 16:00:00 GMT

Chris Prunckle is an artist out of Illinois that makes webcomics. Then one day he started drawing bands and music reviews in his comic called "Wannabe The Comic". And we also talk about what it's like trying to make a living off of artwork that is basically only viewed in an online format.

Brennen Reece: Designing For Games And Tarot Cards

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 16:00:00 GMT

Brennen Reece is an artist and designer from Auburn, Alabama. He has also worked in film and makes music. But what really stood out when he contacted me to be on the show was he told me he designs Tarot cards. I learn more about that and what the word Polymath means when we meet each other.

Jay D'Ici: Writers, Art & Kickstarter

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 04 Aug 2019 16:00:00 GMT

Jay D'Ici is the writer and creator of the comic "Conceptual Heist" a comic that is being created by using Kickstarter to fund it. I've always been too scared to start a Kickstarter myself, so I take the opportunity to ask him more about how he did it.

And I would like to add that this is the first time I have talked to a person on this show that is in Canada. So that was kind of cool!

Matty Sheets: Creating a music and art community

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 28 Jul 2019 16:00:00 GMT

Up to this point I’ve only talked to people that are in or around where I am in Madison. Matty Sheets is a musician from Greensboro, North Carolina. In 2016 he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and playing music started to become much tougher than they used to be. He wanted to keep doing things to artistically express himself so he decided to take up drawing.

John Porcellino: Creator of the King-Cat minicomics

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 21 Jul 2019 16:00:00 GMT

I mentioned in a previous episode of the show I had participated in an annual zine fest in Madison called Print & Resist. One of the people showcasing his work at the event was John Porcellino, creator of the popular minicomic zine King Kat.

Went to his table to introduce myself and I blurted out that I had this podcast and I would love to talk with him. We exchanged information and he was nice enough to talk with me a few weeks later on facebook messenger.

John's Website http://www.spitandahalf.com/

John's Author Page on Amazon - https://amzn.to/2L5fkdU

UnderBelly: Turning a zine into an app

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 14 Jul 2019 16:00:00 GMT

I went to a local coffee shop to meet the people I talk with today, Olivia and Elizabeth from the start-up UnderBelly.

So from time to time, I like to do a nearby location search on Instagram just to see if there is any interesting artwork that's being posted in the Madison area to try and find some new things to check out. I can’t remember exactly but I think that’s how I discovered underbelly.

They have been working with local businesses to give a different view of the city. The hidden gems, the alternative, the niche and the interesting. UnderBelly is excited to show a local perspective with a twist. They do all this by putting out a weekly zine and just created their own mobile app.

Visit the UnderBelly website and check out the app https://www.exploreunderbelly.io

Lacey Smith: Artist and Resident Fan

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 07 Jul 2019 16:00:00 GMT

Lacey Smith aka Luluweird is someone that I heard about after I met Lauden from American Trash back in August. I had connected with her on Instagram and asked if we could meet at the train car I recently rented out.

Lacey has played synthesizer in bands, traveled, was a cook, was a farmer, collectively ran a grocery co-op and was the zine coordinator at a bookstore. Her artwork is inspired by nature, the mysterious, the strange, animals, handmade, new places, old things, music, people & posters. And she runs a record label the specializes in special releases of albums by The Residents.

SmereTactics: Woodcuts Are The Storybook

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 30 Jun 2019 16:00:00 GMT

Sara Meredith and I have actually tried to set up an interview several times in the past year. I don’t know why we kept having trouble doing that. But we finally were able to sit down and talk.

She goes by the name SmereTactics and is a Madison-based relief printmaker and teacher. Her black and white woodcut prints have a bold visceral quality while the overlapping subject matter offers a nuanced perspective and layers of meaning.

Scott Pyburn: Joining Comic-Cons and Zine Fests

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 23 Jun 2019 16:00:00 GMT

Scott Pyburn emailed me after he discovered the podcast. He is also someone like me who decided he wanted to get back into drawing and creating again and told me that he was going to be touring with a Comic-Con and one of the stops was going to be right here in Madison.

The day the Comic-Con rolled through town I decided to head on over to meet Scott and check out the artwork at his booth.

Plus, I also talk about how I participate in my first Zine Fest!

The Artistry Studio & Mississippi Mayhem: Art, Trains and Online Carts

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 16 Jun 2019 16:00:00 GMT

In this season of the podcast, I decided to try and start my own business. It's going to be a multimedia podcast studio and retail space.

And I'm doing it in an old 1930's train car!

One of the things I need to figure out is what I'm going to sell and what online shopping cart I want to use. So I meet with two artists here in Madison, WI to talk about the different cart options out there and ask why they are in the process of leaving Etsy?

S04 Episode 9: Emily Balsley, Illustration, Murals and Publications.

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 03 Mar 2019 18:00:00 GMT

Today I get to meet Emily Balsley. She's a full-time self-employed artist whose illustration work I really admire. We've tried to get together to talk a few times. When she started working on a mural here at the University of Wisconsin, I stopped by and we were finally able to get together and talk.

Links

https://www.emilybalsley.com

Instagram: @emilybluestar

S04 Episode 8: Grant Baciocco - Cartoons, Stories, Puppets, Movies & Wrestling.

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 24 Feb 2019 18:00:00 GMT

Grant Baciocco is a puppeteer, comedian, writer and professional wrestling host from time to time. He also is the creator of the podcast series The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd which I happened to make an animated cartoon pilot for.

He is known for his work on Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return (2017), Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later (2017) and The Happytime Murders to name just a few of the many creative things he's done.

We've known each other for years, there's just one thing... We've never actually met face to face.

Grant on twitter https://twitter.com/ToasterBoy

Links

http://www.saturdaymorningmedia.com

http://thetoiley.com

http://www.mrgrant.com

Music by Lorenzo's Music

https://www.lorenzosmusic.com

S04 Episode 7: Ben Walker Storey, Print On Demand and Horror Flicks.

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 17 Feb 2019 18:00:00 GMT

Ben Walker Storey had listened to the podcast and contacted me on Instagram. The funny thing is I had actually been looking at his work online earlier that day. So I asked him if he wanted to meet with me on the show.

He runs a podcast of his own called The Cheap Chills Show where he and his wife watch trailers of old horror movies and talk about them. His artwork also lends itself to that style which I really dig.

But what really interested me about him was that he had his own Amazon Print-On-Demand store. We talk about that and a whole lot more on the show.

Also, I realize there is kind of a "Spotify for your drawings" type thing out there, where you can get paid when people just look at your drawings.

I started one with just a collection of drawings on my phone - https://tapas.io/series/phonedrawingsminicomic

S04 Episode 6: Peter Krsko, Public Art and Science!

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 18:00:00 GMT

Peter Krsko had been listening to the podcast and contacted me. And meeting him was a delight! I had checked out some of his stuff on his website and one thing that caught my eye was these large sculptures that he did. They were these giant wooden things sprouting out of the ground. It also said that he discovered a way to use a traditional scanning electron microscope as a focused electron beam lithography instrument, enabling him to create artwork viewable only with a microscope. So needless to say I had some questions about how he makes his artwork. But I learned a lot more about how his mind works too.

Plus, I look at the ad promotions I've been making to sell my artwork and learn that the second time around really is the charm.

See Peter's work on his website http://www.peterkrsko.com

Music for the show by Lorenzo's Music

https://www.lorenzosmusic.com

S04 Episode 5: Tack Video - You're gonna make it after all.

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 03 Feb 2019 18:30:13 GMT

Spencer Blesi and Rob Griffen are two guys I used to work with at a corporate job. They were in the video department. Spencer even recorded a video for my band Lorenzo's Music. After I left that company I later heard that they also left and started their own video production company, Tack Video. I met with them at a coffee shop to talk about running their own business. I also have kind of a revelation while continuing my experiment to create sales for the things I make one piece at a time. Tack Video Website - https://www.tackvid.com

Music for the show by Lorenzo's Music

https://www.lorenzosmusic.com

S04 Episode 4: Steev Baker, Shauna Koszegi - Libraries and Landing Pages.

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 18:42:17 GMT

Steev Baker & Shauna Koszegi work at the library. They spend their whole day trying to get people to think about it as a place that has tons of resources for creative people. So how do you get people to come to a place that has just always been there? One of the things they did is start a podcast about it. Tallest Building In Town https://tallestbuildingintown.com

Music for the show by Lorenzo's Music

https://www.lorenzosmusic.com

Get my graphic novel "Then This Happened..." on Amazon

https://amzn.to/2B6mTeC

S04 Episode 3: Bradley Flora - Photography, Painting & Finding Multiple Outlets.

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 20 Jan 2019 18:30:05 GMT

There was an art installation at a local coffee shop in the fall and the artist, Bradley Flora heard my podcast and asked if I wanted to stop by and check it out. We ended up sitting down to talk, and he told me about how he’s been expanding on what he wants to do, going from photography to painting. Listen to the episode Listen on: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube I also ponder ideas about other options for income besides freelancing. Check out Bradley's work on his website http://bradleyflora.com

Music for the show by Lorenzo's Music

https://www.lorenzosmusic.com

S04 Episode 2: Zines & Personal Comics With Emily Mehr

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 13 Jan 2019 19:03:26 GMT

My wife and I were taking a weekend trip to Minnesota. I took that opportunity to meet someone that lives there that I'm friends with on Instagram, Emily Mehr. Listen to the episode Listen on: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube Like me, Emily also draws a personal daily comic and you can check out her work on Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/ejoymehr

S04 Episode 1: Jessica Abel

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 06 Jan 2019 18:34:41 GMT

What cool way to start off the new season of the show, I got the opportunity to meet Jessica Abel!! Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube She is the comic book writer and artist who has made so many books, ranging from stories to instructional including the books Life Sucks, Drawing Words & Writing Pictures, La Perdida, Growing Gills and Radio: An Illustrated Guide (with collaborator Ira Glass) just to name a few. You can check out her latest graphic novel Trish Trash: Rollergirl of Mars on Amazon. https://amzn.to/2Szq1pP

S03 Episode 13: Ivan Brunetti

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 30 Sep 2018 17:45:43 GMT

Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube Previously on American Bandito, I spoke with artist Rachal Duggan and I discovered we had a mutual person that inspired us both. After I posted that interview, I got a silly idea in my head. I figured it would never work but it was worth a try. I sent Ivan Brunetti a link to that episode and just told him I would love to talk with him on the show. I figured what could it hurt? If he didn’t respond or said no at least I tried right? To my surprise, he said yes! He is currently at Columbia College in Chicago, just a few hours away. So my wife Merijoy and I took a trip to go meet him. So today on this special episode of American Bandito I meet Ivan Brunetti.

S03 Episode 12: Stripe, Tattoo Artist

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 23 Sep 2018 17:29:02 GMT

Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube Back in the first season of the show, I talked to a young artist named Salma Carreon. During the interview, she told me about how she briefly apprenticed at a tattoo shop. And it occurred to me I didn’t really know much about tattoo artists. How they start out, what it takes to become one, anything really. And since then I thought I should talk to one and find out. And it turns out one found me. He had messaged me on the American Bandito Facebook page. He runs a shop called Ultimate Arts Tattoo out on Commercial Ave. So he invited me over there to sit down and talk with him about what he does. Website - https://ultimatearts.squarespace.com Stripe's Bucky, Ink’d Wisconsinly https://buckyonparade.com/find-bucky/inkd-wisconsinly/

S03 Episode 11: Luke Bassuener, Art Teacher

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 16 Sep 2018 18:00:02 GMT

Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube The person that I meet today I read about in the Isthmus. He was creating a stop-motion film with the students he teaches in his art class at Crestwood Elementary school. And the film they made was screened at this year’s Wisconsin Film Festival. After reading that article I kind of had to talk to him. How could I not? And he’s a musician too. We decided to meet at the Monona Terrace during the Mini Makers Fair. But the pop-up interview I’m going to play for you this week took place just a few weeks ago when Merijoy and I had visited Browsers Bookstore on state street. After meeting the woman that worked there we just had to come back and talk to her again, because she was kind of awesome. See the animated short "A Valkyrie's Tale" on YouTube - https://youtu.be/LR6MB_4TeRM

S03 Episode 10: Stitch Boom Bang, Embroiderer

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 18:45:40 GMT

Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube The first thing I saw by Heather Boggs of Stitch Boom Bang, was a portrait of Hall & Oates she embroidered on a doily. After seeing that, I kinda needed to meet this person. And it turned out she was also a fan of zines. So we met each other at a zine event that was happening in the downtown Madison library. And in another one of my pop-up interviews, I meet Elliot and his friend who walked up to my booth at Hibernation Liberation and asked what it was that I do? So I turned on my recorder and showed them. Check out Stitch Boom Bang https://stitchboombang.bigcartel.com Instagram @stitchboombang

S03 Episode 9: Lakeside Press, Printers

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 02 Sep 2018 21:13:56 GMT

Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube The person I asked to meet with me today I contacted out of pure curiosity. I’ve driven past the lakeside press on Willy street like a million times and have never known a thing about it. And I always turn and look at it when I drive by. So I decided to contact them see if I could just come by and ask about the place. The story took so many turns as I listened. It was fascinating. Learn more about Lakeside Press - www.lakesidepress.org And in the pop-up interview segment, I meet Heather Rabata, a local Madison artist.

S03 Episode 8: Rachal Duggan, Illustrator

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 26 Aug 2018 17:38:00 GMT

Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube I met Rachal Duggan at the Tone Madison anniversary party. She had a table set up to do butt portraits. People would turn around and she would draw a picture of their butt. Afterward, I sent her a message and asked if she would want to meet and talk. We decided to get together at Madison Sourdough in her neighborhood. During the interview, two surprising things happen. We ran into Hailee from episode 4 and I learn Rachal is one degree of separation from the very thing that inspired everything I'm doing here. Website - rachalduggan.com Follow Rachal on Instagram - @radillustrates Cartooning: Philosophy and Practice by Ivan Brunetti on Amazon - https://amzn.to/2LqkSvZ BTW, here is the Instagram story she posted of our portrait along with the bumper sticker we bought from her.

S03 Episode 6: Gavin Folgert, Animator

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 26 Aug 2018 17:37:38 GMT

Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube I went to a local animation meet up in February and afterward Gavin had posted a stop-motion short he made on the meet up's Facebook event page. I've only made 2D animation and have always wanted to try stop-motion. So, I reached out to Gavin to learn more about what he does. He met with me at the Colectivo Coffee Shop on Monroe St. After the interview we got together and made this little claymation short film. https://youtu.be/lIOPX95zI2Y Also, another one of my pop-up interviews, I meet fabric artist Stacy Stone. You can view Gavin's portfolio at https://folgert.myportfolio.com Fetch by Gavin Folgert & Tom Ray

S03 Episode 5: Eli Quinn, Illustrator

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 26 Aug 2018 17:37:38 GMT

Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube Eli had contacted me through the American Bandito Facebook page. He's an illustrator and also tells me about work he's done as a 3D artist for game design. And it turns out he created the artwork for the Madison band Droids Attack as well as the artwork for their new microbrew from Ale Asylum. I got a chance to sit down with Eli in his neighborhood at the Barriques in Fitchburg. Plus, in my pop-up interview this week I meet someone I already knew Sarah, and learn that she worked on a film that was in the Wisconsin Film Fest that I had no idea she was involved in called The New World Horror. You can check out Eli Quinn's work Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/eliquinnart/ Storenvy - http://eliquinn.storenvy.com/ Also, don't forget to subscribe to my comic blog - https://www.americanbandito.com/book

S03 Episode 7: American Trash, Graphic Design

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 26 Aug 2018 17:37:38 GMT

Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube I found American Trash while looking at stories located in the Madison area on Instagram. I liked the style. It reminded me of the type of skateboard art that has always appealed to me. I sent him a message and we ended up meeting each other at the Johnson Public House. American Trash on Instagram - instagram.com/americantrashcorp And in the opening pop up interview this week - I meet Finn who makes soy-based candles. And don't forget to check out:"Rom-Comm Mixtape" the new release by my band Lorenzo's Music https://www.lorenzosmusic.com/mixtape

S03 Episode 4: Hailee Von Haden, Embroiderer

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 29 Jul 2018 17:55:14 GMT

Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube I saw Hailee's work on Instagram while searching for local artists. She is a fashion designer turned embroidery artist who recently graduated with a B.S. in Textile and Fashion Design from the University of Wisconsin. After a chance meeting at a gallery showing she was involved in, I asked if she wanted to tell me more about how she got started. So we met up at the Johnson Public House. And I do a pop-up interview with Laurel from The Ugly Apple Food Cart. Which leads to an interesting connection. You can see more of Hailee's work at her website haileevonhaden.com

S03 Episode 3: James Kreul, Filmmaker

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 22 Jul 2018 17:27:31 GMT

Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube James Kreul has been very involved with films in Madison, he runs programs like The Rooftop Cinema at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art and the upcoming Mills Folly Microcinema at the Arts + Literature Laboratory to name a few. The first time I went to one of his underground film screenings was last year at Coney Island Studio and I knew I wanted to meet with him to be on the show. I finally got a chance to talk to him on the north side of Madison at Warner Park. You can learn more at his website madfilm.org

S03 Episode 2: Linda Lenzke, Writer, Showrunner

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 15 Jul 2018 17:56:22 GMT

Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube Linda is a writer and blogger. She has a site called "Mixed Metaphors, Oh My!" that she has been doing since 2013. She joined a Facebook group called Madison Indie Filmmakers and after going to some of the meet-ups they encouraged her to start a new web series for one of the ideas she had. So she did. With the help of the people she met in this group, she is running a new show called "Hotel Bar". I met with her at the Madison Public Library downtown to ask her how this all happened. Also, I share another one of the pop-up interviews I did at the Hibernation Liberation event. But the person only told me her first name. So, if anyone knows who she is please let her know that she's on the show for me. Hotel Bar is in production right now. Subscribe to the YouTube channel to find out when it begins. Hotel Bar - web series channel on YouTube 1 light short is an independent film company helping with the production www.1lightshort.com

S03 Episode 1: Kelly Sauvage Angel, Writer

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 08 Jul 2018 22:10:10 GMT

Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube Kelly is a writer who contacted me through the American Bandito Facebook page. She's written a book called "Om Namah..." available on Amazon. As she explains it's a story of healing from betrayal, discovering spiritual discernment, and the best ribs on the east side of Madison. We talk about the book while walking around the Atwood neighborhood in the fall of last year. Plus, a segment from a series of pop-up interviews I did at the Hibernation Liberation event. You can buy the book Om Namah... for Kindle or paperback here.

S02 Episode 10: What mistakes do you wish you would have known when you started?

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 11 Mar 2018 16:30:08 GMT

The shop owners this season should have some wisdom they can pass along to those of us trying to make it in the world creatively. So this week I ask the question: What mistakes do you wish you would have known when you started? Listen to the episode Subscribe to the show Apple Podcasts (iPhone), Google Play (Android) and YouTube. This episode brought to you by Sticker Mule. Get $10 towards your first order! Get a copy of my graphic novel "Then This Happened... A diary about breast cancer" available now - americanbandito.com/book If you create things in your spare time, you've probably thought about trying to do it for a living or maybe you're just trying to get the guts to put it out there for the first time. So what would it take to follow through and actually do it? To help understand what it's like, listen to what these local creatives say about what they do. Here's a list of the places I talk to in each episode. Yellow Rose GalleryAnthologyMother Fool's CoffeehousePieces UnimaginedHatch Art HouseStone FenceOne-OneThousandBooth 121ConfectioniqueBohemian BaubleEach week I ask one question and find out where the conversation takes us, to learn more about how these people decided to take their process one step further.

S02 Episode 9: How do you make time for your personal life?

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 04 Mar 2018 17:25:23 GMT

If you do create your own things it's really easy to let it take up all of your free time. But you don't want to do it at the expense of enjoying life, family or friends. There has to be a balance, but when you're in charge of yourself how do you manage that? So my question this week is: How do you make time for your personal life? Listen to the episode Subscribe to the show on the go Apple Podcasts (iPhone), Google Play (Android) and YouTube. This episode brought to you by Sticker Mule. Get $10 towards your first order! Get a copy of my graphic novel "Then This Happened... A diary about breast cancer" available now - americanbandito.com/book If you create things in your spare time, you've probably thought about trying to do it for a living or maybe you're just trying to get the guts to put it out there for the first time. So what would it take to follow through and actually do it? To help understand what it's like, listen to what these local creatives say about what they do. Here's a list of the places I talk to in each episode. Yellow Rose GalleryAnthologyMother Fool's CoffeehousePieces UnimaginedHatch Art HouseStone FenceOne-OneThousandBooth 121ConfectioniqueBohemian BaubleEach week I ask one question and find out where the conversation takes us, to learn more about how these people decided to take their process one step further.

S02 Episode 8: How Do You Tell Your Story And Promote It?

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 17:00:11 GMT

When you make things the goal is usually you want people to come check it out? Like these local shops do? But how do you promote something like that? And where do you find the people to tell about it? That leads to this weeks question: "How do you tell your story and promote it?" Listen to the episode Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts (iPhone), Google Play (Android) and YouTube. My graphic novel "Then This Happened... A diary about breast cancer" is available now at - americanbandito.com/book This episode brought to you by Sticker Mule - Get $10 credit towards your first order!americanbandito.com/stickermule If you create things in your spare time, you've probably thought about trying to do it for a living or maybe you're just trying to get the guts to put it out there for the first time. So what would it take to follow through and actually do it? To help understand what it's like, listen to what these local creatives say about what they do. Here's a list of the places I talk to

S02 Episode 7: How Do You Pay Yourself?

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 18 Feb 2018 17:00:34 GMT

I get following your dream as a creative person and artist. And so far, learning that was inspiration enough. But is it worth it? Lifestyle-wise that is. The question this week is: "How Do You Pay Yourself?" Listen to the episode Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts (iPhone), Google Play (Android) and YouTube. If you create things in your spare time, you've probably thought about trying to do it for a living or maybe you're just trying to get the guts to put it out there for the first time. So what would it take to follow through and actually do it? To help understand what it's like, listen to what these local creatives say about what they do. Here's a list of the places I talk to in each episode this season. Yellow Rose GalleryAnthologyMother Fool's CoffeehousePieces UnimaginedHatch Art HouseStone FenceOne-OneThousandBooth 121ConfectioniqueBohemian BaubleEach week I ask one question and find out where the conversation takes us, to learn more about how these people decided to take t

S02 Episode 6: What Risks Do You Take?

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 11 Feb 2018 18:30:21 GMT

We've talked about how seeing the work in public makes a huge difference. But what about insurance in those places, not only for you but the items you display? What about planning for the future like emergencies or health issues? So, the question this week is: "What risks do you take?" Listen to the episode Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts (iPhone), Google Play (Android) and YouTube. If you create things in your spare time, you've probably thought about trying to do it for a living or maybe you're just trying to get the guts to put it out there for the first time. So what would it take to follow through and actually do it? To help understand what it's like, listen to what these local creatives say about what they do. Here's a list of the places I talk to in each episode this season. Yellow Rose GalleryAnthologyMother Fool's CoffeehousePieces UnimaginedHatch Art HouseStone FenceOne-OneThousandBooth 121ConfectioniqueBohemian Bauble Each week I ask one question and find out where t

S02 Episode 5: How do you find creators & the work you display?

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 04 Feb 2018 16:00:00 GMT

The question I ask this week: "How do you find creators & the work you display?" With all the things we've learned about the people I've talked with this season, I wanted to know how do they find the people they work with? And what should an artist or creator do to get involved? Listen to the episode: Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts (iPhone), Google Play (Android) and YouTube. If you create things in your spare time, you've probably thought about trying to do it for a living or maybe you're just trying to get the guts to put it out there for the first time. So what would it take to follow through and actually do it? To help understand what it's like, listen to what these local creatives say about what they do. Here's a list of the places I talk to in each episode this season. Yellow Rose GalleryAnthologyMother Fool's CoffeehousePieces UnimaginedHatch Art HouseStone FenceOne-OneThousandBooth 121ConfectioniqueBohemian BaubleEach week I ask one question and find out where the

S02 Episode 4: Why open a physical place for art instead of an online business?

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 28 Jan 2018 18:00:04 GMT

The question I ask this week: "Why open a physical place instead of an online business?" With the ability to sell and promote anything you make online, why would anyone spend the extra time and money opening a brick and mortar store? I wondered about the benefits of both choices. Listen to the episode: Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts (iPhone), Google Play (Android) and YouTube. If you create things in your spare time, you've probably thought about trying to do it for a living or maybe you're just trying to get the guts to put it out there for the first time. So what would it take to follow through and actually do it? To help understand what it's like, listen to what these local creatives say about what they do. Here's a list of the places I talk to in each episode this season. Yellow Rose GalleryAnthologyMother Fool's CoffeehousePieces UnimaginedHatch Art HouseStone FenceOne-OneThousandBooth 121ConfectioniqueBohemian BaubleEach week I ask one question and find out where the con

S02 Episode 3: How long did you give yourself to succeed?

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 21 Jan 2018 18:00:39 GMT

The question I ask this week: "How long did you give yourself to succeed?" How long would it take for someone to figure out if the risk they took to pursue their passion full-time was successful? I wanted to know if there is a timeline or some kind of method to say that venturing out on your own was worth it or should there be an exit strategy just in case. Listen to the episode: Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts (iPhone), Google Play (Android) and YouTube. If you create things in your spare time, you've probably thought about trying to do it for a living or maybe you're just trying to get the guts to put it out there for the first time. So what would it take to follow through and actually do it? To help understand what it's like, listen to what these local creatives say about what they do. Here's a list of the places I talk to in each episode. Yellow Rose GalleryAnthologyMother Fool's CoffeehousePieces UnimaginedHatch Art HouseStone FenceOne-OneThousandBooth 121ConfectioniqueBoh

S02 Episode 2: When were you ready to take the leap?

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 14 Jan 2018 15:00:18 GMT

This episode I ask the question: "When were you ready to take the leap?" It's one thing to say you want to open your own shop or gallery. But what does it take to go against everything you know and actually do it? Listen to the show: Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts (iPhone), Google Play (Android) and YouTube. If you create things in your spare time, you've probably thought about trying to do it for a living or maybe you're just trying to get the guts to put it out there for the first time. So what would it take to follow through and actually do it? To help understand what it's like, listen to what these local creatives say about what they do. Here's a list of the places I talk to in each episode. Yellow Rose GalleryAnthologyMother Fool's CoffeehousePieces UnimaginedHatch Art HouseStone FenceOne-OneThousandBooth 121ConfectioniqueBohemian Bauble Each week I ask one question and find out where the conversation takes us to learn more about how these creatives decided to take t

S02 Episode 1: What made you decide to start your own business?

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Sun, 07 Jan 2018 15:00:05 GMT

This episode I ask the question: "What made you decide to start your own business?" It's the first episode of the second season. This time I travel around Madison and meet with people that own or operate galleries, stores and other places that sell and promote local art. Listen to the show: Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts (iPhone), Google Play (Android) and YouTube. If you create things in your spare time, you've probably thought about trying to do it for a living or maybe you're just trying to get the guts to put it out there for the first time. So what would it take to follow through and actually do it? To help understand what it's like, listen to what these local creatives say about what they do. Here's a list of the places I talk to in each episode. Yellow Rose GalleryAnthologyMother Fool's CoffeehousePieces UnimaginedHatch Art HouseStone FenceOne-OneThousandBooth 121ConfectioniqueBohemian Bauble Each week I ask one question and find out where the conversation takes us, to

Melanie Jones

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Fri, 22 Dec 2017 17:41:46 GMT

This week we get to meet photographer Melanie Jones. Melanie is an editorial photographer now based in Madison, Wisconsin, specializing in making portraits of companion animals, families, small business owners, and contemplative landscapes. When she moved here continuing her photography business was a hard thing to do at first but she's finding ways to make it work.

Sharon Bjyrd

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Fri, 22 Dec 2017 17:41:46 GMT

This week I meet Sharon Bjyrd Sharon is a painter who moved here from Chicago. She started out going to school for commercial art, which I realize is what we called it before it was graphic design. The story for the inspiration that started her interest in painting? Grace Jones. One of my favorite reasons so far. You can see more of her work on her Instagram.

Holly Meyers

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Fri, 22 Dec 2017 17:41:46 GMT

I begin my quest to meet artists in Madison, WI with Holly Meyers. After moving to Madison she was inspired by life changes and her new city's creative energy to devote herself more fully to art. She tells me about how early in life she lost all of her artwork in a fire. Then took that opportunity to reinvent what she does. We discuss how, even with kids and a job, she finds the time to create. Plus, she found out that claiming your living room as a studio on your taxes is an actual thing you can do!

Robin Leigh Kling

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Fri, 22 Dec 2017 17:41:46 GMT

This week I meet Robin Leigh Kling. Robin is an artist that has made watercolor landscape paintings over the years. She took time off to raise her son but still managed to find ways to stay involved in the arts. She recently launched a Facebook page to showcase her portfolio called Memories In Watercolor.

Philip Salamone

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Fri, 22 Dec 2017 17:41:46 GMT

This week I meet painter Philip Salamone One interesting thing I find out in this conversation... my studio is literally across the street from his and we have never met before. So I'm glad I got a chance to talk to him. Philip's work is all over town, including the "Faces of Incarceration" exhibit at the Overture Center. He teaches at both the University of Wisconsin - Madison and also has classes at his studio, the Atwood Atelier.

Chris Lester

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Fri, 22 Dec 2017 17:41:46 GMT

This week I meet author, Chris Lester. Chris saw my post about looking for artists in Madison for the show. He responded with the question, “What about writers?” I thought he had a good point. Writers are creative people also. So I set up a time to meet him. Chris is a Sci-Fi writer and he also releases his stories as a serialized audio podcast on his website.

Salma Carreon

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Fri, 22 Dec 2017 17:41:46 GMT

In this weeks episode, I meet Salma Carreon. She makes ceramics, etchings and paintings. This includes hand painted shirts and a few commissioned murals around town. But what she really wants to do is become a tattoo artist. All this and she has only just graduated high school.

Jason Scott

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Fri, 22 Dec 2017 17:41:46 GMT

This weeks episode I meet Jason Scott. Jason is a sculptor of large and small-scale pieces, which includes jewelry. And it all seems to relate back to when he studied to be a sushi chef years ago.

Colin Holden

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Fri, 22 Dec 2017 17:41:46 GMT

This week I meet Colin Holden. Colin's work has a cartoon style, but he prefers to work on a large scale format, usually around five feet tall. He uses this platform to make pieces that express a timeline something that dates back to when he returned home after being sent away to boarding school as a kid.

Jake Jensen

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Fri, 22 Dec 2017 17:41:46 GMT

This week I meet Jake Jensen. Jake is a house painter that has the luck of being able to use an endless amount of art supplies thanks to his job. He recently changed the entire concept of what he makes because of an obsession he has with something smaller.

Hanifa Debling

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Fri, 22 Dec 2017 17:41:46 GMT

This week I meet Hanifa Debling. Hanifa had a career in banking. During that time she went to school for Jewelry and Silversmithing. She made jewelry and other pieces for friends. Then, when she retired from banking she decided to launch her own boutique line. You can visit Bittersweet and Hanibling by Evie Designs on Facebook

You are beautiful.

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Fri, 22 Dec 2017 17:41:46 GMT

I was out riding my bike the other day. For some reason, I decided to take a different path than I normally do. I saw three people, one of them was on a ladder. They were just finishing up what looked like a mural that said "You are beautiful" on it. I stopped and decided to go ask them what it was. Listen to the whole story and find out.

Stephenie Hamen

tmray1@gmail.com (Tom Ray) — Fri, 22 Dec 2017 17:41:46 GMT

In the last episode this season, I meet Stephenie Hamen. She does crafts and helps teach people how to do them. But when it comes to her personal artwork she likes to paint and make things that are more abstract.