SEASON 1 (2021-22)
The Stolen Hours Podcast is a collection of recorded conversations with known or unknown Creatives across the Arts. This season reveals those who keep creating despite pursuing more traditional careers and family life, and how both of these endeavors find their way because of the hours stolen in the midst of life to create. Listen in to help support the community of creators and to find some inspiration of your own. 52 Episodes @thestolenhourspodcast
SEASON 2 (2022-24): The Stolen Hours Podcast is… A media collection of conversations with creatives across the Arts. Season 2 of this collection’s theme is: Creating to heal within the stolen hours to connect and build community across the divide perpetuated by too many in politics, religion, and culture. The goal is 12 episodes this season- 1 a month.
SEASON 3 (2024): Created to Create- highlighting creators who can not help but make new things in the world.
Contact your host: Dennis Dalelio
LISTEN, SUBSCRIBE, and SHARE...on SPOTIFY!, iTunes, Google Podcasts, etc.
The Stolen Hours Podcast soundtrack was made by Jai Agnish.
The Stolen Hours "album art" was made by Mike Ferrari
The Stolen Hours logo was made by Melissa DeMarco Clark
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Episode 69 S3: Benjamin Kator- An Artist...in Recovery (published 4/4/2024)
Benjamin Kator is an artist working and living in Philadelphia. From his roots in New Jersey, he ended up in the Kensington neighborhood in Philly while dealing with addiction. There he found a road to recovery and a new lease on his life as a creator. For the past 5 years, he has built his life back up while building up a small art space named The Blockchain Gallery. The gallery became a beacon of light in the struggling community. Ben left the light of the space on throughout the night to offer something different than the cycle of struggle that so many walked through on the streets. For creatives, it became a place to show and see work. For those in the neighborhood struggling with substance abuse, homelessness, or poverty it became a safe space to experience community and culture. Blockchain Gallery gave Ben a place to create and share his creations, but building it into a not-for-profit entity also gave him a positive project to concentrate on while he worked out his life. Kator's portfolio, full of pen and ink illustrations of the musicians he loves and his experimentations with abstraction and digital art, developed in earnest as he was given back his love and drive to create. Follow his next ventures in life on Instagram @benkator1
Episode 68 S3: Jessica Russo Scherr- An American Artist and Art Educator in Germany: Ep. 68 S3 (published 3/28/2024)
Jessica Russo Scherr is an artist known for her large-scale paintings and social media videos that demystify art making. Her paintings intertwine her love of art history, travel, memory, and motherhood in a manner that often blends represented reality to such a degree that the visuals combine into plays of abstraction. Jessica is an International Baccalaureate Art Educator who challenges her students to create large-scale paintings and to understand their work in the context of art history. As a dedicated creator and as a teaching tool, she can't help but create her paintings in the same space as her students. Her media presence is full of honest experiences of succeeding and failing using materials like Gelli printmaking sheets or more traditional art-making methods. The Fulbright Grant she received earlier in her career set her on a track of international art education and art creation ventures that continue into her life now. Jessica lives with her two kids and her husband in Germany where she teaches at the Frankfurt International School and continues to influence and share her passion for art with others. Jessica's creative life can be followed at @bluelavaart.
Episode 67 S3: Eteri Chkadua- From Soviet Control to a Life of Freedom and Art Making: Ep. 67 S3 (published 3/21/2024)
Eteri studied at the Academy of Arts in Tbilisi, Georgia where her professors taught her to avoid Soviet style Social Realism, with an embrace of abstract and impressionist styles, as a reaction against the oppressive state. Before she finished her time there she made a painting that contained figurative realism to bust the chops of her professors that surprised them so much that it propelled her into the art scene of her home country. She came to America in 1988 with an American Linguist who was studying the Georgian language and helped her leave a place where no one was allowed to leave. Since then, she has become known around the world as a figurative painter who explores serious topics with a sense of humor. Her paintings explore the content of her new life in America (from Rastafarians to new relationships) alongside references to her life back in Georgia or the weapons of war that oppress people around the world. Enjoy this conversation that taps into topics of her creative art-making to Russian control that still threatens today.
Episode 66 S2: Big Families, Hard Workers, Artists: Melissa and Corey Hardin and Kitchen and Dennis Dalelio (Published Mar. 14. 2024)
The Art Studio in Highland Lakes Facebook
A conversation between four artists who juggle big families, lots of jobs, and sneak in more time than ever to make things. We discuss the joys and struggles of having it all- from artist tips when your life is full of taking care of the kids to humble entrepreneurial endeavors. Corey and Melissa Hardin, owners of The Art Studio in Highland Lakes, have four children, several jobs, two BFAs, and a passion for making and teaching art. Corey earned his BFA from Pratt and is a career-long Union Carpenter. Melissa earned her BFA from Ramapo College and is a dedicated art educator in her own art school, and marketing coordinator for Gym Guys. My wife Kristin Dalelio (aka Kitchen) and I have five kids, two BFAs, and a passion for making and teaching art as well. Kitch got her dual major degrees in Art and Religion from Felician University and is now a Cottage Food licensed baker. Dennis Dalelio earned his BFA from Mason Gross at Rutgers University, his MFA from William Paterson University, and has been a career-long art teacher (and host of this show.) Through years of alarm clocks or babies waking them up before dawn, ships passing each other in the night, learning how to be parents full of wisdom, and dedicated workers who earn their paychecks, all four have maintained a practice of creating and/or teaching art that makes them feel alive and to be who they each were created to be.
Episode 65 S2: Paul Larsen of Paul Larsen Gallery (Published Mar. 7. 2024)
Paul Larsen Gallery's Instagram
Paul Larsen grew up in the woods of West Milford Township in NJ, just up the road from Greenwood Lake and just a stroll away from the Appalachian Trail. Now, he is a cultured arts advocate and community builder. He credits his parents, who brought him to artisan communities throughout NY and NJ and the cultural centers of NYC when he was growing up, and his artistic peers who were always doing interesting things, as his inspiration for a life of collecting and supporting artists. His gallery in Saddle River has become a place to share and sell his collections, but also a place where known and unknown dedicated creators show their work and build community. As he described it, "Our mission is to bring the community together through new exhibitions and opportunities to talk about and engage in fine art."
Episode 64 S2: Will Brady: The Artist... The Baker (published on Feb. 29, 2024!)
Enjoy this conversation with Will Brady, an artist and baker who graduated from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers in 2003. Will's work consists of daily records kept in notebooks that are turned into collages. He has exhibited at Montserrat Gallery in Chelsea, NYC from 2007 -2022. n 2006, he sold his complete collection of undergraduate school notebooks (weighing 300 lbs) to a collector from Japan when it was shown in the Pleiades Gallery in NYC. Will recently won first place for drawing at the Bergen County Art in the Park show in 2023.
By Day, Will has spent 18 years working in the baking industry. He was a delivery person for 13 years and more recently worked as a pastry chef for the past 5 years. His experience as a delivery driver allowed him to learn many North Jersey roads and landmarks that he now includes in his art. While creating his baked goods, he keeps a folded-up piece of computer paper in his back pocket to write down ideas and create drawings. He then turns those notes into framed collages. You can check out Will’s art on Instagram @wbradyart.
Episode 63 S2: Ricky Boscarino- Artist/Curator/Creator of "Luna Parc" in Sandyston, NJ (Published July 18, 2023)
The Artist, Ricky Boscarino, has been creating "Luna Parc," his major work/home/museum/installation, for the past 34 years, alongside a journey of forging a career in the arts. The experience he made, for those who have the privilege of touring this creation, is one that is unforgettable and overwhelming. Unforgettable, in that, there is something interesting for everyone- from a collection of his own paintings, metal works, or the architecture itself (that he both designed and built,) to a small box holding his personal collection of matchbox cars from his youth, to collections of instruments, nature, or other artists' creations. It is overwhelming, in that, every detail of the house is an expression of Ricky's vision for the space, and you will most likely miss something- from the sculpted nest and birds hidden inside a cement-formed tree in his gardens to the inlaid glass box surrounded by multi-colored wood pieces within one of the upper floors that is designed to (when the time comes) contain his own ashes for display. Ricky shares how he is another artisan in a long line of artisans in the Boscarino family. He offers advice on how to support yourself with the sale of your own creations. For him it has been the sale of his intricate jewelry and now his ceramic face pots/commissions/tours that have paid all the bills for both his life expenses, the creation of "Luna Parc," and the education-minded Luna Parc Foundation. In the end, he describes, "it takes a lot of time" and effort to be an artist who steals nearly every hour of the day to create something.
Episode 62 S2: Brian O'Boyle- The Artist and Art Educator(published May 30th, 2023)
Brian O'Boyle is a dedicated Artist and Art Educator who taught for over a decade in Paterson, NJ, and is now working at Bogota High School. His entrance into public school art education was the artist's roundabout method into it all called the Alternate Route. Starting his working life as a Kean University-trained artist prior to getting certified to teach helped him to enter the teaching world as a working artist who consistently creates characters with found objects, paint, and his pure imagination combined. His portfolio consists of objects that are truly more relief sculptures than just simply paintings. His characters painted on skateboards, street signs, and old wood come to life as if his cartoon-like personas could not be constrained to only existing on a page or on a screen. He discusses how those who handed him the keys to his own creativity during his undergraduate and early career life have led him to be the one who hands the same type of keys to his students.
Episode 61 S2: The Author and Illustrator of Coney A Trip to Luna Park- The Artist Jeffrey Lindberg (published April 11th, 2023)
Jeffrey Lindberg is a dedicated artist who has spent over the past two decades being an illustrator for publishing companies like Simon and Schuster, Penguin, and even the likes of author R.L. Stine. During that time he has also been a professor of Illustration and Graphic Design at Kean University and other surrounding universities where he shared his love for art making and encouraged his students to give themselves permission to make the thing they want to make. He recently gave himself to do the same and the result is a children's book that he wrote and illustrated titled, "Coney, A Trip to Luna Park." The book is full of the details of the place in its 1904 roots as only can be shared by someone who is skilled in both telling a history that he loves, but also with the care of an artist who pays attention to detail.
Episode 60 S2: Songwriter Paul Rosevear (The Vice Rags) at The Bendix (published Feb. 28th, 2023)
The Vice Rags is a timeless rock and roll band, inspired by music from the 50s till now, described best by Music Journalist Tris McCall as a group that sounds like a “high-speed Turnpike collision between Tom Petty and gutter punk.” Paul Rosevear on guitar and vocals joined his Long term collaborator GE Gay Elvis on Bass, Jack Roberts on guitar, and Joe Chyb on drums for this NJ love affair. Their latest EP which came to the world in the last month of 2022 is called Midnight Ride and can be found streaming anywhere. In this episode, I press record on my monthly meetups with Paul Rosevear at the historic NJ Diner called The Bendix, which packs its own brand of nostalgic timelessness. Here we discuss Pauls’s long and storied career as a songwriter, the Vice Rags’ latest release, and the joys of juggling music with the other joys of his life. Paul has “supported artists ranging from Joan Baez to Stone Temple Pilots, licensed his original songs to major networks like MTV and The CW Network, studied recording at the Magic Shop studio in New York City, and written and sang many songs in service of the world’s biggest brands, including Coca-Cola, Tiffany & Co., and Macy’s.” Special thanks to John Diakakis and his family, who have owned the diner since the 80s, whose hospitality and willingness to let us film our conversation in their landmark location were such a gift.
Episode 59 S2: "Nothing Special" Author Desiree Cooper and Illustrator Bec Sloane (published Jan. 10th, 2023)
"Nothing Special" is writer Desiree Cooper's first children's book created in collaboration with the illustrator Bec Sloane. It is a story of family connection across generations through the simple things of life and a return to the essentials that bring back true joy. Our conversation introduces the book, the story's significance to Des and her audience, the intricate and impressive work Sloane put into the illustrations, and how the book has a life of its own. Des Cooper is a former attorney turned Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist and an author of fiction, poetry, and essays who won numerous awards, including the 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Award. Her work has appeared in Flash Fiction America 2023, The Best Small Fictions 2018, Callaloo, Michigan Quarterly Review, The Best American Essays 2019, and many more publications. Bec Sloane, is a visual artist and Agricultural Research Technician working in and around farming communities in Central New Jersey who has worked in the arts and film industries in New York and abroad. She specializes in stop-motion animation and large-scale fabrication work for TV, theatre, and film. She has worked for clients ranging from the Jim Henson Company to Macy's iconic flagship, and has implemented arts-driven curricula for grades K-12. "Nothing Special" was named one of the New York Public Library's Top 10 Best Children's Books of 2022!
Episode 58 S2: Nick Gallant: The Singer-Songwriter and the Disney Creative Director (published Dec. 13th, 2022)
Nick Gallant is a Singer-Songwriter from Santa Cruz, California who doubles as a Disney Creative Director. In our conversation, Nick shares his passion for songwriting, the importance of creating to deal with the realities of life, and what an honor it is to be a part of other people's healing. He also shares some of the stories and the benefits of using his musical talents throughout his career as one who first made soundtracks for games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band and now as a Disney Creative Director. He has released "6 albums as a solo artist and played/sung on 1000s of recordings for independent and major label artists, films, tv, and video games." His latest album 2019’s State Park was actually recorded in State Parks throughout Southern California. Nick is a father of 2 boys, a surfer, and truly an East and West Coaster as he splits his time between Kennebunkport, ME, and Santa Cruz, CA.
Episode 57 S2: The "Outsmarted Mommy" the Writer: Jennifer Lizza (published Nov. 15th, 2022)
Jennifer Lizza, is a writer who has turned her life as a mom into a source of inspiration for her creative writing. Her "Outsmarted Mommy" blog, first made to be an outlet of self-expression, has led her to become a "parenting team contributor" for TODAY and a well-followed voice for so many. She has been published in several books and consistently uses social media to share her reflections on her life as a mother of two boys and a wife of a full-time firefighter. Since her beginning, she has found a community of people online who have supported and encouraged her along the way. Now she is the one who helps propel and support others with her Outsmarted Mommy community. Here she discusses using her skill as a writer to reach out to the world at a time when she completely disconnected, how this act has been a source of healing for herself and others, and how thrilled she is to see her words mean so much to others. Check out her writing at www.outsmartedmommy.com
Episode 56 S2: The Portrait Painter Serge Strosberg (published Oct. 25, 2022)
https://www.sergestrosberg.com/
Serge Strosberg is an acclaimed international artist who is known for his realist and expressionist portraits. After growing up in the US and Europe, he "received classical training at the prestigious Academie Julian in Paris and Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts. In 2008, he exhibited his work at the Felix Nussbaum Museum (Germany) and the Musee de Pontoise (Paris) in Germany with Lucian Freud, Philip Pearlstein, Chaim Soutine, Alex Katz in major group exhibitions of realist painting." He works with oil and egg tempura to create large-scale commissioned pieces for institutions or families. His goal in each painted portrait is to include the personality of the person; not just a photo likeness. Beyond this, his portfolio is full of concepts that critique the elite extremes of American culture (fashion, the 1%..) through figurative pieces that consider both composition and location as a means of questioning high society and cultural norms. He offers a candid description of what it is like to work on his own terms with the support of cultural organizations, the struggle of working within the established gallery system, and the gift of being able to spend his life making art.
The cover art of this episode is one of Serge's paintings- a portrait of Blake Byrne
Episode 55 S2: The Visual Artist and Art Educator: Lisa Marseglia-Moran (published Sept. 27, 2022)
Lisa Marseglia-Moran is a visual artist and art educator, who after she retired from a 30-year career as a public school art educator, is dedicating her every day to creating large-scale paintings, printmaking weaves, and building and encouraging a community of creators around her. Her work is full of an appreciation of the energy and personality found in nature- specifically trees and the history that they contain. Her love and respect for it, along with her appreciation of the materials she creates, give her an endless amount of inspiration. Her dedication to teaching and her "greatest creations" (her four boys who are now young adults pursuing their creative endeavors) has consistently been fed by her life as an artist. She speaks of creating her drawings alongside her students after they got into the groove and using her laundry room as a studio. The love and support of her husband and children go as far as them working together as her promotional team. They are also the ones who helped design and build her a studio from their old garage. She discusses how art changed over her life as a mother and teacher, but there was never a time when she was not creating. Her insights abound on how to balance it all and how the best things in life are worth dedicating time to even if they don't make money (i.e. relationships, exercise, artmaking, teaching, etc.)
Episode 54 S2: The Nonchalant Cheesemakers: Mother and Son Team Jesse and Jonah Clark (published June 28th, 2022)
"Veggies $3 or pay what you can." this morning's post from Nonchalant Cheese.
Our 2nd episode in season 2 is with the mother and son artisan cheesemaking team Jesse and Jonah Clark. They run Nonchalant Cheese, a local business known for their "grass-fed, raw milk, aged cheeses made from rotationally grazed Jersey cows at Meadowburn Farm in Vernon, NJ." Out of their honor system farm shop, they offer a whole world of original recipe artisan cheeses, breads, and… business practices. This conversation is a follow-up to our last episode talk with Makoto Fujimura, who described the world of agriculture as a metaphor for the importance of creating art and how the effort of literally building/growing something with neighbors produces a sense of culture care and generative good in the world. Jesse and Jonah live that agricultural life and community building daily. Here they offer insight into this process and introduce the concept of collaborating with nature to make their products-. Beyond this, they offer an alternative family story, naturally within their branding and in this discussion, to the fast-paced New Jersey family lifestyle by sharing what life is like working closely together on a farm to bring great food to the community that supports them.
Episode 53 S2: The Artist and Author: Makoto Fujimura (published May 10th, 2022)
Our first guest of Season 2 is Makoto Fujimura, an internationally recognized artist, and author. His paintings are made in the “Nihonga tradition, a form dating back to medieval Japan and emphasizing the beauty of materials— gold leaf and finely ground mineral pigments.” His most recent book “Art+Faith: A Theology of Making” was published by Yale Press in 2021. In our conversation, we discuss the book in earnest as he shares his insights into artmaking in connection with God for those who claim faith and for those who do not. Makoto’s own Christian faith and his dedication to creating visual art throughout his life have led him to an overflowing amount of insights into the studio as a sanctuary and place of connection with the Divine. He offers insights into why we all need to create in order to heal ourselves and our world, but moreover to join in God’s plan for creating a New Creation. From 2003-2009, Mr. Fujimura was a Presidential appointee to the National Council on the Arts and has 4 Honorary Doctor of Arts Degrees, from Belhaven University, Biola University, Cairn University, and Roanoke College. He is also the founder of the organization IAM, the International Arts Movement. This is where I had the honor of meeting and working with Mako back in the late 1990s into the early 2000s and it is an honor to reconnect here within this recording.
Episode 52: The Fashion Designer...The Graphic Designer...The Stylist: Melissa DeMarco Clark of Last Trax Design Studio (published Feb. 23, 2022)
Melissa DeMarco Clark's designs have been found filling the giant screens in Times Square to launch a latest name brand fashion product line or on toddlers' bathing suits as they run in and out of the ocean. For over two decades she has been a dedicated fashion designer working as a senior designer or freelancer for the likes of Gap, Aeropostale Kids, Children's Place, James Purcell, Kenneth Cole, Chaus... In 2020, she began Last Trax Design Studio where she continues to design, but this time on on her schedule while balancing out the rest of life. In this version of her career she continues to create original designs whether it be logos and branding for companies, or the Last Trax seasonal lines of clothing and apparel.
Inspired by the joys and freedom that come when skiing the mountains of the East Coast, Melissa and friend/co-owner Matt O'Conner have decided to make Last Trax a company that is dedicated to "making an impression that lasts." The name itself comes from the reality that early morning attempts to make first run on the slopes often fade after late night social gatherings so last tracks are their goal. Our conversation fittingly marks the last episode of The Stolen Hours Podcast Season 1 released here on the first anniversary of the media collection.
Episode 51: The Painter...The Interior Designer: Rosita Gilsenan (published Feb. 9, 2022)
Rosita Gilsenan is a prolific painter who is originally from Moynalty, Kells, Meath, Ireland. Her landscape themed paintings are made with a method called "deconstruction" where paint is applied and wiped off in order to create atmosphere. She can often be found with a group of artists painting watercolors in plein air or throwing paint onto the canvas in her studios found in Highland Lakes, NJ, Naples, Florida or back in Ireland depending on the season of life. Her well known batik work began when she studied art in Strawberry Hill in London. This work brought her to New York after a NY Times article introduced her and her batiks to America. Shortly thereafter, she moved to New York City, where she made her early living selling her artwork. Once established as a US citizen, she eventually began Gilsenan Design Inc., an interior design company based in Warwick, NY that she built and established for 30 years. She recently transferred the reigns of the business to her daughter as she now spends her time steeped in communities in and around making art.
Episode 50: The Musician on Bass (from the band LKFFCT): Brian Legentil (published Feb. 2, 2022)
Brian Legentil is a bass player who listens to music all day while at work and even into the evening after he punches out of the time clock. His bass sits right next to him (and is not ignored) as he works as a manager for the wholesale supplier American Musical Supply. He and his bandmates in the band LKFFCT (pronounced Lake Effect) began making music together over a decade ago. It all began when Brian answered a MySpace request beckoning him with the"seeking a bass player...!" Brian found this request in the midst of finishing up college at Rutgers University, but he saw and heard the call and began playing with the original iteration of the band, originally called Washington Square Park. This put college graduation on pause for a couple of years as they toured all around the nation. Once they returned home after a hard band breakup the band was reborn as LKFFCT. At this point they are releasing their 5th LP soon to be put out on Pizza Bagel Records in the midst of their grown up lives. Fun fact: In high school Brian had varying ranges of mohawk spikes during the early 2000s giving me hope that the 90s were not over. He reveals here that he would set those spikes before he went to sleep at night so he could just stumble out of bed and head to class.
Episode 49: The Media and Culture Professor...The Writer: Dr. Corinne M. Dalelio(published Jan. 26, 2022)
Professor Dr. Corinne M. Dalelio, media communications and culture expert and writer (and my sis!), discusses her critical analysis of media today. Her new book titled "Interactive Media and Society," that offers how to be one who is also critical of the media we use and depend on, will be published through Lexington Press later this year (2022.) The content of her book leads our conversation as we discuss the invisible realities behind media from the centralization of media in the past, the expansion of the early internet, to the now recentralization of social media platforms and all that comes with that. She reminds us that the grass roots media artists have used historically to always find a way to reach an audience will also find its way to rewrite the pathways around the AI algorithms or digital gatekeepers led by power and income decisions. Her hope is, that as we get used to and evolve our new forms of communication, that we will learn how to be open to all points of view and truly have a conversation that interacts through listening and responding in contrast to just becoming a new set of talking heads who have no ears. She wrote this book for the students she teaches at Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina, but it is clear this information will be important to us all as we navigate these worlds ourselves, depend on them as creatives to share the content we make, and try to teach our children to navigate it all with wide open questioning it all eyes.
The cover art for this episode will be on the cover of her book created by me, your host- Dennis Dalelio.
Episode 48: The Animator...The Writer... The Teacher: Mark Neeley (published Jan. 19, 2022)
Mark Neeley is an independent animator & designer from Cincinnati, Ohio who has dedicated himself to working purely in an analog manner using a lightbox, paper, and frame by frame recording methods. He is also a teacher of autistic children who inspire him with their freedom to allow their imaginations to directly come to life on paper with an innocence and immediacy. Kit Laybourne's "The Animation Book," found in Mark's childhood public library, introduced him to indie animation and the methods of how to create. The midcentury animation husband and wife duo John and Faith Hubley, who dedicated themselves to making at least one personal film per year in the midst of making commercial projects, introduced him to a mindset in which to work with your soul intact. Mark's lifelong dedication to animation led him to create a short film called“Fragments” (2020.) It is an ideal vs. real mixed media animation inspired by his wife and him experiencing the joys of traveling to California contrasted with the loss of a family pet. It was the recipient of over a dozen film festival screenings and finalist awards. His love and specialization of creating music videos (Maston, Psychic Temple, Cactus Lee) connects directly with his creation of the "Aquarium Drunkard Picture Show" originally commissioned by the Adult Swim Network, and now an episodic production released on aquariumdrunkard.com. He is a generous creator who has even been known to offer free workshops for young people who are desperate to find a way to bring movement and life to their drawings.
Episode 47: The Skateboard Park Creator...The Community Center Director: Steve Wolfe (published Jan. 12, 2022)
https://www.skatecreateconnect.org/
Since 1999, Steve Wolfe has orchestrated the setup of skateboard parks for young people to come to learn to skate, teach others to skate, and to create community happenings that bring people together to connect in a positive way. In the beginning you would find him and the crowds who came (to skate, to smash cars, eat food, make art, or love those who showed up) in parking lots in suburban NJ. Now, twenty years later he is still doing "Solid" skatepark, but this time within a dedicated interior space in an old silk factory in Paterson, NJ. This interior space not only avoids the vulnerability of New Jersey weather, but also now offers the opportunity to do daily events. Solid continues to host free skate sessions for kids to drop in on the halfpipe, ollie over a lawn chair, teach, and/or just hang out with each other, but this space has also given life to Steve's vision to truly become a community center for local youth. They offer free workshops like resume building and "interviewing for a job" skills, a design class that teaches graphic design from the mindset and angle of the skate world, and more. Steve, his nonprofit organization, and the crew he has pulled together's vision just continues to build... We discuss it all from the evolution of his Christian faith that motivated him to begin outreaching to others, not falling into other people's version of how to do what you feel called to do, how love rather than fear should be your guide, and to now building a place to support youth and positive community in the city of Paterson, NJ.
Episode 46: The Visual Artist...The Art Educator: Mike Ferrari (published Dec. 8, 2021)
Through a visual dissection of would be lost iconic images of human history, Mike Ferrari's work revives the past in order to create a new “pulp fiction” - one where memory is fabricated through rendered or cut-and-pasted historical photographs, color, surrealism, and illustration. Through a series of fractured images and ideas working together in harmonious conflict, the subjects pictured in these works are ones who embody both beauty and despair. The patterns, found materials, and renderings that surround, backdrop, or interrupt these remnants of our culture and counterculture recreate them in an experience that matches how our own modern generation experiences life - with an undeniable seriousness, but also a bit of kitsch to soften the blow of how vulnerable we really are. Mike Ferrari is a painter and art educator who lives and works in New Jersey. He is indeed the one who made the original cover art for the podcast and an all around good guy worth listening to.
Episode 45: The Dancer...The Dance Educator: Claudine Ranieri(published Dec. 1, 2021)
In the sanctuary of the dance studio, Arts Ed Now advocate and Dance Educator Claudine Ranieri has been dancing since her youth and teaching for over three decades. Classically trained, and an alumni of the LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts in NYC, Claudine graduated from Brooklyn College's Dance program and dove into a life dedicated to the arts, arts advocacy for all, and sharing a passion for dance that she lives and breaths. Her insights abound... from creating an environment of trust for her students, the joy and grind of rehearsals, the switch to performance preparation, and the profoundness of sharing what is done in the vulnerability of the studio for the public. She has easily brought together a profound collection of repertoire from the history of dance for her students with the improvisation of contemporary dance as it discovered in her classroom. Claudine is a powerhouse whose personal dance career outside of education is exhaustive, but she describes performing "All That Jazz" in three and a half inch heals at age 39, at 40 putting her point shoes on again, and performing an original choreographed piece for Maya Angelou as the highlights so far. She reminds us that dance is what we do when we don't have words, what we do to connect people, to express what is within, and with that it speaks for issues of justice, hope, planting seeds, and the connection of souls.
Episode 44: The Artist...The Paper Sculptor...The Art Educator: Heather Corey(published Nov. 24, 2021)
Heather Leigh Corey discovered printmaking at Moravian College. While learning the process, the importance of the papers printed on became a focus that introduced, in earnest, the ultimate creator's lesson that... materials matter. For Heather, this led to making her own paper and a discovery of how much even the content within the paper is essential. She fell in love with the process; the joy of the material itself inspiring new ideas. Since finishing her MFA at The Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts in 2007, Heather's most inspired and large scale vision for this process is found in her ongoing project called "Love Corsetry," where her goal is to make paper sculptures (infused with plaster,) from casts of 100 specific women whose stories are told through each piece. This project paused for a time as Heather's own story has evolved into becoming a mom and pursuing artistic endeavors that integrate into this season of life like teaching art to children out of her home studio or organizing in town art events with the Arts Council of Glen Rock, NJ. Heather shares her love for art education, art as a means to build community, and how she can't help but keep creating in the midst of life.
Episode 43: The Dancer...The Blacksmith: Eve McClanahan (published Nov. 17, 2021)
On the ground floor sit heavy industrial sized blacksmithing machines, anvils, and tools to flatten, twist, and turn the scraps of metal stacked on the shelves on the outer edges of the open air room. The space, and all of its occupants, wait to hammer red hot metal into some new form with the remnants of a ballet studio (ballet bars, a piano) surrounding. Up the wooden stairs to the left is a huge room where waterfall-like aerial yoga silks stream down from their cathedral ceiling anchors. They wait, as well, for students to arrive who will gracefully entangle their bodies in a mid air choreographed dance that is two parts wellness and one part performance. In both spaces the sounds of the wind whispering through the landscape sings alongside the cicadas and muted cars driving by up on the road that connects Vernon, NJ and Pine Island, NY. Eve McClanahan is the reason both of these spaces exist; the one who teaches and creates in these worlds rich with the act of forging through movements that seek to fulfill a vision. In each, there is a purposeful dance that is founded on good technique, dedication, and effort. We discuss her life as a dancer and budding blacksmith, growing up in New York City, becoming a student in the one top ballet schools, her time studying filmmaking and later dance at NYU, her family's move to Warwick, and how a lack of dance education in the local public schools led her to open her own dance studio. Now semi-retired, Eve has dedicated herself to spend at least one full day a week learning the art of blacksmithing in her downstairs studio and several other days expertly teaching private dance lessons upstairs.
Episode 42: "The Moment of Astonishment" The Magician: David Corsaro (published Nov. 10, 2021)
David Corsaro's discovery of magic when he was coming of age has never left him. It led him from West Milford, NJ to an 8 day Magic Tour in Tokyo, Japan... from studying business marketing in college with a magic side hobby, to two decades of forging entrepreneurial endeavors that are led by being a magician who consistently performs and helps others understand how to market their magician careers. All the while, he has mastered the art of creating "the moment of astonishment," a feeling of disbelief and amazement that produces a response that is completely speechless. It is something that people may never get to experience outside of their childhood until that very moment when the magic trick brings it to them. David leads us through the nuanced worlds of magic, of him and his contemporaries sitting around his kitchen table to make the the story telling and the slight of hand of each trick be more innovative and entertaining, the formal and informal schools of magic that have formed him along the way, and how he gets to be "a member of a secret society who make the impossible possible."
Episode 41: "A View from Home" The Photographer: Juan C. Giraldo (published Nov. 4 2021)
Opening the heartily built box-like cover of Juan C. Giraldo's artist book, "A View from Home," brings you immediately into his world and the world of his biological or found families with a sense of intimacy, vulnerability, and care. On the inside cover is a piece of silk to reference the silk mills that the city where Juan grew up is known for and where is grandfather once worked, Paterson, NJ. From there we see images that are full of intimacy, quiet drama, struggle, and hope. Content in the images range from work, family, faith, friends, and the interior still life scenes of homes that lie behind weather and economically worn facades of the houses, apartments, and commercial spaces that make up the cities of Paterson, NJ and Chicago, IL. In the end, the collection shows the life of an immigrant in urban America that is full of sincerity, personal narrative, and emotional truth. Juan is a a photographer who has been recognized within PDN 30 and the Photo Lucida Critical Mass Top 50. He is also a Photo Professor and Hopper Prize recipient.
This episode is dedicated in honor and in memoriam of our William Paterson professor Joe VanPutten.
Episode 40: The Ecological Visual Artist... The Art Professor: Kimberly Callas (published Oct. 27th, 2021)
Kimberly Callas is a a new media artist, sculptor, and the lead artist of the Social Practice project Discovering the Ecological Self. Her latest body of work was, and continues to be made, under a Monmouth University Fellowship where she is the Urban Coast Institute Artist-in-Residence. She became an art professor in 2016 at Monmouth, after a season of life that led her and her husband to move up to Maine, build an off the grid home, replant a clear cut forest, and more... all while beginning their family life. Her return to education was a natural fit since her and her husband spent much of their time up north as educators/lead by example sustainable ecology advocates. Kimberly also dedicated much of her time there to helping build and connect the artist community with the community surrounding through the Belfast Creative Coalition where she and other members hosted workshops and events that integrated all of her loves- nature, art, family, community, and making a go of it as an artist entreprenaur. In this new season of life, sharing time between Maine and the New Jersey Coastline, she has found a home as always in the studio, but now within the university setting, where all things technology, ecology, education, and humanity combine to help her thrive as a creative, make work that has consequences, and share all of that with her students.
Episode 39: Writer and Director of the Film Electric Jesus: Chris White (published Oct. 20th, 2021)
Enter the world of filmmaker Chris White as he discusses his latest creation, Electric Jesus. The film is a coming of age comedy/drama that follows the exploits of a fictional 80's Christian Rock Hair Metal Band. It stars Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club), Brian Baumgartner (The Office), and newcomers Sarah Hutchinson and Andrew Eakle. Chris and his wife, Emily Reach White, made the jump into the world of movie creation after working as public school teachers and since have created many independent short and feature length films. For Chris, this even included a stint working as a co-producer of several episodes of Star Trek Continues. With Electric Jesus, Chris and Emily have gone much bigger with a million dollar budget, big name actors, and national distribution. It will be released for digital stream nationally on November 2nd! We discuss it all- making authentic art, hair metal music, evangelical culture in the 80s, the awkwardness and awesomeness of it all, and how the grace, forgiveness, and humanity that is genuinely in the best of faith may be just what the world and all of its judges still need to remember.
Episode 38: Documentary Film Director and Producer: Larry Confino (published Oct. 13th, 2021)
Trezoros: The Lost Jews of Kastoria Film
Coming off a fine arts education at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Larry Confino and his roommate decided to go into business together. Right away they began to rent the very expensive equipment needed to make a go in the filmmaking world and created a company on their personal credit cards. Their first films were documentary behind the scenes of Hollywood films. This led to them being able to buy their own gear and a path of doing great work for clients with professionalism and dedication while working on personal passion projects. Larry has since created several full length feature documentary films and his own business called Media Sector Inc. He has done work for HBO, PBS, Canon, Disney, and more. His personal projects "Trezoros: The Lost Jews of Kastoria," "Psychedelicized: The Story of the Electric Circus," and his current project with the working name "The 50 States of Sustainability" are all high level feature length productions. He chronicles the benefits of taking chances, the benefits of building a team full of talent, making training videos that literally save lives, raising a creative family with a nontraditional career path, and how now is very well the time to venture into the industry with an entrepreneurial mindset since the pro gear has gone down in price and the old career path guarantees of a gold watch upon retirement are over.
Episode 37: Radio DJ "Adam Z"- Adam Zawislak (published Oct. 6th, 2021)
Adam is, through and through, a Rock 'N' Roll explorer who considers himself an archeologist of sound, digging up that which may be lost to history. Since 1971 he has been into music and was always the guy who made mixed tapes for friends and family trying to expose people to the world beyond the Top 40. From 2005 - 2016 he shared his musical tastes on the online platform LIVE 365. He then moved his show to another online platform- England's Radio.co. Since 2017, he has aired his show on WSRX 107.9 FM, Vernon NJ’s local non-commercial radio station. There, his shows range from "The Rock 'N' Roll Timeline" to his most recent ventures where he focuses on rock and roll singles released during the epic decade of the 1970s called "70's - The Music That Changed The World." Now In 2021, his newest show is called "The 80's." Adam is a dedicated music lover who spends his stolen hours producing these shows in his off time from his job working in the medical supply industry. Catching his voice on the radio the other day made it very clear that he is both a complete radio professional and one who can school us for hours about all things rock and roll.
Episode 36: BONUS!!! The Image Rights Rep. and Art Historian Trained: Joanna Smith Joanna Smith (published Oct. 3rd, 2021)
Joanna Smith is a mental health and arts advocate who has dedicated much of her adult life to the study of art history and working in the world of museums. After earning a masters degree in Art History from American University she spent time interviewing Holocaust survivors to help share their stories for the Holocaust Museum. She currently works as in image and footage rights and reproductions field with Bridgeman Images whose collection is focused on fine art, cultural, and historical content. Joanna shares her journey navigating the worlds that surround art history and balancing her own mental well being along the way.
Episode 35: The Actor...The Genealogist...The Musician...The Playwright...The Director... The Pastor: Di Shawn J. Gandy (published Sept. 29th, 2021)
Di Shawn J. Gandy is an actor, director, genealogist/historian, and playwright. After decades working on stage with his original steeped in history productions, he took time in 2020 to direct the independent film Love And The Game, based on the book by Daniel Ali. He studied acting at Woody King Jr.'s New Federal Theater in NY, George Street Playhouse Education in NJ, and Jared Kelner's Actor’s Approach Acting Academy. He is an NJACT Award-nominated playwright for An American Tree based on his research that "traces the lives of two generations of his paternal ancestors who lived through, slavery, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow." He co-wrote the play, Thy Will Be Done based on a historical telling of Judas’ betrayal of Jesus, which became an Official Selection to the DC Black Theater Festival. He serves as a board member of NJCAC (New Jersey Creative Arts Collaborative) and is a genealogist and family historian, who has created content for Ancestry.com. He and his wife, Dawn, cofounded Behind The Veil Productions, an award-nominated Theatre Company based in NJ. Beyond all of this, Di Shawn is also an ordained minister and serves as pastor of Love And Truth Ministries, a grassroots church ministry that he started in 2016.
Episode 34: The Flow State on Stage- The Anthropologist...The Playwright/Musician: Marc Jablonski
(published Sept. 22nd, 2021)
Anthropologist and Visual Artist Marc Jablonski grew up in the home that the visual artists/art professors Andrea Geller and Carl Jablonski built. He is a documentary minded playwright whose musicals, songs, sound pieces, and drama performances that deal with the complexity of humanity’s experience with each other and as an individual. He discusses his generation’s desire to both save the world and at the same time just save their own personal world’s enough to stay sane, the return of theater, and making your own way in the arts post college. With that, he describes how the stage and the flow state it offers has been the way he learned to deal with his own anxiety. He has spent much of his working life past college working in media marketing by day and sound design by night for his many creative collaborators. He has infiltrated the marketing world (at AKA NYC), with his skillsets as a means to have an income to support all of his creative endeavors, but to also be a part of all that he loves with the altruistic purpose of trying to make it all affordable for the people. He reminds those on his team that the marketing data points are all about the human experience that will benefit individuals with what art can do. Just past the recording date of this episode he now works on his masters in Anthropology at The New School and is continuing to work on his own musicals, songs, and so much more that very well may directly affect how we all experience the arts in the future.
Episode 33: BONUS!!! "The Doctor and The Deacon" (published Sept. 19th, 2021)
Encourage them to make their podcast here
Deacon Todd Rushing and Dr. Tom Cacciola, are two friends who walk together almost daily, and... who may just create their own podcast called "The Doctor and the Deacon." This recording was made in the midst of their own test recordings, an ever present recognition that the act of walking together leads to very creative and complex conversations, and going back and forth in consideration of creating such a media endeavor. My plan was to give them a nudge by having them record their first, and hopefully not last, episode here on The Stolen Hours. Their unique insights on life include, of course, perspective on the mind, the body, and the soul.
Episode 32: The Gigging Musician... The Music Educator: Bob Gizzi (published Sept. 15th, 2021)
Robert Gizzi is a saxophone player, a keyboard player, an innovative high school music educator, a marching and jazz band director, and an overall nice guy. He has created nuanced music electives like Guitar, Music Technology, and Piano lab as he has seen a rise in the amount of students who produce their own music in the past five years. Bob followed directly in his music educator father's footsteps who taught music for 37 years while gigging the whole time. With that he also has a love for both teaching music and for performing music as much as possible. With Bob's dedication to playing and affinity for the improv of Jazz and the volume of Rock he has the versatility of being a musician who knows how to play the music he and his audience loves at the drop of a hat. In this conversation he describes the culture of a gigging musician's life throughout the New Jersey music scene and how he brings that back to his students. After 20 years in the classroom he now may be found on stage performing next to one of those who he helped set on the same musician's path.
Episode 31: The Salesman... The Musician: Brynen Sosa of the Progressive Rock Band Mythology (published Sept. 8th, 2021)
Brynen Sosa has dedicated much of his life to playing music on the guitar. Now find his music out there under his own name, his band "Mythology", "Beebop and Rocksteady", the punk band "Bad Hormones", "The Pinstripe Players" and discover that he has no problem making music across a wide spectrum of musical genres and rock history. His musical tastes hit every arena from 90's alternative, to Doo-wop, to Classic Rock, to the musicals that he performed in high school. He names influences from Kurt Cobain to Frank Zappa. His band, Mythology, has opened for superstar bands like Yes and Peter Frampton over the years and has produced several albums that fully embrace the genre of progressive rock, but also put out an alter ego album that is full of 40's style Jazz inspired compositions called "The Pinstripe Players." Brynen can't help but keep creating and performing even as he juggles his career as an inside sales rep, a guitar teacher, husband, and father. This recording catches him on the road, between jobs and/or recording sessions, in a Quick Check parking lot somewhere in North Jersey.
Episode 30: The Singer Songwriter: Julia Crafton (published Aug.31st, 2021)
Julia's Metropolitan Museum of Art Performance
Julia Crafton was born into a life of music in 2005. Her parents set up her and her twin brother Avery's high chairs right in the mixing room of their recording studio. They grew up with the likes of Richie Havens, Broadway performers, jazz artists, visual artists, poets, etc. joining her family dinnertime throughout her life. Julia's songs are a combination of the "sounds, history, and love from all those musicians who helped raise her." Her debut album that came out this year (2021), "Woodstock Child" is also full of some of those professional musicians playing along with her in the mix. "At 15, she has been a "Featured Artist" at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art's virtual "Balcony Bar from Home Series" in partnership with ETHEL, and has performed her own shows at New York's iconic "Bitter End" and "The Cutting Room" stages. Our conversation discusses much of this life steeped in the Arts and how Julia is forging her path as a creator.
Episode 29: The Industrial Designer...The Visual Artist: Matt Behre (published Aug.25th, 2021)
Matt Behre is an artist and industrial designer whose creations are often inventions for a future society or at least one who admits its obsession with technology and yet also a desperate desire for objects that mean something in the real world. Often Matt's creations are critical of our virtual addictions, but moreover they are a return to what is needed in our humanity... something tangible and that will not make us have giant thumbs or craned necks. He is concerned with how it all affects our bodies, ecology, and what his creative brain can bring to the table. Matt's art is in the sketches and functional prototypes that he makes that are beautiful in design, but also in their function. He can't help but even imagine how to turn pandemic mask wearing into something that will benefit rather than intrude on nature. He imagines a mask that contains a plant that will feed off of the risky air we put out there. Matt shares his creative mind with us in this episode alongside his path of discovering a career that uses all of his skillsets as an industrial designer. He also joined this recording only a month into his life as a father to his little one- Lucy June. At around minute 40 or so we discuss earnestly how to integrate your creativity into your parenting. Matt's insights into art making, forging a career from a metal tradesman to a designer, how skateboarding relates to Fauvism, and how being who your are leads to all the right doors opening.
Episode 28: The Art History Professor, The Curator, The Writer: Deborah Frizzell (published Aug.18th, 2021)
Deborah's Art Life Visual Timeline
Cultural Politics Articles from Duke University Press
Deborah Frizzell is an artist turned curator turned Art Historian and Art Professor whose life has been dedicated to the Visual Arts. Her sculptures and time working as an artist were steeped with researching Art History to inform what she made. Her life as a curator led to the orchestration of shows and artists that remind that there were those who highlighted Black and female artists for the past 3+ decades, rather than just in the last couple of years. She worked directly with the likes of Barkley L. Hendricks, Nancy Spero, and so many more. Her work as an Art Professor invited students directly into the art world to give them an intensive education of the art history that they were becoming part of alongside a hands on practical experience where she invited students directly into working artists' studios, foundations, and galleries. She continues to write for "Cultural Politics," a Duke University Press publication in her retired life and overall can't help but still advocate for and participate in the art world.
Episode 27: The Visual Artist Liz Mitchell (published Aug.11th, 2021)
Liz Mitchell is a multi-media artist who creates handmade books and sculptural works that are full of stories that connect to the universal human experience in content and materials. Her books are meant to be held and experienced intimately as the stories she shares are offered through a combination of images, words, printmaking, collage, and the beauty of the meticulously made binding and pages. Her sculptural works often are presented as installations that are in human scale that invite her audience to be challenged with themes that are at times jarring and at other times connecting to the beauty of transcendence. In either form she works with materials that look delicate, but are durable enough to travel around the world for display. She works with handmade paper, fibers, wax, natural elements, and figurative forms to create works that are both visceral and cerebral. All are created based on an immense amount of personal, artistic, and historical research that help determine all aspects of what she makes. Liz shares how that search often leads her down the deepest of rabbit holes, but also how it helps her also find the deepest connections between people.
Episode 26: BONUS! A PodPerformance with The Musician Paul Rosevear (published Aug. 9th, 2021)
Stream the Latest EP- Halls of Time Vol. 1
Paul Rosevear performs his latest songs in this episode as we discuss his life as a musician. His latest EP, "Halls of Time Volume 1" is a collection whose lyrics consider the importance and torch passing of his personal family life integrated with musical melodies and instrumentation that remind of classic singalong songs of the past. His songs remind us how the tunes we love are a part of who we are and our own histories. They became the minerals in the soil that helped grow our personal family trees with the music our parents or grandparents put on the record player as we played with toys on the carpet. They became what we sang around the campfire with our friends to make bonds for life. In this episode, Paul offers us the gift of his songs and even performs a piece of the original iteration of the song "Don't Look Back." He discusses how his music has evolved over time, but also how it his integrated so much into who he is and how he makes a living -creating songs for licensing, teaching songwriting to others, and creating original music for his fans for the past two decades. Paul's musician life has been prolific as he has made celebrated music in the bands Readymade Breakup, The Blakes, and The Vice Rags. This EP may just be his most intimate self portrait as he reflects on his life; yes- as one who writes and loves songs, but also his life as a son, and now a father.
Episode 25: Turn it to the Sun: The Photographer.. The UX Designer: Michael Dalton (published Aug.4th, 2021)
Michael Dalton shares his photography, his love hate relationship with Instagram, and his venture into a new career as a UX Designer after working as a union construction worker for the past decade. His critically acclaimed book "The Great Falls," is a New Documentary style photographic collection that combines portraits of people in and around Paterson and Newark NJ with landscape photographs of the poetic intensity of the The Paterson Great Falls (including both its grandeur and the harsh realities that surround it.) His photos, across his projects, are most often a combination in both conceptual and straight documentary seeking to tell his own story, but also the story of a particular place. That mindset and his life as a construction worker led him to create a collection of photographs exploring laborers as his subject matter called "Turn it to the Sun (Labor.)" It deals with the people and places of his working life in a manner that joins the photographic tradition of glorifying the worker, but also admitting the harsh realities of work and work culture on the mind, body, and soul. Mike speaks to us while he is beginning a new venture into a career as a UX Designer while continuing to be prolific in his photographic efforts. Listen as we discuss the agony and ecstacy of work life, making major career shifts, being an artist, and finding a way to allow the complexity of it all to exist up front without depending on facades.
Episode 24: Feeding Thousands of People- The Director of the Father English Center Food Pantry: Carlos Roldan (published July 28th, 2021)
Father English Center Food Pantry
Carlos Roldan made a promise when he was eight years old,"When I grow up I am going to make sure no one goes hungry!" In 1993, at age twenty-four, he started to work at The Father English Center in Paterson, NJ. At his suggestion, they began offering food to those in need alongside the other community services the Center provided. He was given a small room in the back to gather and give out food. He was not satisfied. He imagined the entire thousand person hall, used for bingo nights and parties, would one day be used to house and provide food. In 2013, that hope became a reality. Since then, Carlos' creative side combined with his faith and conviction. He wanted to offer people more dignity by setting the pantry up to be like a supermarket where people could get the food items they need rather than the ones that others decided to bag up. In addition, an abandoned lot used for drug use across the street next to an elementary school is now a garden that grows produce for the pantry. Today the Center hands out over a thousand bags of food a day serving over 21,000 people a month. Carlos gives insight into how Covid tripled the need over the past year and a half and he fears as the world comes back it does not mean the need will decrease. Carlos' contact info- if you are in need or would like to help is: Office: 973 279 7100 X 2108 Cell: 973-771- 9485 He offers sincerely to all, "Call me whenever you need to..."
Episode 23: The History Teacher...The Creative: David Allocco (published July 20th, 2021)
David Allocco is one who was always creative with a love for comedy, media, and creating original content. When he was at Syracuse he created comedy sketches and directed the university's sportscast segments. His entry into his working life post college was in advertising, but he felt he could not use his full set of creative talents in that world. Remembering the satisfaction he felt when he mentored younger students during his college years he decided to follow in his father's footsteps and become a Social Studies teacher. It is in teaching that Dave discovered he could do everything he was interested in. He created electives like "Terrorism Today" and "The History of Sports." Moreover he could fully be himself using every talent he has. He said it best with this line, "I always wanted to do comedy and I feel like I do it every day." Beyond this he has inspired so many students to critically study history, but to also pursue their passions into careers "that never feel like work"...just like he has.
Episode 22: The Nature Inspired Artist and Musician: Laura Birdsong (published July 13th, 2021)
Laura Birdsong is a singer songwriter, a painter, a baker, a gardener, and a photographer. The seasons of the year and the seasons of her life bring her life into each media as it comes. She is inspired by nature and nature's invitation calling her to plant when it is time or to just watch and listen enough to find inspiration for her next song or painting. She truly loves and lives in her home from working in her home studio to cultivating her gardens in her yard. Laura is a breast cancer survivor and one who can not help but celebrate life through creating and the embrace of the community of musicians and artists that surround her in Highland Lakes, NJ. This episode shares some of her inspirations directly as we hear the atmosphere of Laura's life from the birds chirping to the sounds of the neighborhood in the background of this on location recording.
Episode 21: The Baker by Night... : Sean Reynolds (founder of the Brooklyn Banana Bread Company) (published July 6th, 2021)
Brooklyn Banana Bread Company Instagram
https://www.brooklynbananabread.com/
Sean Reynolds had a lifelong desire to start his own company and a heartfelt conviction to give to those in need. When he was 11 years old, he began his own carwash business with a whiteboard and hose right outside of his Brooklyn home. That same year, his mother invited him into her kitchen to teach him how to cook. His father's work ethic built into him an entrepreneurial spirit and his mother's love for others taught him to always help and serve others (even if you don't agree with them.) All of these life lessons found their way into his 2020 effort to begin The Brooklyn Banana Bread Company. Now you will find Sean, who spends his days working as a telecom technician, in the midnight hour baking hundreds of mini loaves of his mother's banana bread to thank first responders, healthcare workers, and to help feed those in need. Listen in to hear his story, learn how a common desire to offer something to the people of Minneapolis led to the recording of this episode, and to support his mission to "create a blueprint for other companies to follow in order in to give back to the community."
Episode 20: The Photographer... : John Gellings (published June 29th, 2021)
John's "nycrandomjpg" instagram
John Gellings found his love for photography with the purchase of his first film SLR camera when he was a teenager. From there, he became a student of the art form who performed at the top of his class as he earned his BFA from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. For the past two decades, he has continued to create from his roots in the darkroom, to a jaunt into creating music, to the moment where his move into New York City timed up with the purchase of his first digital SLR camera. This return to his first love came, this time, with a community of other photographers who John would meet up with to create together. This introduced him to a commitment and discipline to create throughout the Five Boroughs where walking ten or more miles and dedicating a full day to making images became his norm with or without his photographer friends. John's collections of photos range from sense of place images that forge a path of modern street photography, portraits of friends or strangers, and what he calls "random" (still life images that scream pop culture, nostalgia, interesting documents of reality.) His relationship with his wife and the start of his family life has led him to now live in Santiago, Chile. There, he has found a new location to photograph, with a whole new sense of light, culture, and humanity. All the lessons of his life- from his passion for skateboarding when he was coming of age, his love of music, his time working and living in NYC, and now his life in Chile as a husband and father inform his work, whether it be documentary in style or conceptual at heart.
Episode 19: The Master Carpenter...The Artist...The Woodshop Teacher: Jeremy Westhaver (published June 22nd, 2021)
Jeremy Westhaver is a master craftsman; an artist who works with wood as his material and inspiration. His creations range from segmented wood-turned vases to custom made one of a kind furniture. He is also one of the last great industrial education teachers. The day that this episode was first published was the last day of his career in education. His retirement also taps into the end of a legacy of industrial arts educated teachers who are nearly impossible to find a replacement for in modern times (as the certification system has changed.) He has dedicated over three decades to teaching a range of topics from electronics and robotics (way before the term STEM became an educational trend,) TV Video and Production, and for the majority of his career sharing his greatest passion -the art of woodworking. Jeremy's developed courses in woodturning and advanced woodworking and has introduced thousands of high school students to the world of creating complex objects that embody both creativity and the beauty of the material they are made with. He is one who embraces the most ancient and the most modern tools for 21st century creators- wood and laser beams (for engraving). Throughout his career he has consistently taught how to do what he does through creating his masterpieces right alongside of students.
Episode 18: The Playwright...The Drama Therapist... The ESL Teacher: Yasmine Beverly Rana (published June 15th, 2021)
Conversations with Ken and Yasmine on YouTube
Yasmine Beverly Rana is an internationally acclaimed playwright whose work has been performed throughout the world. True life stories from realities here in the US and abroad or from those she has worked with in her life as a drama therapist inform her plays and deal with humanity surviving under oppression. Her plays have been performed with The Looking Glass Theater, La MaMa, Nora's Playhouse, The National School of Drama in India, at The International Human Rights Festival, and more. Her work has been published in the Alabama Literary, several Best of Women's Monologue collections, and too many to name. The War Zone is My Bed and Other Plays, published by Seagull Books contains a cohesive collection of her plays. Yasmine is also a cohost for the YouTube show called "Conversations with Ken and Yasmine," which is home to a collection of conversations and interviews with topics that consider the arts, education, society, politics, and authentic humanity. In this episode Yasmine discusses her work as a playwright and an educator, but also shares her love of fine art and her hopes for humanity.
Episode 17: The Artist...The Farmer: Marcia Letizia
Marcia's Instagram
Marcia Letizia is a collage artist who has no problem tackling the topics of today with a sense of humor or complete and controversial seriousness. Her talent in this art form has been noticed by the community surrounding her, but also by the likes of the Contemporary Art Gallery Beers London. Marcia, who earned a BFA from Parsons and spent her early career as an illustrator in France, then spent 15 years working as a Director of Visual Merchandising for Bloomingdales. Since she choose to leave the profession she now spends much of her working hours as a farmer at Vernon Valley Farm. Here she couldn't help but continue to bring that visual designer experience into town as she helped set up the space of the local Valley Farmers Coop. Marcia discusses her career in the arts, her personal creations, how she encouraged her children's creativity, and the catharsis that creating collages provides for her life. This episode also bears witness to the brainstorming that led to the Highland Lakes Artist Group's first daytime Eclectic Festival of the Arts.
Episode 16: The Musician...The Entrepreneur: Dylan Clark of the band The Milwaukees (published June 1st, 2021)
Dylan Clark has been dedicated to making original music for 30 plus years. His impressive collection of music with the band, The Milwaukees, brings a listener on a tour of rock and roll from a time that goes even further back in the decades. He has no problem giving a nod to his favorite bands within his creations which range from pure rock to punk to indie rock. Dylan and his bandmates have recently released "The Calling," another well crafted and authentic album full of songs that make you feel the need to both sing along and also get out there to follow your own creative promptings. Dylan shares some of the stories behind his songs, but also how much he rejoices in what others make. Throughout the decades the music has never left him, even as he established his own business installing and finishing wood floors and beginning a family with his fashion designer wife Melissa. They still live and work and create in NJ; not too far up Rt. 23 where the first songs he wrote came together. A lifetime of creating music gives Dylan a great wisdom of how and why to create. We get to hear much of that here, but to get the full story, the one that may be spoken even more clearly in guitar shreds, licks, and melodies, take some time to listen to The Milwaukees today.
Episode 15: The Artist...The Art Professor: Andrea Geller (published May 25, 2021)
Andrea Geller is landscape and figurative painter who lives and works in Northern New Jersey. Her creations explore storytelling, a sense of place, atmosphere, and the textures of the paint itself. After receiving her BFA from Parsons School of Design she spent her early career as an illustrator and graphic designer. After that she earned an MFA at William Paterson University and has dedicated her creative skills in building up an impressive portfolio of paintings that have been shown extensively throughout the Northeast and beyond. Alongside of her dedicated life of art making she has raised wonderfully creative children with her husband Carl who also has an MFA and has been offering all she has learned to college students in her work as an adjunct Art professor. Enjoy this conversation about it all alongside her insights into being a woman in the arts and how she has integrated her creativity throughout all of life. Her work can be viewed in person in Emerge Gallery in Saugerties, NY. ow she has integrated her creativity throughout all of life. Her work can be viewed in person in Emerge Gallery in Saugerties, NY.
Episode 14: BONUS! Simulpodcast with HiddenTracks (Music) Podcast Host Shane Murphy! (published Sunday, May 23rd, 2021!)
Listen to HiddenTracks Podcast
In this "Simulpodcast" HiddenTracks podcast host, Shane Murphy, and I team up to answer the question we are often asked, "Who is going to interview you?" We do exactly that and then we published it simultaneously on both of our podcasts. Shane is a Storm Water Engineer and Music Lovers Podcast Host whose intellect and creativity and passion for music have led him to be both the guy who is simplifying sophisticated engineering concepts in training sessions for engineers in his work life and the guy who steals hours to record conversations with musicians and music fans for HiddenTracks. His guests range from Indie musicians just beginning their careers to those who have already made a name for themselves like John Easedale from Dramarama and G Love!) The genres he explores go across the music landscape and there is truly something for everyone in his weekly show. We discuss the importance of doing what you love to feel fully alive, how the support of our loved ones encourage us, and how a love for music and the backstory of our favorite bands is what part of what motivates us to do what we do. Of course we discuss podcasting as well, why we keep hitting the record button, and spending the time to produce our shows. Shane is the one who helped The Stolen Hours begin with tons of good advice and support. This episode was recorded in Shane's HiddenTracks' lair which looks much more like your favorite record store than a man cave. FYI- There are some swears in the mix on this one.
Episode 13: The Art History Professor... The Writer: Alejandro Anreus: (published Tuesday night May 18th, 2021!)
Alejandro's Publications. His Art.
SUPPORT the THREATENED WPU ART HISTORY and other PROGRAMS/JOBS- SIGN THE PETITION
Professor Alejandro Anreus is an art historian known for his expertise and research in modern and contemporary art of Latin America and the Spanish-Speaking Caribbean, Latinx Art in the US (Cuba, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic), African American Art (1920s-1960s), American Art
and Politics of the 1930s, Exile Culture of Latin America, and Liberation Theology. He is also known by his students at William Paterson University as one who is completely down to earth and authentic and teaches about life through Art and... lessons from his grandmother. Alejandro is one who considers the full context of the art he shares with his readers and his students. He reminds, "Art is a wonderfully resistant element that will always be there. It is the witness of life." In this recording Alejandro shares what he consistently includes in his classroom and his writing: the social and historical context, but also the spirituality of the artists and the human experiences surrounding what has been created. He reminds us to not forget the "poetry of life with all of its beauty and its brutality." With that lens, he challenges the historical tendency to focus on the oppressive powers that rule societies since eventually they will just be seen as a side note to describing the great art, writing, and music of the time. When we focus on the ideal, the nostalgia, the extremes we often miss the nuances of real life and the full context of what makes life open our eyes. This amazing conversation calls for breaking bread, justice, fulfillment and challenging each other in a sincere way rather than just silencing people. He encourages living our entire lives as a sacrament; an outward sign of an inward grace.
Notes on this episode:
The story of the Xmas tree drawing was told to Alejandro by Chicano scholar Tomas Ybarra Frausto – it happened to a major Chicano artist who told him the story...possibly the late Ruben Trejo, a sculptor.
The poet commenting about Castro was the Cuban Catholic poet Gaston Baquero, who died in exile in Madrid. He said something like “Castro will be remembered merely as the dictator of Cuba during the deaths of the painter Amelia Pelaez (d. 1968) and the poet Jose Lezama Lima (d. 1976).
The black man who challenged and converted a leader of the KKK through friendship was the musician Daryl Davis.
Episode 12: The Communications Manager... The Musician: Jai Agnish: (published Tuesday night May 11th, 2021!)
Jai's Website Jai's instagram: @jaiagnish
Jai Agnish has been making music since his youth. Alongside, came a sincere desire to support and build a community of creators that were independently getting their creations out there just like him. This led to the creation of his independent record label, Blue Bunny Records, and his Fanzine called Flygirl back in the late 90's. Both were created to support the known and unknown indie musicians he loved and befriended. Writers and artists who were just beginning to hone their art, found a chance to be published on the pages of the zine next to fun interviews with musicians ranging from Lou Barlou to Liz Phair. All of Jai's publications, on disc and paper, eventually became available on the shelves at Tower Records and many of the other favorite indie music supporting record stores. Jai has continued to make music, with several albums in his catalog to enjoy, but since he has also expanded his media expertise into careers that continue to support and help build other communities. For a decade and a half he worked as a newspaper reporter and editor in Northern New Jersey and now uses all of his skills in his position as a communications manager for the Archdiocese of Newark.
Enjoy this conversation as we discuss it all (including how one of his latest songs is enjoyed weekly in the intro of this podcast!) We even sneak in how he became a pilot and masterfully documented that process as only a skillful journalist could.
Support and check out Jai's music at www.jaiagnish.com
Episode 11: The Storyboard Artist... The Art Professor...The Storyteller Robert Castillo: (published Tuesday night May 4th, 2021!)
Roberts's Website S.P.I.C.-The Storyboard of My Life
Robert Castillo is a Storyboard Artist who has created the storyboards for movies, promo material, music videos, and commercials across the Marvel Universe and beyond. He began his career with receiving the Gold Prize at the Student Academy Awards and several other festival awards for his film S.P.I.C- The Storyboard of my Life. Robert is a master storyteller in the visual form of drawing, but he also tells more stories of his life in this episode with an honesty, energy, humor, and perspective that is just as enlightening and entertaining. He describes how his Mom used glue to fix the haircut his brother gave himself right before a family wedding, how he dealt with racism as a Latino growing up in Boston during the 80s, how he jokingly asked Stan Lee for a job at a comic book signing, how he helped a kid threatening others with a knife to laugh, and more. Robert also discusses how he balances his freelance storyboard work, his new job as an art professor, and everything else. Straight from the wisdom of comic books he reminds that in everything we can decide to be a victim, a villain, or a hero in response to what life throws at us.
Episode 10: The Collective Artist... The Highway Missionary... Paul Wislotski (published Tuesday night April 27th, 2021!)
Paul's Website Follow on Facebook at Paul's Innerprizes
We met Paul Wislotski, the collective artist and highway missionary, in Hoboken about 20 years ago. He had a collection of art pieces and art supplies in a homemade rolling cart that was tied to his belt. That cart dutifully followed him as he walked down the Hudson River waterfront keeping an eye out for the next ride. Paul has called the road his home since 1981, when he began his travels on the roadways of America. From hitchhiking, to riding a motorcycle, to driving in his van "Nancy", and now living and exploring the country in his hard to find parking spot RV named "Betty," he has helped create so many shared stories with the people he has met along the way. For over two decades those travels have come with a purpose: to make art with others in all 50 states and to collect or send the "art peaces," as he calls them, around the world to those people in most need of some love. Paul shares his experiences and his mission that began at the 25th anniversary of Woodstock in 1994 and continues, he hopes until...kingdom come.
Episode 9: The Creative Writing Teacher...The Writer: Dr. Pat Wilk (published Tuesday night April 20th, 2021!)
Dr. Wilk's website: https://collegeessaybootcamp.com/
In this episode, Dr. Wilk shares wonderful insights into the art of teaching writing, but more so how "...all those things for which there are no words, are lost." Listen in to hear Wilk's life stories through her readings of her original poems and this spoken word account of it all. Hear about the timid goat she befriended in her youth, the story of the NJ Diner in transit that she witnessed as she commuted home from school on Rt. 287 South, how cleaning a knife reminds her of one of the greatest loves of her life, and how a star stamp inspired Wilk to imagine a series of events that led to a small town being showered by hundreds of poorly written essays that were cherished as keepsakes from the heavens by the townspeople. In this recording Dr. Wilk and I collaborate once again as we did back in the days of our Documentary for Social Change class, a course that encouraged our students to tell their own stories, using multiple forms of media, in an authentic manner, and brought out the best in the both of us.
WIDE LOAD
Driving home from work on an ordinary everyday
afternoon with not enough time traffic report
no chicken in the fridge and a little league game to get to
late as usual on 287 south the traffic slows
around a huge flatbed trailer with WIDE LOAD signs
draped around it, probably another modular home
on its way to contaminate a landscape somewhere, but no.
Suddenly I’m right behind it, and it turns out to be
an entire diner, one tiny chrome art deco room,
rounded edges glittering in the sun. The scale is not quite
right: too large for any model train world and yet
too small for real life. The cook who flips pancakes
could surely reach across the counter and
lean his weight against the opposite wall while waiting
for the bubbles to rise to the surface of the batter.
The entire building sits on the truck like a package
being shipped, a present wrapped in silver
waiting to be opened. The back end hangs a little
off the truck as the screen door hangs ajar,
banging open and closed while a giant sign
taped to the window flutters in the wind,
its big hand-painted letters reading
WE LOVE YOU GOODBYE.
Tied to the door handle, a big bouquet of helium balloons,
multicolored, mostly deflated, hovers half-aloft,
the balloons banging against each other,
pulling towards the back of the truck but not escaping.
WE LOVE YOU GOODBYE just like that.
And the regulars who came to sit in front of their coffee
each morning and figure out how to survive the day,
knowing that at least their bran muffin or hash browns
or egg over easy were on the way,
who ordered grilled Reubens or Greek salads or cheeseburgers
with onion rings for lunch and knew that they could free the day
for an hour, who came to find a safe friendly place for tea and lemon
in the afternoon, or banana creme pie at night, and talk of
the husband the job the teenager the hospital the cat....
all of those people will see the empty rectangle of earth
in the center of the asphalt, and know that
nothing will ever really grow there again.
Pat Wilk
Episode 8: The Freelance Travel Journalist... The Photographer... The Writer: Jamie Ditaranto (published Tuesday night April 13th, 2021!)
Jamie's Instagram is: @jamieditaranto.
Jamie Ditaranto joins the podcast from Tulum, Mexico to share the life she has truly lived as she travels and documents the world over. From Japan to Antarctica to Mexico to Oregon Jamie delves deeply into the places she goes through meeting the locals and, literally, walking the road less traveled. She has brought together all of her creative loves into a career as a freelance travel journalist. There, her skills as a photographer and a creative writer combine
with an obsessive love of traveling. Her recent publication in National Geographic has been a highlight of her career, but she is back out there finding the next great place to share with all of us. Even during the pandemic Jamie became a journalist on a mission as she studied the rules and updates. nation by nation and state by state. for her readers seeking to find a safe way, and time, to explore again. After spending most of the past year stateside, she is back out exploring and invites us through her words and images to join her... for at least those moments you engage with her skillfully created content. Follow this New Jersey native by following her name on your favorite social media platform or at www.jamieditaranto.com.
Episode 7: The Cell Phone Tower Climber Electrician...The Musician- Chris Campbell (a.k.a. Cambo) (published Tuesday night April 6th, 2021!)
Cambo's Instagram is: @iam_cambo
Chris Campbell (a.k.a. Cambo) shares his stories of working as a cell phone tower climber, losing his home to a California wildfire, living in Lake Tahoe, and making music all along the way. He describes his guitar as the one piece of home that he has taken with him from his origins in North Jersey to his life out West. We discuss his travels on the job climbing four hundred foot towers, his exploration of beautiful places, and the evolution of his music from 2 chord wonders to his current development of a singer songwriter style solo project EP. After spending a good amount of time working and living out of hotels all around the country, he discusses his life in transition as he lays down his new roots as a ski lift electrician in Tahoe, where he is building what any travel exhausted human desires- a sense of home, community and... and a new love of fly fishing.
EPISODE 6- THE RETIRED WALL ST. LAWYER...THE LOOM ARTIST and DANCER: Carol Chave (published Tuesday night March 30th, 2021!)
Carol's Instagram is: @chave.carol
Carol Chave, is a loom artist and improv dancer, whose life as a Wall St. lawyer could not hide away her creativity. It not only benefitted her in her successful career, but it also found its way into all the aspects of her life even without ever formally studying art. Her desire to fully engage as an artist, and to be more available to her creative kids, led to an early retirement from her law career at age 52. Since then, she has spent the last two decades engaging in her love for making paintings out of textiles on a full sized loom and finding a way, beyond dance classes, to engage in her love of dance. Her support of classically trained musicians in New York City led serendipitously to her participation in an improv live music and dance group called "The Moving Orchestra" that she has danced with since it began in early 2019. Enjoy her story! Check out www.thestolenhourspodcast.com to see examples of Carol's work and to see where to find Carol's latest creations.
EPISODE 5- THE URBAN PROGRAM DIRECTOR... An INSTRUMENT OF REVIVING A COMMUNITY: Mona Patel (published Tuesday night March 23rd, 2021!)
https://www.urban-revival.org/
Mona Patel is our first guest whose passion and creativity does not always end up on paper or canvas, but in relationships with others. Mona, who can't help but live out her early love of being on stage for a cause, is the Founder and Executive Director of The Urban Revival Project, a registered non-profit organization dedicated to supporting youth and adults in everything from food and financial needs to educational tutoring and spiritual counseling, in New Brunswick, NJ. The creativity and life stories of her volunteers lead the way into programs that include the creation of art, writing, and more for those who they work with. Once such program, Art Therapy for women who lost their loved ones to COVID-19, brought together a broken community to create tree of life paintings. Mona has worked as a Christian Youth Leader, Teacher, and Program Director for over 30 years. In this recording we hear all about her road to forming The Urban Revival Project and how discernment at silent retreat centers helped her break into a whole other level of faith in action.
EPISODE 4- THE ART TEACHER...THE COMIC BOOK CREATOR: John Mungiello (Published Tuesday night March 16th, 2021!)
John's Instagram is @jmungiello
John Mungiello, a visual artist whose first love was creating comic books, shares his story about the twists and turns of his creative life. After graduating from SVA in NYC he took a hiatus from drawing and painting to begin his working life as a cashier in a bookstore. It was there, among the stacks that he found his desire to one day publish a book and where he admits he still created, but for an audience of one- his future wife Laura. Since then John began a career as a high school art and special education teacher in NJ and has published his first book- Streamlining Oblivion, a book of poems and illustrations musing about life, the soul's search for meaning, and our strange relationship with cell phones. He continues to teach and create. He describes the relationship between teaching, inspiring students, and bringing his own classroom lessons into his home studio. We catch him during a week off of being an educator and a full scale dive back into his love for creating comic books. In the weeks since he has revived his acclaimed series called Echoes, written a set of short comics, and embarked on creating a graphic novel. Check out this great conversation with John. Its full of amazing insights from this prolific creator who is just realizing what it means to stick by that which you love for life. FYI- There are some swears in the mix on this one.
EPISODE 3- THE FACE PAINTER...THE BALLOON DRESS MAKER...THE VISUAL ARTIST: Kerry Tobin (published Tuesday night March 9th, 2021!)
Kerry's Instagram is @ktobin76
F.I.T graduate, Kerry Tobin, a.k.a. Pixie Pop the Clown, shares her life as a creator from her time in the fashion world to her life as a creative entrepreneur. Her elaborate balloon dresses take 8 or more hours to make, she creates detailed face paintings daily on her own face, and she dreams up holiday decorations, installations, and costumes 6 months ahead of time. Her annual award winning and beloved holiday creations fill her mother's porch in Florida, NY, but also surround Kerry like a walking parade of color wherever she goes when it's time for Pixie Pop to make an appearance. She leaves in her wake balloon creations and smiling faces that have been transformed into unicorns, zombies, animals, etc. with her intricate brushwork. She is a performance artist, a creative entrepreneur and ultimately a master of contemporary art- key word temporary.
EPISODE 2- THE RETIRED POSTMAN...THE VISUAL ARTIST: Bruce Young
Bruce's Instagram is @njart48. www.theartofbruceyoung.com
Our guest this week is retired postman, visual artist, Bruce Young. After a 20 year hiatus Bruce returned to his art school roots to start a prolific career as a visual artist. The last decade of his 34 years with the postal office in Highland Lakes, NJ was spent drawing and painting in the stolen hours after work and the time that came available after his kids were grown. Now he can't help but make art throughout all shifts of the day as he sits working in his home studio on commissioned pieces or his own personal concepts. Bruce will work 4 or more days straight on his highly detailed pen and ink drawings so retirement is still very full of putting in some hours. This work, though, is full of customers who praise, a sense of timelessness, and an energy to get up and work in the morning that does not need an alarm clock. He may still depend on putting in overtime to get his paycheck, but making art as his second career has been a true labor of love. At this point, Young works on commissioned projects so much that he has to steal moments to create his personal works (that people often buy as well) and must remind himself to take a break to go to the grocery store or catch a glimpse of the beauty of the beautiful lake that fills the scene just outside of his studio. Bruce's home itself is an art gallery. There you can find his impressive illustrative and imaginative works, but also those of many other Highland Lakes' visual artists. In better times, he puts out a sign inviting people to stop in and check it all out. You can also find his work hanging on the walls of many area galleries and the restaurants and cafes of Vernon, NJ and just over the border in Warwick, NY.
EPISODE 1- THE POSTMAN...THE WRITER: Michael C. Dalelio
This episode contains a conversation with my brother Mike Dalelio, a career postal worker, who is also known for his creative writing. He helped spark the idea of creating a podcast about art, writing, life, etc. several years ago. It felt appropriate to begin this podcast with him for that reason, but also for the fact that his love of music, books, comic books, etc. led me into my own love for it all. The conversation explores his life as a creator from the days where he and his friends took our family video camera to make horror films to the creation of his own poetry, short stories, songs, and the beginnings of a novel. He has published much of his writing throughout his adult life, but you will have to knock on his door to get your hands on the rest of it. He has spent the majority of his working life delivering mail along the coastline of the New Jersey Shore to help support his family and to indulge in his love for work, but he also moonlights as an online adjunct professor of literature. He admits how much being an artist makes him see the world in a profound way and how his skills as a writer have even been essential as a union leader. Mike discusses the importance of art that comes from the working class and offers great insights into the world of a creative whose mild mannered alter ego, The Postman, is equally something he takes pride in.
By Michael Dalelio. Posted in Issue One and Poetry.
In this handmade world
the black and silver carapace
hooked on a pole is endangered.
Holding the black handle
against her talk, words
spread over us all,
in another place they arrive with precision.
She hollers at the receiver.
She slides the wire to a source.
She has a wide word palette and she sings
like a cricket.
Grin, Grimlyn ("Morris Jacks" is a pseudonym)
I took a step toward The Killman. His face was lost in the dark fluff of his mustache, the tip of his nose and his eyes were visible, and I noticed in those eyes a tension. His lips curved out from under the oiled hair and his smile was no true smile. He was scared. I saw it in a moment, and knew it. I can read people. Instincts born of a smuggler’s life, where most men are as likely to stab you as pay you. He held the box with two hands. Elaborate symbols covered it, laid out fast but sure in charcoal, wizard’s glyphs.
“Just a box,” The Killman said.
Falling Like Flying (Mike's Music)
Your host, Dennis Dalelio, introduces the podcast to the tune of Jai Agnish's music.
Dennis is a visual artist and high school (documentary for social change minded) photo educator who lives and teaches in Northern NJ. His home studio is in Highland Lakes, NJ. There, he and his wife, Kitch (a.k.a Kristin, a.k.a Kitchen,) have lived as a dynamic duo making and teaching art and raising their 5 kids, a dog, and a bunny. True to their Catholic roots, they make an effort to balance and teach their kids to live a modern life with their souls intact; by being part of contemporary culture, but also tapping into the transcendence and wisdom of faith. With that comes video game breaks to do family prayer time and finding time to engage in the ancient practice of creating visual art exploring the themes of faith and family life amidst the sounds of squeaky toys, laughter, karaoke, and lots of superhero movies. All of the ambience heard in the background of this podcast are evidence of that life as Dalelio steals some hours to create these recordings. His guests on the show range from the creatives he has taught, to the teachers, mentors, family, friends, and artists he and Kitch have met along the way of life... or have just admired from afar. These people have encouraged them to make a go at having it all- a life of making and teaching art and raising a family that has everything it needs to survive. The recording of these conversations comes from a hope to encourage and appreciate creative and passion driven people and to create a legacy of media that is about living honestly and sharing stories and insights from that life with everyone else out there just living life, but trying to do so... in a creative way.