PODCAST
Creating More
ABOUT
In 2021 I decided to take my "career coffee break" with Starbucks. After ten years of employment Starbucks offers the benefit of a sabbatical up to one year. I was finishing my degree through ASU while managing the highest volume store in our city- all while being an essential worker during a global pandemic.
As I took a step back from a company I had dedicated over ten years of my life to, I started wondering why. Why did I stay with Starbucks for so long and who am I without this company? These questions sent me down a rabbit hole of trying to understand myself more while also wondering how other people have navigated these similar situations in life.
One of the answers I landed on came back to one of my core values: community. I loved the community Starbucks created for me, and in turn, I created for other people. I started reflecting on all the incredible people I have met on my journey who are also huge advocates for creating community around them. I knew I wanted to create an intentional space during my break to ask these same questions to some of the people who have inspired me the most, and share their stories with others.
Together, with my mother in law as my co-host, we created our first podcast called "Creating More." The title of the show enabled us to pick different topics for each season to explore with our guests.
The first season was all about Creating More Community.
We just finished our second season about Creating More Art.
Our third season will be about Creating More Space.
Essentially, we want to Create More of what we want to see in this world; and for me, that is having intentional conversations about what makes us human and connects us back together.
FIND US
You can check out our website here.
You can listen on Spotify.
Find us on Instagram.
Season 2 Episodes
Creating More Art
Episode 1
The first episode of season 2 is none other than our co-host Susan Steen. The first thing Susan wants people to know about her is that she loves people. A humanist at the core, she loves meeting people, knowing people, and values relationships. She explores creativity through her writing and photography and love of rearranging furniture. A daughter, a wife, a mother, a mother-in-law, a sister, and a friend, she is happiest when she is laughing and crying with her family, many of them chosen. Laughing, hiking, photographing, and podcasting with Molly encompass her favorite things with one of her favorite people.
Episode 2
Molly Steen, host of Creating More Podcast, shares about her creative process, the mediums she uses, and why she chooses the subjects for her art. She is inspired by the strong women around her and wants to empower women to find their own inner strength, as she is working to find hers. Her art aims to capture the interconnectedness of us all to this earth.
Episode 3
Episode 3
Episode 3
Episode 3
Catie Beth Thomas joins us this episode to talk about the various mediums she uses, and the reason why she has chosen those materials. From fiber, to photography, to print making, she combines multiple mediums to create beautiful, intentional, and sustainable pieces. Her biggest inspirations come from spending time in nature, and the interconnectedness of the little things that keep our world alive. Check out this episode to learn about her art journey and future projects she is working on!
Catie Beth Thomas joins us this episode to talk about the various mediums she uses, and the reason why she has chosen those materials. From fiber, to photography, to print making, she combines multiple mediums to create beautiful, intentional, and sustainable pieces. Her biggest inspirations come from spending time in nature, and the interconnectedness of the little things that keep our world alive. Check out this episode to learn about her art journey and future projects she is working on!
Catie Beth Thomas joins us this episode to talk about the various mediums she uses, and the reason why she has chosen those materials. From fiber, to photography, to print making, she combines multiple mediums to create beautiful, intentional, and sustainable pieces. Her biggest inspirations come from spending time in nature, and the interconnectedness of the little things that keep our world alive. Check out this episode to learn about her art journey and future projects she is working on!
Episode 4
Lib Hedgepath would describe herself as the first “debutant to tattoo artist.” In this episode, Lib talks about her journey from an art teacher for over a decade to fulfilling her lifelong dream of being a tattoo artist. Check out this episode to learn more about this incredible lady and hear about her journey as an artist and to find out how she rediscovered her love and passion for creating art again.
Episode 5
Hayley Moran is the head route setter at the Crag climbing gym in Nashville. In this episode she shares how she got into route setting, what that process looks like, “setting” as a form of art, and the barriers she works to break down as a woman in a male dominated space. She also creates collage art and enjoys seeing how different pieces fit together.
Episode 6
Caleb Franklin is a storyteller. Whether it is through his songwriting, his singing, playing his guitar, sharing a poem, or creating a podcast, he loves the power and emotion behind words. A true artist, he talks about how he draws his creativity from within in this episode. Listen to the end to hear about the amazing work he is doing, then check out his music on Spotify: Honey and the Heavy.
Episode 7
Abigail Wennerstrom is the creator of Ink and Honey books that creates custom hand-bound books and journals out of vintage book covers. In this episode she shares her creative process, what being authentic means to her, and the power of failure. This is a must listen episode!
Episode 8
Aubrey Charnell is a sculpture artist currently residing in Tennessee. She studied at the Florence Academy of Art in Italy where she was inspired by the master’s works each day walking through the city. She creates bronze figures to pull out the emotion, rawness, and beauty of the human form. She finds her inspiration from within and views her sculptures as a vessel to pull out what’s inside.
Episode 9
This one isn’t about our host, Molly Steen, but about the incredibly talented Molly Seigler. Molly is a clothing designer and maker and owner of Gardenia & Co. She creates custom, small batch, clothing that is comfortable and cute. She loves the mediums of sewing and baking to create things with her hands that bring comfort, warmth, and ease back into her life. She has been on a journey of stepping outside her comfort zone to challenge herself and find her own voice. We loved the conversation with Molly and the opportunity to get to know her better!
Episode 10
Ethan Swiggart creates one of a kind custom made climbing holds out of wood. In this episode he shares why he has been drawn to this medium of carving natural elements. Between his love of being messy, dirty, using power tools, and also discovering the beautiful imperfections each piece of wood has to offer. Sometimes we don’t consider what we do art, but it turns out to be just that. And sometimes that art can bring us back to who we are at our core.
Episode 11
Carrol McTyre is a teaching artist who is an object-based creator working in various mediums including sculpting, drawing, painting, printmaking, fiber, and much more. Her exploration of art stems from trying to understand society while telling society about itself through the mediums she uses. From her Waffle House art social experiment, to using art to process grief, and societal roles and norms, she uses art as a way to process her life experiences. She has been in multiple exhibitions and creates incredible work with inspirational meaning. But sometimes the best part of the art is letting the viewer experience it for themselves and drawing their own conclusions about it.
Episode 12
Your favorite mother and daughter (in-law) duo are back. In this season 2 wrap up episode, Molly and Susan summarize their key learnings and favorite moments from this season: Creating More Art. They discuss what they have learned through these conversations and their own personal explorations. Check out this final episode to round out Season 2!