Artist Lakin Epaloose joins Big Blend Radio’s 1st Friday” Toast to The Arts & Parks” Podcast to talk about his paintings, photography, fashion design, and being the latest National Parks Arts Foundation artist-in-residence for Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. Lakin Epaloose, a painter and cultural bearer of the Zuni Tribe, works at Grand Canyon National Park in the cultural demonstration program. From 9:30am-1:30pm, on April 19, 2025, Lakin will offer a hands-on painting demonstration that follow his presentation at Kahuku Visitor Contact Station in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. Watercolor supplies will be provided. The park’s Artist in Residence program is sponsored by the National Parks Arts Foundation and Friends of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Reservations required, 20-person limit. Details and reservations: https://home.nps.gov/havo/learn/news/03212025-nr-april-updates.htm Learn more and view Lakin’s art: https://www.lakinepalooseart.com/ Learn more about the National Parks Arts Foundation’s unique artist residency programs in parks across the country at https://www.nationalparksartsfoundation.org/

Celebrate Women's History Month with this episode of Big Blend Radio's 1st Friday "Toast to The Parks & Arts" Show with Tanya Ortega, photographer and founder of the National Parks Arts Foundation (NPAF). From musicians, poets and writers to painters and textile artists, Tanya talks about the various women NPAF artists-in-residence over the years, and you can hear their Big Blend Radio interviews in this playlist here: https://nationalparktraveling.com/listing/women-artists-in-parks/

National Parks Arts Foundation (NPAF) is known for offering unique month-long artist residencies in locations like Loggerhead Key in Dry Tortugas National Park, Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, Chaco Canyon and Fort Union in Northern New Mexico, and Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona. These artist residency opportunities are perfect for artists of all mediums, from painters and sculptors to photographers, composers, writers, musicians, and more. Learn more: https://www.nationalparksartsfoundation.org/

Watch for Big Blend Radio's NPAF Retrospective, a digital publication featuring 8+ years of podcast interviews with artists and park representatives! Keep up with us by getting our newsletter at https://nationalparktraveling.com/listing/join-our-newsletter/

This episode of Big Blend Radio's "Toast to The Arts & Parks" Show with the National Parks Arts Foundation features acclaimed illustrator Andrés Vera Martínez whose artistic focus is on illustrating and writing graphic novels for middle school and young adult readers.

Andrés is best known for his work on his wife's graphic memoir, "LIttle White Duck: A Childhood in China," and Neal Shusterman’s YA graphic novel, "Courage to Dream: Tales of in the Holocaust." Watch for his middle grade graphic novel series with Jorge Aguirre, "Monster Locker" and the adaptation of "Esperanza Rising", plus, his illustrations in Marie Alohalani Brown’s "Hawaiian Myths, Gods, and Heroes." More at: https://www.andresvera.com/

Learn more about the National Parks Arts Foundation's unique artist residency programs in parks across the country at https://www.nationalparksartsfoundation.org/

This episode of Big Blend Radio's 1st Friday "Toast to The Parks & Arts" Show features Tanya Ortega, photographer and founder of the National Parks Arts Foundation (NPAF).

Hear about the organization's unique month-long artist residencies in locations like Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, Dry Tortugas National Park in Florida, and Hawai'i Volcano National Park. Plus, this year's opportunities for park destinations and artists of all genres to be part of their programming.

NPAF is a non-profit offering unique Artist-in-Residence Programs, Museum In-Loan Programs, and Workshops inspired by our National Parks, National Monuments, and World Heritage Sites. NPAF has supported over 300 programs, over 120 artists, and been the conduit for over a million dollars in artwork donations.

Watch for Big Blend Radio's NPAF Retrospective, a digital publication featuring 8 years of podcast interviews with artists and park representatives! Keep up with us by getting our newsletter at https://nationalparktraveling.com/listing/join-our-newsletter/

Learn more: https://www.nationalparksartsfoundation.org/

This episode of Big Blend Radio's "Toast to The Arts & Parks" Show features acclaimed trumpeter Delbert Anderson, the National Parks Arts Foundation (NPAF) artist-in-residence in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.

A Diné jazz trumpet artist, composer, and educator, Delbert stands at the forefront of a vibrant Native American jazz scene. His work, deeply rooted in his Diné heritage, seamlessly integrates Navajo "spinning songs" of love, healing, and courtship with jazz and funk, thus marking him as a community-minded Indigenous individualist. Through his Delbert Anderson Quartet, Anderson revives the improvised sounds of the Diné circle, blending them with jazz, funk, and hip-hop. His compositions are inspired by Navajo Nation landscapes, historical events, and the desire to preserve and educate about Diné history. More: https://delbertanderson.com/

Learn more about the National Parks Arts Foundation's unique artist residency programs in parks across the country at https://www.nationalparksartsfoundation.org/

This shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Toast to The Arts & Parks" Show features acclaimed astrophotographer and photojournalist Stan Honda, the National Parks Arts Foundation's Fall 2024 artist-in-residence at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.

Stan Honda is an experienced photojournalist who now works with natural landscapes — usually night-time panoramas — that fuse sky and earth. Based in New York-based, he worked as a photojournalist for 34 years including Agence France-Presse (AFP) (the French news agency) where he photographed news and sports in New York City and around the U.S., including the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the aftermath; post-war Iraq in 2003 and 2004. Stan was also the National Parks Arts Foundation artist resident at Haleakala National Park and Fort Union National Monument. More at https://stanhonda.com/

Learn more about the National Parks Arts Foundation's unique artist residency programs in parks across the country at https://www.nationalparksartsfoundation.org/

This episode of Big Blend Radio's "Toast to The Arts & Parks" Show features musician and composer Rachel Mari Kimber, the National Parks Arts Foundation's Fall 2024 artist-in-residence at Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona. This is part two of our conversation as a follow up of her residency. Check out Part One here: https://nationalparktraveling.com/listing/musician-rachel-mari-kimber-in-saguaro-national-park

Rachel Mari Kimber is a musically creative artist from Wales, UK. She composes, sings, plays guitar and cello, orchestrates, harmonises, teaches, and produces, all from the heart. She also plays cello and sings for the band Black Forest Society, and also for Happy Joy Harmony. More: https://freeyourspiritheal.wixsite.com/love

MORE LINKS FROM THE PODCAST regarding plants and music and NPAF artists in residence: - Writer Zoë Schlanger in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park: https://nationalparktraveling.com/listing/writer-zoe-schlanger-in-hawaii-volcanoes-national-park/ - Writer Zoë Schlanger in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park: https://nationalparktraveling.com/listing/musician-sam-nester-in-hawaii-volcanoes-national-park/

Learn more about the National Parks Arts Foundation's unique artist residency programs in parks across the country at https://www.nationalparksartsfoundation.org/

This episode of Big Blend Radio's "Toast to The Arts & Parks" Show features musician and composer Rachel Mari Kimber, the National Parks Arts Foundation's Fall 2024 artist-in-residence at Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona.

Rachel Mari Kimber is a musically creative artist from Wales, UK. She composes, sings, plays guitar and cello, orchestrates, harmonises, teaches, and produces, all from the heart. She also plays cello and sings for the band Black Forest Society, and also for Happy Joy Harmony. More: https://freeyourspiritheal.wixsite.com/love

Learn more about the National Parks Arts Foundation's unique artist residency programs in parks across the country at https://www.nationalparksartsfoundation.org/