Pulling on the Thread: Recent Episodes
RISD Alumni Association
Presented by the RISD Alumni Association, Pulling on the Thread features interviews with members of the RISD alumni community talking about one thing they've made, created, or founded.
She also holds an MFA in Painting from Pratt University and a PhD in Curriculum Instructions in Art & Design Education from Arizona State University. In addition to her own visual art career, she also runs Art Studio Kuwait which offers community art classes to all ages and experience levels. Jawaher is also the 2022 recipient of the Art and Design Educator Award from the RISD Alumni Association.
See more of Jawaher's work on her webpage and Instagram page.
RISD Alumni Club of the Gulf Region
Art Studio Kuwait
Creative Printmaking Conference
Pulling on the Thread
RISD Alumni on Instagram
He received a bachelor's degree from Vietnam University of Fine Arts and came to RISD as a Fulbright Scholar where he studied Painting and received a concentration in Theory and History of Art and Design. His work is a visual mashup of cultural and historical references and often utilized gradients and patterns. Xuân-Lam recently completed a three window installation at the new Hermes store in Hanoi.
Xuân-Lam’s website and Instagram
50 (RISD thesis project)
Hermes Hanoi windows (Vietnamese page)
Pulling on the Thread
RISD Alumni on Instagram
Now based in Massachusetts, she’s a cofounder of Likemind Design and a muralist. She also founded Lucky Knot Arts, a nonprofit centering Asian Americans through creative arts programming.
Lucky Knot Arts webage and Instagram
See more of Amanda's work on her webpage and Instagram
Likemind Design
Pulling on the Thread
RISD Alumni on Instagram
Based in Providence, Shellf Life recycles mussels, oysters and other shells to create a unique building material for furniture, home goods and more. Shellf Life works with local restaurants and marine industries to reduce waste and create opportunity.
Shellf Life
Terra Carta Award
Felicia's Instagram page and LinkedIn
Pulling on the Thread
RISD Alumni on Instagram
She is now based in Mumbai and Delhi and works at the India Art Fair to connect new collectors to emerging artists. Yukti has been working with RISD on its Strategic Planning process.
See more of Yukti's work on her webpage and Instagram.
RISD Strategic Planning
“ten days (give or take) v.1” at the RISD Museum
Continuum: Life After the BRDD
You might have noticed the podcast has a new look. This year, we’re working with Madison Tom 23 IL on our guest portraits.
Pulling on the Thread
RISD Alumni on Instagram
/’gīdens/ (pronounced guidance) is a new platform using AI to help small business owners with administrative tasks. An Industrial Design graduate from 2005, Vincent is also the Chair of the RISD Black Alumni affinity group which connects students and alumni on campus and beyond.
/’gīdens/ (pronounced guidance) business website
Vincent’s Instagram
Vincent’s website
Pulling on the Thread
RISD Alumni on Instagram
DEGEN incorporates artisanal knitted apparel, accessories, patterns, and an online knitting community KNIT CLUB. A Textiles graduate from 2010, Degen also opened a new brick and mortar yarn store and community space called in Providence this year.
KNIT CLUB's website
DEGEN’s Instagram
DEGEN’s website
Pulling on the Thread
RISD Alumni on Instagram
He is the current Visiting Assistant Professor and AICAD Fellow at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and received a RISD x Hyundai Summer Research Fellowship in 2021.
Miguel’s website
Miguel’s Instagram
Pulling on the Thread
RISD Alumni on Instagram
The self-published book features illustrations of birds observed on walks and bike rides in the state. JooHee worked with fellow alumna, Marie Otsuka MFA 18 GD, on the design and layout of the book.
JooHee’s website
100 Birds
Pulling on the Thread
RISD Alumni on Instagram
The Tyre Collective is a London based clean tech organization which examines how the tiny particles released by tires are impacting our environment. Hanson is also the recipient of the 2024 Emerging Leader Award from the RISD Alumni Association. He graduated from RISD with a BFA in Architecture in 2016.
The Tyre Collective
Hanson’s website
2024 Emerging Leader Award article
Pulling on the Thread
RISD Alumni on Instagram
Jo's work has been featured in The New Yorker and New York Times, including a series that recreated portraits of college classmates taken at their 15 year reunion. We talked about Jo’s new website, Middle Age Mixtape, that will house all of her works in one place.
Middle Age Mixtape
Jo’s website
Jo on Instagram
Pulling on the Thread
RISD Alumni on Instagram
Season 4 will feature interviews with Jo Sittenfeld MFA 08 PH, Hanson Cheng BArch 16, Miguel Lastra MFA 22 CR, JooHee Yoon 11 IL, Lindsay Degen 10 TX, and Vincent Brathwaite 05 ID.
Supported by the RISD Alumni Association.
Pulling on the Thread
RISD Alumni on Instagram
Huma mentioned her exhibition with the painter Michael Williams at David Kordasky in LA. The installation is a wonderful balance between the paintings and sculptural works.
Shahzia has just finished a massive project called Havah…to breathe, air, life, in Madison Square Park and the nearby Courthouse of the Appellate Division, First Department of the Supreme Court of the State of New York. The installation is on view for the next five months.
Shahzia's Instagram page
Huma’s gallery page
More about RISD Limited Editions here. Click through to see the prints that Huma and Shazia worked on.
Ryan and Colin are both graduates of the Film Animation and Video department and talked about the inherently collaborative nature of film and television.
In the Cards at the Tribeca Film Festival
Colin on Instagram
Running Man, Ryan’s post-production company
Ryan on Instagram
Wayne’s Instagram page
Wayne’s Facebook page
A list of Wayne’s work at Marvel
See Wayne in person at the 3 Rivers Comic Con June 4 & 5, 2022
The Wedding Cake House operates as a bed and breakfast and artist's residency. The house is full of custom wallpaper, tile installations and contemporary works on paper. Read more about the house here.
See Pippi's work here.
The Wedding Cake House's Instagram where you can see renovations to the space as well as artists-in-residence.
Learn more about The Dirt Palace.
Click here to book a stay at the Wedding Cake House!
His painting, The Wanderer, was acquired by the RISD Museum in 2017. Seaberry works as the co-director of the US Department of Arts and Culture, a nonprofit grassroots organization that fosters a culture of empathy and equity through the arts.
Jordan's website
The Wanderer at the RISD Museum
US Department of Arts and Culture
on Instagram
We mentioned affinity groups on this episode, click here to learn more!
The two have collaborated on a new series of prints and talked about the process of transforming drawings and ideas into layered silkscreen prints.
See more of Jazzmen’s work below
https://www.jazzmenleejohnson.com/
https://www.instagram.com/jazzleejohnson/
See more of Henry’s work below
http://www.henryfeltonbrown.com/
https://www.instagram.com/hankattak/
Salad Editions
https://saladeditions.com/
https://www.instagram.com/saladeditions/
Her previous books , Florentine: The True Cuisine of Florence (2016), Acquacotta (2017), Tortellini at Midnight (2019) and Torta della Nonna (2021) all highlight regional cuisines of Italy where she settled after studying art conservation.
Emiko’s website has more information about her cookbooks, her blog and some recipes to try out. Her Instagram page is full of fabulous food photos too!
Order Cinnamon and Salt here! It will be released on May 31, 2022 but you can preorder a copy today.
The directory launched earlier this year and highlights artists, historical movements captured in print and a contemporary listing of designers currently practicing. The Gráfica Latina website is beautiful and well worth a look!
This is the end of our second season and we want to hear from you! Click here for a short survey — your feedback will help us shape the upcoming episodes of our show. And remember, you can always reach us at alumni@risd.edu.
Podcast Survey link
Gráfica Latina
https://www.instagram.com/graficalatina_/
Jose and Tatiana are also working to open a printshop with a few other community members in Providence. Learn more about Counterform here.
José’s portfolio site
https://www.instagram.com/atomenendez/
Tatiana’s portfolio site
https://www.instagram.com/tatitag/
We talked about Jeff’s journey from RISD to his current role including how he oversees and guides a team of creatives from idea inception to finished product.
Here’s a link to the Light Rods collection from West Elm
See the REI x West Elm collaboration here
@westelm
We talked about Lucia’s long running project, Plantón Móvil, a walking parade of plants that ends in the creation of a living greenspace. We also discussed Desbosque: desenterrando señales, a project using real time deforestation data and Unearthing Futures which sent potato seeds into space.
More of Lucia's work here on her website.
Plantón Móvil's homepage.
More about Unearthing Futures, Lucia's collaboration with Xin Liu that sent potato seeds to space.
Here's a link to the project we talked about using deforestation data.
Follow Lucia on Instagram.
Fibra Colectivo on Instagram, the collective that Lucia mentions in her episode.
Yelista received the Emerging Leader Award earlier this year, which recognizes alumni who graduated within the past 10 years, who have made significant achievements and contributions to their profession and/or community, think boldly, mindfully and creatively, and have helped to create new fields of study or contributed to fundamental change in their area of practice.
https://healthyrootsdolls.com/
Healthy Roots Dolls on Instagram
Room of Silence
She has a been a staple at the RISD Craft sales since participating in them as a student. Find more information about the new spring sale at risdcraft.com.
More of Priya’s work below.
https://www.himatsingkacollection.com/
https://www.instagram.com/himatsingkajewelry/
http://phfactorstore.com/
The RISD Limited Editions sale starts this Friday, October 8th. There are 300 of each print available so make sure you’ve got the link. Visit alumni.risd.edu/limited-editions for more information.
Find more of Shepard’s work below.
https://www.instagram.com/obeygiant/
https://obeygiant.com/
Becca is the founding partner at Sisal Creative and the studio creates artistic installations and design for clients of all sizes. I talked to Becca about her background in taxidermy which the studio also specializes in. In addition to murals and interiors, she and partner, Kaleigh Hastings, also work in exhibition design.
Becca's personal page
Sisal Create homepage
Making It homepage
Their first series of classes focused on “Black Design in America”, highlighting histories and voices that are often overlooked in traditional design education.
More about the BIPOC Design History series:
https://bipocdesignhistory.com/
https://www.instagram.com/bipocdesignhistory/
https://twitter.com/BipocDesign
More about Polymode:
https://www.polymode.studio/
https://www.instagram.com/polymodestudio/
Silas’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siborg81/
Brian’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/modernjss/
This is our last episode of our season! We’ve been glad to share these conversations with you and hope you’ve enjoyed listening. Remember you can get in touch with us anytime at alumni@risd.edu, we look forward to hearing from you.
"Silvy T." is 99 x 83 inches and completed in 2021. Bob originally meant to display this canvas before the pandemic but continued to work on it over the course of the last year. See more of Bob’s work here at his gallery, Cade Tompkins Projects in Providence, and follow him on Instagram.
Jill's newest series of paintings will be on display from September 10-24, 2022 at BAU-XI GALLERY in Toronto, Onatario.
Find more of Jill’s work below.
https://www.jillgreenberg.com/
https://www.instagram.com/jill.greenberg/
https://bau-xi.com/collections/jill-greenberg
We talked about NFTs in this episode and the RISD Alumni Association and RISD Parents Association is hosting a great panel discussion on May 5th that’s free and open to the public. Click here for more information and to register.
We spent most of this episode talking about "Maria", an El Camino that Rose refurbished in 2014. Rose has a major new commission of work on view now through June at SCAD called "Countdown" and is preparing for residencies and two large solo exhibitions this year at the University of New Mexico Art Museum, Albuquerque, NM and the Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV.
Angela has a long career in Silicon Valley, working at Airbnb, Google and Apple where she co-designed the first set of emoji. She is working on a children's book about that process while continuing to grow and expand Tijiko.
Think you recognize the found sound from this week's episode? Comment on the @risdalumni page with your guess of where on the RISD campus I was!
Her work is frequently featured in The New Yorker and she has written and illustrated numerous books. Roz is currently represented by the Carol Corey Fine Art gallery. You can see more of her day to day work on her Instagram page and at her website.
Think you recognize the found sound from this week's episode? Comment on the @risdalumni page with your guess!
Our first season of Pulling on the Thread will launch on March 29th with our first two episodes and new interviews will be released on Mondays.
Hosted by Lois Harada PR 2010 (drawn above by Suerynn Lee PR 2012).