The Qreative Life

Amanda Quraishi

Join host Amanda Quraishi for a new podcast series featuring writers, poets, painters, musicians, photographers and more (both the professional and the passionately amateur) and learn how they have prioritized their creativity and are living their best creative lives. read less
ArtsArts

Episodes

TQL - S2E15 - Tarik Trad
Sep 10 2024
TQL - S2E15 - Tarik Trad
In this episode, Q talks to her friend Tarik Trad, founder of Focus Relief Photography for Charity. They discuss Tarik's lifelong love of photography, a chance encounter that led him to Antarctica, and his passion for service that resulted in founding Focus Relief. Tarik is a wildlife photographer, digital strategist, storyteller and author who’s photography has led him to explore and capture distant and not-so-distant destinations, such as the Antarctic Peninsula; the Galapagos Islands; Havana, Cuba; Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska; the Na Pali Coast of Hawaii; the Lacandon Jungle of Mexico; the backcountry of Yosemite and Patagonia; and many other unique places across the globe. He has worked for such industry giants as the Los Angeles Times, Ernst & Young and Northrop Grumman and served as a backcountry ranger in Yosemite National Park. In 2022, he published his first book, “Antarctica – A Photographic Expedition.” In a limited-edition run, this full-sized, 92-page coffee table book is filled with nearly 100 one-of-a-kind photos along with intimate stories from his transformative journey. It sold out almost immediately. He was born, raised, and resides in the Los Angeles area where, among other things, he is trying to understand why we drive on a parkway yet park on a driveway. Find Tarik online: Focus Relief - www.focusrelief.comPhoto Blog - www.tariktrad.com/in-a-flashThe Way South - A Digital Expedition of the Antarctic Peninsula www.focusrelief.com/tws Find Tarik on social media: instagram.com/tarikofthenorthfacebook.com/tarikofthenorth
TQL - S2E14 - Erin Walter & Andrew Solin of Parker Woodland
Aug 13 2024
TQL - S2E14 - Erin Walter & Andrew Solin of Parker Woodland
In this episode Q hangs out with Erin Walter and Andrew Solin of the indie rock trio, Parker Woodland. The three of them discuss the evolution of Parker Woodland, their respective creative histories and processes, and their new album “There’s No Such Thing as Time” due out in September 2024.  More about Parker Woodland: Fast-rising indie rock trio Parker Woodland began as neighbors jamming in a small church in Austin, TX, and soon evolved into a powerful, sweat-soaked live experience. At the center is joyfully expressive frontwoman Erin Walter, a justice activist from the Girls Rock Camp and LGBTQIA+ scene, and Unitarian Universalist minister. 
The World’s On Fire (and We Still Fall In Love) -- Parker Woodland's 2021 debut EP, recorded with Jonas Wilson of Mr. Pink Records -- pulses with life-affirming energy, fuzzy riffs, and catchy, shout-along vocals. Parker Woodland spent 2021-22 putting out a live EP and music video trilogy, all while on a unique 120-city virtual tour (including a peace benefit with Willie Nelson, a women’s conference, Rock the Vote events, and UU churches). In 2022, guitarist Andrew Solin and drummer Keri Cinquina joined Parker Woodland, and the band began writing their first full-length album, playing a cathartic new live set of pandemic-era anthems. "When you write a song, that’s often where you discover what you really believe," Walter says. "I believe life is short, beautiful, and hard, and we will get through it together.” Read The Austin Chronicle’s coverage of the first single and video from their new album, "Makeup, " inspired by the fight for trans youth rights in Texas.  Find Parker Woodland online: Website [parkerwoodland.com] Spotify  Bands In Town Soundcloud Connect with Parker Woodland on social media: Instagram [instagram.com/parkerwoodlandband] Facebook [facebook.com/parkerwoodland] X [x.com/parkerwoodland]
TQL S2E9 - Tanzila "Taz" Ahmed
May 15 2024
TQL S2E9 - Tanzila "Taz" Ahmed
Tanzila “Taz” Ahmed is a political strategist, storyteller, and artist based in Los Angeles. She creates at the intersection of counternarratives and culture-shifting as a South Asian American Muslim 2nd-gen woman. She’s turned out over 500,000 Asian American voters, recorded five years of the award winning Good Muslim Bad Muslim podcast and made #MuslimVDay cards for a decade. Her essays are published in the anthologies, New Moons, Pretty Bitches, Whiter, Good Girls Marry Doctors, Love Inshallah, and in numerous online publications. She’s published poetry collections Emdash and Ellipses (2016) & The Day The Moon Split in Two (2020), is featured in Tia Chucha’s Coiled Serpent (2016) and her poetry has been commissioned by the Center for Cultural Power, PolicyLink, the Garment Worker Center, KPCC’s Unheard LA, and more. In July 2023, her first solo visual art show “Aunties with Deadly Stare” was exhibited at LA Artcore and her art has been shown in various exhibits including the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in the Acts of Faith exhibit and the Smithsonian APA Center’s “H-1B” exhibit. A protest sign she designed for the 2017 Women’s March sits in the permanent archives of the Smithsonian Museum of American History. Her latest poetry collection “Grasping At This Planet Just to Believe” will be published April 2024 with Writ Large Projects. Website [www.tazzystar.me] Etsy Shop [https://www.etsy.com/shop/TazzyStarShop] New Poetry Book OUT NOW - "Grasping at this Planet Just to Believe" [https://www.writlargeprojects.com/shop/p/tanzila-ahmed-grasping-at-this-planet]
TQL S1E4 - Natalie Durkin
Jan 18 2024
TQL S1E4 - Natalie Durkin
In this episode Q talks with textile artist and tai-chi instructor Natalie Durkin. They discuss what it took for Natalie to reclaim her creativity as an adult and make it her occupation; and they discuss the benefits of paying attention to our ‘drunken muses’ when they tell us to do random, interesting things.  About Natalie: Natalie Durkin is an artist currently specializing in using repurposed and upcycled textiles to create fabric portraits and other functional and decorative textile creations.  After decades of being told it was unrealistic and irresponsible to earn a living from her creativity, Durkin decided she owed it to her true self to take back her creative power. The shift began in 2020 as a result of the pandemic which also coincided with her being diagnosed with a connective tissue disorder that caused joint instability, repeat injuries and chronic pain. This one-two punch led her to the discovery of her passion for repurposed textiles as her artistic medium as well as the unplanned but necessary retirement from a 23-year career as a structural and rehabilitative massage therapist in the summer of 2022. Because her condition made it potentially dangerous and unwise to continue being an LMT,  she decided that it was the time to make living and earning creatively as an artist her priority.  Durkin is currently growing an online audience and working on incoming commissions while continuing to learn how to balance her physical stamina. She’s also a professional martial arts instructor with black belts in Taekwondo, Yang and Chen Styles of Tai Chi, and Hung Gar Kung Fu.  Find Natalie Online: Instagram:  @natalie_durkin_textile_arts Facebook: Natalie Durkin Textile Artist (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554240999966 ) Featured by Austin Creative Reuse (https://austincreativereuse.org/blog/artist-spotlight-natalie-durkin)
TQL S1E2 - Aly Cardinelli
Dec 20 2023
TQL S1E2 - Aly Cardinelli
In this episode of The Qreative Life podcast, Amanda Quraishi (Q) talks with Aly Cardinelli, a professional dancer/dance teacher. Aly talks to Q about his early influences, creative challenges that he faced throughout his lifetime, and the differences between being an “artist” and a “performer.” As an adult, Aly developed his innate, latent psychic abilities and he now teaches traditional spiritual disciplines at the fastest growing school of witchcraft and psychic development in the United States which he founded in 2018. Aly and Q discuss the connection between spirituality and creativity, and the importance of continuously evolving in both aspects as long as we are alive. Connect with Aly online: bearbridgeacademy.com  OtsoSalon.com alycardinalli.com  Connect with Aly on social media: instagram.com/bearbridgeacademy  instagram.com/otsosalon  instagram.com/alycardinalli More about Aly: Aly Cardinalli is an accomplished witchdoctor, performing arts specialist, psychic, and master educator with over twenty years of experience in his fields. He has dedicated his life to promoting traditional practices and spreading knowledge about culture. Born a dark medium and oversensitive psychic into a family of traditional healers, Aly grew up surrounded by spirits and natural remedies that were used to cure both physical and spiritual ailments. He learned from his family the art of healing, witchcraft, and spirituality, gradually developing a deep passion for indigenous and creolized practices.  As a young man, Aly decided to pursue a career in the performing arts. He studied music, dance, and theatrical arts, and quickly made a name for himself as a talented performer, exceptional choreographer (as an expert in over eighteen styles of dance), and an award winning director. His unique knowledge of the arts and culture, along with his exceptional stage presence, made him an instant hit with audiences across the globe. Despite his success in the performing arts, Aly never forgot his roots. He continued to practice traditional healing techniques. Aly has also developed an innovative training and classification system for psychics, mediums, and sensitives. Because of his genius and prodigy youth, his knowledge and aptitude in the inclusive disciplines of culture, healing, spirituality, mysticism, and storytelling is unmatched. Over the years, Aly has gained immense popularity as a master educator in his fields.  He continues to conduct numerous workshops and training sessions for healthcare professionals, spiritual healers, psychics, performers, and other practitioners. Aly has been the dean of education for a performing arts school, the headmaster at a witchcraft and psychic development school, and the education director for a healing arts institute. Thanks to his dedication and hard work, Aly Cardinalli is now widely recognized as a commodity to cultural education. His talent, passion, and expertise have inspired countless people to embrace rich and vibrant culture and to seek healing through the power of music, dance, and other forms of artistic & ancient cultural expression.