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Milepost 51: A Shenandoah Podcast

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Milepost 51: A Shenandoah Podcast

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Season 1

July 18, 2024

1. Artist in Residence, Lia Pikus

Transcript

Transcript

Tom: So what are, What are your guys's favorite instrument?

Neal: I'm going to tell you, Tom. It might just be the cello.

Tom: The cello.

Neal: This is coming from a guitar player and a former trombone player. The cello has a timber. A dark, rich timber that is just magical to me. and it lives in the bass clef. And, except for some occasional forays into the treble clef on the higher passages. I was comfortable there as a trombone player, but I love the cello.

Neal: I think it's just a mysterious, beautiful instrument.

Karl: Living in the bass clef. That's pretty deep. Pretty deep.

Tom: That’s really deep. I used to play trumpet in middle school. And. Oh, I was bad. I was bad.

Karl: But you blew it.

Neal: Oh, we all were at the beginning.

Tom: I had dreams of becoming the next great trumpeter. And it all, it all fell apart. But I don't know, it might not. I love a string instrument. I really do. Just maybe a classic guitar. You could do a lot on a guitar. And it takes a lot of, like, skill to get there. So I respect anybody that could master the guitar.

Neal: The cello has its amazing range of tones to me. It has this, as I said before, a deep, dark timber. But at higher registers you can almost get to where a violin is, or certainly a viola. So there's this big range there, but when it's dark, it's just beautiful.

Karl: It's very it's a versatile instrument.

Neal: Very.

Karl: Yeah. Mine. well, I wouldn't say it's necessarily my favorite for its musicality, but, the anything within the accordion family. I love the accordion, the concertina. the fact that whoever came up with it, whoever invented polka music, the fact that you're, it's a wind instrument, but it plays off of the keys or the button box. It's incredibly just fun.

Karl: It's whimsical. I like a good whimsical instrument, even if it's not the prettiest voice like a cello would be. Neal: And there's no worries because there's no frets. I had to get you back.

Karl: No frets, I’m back.

Tom: The accordion is a wild instrument, I love it. It is beautiful. I think of Weird Al every time when I look at an accordion.

Karl: I got a concertina years ago, and I have learned half of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star in the past seven years when I first bought my concertina. But it is, it's just really fun to to plink around on it. And yeah, you think of like, big band poker, Weird Al, just those fun. I don't know, just hype music.

Neal: You think about these stringed instruments like the violin and the cello. I mean, the cello. I believe it's been around since the mid 1500s. So it's just an old, old instrument. And so much music has been written on it. It also complements other instruments really well. You can play anything with a cello. Conversely, you can pair it with almost anything and it works.

Neal: So like you said versatile cool instrument. Wow.

Tom: Well we need to introduce ourselves I think here. We're getting into it. We're getting into the weeds. What are we doing? Why are we here today?

Karl: Well, hello. My name is Karl. I am a park ranger here at Shenandoah National Park.

Tom: Yeah, and I'm Tom. you'll hear me later in the podcast, but I am also a park ranger here at Shenandoah National Park.

Neal: And I'm Neil. I'm also a park ranger. I'm a visual information specialist here in Shenandoah National Park.

Karl: And the the big thing. So, you know, speaking on the three of us, as Neal said, of course visual information specialist, we all kind of work in interpretation, education and media. And, both emotional and cultural resources and natural resources of the park. And I think that's kind of what brings us to starting up a podcast.

Tom: Which is named after a great landmark in Shenandoah National Park.

Neal: Milepost 51.

Tom: Yes. What can you tell us about milepost 51, Neal?

Neal: Well, milepost 51 is where the Big Meadows area is, which is the most developed area of the park, and also where the Big Meadows is: the cleared space that everybody loves to come to to observe wildlife and flora. Fauna. it's also almost exactly in the middle of our park. A park is 105 miles long, so just about the middle portion of it.

Neal: Carl is pretty familiar with the Big Meadows area.

Karl: I've heard of it once or twice. of course, that's where I've worked for the past several years. And yeah, going into, of course, starting up this, podcast and this journey that we're taking, I'm choosing milepost 51 as the title and kind of the, the iconic part of the park to, basis off of is really because being the central hub of the park, it's it's really a place of connectivity.

Karl: Everybody passes through Big meadows. that's where a lot of the Ranger programs, a lot of our EMS and rescue programs are based out of. We have a hotel there. Of course, a lot of our wildlife viewing. If you're coming into the park, that's a great place to go. So it's really a jumping off point to the rest of the park.

Karl: And, much like, this podcast and our other media, is a great jumping off point to learning more about Shenandoah as a national park. Neal: And also the milepost itself is kind of iconic on Shenandoah on Skyline Drive because there's one every mile. Yeah, on the western side of the drive, every mile you'll see a stone milepost.

Karl: And somehow I still get lost every time I drive it. I don't I don't understand.

Neal: You have to get North-South right.

Karl: I'm driving east. West. That's the problem.

Neal: And. Yeah. So I guess.

Karl: One question I have for you. You know, you were asking about, instruments and, our favorite music earlier, but, you know, we being a national park, where's the overlap with with music in nature? Where does the overlap between our national parks and music, as we'll see coming up?

Tom: I think that it's really important for music to be, kind of intertwined with our National Park Service, which is why we are doing the Artist in Residence program and which is what our next, couple of episodes in our podcast is going to be about. But I think it's crucial for music to be involved in the, park system, just being able to show the beauty of nature to the public in another format.

Tom: You know, people can go out and see, they can listen to bird sounds and that can all influence different artists in so many different ways. So I think it's important to highlight those artists and kind of show what their, what their view of the, the park and, and in this case, Shenandoah National Park is to them through their music or their art.

Neal: And how the park and nature might inspire the musician to write something. Yeah, to me there, there's a correlation there. The the nature itself and music are both universal languages, and anybody and everybody can enjoy those things. And I think that's really that's a cool thing.

Karl: Well, in in looking into the history of Shenandoah, even before it was a national park, you know, we became a national park in 1935. prior to that, there was, you know, Stonington Resort here over Skyland Resort, over at the Stoney Man Camp. And they were known for their big musical shindigs, their big bands coming in. you know, a lot of the people of the mountains, music was a big part of the culture.

Karl: Music was a part of the connection between the people and where they lived, where they recreated. And still to this day, you know, as you were saying, time with the artists and residents. Music is still a way for us, the National Park Service, to connect with people.

Tom: Truly, truly. And I think it's crucial and it's really crucial and, to keep supporting the arts and keep supporting music, especially within, our public park system, some. So I think, without further ado, let's get into the rest of the podcast and you can hear Leah, our first artist in residence, talk about her experience in Shenandoah National Park.

Tom: So thank you for listening today and enjoy.

Karl: This you.

Neal: That.

Karl: Yeah.

Ally: Leah Pinkus is a cellist, composer, and multidisciplinary artist whose practice centers around art's ability to cultivate experiences of connection, both within community and in dialog with the natural world. As a Thomas J. Watson Fellow, she researched this connective power on a global scale, exploring the role of art in fostering community, specifically in the context of collective reimagining of justice.

Ally: This research forms the foundation for her current explorations of live looping as a form of meditative ritual, and is the central focus of the songs on ritual, which released in February of 2024. Her current preferred media are cello loop, pedal voice, field recordings, and biodata sonification. Leah was selected as the May Artist in Residence in Shenandoah National Park, and will be here from May 4th through May 25th.

Ally: So welcome.

Lia: Thank you for having me and so happy to be here.

Tom: Yeah, thanks for joining us, Leah.

Ally: So before we get started, we can do some introductions. My name is Alyssa Fox, and I am a park ranger at Shenandoah National Park.

Lia: Shenandoah National Park.

Tom: My name is Tom Rees. I am also a park ranger at Shenandoah National Park. And we have...

Lia: Yeah, I'm Leah.

Ally: We picked...

Lia: Up been given an introduction already, so...

Ally: So we are sitting right now on a trail in Limberlost, which is just a short drive from Skyland where Leah is staying for her residency. And we cannot help but notice the birds.

Tom: They are not only singing, they're like putting together a chorus for Earth right now.

Ally: They're trying to show off, really.

Tom: They're really showing off.

Lia: I can tell.

Tom: So what? I don't know. I don't even know how to start. This is our first pod.

Ally: I know.

Tom: We are.

Ally: We were just really excited to do this. But we want to do it right, you know, do it justice.

Tom: It's really important for us to, like, show off, like the beauty of Shenandoah and the people that come to Shenandoah like Leah, who get to interpret the beauty of nature into something that other people can experience, like her art. So we're really excited to be here with Leah, and we're just going to do a quick little interview and ask you some questions about what she has been experiencing herself here in Shenandoah National Park.

Tom: So is there anything you want to say, Leah, about, how you're how you're feeling right now? What do you see around you? What really peaks your mind about this trail or this park in general?

Lia: That's such a lovely question. I think right now, as you said, I'm definitely noticing and experiencing the birds. I'm also really, probably because we've had a bunch of misty days, and this is one of the first days of sunshine, and I'm really noticing the dappled sunlight through the trees, and it's kind of shifting further down there on the path, which I've been turning to look at because it's so beautiful. Yeah, those are the two things I'm most noticing about our environment right now.

Ally: Tell us a little bit about your three weeks that you've spent in Shenandoah. What did you really been focusing on or given the opportunity to focus on?

Lia: My three weeks in Shenandoah have been incredibly special. I'll start with the second part of your question, which is what I've been focusing on. Was that the second part of your question, what was the second part of your question?

Ally: You can answer any part of the question, okay. What have you been able to focus on while you're here?

Lia: I have really been given the space to find silence. And I think that is really difficult to find in at least my day-to-day life, just prolonged periods of silence. And, you know, every day I've been waking up and going on a hike and noticing what I'm hearing. And it's this funny contrast of there's so much sound in nature, and by witnessing that sound and by paying attention to that, we also experience a kind of silence within ourselves. And so, in a foundational sense, I've been really given this space to experience that silence by experiencing the witnessing of nature every day. It's been so beautiful. But then that's also translated into letting me really focus on creating things and writing music and translating kind of the felt experiences that I have out in the natural world into art. And it's been just incredibly special.

Ally: I find it so interesting that you have to find silence, or you're inspired by the silence. And in order to create a sound. Yeah, that's amazing. Yeah, I think of it in that way. I feel like there's this...

Lia: Idea in certain sects of Buddhism that in order for us to have intentional, thoughtful, loving thoughts, we have to engage in profound periods of silence. And it's only from that silence that meaning can arise. I think it's that contrast of like existence, nothingness, space, matter. I think that really translates into my own creative practice very intensely.

Tom: So. Oh, wow. Yeah. And that is very that deep. Yeah. So you, you pretty much put your all into your music, and then you take your environment around you and put that all together and create something to output into the world. Thank you for sharing that with us here.

Lia: Thank you.

Ally: Yeah. So, we can backtrack a little bit. What's your what's your background? Speak a little bit more about that and how you ended up here today. Yeah.

Lia: Music. I have played cello since I was seven years old, grew up classically trained. That got quite intense in high school. I was traveling to Boston for orchestra every weekend and practicing like four hours a day, and I ended up going actually to school for cello performance, classical cello performance. And then I kind of, I have a mentor who says that I kind of wandered off into the woods. So I just kind of realized that for me, classical music didn't. It's so beautiful and it's still such a big part of my life, but it didn't give me the sense of authenticity and creativity that I really was reaching for. And so then I started writing my own music and started experimenting and yeah, I guess that's just been where I've been since that point.

Tom: So, Leah, where are you coming from to you've made it to Shenandoah National Park as an artist in residence. Where did you start in your journey to get here?

Lia: Yeah. So I grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, and that's also that's where I started playing cello. I've been playing cello since I was about seven years old. And, so I would I grew up classically trained, but I also would spend my summers at fiddling camp in the Appalachian fiddling.

Tom: Yeah. Wow. That's so cool. You have no idea.

Ally: That feel right at home now I.

Tom: Know. shout out to Neil. If Neil here, he would say something along the lines of where you want a roof?

Lia: Very funny, Neil.

Tom: Yeah, I you did you hear that?

Lia: Yeah, yeah. So I had a lot of varied experiences, but very much, I think, especially through those experiences, felt a deep connection between cello and my art and my physical environment, specifically being the Blue Ridge Mountains. And yeah, as I've been writing my own music and as I was preparing to and I guess now have written my first album, I was really thinking, where do I want to be?

Lia: Where do I want to feel a sense of groundedness in order to be able to write and create? And I think the answer was just unequivocally back in the Blue Ridge Mountains. And so I also used to drive through Shenandoah all the time when I was younger, because my grandparents lived in DC, and so I was quite familiar.

Lia: It feels like home in many senses. and that that brought me to apply for the residency. So.

Tom: So you currently live in Virginia?

Lia: No, I live in New York City right now, but I will be moving to Boston this fall.

Ally: So have you had any memorable experiences here during your residency that you can think of, either with wildlife or visitors? Any kind of encounter?

Lia: So many. I feel like I've had every day, so many special experiences. I'm a big journalist and I have journaled more during my time here than in the past months. Being at home and I even at home. I journal every day and still there's just so. My experiences have been so full here. I'm thinking of one in particular where I went on, I think it was Upper Hawksbill and it was a really misty day.

Lia: So there was nobody else out on the trail. And I rounded the corner and this deer was standing right there, and we kind of looked at each other. And then he trotted off around a bend and I was like, okay, he's left. And then I walk around the bend and he's standing right there and he's waiting for me.

Lia: And we hike together for, I mean, you know, for a deer, that's just a deer being a deer, not a deer hiking.

Ally: But I like to say we hike together.

Lia: For truly, maybe an hour.

Tom: Wow.

Lia: Like he every time would just wait for me around the bend. And that it was so precious. It was so special. So.

Ally: So you're composing music, but also writing music. Are those synonymous? My missing something there?

Lia: No, that's a great question. And something I am figuring out myself. Oh, I'm not sure.

Ally: Because.

Lia: I actually, I came into the residency with Composition Capital C as kind of my explicit goal. and for me, that means mostly cello based and instrumental. And, and then I've ended up. That's why I say I've both been composing and writing music, because I've ended up writing a lot of almost like folk songs, which has been super unexpected.

Ally: Where that fiddler camp came. Yeah, it really is.

Lia: I do feel like some childhood self has been activated in this environment in a way that has brought up parts of myself that I not was disconnected from, but maybe lay dormant for a while. And so I think that probably is actually part of it. Is past selves being activated.

Ally: Through this physical space? Yeah. I find that when most people come into the park, hiking or like rock scrambling, playing in the water at the base of the waterfall, it's almost like it does bring up this child in you again, because you get to just be you just get to live in that moment. Yeah. And you have nothing else to think about other than wanting to feel like use all of your senses, you know, when you're outside because you're hearing things.

Ally: You're feeling things. I think that that's just really something special about being outdoors. And so to apply that to a musical sense, I think is really, really interesting.

Lia: That's such a good way of putting it. And it really does know, like it's really I'm thinking of yesterday I went swimming and in a waterfall and just felt like this acute presentness that just comes from and I think you feel that inherently as a child, because you're so new to the world and everything is new to you.

Lia: So your brain is truly being programed as you live. So you have to be very present. You can't just rely on old neural pathways, but also, I think there's just a sense of wonder that gets reactivated when you're.

Ally: Yeah, absolutely.

Lia: Back in nature. Yeah. It's really lovely.

Tom: Yeah. For sure. I mean, I remember the first time I did like a rock scramble. Have you done Bear Fence? Yeah. The trail. Yeah. Oh, you have to before you go. But the first time I did that trail, I was kind of blown away. Just like, kind of like you said, Ali, it kind of brings you back to your childhood.

Tom: Like going on a playground and jungle jam, just climbing up, like, going, like, the wrong way up a slide. Kind of feel like you're not supposed to be climbing this thing, but you're doing it anyway.

Ally: So I, was trying I attempted to do my own research on the cello last night because, admittedly, I don't know a whole lot. and my favorite game to play is typing in the beginning of a question and then letting the search engine finish to that question, because it's what I suppose it's whatever people are asking the most.

Ally: So I figured, well, I'm going to bring that to the table today. So I did a little bit of who what, when, where, why. Oh yeah. And let the search engine finish it. So some of my favorite questions. why is the cello the best instrument?

Lia: I mean, a great question with a million answers. I let's start with it's the instrument that I think you know what I'm about. I'm about to say something that I'm going to say factually, and I'm not 100% sure, 100% factual. But from what I recall, the cello is the instrument most akin to the human voice. So it's in the same range, the mode, the instrument that's most in the same range as the human voice.

Lia: So it activates something almost primordial within us. So I think that's reason number one.

Tom: No, no, no.

Ally: That's I mean that honestly, I don't know how you could top that answer. That reason.

Tom: I've never heard that before.

Ally: Beautiful.

Tom: Really interesting.

Ally: Depends on the voice that you're comparing it to. Right.

Tom: Right. Yeah. I guess you could do like any, any voice. You're just going, "Oh."

Ally: So voices I'd prefer not to hear. Right.

Tom: I know I get.

Lia: That and those, the violin mimics. So you don't have to worry about that.

Ally: So why is the cello so emotional.

Ally: You can make that emotional connection. Yeah.

Lia: I can often.

Ally: Yeah. Is the cello hard to play? I wouldn't.

Lia: No, I don't know, I don't have any memory of. Actually, I do have a memory of beginning the cello. I was going to say I don't have a memory beginning. It's always just been a part of me. But I do remember when I got my first cello. I tried to play it in the backseat of my car. That's like the one little blip of consciousness I have from that.

Tom: Wait, how old were you?

Ally: How big was this car? Seven.

Lia: It was a minivan.

Ally: So it was doable.

Lia: But mom, look back and she starts. Not that.

Tom: I'm not.

Ally: In the moving vehicle.

Lia: So I do have that one memory of beginning, but in a more real sense, I don't remember starting. I don't remember what learning it felt like. It's just always been part of the language of my body. And so I think for me, it always felt very natural. I've tried teaching it to people, and people do find it difficult because it's a lot of two hand coordination and that can be tough back.

Tom: So and there aren't many instruments that... Oh never mind, every instrument you just talking about.

Ally: And now you're questioning, why are we invited to have this podcast to be playing myself out now?

Ally: Oh, there's a couple good ones in here. When it's okay if you don't know the answers to these. Okay. When was the cello first invented? see.

Lia: Majoring in classical cello. At one point, I knew this because I had to take music history, and right now, it's not in the memory bank. But I do know that the cello started as a viola gamba. And which is I actually can't speak on the viola, but that's all I can say. That's truly all I can say is that it exists and that that's the origins of the cello.

Lia: That's all. I used to be able to speak on it. Not anymore.

Tom: So...

Ally: All right, let's see who is famous for playing the cello. Anyone we might recognize. Yeah, I think you might recognize Mr. Yo-Yo Ma.

Ally: Oh, my gosh, yes, I've heard him play live. Oh, my gosh. Where? When I was in college, he came to play a concert. How lovely.

Lia: Yeah, he's a lovely man. He actually did a series of live performances of the Bok Suites in national parks, which you should look up because they're stunning. He released an album that he did, I think, in Great Smoky, of the first Bok suite, and he records it like this with the birds in the Park live.

Ally: Well, you'll be next because we're going to ask you to do that.

Lia: What a legacy. Oh my goodness.

Ally: And then let's choose one more question.

Tom: Wasn't there one that we really wanted?

Ally: It was a little bit of an odd ball, I think. I think it was just playing the cello hurt. Oh yeah. And we didn't know why that was even a question. But if you could provide some insight on why that scale.

Tom: Of 1 to 10, how painful is the cello?

Lia: That is a hilarious question, because yes, yes, it is painful for various reasons. So when I was younger, I would practice, you know, in the classical tradition, you're using your left hand on the fingerboard a lot. And I say in the classical tradition, because I kind of moved into alternative techniques now. So it's less of the fingers on the strings, but doing that can really rip up your fingers until you build calluses.

Lia: And I used to, when I was building calluses, I would bleed from my fingertips quite a lot. But it's funny that you ask that now, because I've been playing my cello sideways a lot, and I have these huge bruises right now on my legs because the cello has this really sharp point in its body, has two really sharp points, and they've just been digging into my leg as I play it on its side.

Lia: So it's very funny that you ask, wow, it's been a...

Tom: That is a...

Ally: Big part of my life this past week, actually. You're really dedicated to your craft. If you can make it so that it doesn't hurt in the moment is the thing. I think maybe I just, I get so into whatever I'm doing that I don't notice, and then I will pull the cello up. I'm like, oh my goodness.

Tom: So is it normally, it's not normally played on its side, right? It's an upright instrument, okay.

Lia: Upright. It has an end pin that goes into the ground. But I've been playing it kind of like a guitar.

Tom: Oh, that's really cool.

Ally: How much does it weigh?

Lia: That's a great question. Not too much. It's usually actually the cases that weigh a lot. But I got when I was in high school, I got a really light case. So the cello for me is really... everyone's always like, can you walk upstairs with that? Can you? Yeah.

Ally: I walk miles doing this and Samsung was born for this. Yeah.

Tom: So what advice would you give to other artists like yourself? Not only people who would accept like an artist in residency, but in general, any other artist that has been working for to work towards making or creating something that they care passionately about.

Lia: I would say this is probably mostly just advice that I would have wanted to give myself maybe a few years ago, but and this is going to sound actually super cheesy, but don't be afraid to be yourself. And don't be afraid to be very earnest. I think you can be afraid of earnestness and feel like we have to be something that we're not.

Lia: But I think truly beautiful art that translates your fellow experience of being into something that other people can connect with has to come from a really earnest place. And that's what makes your art beautiful and unique and probably touching and that's what welcomes in other people also to your practice. And so I think just really creating from the most earnest place within you.

Tom: Yeah. Thank you so much for joining us.

Lia: Oh, thank you for having me.

Tom: Yeah. No problem. It's been a great time. We've been here again on Limber Lost Trailhead.

Ally: Where we're about to do a live concert.

Tom: Yeah.

Ally: Yeah. Do you mind playing? Just a bit. Yeah. We want to hear. We want to hear what this instrument can do. Yeah.

Lia: Absolutely.

[cello music plays]

Lia: You guys.

Ally: Do that so deeply. Like, I don't even know what it is that I feel, but it's just it really does bring out an emotion in you, even if you can't describe it too.

Tom: You and just feeling all that.

Lia: It's intense. Yeah.

Ally: Oh, wow.

Lia: That's so nice to hear.

Tom: The people around us are probably like “what”?

Ally: They're getting a show. They're like, that is a crazy bird.

Join Ally, Neal, Karl, and Tom as they sit down and talk music! Lia Pikus, the first artist-in-residence of Shenandoah's 2024 summer season talks about how the cello was a formative yet transformative part of her life. Relating music to nature in the park, Lia gives brief encounters of her time spent here at Shenandoah and what she's gained and learned.

Tags: artist in residence, shenandoah national park, song, art, music

September 5, 2024

2. Artist in Residence, Megan Evans

Transcript

Transcript

Ally: Well, I could always start with my question that I asked you all yesterday evening. Poorly explain what you do for work. Tom: You go first. Ally: Okay. I make sure the public knows stuff about our stuff. I'm basically a professional gossip. Spread the good news. I fix the drama so that everyone still thinks we're awesome. Karl: So you sound like a Real Housewives narrator. Tom: Do people still think we're awesome? Ally: They should, I put the good stuff out there. Karl: I think we’re awesome, Tom. We are awesome! Tom: We are, we are. We do a lot of fun things. Luca: Speaking of fun and awesome things for work, what I do is I stalk wildlife and humans in federally protected land, and I shoot them multiple, multiple times until I get that perfect shot. And I can show the world the bodies of the wildlife and humans that I shoot with my camera. Thank you. I love photography. Karl: I love federally protected lands. Tom: Luca, that's so you just going around shooting things, man? Luca: Yeah, you know, you know. Tom: Well, I'm going to play a few and I shoot a lot. At these animals, man, I'm shooting like 30 times, maybe 24 to 30 times a second. Luca: Okay. Yeah. Tom: Depends on how I'm feeling. Luca: I can respect that. Tom: Umm, but it's a rapid rate. I'm. “uh-uh-uh-huh” I mean, machine gun. Ally: I didn’t know we had to have sound effects prepared. Tom: I always have them prepared. And get this. I package them up, slap a note on them and put them out to the people, and they can just laugh at it. They're just like, haha! And they. Hahaha. But yeah, I make videos and put them on social media sometimes, but that's my deal. Ally: Now it's down to Karl. Karl: Oh, you want to know what I do? I tell people to take a hike and where they can do it. Tom: Do they do it? Karl: Hopefully. I don't know. Ally: If they listen. Tom: And we all collectively, like, make beautiful, colorful papers to prevent people from jumping off cliffs as well. Luca: That's true. Tom: Yeah. Karl: Arguably the most important part of the job. Tom: I think so. Ally: I guess we can go around and make introductions and reveal what we do for real. Tom: Oh true! Ally: So I'm Allysah and public affairs is part of my everyday job. So that's why I'm a professional gossip. Luca: I'm Luca. I'm the media intern. So I take lots of photos, some videos and edit them. Put them out into the world. Tom: I'm Tom, I'm a visual and information specialist and I do video photography, make signs, and do a lot of social media as well. I don't actually shoot animals. Neither does Luca. Luca: No. Tom: We would probably be fired and jailed. Karl: I like the “probably,” there's like a minor chance. Tom: Yeah, we do get away. Karl: Well, ditto to Tom. I am Karl. I'm also a visual information specialist, so I do some of what Tom and Luca and Allysah do. I also sit in on interviews, giving information about the park, some interpretive information as well. And it's always a good time. Ally: So, Tom and Luca, you guys talked to our artist in residence, Megan, and she takes a lot of photography. And you all just explained that that's what you do in your jobs. So how could you relate to her and what she was doing to capture the art that she was looking for in the park? Luca: So a lot of Megan's photography was as reference material for her paintings, whereas me and Tom are more so doing photo and video stuff just for the photos and videos. But a lot of times, especially when I was kind of first starting out, getting a good photo of a bird or an insect, that was like the easiest way for me to identify it. Obviously, sometimes in the field you only see it for 2 or 3 seconds, but if you get a good photo, you can stare at it for as long as you want and, you know, go through whatever identification process and find exactly what species it is. And also, I feel like especially with taking macro photos of insects, a lot of these details you don't really catch with your eyes when you're just seeing it out in the field. But once you get that good, high-quality photo of it, I think you start to appreciate, especially insects, a lot more because you can see all of the patterns and details in their face, on their back, on their wings, all that kind of stuff. Ally: And I love social media posts like that. I think we've put out a couple where we have really, really tight shots of something, usually an animal, and we have the public guess, what do you think this is? Because everything up close is just perspective. So I think that that is a really neat way to look at how you can incorporate that into a piece of work. So that's yeah I kind of get that. Luca: Yeah. And it's a cool way to connect more with your natural environment through technology and digital technology. And you know, often I feel like these concepts are like opposed to each other, like, oh, kids are just on their phones all day. They need to go outside. But it's actually, you can kind of use your phone to enhance your experience outside if you're using them in the right way. Ally: That's a great point. I never thought about that. The other thing that she spoke about was she was on track to become a professional soccer player. And so I had another question in my head about this. And I want to ask you all your opinion. Do you think that sports are a type of art? Karl: I would say absolutely. I mean, the big factors that make art, art is somebody following a passion and creating something beautiful, whatever that means to them. And while sports, you know, typically the goal is to get more points or, you know, win in some way, you're still following a passion. You're still using whatever media is involved, the ball, the hoop, your body, and creating something that, whether it seems beautiful or not on the surface, people want to watch. People want to engage, people want to be a part of that. And I would say that's absolutely art. Ally: Yeah, it's a performance. Karl: Yeah, yeah. Ally: Above all, yeah. Tom: I'd even go as far to say that some art is a type of sport, in a way, because some take crazy amounts of stamina to do, like photography. If you're going out climbing a mountain just to try to get that perfect shot, it's going to take a lot of effort. Or even having the finesse of a paintbrush, like that takes skill. So I think they're kind of intertwined in a way. Luca: But I do think there's definitely a spectrum, a gradient to how artful some sports are versus others. I mean, I think in the Olympics this year, there's literally artistic swimming, which is, you know, I think that's like the new synchronized swimming. And so there's some sports where you're doing a routine to music, where you're literally incorporating, you know, like rhythmic gymnastics, you're incorporating hoops and balls and stuff like that. But maybe, you know, others like weightlifting, obviously, there's an art to that too, but maybe it's less direct. Ally: The body is art. Luca: Yeah, yeah, your body is art. Karl: So, Luca, let's get controversial. What is the least artistic sport in existence? Luca: Ooof. Karl: The people want to know. Tom: Don’t hold back, Luca. Ally: On the hot seat. Luca: Oh man, I agree with Karl's whole spiel about, you know, the training and the passion is art, so I'm not going to go out and say there are some sports that are not art whatsoever, but I think the less maybe coordination and performance elements, the less artistic a sport is. So I mean, there's an art to weightlifting, but compared to rhythmic gymnastics, you know, it's less of a performance to lift up the heavy weight. Ally: And some of those things that are less spectator sports, because again, art tends to be put out to be enjoyed by others, tends to not always. He's good. He’s got good answers. Tom: I think everyone should tell a story from their art class. Karl: One that sticks out to me. I always loved art growing up. I was always doodling. And of course, in elementary school, everybody took it, and this was probably second or third grade. And we had to—we were learning about the circus for one reason or another—and we had to make like paper cutouts of a circus train car and put something in it, you know, the monkeys or the trapeze artist or the clowns or whatever. And I chose—I loved African mammals, learning about African animals at the time. And I put a hippopotamus in mine. And I was very excited because not only did I love art, not only did I love African mammals, but I loved being a know-it-all as a child. So I was telling everybody at my table about how hippopotamuses, because I just learned this fact, were one of the leading causes of animal-related injury to people in Africa. They're a very territorial mammal, very big, very fast, even on land. And they caused a lot of injury in this one. Peer put up a fight and argued with me. I don't even remember what he said, like the Lions or some—this something, something that a third grader would say. Tom: How dare he. Karl: And I argued back, and he just would not let up. He was like tearing apart my art. And I was the one who got sent to the office for arguing. Tom: Art can be painful. Karl: And I still, yeah, I put a lot of those emotions into that hippo. After that, it is my Mona Lisa. Ally: I was not in an art class. I was in Girl Scouts and in middle school. There was a competition to create a new sundae for the local ice cream shop. And I don't even think I earned a badge for this. But I loved ice cream, so I was like, I'll give this a go. So we had to submit a picture and, oh my gosh, middle school me—so awkward. I submitted a picture of myself and my idea for what I called a cow pile sundae, and it was made of chocolate and vanilla swirl with peanut butter, green sprinkles, and whipped cream with a cherry to sort of look like a tasteful cow pile. And I won, and my picture was put up at the ice cream shop. Luca: Next to a cow pile. Ally: Exactly. And it's still there today. They actually left it up. It was popular enough that they kept it. So that is my one piece of art that I'm very proud of. Tom: Congratulations. Ally: Yeah. Tom: So Allie, Karl, Luca, thanks for doing the podcast.And now let's get right into Milepost 51 episode two with our second artist in residence, Megan Evans. Luca: Megan Evans uses her art to investigate nature, specifically the way in which mathematical concepts are represented. She has always been interested in the recurring shapes seen within the natural environment, through the repetition of shape and natural elements. Her paintings reflect elements of this world in a nontraditional way. Megan is also a highly regarded visual art educator, driven to inspire all of her students to become lifelong arts enthusiasts while also preparing students for careers in visual art. She has worked for Columbus City Schools for 25 years, while continuing to create and exhibit her own work throughout Ohio. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Art from the University of Findlay, and a Master of Art Education from The Ohio State University. Megan was chosen as the July Artist and will be in the park from July 8th through 29th. Megan, thank you so much for joining us today. Megan: Thanks for having me. Luca: We're here at Loft Mountain Campgrounds, sitting out on a nice screened porch with a lot of cool birds in the background that I'm going to try not to be distracted by. My name is Luca Pfeiffer. I'm the AmeriCorps intern working out of the parks media office. Tom: My name is Tom and I am a park ranger here at Shenandoah National Park. Yeah, you heard me last time on the podcast as well, but, we are back. We're back with our second artist in residence, Megan. And we're very happy for Megan to be here with us today. So thank you for being here again, Megan. Megan: Yeah. Tom: So today, Megan, Luca and I went on a beautiful hike at Black Rock. It's at mile 84 on Skyline Drive. In terms of hikes in Shenandoah, which one is at the top for you? Megan: Oh, that's a tough question. Tom: Yeah. Megan: Today's hike was one of the easiest hikes I've been on. Probably next to Limberlost, which is the easiest hike in the park. So if anybody's just looking for a meander, Limberlost is the trail for you. But I really loved Rose River. It was a tough hike, and it was raining.But to walk along the river, pretty much most of that hike was really gorgeous. And so that would be close to my top. Probably. Tom: And I think you were telling me and Luca the other day about the art you did on Rose River, and we had a chance to see that. And it was really, really beautiful. Could you explain your process of making art in Shenandoah as the artist in residence? Megan: Yeah. When I found out that I received the residency, which let me just tell you, I was so excited about, I was watching as it went through the different rounds, and when I got offered an interview, it was just tremendously exciting. And so my plan was that I would hike and photograph and use those photographs as my source material for my paintings. And then I went on my first hike, and I completely midstream changed how I was going to work. And I have a little art kit that I take with me. And that first hike, I decided to go ahead and start painting. And I sat for about three hours and worked on a small six by six painting, and it completely changed my thought process in terms of how I wanted to work while I was in the park. And I decided from there I wanted to hike everyday and every day I wanted to create a painting. And I haven't done a hike every day, but almost. So right now I'm at ten paintings. Tom: Wow. Wow. I don't think I've done ten paintings in my life, you know? Luca: So that's really interesting to hear, kind of how your process has changed. You kind of had an idea of what you thought it was going to be like, but then out in the field, you sort of adapted and realized how to get the most out of your environment. My background and also Tom's background is in photography, videography. Iespecially love nature photography, but I've always just done photography just for the picture. Whereas you're doing nature photography for the purposes of creating a painting. So I'm just kind of curious when you're hiking along and you're out on location. Can you speak a little bit towards your thought process in terms of what are you looking for, or what is it that catches your eye and what makes you want to stop and take the photo of it, and then just kind of how you work from there? Megan: So lots of things capture my attention. I actually probably am a slow hiker for that reason because I'm always looking. And so some of the photos I've taken are like up into the canopy because the lines that branches make. Some trees are just so stunning in the way that they create this, like, almost line work. But then I also get captured by these little tiny things that are along the trail. So yesterday, when I was on Doyles River Trail, I saw these beautiful, like, acorn shells and something that kind of looked like a pine cone, but not a pine cone. I'm not even sure what it is, because my Wi-Fi to do picture identification is not great. So I have research that I will be doing when I get back to Columbus. Identifying some of the things. I had this little nut that I think we figured out is of a hickory species today. Tom: We think so. Megan: That just about took me down the trail yesterday, and so it got its due in the painting. But also just, I love insects and things like that. So capturing this place, it has the most wonderful butterfly collection. And so I've gotten a lot of different photographs of different types of butterflies and wildflowers. And so some of it is looking at color, some of it is looking at the detail in the objects. When you see the acorn, it's just the top of it. And it has this most beautiful, like, diamond patterning to it. That just like caught my attention. And it has this, like, beautiful red color in it. Today when we were out there, these, you know, it's July. We should not have colored leaves yet outside of the greens and the yellow kind of coloring. And today we have these vibrant red leaves, kind of laying all around. And so, I didn't photograph all of them. I get very attracted to shape, but also the way the color kind of appears on them. So that's kind of how I pick what I'm photographing. Luca: And so you're mentioning your love of insects. Today when we were up on top of Black Rock summit, I heard that a spider got close to you. And you were bummed because you couldn't get a good photo of it. And I believe you have some other experiences of kind of non-human visitors coming and hanging out with you. So do you wanna get into that a little bit? Megan: Yes. I've had a visitor pretty much everywhere I've painted, from bees. I found this when I was up at Frazier Discovery Trail. This be-like creature that came and joined me for my whole paint time. I learned that it was not actually a bee. It was a form of a fly. It was a type of fly. But it had very much bee characteristics. And the cool thing about it was its back was spiky and black spiky to it. It was just incredible to look at. So I have great photographs of that. When I'm down by the water, there's a lot of these little purple butterflies that will come and hang out. I had a little bee come and sit on my paintbrush. And then probably the craziest one was when we were at, when I was on Limberlost. I had a deer that came. It was kind of walking on the other side of the trail from where I was sitting and working. And as it came down, it crossed right next to me, like, literally reached out and touched this deer. Which, of course, I did not. And it walked over to the decaying stump that I was painting and started eating my subject matter. And so I was like, all right. And that deer friend hung out with me for about a half hour. Another deer came up near as well. It was not. It was a little more worried about me than the first deer. And so it didn't get quite as close. And eventually the two of them went off grazing and the rest of the trail behind me. But, yeah. So cool. Visitors. Every place that I've gone. Tom: Yeah. You're making friends everywhere! Yeah. Every animal or insect. Do you have a favorite insect at all? Megan: I paint a lot of bees. And I paint a lot of butterflies and beetles. Oh, those are kind of the three that, like, in my typical work show up the most. Luca: And I think, um, you're definitely a good representative of a lover of bees. You actually have a honeycomb tattoo. Megan: Yeah. Luca: And I think that kind of ties it in with something we brought up in the original description. Just about these kind of repeated shapes and stuff. You just want to go into the honeycomb at all, or, you know, what was so meaningful about that pattern that you decided, you know, I want this piece of art to live on me. Megan: Yeah. So, I don't really know what it is about the shapes. Although I will say that beyond my art degree, I also have a math degree because I loved math and just took so many classes that when I graduated, they were like, oh yeah, you took enough classes. And also. So it was like a... Luca: Little bonus degree. Megan: It was kind of an intentional thing. I just, love the way math explains nature. And that's what math was created for. And so thinking about the way that happens is just really interesting to me. And in my own work, I also love using natural elements, to create textures and patterns and different things. And that's actually what I got to do with the art 180 and the groundwork. RVA I think, groups. And so I was able to share with them how I use natural elements. So one of the things that I brought with me were some wasp nests that had that honeycomb. And so to see the kids playing around with, stamping and texturing their own artworks, kind of brought me a little joy. It was, like, really interesting. I felt like that whole day was really interesting because everybody was essentially given the same set of materials and the solutions and paintings that each of them came up with were so vastly different. Just the way they decided to use the materials was so different. And so it was really exciting to watch these young artists, like, explore the materials and come up with solutions different than how I work, but in ways that also, like, worked really well and created amazing little paintings. Tom: Yeah. Luca and I were up there during that day, and I remember that some were more abstract in the pieces of art, and some were very literal. Yeah. So it was super cool to see the differences and the contrast between each piece of art. And it was very like little postcard art. So there wasn't much room to work on. But a lot of people did. They put a lot into that little area. And that's always something really cool to see, especially with younger people, getting to show their creativity. Megan: Yeah. And one of the things, like, so one of the things, one of the elements that I brought that they could stamp with was dried fruit. And it was interesting talking about the abstract as somebody stamped it and they made a more abstract piece where somebody else used it and created rolling hills. Tom: Oh, with the dried fruit? Megan: With the curve of the orange that they stamped. And so someone both using the same materials and one creating a much more abstract piece, somebody else using it to create a much more literal piece was really interesting. Tom: Yeah. It's got to be some poetry in that putting. Yeah, it's all coming from the same spot, but it's two totally different results. Yeah. That's amazing. Can we talk about more of where you are from and how you got started in doing your art? Megan: Yeah. So I am from Ohio. I grew up in Cincinnati. And really, I can't remember a time when I wasn't making art, as a little girl. My mom had a sewing table that had the machine that folded down and it became like a desk. Tom: Oh, cool. Megan: And that was my art studio in the laundry room, and it was like my place that I could go in and draw. And I look back, I do have some pictures of some of those things, and I thought I was making great art. And I look back and I'm like, oh, that's not as advanced as I thought I was at that age. And so... Luca: And was it always kind of painting art or at a young age were you doing all sorts of stuff? Megan: No, I was just drawing. Yeah. Much more drawing. People probably recognize they were like, if you can draw this thing and submit it, art school kinds of things. And they were always these, like, cartoon character things in the backs of magazines. Right. And so I'm, I'm giving away my age in terms of people actually still having magazines back in the day. I feel like they're not as popular now, but, you know, there's always, you know. So I was always drawing those things. Painting came in high school. I actually went to an all-girl Catholic school. And the art room saved me. I, and as a creative, as you can probably imagine, strict all-girl high school was a little bit rough. Yeah. But I had the most amazing art teachers, and so I really found my passion and my drive for becoming an artist then. But I also was an avid soccer player. And which is so weird because people aren't usually creative and athletic at the same time. That's a stereotype, but... Tom: Yeah, true, I definitely I was one of the other and it was not I was not athletic. Megan: And so, I did not end up going to an art school because I wanted to play soccer in college. And so that's how I ended up at the University of Findlay on a scholarship to play soccer. Paid for most of my tuition. Luca: What soccer position were you? Megan: I'm a goalkeeper. Tom: Oh, wow. Megan: Which I'm like, why was I a goalkeeper? I need my hands like... Luca: Haha, true. Megan: So I was like, yeah, but very passionate about goalkeeping and did a lot of training and stuff. And so, but there was a turning point where soccer went from being my first love to art being my first love. And, you know, I continued to play soccer until 40, but it wasn't as important to me as what I was doing creatively. Tom: Right. Luca: Do you want to go into that turning point at all? Was there a specific moment or it just sort of naturally, you just kind of got steered more towards the creative world? Megan: I think like, it's so funny because the Olympics are coming up. But like my dream as a young girl was to be on the U.S. Women's national team to the point that I did Junior Olympics. I did training, Olympic training program, stuff like that. Seriousness. Soccer is very political. It's a lot about who you know and, and, and coming out of college played like some on Semi-Pro when they were trying to get a women's league kind of moving. And so this is early 90s. And so, you know, definitely different than what we have in terms of soccer now in the US. And I just kind of feel like after college, I started working in a gallery and it was not fulfilling, and I needed to make more. And I also needed to both make more artistically and financially, I guess both. And so soccer became a hobby and art became really the career. And I just felt like it was more important than soccer at that point, if that makes sense. Tom: And that brought you here? Megan: Yeah. Tom: It all comes back around. Luca: And kind of throughout your, you know, interest in art and kind of more pursuing it as a profession. Do you feel like nature was always an important element of it, or I guess, is that your typical subject matter, or is that, you know, now that you're here in the residency program, now it's nature or I guess you could speak towards your relationship between nature and art and how that, how they combine. Megan: Yeah. It has always been nature. And I would say that my work is landscape, but probably not like typical landscape in terms of like the way I like to layer pattern as part of my background. Some of the paintings that I've done here in the park are a little bit more literal than my typical work, I would say. As a matter of fact, the piece from Bacon Hollow, I was like, is this it? Can this be all this painting is? There's not a million layers and all the things. It's very simple, but it captures that place kind of magically. Luca: Yeah. Megan: So, but it has always been nature. And the math part has moved kind of in and out. I will tell you that a lot of my earlier work was really related to processing losing my mom at a young age. I was 22 when my mom passed away. And I think that that idea of transformation and, like, where do we go and what happens to us, and how nature parallels our human life. Megan: I probably spent 20 years working through that, to be honest. And I came to a place where I felt like I was done thinking about the transition of our life and how the cycles kind of are repeated in nature, to a place that I kind of moved back into thinking about shape and the math part of it. And that has really been in the last 5 to 7 years. Tom: So it's been a journey to kind of work your way back up through through art and. Megan: Yeah, definitely. I think that's one of the things about art. And one of the things that can be really magical about it is just the way you can work through a lot of different things that are going on in your life. Yeah. By thinking about, process and your subject matter and, I feel like for a long time, I was painting about, you know, this idea of transformation without understanding why I was actually doing it. Luca: Yeah. Kind of just comes out subconsciously. Megan: It was coming out subconsciously. And then, I think in my, like mid to late 30s, which is, you know, over ten years after my mom passed, I started realizing why I was doing it. And I think once I realized the purpose in it, that allowed me to get to the place where I didn't need to keep making about it, if that makes sense. Luca: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So in addition to kind of your recognition of the subject matter and how it shifted, and you said kind of as you more recently took on a more, I guess, mathematics sort of direction, adding more shapes, do you speak a little bit more to how stylistically the art has shifted, in addition to how the subject matter has changed? Megan: I think the process in itself is the same, because even when I was thinking about the ideas around transformation, it was a very layered approach. Because there's layers in the cycle. Right? And so I think the thing that just changed was what the layers were, right. And so I think that was really kind of the change. And so that first layer now is really almost always some sort of repetitive nature shape. I'm working on a big piece while I'm here in the park also. And my first hike was Jones Run, and I took a picture up into the canopy of a tree, and it wasn't meant to go into the small painting from that day, but I kept coming back to that photo. And so what I did was created a leaf pattern that kind of fills the background of this. It's about two foot by four. By four foot? Yeah, two foot by four foot. And so those went down as like that first layer after, you know, you do your background painting and then start the layers and then, and next what I have added is actually a drawing of the boundary of the Shenandoah National Park. And so funny. Crazy. I at the time I started that I only had the huge National Geographic two-sided map of the park. So half the park was on one side. Half the park was on the other. So I started taping papers together, and my hope was that I would be able to use that in some way to try to transpose it onto the canvas. Luca: I think I saw that in the cabin there was like maybe like 20 different sheets of paper. And it was recognizably Shenandoah for sure. Megan: Yes. It ended up being double the size. I needed it to be for the canvas. And so, at one, I went out to get groceries, and when I came back, the ranger asked me if I wanted a park map. I was like, yes, please. And that had the whole park on one side. And I'm like, well, I got it pretty accurate for like seeing it in sections. But so now, I use that smaller map to be able to actually draw it a little bit easier onto the canvas. And I used a different material than I usually use. I actually grabbed some paint markers when I was at Target, and I used those paint markers for the first time on my canvas, which just made it a little bit of a quicker process. I am super in love with my work. Drawing with a paintbrush. And that was part of what I was also teaching the young people was how to use these really tiny paintbrushes. Can you water down your paint a little bit and then you can draw with it? And so I love to do really detailed line drawings of different natural elements, kind of as that last layer. So, right now I am adding that tree from Jones Run that I originally saw. And I actually have another photograph of a tree canopy that's also going to go on. And so I'm working on adding those trees and then I will start adding those drawing details. So I'm hoping that this piece is done by next Monday, which is my last day in the park. So I'm hoping to be able to wrap that piece up. But I want it to encompass the entire park. Yeah. Where the small paintings are very specific to the trail I was on. Yeah. Tom: Yeah. I noticed you used a lot of blue in your paintings and Megan: All blue. Tom: Yeah. I wanted to know what significance does the color blue have for you? Because I look at these paintings and I'm like, that looks like an underwater shot with beautiful coral. But no, it's Shenandoah. And you can, if you look deeper into it, into the layers, you can see Shenandoah. So what does that, how do you explain that? Megan: I don't know. Blue has been my color for as long as I can remember. And there's something that is just peaceful about it. For me, like, and it's not a cobalt blue. It is a, like, turquoise blue. Tom: It's one of the most beautiful blues. Really. Megan: And so I start with a phthalo blue, and I add just a little bit of yellow to it. And then from there, I can add white to get more of that pastel, kind of turquoise color. Sometimes add a little bit of black and it grays it just a little bit. But there is something that's just so peaceful about that blue color. And when we think about the world, think about, you know, we have blue in the waters and in the skies and really, wherever we go, there is blue somewhere, right? And, I don't know, I just feel very comforted by that color. And people will be like, well, nobody can look at your paintings and not know what your favorite color is. And I'm like, yes, or my house. My house has the same blue. Tom: Same color. Megan: All over. Yeah. Tom: I love that, gotta stay consistent and truly. Yeah. Speaking of being it being your last week in Shenandoah. How are you feeling about your stay in general? Megan: It's been remarkable. Tom: And how do you feel? Are you more happy or sad? Is it kind of a mixed bag? A double-edged sword to leave the park? Megan: Well, I am ready to leave. I miss my family. Tom: Yeah, I get that. Megan: Of course. But I also feel like I haven't done all the trails yet, and I'll just put out there. I am not a professional hiker by any stretch. I'm not going on anything that's as strenuous, because the ones that are moderate are plenty for me. But I still feel like I. I think the trails that I've picked, I've tried to represent different parts of the park. So I have areas from the south and kind of in the middle. And then what I when I was looking at the map, because I've been kind of like labeling where I've been, I realized I haven't gone above Skyland. And so I'm like wondering like what I'm missing up there and. Tom: In the northern section. Megan: Yeah. Luca: Has this been your first time staying at the Shenandoah National Park, or have you been here before? Megan: This is my first visit to Shenandoah. Yeah. Luca: I guess, what were some things, some maybe preconceptions that you had that maybe didn't end up true? Or just maybe. What are some things that surprised you or that you noticed about Shenandoah? Megan: I don't think I was really surprised. Although where I'm from is seven hours from here. Landscape wise, it's very similar. And so that is kind of what I expected. I guess when you're a landscape painter, isn't it your dream just to go out and be in nature and paint the things around you that might like? Is there a better thing than that? I don't think so. So I was excited to come for that reason. So. And I'll just tell you, I almost didn't apply for the residency because I think artists a lot of times have like, imposter syndrome. Right? And when I was looking at the guidelines, I was like, well, like, I'm an educator and like, am I really a true artist even though I do work in my studio? Regularly and I am creating and I am looking for shows and applying to jury things. But it is like, you know, I think all of us can get caught up in that imposter syndrome. And my husband said, what do you have to lose? Not getting it right. He goes, you would absolutely love being out in the very thing that you desire to paint all the time, you know? Megan: And so, he encouraged me to follow through and apply, and I am really grateful that he did. Tom: So what are you planning to do next after you leave Shenandoah? Megan: Well, I actually have a pretty large project back in Columbus I'm working on. It is a community-based project that I'm the lead artist on, creating ten sculptures that are going out into the community. So I definitely have that work that I will be getting back to. I have a lot of jigsaw work that I will be getting on, cutting things out of wood. But personally, for my own work, I have lots of paintings in my head that need to come to fruition. And so when I get back, I will jump back to real life and being a mom again and a wife again. And, getting back to. All right, I have taken hundreds of photos here, and I haven't been able to do all the paintings that I want to do. And so this place will continue to be my subject matter for a while longer. And then perhaps coming back the last weekend of September for Art in the Park. So waiting for more details about that, but might be back to share what I did while I was here. Tom: Like a sequel. Megan: A sequel. Luca: With the pieces that you've created in Shenandoah, what do you hope people take away from the paintings that you have made while you're here? Megan: Well, it's interesting because some of them are more literal, and some of them are glimpses of things that I saw. Right? And so I think overall, what I hope that people understand is that there's so much to see here. And if you really open your eyes to things around you, you can see amazing small things and large things. You know, those large things looking off and seeing the amazing shades of blue in the mountains. They go from this light, beautiful blue and they become greener and darker as they get closer. To seeing that acorn shell laying on the path as you walk down it. Yeah, there's so much to see here, so I hope people will come and visit. Tom: Megan, thank you so much for joining us today. Megan: Yeah, my pleasure. Tom: Thank you. Thank you for applying. Thank your husband for telling you to apply. Yeah. We're really happy you were here to be our July artist in residence. And, yeah. Thank you again. Megan: Thank you. It's a privilege to be here

Ally, Karl, Luca, and Tom talk about the parallels between sports and art. They then welcome Megan Evans, Shenandoah's second artist in residence, who captures nature's essence through her paintings. Megan discusses her artistic approach, sharing the specific elements of the natural world that inspire her. With a background in both art and math, she explores the patterns in nature that resonate with her work, revealing the connections she made with her environment.

Tags: artist, artist in residence, shenandoah, megan, evans, podcast, art, painting, math, nature, sports, science