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Are You a Tartlet or a Strudel? image

Are You a Tartlet or a Strudel?

E8 · Artpop Talk
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102 Plays4 years ago

In this week's episode we introduce our good friend, Audrey! Audrey is joining the Artpop Talk team as our production assistant. Meeting in college at the OSU Museum of Art, and working with Gianna throughout the BFA program, Audrey has worked with non-profit arts organization in school and now full time. She shares her experiences with arts organizations, and talks about her own body of work. As the new PA, we also ask our listeners.... are you a tartlet? Or a strudel? 

Transcript

Identity Swap Humor

00:00:38
Speaker
Hello, hello, and welcome to our pop talk. Is this the second time that we started? Second time. I'm Gianna. And I'm Bianca. I am always afraid that I'm gonna say the wrong name. We've talked about that, but I'm always afraid I'm gonna say hello, hello, welcome. I'm Gianna.
00:00:56
Speaker
But I feel like we could just go with it because I feel like it'd be really funny if we did an entire episode where you were me. You were me. You were me. I think that we should do that. Oh my god.
00:01:18
Speaker
Because I can hear the distinction in our voices, but I know that some people can't.

Bumble Anecdote

00:01:28
Speaker
Oh, you know what? I was actually talking to a bumble boy. Wow. You know what? That's what I do these days. And plug in art pop talk. I'm plugging you.
00:01:48
Speaker
And so then he listened to the episode and he was like, oh, I thought you had a fear of bugs. Like I thought you didn't like grasshoppers or something. No, no, no, no. That's Gianna. That's the other one.

Weekend Activities

00:02:00
Speaker
But then actually I was listening to that episode today because I think it is good for us to kind of go back and listen and learn, you know, think about our flow and stuff like that.
00:02:11
Speaker
but then in that for some reason at the beginning of that episode i was like oh my gosh like we really did sound alike i don't know why it because most of the time when i listen back i can hear the differences between us but and for that like one second i was like oh that really did sound like me yeah there are like little moments here and there where i feel like i'm like wait what
00:02:38
Speaker
I just say, that's the stupidest fucking thing I've ever heard. Okay, that quote also is from Schitt's Creek, so maybe we say it a lot. What episode is that where David's talking? He's in his store. Oh, he's, oh, the baby shower where John's gonna ask this. Oh, what's a sprinkle? Yes. Oh, so Patrick's like, oh, so it's more like a sprinkle. He's like, what the fuck is a sprinkle?
00:03:05
Speaker
Wow, iconic show, referred to often. Truly. Well, how are you? What's what's been going on? I haven't seen you this weekend. I know. So this weekend, mom and I just, you know, stayed at the house like usual.

Watchmen Comparison

00:03:22
Speaker
I've been doing some, you know, workouts from YouTube. So I did some of those this weekend. And oh, I did start watching HBO's Watchmen series. Oh, you did. I did because I
00:03:35
Speaker
I did get HBO Max and so I started watching it and it is actually so so good and I'm only like a few episodes in and I'm also like just a preface this I am not like a big superhero person I think I do gravitate more towards DC because hello Wonder Woman Kia Kudo Miss Queen Queen Queen so and I think out of all of them I do enjoy like the Dark Knight series and you know
00:04:04
Speaker
so I think I gravitate more towards DC anyway and Watchmen is DC so I do really like it but again I'm still kind of learning so then I started this series and I'm maybe like four episodes in and then I was like okay maybe I should like learn a little bit more about who these people are because I started picking up on references about like the previous generation of
00:04:25
Speaker
Watchmen and like started picking up on like the chronology of this like alternative America so then I started also watching the 2009 I think Zack Snyder I was gonna ask them watch that so I need to finish it. Oh, I should finish it tonight I think I only got like a 24-hour rental I had seen that movie and I remember like when it came out everyone was kind of I
00:04:49
Speaker
like split I feel like whether they really liked it or not but I also feel that way in general about like every single superhero movie that comes out yeah I mean I just it just personally like I don't I don't need Zack Snyder I don't I just don't feel the need to like watch his movies I guess you know but I wanted to learn a little bit more about the HBO series
00:05:11
Speaker
and I do really like it so I will say that the movie has been helping me kind of pinpoint a timeline and figure out like the characters and yeah like I said this kind of alternative America but the HBO show is really good so far for a superhero show I really am enjoying it a lot it's really smart and I think the characters are really
00:05:36
Speaker
smart even though it is pretty it can be hard to watch it's violent but yeah like we talked about in our episode on was pretty violent yeah how we talked about it in our protest episode you know it starts in Tulsa with the 1921 massacre
00:05:52
Speaker
And so also, following that timeline in Oklahoma is interesting. So I'm also trying to see, did they film in Tulsa? I'm trying to figure out also the geography of it too. Yeah, that'd be interesting. I'm not sure they did film in Tulsa. I feel like we would have known. I mean, maybe some scenes, I'll have to look. I'll have to do some more research. But so far, I will say that I am learning a lot and I do like it.
00:06:21
Speaker
That's good. I am really excited to watch it. I think like you said as far as a superhero movie goes like this one does have very like significant content that like is important to know but also we just find.
00:06:34
Speaker
interesting and it can be a little bit more applicable. And I feel like that's where sometimes I have a hard time connecting with superhero movies, but I'm really glad you started watching it. Yeah, no, I do really like it. It's really clever. There are some things in it that I'm picking up on that it's like really, really clever. Yeah. And then from what I saw, like just kind of seen like clips of it too visually, it just looks really stunning. It does look really, really good. Yeah.
00:07:04
Speaker
So yeah, great. Thank you for buying HBO for us. Well, I went threesies with three other people. Okay. So I'm just a little freeloader over here. You are. It's mine. Younger sister parks, I guess. Yeah. No, really.

Cousin Juliana's Stories

00:07:20
Speaker
So you went to Tulsa this weekend? Yeah, I went to Tulsa this weekend. Not much. Just trying to catch up on some behind the scenes or pop talk stuff.
00:07:30
Speaker
Doing a little bit of research. It was actually really nice because the drive from Edmund to Tulsa is a little bit over an hour So I always try to like find a friend that I haven't like called in a while or like catch up with so yeah I got to talk to my friend Lauren if you're listening Lauren, I love you It was so lovely to chat with you because the drive is so boring. I hate that drive. It's just I
00:07:53
Speaker
a vast nothingness on the way until you get to Tulsa. And then I also got to talk to our dear cousin, Juliana, who is so funny. We love her so much. I'm so excited for you guys to meet Juliana. She is just one of the reasons truthfully like why I wanted to start this podcast was because when Juliana comes on and she will
00:08:18
Speaker
i'm so excited for the world to just understand how truly effortlessly like funny she is the funniest person i know she's so fucking funny and it's just like her life like do you remember when
00:08:33
Speaker
year or two ago she was going out on all those interviews and literally every single one of those interviews were just so weird like you couldn't like make this shit up like the one where they had all those like office cats and she had to like
00:08:50
Speaker
to her interview with just a bunch of these like feral cats walking around everywhere with like no like no one telling her like ah yes like these are her office cats like she was just kind of expected to think that this was a normal thing so she studied fashion and costume history so we're so excited for her to come on to talk about like a bunch of different things but
00:09:15
Speaker
She used to work for, was it PetSmart or Petco? And then she was at this party and then someone asked her if she sold weed. I'm sorry, if she sold weed to dogs. Because they do. At a dinner party. Because they do.
00:09:42
Speaker
but the way she tells the story is just so funny like the way she just talked just like a woman in her 20s trying to fake her life out like um to some weird jocks
00:09:59
Speaker
So funny, so I'm so glad that you got to talk to her this weekend yeah, no it was really good and Yeah, she's like working from home nice right now. She works for hungry harvest So if you are on the East Coast
00:10:13
Speaker
You can check out Hungry Harvest. I know she really likes working with them. Yeah, they are such a cool company. The CEO is like a really young guy and I guess was on Shark Tank too. So that's really fun. But she's had a vast number of careers.
00:10:30
Speaker
Not careers, they're all in the same like vein, but just like the people she worked with. It was so funny. And she worked at David's Bridal for a while. She's got some great David's Bridal stories. So she's just so, she's everything. I know, she's the best. I'm so excited.

Podcast Growth & New Assistant

00:10:50
Speaker
Well, speaking of being excited, we are so happy to finally make an announcement today
00:10:58
Speaker
We are so fortunate that our pop talk is growing as fast as it is. And we want to also just take a minute to thank all of our listeners for tuning in each week and supporting us. This podcast has really grown, I think, at a faster rate at this point than me and Bianca.
00:11:17
Speaker
had even hoped for and so we just feel so fortunate and because of that our our pop talk team is at the point where it needs to expand and grow with us.
00:11:30
Speaker
So today we are happy to not only bring on our second guest, but also introduce our new production assistant, our former colleague, and now our new colleague and best friend, Miss Audrey Gleason. Audrey, welcome to the podcast. We are so freaking excited that you're here. I am so excited to be here.
00:11:54
Speaker
and just thrilled and truly honored to be a part of the podcast and a part of your lives in general. Wow. Honored.
00:12:04
Speaker
No words. So I'm just excited to sit and talk with both of you here. It's honestly one of my favorite things to do. And I was just talking to someone about Audrey and like, I just feel like you're such a good storyteller and like you're my friend who just like knows what I need, you know, and you just have me like figured out. And I just feel like you're so good at either like listening to an event or just calming me down or
00:12:31
Speaker
I don't know y'all know you need a lot. Honestly I do but I feel like when I need that it's like Audrey's the best person to do that you know. Yeah no Audrey is just the level-headed friend in our group that is always so good at seeing like both sides of the situation and I feel like it's always like what we go back to and what like we talk about if it's something like controversial you know you're like yeah you would be surprised to know I stand firmly in the middle.
00:13:00
Speaker
A fantastic quote by Audrey. So at this time you are an especially very, very busy woman working hard, you just moved into a new place and you're getting married in two weeks. But on top of that you're here with us, which thank you so much.
00:13:20
Speaker
And so, you know, we were talking about one of your first big projects that you're working on for us, which is obviously, like, getting that branding going, you know? Yeah, you are. But a few weeks ago, you were talking about, like, what should our fan base be called? Because, you know, people have, like, The Little Monsters of Gaga, or Friend of the Pod, or Bachelor Nation, or whatever. Like, every kind of fan base has, like, a distinct title.
00:13:45
Speaker
And so Audrey, like, specifically brought that up a few weeks ago. Oh, totally. Because the thing is, when I hear art pop talk, like, the first thing that I think of is pop tarts, you know? And I'm just, like, envisioning this community of people that, you know, that are all called pop tarts. Like, how cute would it be if, you know, we could actually use that word and it wasn't, like, trademarks or something or, like, you know, stolen. But, like, pop tarts are so freaking

Fan Nicknames

00:14:12
Speaker
cute.
00:14:13
Speaker
Yeah, it's hard to think like art pop, some people were suggesting poppers. Do you like that stuff? I feel like poppers are like a frozen snack that you buy at Walmart.
00:14:28
Speaker
Do you guys remember that scene and confessions of a teenage drama queen where her friend's mom is like, I just popped them in the microwave. Surely you popovers at home. My mom doesn't believe in microwaves. No, pop tarts. And they're just so beautiful. And have you guys also been seen just over quarantine too? Everybody has been learning how to make their own. No, I think that's also why it was in my brain, because you just see them on Instagram everywhere.
00:14:58
Speaker
Everyone is making these like homemade pop tarts. It's crazy. I just think like okay, so let's just you know Pop tart would be absolutely crazy to not let us use pop tarts for our own personal branding I mean I really that would just be totally crazy on their part. I love to eat pop tarts, but also am I a pop tart? You are a tart That's how I describe you
00:15:27
Speaker
I mean, I like it. I'm not. I am. And no, so that's what I'm saying. Like, it's just so on brand. But like, again, Pop Tart would be crazy not to let us use their name, but on the off chance that they don't. Okay, but if we've already ruled out poppers, then I feel like
00:15:46
Speaker
then I feel like the word left is tart, right? That's true. So we have to do something with tart. You guys. As, oh my god, okay, oh my god, this is all coming together. See, Audrey, even your like presence here is just so much needed. Your presence just bridged out the best. Because we have mentioned in several episodes, especially Bianca, just her love for baking and like
00:16:10
Speaker
I really don't think we've talked about it that much. We haven't talked about it that much, but you mentioned it in the last episode. We're talking about chefs and just like loving new ways to cook in the kitchen. And you're just such a good baker if we haven't addressed it as much as we need to. Like Bianca's a baking queen and I'm your little taste tester. A taster. Yeah, a little taster.
00:16:38
Speaker
I just feel like as this episode, as this podcast grows, I think like, our just like love for food is just going to come out more. I really do. So hear me out, hear me out, hear me out. What about tartlets? I'm gonna say that I really like tartlets. Tartlets. So if you haven't seen that episode of Friends, which you probably have, I hope you have,
00:17:08
Speaker
There's an episode where Monica is making like a meal at home for this friend of Phoebe's who owns a restaurant, and he comes into Monica's apartment high, and then what does she say? We have some delicious onion tartlets. Yeah. And he's like, tartlets, tartlets. And he's like trying to steal the gummy bears, and they like fall into the soup. He's like, grab onto a sugar roll, boy.
00:17:35
Speaker
I think Tartelets is really, really fucking cute. I like it. Audrey, what do you think? We also need to consult the fans, you know? Do they want to be called a Tartelet? I think we need to see what the fans think. But it's definitely an A plus for me, as long as the fans are on board. See, when I picture a Tartelet, I picture,

Pop Tarts vs Toaster Strudels

00:17:55
Speaker
like, a pop Tartelet, an art part, art per Tartelet. No, but see, that's the thing.
00:18:13
Speaker
like I just think it would be so cute we could have little stickers with but like an actual little like fruit tarts you know and they'd be so colorful like I feel like tart lids are also very colorful like very poppy I just love the word like tartlet like there's something so like cute and pretty and like all of our listeners are just like they babies like they're just like you are so cute and you know it like yeah oh heartlet in a very endearing way but you know what I also think also if you want to be like a savior
00:18:49
Speaker
that's me okay but it's funny too when I think of like pop tarts like what are people like up against you know in comparison to like pop tarts like what's the opposite of a pop tart well I think I think Audrey knows the answer I I'm just gonna throw this out there that maybe toaster strudels might be
00:19:11
Speaker
something that rivals a pop tart. I feel like we should give a little backstory because growing up, Gianna and I were not allowed, not allowed, but we are not allowed. Our mother did not, certainly not keep pop tarts in the house. And so I feel like I only got pop tarts when I went over to like a friend's house, you know? So our mom always had toaster strudels in the freezer as if a
00:19:38
Speaker
Toaster strudel is better for you than a pop-dart because it's certainly not because you squeeze out the whole Okay, you know there's like a sweet toaster strudel with like jam in it, but then there's that other one process
00:20:02
Speaker
And then there's the other one with like meat in quotes. It's like meat and cheese. It's like a breakfast one. Don't those still come with the icing packet? No, surely not. I don't know. I feel it. Surely not. But I just remember constantly that little part in our like... It's just like dedicated to those little icing packets. We had like a little nook in for each of those.
00:20:35
Speaker
Okay, literally like fucking structural though man, okay, but here's the thing It's like you're right in terms of the like pop culture breakfast foods You've got the good stuff, which is a nice pop tart, you know, and then you've got some nasty ass joy
00:20:52
Speaker
Most are brutal. Nobody wants it. I'm sorry, mom, I love you, but nobody wants it. Nobody wants it. You know what? When I drove home from PA coming here in March, I bought some Popdarts to eat with me on the road, right? Because it's perfect. They're perfect for any time. Then I come home. I'm telling mom I asked her to try a Popdart and she like
00:21:14
Speaker
wouldn't eat. She's like, are you kidding me? And then she, I made her take one bite and she like, I was like, how can you not like this sugary treat? It's delicious. No. But she'll eat a toasted strudel. A toasted strudel. A nasty piece. You know what? Okay. First of all, if you're gonna make a strudel,
00:21:29
Speaker
you should make it right like make your pastry make like some nice apple filling or whatever like make a nice strudel like that's like you should fill your home with like an essence of a nice pastry and i'm not saying pop darts are like a nice well-made like pop pastry

Pop Tart Preferences

00:21:46
Speaker
by any means but i'm not i would rather make a really nice strudel than eat a
00:21:52
Speaker
A toaster strudel. Um, I don't think my father, the inventor of toaster strudel, would be too pleased to hear about that, Bianca. You know what? I'm sorry. Gretchen... Gretchen Weiner is just not it. Like, pop answer where it's at. And I know... Okay, here's the thing. I think that people are gonna come for me so hard when I say what I'm about to say next. Oh my god, what are you about to say? I don't even know what you're about to say.
00:22:18
Speaker
I just need to say, just as for the unfrosted pop-tarts. What? You know what? There's just something good about an unfro... I mean, don't get me wrong, like that pink frosting on strawberry pop-tart... The frosting is the part that makes it pretty. Yeah, no, it makes it so pretty. I love the way like a nice frosted pop-tart looks aesthetically. It's very, you know, on brand for me, but like...
00:22:44
Speaker
I only eat foods that are hot on bread. That are full of rust and pink. But, like, I don't know. I like the, like, dry grass.
00:22:58
Speaker
I'm an unfrosted pop-tart. Bianca, that's crazy because I was just about to say I was over at Adrian's, our other sister's house, and I saw pop-tarts in her pantry and I was like, yo, I'm gonna need a pop-tart. And she was like, okay, but they're unfrosted because that's how we do it for Jameson, my nephew. Which makes sense, I understand why they don't want to give their five-year-old kids a block of sugar. I'm just gonna say, so before we recorded this, I did a little quick
00:23:26
Speaker
Wikipedia action oh dear god and originally not frosted pop tarts were introduced in 1964 you know what how about I'm frosted I'm not saying that frosted but then they saw the lion why are we making these without sugar when we could put more sugar and make them even more pretty and even more delicious see they have their own Audrey Gleason to show them the way
00:23:55
Speaker
There's some different version of Audrey on the Pop-Tart factory. Like, different colors of acting. Awesome dry-ass. That's so cute. I can picture it. I want to meet Kellogg Pop-Tart Audrey from 1964. Yeah, I'm sure that factory was a real cute place.
00:24:19
Speaker
I also, just when I was looking at Justice for Unpress and Pop Tarts, um, I just saw like a funny fact about Pop Tarts, because I was also looking at like, if we're gonna, if we're gonna be associated with Pop Tarts, also people at Pop Tarts, like, if you're sponsored, you're like, you should listen. Or at least I'm pretty pumped.
00:24:41
Speaker
I would officiate a package. My favorite is brown sugar cinnamon. I do like the frosted kind. Oh, yeah, Gianna, what's your favorite kind of popter? Ooh. I kind of like the basic one with the icing and like the strawberry filling. Yeah, just regular strawberry. Like the good, like classic one. And then cinnamon brown sugar. My other friend, Alyssa, she likes strawberry milkshake and I think she also likes, there's like a cinnamon bun.
00:25:09
Speaker
One, two. Alyssa likes the crazy ones. Alyssa likes a lot of cinnamon things. She likes that Ben & Jerry's cinnamon roll ice cream. That sounds delicious. Pop-darts are Ben & Jerry's. I'll take either sponsors. But I was also looking at Kellogg's because I was like, I don't want to be affiliated with a brand that does bad things that doesn't- Sure. Good call. Yeah, so I was looking and doing some research on
00:25:35
Speaker
Mr. Kellogg or whatever. And this thing that in 1992, a man named Thomas Knack filed a lawsuit suing Kellogg for damages after his pop-tart became stuck in the toaster and caught fire.
00:25:56
Speaker
So then this apparently happened quite a bit and there was an experiment showing that when left in the toaster too long, strawberry pop-darts could produce flames about 1.5 feet. So then
00:26:12
Speaker
Wikipedia says this discovery triggered a flurry of lawsuits. Since then, Poptarts carry the warning due to possible risk of fire. Never leave your toasting appliance or the microwave unattended, but I also need to know
00:26:29
Speaker
Who the hell toasts their pop tarts actually because I'm sorry if you're not eating them straight out of that foil packet Oh my gosh, I totally toasted my pop tarts. I feel like we never toasted our pop We can ever have that we were always eating them like buying them in the store
00:26:48
Speaker
I used to do color guard in high school and so we had like rehearsal every morning and I was always like freakin hungry after you know because I would eat breakfast at like 5 a.m. And then we'd run around a field for two hours and then I'd be like hungry again by 9 and
00:27:07
Speaker
And so then right before my second period started, I would always go to the vending machine and get strawberry pop darts and eat them in my calculus class. Yeah. So I have a good association with like pop charts and my fun math class. Yeah, I feel like anytime- But again, no toaster laying around. Yeah. It's true, not many math classes have a toaster laying around. Honestly, to me, I don't think I've ever had a warm pop dart. Wait, really? I really don't think I've ever had that. No, okay, so here's the deal. Here's like the lowdown for like when you eat,
00:27:36
Speaker
like the best way to eat a Pop-Tart, in my opinion. You like toast, and then once it comes out of the toaster, it's all nice and toasty, then you get rid of the crust first, right? Like you eat the gross, because then by that point, it's kind of burnt. You eat all the way around the crust, and then like the middle part, it's all kind of like melted a little bit, so it kind of slides, you know? But that's when it melts good.
00:28:05
Speaker
Oh my gosh. Didn't Alyssa say something about the crust? No, this girl. Thank God. Somehow she's a bit of a strudel. Yes, strudel. This girl, she does this thing. I feel like we're always eating Pop-Tarts in the car, and so she will do this thing where she gives me the crust. She'll pick off the crust, and then she'll give it to me. I'm like, that's the best part. I'm sorry, but it's so good.
00:28:39
Speaker
No! I'm sorry, like, you know what, like... Are you a strudel, Bianca? No! Are you in the closet strudel? No, I'm a sometimes frosted, sometimes unfrosted pop-tart lady. This is very new information that I'm learning about you. Maybe because we just like, I feel like, you know, it's like a secret when we get pop-tarts. Like, we don't tell anyone else. I know! That's what I'm saying. Like, we don't, like, we would never have the opportunity to toast them because
00:29:07
Speaker
we were always just like eating them like in the store and then paying for the mass we left like oh my god okay so we're gonna take a poll or just you know maybe send us we'll we'll put it on our instagram or something like yeah you know because i feel like we need merch we gotta get some stickers for you guys like we didn't know what to call you do we should we
00:29:26
Speaker
call you tartlets or if someone else has something like really good and funny let us know because also like i just feel like i'm not that clever like i'm not clever enough to come up with something that sounds good like an art pop talk listener like i just i don't i don't have the capability for that i think that tartlets sound really cute and then i feel like
00:29:46
Speaker
when we talk about people that we don't like, like Picasso, we can just be like, oh yeah, he's a strudel for sure. Such a strudel. Such a strudel. Also, yeah, I'm curious, we should ask our listeners too about like, did you, what did you have growing up? Did you eat pop tarts? How do you like your pop tarts? Did you have a toaster strudel? Right. You know, I'm just so curious.

Meet Audrey Gleason

00:30:05
Speaker
I feel like we got to go to the store and like oh yeah totally hop on this yeah okay so clearly this is why we need a genius PA like miss Audrey Gleason to help us establish this very legitimate brand that we are trying to create
00:30:23
Speaker
I'm a businesswoman. So, Audrey, now that you're a part of the Art Pop Talk team and we want the Tartelets to know you. So tell us about yourself. Maybe share with the class how we all met in college because moving forward,
00:30:41
Speaker
Audrey is going to be helping us run our pop talk behind the scenes and hopefully we'll be bringing her on to pop on the episodes, but she might not be with us every single time we record. So we really want everyone to know you. Um, okay. Um, I grew up in Kansas city and you know, when you guys did your first like intro episode, I feel like you had a really cute like story about
00:31:06
Speaker
You know, you grew up with like art history and going to museums all the time and like talking about that. And in my household, I grew up as a performer for sure. Like my dad had a stage for me in the basement. He literally like built me a stage out of like wood and PVC pipe. And then like a little shower curtain was like the stage curtain. So I was like growing up writing and directing.
00:31:30
Speaker
dance, performances, plays, all that stuff. Um, so I had a really creative, you know, childhood too, and my parents were always encouraging me to do that. Okay. So, and then I actually didn't really get into visual art until like a lot later in high school because I was doing performing arts for most of the time I was growing up. And, um, then when I started at OSU, I just chose my track.
00:31:54
Speaker
And I was a BFA Studio Art major from the very beginning. And then I met Bianca through working at the OSU Museum of Art. And then I met Chiana because, you know, sisterhood. So you get one, you get the other. Totally. But yeah, no, I remember starting at the museum and like we had student employee, you know, training or whatever.
00:32:17
Speaker
just remember sitting across the table from Bianca and she was like so cute and I was like oh my gosh I'm so glad I get to have a really cute friend here so and it wasn't like I was like I'm so glad I'm gonna have a friend here it wasn't like I hope she's gonna be friends little do you know you are going to be my friend
00:32:35
Speaker
I just need to say that that day's burned into my memory forever and I think the universe was really trying to tell me something like you need to make sure you're friends with this girl because I will never forget like I saw you walk into the museum and then we sat at that big long table you know with the projector and everything and then Audrey said that she liked my necklace and I was like oh my god like this really pretty girl across from me I said she liked my necklace and it was so cute and then
00:33:01
Speaker
We went to Dallas together like later that year and I was thinking about WWAD, you know, it's where you form a lot of inside jokes.
00:33:10
Speaker
You came to visit me in Santa Fe later that same summer I guess and then yeah, oh my gosh We went to core class almost what every Monday and it was so fun Oh, yeah, and then we also had a gender and visual culture class together Yeah, I was I just like I miss having class with you. I miss having class with you. Well, this could be our class now Oh, well, that's good
00:33:40
Speaker
Oh my god. I remember the first time I met Audrey was at one of Bianca's house parties at the time. It was that big Lebesque house party. That was so much fun. But I remember Audrey, you offered me these vodka or champagne soaked gummy bears. I can't remember. I think they were champagne soaked because I remember when Audrey came in, I was like, oh, this bitch is fancy.
00:34:05
Speaker
Showed up to the sales party, champagne, gummy bears. All right. Well, there's like trash punch around the corner. I remember like all the lobster, like inflatables. Those were so cute. But yeah, and then I just remember thinking like, okay, like I see like this girl is like legit. And then from there, we ended up working together at the museum and we did our education internship together, which we'll definitely talk about. But I always remember like this one night we were
00:34:35
Speaker
leaving the museum and I feel like maybe we were working like a late night event because I remember it being like dark outside and we just like hung out in your car and we just like didn't go home and I was like hey I don't know how to tell you this but like you're my best friend like sorry I'm such a loser but puppet master like dee dee dee and then from there you were stuck with us so how does it feel
00:34:59
Speaker
It's the greatest honor of my life Wow, okay, so we did an episode about the OSU BFA program and Audrey you and I went through the program together and so I was wondering if you could talk about your work a little bit and what you did for your capstone show and just your experiences in the program and
00:35:19
Speaker
Yeah, well, those were the glory days, I will say. Glory days. First of all. Yeah, I did graduate on time in four years, but I felt like it just took me a lot longer to find my voice and my work than like you did. It seems like you kind of, I don't know, knew what you were about from the beginning and I did not.
00:35:38
Speaker
Uh, at first I was like making this really intense, emotional, like black and white work. I went through kind of a hard time in college, like kind of wrestling with two different parts of my identity, like my religious identity. And then in the arts department, people tend to be more liberal and not, not really religious. So, um, and I was taking a lot of like conflicting classes. It was just kind of hard to like reconcile those parts myself. So I was trying to work through that in my art, but then at the start of my senior year, I,
00:36:07
Speaker
came back from an internship that I had in New York and I kind of just like threw everything I had out the window and I like started over from scratch because I just I kept thinking about like having to spend the next six months of my life you know just in these emotional depths that weren't making me happy at all and I didn't want that at all I just wanted to if I was gonna be spending so much time making work I wanted it to be something that I really brought me a lot of joy and brought joy to other people too
00:36:33
Speaker
So what I ended up with was a giant six foot by six foot magnetic chalkboard. And I made more than a hundred magnets and I invited the public to collaborate with me and draw with chalk and move the magnets around and take pictures and, you know, interact with the piece. And then on the adjacent wall, I had framed relief and lithograph prints that documented moments in the collaborative process from the
00:37:00
Speaker
just many months leading up to my show and figuring out what I was about. And I'm really glad, like looking back, I'm really glad that I trusted myself to change my entire body of work six months before installing my show because I ended up being so happy with it. And I think it was just like a lot more true to who I am as an artist. And the goal for, was for people to realize that, you know, no matter how different we are, we all have things in common, like reminiscing on childhood memories and needing to play.
00:37:27
Speaker
Yeah, I just want to say that I love that body of work. I love the content of it, but also visually, I just like, when I look at that work, like I see you and I just see so much joy and happiness and playfulness in that work. And I just, I remember you like every day, like, how you doing Audrey? And you're like, well, just cutting out magnets.
00:37:49
Speaker
I also, we were talking to, Gianna and I were talking to someone about the goal for this podcast and kind of thinking about play and not taking art so seriously. And I know that's something that Audrey, you and I of course have talked about in the past. Like you and I think get frustrated whenever we're talking about art and it's so serious all the time and it feels so inaccessible. And I think that's something that, you know, your art specifically kind of relates to this podcast, but you in general, just understanding that need, that not everything about art and experiencing art
00:38:19
Speaker
Has to be so inaccessible and you can understand art you can play in art and and still get it and have like a meaningful experience with it So I don't know I just always love that about your work and like seeing the magnets up and whenever they were on to you like seeing everybody play with them and it's just like it just like made me happy and I just think that's like that's what we're trying to do you know what I mean like that's what we want to do and I'm just
00:38:43
Speaker
I feel like in those like six months when you did transition like if there's anything I will remember about college it'll be like that time yeah because we were taking several classes together and then I remember you would come straight from cutting your
00:38:59
Speaker
Plexiglas or whatever you were cutting your acrylic out of the laser cutter and then you would like come to glass with all your like cutout shapes and Then you would like get going on it and it was just so I think it was it was obviously such It was the right idea for you to do and it was the right path for you to go down But I know that during that time that making that decision like you had a lot of other forces being like oh Well, like are you sure like you want to do that? Yeah
00:39:26
Speaker
And I think you just held your ground so well because I even think that when you were making this bodywork and trying to explain it because you also had prints paired with your installation. A lot of people in the department and professors, people who's kind of supposed to be your mentors, not even fully
00:39:46
Speaker
understanding what you were trying to accomplish while you were doing it and even after it was completed. So I know that like that was super challenging, but I think we just resonate it resonate with it so much and like Bianca's right just looking at it. I'm like that is Audrey and I just wouldn't have had it any other way and I wouldn't want you to have any other way either.
00:40:08
Speaker
I think it would be really fun if we could like to do something similar like that or you know do a video with your work so people can see it or something like that or like if we're big enough we have a meet and greet one day you know and like have people play and like come make art I just think it'd be so fun.
00:40:26
Speaker
These ideas about kind of human connection and the importance of community within the art world are ideas that you're passionate about, that is evident within your work, but also now post-graduation.

Art Internship Experience

00:40:39
Speaker
So when you were still in school, do you wanna talk about the internship you had in Kansas City that kind of will feed into what you talk about what you're doing now? Yeah, I do. And I really like, I feel like I...
00:40:52
Speaker
this internship is still to this day, probably the closest to what I really want to do, you know, like with my life. Um, and, and the studio is called imagine that Casey, and it's a space for a differently abled adults to make artwork and essentially have a career as an artist, like after they age out of the public school system, um, at 18. So imagine that has a staff with many different skills and backgrounds. Um, some are trained in social services, you know, education, art, um,
00:41:21
Speaker
And these folks help the art help the artists develop their work, organize exhibitions, and then they sell the work too. So my favorite story to tell from that internship is like why I love nonprofit work so much. It was like my second week there, you know, and I'm also, this is like my first internship ever. So it's like my second week at my first internship, like a sophomore in college, you know, um, and it was on a Wednesday. And then that week was first Friday in Kansas city. So on Wednesday.
00:41:49
Speaker
We decided we wanted this beanbag toss game out at our first Friday booth and in literally like three days.
00:41:55
Speaker
someone just rounded up a random piece of plywood and taught me how to use a jigsaw and then I had to look up YouTube videos to teach myself sewing to like make all these bean bags and then I was just like running around the studio trying to convince these artists to like stop whatever they were working on to like paint my random piece of plywood with the holes in the middle you know like um and then like in three days you know it happened like we we wanted this game and then we just like
00:42:20
Speaker
found a way to make it work and made it happen and then the artists totally loved it and then at our booth at first Friday people were more likely to stop and have a conversation with us because they could like
00:42:29
Speaker
stop and play this game instead of just taking a flyer and moving on. So I feel like we had more of an impact that way. Imagine that. No, exactly. I can't believe that having fun with art brings people together and allows for cool conversations. I mean, how about that? How about that? Yeah. So I just love that when you can see change happen really quickly, that's one of my favorite things.
00:42:54
Speaker
I'm laughing because obviously I know you so well and I know that you are the kind of person that wants to get things done so fast and efficiently and spark change through your work at that fast pace. But we have talked about how it's also so difficult to be in this industry if you don't have that passion and that drive for it at the same time. But we also always mention, all three of us, we work hard so we can play hard, essentially.
00:43:23
Speaker
but it can be really hard to leave work at work when you are the person that everyone is also relying on for this project to get done and you You're the person that really also cares about the outcome of that event or that project as well So like I said, not only did we go through the same BFA program together but we became really close through our education internship at the museum and I think
00:43:48
Speaker
our friendship really blossomed out of our professional relationship and just how well our visions were just like wow like we are the same person we want to see the same thing like holy shit i just wish that all the listeners could see that from my perspective because like it was like a thing like watching jian and aji the education interns was like
00:44:10
Speaker
just like happiness and joy exuding from the museum and it was like like you just looked at them like walking around at artaments and you guys started i mean final friday in still water and just like i just wish that everyone could see that but that's how i feel about you guys as sisters though i feel like i just sit here like watching you guys like
00:44:28
Speaker
Have your own like language together and you just like exude love and joy I think it was just one of those things like it I mean as all three of us know it is really extremely hard to get at least in our community it was really hard to get our students involved in doing things and I think just the general college community because you're competing for
00:44:52
Speaker
a lot of events but a lot of our student body has never been to the museum before. It doesn't even, maybe not even know that we have one, but it was really challenging for us to like go and plan on these events and like create these special projects when
00:45:05
Speaker
even our own art students hadn't been to the museum before. So I think you and me, I don't think it's fair to say and look back on our accomplishments. It was really important for us to get those people involved. And I think, yeah, we were dream team because we showed up for things and people knew us because we were involved because we wanted them to be involved.
00:45:26
Speaker
I'm not mad about it, but so yeah back in the day we were absolute dream team also with our other dear friend Megan or Megan Patterson Megan we love you and also Carrie Kim and Casey Panky that was just like
00:45:47
Speaker
just goals. But it was always so fun to like plan these events and like lead these tours and then afterwards we would always vent about where there was that like one obnoxious like person or kid that would just totally disrupt our like flow and they'd be like, what's that piece over there? I'm not talking about that piece right now.
00:46:09
Speaker
So we both just kind of really like thrust it ourselves into Museum work or in your case nonprofit work at a very early age in our career. So in regards to the museum I wanted to know what your favorite part of our internship was and what was your biggest takeaway from that experience?

Final Friday Art Crawl

00:46:27
Speaker
Okay, well I couldn't have said it better, you know, I love the museum so much and just so many great memories like made my best friends there so
00:46:38
Speaker
But, you know, professionally, my favorite part was definitely starting the final Friday art crawl in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In January 2018, I thought there's just really no reason why Stillwater can't have a small downtown art walk here like the Paseo does or Tulsa or even
00:46:56
Speaker
You know, like KU and Lawrence and OU and Norman both have local art walks. Like we could totally do one in Stillwater. So I just like sent emails, Facebook messages, you know, you name it. I was like calling people like, hey, you want to be a part of this thing? And they were like, what's it going to be? I was like, I don't know.
00:47:14
Speaker
But I think it's going to be fun and you should be a part of it. And, you know, I made a map in Canva and then we... That freaking art crawl map. You know? The evolutions of the art crawl map is like truly, I think, where I see the most like documented progress is like...
00:47:35
Speaker
It is true. So we had the first one in March 2018 and I think for that first art crawl we had like 10 businesses and I feel like it was like 75 to somewhere 75 to 90 visitors into the museum and it was just crazy because
00:47:50
Speaker
I just will never forget. I told, you know, Casey and Carrie, we're like, how's the art crawl coming in? I was like, good. We have, you know, like eight or nine people so far. And Casey was like, what? All of those people said yes. And I was like, yeah. It's like people want to be involved in something nice.
00:48:05
Speaker
Yeah, I know. So anyway, then by the time we got to August, September 2018, we had doubled those attendance numbers. And I remember at the time it was the third highest attended event at the museum. I don't know where that stands now, but looking back, I don't think I appreciated the fact that I was an intern. I was a junior in college and I just said, hey, I want to do this thing. And they were like, okay. And then I just did it. I didn't work with anyone really.
00:48:34
Speaker
said hey I have these like 10 people that want to be part of this thing and made a map and then you know we were good. Just another reason also why Carrie Kim was the best boss supervisor mentor that I'm probably ever going to have in my entire life is just trusting her students that way and her interns that way and just
00:48:54
Speaker
Letting you. Oh, that's the project you want to do like you go for it. I just she was just like an absolute dream Yeah, that's also telling about you know if you're someone working in a smaller arts community or a community where you don't see a lot of interaction with the arts like there's a desire for that, you know, so
00:49:12
Speaker
don't be afraid to go out and talk to people about doing something whether it's art related or not like it's if it's a music festival or like a you know like poetry night or whatever like I think just people do kind of crave that interaction and even though it's not there it's it may be not as burdensome as you think to get something like that started and I also think that's kind of the misconception of also living in a small town too is you think like nothing can happen but in our case like
00:49:40
Speaker
the arts community and the local business community is very, very well connected because everybody knows each other and we're all in the same area. And so doing an art crawl, it's like it just, it made too much sense to do. So Audrey, you have been graduated for a year now. Congratulations. Do you want to talk about what you've been up to?

Current Work at OVAC

00:50:03
Speaker
Like where you're working now?
00:50:05
Speaker
Totally. And time just flies. I cannot believe it's been a year. I know. Oh, so crazy. Um, okay. So I serve artists here in Oklahoma through the Oklahoma visual arts coalition, OVAC, and it's a nonprofit organization that I absolutely adore. And our mission is growing and developing Oklahoma's visual arts community through education, promotion, connection, and funding. So.
00:50:30
Speaker
What that means is we put on workshops, exhibitions, and then we have grant funding for artists in the state so that they can have the tools they need to have a thriving career here in Oklahoma. And my role is I'm the programs and events coordinator, so I'm in charge of planning our annual fundraiser 12 by 12, our annual exhibition for artists 30 and under, Momentum, the Tulsa Art Studio Tour, and the biannual traveling exhibition 24 Works on Paper.
00:50:58
Speaker
And what I love about non-profits holds true with OVAC. We move really fast and we all have to be flexible in helping each other out. So, because we're a small staff of four. In the past year, I've also learned a lot about social media, PR, you know, membership budgeting. I feel like we all kind of have to
00:51:15
Speaker
wear a lot of hats and help each other out when we need it because we're a team. I also want to talk a little bit about what it was like being an event planner or coordinator during the COVID-19 pandemic. Right when that pandemic hit, I was just finishing up my time at the OSUMA and we were able to pretty easily shift into online programming because
00:51:38
Speaker
Even though we had finished planning our spring calendar, we weren't in the middle of a current event. We had already finished what we were doing. But I know because I was a featured artist in one of the events you mentioned called Momentum, drastic changes had to be made to that event because you all had just finished installing that exhibition.

Momentum Event Challenges

00:52:01
Speaker
all that work and it wasn't as simple as just canceling it. So can you walk us through how the new planning went and what it was like for you and your team because I just know that you handled that event like.
00:52:16
Speaker
such a boss. Truly. Oh, well, thank you. I'm, I am never going to forget that whole treacherous time. Um, but yeah, well, so it's, it's important to say that, you know, momentum is probably one of our most well-known programs and it's traditionally, it's like a one weekend only art event and it's about 1200 in attendance over the course of the weekend.
00:52:39
Speaker
And it's usually in like a warehouse or a building that's in transition, like some sort of space that you otherwise wouldn't have access to other than that weekend. And this particular year we had about 60 artists who were accepted under the age of 30 in Oklahoma. And more than a hundred artworks were supposed to be installed for this one weekend only event that was supposed to be March 20th through.
00:53:02
Speaker
the 22nd, so rest in peace. And when everything just like really started hitting the fan, we spent an entire day sitting on the floor in the office, coming up with a way to change the format of momentum to be safe while still featuring all the artists.
00:53:18
Speaker
So we decided to call it Slomentum, which was going to be a more traditional art exhibition on display about a month. We had this whole schedule, like, I was going to work there on weekdays and then we would each take a weekend. But then if it was your weekend, you wouldn't come in on Monday and Tuesday. It was like this whole big, long thing. And then, you know, I remember texting our executive director over the weekend because so much was changing like so rapidly and it was
00:53:39
Speaker
We had spent all this time making this plan and then it was becoming pretty clear that like that just wasn't going to happen. We were going to have to shut down completely. And I was just so impressed that we still had volunteers and staff show up on Monday, March 16th to like install the show anyway, even though by then we were all kind of reading the writing on the wall.
00:53:57
Speaker
And since this art is like installed in abandoned buildings, I mean, there's no gallery walls there. Like we drag out our gallery walls out of our storage pod and like we do the lighting all of ourselves and then hang the artwork, you know, like, so it's kind of a big, long thing. And my colleagues and a few close friends who volunteered, paused, whatever was going on in their jobs to just like,
00:54:18
Speaker
put this show together knowing full well, you know, there was a very high chance it would only be seen on video. So we had the video tour digital gallery and we did the social media posts for the artists. But basically at the end of the day, like, you know, we have a mission to serve artists and we're going to find a way to do that. It's our mission. Isn't I love having big parties and having events, but that's not like, you know, our mission. There's always a find. There's always a way to find how you can serve. You need to serve. Yeah.
00:54:46
Speaker
Well, as your friend and now your colleague again, which I just want to like cry thinking about, I'm just like, ooh, like you're never leaving me. And as a member of OVAC, I cannot stress how amazing you and this team are. I know when you joined OVAC last year, the organization was also in a state of transition and hiring more employees, including yourself.
00:55:10
Speaker
you have come such a long way in such a short amount of time. And I am just so unbelievably proud of you and just happy for everything you have accomplished. But also just aside from everything that's been going on in your professional life, as Bianca mentioned in the beginning of the episode, you are getting married.

Upcoming Marriage & Busy Life

00:55:31
Speaker
And so I wanna talk about fun personal things too. Oh, okay. It's true, I am getting married. Wow, what's that like?
00:55:39
Speaker
I may never know. I don't know what it's like to get married in normal times. I know what it's like to get COVID married. I just need to let everyone know that this woman sitting next to me is just incredible. I mean, she's moving. She's working hard. She is doing the most for artists out here in Oklahoma.
00:56:00
Speaker
then on top of that she's just like Rearranging her whole personal life and just like making everything work and this whole time like I just can't believe that like I have a friend who's this incredible I just I so that is what me and Bianca have just been so in awe about and starting this project you all met Sid Hammond early on and
00:56:22
Speaker
Great-dear friend of ours former colleague Bad-ass just self-taught graphic designer and then just like Queen just sitting over here like ooh Like I just casually like plan these events and like I'm a queen who can handle getting married in the middle of a goddamn Pandemic like no one has handled this situation more gracefully and I just feel like we are so fortunate to have just these absolute amazing people we went to school with help us and
00:56:50
Speaker
build and brand like what we are doing. And I'm just like so freaking happy you're here. Like we just couldn't do it without you. I know. Wow. What do you feel right? It just feels like weird doing it without you. I know. This really does feel like it was meant to be.
00:57:05
Speaker
Really that like the day like I just see like it's weird that like I can just see you walking into the museum like I think you were wearing that striped black-and-white dress and I that's so crazy that like here we are like now I'm gonna watch you get married and like I'm really not gonna be okay, so I don't know if we talked about this but I used to work for a wedding planner in Oklahoma City and I cry at like I
00:57:29
Speaker
strangers weddings like I don't even know I'm just like not gonna be okay at this wedding no absolutely not like I also just like as much as we also love Charlie who's your fiance I'm also just like I'm sorry I thought I was getting married to Audrey so I'm just like I'm gonna need you to like but now I feel like we can say like Audrey's our work wife you know like oh no definitely that's really yeah
00:58:05
Speaker
No, but it's really crazy like Charlie and I actually were talking about it over the weekend because he sometimes we're just like oh we're getting married and sometimes we're like oh my god like you know we're getting married and like We just keep going it's like hard to know like how you're gonna feel like some like sometimes when I think about it I feel like when I walked on the aisle I'm
00:58:22
Speaker
I'm gonna feel the same as like when we're sitting across eating random dinner on a Tuesday night, you know, like I'm just looking at him like, hey, what's up? You know, sometimes I feel like I'm just gonna feel, you know, like when you can see that, feel that like buzzing in your brain almost like this moment is so important. Yeah.
00:58:40
Speaker
Because I feel like in your case too, with having a longer ceremony, there's a lot more room for just a lot more thoughts too. So I feel like it might be a mixture of both. Yeah. That is totally true. Which is fine. And I feel like that idea of, oh, this feels just as normal as we were sitting on the couch.
00:58:59
Speaker
That's how you know, I feel like it's meant to be. We love you and we love Charlie. And we're introducing you as Audrey Gleason, but you will be now known as Audrey Kaminski, PA, boss bitch, married woman, event coordinator, planner, queen of Oklahoma City art scene.

Celebration of Achievements

00:59:18
Speaker
Just a woman that wears many hats truly. The most hats. The most hats.
00:59:24
Speaker
We should get you a hat. Get this bitch a hat. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. I'm just gonna... That would be so funny. Instead of sending you what's on your registry, I'm just gonna send you a lot of fancy hats. Oh my god, you should. I actually think that would be really hilarious. Okay, great. Do it. Okay, let's support it.
00:59:45
Speaker
Well, Audrey, where can everyone follow you? Yeah, so my account for now is Audrey underscore Gleason. But pretty soon it'll probably, I'll probably keep the underscore because that's just a trademark at this point. It's part of the brand.
01:00:02
Speaker
I have an underscore. I don't have one how also can someone help me with my freakin yeah I mean it's so terrible, but you are like ingrained in my brain is like because like I have four initials and like I love my parents, but I
01:00:22
Speaker
BJMF are just the worst initials. Yeah, but if you would have had an A as a middle name, your initials would have been Banff and that would have been iconic. Yeah, well, thanks. It's not like I don't get that explanation every day. All right. Anyway, someone help me with my Instagram handle because I just don't have anything cool. Like I said at the beginning of this, I'm not... I think you're cool. We'll come up with a cool one. Okay, yeah. Audrey's got you.
01:00:46
Speaker
Yeah. Thanks, PA. Oh, totally. Okay, so for now, it's Audrey underscore Gleason. Yeah. And on Facebook too, I guess. Both of my Facebook and my Instagram are pretty like my professional accounts. I guess I just have one. I just rolled it all into one. It's like, I can't do this double life. I'm not hitting Montana. And if you want to follow OVAC, that's OVAC underscore okay. So pretty sure. Yeah.
01:01:16
Speaker
I should know. We'll tag him. Yeah. That's fine. Totally. If you see the cute little yellow circle logo. Yeah. It's also linked in my bio too. Oh yeah. Very important.
01:01:28
Speaker
Alrighty friends. Well, Audrey, thank you so much for joining us today. And we're just so excited that you're officially part of the team now. I'm just so excited to have you. So again, if you have any questions or suggestions for what you guys should be called, email us at artpoptalk at gmail.com. You can follow us on social. We're on TikTok.
01:01:52
Speaker
Whatever. We try to be all the places. So whatever. Whatever. You know, we're just everywhere. That's what we do. All right. All right. And with that, we will talk to you on Tuesday. Goodbye, everyone. Bye.
01:02:39
Speaker
you