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I had this great podcast with Mira Nakashima and it was a really long one, so I broke it into two parts. This is the second part, and this was really where I walked through her facility in New Hope, PA and we go through these all these buildings.  The first building is called the "pole barn" which has all this amazing storage of wood, which is really the reason that Mira continued her family legacy of woodworking because she really wanted to see the life of this wood through its journey, and she felt a great obligation to do that. We also look at the place where they take the wood after its "planed," where they really start putting the puzzle pieces in place and where it start to comes together as a piece of furniture. Then Mira takes us to the finishing shed were really as she describes it "the magic happens." Then after Mira was called away to her board meeting, I was able to talk to her assistant and designer Zane Shalchi and he was very kind and said, sure, I'll do a quick interview. It gave me a different perspective of what it's like to be a part of the legacy of George and Mira Nakashima.  Anyhow, I think this is a very important podcast historically. I love their work. I think this is one of those that will go down for me as one of my favorites. This is Mira Nakashima, part two on the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast.

Sometimes if you really want to do a great podcast, you just have to get on a plane and go somewhere. In this case, I went to New Hope, PA to talk to renowned second-generation woodworker, Mira Nakashima.  She is the daughter of George Nakashima, and they both are incredibly important figures in the world of furniture making. Many would say that George Nakashima is the father of modern furniture making. I mean, he's the guy that started it all in the late 40s, and they've been going non-stop ever since. Mira has been at it herself full time since 1970 and the campus in Pennsylvania is an amazing place to go. If you go, make an appointment way in advance because it's already so busy and they would get overwhelmed if it was open to the public. It was so amazing to go see the facility and hear this complex history of her father and his craft. You see, they were put into an internment camp in 1942 because of World War II, George being a trained architect and Mira being a newborn at that time. Hearing that story and how George meeting a woodworker while imprisoned changed his trajectory completely from the architectural world.  This episode is a more traditional podcast, in the sense that we both sit down together and have a really amazing conversation about her and her father's legacy in the arts. After our almost 2 hour conversation, Mira gives us a tour of the facility in Pennsylvania and that will be its own episode of the podcast. In any case, this is definitely one of my favorite podcasts that i\I’ve ever done. It was well worth the trip to go out there, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. This is Mira Nakashima on Art Dealer Diaries Podcast episode 414.

I had Rebecca West on the podcast today and she is the Executive Director and CEO of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. She's just such a lovely person. I really enjoyed speaking to her and learning about how she became the Director. the story is really quite amazing because she's been at the museum for like 34 years. She started there doing an internship, working on the catalog raisonné of western art icon Frederic Remington. She worked her way through the organization for something like 11 years as a curator, and then continued until she became the Executive Director / CEO in 2021. We talked about the current show that's going on called "Buffalo Nation" which is a very large, expansive show that is definitely worth seeing. You can hear Rebecca describe all of the components of it and hear how excited an exhibit like this gets the two of us. The exhibit will be up through January of 2028 so you'll have plenty of time to visit it if you're interested. So, I love it when I get to talk to an organizational figurehead in the art world that really loves their job and knows their stuff. She's been at that museum for 34 years, so I think it's fair to assume that she loves that job. Learn more about the Buffalo Bill Center of the West here: https://centerofthewest.org/

One of the wonderful things about having your own podcast and determining who you want to interview is that you can just do whatever and follow your curiosity. In this case, I had the opportunity to sit down with Nogi San. She's a fantastic artist who does a plethora of things but is most well known for her comic book covers. I've always loved comics. As a kid, I collected a ton of them. I collected them to see the artwork mostly. I always loved the art component of comic books and still had a huge collection up until recently. Well, Nogi just happens does some insanely beautiful comic covers for the two biggest comic companies in the world, Marvel and DC. Before that, she did artwork for video games such as Assassin's Creed, Cyberpunk 2077, and League of Legends, and was handpicked by Giorgio Armani himself to do artwork for their 2020 Tokyo Olympics collaboration. But her art career didn't necessarily start that way. It started in a much more uncertain part of life where a career as an artist was maybe not the most secure route she could have taken. To get through that component, for most people, is really difficult. She knew in her heart that being a creative professional was the only thing she could do, because that's who she was on the inside. So I really enjoyed this podcast and I think you will too. To see her get animated when she talks about her art and her life and the things that make her who she is was lovely. She will no doubt be one of the premier comic book artists of the day. This is Nogi San on Art Dealer Diaries Podcast episode 412.

I had artist Marcus Amerman on today. He's a really interesting guy. He's somebody that we actually represent and is collected by museums around the world. Marcus is just this guy who can do all sorts of things.  He's a true multimedia artist in that he's done fashion, he's done paintings, glasswork, and he's currently doing assemblage pieces that are made out of old hubcaps.  What he's best known for though, is his beadwork, or photobeadilism as he calls it. In the 80s he was doing beaded designer jackets worn by the likes of Elton John, John Travolta, and Sylvester Stallone.  To get to spend an hour with him and just kind of find out where all of the creativity comes from and how it bubbles up was really interesting. I think you'll find it interesting as well. He's just such a unique human.  It's lovely when you get to spend time with an artist like Marcus. For me, it's a double treat because I get to show his work as well. This is the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast episode 411 with Marcus Amerman. View available works by Marcus Amerman here

***The Youtube version of this podcast is recommended due to the visual nature of the recording.*** I think one of the greatest and sacred things that you can experience is the firing of Pueblo pottery and I was very fortunate to be able to witness a firing right before the 2026 Santa Fe Indian Market. It was a very famous family of pottery makers too.  The family includes Christopher Youngblood, Joseph Youngblood, and Sergio Lugo (who ends up winning Best of Show just a few days after we filmed this firing) and they are all brothers. We also got to speak to the amazing Jennifer Tafoya, (who's married to Chris Youngblood) who won Best of Show three years ago. In fact, Chris's mother, Nancy Youngblood, also won Best of Show in the past (though we didn't get to see her this time around) which makes this one of, if not the most decorated family of potters in the history of Indian Market. It's very obviously a great line of pottery makers, and they all stand on their own.  They're all terrific artisans with their own specialties and it's so interesting to watch what's really involved in doing a firing. First of all, it's a dangerous thing to do the way with the constant smoke and flames. It can take decades to really get to the point where you can be a master at firing. It's a truly sacred event. You'll see it. I mean, they literally make blessings to the pottery that they are firing.  This is the kind of thing I love to do. It's important to me. It feels important as I'm asking them questions and documenting the process. So if you want to watch experts of their craft do what they do best, watch the Youngblood/Lugo/Tafoya family fire two very important vessels in this special presentation of a firing at their home.

This was the 104th Santa Fe Indian Market and SWAIA has been putting on a ceremony for the Best of Show Award since 1977. It's always incredibly exciting and quite honestly, emotional to watch and be a part of this ceremony because the individuals that win are so grateful and, more often than not, surprised that they were selected as the best in their classification, the very best of what they do, whether it would be beadwork, kachinas, pottery, 2D media, all those things are judged. The artists that win ribbons for being the best of their respective classification, are then juried to see who wins the best of show award. They pick the final person who they consider to be the very best of everything that year and in this case, it was Sergio Lugo for his magnificent floating pot. I would encourage you, if you can, to watch this on youtube, because if you see it on YouTube you get to see the winning pieces and the reactions of the artists to winning. It's pretty impressive just to see the emotion that these individuals have and how important Santa Fe Indian market is to them and how grateful they feel for what SWAIA does. I genuinely love watching his ceremony, because each individual talks about their tribe, family, and culture and how instrumental it all is in how they got there and how they made such amazing works of art.  I never get tired of these ceremonies. In this case, it was for the 104th Santa Fe Indian Market.

In this episode of the podcast, I am joined by the brilliant contemporary American visual artist Eric White. We spoke for over 3 hours, so the interview is going to be cut into two parts. This is part two. Eric is widely celebrated today for his intricate, cinematic paintings that effortlessly blur the lines between reality and surrealism. In our conversation, Eric takes me back to his early days as an artist. He sheds light on his formative experiences, the pivotal moments in his schooling at Rhode Island School of Design, and his early years as a professional illustrator. We dive deep into his artistic journey, discussing how his unique visual vocabulary developed over the years, the inspirations that shaped his signature style, and what it was like finding his footing in the competitive art world. Whether you're an avid collector, a fellow creator, or simply fascinated by the origins of great art, this podcast offers an intimate glimpse into an exceptionally creative mind. For more information on Eric White and his artwork, visit his website: https://ewhite.com/

In this episode of the podcast, I am joined by the brilliant contemporary American visual artist Eric White. We spoke for over 3 hours, so the interview is going to be cut into two parts. Eric is widely celebrated today for his intricate, cinematic paintings that effortlessly blur the lines between reality and surrealism. In our conversation, Eric takes me back to his early days as an artist. He sheds light on his formative experiences, the pivotal moments in his schooling at Rhode Island School of Design, and his early years as a professional illustrator. We dive deep into his artistic journey, discussing how his unique visual vocabulary developed over the years, the inspirations that shaped his signature style, and what it was like finding his footing in the competitive art world. Whether you're an avid collector, a fellow creator, or simply fascinated by the origins of great art, this podcast offers an intimate glimpse into an exceptionally creative mind. This is Eric White part 1 on Art Dealer Diaries Podcast episode 407.

This episode is a recording of a lecture I gave at the 2026 Scottsdale Art Week event where I talked about a recent book I published and the exhibit that I curated, both titled "Ed Mell & Maynard Dixon: Icons of the West." This was a project of mine where I compared and contrasted the lives of artists Ed Mell and Maynard Dixon in a way that was interesting to me, because I had never really thought about that comparison in such a granular form. You see, I had done a show featuring Ed's works alongside the work of Maynard Dixon in the late 90s, but that project was much, much different and more based on the visual aspect of their respective art. It wasn't the same as thinking about them historically and how their paths were paralleled in many ways. After Ed passed away, I looked at the comparison of the two artists a little differently. This time I looked at it not just as a comparison between Maynard Dixon and Ed Mell, my friend, but rather Ed Mell, the historical figure and important artist. The best way to to view this podcast is on YouTube because you can see the slides of my presentation and the images that I talk about. That being said, you can just listen to me talk about these two icons and it will be just as informative and entertaining. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy this lecture I did this past March on Ed Mell and Maynard Dixon at Scottsdale Art Week and I'm glad to be able to publish it as an episode of the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast.

I had Brad Kahlhamer on today and it was fantastic. I went to his studio in the Lower East Side of New York City, and he's got this really interesting place where he creates his monumental works of art. It's in the heart of the city and you're near Bowery St. and it's crazy. You know, frantic activity, a lot of murals, there's just so much energy. We start outside then we go into this building and downstairs into a place of artistry. We show all of this in the YouTube version, we show the entire studio and all of the items he surrounds himself with for inspiration, which are so important for an artist to have. It's an absolutely sacred place. You can see some of the things that he shares with us that I'm sure may have never shared before. Brad is just an incredibly important artist. So this was one of those very unique, fun opportunities to visit an artist in their place of creation. This is a tour of Brad Kahlhamer's studio on Art Dealer Diaries Podcast episode 405.

I had Gloria Martinez-Granados on the show today. I was fortunate to meet her at Earth Maker Gallery, which is Thomas "Breeze" Marcus's Gallery in Phoenix, and get the chance to talk to her. I was just fascinated with how she makes her art, the intensity she works with, and the time it takes. One of the pieces that she did took over 210 days and it was made of 48,900 individual stitches. As you can imagine it's a very labor intensive undertaking. As interesting as her art is, she is equally interesting. Gloria has this long path that lead her to where she is today. She came over with her parents as an undocumented child at the age of eight. That journey of finding her place in America is fascinating as is how she reflects on being an artist in America. On her journey, Gloria got a nursing degree, and then eventually went back and got an art degree at ASU. Fast forward to today, and she has numerous award and has been a part of major museum shows. I really had a great time on this podcast, and I can always tell when I'm having fun on a podcast when time literally stops. I couldn't have told you if it was 5 minutes or 2 hours. It was a great to listen to her journey and witness her enthusiasm in person. I encourage you to watch it on YouTube if you can, just to see her beautiful smile, because she's there's such a genuineness to her and to her art and the creativity that comes through in her work. I hope you enjoy this podcast as much as I did. This is interdisciplinary artist Gloria Martinez-Granados on Art Dealer Diaries Podcast episode 404.

This podcast with Daniel Akaka, Jr. (or Uncle Danny) is an audio only podcast, but the video version shows the footage I recorded at the King Kamehameha the Great Celebration, which is on June 11th every year in Hawaii. So if you watch it on YouTube, you can see this special event that consists of dancing, music, the decorating of the King Kamehameha statue with hand-made leis, a parade, and all of the other activities that went on in that very special day. Danny Akaka ,Jr. is just one of the most interesting people I've met, quite frankly. He's the cultural ambassador at the Mauna Lani Auberge Resort, and he gives talks, and he allowed me to to record this talk and put it up as an episode of the podcast.  He spoke at length on King Kamehameha the Great, the leader who unified the Hawaiian islands. We learned about Kamehameha's origin and the circumstances behind his birth and how a prophecy and Halley's Comet led to his concealment as a child.  Danny also touched on his personal history as well. His uncle Abraham Akaka was a reverend, and the individual who first called Hawaii "The Aloha State." His father Daniel Akaka, Sr. was the first Native Hawaiian United States senator. He was a senator for 36 years.  They call him Uncle Danny for a good reason. It's because he's a person that just clicks with everyone. I'm grateful he has allowed us to share this presentation and I can't wait to speak with him again.

I went to Manaus, Brazil recently and I visited a lot of different places that tried to capture the sense of Manaus and the surrounding area. This included going to Museu Do Indio (Indigenous Museum) and the Palácio Rio Negro (Governors Palace). I also paid a visit to Teatro Amazonas, which is an insanely beautiful opera house that was built in 1897.  One thing I did while I was in Manaus that was very special, was I got to see a ceremony performed by the Tuyuka Tribe. The tribe is known as the "children of the stone snake" and they did some beautiful dances wearing traditional handmade garments. I was privileged enough to meet and interact with these amazing people and further my understanding of the indigenous people of the region. If you have the opportunity to arrange something like this this, I highly recommend it doing it because it was a truly enlightening experience. The last thing I got to do in this video was see the meeting of the waters where the Rio Negro and the Rio Solimoes come together to actually form the Amazon River. It's one of the most unique places in the world. In fact, the two rivers don't combine for over 30 miles because of their difference in temperature and sedimentary makeup. Visually, it's an insane looking conglomeration of water. The only way to really understand what I'm talking about is to see it for yourself, which you can do through the video component on my YouTube channel. Hopefully just watching the videos and hearing me, you might get a sense of what this region is like. So if you want to know what the Amazon feels like and Brazil feels like, you might want to watch / listen to this podcast.

In this episode of the Art Dealer Diaries, I went down to the Amazon rainforest because I wanted to get to know more about the region and its biodiversity.  While I was down there I went and visited with a man named Michael Rich. Now, Michael was down there to do some fishing and I joined him to be able to see the animals do some fishing myself. I was also as interested in just getting a sense of what it's like to be in the largest ecosystem in the world. And Michael is a very interesting guy. We did this podcast literally after we had been on the river for probably five hours. We recorded under a tree at about 95 degrees in the shade. It looks like I've been laying in the Amazon for a long time, but it was a very unique take in a way, to talk to somebody about fish biology, which he is very interested in. He is part of a nonprofit to try to help the menhaden, which is called "the most important fish in the sea." It's what feeds all the other big predator fish as well as osprey. There are companies that are coming in and devastating the stock of these small little silvery fish to make into cosmetics and pet food and all these things. Anyways, I think I came away from this trip different in the way I saw the world and my own role in it.