Episodes

Molly talks to Risa about creating for the experience instead of the object, drilling down big feelings to the essence of their meaning, and and how the work you make often doesn’t make sense when you’re going through grief.

Enjoy this 2021 rebroadcast of my chat with artist, storyteller, and guest host of Authentic Obsessions, Molly Meng.

Molly Meng and Maura Ambrose chat about priorities, patriotic quilts, studio space evolution, procrastination, and playing with the tension and finding the edge.

Glue & adhesives, rules & parameters, loving the outcome without loving the process (this is where discipline comes in!), purposefully making things that others might not want, and knots all come up in today’s episode with Lisa Solomon.

Symbology, lineage, connection, and color all come up during Molly Meng's conversation with artist Michael McConnell.

Let the loose thread be dangling! Sarah Haskell uses embroidery, weaving, and natural dyes to explore personal truth and universal wisdom.

Digital art, the magic of Iceland, the collaborative nature of printmaking and revelations about rulers and paper cutters all in today’s episode with multidisciplinary printmaker and illustrator Melissa Guido.

Guest host Molly Meng chats with Elizabeth about the authenticity of non-human animals, being fully present, generating ideas and limiting options.

Wayfinding, placemaking and mapping; serendipity and generosity; and Amsterdam’s physical infrastructure layers are part of today's episode with artist, educator, and entrepreneur Sarah Pedlow.

Embracing chaos, being uncomfortable with compliments, middle-age anonymity and invisibility, and the crippling nature of looking backwards all come up during my chat with Krista V Allenstein.

Fighting for the underdog, discernment, editing, celebrating differences, and relinquishing control through your tools in today's episode with Debbie Taylor-Kerman.

Neighborships, domestic landscapes, construction sites, yard signs, and control over nature are all part of my chat with Siara Berry.

Machines, control and letting go, procrastination and seeing time in yearly spirals all come up in today’s episode with Rainer Wolter.

Flow, the importance of play, and demystifying the creative process, including how people make creative decisions in their life and how and where people can affect dynamic change for themselves through creative actions are integral parts of our chat.

Glimpses and layers of time, what will remain, walking, beauty, palimpsest, AI art, and clothespins are all on the mind of London-based photographer and writer Duncan Petrie.

Old books, tight deadlines, the button box, design, and dancing all come up during my conversation with mixed media artist Sue Johnson.

Articulation, pivoting, sketchbooks, observation, and travel all play a key role in Ethan Keister’s creative life.

Idea generation, your brain on cartoons, incongruency & divergent thinking, and how to encourage your creativity are all on the mind of cartoonist, writer and artist Paul Noth.

Rocker chick Paula Hare talks about no longer giving a rip what other people think, New York City, and Wisconsin’s most iconic dessert – the cream puff.

Diving deep into your own life to find your voice, the selfish nature of being an artist, the power of observation, and reacting to marks and layers are all considered during my conversation with Victoria McDonnell.

Monumental undertakings through multimedia narrative projects, travel and deep introspection, embracing chance and spontaneity, baseball, and how people define happiness, all come up during my conversation with Milwaukee interdisciplinary artist and writerJon Horvath.

Using verbs while working on a project, the importance of not putting too much (psychologically) into social media, slowness and control, and living at the intersection of design and art, and why the media & the process – the heart and head of knowing and being known - is her authentic obsession.

Trauma journalism, social activism, igniting and changing conversations, and telling stories in a visual way are all integral part of Amy Putman’s life. Amy is a collagist and mixed media artist with a passion for issues of social justice. She helped create and brand the Million Mom March for Common Sense Gun Laws with her logo and slogan “Looking for a Few Good Moms.”

The effect of knitting during the birthing process, the importance of resting, felting as the wild sister of fiber arts, and the role of felting in community practices and traditions all comes up during my convo with Megan Henderson. And the always impactful practice of letting go and surrendering to the present moment.