Lyric Kinard is a textile artist who began with traditional quilting and then moved to art quilts. She teaches nationally, and we talk a little bit here about her work. But mostly we talk about her family's holiday project, the Joy of Service. Lyric's website intro says that her goal is to create beauty in the world, and the Joy of Service project is about finding ways to help make the world a better place, one personal connection at a time. You can see Lyric's work here and read her blog here. Be sure to check out her DVD, Bead It Like You Mean It.

[Note: sorry about the audio quality. We tried several times to get a better connection and finally just had to go with it.]

Sandy Buffie is also known as The Lint Lady. But don't make the same mistake as the staff of the Jay Leno show: they contacted her and asked her to bring her lint portrait of Leno to  the show, and then they found out how normal she is: not some crazy-haired, wild-eyed madwoman hoarding lint in her garage. Not at all. She's funny, and she's doing cool stuff for good causes: she's donated over $15,000 in lint sales to charities. I had a blast talking to her, as you can tell from listening to me laugh, and I think you will, too, and Sandy will definitely make you stop and take another look at the things in your house that get thrown away.

Make sure you go here before you listen so you'll know what it is, exactly, that we're talking about. Cool, huh?

Deborah Boschert is a textile artist involved in an on-going long-term collaborative project with 11 other quilt artists that has resulted in an exhibit at the International Quilt Festival in Houston in 2011 and a book, Twelve by Twelve: The International Art Quilt Challenge. They're still going strong and creating more quilts, and Deborah talks about the process and what she's learned in the four years plus they've been working together. 

You can find out more about the collaboration on the Twelve by Twelve blog, and you can visit Deborah's blog and website to see more of her own work.

Ingrid Dijkers is an amazing artist who is currently working in art journals, although that's not by any means her only medium--she spent 17 years creating art dolls and selling them at Renaissance Fairs, for example. She also creates wearable collage jewelry, which you can see on her website. Her current work is captivating--intricate and multi-layered--and she's begun teaching nationally. 

To see what we're talking about as you listen to the podcast, go to Ingrid's website and her blog. 

Everything about Kelly Buntin Johnson is creative, from her fabulous work to her hand-built house and studio to her vintage wardrobe and custom haircut. In addition to creating her intricately detailed beadwork and Intercessor figures, she grows and forages in the woods for all her food and has taught herself both gardening and canning in the process. She's one of those people who give me hope that you can keep the common, pop-culture world at bay and craft a creative life that works for you and yours.

Read her blog (art, gardening, and more) here. Her website is here. Her husband Rhett's website is here--he's a really nice guy and a really talented artist, as well.

Kathy Cano Murillo, aka the Crafty Chica, truly does it all. She makes art, she writes books--both craft books and novels--she creates products for mixed-media art, she gives motivational speeches, she has a booth at craft fairs. She has a husband and kids and dogs.

Whew.

She's also just lots of fun to talk to, and here we talk about scheduling, deadlines, ruts, and inspiration. She offers tips for finding time to create--just what we all need.

Visit Kathy's website here.

There's nothing quite so fascinating to me as meaningful wearable art--things that go beyond just being attractive and are actually imbued with meaning for the wearer. So of course you can imagine how entranced I am with Robert Dancik and his amulets and talismans--which is, not coincidentally, the title of his book: Amulets and Talismans (North Light Books, 2009)

You can find out more about Robert and his amazing Faux Bone™ material on his website and his blog. 

We first talked to Melanie Testa in July of 2010. Since then, she's been diagnosed with breast cancer (last January), has gone through treatment and gotten well, and has written a book (Dreaming from the Journal Page: Transforming the Sketchbook to Art, due out in 2012 and available for pre-order here) and is starting a new project on her blog, here. Whew. I saw Melanie at the Quilt Show in Houston the first part of November, and she looked fantastic--happy and energetic. Of course, it was hard to really spend any time with her because everybody--and I mean everybody--wanted to hug her and touch her and just be near her. When I asked Melanie if she would share her story with us, she said she was ready to tell about her experience with this amazing year.

And while you listen to her, go here to see her dancing in the aisle in Houston. 

Lauren Shanley is an amazing textile and wearable arts artist and designer working in London. If you listened to my podcast with Sue Kreitzman and checked out any of the photographs, you've seen Lauren's gorgeous work--she designs many of Sue's fabulous garments. I want to go live in her shop, hanging and petting all the coats. Until I can do that, though, the next best thing is to talk to her. 

To see more of Lauren's work, go to her website. 

Jill Berry is a mixed-media artist, a teacher, and the author of the brand-new book, Personal Geographies: Explorations in Mixed-Media Map-Making (North Light Books, 2011). What I love about Jill is her limitless curiosity about everything from faith healers to goddesses to sea monsters and a ton of stuff in between, and that's what I wanted to talk to her about. She didn't disappoint--her enthusiasm for discovery is contagious. 

You can find out more about Jill and her work at www.personal-geographies.com