I had seven minutes of relative quiet for recording, and I tried to make the most of it. Featuring: me, playing the violin, very badly. (And some crochet for challenging times.)

Serenade & Feminist Rage

Apr 15th, 2020 9m 52s

Wherein I learn to play Happy Birthday on the ukulele for a tuba duet and rekindle my commitment to dismantle the patriarchy. Really, there are no show notes other than that. You... are gonna want to hear this one.

Tiny Creative Joys

Apr 8th, 2020 10m 23s

We're gonna be in this for a long while, dear listeners. We'll be experiencing waves of grief over a long time. So it's time to focus on tiny joys, and on how our creativity can help us create some of those joys for ourselves. Show Notes Th

Time Is Warped

Apr 1st, 2020 11m 34s

Time is so weird right now. It's movings so slowly, and so distantly, so fluidly. There are no good words for it, really, but I think we can all agree we're living in a Twilight Zone. In “normal” life, I talk with folks a lot about finding and

Dispatch from Quarantine

Mar 25th, 2020 12m 26s

We're nine days into self-quarantine because the last person we saw before going into self-isolation last Monday called a few days later to tell us he'd been exposed. In many ways, this isn't any different an experience than what we'd been expe

How Creativity Will Help Us Weather This Crisis

Mar 18th, 2020 17m 12s

My friend Erin has been keeping me sane these last few days that have felt like centuries. She's a new friend. We've only known each other for a few months. But meeting her felt like we were always meant to be friends, and we started texting ea

Creating in a Time of Uncertainty

Mar 5th, 2020 14m 15s

An exploration of how our creative hobbies and interests can help to keep us grounded during times of uncertainty. Show Notes Each episode this season begins with a short clip of a maker or artist talking about a recent project they were obses

How to Make Yourself a Stress-Free Creative Habit

Feb 27th, 2020 15m 23s

I tried so many creative challenges and failed at every single one. In this week's podcast, hear about what I changed in my approach that finally led me not only to succeed at finishing a challenge, but that enabled me to establish a daily crea

Distributed Cognition (Lists!)

Feb 18th, 2020 11m 32s

I first learned about the concept of distributed cognition when I was an undergrad studying linguistics, but I didn't know what it was called until I studied it again in grad school. For an absolutely impenetrable "explanation," read thi

Derivative Crafts & Remixing

Feb 12th, 2020 11m 6s

My husband sent me a screenshot the other night, of a comments thread on a NY Times recipe for Spicy Sesame Noodles with Chicken and Peanuts: He sent this to me because he knew I'd appreciate it from my crochet editorial days. And

Prerequisite Procrastination

Feb 5th, 2020 11m 17s

Welcome to the new podcast! This episode is about the very thing that kept me from making the podcast for nearly three years. Prerequisite procrastination. What a pain. I put my finger on what to call this particular subspecies of

Mighty Creative: A New Name and a New Season

Jan 27th, 2020 1m 10s

The podcast is back, with a new name! It's still about what motivates us to make things, how to make space in our lives for creative adventures, and how to have more fun with it all. But the format will be simpler than it was a few yea

Mighty Creative: The Podcast Is Back

Jan 27th, 2020 1m 10s

Episode 202: Betsy Greer

Jun 19th, 2017 29m 57s

Betsy Greer is a writer and maker who lives in Durham, North Carolina. For the past fourteen years, she’s written about craftivism, the place where craft and activism intersect, and she loves discovering the ways in which people use (and have

Episode 201: Cheryl Arkison

Apr 7th, 2017 28m 20s

In this first episode of Compulsory in two years, we return to our roots with an honest conversation with quilter Cheryl Arkison about the power of habit in creative life, and about embracing the mess of, well, pretty much everything. Show Note

A Resurrection

Mar 9th, 2017 5m 34s

After two years on hiatus, Compulsory Podcast is coming back! Listen for a brief update about what's changed (and what's staying the same), and how you can help keep the show going long into the future. Be sure to subscribe to the show so you g

Compulsory Podcast Special Burrito Bulletin: Lauren Venell

Mar 31st, 2015 17m 34s

Lauren Venell is an artist and designer specializing in editorial props and product development. Her work has been published in titles by Chronicle Books, Klutz/Scholastic, Uppercase, Monsa Books and Quarry Books, among others, and featured in

Compulsory Podcast Episode 7: Rachael Herron

Mar 25th, 2015 25m 19s

Rachael Herron is the bestselling author of the novel Splinters of Light, the five-book Cypress Hollow romance series, and the memoir, A Life in Stitches.As we discuss in the podcast, I've read Rachael's blog for about a decade. So much is my

Compulsory Podcast Bonus Episode: Joel Watson

Feb 19th, 2015 16m 57s

Joel Watson is a cartoonist who writes and draws a webcomic called HijiNKS Ensue, which he describes as "a semi-autobiographical comic about a lifelong geek and aspiring artist who turns his back on an unfulfilling but financially stable career

Compulsory Podcast, Episode 6: Joel Watson

Jan 27th, 2015 25m 10s

Compulsory Podcast Episode 5: Isaac Watson

Jan 12th, 2015 19m 30s

Isaac Watson is a project manager, grand-scale organizer, and maker of things like jewelry and homes. In 2014, he launched Maker’s Nation, a nonprofit educational program and community platform for independent creative entrepreneurs. He's also

Compulsory Podcast Episode 4: Miriam Felton

Dec 15th, 2014 19m 36s

Miriam Felton is a knitwear designer and all-around maker living in Salt Lake City. She has been self-publishing since 2004 and now teaches and designs full time.In 2013, she committed to what she called a Year of Making – every day that year,

Compulsory Podcast Episode 3: Meighan O'Toole

Dec 3rd, 2014 19m 8s

Meighan O’Toole is a digital media strategist who is passionate about connecting people to objects, art, and ideas that better their personal or professional lives, and she derives great meaning in her own life from fostering those connections.