Project Popsicle the Podcast

06/09/2023

Mark Williams Artwork has been a creative force and artist from grade school through high school, college, and adult life. While most kids were outside playing, Mark spent his time inside playing with his imagination and practicing his craft with joy, enthusiasm, and determination. In this episode of Project Popsicle with Bert A. Mitchell and Nipa Eason, Mark tells us about his background, his influences, and his passions. Sit back and listen to Mark’s fascinating art “origin” story; hopefully, it will inspire you along your artistic journey.

This quote from Mark sums up his mission, “Art can motivate, inspire, change the perception or simply entertain. I enjoy being a creator. As an artist, I believe my journey is to share a perspective with people that provides either stimulation or enjoyment. Whether art is created for relaxation or to make a statement – I want that to be what the patron gets from the art. To feel moved, loved, or even saddened – but to have a connection with the piece.”

Mark Williams has been a creative force and artist from grade school through high school, college, and adult life. While most kids were outside playing, Mark spent his time inside playing with his imagination and practicing his craft with joy, enthusiasm, and determination. In this episode of Projec...

05/04/2023

M'ria's Mezzanine is a visual artist from South Florida and currently lives in Plant City, Florida. As a kid, she started out painting cartoon puppies and that has evolved into an exploration of herself as an artist, using life changes, challenges, and opportunities as a catalyst for pushing the boundaries of her creativity.

In this episode of Project Popsicle, Bert A. Mitchell and Nipa Eason listen to M’ria as she discusses the importance of community. In the creative process, she is driven by her emotions, connection, music, and the freedom of being spontaneous. She shares her ideas about how she uses color, movement and what it means to her, and how it shows up in her art. So, sit back and enjoy M’ria Swire as she takes us into her world of art and hopefully, it will inspire you to create your world.

M’ria Swire is a visual artist from South Florida and currently lives in Plant City, Florida. As a kid, she started out painting cartoon puppies and that has evolved into an exploration of herself as an artist, using life changes, challenges, and opportunities as a catalyst for pushing the boundar...

02/09/2023

Brooke Madsen (aka Shirley McBean) is an explorer of art in Gainesville, Florida. She uses the human experience, body, and emotions to create connections. She challenges the norms of society by pushing the envelope with her art through pottery, painting, sculpturing, drawing, metal, and wood. She is a voice of acceptance, love, healing, and compassion and uses her creativity to express her desire to impact her community.

In this episode of Project Popsicle with Bert A. Mitchell and Nipa Eason, Brooke discusses why she is here and her passion to make a difference. She challenges society’s ideas about beauty, the body, and self-worth. Her journey is personal, powerful, and inspiring. Brooke talks about her teaching style and how she creates an environment of self-acceptance, safety, and joy. She continues to explore her art and courageously branches out with other art forms as she sees fit. Her most visible work, “Ugly Mugs”, is about the funny ways that stress and life circumstances show up on our cute, varied faces. She loves watching people interact with them and recognize themselves or others in their faces. You’ll certainly enjoy listening to Brooke’s journey on Project Popsicle.

Brooke Madsen is an explorer of art in Gainesville, Florida. She uses the human experience, body, and emotions to create connections. She challenges the norms of society by pushing the envelope with her art through pottery, painting, sculpturing, drawing, metal, and wood. She is a voice of acceptanc...

01/05/2023

Vy Nguyen is a video commercial producer and owner of a full-service video production company based in Tallahassee, Florida. His fascination for filmmaking began when he was around eight or nine years old and his dad let him use the family VHS camera to capture vacations, and gatherings to make fun films with his brother. Vy always had a camera in his hands as he transitioned from VHS to digital over the years. In this episode of Project Popsicle, Bert A. Mitchell and Nipa Eason discover how a film school rejection changed his life and led Vy to his passion for doing what he loves: making documentaries and unscripted narratives about regular people. Embracing his role as a producer, he has developed his skill set to be a mediator between the creatives and the client in the creative process.

In creating documentary projects, it is evident that his curiosity, desire, intuitiveness, and ability to listen enable him to connect with interviewees during their discussions. As a producer, Vy is able to put together small and large projects by bringing the right people together behind and in front of the camera. This process brings him a great deal of joy and satisfaction as Vy discovered some time ago, producing is his calling card. You'll enjoy listening to his journey, process, and drive to learn more about his craft and what it feels like to do what you love.

Vy Nguyen is a video commercial producer and owner of a full-service video production company based in Tallahassee, Florida. His fascination for filmmaking began when he was around eight or nine years old and his dad let him use the family VHS camera to capture vacations, and gatherings to make fun....

12/15/2022

Carly Berry is a full-time freelance illustrator and graphic designer who describes herself as a “maker of things.” She creates art with passion, boldness, and a natural confidence that has always been with her.

Carly defines her brand as “Weird” and fully embraces it 100%, allowing her to create some of the most unique, fun, and off-beat characters, places, and things you will ever see. In this podcast, Carly talks about how vintage antique stores, growing up in Florida, her family environment, and nature have inspired her work. According to Carly, nature brings good ideas and mental clarity to her life which guides her creativity. This fun, relaxed, and inspiring conversation with Carly reveals a person who loves being in her zone of creativity and embracing the joy of letting go and doing what comes naturally to her. Sit back and enjoy this episode of Project Popsicle as Bert A. Mitchell and Nipa Eason listen to how Carly describes her unique style and how she creates the Wonderful Weird World of Carly Berry.

Carly Berry is a full-time freelance illustrator and graphic designer who describes herself as a “ma

12/01/2022

Bryan Voliton was born a visual artist and raised by an amazing teacher. He has a successful graphic design career and is a branding consultant in Dunedin, Florida. In this episode of Project Popsicle, Bert A. Mitchell and Nipa Eason hear from Bryan Voliton about pivotal moments that have changed his life and sent him on a journey full of self-discoveries, self-reflection, and on the road to creative wellness. He talks about the power of being in the moment, slowing down, and observing what is happening in the now. His creativity is rooted in the connection between the body and the mind and is complemented by his desire to do whatever he can to help people to grow, learn, and increase their self-awareness as human beings. He believes we are constantly creating. He embraces his role as a catalyst for change on the journey to self-knowledge. His gentle and caring spirit shines throughout his episode. Bryan’s goal as an artist is to have his work displayed and accessible to a wide range of people for the use of learning and educating the public on the creative process and the importance of everyone having a creative practice.

Bryan Voliton was born a visual artist and raised by an amazing teacher. He has a successful graphic

11/17/2022

After a hiatus, Bert A. Mitchell and Nipa Eason are back with a new set of creative stories to get you through the holidays!

Jaime Cabrera is a writer and a storyteller at his core. His podcast, Confessions of a Creative Director, and his new book, What's The Big Idea: An Indispensable Guide to Becoming a Kick-Ass Creative Director (November 21, 2022), will keep you engaged and inspire you to move toward your dreams. In this Project Popsicle episode, Bert and Nipa hear about how Jaime's belief in creativity drives his life and keeps him on the path of discovery, growth, and constantly going outside his comfort zone. Many years ago, his pivotal moment was when he asked himself a simple yet powerful question, “I’m a creator, why am I not creating stuff?” That self-reflective moment changed everything for him.

His drive about “just making stuff” has led him to write many songs (his first passion), craft creative multimillion-dollar marketing campaigns, solve business and marketing problems in a way that tells a compelling story, build consensus, and rally people around common ideas. As an innovative leader, he’s passionate about driving and evolving brand strategies across all consumer touchpoints and channels. Jaime’s goal is always to tell a story that will move people. You’ll enjoy hearing about his creative journey in this podcast.

Jaime Cabrera is a writer and a storyteller at his core. His podcast, Confessions of a Creative Dire

05/04/2022

Jesal Dholakia Gandhi is a writer who loves to create, connect and communicate with her audience with many writing styles. In this episode of Project Popsicle, Jesal discusses how a simple kind word from an English teacher gave her just enough confidence to explore the creative world of writing. Her father’s confidence in her abilities further fueled her passion and love of writing and has allowed Jesal to develop her own style as a creative. She admits her journey as a creative was not a traditional one but was extremely satisfying because she designed it along the way. During this lively, open, and honest conversation with Bert A. Mitchell and Nipa Eason, she discusses her creative skill of putting ideas together and making them fit, being humble, valuing the creative effort, exploring her creative options and having fun breaking limiting molds in our society.

Jesal Dholakia Gandhi is a writer who loves to create, connect and communicate with her audience wit

04/20/2022

Belinda Bruno-Piverger is originally from South Florida and attended performing arts schools as a child from 11-18 years old. Her singing started at the tender age of 5 and has been a part of her ever since. She is a proud daughter to her two first generation Haitian parents and credits them for providing a supportive and encouraging artistic environment throughout her life.

Belinda caught the acting bug in high school and it has grown throughout her career. In this episode of Project Popsicle, she talks with Bert A. Mitchell and Nipa Eason about confidence, entrepreneurial and business skills, the challenges she faces as a creative artist, a positive attitude, the power of having people who look like her as role models in her life, and more. Belinda loves performing and watching how much joy she brings to her audiences. She makes learning her craft fun as she delves deeper into the world of singing, acting, and whatever comes her way.

This fun coffee shop style conversation with Belinda gives us an opportunity to discover how this creative, powerful. and down-to-earth woman embraces her life as an artist. After taking a 10-year hiatus, she is back and pursuing her love of the arts with a certain level of wisdom, gratitude, and GRIT. She hopes to keep working on her craft in acting and go for her masters in Drama in the coming years. She is a happy Tallahassee resident and plans to be a part of many other plays, films, and musicals while here and hopes to receive her Equity Membership.

Belinda Bruno-Piverger is originally from South Florida and attended performing arts schools as a ch

04/06/2022

Justin Martinez is a director, cinematographer and visual effects artist in the film industry. In this episode of Project Popsicle, he discusses how his passion for creativity began at an early age and has increased ever since. Justin spent years getting ideas out of his head and into the real world and this simple, yet powerful act of creativity has taken him on a fun-filled journey. You can hear the enthusiasm for his craft as he discusses his favorite film, Back to the Future, and how it influenced him.

Justin is also a co-creator of Radio Silence, known for their work on the films V/H/S, Devil's Due, and Southbound. He currently works as an independent VFX supervisor and artist for movies and TV. In 2020, he was nominated for a daytime Emmy for his main title and design work for the Amazon Prime show Dark Web.

Justin Martinez, Bert A. Mitchell, Nipa Eason

Justin Martinez is a director, cinematographer and visual effects artist in the film industry. In th

03/23/2022

Evelyn Dufner (Evelyn - Artista) is not just an artist; she is a storyteller. When she says, “Embrace the mess,” it is a challenge for all us to be creative, open, fun, and to be in the moment. As an artist, she wears many hats to express her unlimited creative energy. In this episode, Bert A. Mitchell and Nipa Eason have a fun and energizing conversation with Evelyn about her life as an artist and what drives her to produce an average of 50+ paintings a year. Evelyn says, “Art is a safe place for me to work and find peace.” Her art connects with the world through concepts of self-awareness, evolution, sensuality, and vulnerability. As you listen to Evelyn, you can feel her enthusiasm, passion, and compassion for her art, and her intuitive drive. She continues to be a creative force in the art community through photography, artist journaling, social media, and other avenues that give her work a voice.

Evelyn has been a featured artist in N**e Night in both Tampa and Orlando since 2012, has had open studio days among the Dunedin Annual Studio Waltz, has had works included in the St Petersburg ART WALK, is a member of the Professional Association of Visual Artists, and has been showcased in various places in the Greater Tampa Bay area.

Evelyn Dufner is not just an artist; she is a storyteller. When she says, “Embrace the mess,” it is

03/09/2022

Bert A. Mitchell and Nipa Eason talk to Rachel S. Hunter, a performer, choreographer, and educator who has a strong passion for dance. Her solid work ethic comes from her parents, and her creative curiosity about ‘how things work’ was inspired by Rachel’s love of Legos at five years old. In this episode of Project Popsicle, she discusses her views on creativity, the excitement of taking the long road to learning, and the challenges she faces as a creative artist in her career. Rachel enjoys teaching contemporary dance, jazz, ballet, composition, and production courses. She is the production manager and adjunct faculty at Florida State University School of Dance and an adjunct professor at Tallahassee Community College.

Rachel S. Hunter is a performer, choreographer, and educator who has a strong passion for dance. Her

02/23/2022

Project Popsicle is back after a holiday hiatus!

Today, Bert A. Mitchell and Nipa Eason talk to screenwriters Claudia Johnson and Matt Stevens, who have been writing together over 25 years. In this episode, they discuss how their partnership has been rewarding because of their ability to balance the personal with the professional in their writing career. They have learned how to check their egos at the door and “give each other permission to suck.” This fun and creative duo has written award-winning screenplays. Their book about collaboration, Script Partners, includes interviews with some of the most successful writing teams in the industry. During this interview you can feel the respect, trust, and admiration they have developed over the years for what truly can be called a beautiful friendship.

Project Popsicle is back after a holiday hiatus! Screenwriters Claudia Johnson and Matt Stevens ha

02/23/2022

02/23/2022