This week we meet the Hollywood makeup artist Farah Bunch whose work has earned her multiple nominations in Daytime and Primetime TV Awards and Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards. Her work over several seasons on the hugely successful TV Comedy Will & Grace proved a pivotal moment in her career. Other notable credits include Dancing with the Stars, The Oscars, Sunset Beach, Entourage, Fuller House, and Makeup Department Head on Frazier on Paramount +. Farah was born in 197...
Jul 15, 2025•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 14
This week the Canadian-American actor and filmmaker Leanne Johnson whose philosophy is founded on seeking understanding and sharing truth through bold characters and stories to redefine the narrative about women in film and our world. Since graduating from the University of Alberta in 2011 with a BSc. in Nutrition and Food Science, Leanne has consistently produced a repertoire of diverse and dynamic performances. In May 2025 she made her directorial debut with A Tree Falls in The Forest , which ...
Jul 01, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 3Ep. 13
This week we meet the Australian painter Sarah Hickey whose bold colors radiate through her expansive canvases expressing an internal world of dreaming and reflection through her spirituality and imagination. We hear how Sarah’s creative soul was evident in her childhood as she explored a range of visual elements from theater to fashion and iconography. Sarah was born in Brisbane in 1975 and grew up in the surrounding area. She was educated at Queensland College of Art where she earned a BFA in ...
Jun 17, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Season 3Ep. 12
This week the American Landscape Painter Kim Casebeer whose career spans some 25 years and whose work is shown in private, corporate and museum collections throughout the United States. Kim is represented in galleries from Colorado to Wyoming, Montana, Arizona and her home state of Kansas. She is, she says, in a good place in her career now balancing her time between studio commissioned work, plein air painting and teaching workshops. Kim was born in Newton, KS in 1970 and grew up in the tiny to...
Jun 03, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Season 3Ep. 11
This week the American Director of Photography and Cinematographer Theresa Vitale whose resume spans all genres of film and TV productions. Theresa is passionate about elevating women both in her love of sport and her dedication to the industry; two paths that have merged as she crossed the bridge from the US U23 National Rugby Team to film and TV production. As we will hear, sport taught her so much that has helped her in her career not least of all the value of team work and collaboration. The...
May 20, 2025•1 hr 19 min•Season 3Ep. 10
The English textile artist Alison Holt uses her imagination to capture landscapes and nature and then weave them into colorful canvases that are often taken for paintings. Alison says: 'Each piece is a combination of silk painting and freehand machine stitching. The painting creates depth, perspective and richness to the work and combines effectively with stitch to give detail and texture.’ Her work can be found in private collections around the world and in galleries from London to Sydney. Alis...
May 06, 2025•54 min•Season 3Ep. 9
This week the Food and Beverage Stylist Chriscilla Browning. Chriscilla has blended her love of photography with a creative palette of culinary art establishing herself as a leading visionary in the designing and crafting of visual delights for advertising and editorial stages where beauty stimulates the senses with mouth watering creations. Chriscilla was born in Waynesboro, Virginia in 1973, the eldest of three girls, to Glenna Lyle, a homemaker and latterly a rural mail carrier, and David Mil...
Apr 22, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 3Ep. 8
This week the British Fine Artist Frances Featherstone. Frances says her art is guided by an appreciation for storytelling. Narrative serves at the heart of her work with which she seeks to fill her paintings with ideas and conceptual depth. Her creative explorations revolve around the interplay between figures and interior spaces offering viewers a window into intimate emotions that are entangled with the spaces we occupy. Frances employs aerial perspectives to craft patterns seen from above th...
Apr 08, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Hungarian Esther Horvath is a multi-award winning polar photographer whose work focuses on climate research in the polar regions. By documenting the work and life of scientists who deliver important data, Esther hopes to help make a difference in how people understand what actually is occurring, and her collaborations with scientists help raise public awareness about these increasingly fragile environments. Esther was born in 1979 in Sopron, Hungary. Esther grew up behind the Iron Curtain and ev...
Mar 25, 2025•55 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Bex Simon is a British Artsmith who has overcome difficult mental health issues to become highly sought after for her creative work in metal. Bex is unconstrained in her approach to design by combining geometric shapes and textures. Her sculptures and public art tell stories relative to the surrounding environment and can be found around the UK. Bex was born in Chertsey, Surrey in 1973, the third of four children—she has an older sister and brother and a younger brother. She reflects on a very s...
Mar 11, 2025•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 5
The American painter and sculptor René Romero Schuler creates powerful images that speak to the complexities of the human condition and the spirit that connects all human beings. René did not have any formal art training but since a small child felt that she was always meant to be an artist. She endured a difficult childhood and those real life challenges are imbued in her work illustrating her appreciation for the struggles and triumphs of humanity. René was born in Chicago in 1968 to parents M...
Feb 25, 2025•1 hr 17 min•Season 3Ep. 4
This week the American impressionist painter Ellen Howard. Ellen says: "My art is centered around living a faithful life and trusting in the unfolding of the great tapestry of life. As an avid explorer and traveler, I’m curious about the transitory elements of nature and love discovering quiet unexplored areas. Seeing the light move across the land, cascading off a mountain range, streaming through the leaves, dancing on the top of the waves, and creating a beautiful ray of warmth in the sky and...
Feb 11, 2025•56 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Canadian based Romanian Hyperrealist Artist Sinziana Iordache specializes in detailed graphite drawings of luxury watches. Sinziana’s produces photorealistic and hyperrealistic drawings with each meticulously placed stroke, every shade and tone carefully chosen. Her artworks reflect not just timepieces but the epitome of horological elegance. Sinziana was born in Constanta, Romania in July,1986, the only child of Elena Chris, an accountant and web designer, and Ion Iordache, a consultant and tra...
Jan 28, 2025•58 min•Season 3Ep. 2
On this new season of AART our first guest is the cinematographer Sarah Thomas Moffat. Sarah’s work has spanned across all genres from docs, factual and commercial with a focus now on scripted. Her productions have aired worldwide, including on CBC, History Channel, CTV, Hulu and Netflix. Sarah was the first woman to run as a Racer-Cam Operator on the Canadian reality competition show Amazing Race Canada. She has won multiple awards across genres including film festival awards for Best Cinematog...
Jan 14, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Hi I’m Chris Stafford host of the AART podcast about women in the visual arts and I wanted to let you know lyou that I will be back in the New Year with a new season and we have a wonderful line up to kick off Season 3 starting in January with Jeanne Tyson the Los Angeles-based cinematographer and filmmaker. Her work includes narrative and documentary features, shorts, and series, and has been featured in film festivals worldwide. Jeanne has been the Director of Photography for ABC’s Gray Anatom...
Dec 19, 2024•2 min
On the season finale of Season 2 our guest is the Chinese Sculptor Lirong Luo. Lirong says: "Most important for me is to create my artwork freely and show people what I am ready to show and what is interesting for me to show the world.” Lirong’s sculptural work is influenced by Renaissance and Baroque techniques, an interest she developed while studying art in Beijing under the tutelage of Sun Jia Bo. This influence is evident in the life-like quality and grace of her figures, often women, captu...
Dec 10, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 50
This week the Russian-born Illusion Body Artist Vika Bren. Vika says: “At the heart of my work is the fascinating interplay between reality and illusion. Each piece I create is a visual journey, where things aren't always as they first appear. My illustrations and paintings often feature subjects that seem to shift, transform, or disappear depending on the viewer's perspective.” Vika’s talent has attracted millions of followers on social media making her something of a rock star in the world of ...
Dec 03, 2024•44 min•Season 2Ep. 49
This week the American ceramic artist Heather Knight. Heather says: "With my work I hope to bridge modern design and the natural world by paring down the essence of things to repetitive textures and basic form.” Heather’s all-hand built creations become unique pieces of art of the finest heirloom quality. Heather was born in Houston, TX in 1977; the second youngest of ten siblings in a blended family, which she describes as chaotic. She attended numerous schools as a child and after discovering ...
Nov 26, 2024•59 min•Season 2Ep. 46
The American cinematographer Christina Dobre was drawn to cinematography through her combined interests in storytelling, photography and psychology. She say: she strives to create emotionally-driven imagery that helps us to feel, to connect and to heal. Her first professional production as a crew member was the 2013 drama CREEDMORIA about a teenage girl growing up in a dysfunctional family. It was a story she says that resonated with her. Christina was born in New Jersey in 1995, the middle of t...
Nov 19, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 47
This week the French underwater filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin. Nathalie has produced and directed 12 critically acclaimed underwater documentaries that have received numerous awards at international festivals and been distributed globally. She has also contributed to more than 200 feature films, documentaries and productions as a director of photography, underwater cameraman and divemaster. She is known for her 2013 Sustainability at Sea , the 2015 TV Mini Series Ascension and the 2021 Secret of t...
Nov 12, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 46
This week we meet the Russian-Australian contemporary realism artist Anna Speirs. Anna says: ‘My work is inspired by the beauty of Australian nature, focusing on tone, shape, and contrast. I often use objects from my local surroundings in my compositions.’ Anna was born in Kalyazin, in the Tver region of Russia in 1981. She has an older sister Marina. Her mother Natalia is an accountant and her father Mikhail, a carpenter. Anna’s interest in art began at an early age and she was mostly preoccupi...
Nov 05, 2024•38 min•Season 2Ep. 45
The New Zealand-Australian photo realistic artist Bella McGoldrick says her intention is first to present the subjects to which she's had a connection and secondly to bring a connection between those subjects and the viewer, to take them back to a place, to a time, to a taste or even a smell. Bella was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1993, the youngest of three girls to parents, Mel McGoldrick and Mark O’Sullivan. When Bella was seven years old, the family moved to Melbourne in search of a ne...
Oct 29, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 2Ep. 44
This week is the Australian landscape and still life oil painter Natasha Ruschka. Natasha says: “Taking seemingly simple scenes and transforming them into a beautiful and interesting vignette with only oil paints feels like my very own form of magic.” Natasha was born in Subiaco, Western Australia in 1974 and has two step sisters. Her mother Linda is also a prolific artist, as is her biological father John. Natasha was raised by her step-father David, who was an army officer, which meant the fam...
Oct 22, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Season 2Ep. 43
This week we hear from the British seascape artist Victoria Obolensky whose work has been sold worldwide to high profile collectors, including Prince Albert II of Monaco, Ralph Lauren and Joely Richardson. Victoria was born in 1972 in Hammersmith, London, the only child of Linda White, an artist and journalist. Her father Gavin Cowper left the family when Victoria was just six months old and she was raised by her mother and stepfather Alex White who owned Gresham Publishing. The family moved to ...
Oct 15, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 42
This week's guest is the American wildlife biologist, conservationist and filmmaker, Jocelyn Stokes. Jocelyn has filmed programming for PBS NATURE, Mongabay, National Geographic, the BBC, Waterbear, ILCP, Health in Harmony, the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, Future Alam Borneo and Borneo Futures, among others. She is most at home filming endangered species in some of the world's most remote wilderness locations. Her technical skills in long lens shooting, gimbal work and drone operation t...
Oct 08, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 41
This week’s guest is the American multi-media artist Sydney Swisher whose work on fabric creates a unique dimension to weaving photography and digital art with textiles. Her tapestries explore memory, materiality, and machine intelligence as she references family photos to generate locations based on descriptions of childhood memories. Sydney was born in Olney, Illinois in 1994 the oldest of three children; she has a sister Maci and brother Sutton. She comes from a family of educators; her mothe...
Oct 01, 2024•57 min•Season 2Ep. 40
This week's guest is the South African wildlife acrylic artist Ilse de Villiers. Ilse works in detailed realism of her subjects, which portray the dramatic wildlife of Africa in its natural habitat drawing mainly from photographic reference. Ilse says although she was always considered relatively talented she was not encouraged to pursue art so making it her career was never in her wildest dreams. Ilse was born in Durban in 1965, one of two daughter to father Frik Kleynhans (d) an education insp...
Sep 24, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Season 2Ep. 39
This week the South African camera operator and steadicam operator, Ashlea Downes. Among Ashlea’s credits are the popular Netflix series Bridgerton on which she is working with a previous guest on this podcast, Alicia Robbins. Ashlea has also worked on House of the Dragon, Wicked, Skyfall, Spider-Man: Far From Home and His Dark Materials. Ashlea was born in Pretoria, South African in 1985. Her father, Ant, was an accountant and business owner, and her mother, Alex, an artist and art teacher. Her...
Sep 17, 2024•59 min•Season 2Ep. 38
This week the Filipina artist Goldie Poblador who works in scent and glass interactive instillation art. Goldie specializes in glass flameworking combined with performance, video, installation, and scent embodying themes of feminism, the environment, and decolonization as it relates to the body. Goldie was born in Manila, The Philippines in 1987. Her parents; Napoleon Poblador, a lawyer and painter and Gizela Poblador, a home-maker who had earlier studied dentistry. Goldie is the eldest of four ...
Sep 10, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 2Ep. 37
The South African acrylic painter Carla Bosch is known for her vibrant colors and bold strokes that trademark an unapologetic style. Her landscape paintings represent a wide range of nature’s palette uniquely capturing its light. Carla was born in Pretoria in 1976 to Anton, a pharmacist and amateur artist, and Ronel Gericke a home-maker and keen musician. She has a sister Murentia. Carla describes her childhood spent enjoying family hikes around South Africa as happy and loving. Her father encou...
Sep 03, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 36
