Radio Maine with Dr. Lisa Belisle

Lexi Doudera: Portland Art Gallery

Maine native Lexi Doudera is committed to ocean education and environmental stewardship. Founder and executive director of the Saltwater Classroom, Lexi’s nonprofit offers week-long workshops and community programs for learners of all ages. Their curriculum covers a broad range of topics, including ocean science, conservation, and our connection to the deep blue sea. The Saltwater Classroom has an eye toward the future with its plans to develop an app-based platform for ocean literacy and education. Join our conversation with Lexi Doudera today on Radio Maine.

Laura Mrazik: Portland Art Gallery

Laura Mrazik has had to figure out how to integrate her art practice with a full-time healthcare career and parenting two small children. Her solution (at least for now) is painting in the evenings after the kids go to bed. Laura’s artistic style has evolved over time  incorporating both detail and organic elements in her pieces, which have primarily focused on florals. With a desire to keep evolving professionally and move through a self-diagnosed case of “imposter syndrome,” Laura set a goal of joining a gallery in 2023. She achieved this goal earlier this year by becoming an artist with the Portland Art Gallery. Join our conversation with Laura Mrazik today on Radio Maine.

Holden Willard: Portland Art Gallery

Raised in Raymond, Maine, Holden Willard found himself significantly influenced by the work of artists from his home state while studying for his bachelor’s degree in fine arts at Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, Massachusetts. Painters like American Modernist Marsden Hartley (born in Lewiston, Maine), and the state’s long history of plein air painting strengthened Holden’s desire to return to his roots. Holden describes his artistic style as reactive painting, which involves observing and reacting to subject matter through movement, color, and sound. He incorporates figures into his pieces in unique and non-traditional ways. These elements, and Holden’s intuitive use of color theory in his art, likely contributed to the distinct honor of his being selected for the 2023 Center for Maine Contemporary Art Biennial exhibition.  Join our conversation with artist Holden Willard today on Radio Maine.

Ethan Nestor & CrankGameplays: YouTube Phenom

Entrepreneur Ethan Nestor began his career in the basement of his parent’s Cape Elizabeth, Maine home in 2012.  While still a teen, Ethan created his first YouTube channel, where he uploaded content consisting of his gaming narrations. This channel, CrankGameplays, launched Ethan’s Los Angeles-based entertainment career. His latest YouTube channel, “Ethan Nestor,” has over 2.1 million subscribers. Ethan has built a successful business out of audience engagement and regularly reimagining his work, which now also includes writing,  touring and live performances. Join our conversation with Ethan Nestor today on Radio Maine.

The Art of Art Consulting: Suzi Hlavacek

Art consultant Suzi Hlavacek co-founded Alchemy Station as a means of strengthening the “magical and mystical human connections” created by an art-filled life. With extensive training at Christie’s auction house and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, as well as a master’s degree in art administration, Suzi is well suited to the task. Suzi and Alchemy Station co-founder Kate Anderson partner with businesses and private clients to find and install art that transforms living spaces.  In the process of doing so, Suzi and Kate provide artists with an admiring and appreciative audience. Join our conversation with Suzi Hlavacek today on Radio Maine.

Experience: Wayne Paradis

More to Learn: Dr. Louis Nadelson

Dr. Louis Nadelson has had an impressive career as a university professor, but perhaps even more striking is his broad range of personal interests–including playing the mountain dulcimer and welding sculptures from repurposed metal farm implements.  Dr. Nadelson has spent a lifetime learning and teaching. He has authored hundreds of peer reviewed academic papers, and has myriad overlapping interests including educational psychology, the nature of science, and situations of chance. Dr. Nadelson’s explorations of art and music are often done in the company of his wife (a fellow academic whose concentration has been in healthcare). Dr. Nadelson embodies a true love of learning, manifesting his dedication to the tenets of his chosen profession. Join our conversation with Dr. Louis Nadelson today on Radio Maine.

Into the Void: Artist and Photographer Chris Ryan Ross

Maine native Chris Ryan Ross had built a very successful photography career for himself in New York City when he realized that the pull from his home state was too great to resist. In 2014–well before it was popular to do so–he decided to work remotely, traveling to photo shoots in Los Angeles and New York via the Portland International Jetport. Recently, Chris took another life leap, leaving his full-time photography work to develop his skills as a painter. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Art and Design in Providence, Chris recalled many childhood hours spent with his sketchbook, and found himself wanting to re-engage with that earlier version of himself. Following this theme of exploration, Chris and his wife, Alice, will be spending the next year in England with their two children, as they reconnect with Alice’s extended family. Join our conversation with Portland Art Gallery artist Chris Ryan Ross today on Radio Maine.

Oyster Entrepreneur Finds Home in Maine: Brad Blymier

Growing up in landlocked southern Pennsylvania, Brad Blymier never imagined a future involving oysters.  After graduating with an undergraduate degree in English, Brad was successfully building a career in artificial intelligence software sales on the West Coast when an impromptu call from a childhood friend changed the course of his life. Brad and his wife, Hannah, would go on to become co-owners of a high-end shellfish distribution company, War Shore Trading Co., named for the Virginia duck-hunting shoreline where Brad first tried his hand at oyster farming–at the suggestion of his childhood friend. Raised in Pittsfield, Maine, it was not hard for Hannah to convince Brad to return to her home state, where they both now live with their two sons. Join our conversation with oyster entrepreneur Brad Blymier today on Radio Maine.

Art Historian and Critic: Martica Sawin

Art critic and historian Martica Sawin has been connected to the international art community for decades. Born in New York CIty, she has had a similarly long-standing connection to Maine. After years of vacationing with her family at places like Migis Lodge on Sebago Lake in South Casco, Martica’s parents bought a farm in Yarmouth in the 1940s, so that her father could commute to his job with Bates Manufacturing in Lewiston.  Following a detour to Paris, where Martica met her first husband, (an artist) while studying art history, she continued her education at the University of Iowa. When she returned to New York City in 1946, Martica found the metropolis bursting with veterans pursuing artistic endeavors, and she quickly parlayed her own education into a job with the Museum of Modern Art. These early opportunities would start her down a storied path as an author, educator and overall art expert. Join our conversation with Martica Sawin today on Radio Maine.