Advertise on podcast: Art on the Air

Join Kate Stanton Melendez for an interview with Tamara Garvey, past host of the show, & beloved local artist & illustrator.   Tamara Garvey has a BFA in Illustration from SCAD; you can find her quirky pen & ink artwork at Gallery 209 (among others) & or catch her working in her studio in City Market. Garvey's solo show "The Winter of our Discontent" at Gallery 2424 opens next Friday, January 30th, and runs through Saturday, February 21st, 2026.   "The Winter of our Discontent" is a multimedia solo show that pairs the Log Lady from the David Lynch show "Twin Peaks" with recordings of American women responding to J.D. Vance's infamous "childless cat ladies" statements. It features witchery, suffragism, Woody Guthrie, & Ruth Bader Ginsberg.    Special Events Calendar: Opening Reception: Friday, January 30th from 5PM-9PM First Fridays Reception: Friday, February 6th from 5PM-9PM Artist Talk: Sunday, February 15th at 3PM.   Gallery 2424 is also open on Saturdays & Sundays from 1PM-4PM.      See more of Tamara's work here: https://www.instagram.com/tamgarv https://www.tamaragarvey.com/   Read more about the solo show here: https://www.tamaragarvey.com/winter-of-our-discontent      

Join Kate Stanton Melendez for an interview with The Maxines, an all-female grunge band in Savannah, Georgia. They're gritty, high-energy alternative rock with raspy vocals, moody rifts, & wild, unfiltered performances that demand attention.   AJ Grey is vocals, twins Coco & Maddie Oke are drums & guitar, & Emma Faith Smith is on bass.   You'll be familiar with their 2023 album "Skin Tight", and the amazing anthem "Cannibal". Listen to us chat about their upcoming album, which is expected to release in the next couple weeks. The single "Sink My Teeth In" is already available on streaming platforms to preview. Take a listen.    https://www.instagram.com/themaxinesband/ https://www.themaxinesband.com/

Join Kate Stanton Melendez for an interview with Nono Flores, a local illustrator.    You can find Nono at Chateau Nono, an open studio shop inside "One for the Road" in the Starland District, at 101 W 41st St.    Pick up some artwork, check out gifts and retail, or walk in get your live portrait done (during Fri-Sun hours). They're open Tuesday-Saturday 12PM-7PM & Sundays 12PM-6PM.    Check out Nono's work here: https://www.nonoflores.com/ https://www.instagram.com/nono.flores/         Show Notes:  Shout out to Allison Hall Phillips, another local illustrator & one of the founders of Dreamhouse Studios. She came out & did a full interview that should have aired next week... only to have had the file corrupted & lost. I'll sit down with her again later so you can hear how amazing she is. For now, I'll be on a break until Wednesday, January 14th. In January we'll have an episode with The Maxines - who are about to release their next album! Then we'll sit down with local painter, my dear friend & past host of this show, Tamara Garvey. We'll chat prior to the opening of her show at Gallery 2424 on Friday, January 30th, 2026. But check her Instagram or this show's Instagram to see how you can contribute to a sound component of the upcoming exhibition.   Thanks for everything, Savannah! See you next month! Happy holidays!

Join Kate Stanton Melendez for an interview with Kristen Baird, the founder and designer behind Kristen Baird Jewelry.   Originally from Richmond, Virginia, Baird initially came to Savannah to attend SCAD for architecture and Interior Design. Instead she fell in love with jewelry design, and the city, and has been here ever since. Kristen Baird Jewelry is an award-winning fine jewelry brand founded in 2015, using traditional jewelry-making techniques to craft heirloom-quality pieces.    Metals are sourced from a Responsible Jewelry Council (RJC) Certified Supplier. They use ethically-sourced natural gems, as certified through the RJC or Kimberly Certification, as well as the highest quality lab-grown gems.    You can shop Kristen Baird's website here: https://www.kristenbaird.com/   Use that as a jumping off point because her work is highly customizable, and many pieces are one-of-a-kind. You can get in contact with Kristen to schedule a personal shopping appointment  either in-person online, or visit Gallery 209 locally to take something home with you today.    Follow her work here: https://www.instagram.com/kristenbairdjewelry/   **LOCAL PICKUP DEADLINE DECEMBER 22ND, 2025**         Friend of the Show note: The Savannah Channel is live! Join Jude Screnci for the first episode that went live on Thanksgiving Day, as he chats with local photographer Seth Thompson about his current processes and how he arrived at them. If you like us, you'll like Jude.    Watch here:  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=33plmEf1ilM

Join Kate Stanton Melendez for an interview with Phil Musen, a local artist and Owner/Executive Director of Cute Tomatoes Gallery. Phil Musen b.1985 Boston, MA relocated to Savannah, GA to complete a BFA in Painting from SCAD. He likes cats. You can catch him painting in Forsyth Park or working in Cute Tomatoes Gallery. Cute Tomatoes is located at 218 E 41st Street, open 1PM-5PM on Wednesdays & Thursdays, as well as the 1st Friday of each month. The next exhibition, "Capture/Drift" features new work by Dana Richardson and Adrienne Berkland. The opening is next Friday, December 5th from 6PM-8PM.    *The word he was searching for at the end of our chat was benevolent. We need more benevolent investors in the arts and civics spaces. It used to be more common & it's disappearing.*   See his work here:  https://www.philmusen.com/ https://www.instagram.com/cutetomatoes/   Check out his gallery here: https://www.instagram.com/cute_tomatoes_gallery/

Join Kate Stanton Melendez for an interview with Chuck Carbia, a local fine artist, performance artist (entertainment artist), college professor, and musician.   Stanton first encountered Carbia more than a decade ago through Glitter Chariot, an indescribable collective (band, performance art, entertainment art, confusion spectacle) that explores complex relationships and emotions.  Click this link to change your life:  https://www.glitterchariot.com/   Carbia plays traditional Latin jazz with the band Tocamos Mas, based on music produced by his father and uncle under the "The Carbia Trio", pioneers of the Latin music scene in New York, Miami, and Puerto Rico in the 1950s and 1960s.  Learn more here: https://www.tocamosmas.com/  https://www.instagram.com/tocamosmas   Carbia also plays with local anonymous surf grunge rock band Donna Savage. Their latest album, Take It, is available on Spotify, Apple Music, and Youtube. Donna Savage will be playing at the Dairy Daze Festival on this Saturday, November 15th. This will be the festival's 3rd year. Doors open at 11AM. Tickets are only $30.52 & can be purchased online through The 912 Group. This year the event benefits I is We Incorporated, a local non-profit organization that works to support at-risk youth through mentorship, counseling, and skill-building workshops, with a focus on reducing violence and promoting positive choices.  Learn more here: https://cscarbia.wixsite.com/donnasavage https://www.instagram.com/donnasavageband/ Event information and tickets here: https://the912group.squarespace.com/     Learn more about Chuck Carbia here: https://www.chuckcarbia.com/ https://www.instagram.com/onemoday   Check out his amazing wife Kelly Boehmer's work here: https://www.kellyboehmer.com/  

Join Kate Stanton Melendez for an interview with Heather L. Young, a local artist based out of Richmond Hill that sells under the name Fly Young Studio online. She does contemporary oil paintings as well as traditional pen & ink drawings, drawing inspiration from her coastal southern heritage and love for moss-draped live oak trees. She's a board member with Arts on the Coast, & a contributing arts writer for Reflections Magazine. You can find her work in ShopSCAD downtown, and Arts on the Coast Gallery in Richmond Hill, among others.    Come see her this Saturday, November 8th from 10AM-3PM at Cohen's Retreat, or at Location Gallery next Friday, November 14th from 6-8PM to see her work in the group show "6x6x20".      Check out Heather's work here:   https://www.heatherlyoung.com/   https://www.instagram.com/fly_young_studio/       Watch the video of her subtractive painting style here:   https://www.heatherlyoung.com/subtractive-painting

Join Kate Stanton Melendez for an interview with Jeanette McCune, the Executive Director of Cleo the Project Space, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit arts organization, located at 915 B Montgomery St., Savannah, Georgia. The space is open on Saturdays from 12-5PM, or by appointment.    Their next exhibition 'Survey to a Sweet Reminder' featuring Camille Wong and Alex Adkinson opens Saturday, October 18th from 6-9PM. The artist talk starts at 7PM.    Their fall fundraiser takes place on Sunday, November 9th, on the front lawn of Laney Contemporary from 1-4PM. Tickets are limited and available now.      Check out Cleo the Project Space here:   https://www.cleotheprojectspace.org/   www.instagram.com/cleo_the_project_space/    

Join Kate Stanton Melendez for an interview with soft sculpture artist, performance artist, and college professor Kelly Boehmer.    Kelly has exhibited and performed her work nationally and internationally in over 175 exhibitions including shows in Baltimore, Dallas, Miami, New York City, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, San Juan, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea and Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.  She received her BFA in Studio Art at the Maryland Institute College of Art and her MFA in Studio Art at the University of South Florida. She is a member of the performance art band, Glitter Chariot. Kelly is a Professor of Foundations Studies at Savannah College of Art and Design, in Savannah, GA.   Boehmer's soft sculptures combine tragic humor with a celebration of the hidden beauty found within anxiety. Her creatures serve as metaphors for personal struggles with anxiety and aging. She finds humor in her attempts to become "comfortable in my own skin" and to navigate these challenges, particularly with social anxiety. Though the imagery may appear grotesque, with flayed and molting forms, these creatures represent growth, transformation, and positive change. She uses glittery sheer fabrics and vivid faux fur, to contrast difficult emotions with inviting textures. This creates a tension between attraction and repulsion, softening the rawness of the subject matter and making it more approachable for the viewer. Many of her works draw inspiration from iconic pieces in art history, such as the Unicorn Tapestries, the Laocoön Group, Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal, and The Arnolfini Portrait. Her aggressive hand-sewing technique is similar to an expressive line in drawing. A key element of the process involves repurposing materials from previous sculptures, cutting them up after an exhibition and combining them with upcycled taxidermy. This gives the materials a “second life,” creating a layered history of growth and change embedded within the pieces themselves.   Check out Kelly's work here: https://www.kellyboehmer.com/ Kelly Boehmer (@kelly.boehmer) • Instagram photos and videoshttps://www.instagram.com/kelly.boehmer/?hl=en   Buy Kelly's work from Cindy Lisica Gallery in the Atlanta Art Fair: https://artcloud.market/show/cindy-liscia-gallery-atlanta-art-fair   See her husband Chuck Carbia's work here: https://www.chuckcarbia.com/

Join Kate for an interview with Lisa D. Watson, an artist, gardener, and activist.    Lisa D. Watson (b.1967) grew up in Northeast Ohio where she spent many days in the wooded forest behind her childhood home. The day the bulldozers flattened the forest to a suburb was the day she found her lifelong mission; tell the stories of the voiceless species of the natural world.  Watson received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Columbus College of Art & Design in Columbus, Ohio. Since her academic studies, she has used salvaged objects as her medium.  Through her art and garden designs, Watson strives to find balance between urbanization and conservation. Her company, Plan it Green Design, LLC, provides homeowners with creative and sustainable design solutions, emphasizing the use of native plant species. Currently she is collaborating with The Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance, The Longleaf Alliance, and the Georgia Native Plant Society. After receiving a Certificate of Interior Design in Chatsworth, California, Lisa moved to Savannah, Georgia and works out of her studio and native garden. I was lucky enough to be able to visit and chat.   Check out Lisa here: https://www.art-ldw.com/ https://www.instagram.com/art.ldw/ https://www.facebook.com/planitgreendesign/     Theme song by Jose Ray, an artist, DJ, & friend of the show!

Join Kate for an interview with Jose Ray, a multi-faceted artist. You can find his work on gallery walls, in public murals, in the bookstore, and you can find him in the DJ booth downtown.    Born and raised in the Midwest, Jose grew up with a love for wide-open exploration and do-it-yourself spirit. That outlook took him in many different directions while always building the knowledge and skills toward a creative path…and eventually, profession.   In visual arts, Jose works with Mixed Media to achieve lush and vibrant floral landscapes. The trail of abstraction is left to shine through in some moments, and in others, rendered into beautiful and fantastic floral forms. Playing with contrast and balance is always a motivating factor for this loaded-with-contradiction Gemini.    In audio arts, DJ Jose Ray has the knowledge and skills to set just the right tone with an eclectic mix of styles and a love for genre-jumping. Whether we're poolside chilling or sweating it out on the dancefloor, Jose will make sure you're lost in the groove!   Catch Jose DJing: Club Bardo on Friday nights from 8PM-11PM Starland Yard on Saturday nights from 7PM-10PM Hotel Alida on Sundays from 2PM-5PM   Check out Jose here: https://www.joseray.com/  https://www.instagram.com/joseraysay/    Notes: In this episode we referenced his friend Marc, the owner of one of Jose's murals, & a super talented poet. We've realized we didn't give him appropriate credit. Marc's full name is Marc Thomas -  his most recent book is "Wetlands - Low Country Haiku", which was illustrated by Jose Ray. This latest book was released last month & is available at The Book Lady & Locally Made Savannah, among others. 

Join all AOTA past hosts Tamara Garvey, Rob Hessler, & David Laughlin as they welcome new host Kate Stanton Melendez, and serve as a transition team. The artists and arts journalists share background info on the show's roots, give advice on becoming a podcaster, and dispense wisdom on the state of the arts in our beloved Savannah, Georgia (i.e., reminisce and gossip). We enjoyed catching up and goofing off, and hope you enjoy it too.      Check out Tamara's work and follow her here: https://www.instagram.com/tamgarv/     Check out David's work and follow him here: https://www.instagram.com/theidofdav/     Rob's grown tired of being popular, so leave him alone. But you can view past artwork here: https://loislambertgallery.com/rob-hessler      

Join Tamara for an interview with musician (upright and electric bass) Marc Chesanow, whose music plays at the beginning and the end of every episode of this show! 🎉  He played drums and trombone in HS band and then came to bass later: attending Eastman School of Music in NY for undergrad and then University of Memphis for his master's degree. He's been a working musician ever since, with occasional stints as a music professor.  Marc has lived in Savannah since 2016 and emphasizes the necessity of diversifying your time amongst bands, private gigs, orchestras, etc in order to pay the bills as a musician. He's 1/3 of beloved Savannah jazz group The Eric Jones Trio, and performs regularly with the Savannah Music Fest, Savannah Jazz Fest, and Savannah Philharmonic, as well as various "Dancing With the Stars" fundraiser shows and Juneteenth celebrations.  ⭐️ This episode is extra special! It's Tamara's 3 year anniversary of hosting the podcast, and after this one she'll be handing the hosting mike over to Kate Stanton Melendez. Listen through the end of the show for all the details! ⭐️ Song clips played during this episode: "Step Right Up" by Eric Jones Trio (Azubuike) "Where Dreams May Come" by Eric Jones Trio (Azubuike) "Azubuike" by Eric Jones Trio (Azubuike) "Four Women (Nina Simone cover)" performed by Eric Jones Trio featuring Cynthia Utterbach "Graceland (Paul Simon cover)" performed at "Savannah Salutes Paul Simon" show in 2024   Check out Marc's music and follow him here:  https://www.instagram.com/marcchesanow/   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8_T7op9aEY  https://www.facebook.com/eric.jones.muse/  (follow Eric Jones here)    Tune in and get all the details! 

Join Tamara for an interview with artist/illustrator (my fellow artist at the co-op Gallery 209 on River Street!) Erica Catherine, who draws "Vintage Inspired Designs for the Old Soul."  Erica is a native Savannahian who graduated from Savannah Arts Academy and then SCAD, with a BFA in Illustration. After graduation she started her business, selling her paintings and products made from her art, including prints, cards, scarves, and tea towels. She also has her work on a few print-on-demand sites, in order to license for fabric and wallpaper.  Her illustrations are created using layers of watercolor and graphite to give an ethereal feeling that harkens back to turn of the century illustration. She is known for creating large series around a theme, such as all of the US state flowers, one lettered alphabet combined with animals and one with flowers, maps of various Savannah neighborhoods, and all zodiac signs.    Check out Erica's art and follow her here:   https://www.ericacatherineillustration.com/  https://www.instagram.com/ericacatherineillustration/  Tune in and get all the details!

Join Tamara for an interview with musician (singer-songwriter, drums, guitar, bass) Markus Kuhlmann, whose IG description reads: "Pandemic-Born Dad-Bod Rock." He's a "recovering architect" originally from South Carolina who moved from Charleston to Savannah in the late 90s/early 00s. Over the past decades Markus has been in a number of beloved Savannah bands - The Train Wrecks, Clouds and Satellites, and now East Bay-Ardsley - generally as a drummer and singer. In recent years he also taught himself guitar and then bass. During the pandemic he recorded and released a solo five track EP, “We got Yr Smile on File" under a solo name, Mike Kilo. He regularly performs around town in solo gigs, and in May the Train Wrecks reunited at The Britannia Pub, for the first time in years! Keep an eye on his IG for upcoming gigs, and you can also chat with him most weekday mornings at Henny Penny (his partner is Jen of the Foxy coffee shops!).  Song clips played during this episode: Slowgaze by Markus Kuhlmann "Parlour Tricks" by Mike Kilo from "We Got Yr Smile on File" EP "A Typical Progression" by Mike Kilo "Fall, Run Away" by Clouds & Satellites (M. Garappolo) "More Than a Phase" by East Bay-Ardsley (S. Harmening)   Check out Markus's music and follow him here:  https://mikekilo.bandcamp.com/ https://www.instagram.com/mikekilomusic/   Tune in and get all the details!