The Sonoma Community Center Podcast Molly Spencer and Gerardo Diaz

Haylie Jimenez is the 2024 Sonoma Ceramics ceramics artist in residence ( SCC program) and she's the visual  arts bada**  you you want to be when you grow up. We go on the journey from her birth in Orlando, growing up in rural Georgia, attending  the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the wide open spaces on Montana and now here in CA at the time.     Cool as a cucumber,  she is a BIPOC artist who lives life and expresses her world through figurative illustration,  ceramics, stop animation and tattooing. 
We fall  down the rabbit hole of stories of her identical twin sister; Sydnie, anime,  snakes, ceviche, Southern  upbringing, and of course her upcoming Gallery Exhibit, "Now we're Cooking with Grease!" opening  June 1st at the Sonoma Community Center. 

Back for a second time is Maeve Smith! This time as director of Sonoma Arts Live's musical, "The Hello Girls." The compelling and  true story of Hello Girls was the name for American female switchboard operators sworn into the U.S Army in World War I as the first female soldiers. They served as bilingual telephone operators on the front line that helped shape the outcome of the war before they even had the right to vote. Ignored for decades and forgotten by history now comes a resurgence to recognize these amazing women! Maeve discovered that one of them, Juliette Louise Courtial Smith, is buried just down the street from the Sonoma Community Center  at Saint Francis Solano Cemetery here in Sonoma, CA. 
Passionate and an experienced theater professional Maeve will bring Hello Girls to the Rotary stage April 19th - May 5th, 2024. Also let's get these women a Congressional Gold Medal! Writeto your Senator and Representatives to award "The Hello Girls" a Congressional Gold Medal of Honor: https://www.worldwar1centennial.org/ and type in Hello Girls.

"The Duke of the Dumpster"- Robert Stickley, stops by to chat! Trashion Fashion winning Designer, prior Trashion judge and all around fun loving chap tells us all about how his one of a kind creations come to life  -from rubbish to the runway! We get details  on his unusual foraging for materials and how his designs draw inspiration from historical references and his roots from his homeland, Scotland. We chat about his early punk rock band days, opening up for Siouxsie and the Banshees and his favorite local cuisine from around the world Sonoma and Scotland. Finishing off with mention his music, painting and multimedia collage- it's a good time when this the Duke is around! 

Ever wonder where clay is mined from around the world , the  history of ceramics or what  is a firing cone? Welcome to the beginner's guide to clay and ceramics with Meg Billingham and Dan Clauson. We take a fascinating ride into all things ceramics and in particular our amazing department of Sonoma Ceramics. We also talk Contemporary approaches to clay through performance, movement, and touch as well as beautiful synopsis of how it affects us all as we move and connect through our daily lives. Co host Cat Smith fills in for Gerardo this week! 

Tim Zahner from Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau and our other favorite podcast, The Sonoma Spiel,  stops by and talks with Gerardo and Molly about recommendations,  best foodie spots and a behind-the-scenes look for those that want to know a true locals guide to  Sonoma. 
  We also learn how to pronounce Milwaukee  the right way "Mi-waukee" from Tim's time at college, coming back to CA and that there is a guy with an epic mustache in the basement of the VB. Besides a better bike rack for the Community Center, Tim really just wants to dance. 

Vanessa Glamore Ronglien has had various reinventions and career shifts throughout her life, including being a stylist, a student, a wife, an a cappella singer, and now the leader of Sonoma Community Center. Her leadership brings warmth, humanity and the fearless attitude that anything is possible at the Center. This interview will touch on her Puerto Rican roots, East Coast upbringing, and her journey to Los Angeles as a stylist then entering the nonprofit world and focus on art and outreach for children and the public. Overall, Ronglien is dedicated to making the dreams and ideas of the community a reality, with a strong focus on family and the arts.