Michael Kleber-Diggs is a poet, essayist, and literary critic. His debut poetry collection Worldly Things was published last year and he is also a contributor to the book There’s a Revolution Outside, My Love: Letters from a Crisis. Michael teaches creative writing through the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop and at colleges and high schools in Minnesota.In this conversation, Michael and I discuss his writing story, hope and sorrow, the power of mentorship to change a life and more.This episode was audio produced by Aaron Moring. Music is by Madisen Ward.

Musings of the Artist: (Honest) Conversations with Montse Andrée

Michael Kleber-Diggs

Janelle Lynch is a New York-based artist whose images reveal an inquiry into themes of connection, presence, and transcendence.She uses an 8x10-inch view camera, and her recent work is deeply informed by her training in perceptual drawing and painting.Janelle’s photographs are in many private and public collections, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the International Center of Photography, New York; and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.She has three monographs published by Radius Books: Los Jardines de México (2010); AIGA award-winning Barcelona (2013), which also features her writings; and Another Way of Looking at Love (2018).In this deeply honest conversation Janelle speaks about influence in art, her practice, her expanded view of the word “family”, and ambiguous grief. If you’d like more of this conversation there is a written interview with Janelle here.This episode was audio produced by Aaron Moring. Music is by Madisen Ward.

Janelle Lynch

Jill Andrews is a musician and songwriter living in Nashville. Her EP "Ellen" was released this fall. In this episode Jill and I chat about the perils and gifts of being highly sensitive, moving out of our 30s, art-making, and more. Plus, find out the book Jill would like to put in people’s stockings!This episode was audio produced by Aaron Moring. Music is by Madisen Ward.

Jill Andrews

Daisy Hernández is a writer and cultural activist. She is the author of the award-winning memoir "A Cup of Water Under My Bed" and coeditor of "Colonize This! Young Women of Color on Today's Feminism". Her latest book is "The Kissing Bug: A True Story of an Insect, a Family and a Nation's Neglect of a Deadly Disease". In this episode, we have a wide-ranging conversation about spirituality, writing, the nuances of language and cultures and more!This episode was audio produced by Aaron Moring. Music is by Madisen Ward.

Daisy Hernández

Aline Smithson is a visual artist, editor, and educator based in Los Angeles. She is also the Founder and Editor- in-Chief of Lenscratch, a daily journal on photography. In this conversation, Aline talks about her trajectory to fine art photography: from painter, to fashion editor to photographer. We discuss roadblocks and fear, long-term projects, the nuances of rejection, building community in the art world, and much more! If you are feeling a little stuck creatively then this is the episode for you. Get ready to be inspired!This episode was audio produced by Aaron Moring. Music is by Madisen Ward.

Aline Smithson

Emily Bernard is an author and professor. She holds a B.A. and Ph. D. in American Studies from Yale University. Her most recent book is the essay collection Black is the Body: Stories from My Grandmother’s Time, My Mother’s Time, and Mine.In this wide-ranging conversation, Emily speaks on motherhood, fear, forgiveness, rejecting shame and staying true to who you are as an artist. We also dive deep into having “the blues” - and I truly think it was the most joyful conversation on depression I’ve ever had!Emily radiates kindness, and is just a remarkable person. This episode was audio produced by Aaron Moring. Music is by Madisen Ward.

Emily Bernard

Mary Gauthier is a Grammy-nominated songwriter, and author. She has a gift of making outsiders feel like insiders, which is a beautiful thread throughout her new memoir “Saved by a Song.”We talk about making a life out of being creative, the vulnerability of performing, the beauty and wonder of being a late bloomer, and why the maybe’s we get are worse than the “nos”.This episode was audio produced by Aaron Moring. Music is by Madisen Ward. 

Mary Gauthier

Lidia Yuknavitch is the nationally bestselling author of the novels The Book of Joan, The Small Backs of Children, and Dora: A Headcase, and the memoir The Chronology of Water. Her newest book Verge is a collection of short stories. She also has a TED Talk “The Beauty of Being a Misfit” that has been viewed by millions. She lives in Portland, Oregon.Lidia and I had a wide-ranging conversation about being a misfit, the in-between spaces of life, the blurry lines between fiction and nonfiction and the ways in which art can save us.This episode was audio produced by Aaron Moring. Music is by Madisen Ward.For episodes and more, visit MusingsoftheArtist.com

Lidia Yuknavitch

Andrew Duhon is a singer-songwriter from New Orleans.In this episode, we chat about the search for belonging, self-acceptance, and finding the profound in the minutia. Andrew also talks about songwriting and art making in a way that is mesmerizing and inspiring. As he says, “No one else is you, no one else can tell your story. It is your human tale to tell.”This episode was audio produced by Aaron Moring. Theme music is by Madisen Ward.

Andrew Duhon

Nadia Owusu is an author and urbanist who grew up between Africa and Europe and now lives in Brooklyn. In the episode Nadia talks about her memoir Aftershocks and the ways growing up between cultures shaped her life. We also chat about claiming, naming, and accepting mental illness as a part of one’s identity, code-switching, and the gifts of memoir.This episode was audio produced by Aaron Moring. Theme music is by Madisen Ward.

Nadia Owusu

Pam Houston is the author of many books including the memoir, "Deep Creek: Finding Hope In The High Country", "Cowboys are my Weakness" and most recently "Air Mail: Letters of Politics, Pandemics, and Place" (with Amy Irvine). Pam is also a fantastic teacher and the co-founder and creative director of the literary nonprofit Writing By Writers.In this episode we talk all about place, writing, non-traditional parenting, and living an authentic life. She also tells us about her incredible experience running into the narwhal migration!This episode was audio produced by Aaron Moring. Theme music is by Madisen Ward.Episode webpage here.

Pam Houston

Rachel Eliza Griffiths is a poet, visual artist, and novelist.We chat about her stunning collection of poetry and photography, "Seeing the Body". Some of the topics we speak on include monumental loss and the grief that follows, memory, languages of sadness, taking action against despair, and pushing away the useless pressure of likability. Rachel Eliza also tells us about her many selves as an artist. This episode was audio produced by Aaron Moring. Theme music is by Madisen Ward.

Rachel Eliza Griffiths

Josh Telles is a Celebrity and Food Photographer based in LA. He has photographed artists like Nicole Kidman, David Lynch, Mary J. Blige, and so many others. In this episode, Josh tells us about his path to becoming the photographer he is today. We chat about vulnerability in photo making, chronic anxiety, telling other people’s stories through photography, “post-creative depression” and much more!  This episode was audio produced by Aaron Moring. Theme music is by Madisen Ward.

Josh Telles

Cig Harvey is a photographer and writer based in Maine. She is the author of three sold-out books, and Blue Violet, her new book of photographs, drawings, and writing will be out in May. In this episode, we talk all about books, intuition, her photography process (hooray for “date nights” with photos!), and the importance of noticing in art making.This episode was audio produced by Aaron Moring. Music is by Madisen Ward.

Cig Harvey

Mickey Guyton is a powerhouse vocalist and songwriter. In this conversation, we talked about being an introvert in the public eye, preparing for motherhood, mentorship, and The Bachelorette. We also talk about the urgency of leaning into who you are. As a Black woman in Country music —a traditionally white-and male-dominated industry— Mickey tells us about the revelatory moment when she embraced all that makes her unique and how her life has changed since then.Mickey has been spotlighted in Billboard magazine as one of Country Music’s “female game changers,” and in Entertainment Weekly as one of the “new queens of country music.” Her new EP, Bridges, featuring the songs “What Are You Gonna Tell Her” and "Black Like Me," is available now.Where to find Mickey:WebsiteInstagramTwitterThis episode was audio produced by Aaron Morning. Theme music is by Ilan Isakov.

Mickey Guyton

Musings of the Artist features meaningful conversations with all kinds of artists. Musicians, poets, photographers, and other creatives share their honest stories, touching on the duality of being creative - the pure joy of making art - but also the particular struggles that come with it. In speaking about vulnerability, many of these artists remind us that even though people can look like they have it all together on the surface, we all struggle. In each episode, Montse's guests share the contents of their personal toolkit - what helps them get through the hard times. They also share their "favorites" list - what they are reading, listening to, places that light them up, and the creativity of other artists that moves them. (Theme Music by Ilan Isakov)

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Musings of the Artist: (Honest) Conversations with Montse An...

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