Guest: Courtney Barnard

In this episode of The Artist Is In, I talk with intuitive abstract expressionist Courtney Barnard about painting as a form of inner truth-telling. For Courtney, art isn’t about external expectations—it’s about listening inward, honoring what needs to be said, and letting it pour onto the canvas. We explore how creativity becomes a declaration of self, how we choose who we are through what we make, and why the act of creating is enough to claim the title of artist. This is a conversation about voice, vulnerability, and the quiet power of trusting your own instincts.

🎤 About Courtney Barnard:

Courtney Barnard is an intuitive abstract expressionist painter who acknowledges and validates people’s experiences through her work. She helps create connections and community with her topics and encourages people everywhere to feel and heal.

She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, with honors, from West Chester University. After some time away to start a family, Courtney returned to painting with a renewed purpose. Having hit rock bottom emotionally and physically, painting became not just something she enjoyed, but a way to heal. Through meditation and journaling, combined with her art practice, Courtney unlocked a new way to express emotions and connect with those going through similar experiences. It has become her mission to help those struggling with trauma recovery to feel validated and part of a bigger healing community.

Website: https://www.courtneybarnardart.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/courtneybarnard_art

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EPISODE CREDITS
Produced, edited, and mixed by Kat Collins Studio
Artwork designed by Kat Collins Studio

LINKS

Be sure to follow and tag us with #TheArtistIsInPodcast on Instagram, Threads, and Facebook: @katcollinsstudio

Podcast: https://www.artistisin.com
Website: https://www.katcollinsstudio.com

Guest: Sean Carney

In this episode of The Artist Is In, I sit down with painter and educator Sean Carney, whose creative drive is as relentless as it is inspiring. Sean doesn’t romanticize the process—he simply has to paint. It's a need, an obsession, a daily practice that grounds him and gives shape to his days. We talk about what it's like to be pulled to the canvas (or in his case, wood) again and again, not for recognition, but for the pure love of the act itself.

Sean also shares how teaching has deepened his understanding of painting—how guiding others through the process sharpens his own instincts and keeps him connected to the joy of discovery. Whether he’s alone in the studio or in a room full of students, Sean shows up with the same energy: present, passionate, and always ready to paint. This episode is a testament to what happens when you follow the creative pull all the way in.

🎤 About Sean Carney:

Sean Carney is a representational painter based in New Jersey. His work explores the intersection of Pop Art and Photorealism, focusing on iconic automobiles as symbols of progress, ambition, and American culture. Through bold compositions and meticulous detail, Carney captures the essence of these vehicles—rendering reflections, curves, and chrome with a sense of stillness and reverence.

Carney holds a BFA in Studio Arts with a concentration in painting from New Jersey City University. He also studied at Montserrat College of Art and the School of Visual Arts in New York City. His paintings have been exhibited extensively throughout the East Coast and internationally, earning recognition from collectors and curators for their technical precision and conceptual depth.

He has presented solo exhibitions at venues including Cerulean Arts (Philadelphia), the Arts Council of Princeton's Solley Gallery, Exhibit B Gallery, and Princeton University. In 2016, Carney received the Mercer County Culture and Heritage Purchase Award, and in 2018 he completed a residency at the Princeton Public Library through the Arts Council of Princeton.

Carney's most recent solo exhibition, Philly Scenes, was featured at Borrelli’s Chestnut Hill Gallery in Philadelphia in 2024.

Website: https://www.carneystudios.net/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carneystudios/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SeanCarneyNj/

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Thanks for listening and share the podcast with your friends!

EPISODE CREDITS
Produced, edited, and mixed by Kat Collins Studio
Artwork designed by Kat Collins Studio

LINKS

Be sure to follow and tag us with #TheArtistIsInPodcast on Instagram, Threads, and Facebook: @katcollinsstudio

Podcast: https://www.artistisin.com
Website: https://www.katcollinsstudio.com

Guest: Deborah Slahta

In this episode of The Artist Is In, ceramic artist Deborah Slahta joins me for a grounded and powerful conversation about process, patience, and the quiet courage it takes to let go. From the tactile rituals of working with clay to the unpredictable dance of heat and glaze in the kiln, Deborah shares how her practice has become both a discipline and a release. We talk about the space between control and surrender, the balance of structure and softness, and what it means to trust the transformation.

Whether you're drawn to clay, creativity, or the deeper lessons art can teach us about being human, this episode is a gentle reminder that sometimes, true beauty comes from the fire we’re willing to step into.

🎤 About Deb Slahta:

Deborah Slahta explores the vessel as a three-dimensional canvas, producing finely crafted raku and stoneware ceramics. Known for precise designs, she utilizes geometric constructions and patterned motifs on the surface of the pot. Additional work abandons the well-defined divisions of space; brushstrokes and multiple layers of glaze combine and flow to create a more painterly approach. She is a native of Hellertown, Pennsylvania, and is a lifelong resident of the Lehigh Valley.

While attending Moravian College, Deborah began a lifelong passion for clay, graduating in 1977 with a degree in Mathematics. Deborah has been a juried resident artist at the Banana Factory Arts Center, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, since May of 2000, where she taught ceramic classes for all ages. Her work has been exhibited in national and regional shows, including “PA Craft”; at the State Museum in Harrisburg, “Area Artists 2017” at Lehigh University, and is a participating artist at “Cocktails and Collecting” at the Allentown Art Museum.

Since the closure of the Banana Factory in 2024, she now works out of Juxtahub, a new Arts & Innovation Center located in Emmaus, PA.

Website: https://juxtahub.com/deborah-slahta/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057147352610

Send us a text

Support the show

Thanks for listening and share the podcast with your friends!

EPISODE CREDITS
Produced, edited, and mixed by Kat Collins Studio
Artwork designed by Kat Collins Studio

LINKS

Be sure to follow and tag us with #TheArtistIsInPodcast on Instagram, Threads, and Facebook: @katcollinsstudio

Podcast: https://www.artistisin.com
Website: https://www.katcollinsstudio.com