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Material Feels is a podcast that explores the intimate relationships between people, their creative practices and the materials they have fallen in love with. Each episode focuses on a maker and their material of choice. Producer and host Catherine Monahon spends quality time with each guest, explores the history and cultural context of the particular material and shares personal asides here and there. A theater kid, art educator and psychology nerd, Monahon crafts a show that is educational, inquisitive and expressive. Each episode features an original piece of music composed by Associate Producer Elizabeth de Lise.
Send in voice memos, responses to prompts and messages to Catherine at https://www.speakpipe.com/MaterialFeels
Send in voice memos, responses to prompts and messages to Catherine at https://www.speakpipe.com/MaterialFeels
29 Episodes
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This is the final of four soundscapes Elizabeth de Lise and I created for an interactive installation of Material Feels, titled Conversations with the Material World.
This is also the last episode of Material Feels for the indefinite future; any updates on new projects, endeavors, or resuming production will be posted on this feed when that time comes. Thank you for being a part of this project.
Before you listen to this episode, try to be near something made of wood that means something to you, or simply feels nice. A piece of furniture or a hand-carved object works. The soundscape featured in this episode is also better listened to with company, so… get a listening buddy if you can!
On June 4th and 5th of 2022, we exhibited an interactive installation of Material Feels, titled Conversations with the Material World, as a part of Sound Scene, at the Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C. The work features four sculptures, each accompanied by a narrated soundscape designed with the material, maker and process in mind. The wooden arch referenced in this episode was created by Dominque Tutwiler; to see what the sculpture looked like, check out pictures of the on Instagram, @materialfeels, or images on the podcast’s website, www.materialfeelspodcast.com.
Learn more about Dominique’s work as a furniture designer: https://www.oaksmithfurniture.com/
Learn more about Sound Scene: https://soundscenefest.org/about/
Check out a virtual tour of the piece on the Material Feels Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CebVWcIlsAf/?hl=en
Before you listen to this episode, sit with something made of glass that means something to you, or simply feels nice. And get a listening buddy if you can!
On June 4th and 5th of 2022, we exhibited an interactive installation of Material Feels, titled Conversations with the Material World, as a part of Sound Scene, at the Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C. The work features four sculptures, each accompanied by a narrated soundscape designed with the material, maker and process in mind. This episode is the second in a four part series, featuring each soundscape. Associate Producer Liz and I are working on various iterations of the project and looking to show Conversations with the Material World at festivals, museums and interactive art spaces. The glass rope referenced in this episode was created by Deborah Czeresko.
Learn more about Deborah's work: https://deborahczeresko.com/
Learn more about Sound Scene: https://soundscenefest.org/about/
Check out a virtual tour of the piece on the Material Feels Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CebVWcIlsAf/?hl=en
Before you listen to this episode, find a piece of fabric that means something to you to hold while you listen. And get a listening buddy if you can!
On June 4th and 5th, we exhibited an interactive installation of Material Feels, titled Conversations with the Material World, as a part of Sound Scene, at the Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C. The work features four sculptures, each accompanied by a narrated soundscape designed with the material, maker and process in mind. This episode is the first in a four part special, featuring each soundscape: Fiber Scroll, Wood Arch, Glass Rope and Clay Spirals. Associate Producer Liz and I are working on various iterations of the project and looking to show Conversations with the Material World at festivals, museums and interactive art spaces. The fiber scroll featured in this episode was created by Selena Loomis.
Learn more about Selena’s work: https://www.selenaloomis.space/about
Learn more about Sound Scene: https://soundscenefest.org/about/
Check out a virtual tour of the piece on the Material Feels Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CebVWcIlsAf/?hl=en
What material are you in love with? Share the story of your relationship with it with fellow Material Feelers.
Visit www.speakpipe.com/materialfeels and leave me a voice memo. Be on the show in coming months and share the sonic stage!
I share five stories from five creative "categories" of my life - creating an interactive art installation, exploring audiobook narration, building a studio in my garage, learning from my pottery students and my new obsession with volcanoes.
**And an exciting announcement! Material Feels is heading to D.C. in June for Sound Scene, an audio festival at the Smithsonian Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Visit www.soundscenefest.org to register if you can be in Washington D.C. June 4th-5th. The installation, Conversations with the Material World, is an invitation to rebuild a relationship with your tactile experiences and creative impulses; the piece features work by Deborah Czeresko, Dominque Tutwiler, Selena Loomis and Catherine Monahon, as well as music and soundscapes by Elizabeth de Lise.**
Today’s episode of Material Feels features a conversation with a fellow Bay Area podcaster, Pam Uzzell, creator of Art Heals All Wounds, a show about artists transforming lives with their work. Pam and I share our “why”: why we focus on the arts, and artists; why we believe so strongly in the power and impact of art education at any age.
We also invite listeners to support two arts organizations:
Art In Action - https://artinaction.org/
NIAD Art Center - https://niadart.org/
Support Material Feels: Shop Waveform Ceramics, our Etsy shop, or please consider supporting the show through our Patreon! We appreciate you
Material Feels turns two today! We reflect on the anniversary, acknowledge some feels regarding V-Day and focus on our feature: "A Brunch to Acknowledge Heartbreak," my interview on Shame Piñata, a show about creative rites of passage for real-life transitions, hosted by Colleen Thomas. I share a story of how I created a ceremony that helped me through a break-up. Listen to Shame Piñata wherever you get your podcasts! :)
Celebrate the Material Feels' anniversary and get 10% off anything at Waveform Ceramics, our Etsy shop. Promo code is VALENTINE.
Please consider supporting the show through our Patreon! We appreciate you
Explore the concept of "sister practices" with me. How can two different activities nurture one another? I spend time with writing and running, unpacking letter-writing as a craft and reflecting on trail-running as a creative process.
Listen to the music from Season 2, composed by Associate Producer Elizabeth de Lise, out on Spotify today!
Browse our Esty shop, Waveform Ceramics, follow the show on Instagram @materialfeels and please consider supporting our work through our Patreon.
Join me for a mini-episode where we fixate on small things and big feelings. I talk about a recent exploration of a material that is new to me: a little self-discovery here and there, and a handful of lessons to take back to my main boo, (non-polymer) clay.
Visit the Material Feels Esty shop, Waveform Ceramics: https://www.etsy.com/shop/WaveformCeramics
Follow the show on Instagram: @materialfeels
Support Material Feels on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/materialfeels
Oh, in my dreams, yes, there is a musical. But for now, Associate Producer Elizabeth de Lise and I go through Season 2 of Material Feels song by song, material by material. We talk about writing, using sound to conjure memory, and the inspiration Liz discovered within the time spent with our six guests and materials from 2021: time, paper, pigment, glass, story and ritual. Listen to the first song, "It Takes," on Spotify, out today!
Revisit clay with me for the wrap up of Season 2 of the show; I share what I’ve learned over the past year in the ceramic studio. We explore the properties of clay, the firing process and how plaster works for mold-making. And of course, the materials bring us deeper… to focus on personal growth, failure and patience. I also share some exciting news about my Etsy shop Waveform Ceramics and my newsletter, Rabbit Hole Buffet, two ongoing projects I’m excited to share with you as I craft Season 3 of Material Feels, to be released in 2022!
Join me with ritualist and fellow podcaster Colleen Thomas in the realm of ritual-building. We explore how ritual and ceremony operate as a storytelling tool, a container for big emotions and a creative practice with a wide range of materials. This episode can get a little intense, and asks us to go to a vulnerable place. I discuss a range of mental health topics including suicidal ideation; coincidentally, this month is National Suicide Prevention Month. If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal ideation or intent, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 at 800-273-8255. Show notes at www.materialfeelspodcast.com.
Updates from a summer of firsts: the details on an artist residency with five non-binary sound sensitive pals, a tape sync for a revolutionary artist whose memory we all cherish, and a case of systemic poison ivy that doesn’t care about our production schedule.
This mini reunion ep features all of our past Material Feels guests responding to the same question: what rituals do you associate with getting in a creative state of mind, working with your material or engaging with your creative practice? Producer Catherine Monahon also shares some exciting news about the Material Feels artist residency in Freehold, NY, and we go down a rabbit hole or two…
We understand our selves and one another through stories, and there are so many materials we can use to express stories. What are your go-to tools? Join us for an interview with Philly-based storyteller Hillary Rea, where we delve into the materials she uses to tell stories on stage and work with clients through her business, Tell Me A Story: memory, voice and heart. We explore her relationship to memory, the versatility of voice and potency of “heart” as a material.
Join us at Case For Making, an art supply shop with an in-house paint making workshop in the Outer Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco, where Alexis Joseph gives us a tour of how pigments are mulled into watercolor. We discuss creative fellowship that comes with the common ground of a particular material and explore the way watercolor pushes us out of our comfort zones and into creative play.
Explore glass with Brooklyn-based glassblower Deborah Czeresko. Visit us in the hot shop and discover the magnetic pull of this ethereal material; we discuss love languages, how glassblowing can be empowering, the role of representation and how one’s voice can be a force for change. Photo by Ecindy Stein.
We explore paper as a sculptural medium with San Francisco-based artist Zai Divecha. We discuss what the transition from metal to paper felt like as well as what kind of world Zai is conjuring with her creative practice.
We continue our exploration of time as a material with Wells Fray-Smith, London gallerist and founder of the inquisitive, irreverent online community What The F*ck Is This. We discuss which emotions we make time for through the arts, and question how and why we interact with finished work.
What is an artist residency, and who are they for? How has the pandemic impacted our sense of time? How is time a “material?” Slow down and learn from Alicia Toldi and Carolina Porras, the creators of Piney Wood Atlas, a catalogue of small, unconventional artist residencies throughout the United States.
We explore fire as a material, both figurative and literal, with musician and fire spinner Zak Tipton. Discover how the flow arts, specifically poi, challenges us to feel present in our bodies, get a taste of the lineup for Season 2 and discover what your host has been doing during the time “away from” the podcast.
We wrap up Material Feel’s first season with an exploration of sound with collaborator and assistant producer Liz de Lise, an artist based in Philadelphia, where they front the band Lizdelise, a dreamy pop rock band. Discover the spatial, sculptural elements of sound and how emotions are embedded in the material.
Gracia Logue-Sargeant is a bodyworker and musician based in Oakland, California. Explore the body as a material, how trauma-informed care allows us to access emotion, and track the relationship between breath, pain and release. Original music by Lizdelise & Phantom Tides; read the show notes for more!
Join us at Valley Oak Wool Mill in Woodland, California, where fleece is transformed into yarn. We weave with Danielle Garber a weaver based in Oakland, California, at her studio Every Thread Handwoven. Read the show notes for more!
Redwood Hill has been mixing drinks for over a decade; she is currently an instructor for the Restaurant Opportunity Center, a non-profit in Oakland, California. Explore the art of craft cocktails and recipe-building, the relationships between memory and taste and the dynamics of serving. Original music by Lizdelise; read the show notes for pictures, links & more story!
Meet San Francisco-based woodworker and furniture-maker Dominique Tutwiler of Oaksmith Furniture. We meditate on wood, the art of furniture design and how makers reclaim concepts of home. Original music by Lizdelise; read the show notes for more about the material, the maker and the music.
We visit Kids ‘N’ Clay, a children’s ceramics studio in Berkeley, California to chat with creative director Matthew Duke. I weave my memories of clay in with his experiences and observations as an educator. Episode 1 is dedicated to my high school ceramics teacher, Walter Rabetz. Read the show notes for more about material (clay), the feels (the dedication) and the music.
A podcast for artists, makers, teachers, hobbyists, people who are art-curious and even those who claim not to have a creative bone in their body. Visit a studio with us. Eavesdrop on the materials at play. Get the feels. Material Feels is written and produced by Catherine Monahon. Each episode is accompanied by an original piece of music created composer and songwriter Liz de Lise.
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