Unapologetically Creative

Vermont College of Fine Arts
  • 5.0 (7)
  • ARTS
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

Unapologetically Creative is the official podcast from Vermont College of Fine Arts, featuring bold voices in art, design, and storytelling. Through fearless creativity and cross-disciplinary thinking, each episode explores how culture is shaped and reimagined. Hosted by Andrew Ramsammy, the show highlights how VCFA’s collaborative community empowers creators to challenge convention, embrace risk, and lead with purpose. Cover Art by David Jon Walker

  1. BONUS VCFA Writers' Conference: Building Creative Community: Adam McOmber, Erin LaRosa, and Spiro Skentzos on Storytelling and Artistic Risk

    4D AGO

    BONUS VCFA Writers' Conference: Building Creative Community: Adam McOmber, Erin LaRosa, and Spiro Skentzos on Storytelling and Artistic Risk

    Adam McOmber, co chair of the VCFA MFA in Writing program, joins Erin LaRosa, author and romance workshop leader, and Spiro Skentzos, screenwriter and producer, to discuss the next chapter of the VCFA Writers’ Conference as it moves to CalArts in Los Angeles. The conversation explores creative community, the evolution of romance and screenwriting, storytelling in the age of AI, artistic risk taking, and why human connection remains at the center of the creative process. Our conference faculty have created an actionable free toolkit that can help your writing now. Find it HERE Time Stamps: 2:14 Building Creative Community4:02 Why the Conference Moved to Los Angeles6:08 Bringing Genre Fiction Into Literary Spaces8:22 Romance Writing and Story Structure11:14 Why Romance Is Often Misunderstood14:23 The Rise of Sports Romance17:02 Vulnerability and Emotional Truth in Romance20:02 Representation and Inclusivity in Publishing22:41 Writing to Market vs Writing Your Passion25:10 Building Authentic Characters in Romance27:08 Why Romance Writers Should Be Unapologetically Creative29:23 The First 15 Pages of a Screenplay32:11 Inside the TV Writers’ Room34:37 Streaming, AI, and Modern Storytelling38:12 Writing From Lived Experience41:05 Thinking Visually for the Screen43:14 Creativity, Collaboration, and Ownership46:10 Why Intellectual Property Matters48:02 Pushing Storytelling Forward49:03 A New Chapter for VCFA Writers’ Conference

    58 min
  2. Feeling Before Thinking: Suné Woods on Intimacy and Artistic Connection

    6D AGO

    Feeling Before Thinking: Suné Woods on Intimacy and Artistic Connection

    Suné Woods explores intimacy, collaboration, nonlinear storytelling, and the balance between feeling and thinking in artistic practice. Through reflections on water, ancestry, collective care, and multisensory installation work, Woods discusses how art can create spaces for connection, sanctuary, and deeper emotional presence in an increasingly overwhelming world. The conversation also examines openness in creative work, the importance of collaboration, and why the heart often leads before the mind can understand. Time stamps: 2:46 Finding Intimacy Through Art3:54 Art, Protest, and Collective Healing5:16 Water, Ancestry, and Interconnection7:20 The Spiritual Meaning of Water8:44 Healing Through Artistic Practice10:17 Why Collaboration Matters11:54 Nonlinear Storytelling and Multisensory Art13:34 Feeling Before Thinking14:24 Slowing Down Through Art16:06 Nature, Technology, and Presence16:47 Why Art Stays Open Ended17:45 Challenging Western Artistic Frameworks19:02 Teaching Through Personal Belief Systems20:20 What It Means to Be Unapologetically Creative20:58 Advice to a Younger Artist21:45 Art as an Invitation Forward

    23 min
  3. Claiming Your Story and the Power of Creative Nonfiction

    APR 28

    Claiming Your Story and the Power of Creative Nonfiction

    Sue William Silverman, award-winning author and co-chair of the MFA in Writing program at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, joins Unapologetically Creative to explore the craft and courage behind creative nonfiction. From uncovering deeper meaning through metaphor and revision to writing through vulnerability and emotional risk, Silverman shares how storytelling becomes a path to self-discovery. She discusses the balance between lived experience and reflection, the role of persistence in the creative process, and why writers must learn to claim their stories without apology.  1:51 What Is Creative Nonfiction 4:17 The Unaware and Aware Narrator 6:10 Finding Meaning in Small Moments 9:55 Can Creative Nonfiction Be Taught 11:02 Writing Vulnerability and Personal Truths 14:30 Is Writing Therapeutic 15:41 Core Practices for Writers 17:09 The Power of Metaphor in Storytelling 19:51 Writing in the Present and Emotional Risk 22:58 Teaching Students to Share Difficult Stories 25:00 Advice to Younger Writers 26:41 What It Means to Be Unapologetically Creative 28:49 Final Takeaways on Creativity and Persistence

    30 min
  4. Imagination Without Limits: Shruti Swamy on Writing, Intuition, and Creative Freedom

    APR 14

    Imagination Without Limits: Shruti Swamy on Writing, Intuition, and Creative Freedom

    Shruti Swamy, author of A House is a Body and The Archer, explores how imagination, cultural inheritance, and intuition shape her work. Drawing from Hindu mythology and her experience growing up between cultures, she reflects on the flexibility that comes from a bicultural perspective and how it informs the way she sees and tells stories. In this conversation, Shruti challenges traditional rules of craft, sharing why she’s moving beyond rigid frameworks like “show, don’t tell” and toward a more intuitive, truth-driven approach to writing. She also discusses the role of the subconscious in creative work, the importance of spaces that encourage experimentation, and how writers can reconnect with a sense of possibility when they feel stuck. Throughout the episode, Shruti emphasizes the importance of telling the truth in both life and art, creating work that leaves space for the reader to step in, interpret, and find their own meaning. 01:28 Cultural Inheritance and Storytelling 03:32 Understanding Hindu Mythology 05:00 Growing Up Between Cultures 06:11 Bicultural Perspective and Imagination 08:23 Rethinking Writing Education and The Dreamside 11:07 Creative Practice and Reconnecting with Imagination 13:29 Risk Taking, Safety, and the Subconscious 15:31 Balancing Structure and Dreamlike Writing 16:56 Returning to the Writing Practice 18:46 Creativity and Telling the Truth 19:56 Advice to Her Younger Self 21:03 Building Courage and Creative Community

    23 min
  5. A Language Within a Language: Brendan Constantine on Poetry, Voice, and Creative Evolution

    MAR 31

    A Language Within a Language: Brendan Constantine on Poetry, Voice, and Creative Evolution

    Brendan Constantine, poet and educator, explores how creativity evolves over time and why great work comes from moving forward rather than repeating what once worked. In this conversation, he reflects on poetry as a “language within a language,” one that allows us to express what everyday speech cannot. He shares how teaching and working with individuals experiencing aphasia and brain injuries reshaped his understanding of communication, showing how creativity can restore connection and unlock new ways of thinking. The episode also dives into the tension between growth and complacency, the role of failure in artistic practice, and why meaningful work is less about perfection and more about usefulness, generosity, and emotional truth. 1:41 Defining a Poetic Voice2:53 AI Tries to Copy His Voice4:01 Avoiding Creative Complacency5:25 The Pitfalls of Praise6:57 Why You Can’t Recreate Success8:06 Poetry as a Language Within a Language11:07 Is It True, Kind, or Helpful?15:01 Reading Work Out Loud18:00 Poetry and Aphasia Work24:53 Giving Back in Art28:41 What It Means to Be Unapologetically Creative

    31 min
  6. Still That Artist: Karla Diaz on Intuition, healing, and Creating Through Life

    MAR 17

    Still That Artist: Karla Diaz on Intuition, healing, and Creating Through Life

    Artist Karla Diaz discusses how personal experiences, including caring for her mother and navigating loss, have shaped her creative work. She reflects on the ways art can serve as a space for processing grief, memory, and transformation, and how those experiences continue to inform the themes and direction of her practice. The conversation also explores the role of intuition in the creative process, the importance of community in sustaining artists, and how creative work evolves over time while remaining connected to deeply personal experiences. Timestamps: 2:12 Finding a Path into Art6:05 Trusting Intuition in the Creative Process9:48 How Life Experiences Shape Artistic Work13:20 Caring for Her Mother and the Role of Healing in Art17:42 Community, Collaboration, and Creative Support21:05 Balancing Personal Life and Artistic Practice24:36 How an Artist’s Work Evolves Over Time27:58 Advice for Emerging Artists30:15 Continuing to Create Through Life’s Changes

    30 min
  7. Art and Accountability: Ashley Hunt on Mass Incarceration, Research, and Speaking Alongside

    MAR 3

    Art and Accountability: Ashley Hunt on Mass Incarceration, Research, and Speaking Alongside

    Ashley Hunt discusses how research and lived experience shape his creative work. Beginning with his evacuation during the Los Angeles wildfire, the conversation expands into his long engagement with mass incarceration and the systems that structure punishment in the United States. He reflects on art as a way to examine power, the importance of historical context, and the responsibility artists carry in understanding their own position in the work they make. Ashley also explores the idea of speaking alongside communities rather than for them and why art remains a space for critical thinking and possibility. 2:28 Evacuating Topanga Canyon and Community Response6:22 Climate Crisis and the Educational Mission9:30 Incarcerated Fire Crews and Exploited Labor12:12 Two Californias and the Scale of Incarceration15:12 Teaching, Criminalization, and Early Inquiry18:21 Research as Artistic Practice21:43 Profit Motives and Private Prisons22:16 Counter Narratives and Media Mythology24:54 History, Slavery, and the Prison System27:03 Self Awareness, Privilege, and Accountability27:59 James Baldwin and Rethinking Whiteness30:28 CalArts and VCFA Coming Together31:58 When Is the Right Time for Graduate School35:04 What Unapologetically Creative Means

    38 min
  8. Creating Closer to the Nerve: edwin bodney on Grief, Performance, and living Without Apology

    FEB 17

    Creating Closer to the Nerve: edwin bodney on Grief, Performance, and living Without Apology

    Poet, performer, and educator edwin bodney joins Unapologetically Creative for a deeply honest conversation about writing closer to the nerve, transforming grief into a landscape for discovery, and creating work rooted in truth, vulnerability, and connection. Edwin reflects on their journey from early open mic nights at the Poetry Lounge to becoming a powerful voice in contemporary spoken word, exploring how performance sharpened their craft and how storytelling became a space for survival, joy, and radical empathy. Together, edwin and host Andrew Ramsammy unpack what it means to live and create without apology, why spoken word sits at the foundation of all literature, and how artists can continue their own stories on their own terms. From grief and identity to creativity as courage, this episode is a powerful reminder that no one else gets to write the ending of your story. 2:04 Getting Closer to the Nerve4:00 Grief as Geography7:51 Discovering Poetry and Performance13:44 First Time on Stage15:55 Growth Over Time16:22 Identity, Belonging, and Connection17:50 Bringing Audiences Closer to Themselves19:25 Living Without Apology20:27 Spoken Word as the Foundation of Literature21:14 Breaking Rules in the Creative Process21:54 Where Performance and Writing Converge23:59 Writing for Truth and Vulnerability25:36 Expanding Reach Through social media26:58 Continuing Your Own Story

    29 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

Unapologetically Creative is the official podcast from Vermont College of Fine Arts, featuring bold voices in art, design, and storytelling. Through fearless creativity and cross-disciplinary thinking, each episode explores how culture is shaped and reimagined. Hosted by Andrew Ramsammy, the show highlights how VCFA’s collaborative community empowers creators to challenge convention, embrace risk, and lead with purpose. Cover Art by David Jon Walker

Information

  • Creator
    Vermont College of Fine Arts
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    21
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Vermont College of Fine Arts
  • Show Website
    Unapologetically Creative

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