Remotely Creative

Ash Hopkins is a Senior UX / UI Designer at IHS Markit. After graduating from RMCAD in 2014 with a degree in Graphic Design, she started her career freelancing before finding her current position. Ash talked to us about making time to push yourself creatively, experimenting in ProCreate, and her experience bringing a child into the world during a pandemic.

Jack Ludlam is a photographer who utilizes both analog and digital mediums. His work (mostly still-life) use a hyper-realistic aesthetic to highlight unique details and flaws. Sharing a wealth of information on every part of the process, from techniques to subject selection, Jack speaks openly about his experiences in the world of fine art photography.

It's our first two-part episode! Our guest is Greg Ellis (AKA Lazer Shark, AKA The Phoebus Cartel), a creative production and lighting designer who has worked with a variety of performing artists including Pretty Lights, Steve Aoki, STS9, and more.

Greg is impressively earnest as he shares how he's progressed as an artist in quarantine. He tells us about his recent Modern Mythology and Phoebus Cartel projects, the transformation of Pretty Lights as a musical entity, and the power of an audience. Greg also answers questions from listeners about his approach to new technologies, love for the analog aesthetic, and the life-changing moment when his creative process was transformed. There is no shortage of insight as we dive head-first into the worlds of music, performance, light, and technology.

Ben Alderman, also known as Lin Wen-Ben, is a process-based artist, painter, and RMCAD Alumni. Born in Taiwan and adopted to US parents at twelve, Ben's work is heavily influenced by dual experiences with Eastern and Western influences. We talk about Ben's experiences as an artist, the process of finding personal identity through art, and the next step; earning a Master's in London.

Wesley Hall is a designer, illustrator, cardboard creature creator, webcomic author, and animator. He's also a master of e-mail marketing, working as a CRM Technical Producer at Smile Direct Club. On top of that, he also helped shape our new Illustrative Design program.

Starting with his post-collegiate work with AmeriCorps, we chatted about the multidisciplinary experiences that led him to where he is today. Between anecdotes, we get Wesley's unique perspective on the weird world of e-mail marketing, pick sides in the battle of Google VS. Microsoft, and blame all of our problems on Carole Baskin.

Like most of our guests, Gretchen Marie Schaefer can't be defined  by a single title. To start, Schaefer is the Director of the Visiting Artist, Scholar, and Designer (VASD) Program at RMCAD, a producer of the Remotely Creative podcast, and an accomplished contemporary artist.

In celebration of the tenth year of our VASD Program, we talked with Schaefer about the VASD Program's origin story and growth over the last decade. From our favorite guests to our 2020 adaptions, you'll get a deeper understanding of the VASD Program and the leader behind the scenes.

Carolyn Malachi is a Grammy Award-Nominated performing artist, sound engineer, and educator. She's living her dream in the music industry during a pivotal moment, and she educated us about advocacy, saying no, and trusting yourself. We also chatted about her life in DC proper, cryptocurrency, and how we will look back on 2020.

How did a skater kid grow his own experiential marketing business, start a festival with Yelawolf, and leave the entertainment industry to make a living as a muralist? Primarily painting large scale public art, Nathan Brown has produced over 40 commissioned murals for brands like Red Bull, Patagonia, Spotify and more. Listen closely as he weaves us a tale about pagers, counterculture, Budapest, and burnout.

Barry Jones is the Dean of the College of Arts and Letters at Austin Peay State University and an established video artist who uses collaboration as part of his art practice.

We talk to him about the challenges faced by colleges in a pandemic, being too old for discord and the importance and benefits of collaboration. Barry also shared his experiences with art as a tool for social engagement.

Theodore Davis is an Artist-Philosopher who believes that philosophy, when manifested as an art practice, creates an opportunity for the artist to justify and defend their own creative best practices. He let us pick his brain about different types of philosophy, questioning the world around us, and the reasons why artists and designers need to care about philosophy.

Domonic Smith is a filmmaker, camera operator, editor, director, AND producer. Needless to say, we talked a lot about the film. You'll also hear about swindling in Las Vegas, going from editing film to directing, and what it's like to have your Nightmare On Elm Street fan trailer go viral (internet trolls included). Then, we get a taste of what it was like working on the crew for Tiger King and Domonic tells us the blueprint for the perfect movie.

Our guest, Kyla Paolucci, is a graphic designer and part-time illustrator based in Brooklyn, NY. We learned about her career journey, her current work at HBO, and how she makes time to create personal work. She also shared her insights about knowing your audience, creating personal boundaries within your home office, using art to speak out, and leaving an impression.

Annie McIntyre, a RMCAD grad and interior designer at Balfour Senior Living, came on the podcast to talk to us about what it's like to be an interior designer in a pandemic. She told us how to adapt to new necessities like sanitization and outdoor spaces, the difference between interior design and decorating, common mistakes you might be making in your own home, and how to prepare your interior design portfolio for the professional world.

We had a great time talking to Denver artist Thomas "Detour" Evans, an all-around creative specializing in large scale public art, interactive visuals, portraiture, immersive spaces, and creative directing. He told us a lot about how art can make an impact in local communities, because to him art is a tool for documenting history and showcasing truth. Evans also shared how his new book reveals insider advice about the soft skills you'll need to make it as a working artist. Lastly, you'll hear a pretty convincing story about why you really need to read your e-mails.

In this episode we visit with MLB Video Editor and DIY artist Chris Johnson to discuss why you should try hard in college, what "communications major" even means, "The Bubble", toy collecting, going to the movies, and plenty of baseball trivia. We end with some fun rapid-fire questions that Chris may or may not have suggested himself.

In this episode, our guest is RMCAD Illustration Alumnus and co-founder of multi-disciplinary creative studio NOVA NIMBUS, Anthony Benedetto. Anthony talks to us about growing and expanding your skills in new directions, loving animation, the Batman animated series, and the beauty of Portland. We also get his advice on the power of relationships, how collaboration fuels better work, and the importance of networking. 

Our guest in this episode is Naomi Clark, a game designer, writer, and professor at the NYU Game Center. We hosted Naomi as a visiting artist on our campus back in 2017, and we thought it would be a great time to check in with Naomi and see what she’s been up to.

We talk about the upcoming virtual release of her renowned card game Consentacle, and other topics including how the pandemic changed her own perspective on gaming, challenges in interspecies relationships, the good and evil of crowdfunding websites, animal crossing nostalgia, and how games can facilitate social change.