The Light Grey Art Lab Podcast

Convention season is already upon us, and on this week's podcast, Lindsay, Becca, Jenny, Chris, and Francesca talk about the art of the con. With the Light Grey home-team fresh out of GlitchCon, and Francesca exploring Emerald City Comic Con, we've got cons on the brain. Cons are exciting places full of new ideas, new people, big communities, unknown opportunities, and maybe just a hint of exhaustion. We discus our favorite and least favorite experiences, the art of talking to new people, the highs and the lows, and what we are hoping to take away from a successful con.

Fresh off the launch of BOSS RUSH! we're thinking about the concept of a boss. Bosses always get a bad rap. In media and real life, it seems like it's always fun to bag on the higher-ups. But let's be honest, it's a tough job. On this week's podcast we talk all about being in charge. We discuss what makes a great boss, why it's hard to see the value of a boss early in life, the difficult balance of delegation and cooperation, and how to grow as your own boss in a freelance career.

It's a big week for getting old! Francesca, Lindsay and Light Grey Art Lab all have big birthdays coming up, and all this growing older has got us thinking about all the toys we want. On this week's podcast we discuss the art of the toy. What fuels new trends in toys? Why were early nineties toys obsessed with slime? Is Beanie Babies a cool name? Can you fashion your own Moon Shoes from household items? We ask all the hard questions on our quest to find out what makes a great toy.

Inspired by the Chinese New Year and our upcoming trip to Bryce Canyon and Zion, Utah, on this week's podcast, Lindsay, Jenny, and Chris talk about astrology and what the cosmos has in store… for everyone! We discuss how its possible that entire swaths of the population can be grouped for astrological predictions, how sometimes we just need a reason to reflect on ourselves, viewing your horoscope as a checklist of things to work on, and the idea of the person you were born to be versus the person you became.

On this week's podcast, Lindsay, Chris, and Jenny sit down for a chat with artist and long-time Light Grey Art Lab contributor, Jesse Riggle. For those who don't know, Jesse spent countless hours lending a hand as we remodeled and launched Light Grey Art Lab way back in 2012. Since then, he's moved across the globe to Vienna, Austria to work for the UN. As far as we can tell, he's spent the last year climbing mountains, biking across Europe, and illustrating massive books in his free time. We talk to Jesse about fitting in in a foreign country, how we define where 'home' is, and what's up with his weird toilet.

On this week's podcast, we take a look at our stray grey hairs and how they got there. Making tough decisions never gets any easier, but it's an important part of a creative lifestyle, and Lindsay, Chris, Francesca, and Jenny discuss a few moments that gave us serious pause, and how in the end the risks are worth a few grey hairs.

On this week's podcast Jenny, Lindsay, and Chris are inspired by our recent call-for-art, GUTS - a show all about exploration, discovery, and the mystery of what's just underneath the surface. We discuss a range of topics, including the possibilities of what lies within, expectations vs realities, and how the unknown and special circumstances can affect the chances we're willing to take.

On this week's podcast, Lindsay tries to convince Chris of all the important things she needs on eBay. They ponder who painted the hundreds of eerily similar 1950's era mountain paintings on auction, which leads to a discussion about style, artistic movements, and the choice to stay relevant in the long term.

Fresh out of the North Star Tarot Conference, this week we're inspired to talk about the parallels between reading Tarot and making art. We talk about overcoming discomfort, building metaphors, intention, symbols, and the benefits of a good critique.

On this week's heartfelt podcast we bid adieu to our very own Francesca Buchko - who, by the time you hear this show, has moved thousands of miles away from the hallowed halls of Light Grey Art Lab. We take this chance to reflect on what it takes to stay in touch with displaced friends, the shake-up felt on both sides of the relationship, and exciting, new beginnings. We also slowly come to terms with how difficult it is to play boardgames over Skype.

Join us as we continue our series of podcasts where we talk to individuals about videogames, collaboration and community, and making things in the interactive realm. This week we speak to Evva Kraikul and Nicolaas VanMeerten, founders of Glitch Gaming, a non-profit that provides programming to promote gaming culture and game design as a creative practice. We discuss how Glitch connects students with opportunities in the gaming industry, what it takes to run high profile gaming events, and how important it is for educational institutions to recognize gaming culture as a viable candidate for funding.

This week kicks off a new series of podcasts about videogames, collaboration and community, and making things in the interactive realm. First up, we're talking to Microsoft's David Washington, who has he enviable (and slightly difficult to explain) position of Technical Evangelism Manager. David and his team work with artists, programers, entrepreneurs, and anyone else with a spark of an idea to help execute their project to it's fullest potential. You also might remember David's name as the programmer of Dream Arcade!

Wait, 2015 is here already? That means it's resolution time again! On this week's podcast we take a look back at our 2014 resolutions to evaluate our many successes (and even more failures). We go on to discuss the purpose of resolutions, what makes a realistic yearly goal, and think about making goals that stretch much further than a year. Then we all make bold and binding resolutions for 2015!

New Years Resolutions are on everyone's mind, and on this week's podcast we dive into the eternal question of 'What if?' It's easy for small plans to spiral into grand strategy if you keep asking 'What if?' and with roughly one billion decisions to make a year, there's bound to be a few you look back on in speculative wonder.

The year is nearly at an end, and the Light Grey crew gleefully attended at least six different holiday parties this weekend. Cookies were consumed, games were played, and plenty of gifts were ferociously unwrapped. On this week's festive podcast, Lindsay, Francesca, Chris, and Jenny talk about the act of giving. Inspired by the old adage, 'One man's trash is another man's treasure,' we discuss some of the more esoteric points of gift giving, reminisce about some of the stranger gifts we've given or received, and talk about the huge commitment that is making your gifts by hand.