Episodes

  • Why Make? Episode 58: High Caliber Art with Boris Bally

    Why Make? Episode 58: High Caliber Art with Boris Bally
    Feb 26 2024

    As mentioned in the podcast here is a link to excellent book of images and essays from the

    Imagine Peace Now exhibition

    https://imaginepeacenow.org/supportus/product/i-m-a-g-i-n-e-peace-now-publication/
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    30 mins
  • Why Make? Episode 57: Brad Reed Nelson

    Why Make? Episode 57: Brad Reed Nelson
    Dec 21 2023
    On Episode 57 of Why Make? we talk with Brad Reed Nelson, a Glenwood Springs, Colorado woodworker, furniture maker and product designer creating magical pieces made from metal and wood. Brad, aka BRN, and his better half Ann, run Board By Design, a functional design company making such brightly colored amazingness as Knuckles, The Good Pot, Elefunction, Blokkey, Bling Pong tables and the steadfast Winsorrondack chair. We talk with Brad about his years in school and learning about life and making with the likes of Wendell Castle, Garry Knox Bennett, Paul Sasso, Sam Maloof and Gail Fredell. Brad also reminds us about the importance and necessity of community, collaboration, listening and communication, fostering relationships and being vulnerable. And how these all pile up to the create the mountain from which every single person is made. So join us as we lean in and get all twisted up in Brad Reed Nelson’s humble sense of humor and wicked sense of design?!
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Why Make? Episode 56: Boris Bally

    Why Make? Episode 56: Boris Bally
    Nov 15 2023
    Episode 56 of Why Make? is a conversation 50 years in the making! Erik sits down sit with his childhood friend, the amazing metalsmith, jeweler, sculptor and teacher Boris Bally. Erik last saw Boris sometime in 1974 when they were 12 years old. Originally, like Erik, from Pittsburgh, Boris now resides and works in Providence RI. A maker from the early days of his youth, Boris fell in love with the magic of working metal and never looked back. Growing up in a Swiss family he took advantage of an opportunity to do a 1 year apprenticeship in Basil Switzerland in metal smithing after high school. Upon returning to the U.S he enrolled in the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia and finished his degree at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Always the practical artist Boris has fashioned his career by teaching, doing commission work and designing and producing a number of very successful production items, along with his own more personal work. Join us as we catch on the last 50 years and find out what just what Boris Bally has been making. We had the privilege of having this conversation with Boris while he was teaching a workshop at the Pocosin Center for the Arts in Columbia, NC in June with Bob Ebendorf our guest on Episode 54. Many thanks to the good folks at Pocosin for allowing us to spend some time on campus.
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    56 mins
  • Why Make? Episode 55: Mia Hall

    Why Make? Episode 55: Mia Hall
    Oct 15 2023
    In Episode 55 of the Why Make? podcast we talk with Mia Hall, a maker, former educator and current executive director of the Penland School of Craft, one of the oldest and most prestigious craft schools in America. After growing up in Sweden Mia moved to northern California at the age of 18 and explored for the next 10 years. When a close friend became a buyer for Pottery Barn that possibility as a career excited Mia and she  found a path forward through art school. Eventually enrolling at San Diego State University in the interior design department Mia found her true passion upon discovering the furniture design program where she earned both her undergrad and graduate degrees. Always knowing that she wanted to teach Mia became the first Furniture instructor at the new crafts program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. During her time teaching there she also became the director of the program. In 2017 Mia became the executive director of Penland and took on the job she always really wanted to do. Morphing from a worker in wood to a worker in paper, spreadsheets in particular. From Sweden to the mountains of North Carolina join us as we talk with Mia Hall about her path in the arts and the future of craft education.
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    58 mins
  • Why Make? Episode 54: Bob Ebendorf

    Why Make? Episode 54: Bob Ebendorf
    Sep 18 2023
    Retired educator, jeweler and metalsmith extraordinaire Bob Ebendorf joins us on episode 54 of the Why Make podcast. Originally from Topeka Kansas, Bob was a star football player and wrestler in high school who had the choice of a big time college athletic scholarship or attending art school. Lucky for us he made the right choice! After spending his undergraduate and graduate years in the art department at the University of Kansas Bob then went on to spend a fair amount of time in Norway honing his technical skills in metal smithing before returning to the U.S to teach.  Bob is a self proclaimed radical in the jewelry and metals field, often choosing to work in found objects, thrift store finds and junk instead of precious metals and stones. After a long career in the arts Bob’s work is in the permanent collection of many museums and at 83 he still enjoys teaching, creating and just being curious. We had the privilege of having this conversation with Bob while he was teaching a workshop at the Pocosin Center for the Arts in Columbia NC in June. Many thanks to the good folks at Pocosin for allowing us to spend some time on campus.
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    38 mins
  • Why Make Episode 53: Robert Lyon

    Why Make Episode 53: Robert Lyon
    Aug 22 2023
    Literally climbing the walls with handmade ladders as a small child. Robert Lyon kept the sky the limit as he explored model rockets and theatre sets before landing in art school for college His lifetime in the arts started in ceramics when he discovered he could spend the whole day at the wheel and not notice the passage of time. Remarking that no matter what he did he always wanted everyday to feel like that. Moving on to become an assistant professor at Louisiana State University. Robert help helped to set up one of the most vibrant ceramics programs in the U.S as well as setting up a glass studio and discovering the lathe during his 13 years their. Finally ending up as an administrator in the art department at the University of South Carolina for 5 years before returning to teaching. Robert continued to explore the lathe and lathe turned forms part time until his retirement in 2016-17 and turning to his individual art practice full time. Join us as Robert Lyon takes us back and forth across the Rio Grande and out to sea to those places where he finds inspiration
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    58 mins
  • Why Make? Episode 52: Katie Thompson

    Why Make? Episode 52: Katie Thompson
    Jul 16 2023
    In Episode 52 of Why Make? we talk with Katie Thompson, an artist, writer, creative consultant and instructor based in the Low Country outside of Charleston, SC. Katie wears many hats including being a disabled mother of two, and wife and partner to fine furniture maker Joseph Thompson. Katie has a passion for people and sharing their stories, and pursues her inclinations as a storyteller through her monthly online woodworking journal Pen and Chisel and her ongoing project the  Women of Woodworking in which she has helped to create a community gathering place for women and non-binary woodworkers. We delve into many things with Katie including her work with the Furniture Society, the Wood Art Alliance and how she uses her chronic health conditions to make a positive impact by advocating and sharing her experiences with others. Hold on tight and join us as we get inspired by bionic woman Katie Thompson!
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    49 mins
  • Why Make? Episode 51: Aspen Golann

    Why Make? Episode 51: Aspen Golann
    Jun 25 2023

    The long awaited conversation on Why Make? Podcast with artist and maker Aspen Golaan.
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    1 hr and 10 mins