Summer '21 Series E07: Author & Illustrator John Hendrix

John Hendrix is a New York Times Bestselling illustrator and author of many children's books, including Shooting at the Stars, Drawing is Magic, John Brown: His Fight for Freedom, Miracle Man: The Story of Jesus, The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler. His illustrations have appeared on book jackets, newspapers and magazines all over the country. John is a Professor of Art, teaching illustration at the Sam Fox School of Art and Design at Washington University in St. Louis. He is Chair of the MFA in Illustration and Visual Culture, teaching with fellow professor D.B. Dowd.

In this final episode of the Summer ‘21 Series, guest-host Vesper Stamper talks with John about the creative process behind his work, the importance of authenticity and creating from a posture of sincerity.

Summer '21 Series E04: Roundtable Part 2: Memes, Propaganda & Art

Have you ever wondered what distinguishes art from non-art? What are the distinctions and who gets to decide? What makes something a work of art? Is it the result of a conscious act? Does it require skill and originality?

What about memes and propaganda? Can these be considered works of art as well? These are some of the questions we discuss on today’s show.

This episode is Part Two of our round table discussions with author/illustrator Vesper Stamper, visual artist and designer Brandon Willett and guest host, singer/songwriter, John Mark McMillan.

Summer '21 Series E03: Roundtable Part 1: Art & The Hustle

Does commerce feed or take away from your artwork? Does getting paid to do it validate your work? How do you make the leap from hobby to vocation in your work and more importantly, should you?

These are among the questions our Summer Series round table guests songwriter, John Mark McMillan, author/illustrator, Vesper Stamper & visual artist Brandon Willett discuss in this episode.

Patrons of the podcast can enjoy additional, patron-only content.

Summer '21 Series E01: Calligrapher David Chang

Welcome to the Makers & Mystics Summer Series of artist interviews and bonus episodes! This episode features guest-host Vesper Stamper in conversation with calligrapher, David Chang.

David Chang is an NYC based artist merging the traditions of Western calligraphy and Eastern philosophy that is shaped by immediacy of his urban environment. Chang’s art is a sustained exploration into the significance and meaning of words and texts as embodied through physical gestures. Centuries-old eastern techniques in calligraphy find new form in the western alphabet as the artist shapes his own hermeneutics of the hand. The artist's brushwork, vacillating between traditional scripts and contemporary abstraction, issues statements of personal, cultural, and spiritual awareness, while it also retains an autonomous formal beauty full of urgency and grace.

Become a Patron of the podcast!