My friend Chris Malone makes dolls. But, oh, honeys--that doesn't even begin to describe the sculptures Chris creates. I've seen many of his pieces in person, and while the costumes and beading are absolutely amazing, what I can't get over are the hands and faces, each individually sculpted by hand. They're so lifelike that I expect the fingers to reach over and touch mine. We've stayed with Chris and his partner, Bill, at their home outside Washington, DC, and I've gotten to watch Chris work in the morning, standing at his dining room table without any equipment or complicated tools. A-maz-ing.

You can find out more about Chris and his work in my book, Creative Time and Space, in which he's one of the contributing artists. To see more of Chris's work, go to his website, here. 

I met BJ Adams when I interviewed her for a profile in the Summer 2012 issue of Art Quilting Studio (out June 1st, 2012). It was a wonderful conversation--she's a lot of fun to talk to, full of ideas and enthusiasm and a willingness to share information about sources and techniques. When we talked, she was just finishing up a really busy year: when she turned 80, she set herself the challenge of creating 80 8" x 8" canvases representing a retrospective of her work so far. And I mean "so far"; she's in the studio working on a couplel new series and with enough ideas, she says, for several more lifetimes. I love this: I'm at an age when many of the people around me think their careers are coming to a close, that they're too old to start anything new, that it's too late to get excited about, well, about much of anything. It's a ridiculous attitude, and I love talking to people like BJ who are living life the way it's meant to be lived, savoring everything, finding inspiration everywhere, and pursuing her endless curiosity. 

In this conversation, we talk about her embroideries; go here so you'll know what we're talking about. Go here to see the 80 at 80 series. And here are the book sculptures we talk about near the end of our conversation, and here are photos of the centerpiece for the party. Here's BJ's blog, and if you go back to April of 2011, you can read the first of her art app reviews--there are several, so take some time to go through them all if you're at all interested in iPad apps. Stay tuned for more of those as she gets caught up~~

Maggie Rudy makes mice. I love saying that--it just sounds so cool: "Maggie makes mice." But what Maggie does is way cooler than just creating fabulously detailed felt mice; she's created Mouseland, a whole world of mice and their companion animals and everything they need to exist, from tiny working lamps to actual books to stoves to--well, you get the idea. If you were ever a fan of The Borrowers, you know what I'm talking about here: a fabulous miniature world full of things found and gathered and repurposed. Maggie is a complete joy to talk to--enthusiastic, interesting--and you can find out more about her and about Mouseland by going to her blog at Mouse Houses. You can find her first book, The House That Mouse Built, here.

Janet Bodin is a Houston artist working in fiber and creating figurative sculpture--what we refer to as art dolls--but that description doesn't even begin to do tell you about her amazing work. I first saw her figures was when I was a judge for the Treasures of the Gypsy Challenge at the International Quilt Festival in Houston where we awarded her first place. Yes, her pieces are *that* fabulous. Recently, I got to talk to her for an upcoming profile in Art Doll Quarterly--you can see that in the summer 2012 issue, on the shelves May 1st. We talk about ideas and inspiration, and we talk a lot about her studio renovation--the floors were being put in and she was getting ready to move in the furniture the week we talked.

You can see Janet's work at janetbodin.com, and you can read her blog at janetbodin.blogspot.com

Diana Trout, author of Journal Spilling, is getting ready to take a group of lucky students to Italy where they will, among other things, make paper. And guess where this will happen! In Fabriano, at the medieval paper mill that is the original home of Fabriano paper. Is that just the coolest thing ever or what? Diana says they're going to be using the ancient paper-making tools under the guidance of the director there. Oh, my. That sounds like it would be worth the trip right there, but of course there's more. And also in this podcast Diana talks about her newest passion: her ongoing blog posts about Taming Your Inner Critic. She's been working with hers (his name is Stewie), and she wants to help you work with yours. No signing up, no charge, no commitment--just go to her blog at dianatrout.typepad.com and follow along.

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. 

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. 

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

Every time I do a podcast with someone new, I think, "Oh, my, this is the best one EVER!" And then, the next time, I think, "Oh, no, THIS one is the best one ever." I just keep running into more and more fabulous people--who knew there were so many out there? Well, Sue Kreitzman has just entirely won my heart, so I'm totally like, "No, THIS one is!" Not only does she make amazing art, and not only is her wardrobe just the most fabulous collection of artwear I've ever seen, but her attitude towards life and art and community and her advice to other artists is, well: I've run out of adjectives. Really. She's just amazing.

In this podcast we refer to a video. You can see it here. You might want to listen to Sue and then go watch the video and then listen again. Or you might want to do all that in a different order. I, personally, like to watch the video whenever I need a little hit of inspiration. Because, you know: I can't actually go live in her closet, alas.

Here's Sue's website, which also has a link to the above video, which is also here.