kansas city podcast – Rachelle Gardner-Roe

May 26, 2017December 27, 2019

NO. 6 FEMIN • IS – LINDA LIGHTON

In episode No. 6 of the Femin • Is series, I sat down with local ceramicist and bona fide flowerchild Linda Lighton. Sex, drugs, rock n’ roll and ceramics, baby. This is how it’s done.

Featured photo by Tom Styrkowicz

To be the renowned artist that Linda Lighton is today, she had to rebel, and then rebel some more. So for this interview, we took a deep dive into the early years and some early work. We also took a look back at the history of the art scene in Kansas City. Below are a few pieces that we discussed in the interview. Enjoy.

Diva Laura
clay, glaze, China paint, lustres
22″ x 9″ x 11″
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Collection
2002

The Czarina Damnwell clay, glaze, China paint, lustre 14.5″ x 8″ x 4″ Belger Arts Center Collection 2000

Love & War: The Ammunition clay, glaze, China paint, lustre 12″ x 17″ x 13″ 2012

Still hungry? Then watch this gem of a process film of Linda Lighton by Don Maxwell
and stay tuned for an upcoming bonus clip from my interview with Linda.

Lastly, here is Linda’s portrait, admittedly the metallic gold was difficult to photograph!

This episode of KC Art Pie is made possible through an Inspiration Grant from

April 1, 2017December 27, 2019

N0. 3: FEMIN • IS – GLORIA VANDO HICKOK

Episode No. 3 of the KC Art Pie podcast features poet Gloria Vando Hickok, who founded Helicon Nine, co-founded The Writers Place, and generally, is a very busy woman.

For the third episode for FEMIN IS, we take a historical look at feminism in the arts with Gloria. We spoke over the phone about Helicon Nine: The Journal of Women’s Arts & Letters which she founded in 1977 in Kansas City, Missouri, to provide a quality literary publication by and about women. The magazine provided a forum for women in the arts at a time when women were being excluded from major anthologies, history books, museums, and academic curricula. It published the work of well over 500 artist. In 1992 Helicon Nine, changed its name to Midwest Center for the Literary Arts, Inc., in order to expand its mission to include the publication of fine books of literature through Helicon Nine Editions and the founding of The Writers Place, a regional literary community center, library, and gallery offering public and educational programs for all ages.

As a poet, Gloria has edited and published numerous anthologies of poetry and received awards for her own books, Promesas: Geography of the Impossible, a personal encounter with the history of colonialism and her family roots in Puerto Rico; Shadows and Supposes, named the Best Poetry Book of 2003 by the Latino Hall of Fame; and Woven Voices, a cross-generational work with her mother and daughter.

Though she returns to Kansas City regularly, she now lives in California.

Limited back issues of Helicon Nine are available on Amazon, including a few of Gloria’s favorites: The Marianne Moore issue and The Helicon Nine Reader: A Celebration of Women in the Arts

What’s coming up next for Gloria? She is working on a new book of poetry and a memoir, so there is plenty more to come from this passionate and energetic artist!

Lastly, here is Gloria’s portrait, inspired by the Helicon Nine Publishing logo.

India ink on paper │Text: The Collected Poems of Muriel Rukeyser │ 22.75 x 34.75” │ 2017

This episode of KC Art Pie is made possible through an Inspiration Grant from

March 17, 2017December 27, 2019

N0. 2: FEMIN • IS – JANET KUEMMERLEIN

Episode No. 2 of the KC Art Pie podcast features visual artist Janet Kuemmerlein discussing her textile murals, the women of jazz, and how naiveté is not always a bad thing.

For this episode, I sat down with Janet Kuemmerlein in her large home studio to talk about her work and career which has spanned over 50 years. We talked about the bravery or naivete it takes to be an artist and the early days of her career in the 60s. While her textile practice is often a solitary affair, she has also painted portraits of other artists, most significantly a number of Kansas City women jazz vocalists, and she shares her experience of working with and learning from women coming from a different artistic medium.

Kuemmerlein is a pioneer in the contemporary fiber art movement. She was born in Detroit, Michigan. Janet studied painting at the College of Creative Studies in Detroit, and sculpture and metalsmithing at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Her work has been placed in institutions such the Smithsonian Museum of Fine Artm the Chicago Institute of Art, the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Art and Design, among many others. Her work has been in exhibited around the word in England, France, Germany and Switzerland.

http://www.janetkuemmerlein.com