Michelle Kohanzo is a huge lover of art, which works out quite well because she also happens to be the Managing Director at The Land of Nod in Chicago. Yes, she has an amazing eye and is ALWAYS on the hunt for talented artists to bring into the Nod family {hint hint}. Listen right up there under the red canoe, or subscribe on iTunes. As you’re listening, take a look at the things we talked about in the order that we talked about them. The first thing Michelle and I have in common… our love of weaving, and the work of Maryanne Moodie {ps. how gorgeous is this piece?}

Whoa. So good. Boy, I wish I could do that… one day! Next up, an amazingly gorgeous shoot that Michelle arranged with LA based photographer Stephanie Vovas for The Land of Nod. Here is a peek at the work that came out of that magical weekend at Camp Wandawega:

Gorgeous! And yes, those few final shots were a little bit special… it’s Michelle and her daughter Emily! They got all glammed up, hopped in a canoe, and Stephanie shot these beauties {including the lead image in the post… which might be my favorite}. In fact I even included the image of Emily in the camper in a show that I curated at the Bedford Gallery in 2014. Up next, I asked Michelle about a few of her favorite artists:

Soft sculpture by Tamar Mogendorff / Ashley Goldberg / Emily Jeffords / Me. Yep, those jars are two of my hand-cut collages that Nod commissioned for the Spring 2016 collection?! If you want to get your work in front of Michelle, listen to her tips on the podcast, and then send your submission straight to her inbox {for real}. michelle@landofnod.com  … good luck!

And finally, she told me about her trip to Laos and the work of this amazing woman, Carol Cassidy {the link she mentioned was wrong, but the link here is right.} Here’s her studio, and some silk weaving in action:

Such a great story… empowering women through art/craft. So inspiring. So, I could stop right there, but I feel like I should cap the post off with a few more of Stephanie’s Wes Anderson-esque shots of Michelle and Emily:

Love! But wait, there’s more… speaking of Wes Anderson, look what I found on Michelle’s Instagram feed. This is Michelle, her husband, and their kids. Beyond fantastic:

Ha! So good! Alright, NOW I’ll say thanks to Michelle, to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode, and of course to you for listening. There will be more art for your ear next weekend. Bye!