Making Problems to Solve

Anna Koplik discovered her love of art and creativity when her Dad volunteered at an art center. She explored jewelry making, but ultimately found blacksmithing as her choosen form of expression. We talk about craft schools, teaching, and whether a sword is the best project for a beginner blacksmith. Find out where Anna will be sharing her knowledge on her web site.Follow Anna's work on Instagram.

Brandon is a carpenter, woodworker, maker, and all-around curious person. We chatted about how the limitations of his work lead him to explore woodworking on his own. We discuss his wordworking projects including tables and furniture with cold cast metal inlays and his pet memorial creations. Check out what Brandon's work on Instagram.

Jacob Griffin is a maker and leather craft artist. We talked about how he discovered leather craft, cosplay, his path into architecture, and quite a bit about his experience in the maker community. Checkout Jacob on Instagram.

This week I talk to Blaze Miskulin, Jack of All Trades, lately sharing cooking skills on his YouTube channelColloquial Kitchen. We chat about his history in theater scene building, including teaching woodworking in high school theater shops, and how he learned critical thinking and problem solving from his dad. We learn about his experience teaching English and a series of interesting jobs in China.Thanks to the Xyla Foxlin supporter community over on Discord for introducing me to Blaze and his work.

Chelsea is an designer, maker, and veneer artist. We chatted about her recent feature in Fine Woodworking magazine, teaching and community work with Dykes with Drills at Community Workshop NOLA. We also discussed some of her great veneer and furniture projects including some coopering. Learn more about Chelsea's work on Instagram and her web site. Mentions this episode Albert Kleine, Kim McIntyre

Sarah McAnulty is a squid biologist, an artist and the founder of Skype a Scientist which connects classrooms with scientists. We chat about Sarah's involvement in public art projects Squid Facts, and #Nearbynature which encourages folks to create and share art about their local wildlife. Keep up with Sarah on Instagram and Bluesky. Check out Skype a Scientist.

Shane and I have a great conversation about conservation and restoration of furniture and other wooden artifacts. Shane is working on a series about the various materials and techniques of wood finishing called "Finished: The Art and Science of Wooden Surfaces". Please note we mention a number that should be 476,000 instead of 4.5 million but the point is consistent. We discuss the importance of sharing and passing on knowledge, and there's a fun bit about dairy products as well. Follow Shane on Instagram to keep up on the news of the video series "Finished"

Woops, uploaded the wrong file! Here's the real one. Mark and Nick and I chat about the joy of working with contractors, volume printing, content creation, and potential motorcycle adventures. Mark at ⁠@markadamspictures⁠ Nick at ⁠@designisblank

Looking back a little bit, looking ahead a little more. Then we chat about books a little bit. We went all over the place, this is just the first half. We'll back back next week as well. Check out my guests Mark Adams on Instagram Nick Toga on Instagram

Erin Winick Anthony is the founder of science communication company STEAM Power Media which works to share the creativity in science and engineering, and help others tell their science stories. We talked about her beginnings from sewing and journalism with her high school newspaper to engineering school to reporting for the MIT Technology Review and science communication and outreach for the International Space Station. We discussed starting a 3D printed jewelry company and her interest in competitive pinball! Follow Erin on Instagram and check out her web site.