Shows
Artists in OfficesEllen Lake: interdisciplinary artist, arts administrator, and mom of 3On this episode, I'm thrilled to welcome Ellen Lake to the podcast! Ellen is an interdisciplinary artist based in Oakland, California, whose work spans painting, video, sculpture, installation, and public art. She often experiments with technology and archives, creating projects that blur the boundaries between process and material. Her public art initiative, Bench Projects, replaced ads with art by local artists at AC Transit bus stops in North Oakland (including episode 8 artist Lisa Solomon). Ellen has been awarded residencies at places like MASS MoCA, the Vermont Studio Center, the Rauschenberg Residency, and Stanford's Experimental Media Arts Lab, and she's r...
2025-12-0254 min
Artists in OfficesLisa Solomon: artist, illustrator, educator, and authorOn this episode, I'm thrilled to welcome Lisa Solomon to the podcast! Lisa is a studio artist, college professor, and illustrator whose work explores themes of domesticity, craft, and personal history—often blurring the lines between art and craft through her mixed-media pieces and large installations. She's exhibited nationally and internationally, with work in both private and public collections, and she's also the author of several books including A Field Guide to Color, The Color Meditation Deck, Knot Thread Stitch, and more (find all her books here). Beyond her art practice, Lisa teaches on CreativeBug and continues to create fr...
2025-11-181h 04
Artists in OfficesSarah Kobrinsky: poet, martial artist, motherIn this episode, I'm excited to welcome Sarah Kobrinsky to the podcast! Sarah is the former Poet Laureate of Emeryville, California, and the author of Nighttime on the Other Side of Everything. Her poems and stories have appeared in places like Magma Poetry, Red Light Lit, Monkeybicycle, 100 Word Story, and many more. Born in Canada, raised in North Dakota, seasoned in England, and tempered in California, she now lives in the Bay Area, where she and her husband run a handmade ceramic dinnerware company called Jered's Pottery. She also hosts literary workshops and readings there, and beyond her creative...
2025-11-1250 min
The State - A Podcast from The State News + Impact 89FMNovember 6, 2025In the news today- Steve Whelan and Chuck Grigsby elected to East Lansing City Council, Amid budget cuts, MSU colleges pausing graduate program admissions, Trustee's organization under scrutiny: Rebecca Bahar-Cook says criticism of Michigan Economic Development Foundation and work as trustee are "wholly unrelated", and MSU women’s basketball makes program history in win over Mercyhurst.
2025-11-0605 min
Artists in OfficesSusana Sanchez-Young: artist, visual journalist, and entrepreneurOn this episode, I'm excited to speak with Susana Sanchez-Young! Susana is a visual journalist with more than 20 years of experience in newspaper design and graphic and photo illustration. Her award-winning work has covered everything from presidential inaugurations to Spanx for men to nudist camps in South Florida—and pretty much everything in between. She's been recognized by the Society of News Design and multiple state press associations across the country. Susana is also the creative force behind The Designing Chica, a brand she launched after realizing during her pregnancy that there wasn't enough artwork reflecting her own Guatemalan-Nicaraguan-American cu...
2025-11-0444 min
Artists in OfficesDavid Burke: artist, educator, muralist, and father of twoI'm thrilled to talk with David Burke on this episode of the podcast! David is an artist whose career balances teaching, studio practice, and public art. Over the past two decades, he's created murals, exhibitions, and collaborative projects that merge creativity with community storytelling. He's the founder of Hungry Ghost Productions, a Bay Area mural collective dedicated to diversity, social justice, and collaboration, and their ongoing Love Letter to Oakland project celebrates generations of artists, activists, and leaders in the city. In his studio work, David explores ecology, climate change, and the relationship between the natural and built environment...
2025-10-281h 01
Artists in OfficesBriana Loewinsohn: high school art teacher and cartoonistThis week's guest is Briana Loewinsohn! Briana is a high school art teacher and cartoonist, and the author of the acclaimed graphic memoir Ephemera, published by Fantagraphics in 2023. The book was named one of the American Library Association's top graphic novels of the year and won the 2023 Foreword Indies Editors Prize for Nonfiction. Her latest graphic novel, Raised by Ghosts, came out in early 2025—also with Fantagraphics—and recently won the Harvey Award for Best Young Adult Book. Briana lives in Oakland, California, with her husband, their two kids, and their cat, Gary. We talk a lot in t...
2025-10-211h 09
Artists in OfficesAndrea Wenglowskyj: Buffalo-based photographer and mother of twoIn episode 3, I speak with Buffalo-based artist Andrea Wenglowskyj. Andrea is a photo-based artist and commercial/editorial photographer whose work explores how memory and community are shaped by war and authoritarianism, inspired by her Ukrainian-American heritage. A Fulbright Grant recipient in Ukraine, she has exhibited across the U.S. and internationally, including at CEPA Gallery, Silver Eye Center for Photography, and Galerie Amu in Prague. Her photography has appeared in The New York Times, NPR, and more. Andrea has taught at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the International Center of Photography, and the Brooklyn Museum...
2025-10-1457 min
Artists in OfficesArtist & Archivist Janine Biunno is back with an MLS degree, a new job, and a kid.On this episode, I'm excited to welcome back Janine Biunno to the podcast! When we last talked, Janine was wrapping up her MLS degree while working as an archivist and maintaining her art practice. This time around, we talk about life after that degree, parenthood during a pandemic, day jobs that turn into careers, daily practices, and valuing the little moments. During our conversation, we discuss Oliver Burkeman's book Four Thousand Weeks, Janine's husband Mac Pohanka, co-owner of Brooklyn-based Noble Signs, and our graduate advisor (and mom of 2!) Jennifer Schmidt. Janine is a New York–ba...
2025-10-071h 01
Artists in OfficesLisa Jonas Taylor returns to Artists in Offices as a Parent ArtistFor the first episode of season 2, I welcome back Lisa Jonas Taylor, who became a parent in 2023. Lisa is a Santa Rosa-based artist who makes paintings that often incorporate sculptural and theatrical elements. Lisa has shown her work at places like Bass & Reiner Gallery, Southern Exposure, the Contemporary Jewish Museum, the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, and the Casa Romantica Cultural Center in Southern California. Collaborative projects include God Sees Everything, part of SFMOMA's Fertile Ground at the Oakland Museum of California, and Solarium, created during a residency at This Will Take Time and later exhibited at...
2025-09-3052 min
Artists in OfficesWelcome to Artists in Offices Season 2: Parent ArtistsArtists in Offices explores how the work we do for pay supports the work we do for love. I'm your host, Rebecca Bird Grigsby—visual artist, mom of two, and full-time project manager by day. Season 1 featured artists balancing day jobs and creative practice. This season, I'm talking with artists who are also parents about making art while raising kids. We'll dive into the challenges and joys of sustaining creativity alongside caregiving—how parenting reshapes priorities, changes our sense of time, and redefines what studio work looks like. Guests share stories of support networks, teaching as l...
2025-09-2505 min
The Las Vegas Public Affairs ShowThe Las Vegas Public Affairs Show November 4, 2023The Las Vegas Public Affairs Show, hosted by Heather Vale, highlights charity events, non-profit initiatives, and social issues around Southern Nevada. This week's topics: Holiday Match campaign with Kate Hibbard Gaines, Director of Development for Three Square; Project Homeless Connect with Dr. Rebecca Edgeworth, Assistant Professor at Touro University Nevada, and Catrina Grigsby-Thedford, Executive Director for the Nevada Homeless Alliance; Men’s Health with Bob Evans, Ambassador Spokesperson for Movember; Medicare Open Enrollment with Gary Culp, Chief Growth Officer for Cigna Healthcare’s Medicare Advantage; Be The One campaign to prevent Veteran suici...
2023-11-0456 min
OCR ExamsSEND in schools and colleges: Part 1Guests Emma Winstanley and Dr Nicholas Grigsby, from Stonyhurst College in Clitheroe, Lancashire, joined OCR Health & Social Care and Child Development Subject Advisor Rebecca Simcox for part 1 of our SEND-themed episode. Our guests discussed the different areas and types of SEND, the process for diagnosing a person with a condition, EHCPs and how parents and carers can access appropriate support and choose the right school or college for their child. Please remember to share this episode with your colleagues, parents/carers and keep an eye out for part 2 where our guests discussed the ways schools/colleges can support students...
2022-12-1537 min
The Las Vegas Public Affairs ShowThe Las Vegas Public Affairs Show November 12, 2022The Las Vegas Public Affairs Show, hosted by Heather Vale, highlights charity events, non-profit initiatives, and social issues around Southern Nevada. This week's topics: Mr. Piffles’ 15th Birthday to support the Nevada SPCA with magician Piff the Magic Dragon; Veterans Day and vet services with Bob Maxwell, CEO of Voice of the Veteran; Project Homeless Connect with Dr. Rebecca Edgeworth, Assistant Professor with Touro University Nevada and Catrina Grigsby-Thedford, Executive Director of Nevada Homeless Alliance; Happy Bonus Days with Shannon Hiller, Chief Marketing Officer for the Clark County Credit Union (CCCU); Suicide Prevention with Dr...
2022-11-1256 min
Middle of the RowShine On, Doctor SleepAnother Stephen King adaptation, another review on Middle of the Row: The Podcast. This week, it’s The Shining Sequel, Doctor Sleep! I lot of praise around here for this one, but sadly we feel like the only ones. Rebecca Ferguson, Obi-Wan Kanobi, The Shining! What’s not to like. We have a lot of fun hashing this one out, disagreements on how it all works, and, I think, get the story straight on what the hell happened in all the versions of this story in film and literary form. So, come have a listen, it’s a good one!
Downlo...
2019-12-1057 min
Artists in OfficesLennon Michelle Wolcott Hernandez - a Boston-based interdisciplinary artist who works in graduate admissions.In this bonus episode between seasons 1 and 2 of the podcast, I talk to Lennon Michelle Wolcott Hernandez, a Boston-based interdisciplinary artist who works in graduate admissions. Originally from Michigan, Lennon is a Latinx artist who speaks better Japanese than Spanish, is named after a Beatle, and comes from a family line that signed the Declaration of Independence. She completed her Bachelor of Fine Art at Michigan State University. After leaving the Midwest, Lennon attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University for the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate (2015) and Master of Fine Arts (2017) programs. In early 2020, Lennon will...
2019-10-1738 min
Artists in OfficesBonus Ep with Laura Torres, who quit her day job to focus more time on her creative practice!In this bonus episode, I check in with Laura Torres, the second artist I interviewed for season 1 of the podcast. About a month after our initial interview in December 2018, Laura quit her full-time day job in higher education fundraising to focus more time on her circus arts training and everything else that supports her creative practice. This bonus episode was recorded in March 2019, a couple of months after Laura left her job. Since then, Laura reports that she is meeting a lot of her tightwire goals, though like all art objectives, everything takes much longer than initially...
2019-07-2628 min
Artists in OfficesBonus chat with Elizabeth Amento on her move from SF to NYCIn this bonus episode, I check in with Elizabeth Amento, the first artist I interviewed for season one of the podcast, who has since left her day job in San Francisco and moved to New York City. This bonus episode was recorded in late June 2019, a week before she started her new job, and about three months after she made the move. Elizabeth was born in Boston, MA, and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She returned to the East Coast to attend Boston College for Studio Art and Psychology, Brandeis University for a Post-Baccalaureate in...
2019-07-1220 min
Artists in OfficesMike Rothfeld - a Sculptor and Arts Administrator living and working in Oakland & San FranciscoIn the final episode of season one, I speak with Mike Rothfeld, an artist living and working in Oakland and San Francisco. He received his MFA in Fine Art and MA in Visual and Critical Studies from California College of the Arts (CCA) and his BFA in Photography and Imaging from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University (NYU). Rothfeld's lo-fi, seemingly clumsy sculptures serve as set-pieces and props for the partial science-fiction and fantasy narratives he imagines while working in the studio. His sculptures display a dedication to play, campiness and the absurd...
2019-06-051h 02
Artists in OfficesNicole Kita - a NorCal Artist who works as an Educator and Advocate for Artists with Developmental DisabilitiesIn episode 9, I speak with Nicole Kita, a visual artist living and working in Northern California, who works as an educator and advocate for artists with developmental disabilities. As an educator, Kita has taught artists of diverse ages, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, as well as individual behavioral and learning needs. She currently works as a full-time teacher at The Studio, a non-profit arts organization in Eureka, California, that provides an inclusive studio environment for artists of all abilities to foster an authentic art practice and professional growth. As an artist, Kita explores the visual language of signs an...
2019-05-2955 min
Artists in OfficesEm Meine, an Oakland-based artist who works in art & design higher edEm Meine makes drawings, paintings, and sculptures as a means of exploring collective memory, storytelling, natural history, and anthropomorphism. The works are often figurative representations of imaginary objects or landscapes. She considers her artistic practice to be a ritual for contemplation and self-care, which enables her to experience a sense of connectivity and communion with everything beyond her self. Em's process is meditative, allowing her to disengage from the external world, and to instead explore an internal universe. More recently, Em has been making drawings that articulate vulnerable ideas based on her own experiences with anxiety or...
2019-05-2253 min
Artists in OfficesGabriel Martinez, a Berkeley-based Visual DesignerGabriel Martinez specializes in political art and Visual Cultural design. Gabriel has an eclectic history of being an artist whose works span the spectrum of being displayed on Bay Area gallery walls or finding their way directly to the hands of people for political empowerment. He has even had his portrait displayed at the de Young Museum. Gabriel's work unifies art and design. The discursive style elements in Gabriel's work have been inspired by the graphic works of lowbrow art, political cartoons, and culture jamming. Thus, Gabriel has always been comfortable creating with a stylus and a...
2019-05-1548 min
Artists in OfficesA bonus convo about the post-bac with Christopher Thomas FordIn this mini bonus episode, Los Angeles area artist & museum preparator's assistant Christopher Thomas Ford discusses the decision to attend the Museum School's post-baccalaureate program before pursuing his Master of Fine Arts degree. If you'd like to hear our full conversation, look for episode 6 of this podcast. Music provided by Mr. Neat Beats.
2019-05-0804 min
Artists in OfficesChristopher Thomas Ford - Museum Preparator's AssistantIn episode 6, I speak with Christopher Thomas Ford, an interdisciplinary artist from the Boston area who relocated to Los Angeles in 2016. He received his MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts/Tufts University. In Dorchester, Massachusetts, he co-founded the Howard Art Project artist space and artist collective. He has taught at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and the Lesley University College of Art and Design. His work has been exhibited across the United States. In addition to maintaining an active studio practice, Christopher works as a Preparator's Assistant at a contemporary art museum...
2019-05-0850 min
Artists in OfficesJanine Biunno Bonus - MLS vs MFAIn Episode 5 I speak with Brooklyn-based artist and archivist Janine Biunno. About three years ago, Janine decided to go back to grad school, having previously attended for art, to obtain a Master's degree in Library Science. In this bonus mini-episode, Janine and I discuss her experiences the second time around and the similarities and differences between the MLS and the MFA. If you'd like to hear our full conversation, look for episode 5 of this podcast. Janine Biunno is a visual artist and archivist based in Brooklyn, New York, whose work is focused on analyzing and interpreting the s...
2019-05-0106 min
Artists in OfficesJanine Biunno - a Brooklyn-based artist and archivist.Janine Biunno is a visual artist and archivist based in Brooklyn, New York. Her work is focused on analyzing and interpreting the semiotics of the built environment. Janine's artwork addresses the subjective practice of understanding and representing the architecture, infrastructure, and density of urban space, and how our general perception of those physical spaces is altered due to the increasing influence of the digital realm. She has exhibited at International Print Center of New York, Tiger Strikes Asteroid and Transmitter Gallery in Brooklyn, Satellite Art Fair, Miami, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and ACRE Projects in Chicago. As...
2019-05-0147 min
Artists in OfficesHelena Hsieh - a Los Angeles area artist and educator.Helena Hsieh was born and raised in Long Beach, California. She received her BA in English Literature from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2004, her BFA in Painting from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2008, and her MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston/Tufts University in 2012. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in Vancouver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Boston. Hsieh has received a number of awards and recognition including being an Artist in Residence at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, an Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant, and a Post-Graduate Teaching...
2019-05-0136 min
Artists in OfficesLisa Jonas Taylor - San Francisco based artist and arts administrator.In episode three, I talk to San Francisco-based artist Lisa Jonas Taylor, who works by day in the field of art and design higher education. Lisa's studio practice is grounded in various mediums, primarily painting, sculpture, and installation, as well as project-based collaborative work. Her work has been exhibited at Good Mother Gallery and City Limits Gallery, Oakland; Studio 110 Projects, Sausalito; Southern Exposure, Bass & Reiner Gallery, and the Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco; Berkeley Museum of Art and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley; Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Santa Monica; among others. Collaborative work includes a performance by New York based artist...
2019-05-0140 min
Artists in OfficesLaura Torres - multi-media artist and tightwire performer.In episode two, I speak with Laura Torres, a multi-disciplinary artist who has worked in sculpture, installation, film, and performance. She is a former member of the Atlantic Works Gallery in Boston, MA. Now based in Chicago, IL, Laura focuses on tightwire training, performing and coaching beginning wirewalkers. At the time of our interview, in December 2018, Laura was working in non-profit fundraising in the field of art and design higher education. She has since quit that job in order to focus more time on her creative practice. Look for a bonus episode later in summer 2019. ...
2019-05-0131 min
Artists in OfficesElizabeth Amento - a self-described artist with a day job.In episode one, I speak with Elizabeth Amento. In her work, Elizabeth explores relationships, between people, between colors, and the play between both. At the time of our interview, in November 2018, Elizabeth was working full-time in an accounting firm in San Francisco, making her work in the evenings and on the weekends. Elizabeth has since quit her day job in San Francisco and moved to New York, where she's already signed up for a woodshop basics course at Brooklyn's Makeville Studio. Look for a bonus episode with Elizabeth in summer 2019. Elizabeth was born in Boston, MA, and...
2019-05-0124 min
Artists in OfficesA preview of Season 1, launching on May 1, 2019Artists in Offices is a podcast that explores, through interviews with working artists, the idea that "the work you do for pay supports the work you do for love"...or does it? Hosted by Oakland-based artist Rebecca Bird Grigsby, Season 1 of the podcast launches on May 1, 2019, with the first 5 of 10 interviews conducted with artists across the U.S. between November 2018 and March 2019. Look for a new episode each week after launch through early June, plus a couple of bonus episodes later this summer with artists who have either quit or changed day jobs since their initial interview. ...
2019-04-2904 min
The PROJcastMini #5 - April Fooling"And it's kinda really fun cuz writing your own plays...actually kinda feeling like you're in a Broadway show." - Kassandra, age 9 A mini-episode featuring some of our newest members, plus a song about a magical doll. - - - - - The Kids:Kassandra, Christian, Nikolai, Ricardo The Adults: Wes Braver (composer; Web: wesbraver.com; Social: @wesbraver), Andy Danh (vocalist; Web: andydanh.com, Social: @en_dedans), Doug Derryberry (guitar), Jon Epcar (percussion; Web: jonepcar.org), Kimberly Grigsby (music director/keyboards), Backing vocals: Emily Afton & Trey Ellett. The PROJcast...
2018-04-0110 min