Do Tell: A Storytelling Podcast

Welcome to our very first episode of Do Tell, a storytelling podcast featuring great stories from great storytellers. Our very first guest is the woman who conceived the idea of this podcast. She herself is an accomplished Storyteller the founder of the nonprofit STEAP, Inc. That’s STEAP which stands for storytelling education and arts programs. The mission at STEAP is to connect communities with stories. They are dedicated to creating programs that widen social awareness and cultural appreciation across diverse communities. Karen-Eve Bayne is an international businesswoman, former General Manager of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, founder of the Do Tell Storyfest and STEAP. "To be of service and make good things happen" is her personal mission. As an impresario and implementer, she wants to think big and do the work while having fun. She has a successful career as a project manager and leader, committed to the richness of diversity and enhancing our communities. A native of Henderson County, NC, Karen-Eve is a performing artist, fiber artist, storyteller, mentor, and leader with a passion for connecting others to the arts and to their own passions and purposes. She does this by encouraging, coaching, mentoring, leading with compassionate hard work. KE enjoys making art, comfort foods, yoga, and gardening with her partner in Hendersonville NC.

Our guest today is Knox Crowell, a trained graphic artist and illustrator with an interest in the local history of his hometown of Hendersonville, NC. A former director of the Henderson County Heritage Museum, he constructed and painted many of the museum's displays. He is a native of Hendersonville and his family has been in Henderson County for generations. Knox has painted nearly half a dozen murals over the years in the area. And he restored one of the oldest and well-remembered murals in the town, the Jump Off Rock mural which adorns the Brooks Tavern building on 3rd Avenue. Jump Off Rock is a large stone outcropping on top of Davis Mountain which rises above Hendersonville just a few miles to the west of downtown. It has long been a tourist destination because of its beautiful views of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains. The mural advertised the site and encouraged visitors to make the short drive to enjoy the vistas. He said it was a challenge to bring the iconic wall art back to its former glory and he will tell us about how he did it and the obstacles he faced. Knox will also give us a lot of the history of Jump Off Rock and Laurel Park, the community where Jump Off Rock is located, and where he grew up.

This week we are going to visit an historic section of downtown Hendersonville, NC where a beautiful new mural has just been completed. The 7th Avenue district of Hendersonville is undergoing a tremendous revitalization. For many years the area has been dominated by industrial buildings and warehouses that were strategically positioned near the main railroad terminal and depot. During those times, it was not a destination for locals or visitors who didn’t have some business to transact there. But that has been changing rapidly over the past few years as new businesses catering to the general public have sprung up. Restaurants, bakeries, cafes, bars, breweries, and even a distillery have opened to make the neighborhood a must-see stop in enjoying downtown Hendersonville. In addition to the eateries, there are some very interesting retail shops new to the area. One of those stores is the Old Lab Designs and Mercantile, a beautiful and unique shop with quirky vintage items, high quality, high fashion women's clothing and accessories, gourmet kitchen and pantry items, and unique gifts for men and women alike. The owner is Janna Watson and she is realizing her vision of bringing rich texture to the streets of the town, not only in the items she sells in the store, but also the store building as well. When Janna first moved in, the building epitomized that industrial look of the area, with its rough and crumbling red brick walls with very little inviting character. She was determined to spruce it up and make it much more beautiful and help the area become more inviting. So she decided to adorn both sides of the building with murals. She commissioned a talented artist from Miami, Paulina Guajardo, to paint the murals and she was able to finish it all very quickly over two short trips. Paulina is a Mexican-born artist and her mother is a renowned Mexican artist in her own right. Paulina and Janna join us today to talk about the new murals and the inspiration for them.

This week’s guest is an artist who is passionate about using art as a communal activity by bringing people from all walks of life to collaborate on public art projects not only to beautify the local community but to inspire community service. Our guest today is Elizabeth Queen, an artist who resides in Hendersonville, NC and has led several art projects in various media that accomplished that goal. She compares her directing of those projects as “choreography” which is a lovely way to think of getting people to work together to create something beautiful. She is going to tell us about some of the projects she has coordinated in her little town in North Carolina and the stories that unfolded as the art projects came together. She will focus on two sidewalk murals called “The Bee Line” and “The Life Line.”

This week’s guest is on a quest to paint 50,000 bees all over the world. What he has learned on the journey is profound and inspiring. Matt Willey is a very talented artist and muralist. He has painted murals all over the U.S. and abroad. But most of his works are not just random subjects. He is on a mission to bring awareness to a very critical part of the ecosystem that has been threatened in the last few decades by a number of environmental factors. He has been painting murals of honeybees and other pollinators. Matt has been beautifying local communities with these fabulous works of art, bringing a sense of wonder and pride to those cities and towns. But his work has much more important goal. “Bees never forget that they are part of something bigger than themselves,” says Willey. “Their hive is a part of them. What if we embodied this idea? Perhaps we would remember that we are all connected and that separation is an illusion.” Tune in to hear Matt’s inspiring story—how he transitioned from amateur to professional artist and what he learned as he engaged with the communities of the cities and towns where he painted.

This week’s guest is Andrea Martin, an interior designer, artist, and muralist based in Hendersonville, NC. She is a native of Henderson County and has painted dozens if murals all over the Southeastern U.S. We will focus today on three that she did in her hometown. Andrea is using her artistic talents to serve her community. After being moved by the story of a veteran that had experienced negativity after returning from Vietnam, she took it upon herself to find a building on which she could paint a huge tribute to all veterans. She had to be persistent and resourceful to make it happen, working with the building owner, navigating city regulations, trying to find time while working another full-time job, and enduring the challenges of painting her first mural. She overcame them all and completed the mural. Her work was so appreciated by the citizens of the town and it won a national award for the most striking mural in the nation in 2016. She will tell us the story of that mural and two others she did all with the goal of beautifying her town. You will be inspired by her determination and self-sacrifice to help her community.

Rosalia Torres-Weiner is an artist, activist, and community leader in Charlotte, NC. Her art captures the themes, colors, and rich symbolism of her native home of Mexico. In 2010, Rosalia shifted the focus of her work from commercial art to art activism, after witnessing the repeated injustices and dysfunction of our immigration system.  Her work is featured in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum and has been exhibited in venues including the McColl Center for Arts and Innovation, Levine Museum of the New South, the City of Raleigh Museum, the Latin American Center for Arts Gallery, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the Mexican Cultural Institute at the Mexican Embassy in Washington D.C. and many other prestigious venues.  Her public murals celebrate the rich history as well as the changing demographics of the South. She also uses her art to document social conditions and to raise awareness about issues that are affecting immigrant communities such as family separation, access to public education, racism and moving beyond common stereotypes.  Through her Red Calaca Mobile Art Studio, a 24-foot “Art Truck” she takes the arts directly to people in underserved areas in Charlotte.  Stay tuned to hear Rosalia’s inspiring story and all about the important work she is doing to bring positive change to her community and beyond. Rosalia is joined by her husband Ben Weiner, who is intricately involved in facilitating Rosalia’s work. They will share their philosophies on a variety of aspects about art, community, and social impact. They will tell us about her latest mural in Hendersonville, NC, titled “Unity in Bloom.” And Rosalia will talk about her feelings about Artificial Intelligence, which might surprise you.

This week’s guest is Billy Smith, an accomplished artist from Brevard, NC. Billy has painted murals all over Western NC. He is the president of the Transylvania County Arts Council, the county where Brevard is located. Billy teaches art to people of all ages, from 5 to 95, in his private studio in Brevard. He also teaches art to students in the Transylvania County schools. Billy is dedicated to beautifying and improving his community and was the driving force behind creating regulations and policies for murals and public art in Brevard, which previously had no such guidelines for artists and property owners to follow. Billy joins us today to talk about his work and specifically a mural he painted in Hendersonville, NC titled “A Youthful Journey Up 7th Avenue,” which celebrates the life and culture of an important historical neighborhood in that town.

Artist and photographer Diamond Cash created the City of Four Seasons mural for her hometown of Hendersonville, NC. From an early age, Diamond has always had a talent for photography, painting, and drawing. She has a B.A. in Studio Arts from UNC Greensboro. She is passionate about teaching art and believes she can teach anyone who is willing to learn. Diamond’s work has been featured in several magazines, and she has been commissioned by Hendersonville to create several significant public art projects. It includes two hands clasping in front of the Rainbow flag signifying diversity and inclusion. The name of the town hovers over well-known symbols of the city. As a “Bee and Tree” city, images of both feature prominently. Since bears are a symbol of Hendersonville, two of them lounge at either edge of the scene. The town is very famous for its apples and other delicious veggies. And last but not least, an acoustic guitar highlights the rich musical heritage of the Blue Ridge Mountains.