In this episode, Mona had the pleasure of interviewing Sarah Clinton, a visual artist from Nashville, TN, who uses her art as a visual journal, capturing and processing the emotions of her daily life. When her second child was born with a rare genetic disorder and diagnosed with both autism and intellectual disabilities, Sarah stayed home to manage the complex needs of her family, which led her to fully embracing her creativity and diving into her art practice. Listen to her inspiring story...

Get to know the artists behind the podcast!  Introducing Valentine Svihalek... American and Belgian Abstract Painter, International Educator, and Author. Introducing Kristi Lei... American Singer, Songwriter, and Music Educator. https://tinyurl.com/ArtSistersPodcast @artsisterspodcast @bellavalentinaart @kristileimusic Visit Valentine's platform focused on elevating women & mothers in the arts: www.artmumseurope.org @artmumseurope Be sure to check out these inspiring artists we...

Art Sisters Podcast is a platform for artists and creative seekers to share, educate, and connect. Hosted by Valentine Svihalek, visual artist, international educator, and founder of Art Mums Europe, and Kristi Lei Lescinski, singer-songwriter and music educator. Join them in conversation with experts in their creative fields about the front and backstage of artist life. We want to inspire you to seize everyday opportunities, identify resources, and fulfill your creative dreams! Support the show

Join Valentine as she gets to know an incredibly inspirational mother of three who does it all while creating community and maintaining her own art practice. Shannon is such a talented, passionate, and experienced artist and arts educator. That passion led this New Yorker to found the Institute For Visual Arts Los Angeles a community based space to serve preschool through high school students, as well as adults. Be sure to check out this episode for a kick in the ARTist way! This one is...

Stephanie Barbetta is a truly dynamic international artist from Geneva, Switzerland. Valentine and Stephanie discuss both philosophical and practical components of her work. Here's a little taste of the topics and experiences they discussed in episode 21. She always found a refuge in words. As she says, "writings take care of what bodies fear: caresses and blows. Words materialize my sensations and weave a skin that is put outside my mouth on pages. I've studied philosophy and literature in...

Listen to Ellen as she takes us on the journey of a young artist who found herself in Mexico  after graduating in the Netherlands and building her career in spatial design in her home country upon return. She describes the importance of listening to your inner voice and following your dreams as she embraces the artist identity. She creates her intimate space by renting a studio and completing a body of work she's been exhibiting both in person and...

Join Valentine as she talks to Allison about how she found the confidence to push out of her comfort zone and start believing in her work. She unpacks the journey that took her from Pennsylvania to Seattle (soon California) and the ways that coaching and supportive community enabled her to let the joy back into her thriving art practice.  Allison Rohland is an American painter whose work represents the integration and celebration of the fragmented parts of ourselves. Since 2014, she’s...

Welcome to another episode of Art Mums Podcast. We'd like to introduce you to Gail Long, a textile artist and dressmaker from Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Join Mona and Gail as they chat about overcoming self-doubt through building an art practice that focuses on celebrating nature and its beauty. Her work draws inspiration from the natural world around her, as well as the history of fashion. Gail uses a combination of historical dressmaking techniques, surface design, textile manipulation, and...

Mona had the pleasure of interviewing a multipassionate visual artist and friend Margot Dermody. Although she was exposed to art and science from a young age through her mother, an artist, and her father, a mathematician, Margot found her way back to the art world after having worked in business and real estate as she felt a need for greater self-expression that could only be satisfied with a full-time studio practice. Margot draws her inspiration from nature and animals creating intricate...

This is definitely our longest episode to date, but it’s simply packed with wonderful conversation with the always inspiring Andrea Ehret! Andrea shared openly about the connection with her Slovak roots, family, and natural environment, collaborations with other artists in Prague and around the world, making artist residencies work, performance art that combines dance, music, poetry, and painting, even her energising experience working with a London gallery. Valentine and Andrea also share...

"Everything you do or see as an artist affects the dialogue of art making." In episode 15, Florence Alfano McEwin shares how tales weave magic through life and art. Florence is a Professor Emeritus and  artist living in remote Wyoming.  She works in print and paint mediums. Her prints of Red Riding Hood Speaks are wry commentaries on daily male/female interactions and mundane domestic chores.  She often entwines observational landscapes of her surroundings and animal drawings of her pets into...

In episode 14, Valentine asks Emily Moores about the way her art transforms lives through playful engagement. Can the presence of artwork decrease the amount of medication a patient requires during a hospital stay? Can a whimsical installation stir affect? Listen in as Emily shares her experience. Emily is a visual artist living and working in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her work consists of hand-cut and ornately layered materials, which create both wall works and large scale installations. Emily's...

Mona had the pleasure of interviewing Erin Drakeford, a visual artist from Atlanta, Georgia whose work is a whirlwind of bright colours on canvas and fabric. As Erin describes, her work is a visual diary of her experiences and emotions as she celebrates femininity and attempts to normalize emotions. Join them as they chat about Erin's art practice and the power of community as well as coming back to the art world. @erindrakefordart www.erindrakeford.com @artmumsunited @artmumseurope Support...

Mona speaks with Jacqueline Diesing, an architect and mixed media artist originally from Detroit who dove into her art practice after losing her job during the recession. Living in Chicago, she admired the beautifully restored historical buildings and felt sadness over abandoned sites in her hometown. Her passion for architecture and urban landscapes inspired her to create a collection of works that portray the historical ruins surrounded by soft pastel natural elements. Jacqueline views her...

AMU The Community, meet the members! Join Mona and Valentine as they take you behind the scenes of Art Mums United: The Community, a monthly membership and powerful group of women artists who support each other through weekly sessions and daily interaction. Listen to the members and learn more about their inspiring journeys and experiences with the community as they share the benefits of having an inclusive safe space and judgment-free zone. Featuring: Ceili Seipke / @ceiliseipke  Ivana...

Kristy Okkonen is a Finnish and Australian visual artist and soul coach currently located in Bulgaria. Kristy helps women to reconnect with their soul & life purpose.  Join us as we dig into her practice and how she manages it all even as she travels! "I believe my artwork is not just a piece of art to be hung and admired, but rather an experience to be had as it shares its essences and energetic frequencies with...

Community, collaboration, mentorship, grant writing, public art, inspiration and more! Listen in as Valentine interviews artist, arts educator, and friend Isadora Stowe as she shares how she doesn't just fit it all in, but maximizes every moment to fuel her creative practice! Isadora Stowe is a multi-media American visual artist whose artwork focuses on the narrative of environment translated and coded into complex psychological landscapes. Her strong interest is in visual narratives, created...

Join Mona and Idaho-based artist Heather Martindale as they chat about her art practice, current projects and plans. Heather is an oil painter who highlights movement and fabric in her work which borders between abstract and figurative art. She speaks about her upcoming solo show in California and shares what it is like to be committed to creating a body of work and staying focused. Heather is also the third place winner of Women United ART PRIZE 2021 and a featured artist in our upcoming...

Rachel Le Roux is a British-Filipina multidisciplinary fine artist and interior designer based in Manila Philippines. After graduating with a BA Honours Degree in Interior and Spatial Design from Chelsea College of Art in London, England in 2008 and working twelve years in the local industry, she is slowly beginning to transition into life as a full-time artist after temporarily closing her design business in 2020.  Her work has been featured in Art Seen Magazine and Clover + Bee...

In episode 6, Valentine interviews artist and educator Yvette L. Cummings.  Yvette opens up about her path, the process of leaning into her vulnerability, the layers of meaning and significance in her boldly patterned, colorful work, and much more. She received her BFA from Kendall College of Art and Design and completed her Masters of Fine Arts degree at the University of Cincinnati’s School of Design, Art, Architecture, and Planning in 2003. Cummings is currently Assistant Professor of...

In episode 5, Mona had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Aggie Armstrong, a multidisciplinary artist and dear friend. Originally from the Philippines, Aggie lives and works from her home studio in Oxford County, Canada. She works primarily with watercolours and acrylics, sharing her unique contemporary voice with gestural swathes of paint and intricate stitchery on her pieces. Join them as they chat about art, life and motherhood with all ups and...

Join Valentine as she talks to multi-passionate Lancashire artist Kirsten Todd. Also a Reiki Healer and Medium, Kirsten shares her thoughts about the current mass awakening of souls which is bringing forward unity, compassion, and strength within. Discover some studio rituals that support her in channeling energy through and into her paintings.  Find out how she navigated a male dominated workplace in her career as a graphic designer, balanced her life as a single mother, her big dreams for...

Listen to the latest episode of the ART MUMS UNITED PODCAST and join Valentine as she talks to dynamic Greek multimedia artist Pavlina Vagioni. Pavlina is an honours graduate of the Athens School of Fine Arts and a first prize diplomate classical singer of the Alexandroupolis Music Society conservatory in Greece with additional studies in music theory, piano and music composition. She retains studios in Athens, Greece and Houston, TX, USA, and regularly exhibits at Sawyer Yards in Houston,...

Listen to the latest episode of the ART MUMS UNITED PODCAST and join Valentine as she talks to Ilze Egle about how growing up with the shift from the Soviet Union to an Independent Latvia stirred something within. How that search for something more led her to a monastery in France on her way to carving out her path as an artist and arts educator, and much more.  www.ilzeegle.com @ilzeegleart

Get to know the Art Mums United team! Mona and Valentine, two international visual artists and the artrepreneurs behind Art Mums United. They're looking forward to bringing you conversations straight from the heart of Europe!