Women Making History

Singer-songwriter Lara Ruggles in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park

As we near the anniversary of the National Park Service (August 25, 1916), we're revisiting select Big Blend Radio interviews with women who have been park artists-in-residence through the National Parks Arts Foundation. This 2023 episode features Tucson Arizona-based singer-songwriter Lara Ruggles who talks about her music and creative process, and month-long NPAF residency in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. 
Lara Ruggles is an activist, singer/songwriter, pianist, guitarist, and electronic music producer performing under the stage name “Sharkk Heartt”.  Since 2011, Ruggles has released an EP, two albums, and four standalone singles both as Sharkk Heartt and under her own name. More: https://www.sharkkheartt.com/ 
Learn more about the National Parks Arts Foundation and their unique artist residenty programs at https://www.nationalparksartsfoundation.org/ 

Artist Emma Stibbon in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park

As we near the anniversary of the National Park Service (August 25, 1916), we're revisiting select Big Blend Radio interviews with women who have been park artists-in-residence through the National Parks Arts Foundation. This 2016 episode features artist Emma Stibbon, Tanya Ortega - Founder of National Parks Arts Foundation, Laura C. Schuster – Division Chief of Cultural Resources for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and Elizabeth Fien - Executive Director of Friends of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.At the time of this interview in 2016: Currently Senior Lecturer in Fine Art Printmaking at the University of Brighton, England, Stibbon studied at Portsmouth College of Art, Goldsmith College and the University of the West of England. An award winning artist with an international reputation, she has held several residencies, including the Derek Hill Scholarship at the British School in Rome (2010). She also participated in the Arctic Circle 2013, an art and science expedition to the Arctic Circle.Drawing is at the heart of Emma’s practice and she has travelled widely, recording her responses to the physical appearance and psychological impact of natural and built environments. Working from sketches and photographic records, Emma creates stark, monochrome, often large-scale works on paper. Romantic in character, they dramatise the effects of human intervention and natural phenomena on monumental structures and explore the fragility of existence. She has works in public and private collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Scott Polar Research Institute, the University of Cambridge and the Stadtmuseum, Berlin. AKMore at https://www.emmastibbon.com/ 

Artist Dawnja Burris in Chaco Canyon

As we near the anniversary of the National Park Service (August 25, 1916) we're revisiting select Big Blend Radio interviews with women who have been park artists-in-residence through the National Parks Arts Foundation. 
This episode features Dawnja Burris - media scholar, visual and digital artist, and the spring of 2019 National Parks Arts Foundation (NPAF) artist-in-residence in Chaco Culture National Historical Park in Northern New Mexico. Dawnja is interested in the translation of images through diverse mediation and form. Read More and see her art: https://nationalparktraveling.com/listing/visual-artist-dawnja-burris-in-chaco-culture-nhp This podcast also features Nathan Hatfield - Chief of Interpretation at Chaco Culture National Historical Park and Aztec Ruins National Monument, and Tanya Ortega - Founder of NPAF.  Featured music is “Chaco” by the Tall Men Group.

Artist Bel Falleiros in Pecos National Historical Park

As we near the anniversary of the National Park Service (August 25, 1916) we're revisiting select Big Blend Radio interviews with women who have been park artists-in-residence through the National Parks Arts Foundation. This episode features Bel Falleiros, an installation artist and architect from Brazil, who talks about her art and experience as the 2016 artist-in-residence at Pecos National Historical Park in Northern New Mexico.Located just a half hour outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico between the town of Pecos and the historic Glorieta Battlefield, this multi-unit park contains the remnants of the once vibrant Pecos Pueblo. Learn more about Bel and Pecos NHP, here: https://nationalparktraveling.com/listing/artist-bel-falleiros-in-pecos-national-historical-park/ 

Sandra Bornstein - Keep Moving and Live Without Regrets

This episode of Big Blend Radio’s 3rd Monday “Food, Wine & Travel” Show with IFWTWA features travel writer and author Sandra Bornstein who shares her personal story of travel and skiing while grieving the loss of her husband, Ira. 
In 2020, their world was turned upside down when he was diagnosed with glioblastoma, terminal brain cancer. Even though he was diagnosed with only 12-18 months to live and they were coping with COVID restricted travel, Ira and Sandra adopted the motto—Keep Moving and Live Without Regrets. Even though Ira is gone, Sandra has continued to live by his motto through travel and skiing, which have helped her tremendously. She hopes that her lifestyle choices will encourage others to embrace life when they are faced with a spouse's terminal diagnosis and subsequent death. Read her recent stories that focus on traveling and grieving: * https://www.wanderwithwonder.com/the-magic-of-skiing-while-grieving/ * https://www.travelworldmagazine.com/2024/06/a-respite-from-grief-a-week-at-hilton-health/ 
Sandy Bornstein, a Colorado based travel writer, has visited dozens of countries, and lived as an expat teacher in Bangalore, India. She is the award-winning author of "May This Be the Best Year of Your Life" which is a resource for people contemplating an expat lifestyle, and "100 Things to Do in Boulder Before You Die."  Keep up with her at https://thetravelingbornsteins.com  and https://sandrabornstein.com 
Learn more about the International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA) here: https://www.ifwtwa.org/ 
Follow this Podcast Channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzIUCV2e7qm1chVylr9kzBMftUgBoLS-m 

Dr. Mark Boguski, Dr. Michele Berman, David Tabatsky - Reimagining Women's Cancers

With today being World Breast Cancer Research Day, we're revisiting this "From the Vault" episode of Big Blend Radio featuring Dr. Mark Boguski and Dr. Michele Berman, along with writer and editor David Tabatsky, authors of “Reimagining Women's Cancers: The Power of Celebrity and Public Awareness in Changing Cancer Outcomes.”
Whether readers are currently patients or consumers wanting to be better informed, Reimagining Women’s Cancers exemplifies that information is empowering. Reading about a famous person coping with cancer can not only be inspiring, it can save a life. In this first book of their Reimagining Cancer series, doctors Mark Boguski and Michele Berman team with writer David Tabatsky to provide celebrity stories focusing on cancer of the breasts, ovaries, uterus, cervix, vagina and vulva.
To provide readers with critical information to help them manage, cope, and recover from illness, "Reimagining Women’s Cancers" is written in an easy-to-read style and format. Each chapter begins with basic anatomy concerning each cancer, followed by an overview of how we view a particular cancer today. The chapters flow easily into an explanation of signs, symptoms, diagnoses, scientific information and guidelines, and end on comprehensive surveys for treatments and prevention. Woven throughout are stories, both medical and anecdotal, from women such as Angelina Jolie, Joan Lunden, Melissa Etheridge, Sandra Lee, Rita Wilson, Christina Applegate, and Suzanne Somers.
More at https://www.reimaginingcancer.com/ 

The Then and Now of Art and Artists in Parks

In celebration of American Artists Appreciation Month and the upcoming National Park Service anniversary (Aug. 25, 1860), this episode of Big Blend Radio's WORLD OF ART Podcast with artist Victoria Chick features photographer Tanya Ortega. Hear their discussion covering the Then & Now of Art and Artists in Parks and Public Lands. 
Talking about the history of art and artists in parks, VICTORIA CHICK is a contemporary figurative artist and early 19th/20th century print collector based in Silver City, New Mexico. Victoria spearheaded the Southwest Regional Museum of Art and Art Center  .* Read her articles about artists in parks:  https://nationalparktraveling.com/listing/art-history-in-national-parks-and-public-lands * Visit Victoria's website:  https://victoriachick.com/ * Learn more about the Southwest Regional Museum of Art and Art Center: https://www.southwest-art-museum.org/ 
Talking about "the now" of art and artists in parks, TANYA ORTEGA is a photographer and the founder of the National Parks Arts Foundation. NPAF is the only nationwide non-profit providing Artist-in-Residence Programs (AiR), Workshops, Exhibits and Museum Loans uniquely in cooperation with National Parks, National Monuments, State Parks, World Heritage Sites and other park locations. * Learn more about NPAF: https://www.nationalparksartsfoundation.org/ * Check out Big Blend Radio's Interviews with NPAF artists-in-residence: https://nationalparktraveling.com/listing/national-park-arts-foundation/  
WATCH FOR BIG BLEND'S special digital retrospective publication featuring Victoria's articles and NPAF's artist interviews. It releases on Aug. 25, 2024 in honor of the National Park Service anniversary (Aug. 25, 1860). Subscribe to our Big Blend e-Newsletter to get your copy: https://nationalparktraveling.com/listing/join-our-newsletter/ 
Big Blend Radio's "World of Art" Show with Victoria Chick airs every 3rd Saturday. Follow the podcast:  https://worldofart-victoriachick.podbean.com/ 
Big Blend Radio's "Toast to The Arts & Parks Show with NPAF airs every 1st Friday. Follow the podcast: https://arts-parks.podbean.com/ 

Dana Bowman - How to be Perfect Like Me

This "From the Vault" episode of Big Blend Radio features award-winning author and popular blogger Dana Bowman who chats about her memoir “How to be Perfect Like Me,” where she candidly recounts how her alcoholic relapse impacted her family, relationships, and her sense of self-worth.
From the moment their children are born, mothers are under tremendous pressure to be “perfect.” They are expected to keep their emotions in check during grocery-aisle tantrums, engage their children regularly with Pinterest-worthy activities, and eschew jarred baby food for organic, homemade creations. Living up to these kinds of expectations is challenging enough without also having to manage the coping mechanisms we employ to handle this kind of pressure. For moms who struggle with alcoholism, parenting can prove to be especially challenging.
Humorist Dana Bowman candidly details these struggles in HOW TO BE PERFECT LIKE ME (A Central Recovery Press paperback), the follow-up to her award-winning memoir, “Bottled.” Offering comic relief and encouragement to moms seeking a coping mechanism for the day-to-day expectations and monotonous schedules of family life, Bowman draws on her hilariously relatable experiences to guide readers to insightful conclusions. Parents from all backgrounds will appreciate Bowman’s playful sarcasm and unbridled observations. More at https://momsieblog.com/