Muse Monday with Rudo and Pixie
two magical artists share about their podcast and creating art
Hello friends,
Welcome to another Muse Monday! This time I interviewed two magical artists who co-host a fantastic podcast, The Magic Hour Dreamcast that I was honored to be a guest on. I’ll share more about the release of that episode soon, but in the meantime, I’m delighted to introduce you to Pixie and Rudo.
What was the inspiration for your podcast?
Rudo: In 2016 I was interviewed on a friend’s podcast. It was the closest I’d come to being on air up to this point. I fell in love right away. With the magic of being heard, having friends recount where they were when they listened to the episode…their impressions of what I discussed. I was so moved I felt a piece of my heart carve out a marker. Funnily enough, I was in a high school speech team and had been at quite a competitive level for radio broadcasting. I don’t know how I’d survive working in a media company, I hear they’re quite toxic, so I think independent experiences like podcasting is an entry way for us sensitive folk.
Pixie: I think for me initially the idea of a podcast felt like another intangible medium to explore. There is a constant inner dialogue going on within myself, and I was listening to the podcast “Creatively Relating”-hosted by Vyana Novus a lot. I think they were the first artist that ever really got me considering that I’d like to do something involving voice and production. There was something about the idea of the daily stories of everyday life that struck me as important, and the many conversations Rudo and I had shared over the years felt important too. Little did I know that Rudo had also always wanted to create in this way. So, it only made sense for us to join together and start working as a team. Soon we started sketching the idea out slowly and finding the common threads we wanted to weave.
What is your favorite episode so far?
Rudo: Oh lordy. I’ll be diplomatic and say it’s whatever our last one is. I feel like our growth is half the fun!
Pixie: I think the Banshees of Inisherin and The Dark Crystal episodes are my personal favorites. Of course, I love all of them for different reasons, but these two delve into what I believe are some of the most important elements of existence and culture. At the core of this podcast is that story- myth- they are essentially a part of our DNA so to speak. And engaging in dialogue about the inner workings and dynamics of the stories that define moments in time for people- where characters, color, light and symbolism engage us in mystical experiences? That feels like time well spent- a magic spell- a way to participate in the flow of humanity. That is where my heart is at in this project, it is what I am passionate about, and that is why I chose these episodes.
Can you talk about where you find inspiration for your art?
Rudo: In the intricate patterns of a leaf. In the twinkling of stars. In the ancient songs we carry in our bones. In the orgasmic waves that ripple through me…in the everyday extraordinariness of life. I love what Pixie said about engaging with energy. That’s absolutely it.
Pixie: Personally, I am always engaging in some way with energy, I guess. How I am feeling in relation to life and my environment. More specifically I am in some kind of dialogue with the earth as a kind of breathing life force, as I would not hesitate to call myself an animist. These very personal and hard to describe interactions are where my own visual art and also ideas for the podcast emerge from.
Who are some of your favorite artists?
Rudo: As common as it sounds, I constantly go back to Frida. I feel like her voice is equal to her art…and that’s important to me…to have my words, my narrative, be at the center with whatever the art ends up being.
Pixie: the glasgow four, hilma af klint, yuri norstein, The Frouds, Joseph Beuys -all of these artists deal with spirituality, the invisible magic of the earth, and fairy tales told and retold, new ones and old.
What does your creative process look like?
Rudo: It looks like obsession, whimsy, hurricane-like energy. I love sharing my process with my friends too, so they get quite a lot of WIP (works in progress) pics. I think Pixie answered a different question, the collaborative process…and that’s a great response. She really said so many important things in that answer.
Pixie: Collaboration is challenging, it is a more professional relationship that must be built alongside the friendship. We’ve created baseline rules for each other and written them down as a kind of contract. Holding each other accountable and making the time within our already busy schedules and artistic endeavors took some practice, but we’ve found a natural rhythm, and I am impressed with both of us. The added time zone difference adds another dimension both literally and metaphorically, but, within the theme of the magic and myth we are constantly engaging with, that time difference has become in some ways, the underlying thread. Think about it, each time we record, we are one day apart. As a culture we are used to understanding this as no big deal, but if you really look at it deeper, there is something undeniably incredible about that. We are telling stories across time and space. We are living in an unbelievably enchanted world. I think Rudo and I are here to make space for that. For ourselves, and each other. The collaboration piece of this was about balance- Rudo and I, two artists with our own visions. We handed everything back and forth to each other, the logo, and our planning for each episode. I think we both have done a lot of work on ourselves so that we have given each other ample space for each of our voices to be centered, and our creative visions realized. There is something deeply important about being nudged in new unexpected ways by fresh perspectives, and that's what this collaboration offers. The whole process of creating this really is no different than a painting. I think the whole vibe of it was very different when we first started, and it has a more grounded and rooted voice now. It is more consistent, and we are more in the flow with its production. As artists, we all know that a lot of the time when you make something, it becomes its own creature, and you start understanding what it wants to be. We’ve listened to our intuitions and found out what the podcast is. A container for magic. An hour or so dedicated to artists, educators, and great minds who we want to share with other people. And an outlet for our own passions. A place to play. And at its core? Myth, storytelling, and how it is the core of our lives. The artistic aspect of this project has been a great challenge for me to engage with. It feels like I am painting with something invisible- words actually written first, and then spoken over the air. I had to learn to use recording tools, and worked on creating an image that summed up the experience of what this whole podcast would actually be. For me, it is a fun and new way to play with my ideas and interests in a totally different medium, and I know that in ways I may not even realize now, it is informing my visual art practice.
What is your vision for your podcast?
Rudo: It’s experience based. We said we’d do it for a year and see if it still brought us joy…and it has. So, my vision is the feeling of joy! It’s also a great excuse to spend deep time with a topic, cultivating the magical dimension of something. We spend so much of our time living on the surface of things. I think our goal is manifested through the podcast’s theme: to be in a deeper relationship with meaning and myth.
Pixie: I’m excited to see where it goes next. Each time we record either just with each other or a guest, feels pretty sacred- a time for us to engage with the moment and an idea we have chosen to explore. I love that now we are giving each other free reign to do solo episodes too, so there are many layers of experience for our listeners to hear. This has been such an opportunity for growth on so many levels, and I’m glad Rudo and I have this container to expand in. There is a lot we want to do, and we aim to keep doing it.
What project/projects are you working on at the moment?
Rudo: I’m appearing in a docuseries by Storyo that is due to come out soon! Follow them on Instagram for notification of its arrival. Honestly, they are an incredible source of modern-day tales and legends which broaden our understanding of the diverse world we live in. Subscribe to them for amazing content.
Pixie: I am working on putting my work into the world. I have a solo show coming up that requires a lot of preparation, and also painting a few new watercolor pieces.
Where do you see your life in one year?
Rudo: Holy smokes I have no idea. That exercise scares me because I like not knowing but also, I am working on a personal fear that I may not be able to achieve my greatest dreams. A happy compromise to answer your question? I see my life much the same as I am now, but with more wisdom and more epic vacation stories….
Pixie: I’d like to feel a little clearer on where I am headed. I’m finally resting a little easier in this middle place of figuring it out, but soon I would love some more direction laid clear for me. I’d like to be very consistently showing and marketing my work like I am now and going on adventures in between.
It was an honor having you two share about your art, podcast, and creative processes. Here is a gallery of Pixie and Rudo’s art. Enjoy!
A sampling of Pixie’s art (click on each image to see the full image).
A sampling of Rudo’s art
And be sure to look out for their podcast! Their first episode of the new season goes live on November 1st!
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