Asha Basha Duniani is an actress, dancer, and painter. She recently starred as Nia in Synchronicity Theater's 2 women production of In the Continuum in Atlanta.  This is where we pick up her story. We met Asha at the Atlanta Jazz Festival over a game of Bocce and were immediately captivated by this vivacious young actor. We saw her performance of In the Continuum, and the power and magic of her portrayal of Nia, and several other diverse characters, is beyond description. This episode is a...

Ellie Krieger is best known for her hit Food Network show “Healthy Appetite,” and as the host and executive producer of the cooking series “Ellie’s Real Good Food” on PBS. Ellie is a New York Times bestselling, IACP and two-time James Beard award winning cookbook author. She writes regular columns for The Washington Post and has also been a columnist for Fine Cooking, Food Network magazines and USA Today. Ellie is also the author of seven cookbooks, her latest being Whole in One: Complete,...

In this episode we talk to an up and coming band called TopHouse. It’s a four man show featuring Jesse Davis, Joe Larson, William Cook, and Andy LaFavre. Now residing in Nashville, they hail from Montana and their music is a soulful mix of mountains, blue grass, and folk, with Irish undertones. We caught their show at a great Atlanta venue, Smith’s Old Bar, for a sold-out performance. Their hit, Number One is trending on Instagram reels and it seems they have hit a tipping point with the new...

Leslie Charleville is a one-of-a-kind artist, practicing the 17th century Japanese art form of Gyotaku. Growing up in Louisiana, Leslie was fascinated by the great outdoors where she nurtured an appreciation for the nature of God in nature. She loved hunting and fishing, and honoring the creatures involved. She graduated from LSU with a degree in art, and soon discovered the art form that would merge her sportsmanship with her artistic passion. From a 600lb. tuna to a 13' alligator, Leslie...

Meet the beautifully recovering Jason Umidi. After being clean and sober for a couple of years it became clear to Jason that he has a talent for writing. As he shared his journey in social media the story evolved into a series of short blog posts. His friend and publisher Michael Albanese (Episode 32) believed that these short reads should be curated into an inspirational book. And so they published "Jesus and Seltzer," one minute reads on addiction, recovery, and hope. Jason says that the...

New York artist Rachelle Krieger is fresh from her solo show at VOLTA NY, where Susan Eley Fine Art featured her recent paintings and ceramics. Her latest work is called “These In-between Days,” an ongoing series of mixed media paintings and works on paper. Her style is enthusiastic with powerful colors, mainly painted in acrylic and spray paint. We talk about how her art can be inspired by literally everything, including invisible forces.   Shout out to Rachelle’s sister, Ellie Krieger for...

In this episode wife, mom, grandmom and now author, Joan Page shares her journey as a writer and shares her heart. One of six kids, she was impacted in a powerful way by the ongoing, hard-won wisdom of her mother, who’s spirit, faith and mission inspired her to write down twelve of her life lessons that can empower all of us to be better people. It’s a beautiful view into the life of a big, loving family, led by one strong and wise woman, who will now be forever remembered through the work of...

Michael Albanese was born in New York and raised in Marietta, GA. He spent years in NY pursuing his first artistic love - theatre. Quickly realizing acting was not his thing, he wrote and produced the award-winning Red Herring and was Assistant Director on Broadway’s “Cry Baby” before moving to LA to purse filmmaking and start a family. There he launched his travel business, Element Lifestyle, while writing and producing the film “Thirst” with Melanie Griffith and Josh Pence. Michael is a...

Having recently hit a milestone, publishing our 30th episode of Wild at Art, we wanted to take a look back at some of the early stories. One of our favorite episodes and consistently the most downloaded, we thought it would be fun to have an encore of The Essence of Art. Laura Coston Anrud developed her artistic style in Portland, OR along what she says was a rocky path, before coming back home landing in the idyllic setting of Farmington, GA near Athens. She is a self-proclaimed horse person...

Natasha Cross grew up in the UK, and always had wanderlust. At a young age she had boldly followed her dreams, traveling and exploring in Cambodia and in Chile. Determined to do an art journey for a few months in South America, she booked a one-way ticket to Santiago, with little money and no plan she fearlessly launched into her dream. On her way Natasha stopped in Bolivia, falling in love with the natural beauty and local culture. Now, three years later she is still there, painting powerful...

Until recently Heather Shepherd has been a Refugee Aid Worker in Turkey where she supported humanitarian efforts focused on Syrian refugees. She moved there in 2011 during the crisis. Living in Istanbul, a city of 20MM people, she married her American husband and had two kids.  There in refugee camps Heather learned to tattoo with Henna as a way of engaging with the Syrian women who embrace the art form as part of their cultural identity. The family moved back to the US in 2020 during the...

Laura Quick is the founder and CEO of a great magazine on southern culture and resilience. It’s aptly named Good Grit. The vision is to capture the authenticity of the human spirit, while telling the stories of the South.  Good grit says - “The south has been begging for a progressive and truthful representation of who we are and who we want to be, and that also pays tribute to the legacies worthy of moving forward. Good Grit is a movement walked out by compassionate and empathetic humans who...

After leaving the alt-country band, Houndmouth in 2016, Katie Toupin has been busy.  We at Wild at Art first become fans when the single, Sedona reached #1 on Billboard's Triple A Chart. Katie has appeared on David Letterman and Conan and toured internationally with the band.  Now building an amazing solo career she released a live EP, Moroccan Ballroom, a self-produced album, Magnetic Moves and her latest mini-album, Little Heart. Katie says about Magnetic Moves, “It’s about being bold and...

This episode is an exciting mixture of sports and art, with a healthy dose of creativity. Ariana Broerman and her husband Matthew are designers in Cincinnati. They decided to take on an incredible journey to publish a book telling the stories of pioneering players, and defining moments that shaped the games we love. They commissioned the artwork of dozens of talented artists from all over the world, to articulate this celebration of creativity both on and off the field. It's called, They...

Steven Lester is a fine art painter best known for his sports images. He talks about capturing the back story. How the athlete overcame obstacles to arrive at the moment in time he's capturing. Having been a creative director for many years, Steven's job involved critiquing the work and driving toward a pursuit of business-style perfectionism. But, as a painter he could be his own worst critic, and so he endeavors to accept the Japanese philosophy of Wabi Sabi - Wabi is understated elegance...

Susan Harvard began painting abstract impressionism after being awestruck by the powerful beauty she encountered on a trip to the American West. Having no formal training in art, nor a lifelong calling to make art, Susan recalls the moment when she did finally hear the call to create, and now there is no going back. Light and colorful, approachable and beautiful, her paintings seem a reflection of her own inner glow and uplifting view of life. Now busy with commissioned works Susan takes a...

In this episode we talk with Katie Jentleson, PHD, who is the Merrie and Dan Boone Curator of Folk and Self-Taught Art at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. She is author of the book, Gatecrashers, an exploration of self-taught artists who emerged in the post World War I period. At the time of our recording she was curating two new exhibits for the High Museum, Gatecrashers: The Rise of the Self-Taught Artist in America, and Really Free: The Radical Art of Nellie Mae Rowe. We talk with Katie...

Artist and designer Justine Dahl has made her career creating. Her ambitious pieces in resin are big, bold, colorful and explore shape and depth in a broad spectrum. She is the great granddaughter of Marilou Crisman, a prolific midcentury painter whose work is still popular, some of which resides in a museum in Logansport, IN that bears her name.  Justine continues to honor the family legacy by her tireless commitment to making beautiful things. What she calls luck, we call hard work and...

We went west. Northwest. And we found some pretty awesome stuff. Beautiful scenery and a beautiful lifestyle. Centered on the culture of the outdoors. Hiking, climbing, camping, and adventure. Seattle has a lot to offer the creative and artistic spirit. That’s where we met Todd. A talented designer and artist who encapsulates that deep and wide outdoor ideal in his creation. Fun, approachable, quirky, outdoorsy, and brilliant. That’s why adventure brand REI came south to recruit this...

A quirky expression from the 1920's that means "Now you've got it right!" seems an apt title for this episode with Matt Phillips. We think Matt has got it right, the way he sees things differently, the way he approaches life and people with curiosity and zeal, and how he has managed to immerse himself in what he loves, music, instruments, doodles and craft and all things vintage. Matt might be more suited to life in the 20's or 30's where he would have played jazz with some of the greats of...

Hannah Sidner is an accomplished artist in ceramics. She's one with the elements as she creates her works from scratch, making her clay, glazes, and even refurbishing old-school kilns herself. Off the grid in the North Carolina mountains, she's been a farm to table pioneer who thrived with no internet and minimal outside contact. Her elegant and truly notable Japanese style ramen bowls are a must have. Hannah Sidner is one-of-a-kind, as is her art.

Stephany Glassing has an unstructured and unplanned approach to life and to her art. She doesn't know what she will create until she begins and she never knows where her mood will take her. From big paintings hanging at Coke HQ to alcohol ink creations in glassware to building in clay, Stephany is a fountainhead of creation and self-expression. She says that a key to success is knowing when to "roll-away." You'll be inspired by her journey and her unconquered spirit.

Alexander Alvarado is a portrait artist living in Westchester NY. He has been painting and evolving his style for some eight years and still claims that his work is in it's infancy. Creating in the digital space he paints his family, boxing, Formula 1, actors and heroes. Thanks to consistent positive peer pressure Alex finally put his work out there for all to see. And we did.  Alex is modest to a fault and so we happily join his growing fan base calling for more from this rising talent. 

Talking to Anthony and Monica Hall is nothing short of inspiring. As he says, “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” And so, Anthony and Monica took a shot. Monica in fashion creating bold and beautiful African prints for girls and Anthony, brand new to his artistic talent, creating powerful graphic art, posters, paintings and some apparel. Anthony was drawn to his signature bright colors by sunrise on a mission trip in Africa. And finds inspiration and encouragement in Monica’s style...