Advertise on podcast: Conversations from the Barn

On this episode from Conversations in the Barn, we aren't in the barn! Instead, we sat at the dining room table inside the retreat house and spoke with multi-disciplinary artist Rhonda Willers and writer and musician Sarah Michelle Magill. The reason for this location change was sound-related: the lawn mower was quite loud in the barn (and still a bit present in this recording). However, it also prompted a conversation about the way Sarah and Rhonda related to the space this week — both their physical work spaces and the space of time they found on retreat. We also talked about ways they will be implementing a little more space for creativity in their lives back home.

We are joined today by writer Chris Clayton and visual artist Alex M. Peterson. In this conversation, we talk about the gift of time and what it means to be productive, especially as an artist. As Alex and Chris conclude, "productivity" can mean spending 8 hours working on your creative practice, but it can also mean spending a day disconnecting from work, wandering in the forrest, or even taking the time to get a hair cut.

Today's conversation is with visual artist Osvaldo Rodríguez Ruiz and musician and songwriter Thomas Sticha. Both Thomas and Osvaldo's work at Everwood focused on the idea of home and returning to one's inner child. Thomas and Osvaldo reflected on their early points of inspiration and the people, places, and sensations that make them feel at home.

In today's episode of Coversations from the Barn, we are speaking with multidisciplenary writer and theater maker Addie Ulrey. Addie spent her week at Everwood as a solo artist on retreat, which brought it's own challenges and opportunities. Addie has recently relocated back to the upper Midwest, and so her time at Everwood was a chance to reflect on space, community, and the art that comes from both. Addie's website

Today on the podcast we are joined by writer Denise Santomauro and theater artist Karissa Murrell Myers. Denise and Karissa are both based in Chicago, and while they didn't know each other before their week at Everwood (although they did have mutual friends), they are leaving as friends and potential collaborators. In this conversation, we talked about the importance of getting away from the demands of daily life to focus on your art, and the way that slowing down and finding a moment of peace is essential to the life of the artist. Denise's website Karissa's website

Today, we are joined by singer, actress, and writer Kate Beahen and dancer, improviser, and deep listener Kaleena Miller. Our conversation focused on the role of sound in art — both as inspiration and as creation. Kaleena explored sound through her own body and voice while dancing in the barn, and Kate, who often works as a singer, explored the silence that comes from writing. We also discuss our working definitions of the term "artist." Kaleena's website: kaleenamiller.com Kate's website: meetkatebeahen.com

Today's conversation is with painter, muralist, and illustartor Keighley Sadler and writer Katrina Vandenberg. Keiley and Katrina brought somewhat opposite energies and art styles to Everwood. Keighley's style more outwardly tactile and Katrina's more interwardly focused. Still, their practices complemented each other during their week at the farm. In our conversation with them, we talked about composting, meteor showers, serendipitous connections, and the ways in which our future creativity is sometimes fostered in the present. Keighley Instagram  Katrina Website

Today we are joined by actor, writer, and visual artist Senyah Haynes and songwriter and musician Molly Brandt. We talked with Molly and Senyah about when they each started to identify as an artist. Does being an artist mean you make all of your money off of your art? Does it mean you work on your art every day? Or is it something else? Molly and Senyah offer their own ideas about what it means to be an artist after spending a week writing and painting. Senyah Insta: instagram.com/senyahhaynes2019 Molly website: instagram.com/themollybrandt

Today's conversation is with vocalist and songwriter Maygen Lacey and writer, poet, and birth doula Sarah Auna. We started the conversation off by talkng about the extended capacity Maygen and Sarah both felt as a result of being on the farm. We then followed that thread to explore what that extended capacity allowed for: vulnerability, deep connection, and courage. This conversation is a moving reminder of the intimacy that artists share while on retreat at Everwood. Maygen Lacey: maygenandthebirdwatcher.com Sarah Auna: sarahauna.com

We gathered in the barn at the end of Ann and Ariel's retreat week, after smoke from wildfires in Canada and Northern Minnesota had caused us to close the barn for a few days due to dangerous air quality. Ann and Ariel let the smoke and the land inspire a new piece that combines theater, poetry, movement, textile, florals, and more. We talk about the creation of this new work, and the ways that Ann and Ariel's stories — as well as the story of Everwood — intersect across time and space.  Ann Elizabeth Mekala Instagram Ariel Donahue Instagram

Today's conversation is with illustrators Jennifer A. Bell and Kayla Harren. Both visual artists, Kayla and Jen applied to spend their retreat week at Everwood together. While they don't often get to collaborate in their professional lives, they are frequently inspired by one another's practice. We talk about the importance of playfulness in making art — especially playing alongside other artists.

Today's conversation is with dancer Tyler Schnese and writer and poet Jason Robert Weidemann. Tyler and Jason retreated at Everwood during the summer solstice. We talk about how they both made use of these longer days during their retreat week, including immersing themselves in place. For Tyler, this meant making dances for themself in a barn in their home state of Wisconsin. For Jason, this meant working on his fantasy novel while sitting outside at Everwood. Both Tyler and Jason came to the retreat with very specific goals, and both left with an expanded sense of their practice and imagination.  Learn about Tyler Schnese at: rdtutah.org/role-member/tyler-schnese/ Learn about Jason Robert Weidemann at: umn.academia.edu/JasonWeidemann

Today on the podcast, we are sharing a conversation from the end of our 2025 Artist Retreat season with writer and musician Suzanne Ohlmann and audio producer Julie Censullo. Julie and Suzanne both were deeply inspired by each other during their retreat week — they say they fell into an easy rhythm of wandering, gathering, cooking, and creating stories together. In this conversation, we talk about the magic of connection that artists find at Everwood. Learn more about Suzanne here: instagram.com/sodangwilde and more about Julie here: juliecensullo.com

We are kicking off our 14th season with a podcast conversation with James Kennedy and Ross Thorn. While Ross and James work in different mediums, they both spent their retreat week at Everwood engaging in some explorative world building. In this conversation, we talked about trying new things and how the outside world influences their art. Learn more about James at jameshkennedy.com and more about Ross at rossthornmusic.com

Geoffrey Lamar Wilson, also known by his stage name LAAMAR, is a Minneapolis based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. After spending his 20's studying and performing music in New York, and working the craft coffee cafe circuit in Brooklyn, he returned to his hometown in 2016 to "settle down". He emerged on the local music scene in 2023 with his song Home to My Baby, a song which resonated deeply across the state in the wake of the Philando Castile and George Floyd murders. In this and subsequent tracks on his debut EP Flowers, he explored the challenges of being black in America and Minnesota, at a time when many folks were seeking understanding and connection across social and cultural lines. He carried this momentum into several very busy years of performances supporting notable local and national touring artists, appearing at music festivals and shows across the state, and as a guest on various radio, podcast, and television broadcasts(and one billboard). In 2025 he released a full-length record In the Light, to critical acclaim. An album which expands his creative palate, turning the lens inward towards fatherhood/partnership, and further outward toward stories rooted in humanism, empathy, nature, and poetry. Instagram   Torey Erin is a Minneapolis based interdisciplinary artist primarily working in moving image, sculpture, installation, ecology, and land art. Torey received her Bachelor's of Fine Art and Master's of Landscape Architecture from the University of Minnesota. Torey's work amplifies environmental phenomena to create places where people may share their stories and co-create new art works. She has created a living participatory land artwork for the 4Ground Land Art Biennial titled Love Letters to the Earth, where she invited the community to discuss ecological grief and write devotions to earth on handmade seed paper to plant into a perennial garden. She proposes ways of re-imagining material approaches to art and landscape that serve human and non-human life, focusing on environmental change, empathy and relationality. During her most recent residency at Franconia Sculpture Park, she transformed one acre of turf grass into native prairie, inviting participants to seed the landscape by hand and dance the seeds into the ground. This intention is to connect people to landscape through ritual and body movement that will benefit non human species and soil quality for years to come. Torey has exhibited at Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Mirrorlab, Soo Visual Art Center, Company Projects, Public Functionary, Q2 Gallery, Rosalux Gallery, Yeah Maybe Project Space, FilmNorth, Gamut Gallery, and has an outdoor installation at Silverwood Park in Minnesota and Rabanus Park World Garden in Fargo, North Dakota; she has created costume and set/interior design at First Avenue, the Palace Theater, and the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis. Torey's films have been featured in the Franconia Environmental Film screening, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Regis Center for Art, Duluth Film Festival, Trylon Cinema, Saltless Sea Cinema, Headwaters Film Festival, and Franconia Sculpture Park's 5 Minute Film Festival. She is a recipient of the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council Grant, Everwood Farmstead Artist Retreat, 4Ground Midwest Land Art Biennial (with support from Plains Art Museum and Franconia Sculpture Park), Joan MaCloed student Leadership Award (landscape architecture), 2020 Minnesota Artist Initiative Grant, Springboard for the Arts Hinge Artist Residency, Jo Tushie Fellowship, the Blacklock Sanctuary Fellowship, and is a Landscape Architecture Foundation Olmsted Scholar. She is the current Franconia Sculpture Park inaugural Prairie Artist in Residence of 2024. She is a Research Fellow at the Minnesota Design Center working on the Empowering Small Minnesota Communities project and Design Assist, which include asset based community co-design, climate resilience, and systems thinking for long term development strategies. She is also an adjunct professor in architecture/landscape architecture at the University of Minnesota College of Design. website