Extraordinary Ordinary People

In this week’s discussion, photographer Greg Lawson takes Andy through his museum-like gallery in Sedona, Arizona, to explore the fundamentals of his philosophy on human nature.

Our conversation with Greg is unlike any you’d have with a traditional photographer. Although Greg got his first camera when he was 14 and has worked as an artist ever since, he views the physical process behind his work as more of a technicality; a naturalist discoverer at heart, rather than a “photographer’s photographer.” He will leave the country on a whim, for one to four weeks at a time, to simply drive, experience new cultures, and photograph whatever speaks to him. Greg is on a mission to share the positive side of the world with others, and photography helps him achieve that goal.

His latest project, “The Principle Movement,” emerged from the idea that principles—like empathy, integrity, loyalty—are the basis for our positivity. He believes a greater focus on principles would allow for a more just society. More than anything, he highlights the beauty of human nature, and why people at their core are the same.

Links

• Greg Lawson Photography
• The Principle Movement
• One For All: An Introduction to The Principle Movement
• The Wake Up Show (KKNW/Seattle)

In today’s conversation, Andy talks with Kimi Werner, the U.S. National Spearfishing Champion of 2008 who transformed her passion for discovery and the sea to inspire others and travel the world.

Kimi grew up in a family of six, in a small shack in a secluded area of Haiku, Maui, where her best friend was a pig named “Muddy.” She may not have had any close human friends beyond her family before she moved to a more traditional neighborhood at age seven, but Kimi always believed that as long as she could explore the wild natural world she would never feel alone.

When she wasn’t roaming free on land, Kimi was underwater. At age four, Kimi began to watch her father free dive and spearfish for food. Seeing firsthand how fresh food brought her friends and family together, Kimi discovered the joy of cooking creatively at a young age and later attained a degree in Culinary Arts. Throughout her time in Oahu, she actively pursued her love of painting by taking as many art classes as she could and, for nearly four years, became an art teacher.

After quitting her teaching job in her mid-20s, Kimi re-discovered her own passion for spearfishing. The ocean had long been a source of sustenance, inspiration and adventure, and Kimi found herself longing for the life she once knew in nature. During this period of time, she trained on her own, honed her free diving skills, and started to be mentored by and work alongside elite professional spearfishers and free divers. As a result, Kimi can hold her breath for 4:45, and at free-dive to depths of 159 feet.

Only a few years later, she became the U.S. National Spearfishing Champion—and then her art really started to sell. She soon started to win international competitions and gain multiple sponsorships; however, it wasn’t all that much later that Kimi purposely left the professional world of competition and faced one of the biggest challenges of her life.

Kimi still pursues all of her passions, including being a sought-after speaker. Her daily life is a pure fusion of her talents, rooted in sustainability and geared toward a healthy future for our global community.

Links

• Kimi Werner
• Kimi Werner – Art
• Patagonia Ambassador
• YouTube
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Humble Market Kitchin Maui

“Dive Simply,” Kimi’s underwater fun with just one rock:

Photos and more

 

In this week’s epsiode, Andy has a unique and spiritually-focused conversation with two people—one of whom lives and works in Maui, the other who is visiting, and both of whom embody the Maui spirt—Beth Marcil and Mariabruna Sirabella. Check it out and enjoy a dialogue about live freely lived, 2nd senses, and the interconnectedness of everything.

Beth Marcil is a widely-recognized visual artist and creative workshop facilitator. An honor graduate of Ringling College of Art and Design, she’s adept at a wide range of approaches in multiple mediums. From the serenity of Hawaiian taro patches, colorful foreign marketplaces, and traditional landscapes to naive, whimsical works of art, Beth Marcil interprets the essential spirit that brings a people or a place to life.

Mariabruna Sirabella, MS, LMFT, has a Laurea Degree in Communication and Performing Arts from Bologna University, Italy and a Master in Counseling from CSUS, California, and is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist based in California. As the Translation Coordinator and lead Trainer for SoulCollage, she’s found the SoulCollage process to be an enduring source of personal truth, guidance, and a universal bridge she has shared with hundreds of individuals worldwide.

Links

Beth Marcil

• Beth Marcil: Art From the Inside Out
• Ke Ola Magazine: “Visual Art as a Tool for Transformation and Healing”
• Beth Marcil [requires Flash]
• Beth Marcil on Facebook: Journaling Art ‘n Soul
• Adult/child collaboration

Mariabruna Sirabella

• Mariabruna Sirabella
• Event: Your New Narrative: Create a Visual Biography Through SoulCollage
• Upcoming programs
• Mariabruna Sirabella on SoulCollage
• “Creativity is your birthright”

A chance meeting on a beach in Maui led to Andy’s conversation with Juliette “Joules” Brown, a young multi-medium visual artist.

Recently, Joules decided to take a break from university to recharge her spirit and travel across Australia in a van. In this episode she’s just returned from that trip, and she talks about that adventure and the waking-from-a-dream experience of returning.

Andy and Joules also talk about her art, informed by love and lust and loss, her parents’ divorce and her own breakups, and the freedom and structure of dance.

Works

Splice 2015

Demon Series (“Ex-Demon 2016”)

Couples 2014

Untitled 2012

Resistance (video)

Amit & I

We Made You We Will Conquer

Letting Go (Animation)

Links

• Juliette Dominique Brown
• Marie Kondo, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

To play this episode, please visit it on The Music Makers Podcast!

This week, Andy talks with the artist behind three enormously-popular wedding songs—Edwin McCain. His hit songs “I’ll Be” and “I Could Not Ask For More” are both favorite “first dance” songs, and his song “Walk With You” is always a moving choice for the father/daughter dance. Edwin’s songs have formed the soundtrack to some of the most pivotal moments in people’s lives, that couples and their families will always remember.

Edwin first gained industry attention with his indie album Solitude. He toured extensively with Hootie and the Blowfish, then signed with the same label (Atlantic Records) to release his first major-label album Honor Among Thieves. His second album Misguided Roses, spawned his first major hit single “I’ll Be”—it was featured on the TV show Higher Ground and the movie A Cinderella Story, then absolutely exploded when featured on Dawson’s Creek. His next big hit was his recording and performance of Diane Warren’s song, “I Could Not Ask For More,” which first appeared on the soundtrack of the Kevin Costner/Robin Wright movie Message In A Bottle.

Links

• Edwin McCain
• His new EP O Edwin Where Art Thou?, with “I’m Back,” “8 Miles from a Paved Road,” and “Home.”
  •  YouTube, Amazon, Spotify

• “I’ll Be”
  • Lyrics, YouTube, Amazon, Spotify

• “I Could Not Ask For More”
  • Lyrics, YouTube, Amazon, Spotify

• “Walk With You”
  • Lyrics, YouTube, Amazon, Spotify

And more…