Podcast Spotlight: An Interview with Katie Cahill of Two Artsy Gals

Two Artsy Gals is a conversational, lighthearted, and informative podcast covering all things mixed media art, crafts, and more. Katie and Loni are real “Jills of all trades” when it comes to their art so who knows… you could hear about basics like tools and techniques in one episode, altered books or origami the next, and then end up listening to one or both gals rant about a knitting/crochet/sewing project. These are some funny ladies who like to laugh and joke, and want to include you in their conversations about the things they love. Their hope is that you are thoroughly entertained while you learn from their shared experience in mixed media arts and crafts!

Katie kindly offered to talk with us about the Two Artsy Gals podcast and gives us her insight on the podcasting space.

How long have you been podcasting? Can you tell us a little bit about your podcast and why you got started?
 
     I started recording Two Artsy Gals a little over two years ago but it took me about three years from the time I first had the idea for show and started planning to gain enough courage to make the jump. I have been listening to podcasts for years and it is my love of the platform that first got me interested in the possibility of producing my own. Because I am a mixed media artist and have too many hobbies to list here, I was always looking for podcasts that talk about my interests specifically in the way that I wanted to hear about them but I found arts and crafts podcast to be lacking in availability and entertainment value. I finally decided to move forward with my plans when I realized if I wanted the kind of art podcast I was looking for to happen, I was going to have to be the person who made it happen.    
 
Where do you draw inspiration for your podcast?
 
     My love of mixed media art and hobbies, plus my hatred of art snobbery is what inspires the show. I want people to feel like it is OK to enjoy themselves experimenting with new media and techniques without judgment. We all learn by doing and when you buy things made by artists, or go see their art, you are seeing the best of the best. What they want you to see. You aren’t seeing the years of frustration, trial and error, and learning they have done to bring those best pieces of work to you.  
            
     When I was in design school I had a bit of a freak out when trying to learn a new technique in my life drawing class. My professor, who was a typically real hard ass, simply told me “Katie, if you already knew how to do all of this you wouldn’t be here, would you? This is what learning is about! Making mistakes! Stop being so hard on yourself and enjoy the learning.” I realized then that the weird snobbery, and tendency to take oneself far too seriously that feels rampant in the art world was more about fear of judgment than anyone being better than others or looking down any another person’s work. I want my podcast to make people laugh and disarm them so they aren’t worried about someone thinking they are bad at what they are doing. I want people to try the things they are interested in and enjoy doing it without ever feeling like someone is going to tell them they are doing it incorrectly. To me that just isn’t what art is about. It is supposed to be free and fun… it doesn’t matter if you are a crafty person who simply enjoys making beautiful things for yourself or friends and family, or if you are an aspiring artist; art should be joyful and not fraught with self-doubt and fear!     
 
What’s your recording set-up look like? Is there a special mic, piece of equipment or software that you can’t do without? Any recommendations?
 
     My recording setup has changed a lot over the two years I have been doing the show. I have always used Audacity. It is free software; it works on both my PC and my Mac, and is very user friendly. I couldn’t do my show without it. When I first started recording I used a Samsung Meteor USB microphone plugged directly into my computer and my then co-host, who lived several hours away, used a simple Logitech headset plugged into her laptop. We recorded through Skype using a combination of Audacity and Total Recorder Pro.  It worked for what it was and I learned a lot in that first year.
 
            After my first co-host had to leave the show and Loni stepped into the co-host chair we started recording in my home studio so I had to change equipment up a bit. Luckily we had a small fundraising drive that resulted in a couple of very generous donations and that allowed me to purchase a basic setup. I now use a Behringer XENYX Q802 USB two channel mixer with some simple Behringer Ultravoice XM1800S cardioid microhones, I have a splitter so we can plug two mics into one channel on occasions where we have an in-studio guest. It is a fun little setup. I got a folding table that I keep in the closet of my studio when not in use… when we are recording we set that up and clamp some inexpensive booms to the table, attach the pop filters to the booms, and then just set up the mixer and mics… it takes about five minutes to set up and five minutes to break down. We also use use a little TASCAM DR-05 for on-location interviews (we have a lot of fun when we get to go on road trips to interview people).
 
I know that all sounds fancy to a beginner or someone who is looking into starting their own podcast so I feel like it is important to note that you absolutely do not need a bunch of expensive equipment to start your own show. As technical as all those names sound, my setup is really very simple and bottom of the line. The entire thing costs me around $200 (folding table included), but you can record a decent sounding podcast from your iPhone.              
 
What’s been your greatest challenge with podcasting?
 
     Self-promotion! That and getting over the gutting feeling of rejection when you have a bad week for listener numbers. As with any artistic endeavor, there is the possibility of people not liking what you do. I just try to remind myself that like my artwork, my podcast isn’t for everyone… there will be people who dislike it and people who do. Would I like higher listener numbers? Sure! But that will come with time.

​     The self-promotion aspect of podcasting is my Achilles Heel. Part of that has to do with the fear of putting myself out there and people not liking what I do, or the fear of being trolled on the shows website or social media accounts (I don’t like it when people are mean), but the larger part has to do with the fact that the show doesn’t generate revenue so if I am paying for advertising, I am paying out of my own pocket and I just don’t have the budget for it. That being said, word of mouth has been pretty good to us so far.  

How have you seen your podcast grow?

​     Yes! We started out with about 25 listeners in the first month or two after starting the show. That easily doubled in the first four months and by the end of the first year we had around 100 listeners (give or take). We are about four months into our third year of podcasting (our second anniversary was in April) and we average anywhere from 150 listeners to over 300 listeners per week (usually right around 200-225) and I think those numbers depend heavily on the topic of each episode. We are now in the top 100 podcast in the Arts Category for PodOmatic and we seem to climb on the overall charts most weeks.  ​

In what ways has Podomatic helped you as a podcaster?
 
     I love being able to look at the statistics and rankings. Unless you have “This American Life” or “Marc Maron” numbers iTunes does not make analytics like that available for podcasters. This feature has really helped me gain an understanding of what topics and shows our listeners respond to. For instance, we have tried doing theme months for the holidays and Halloween and really saw our numbers drop in the later weeks of the month. Our listeners like having fresh topics weekly and don’t want to hear us obsess over our personal favorite holidays for an entire month.
 
     I also love that PodOmatic has their own player app now. Not everyone uses Apple products and many of those who do become frustrated with the software and apps involved in listening to podcast on them. I love having options for our listeners and I defiantly think that part of our more recent growth spurt is directly related to this option being available.  
 
What kind of podcasts do you listen to? Any favorites?
 
     I listen to so many podcasts that I sometimes don’t have time to keep up with all of them. I enjoy smart and funny shows. I am a huge fan of the Nerdist and Dork Forrest… I love Sawbones and all of the Discovery podcasts (like Stuff You Missed in History Class, etc, etc), Radio Lab, and all the NPR shows. Ugh… I really am just obsessed with Podcasts in general so I am going to stop myself before I make a list of all the ones I listen to.  
 
Where do you see the podcast industry 10 years from now?
 
​     That is a hard question… It will be interesting to see how politics and Big Business factors into the future of podcasting. I feel like our battle with Net Neutrality isn’t over yet. Podcasts have become more a part of popular culture in recent years and I think there are a lot of investors and big businesses that are looking at the industry as an untapped resource. I suspect there will be a struggle to keep podcasting affordable. Right now it is possible to produce a podcast for close to free, depending on how much content you want to keep available online. I don’t know when I last ran across a podcast with 100% fee based content (some have shorter versions available for free and then you subscribe to get the full podcast for a nominal fee).  I have a hard time believing that there aren’t some greedy fat cats out there drooling over the possibilities.
           
     I also think there are a lot of politicians and more conservative citizens who would like to see podcast content more heavily censored. To me this era of podcasting feels a lot like public access TV vs. Network programming in the 80s and early 90s… you can pretty much do whatever the hell you want right now as long as you label your podcast correctly (e.g. say it is explicit if you swear a lot or talk about risqué subjects). This is my favorite thing about producing a podcast and listening to podcasts but there are always those who feel the need to “protect us” from ourselves.
 
     I definitely see the industry growing and platform expanding in the future but whether or not it remains the free market for entertainment and expression that it is now or not is difficult to predict. Either way I think podcasting is here to stay and it will become an increasingly popular entertainment platform, and I plan on riding the wave as far as it will take me as a producer and a fan.   
 
When you’re not podcasting, what do you like to do for fun?
 
     I live in Portland so there is always something fun and weird to do around here. My husband and I like meeting friends at our favorite downtown watering holes for drinks and happy hour snacks. I love going to movies and seeing live music when our budget allows. Mostly I read a lot of books and comic books, play video games (because I am kind of a 43-year-old child), and watch a lot of Netflix/TV. And of course I am a mixed media artist who also crochets, knits, sews clothing and costumes, and hand embroiders obnoxious quotes movie quotes just for the giggles! I also have another Podcast project that is far less structured and is just for fun… It is called the Awesome Talks Project and can also be found right here on Podomatic as well.
 
Any advice or tips for someone just getting their podcast off the ground?
 
     You don’t need to spend a bunch of money to get started and don’t let anyone make you feel like you have to. Listen to a lot of podcasts. The more you listen to the more you know what you like and want to sound like. Do research but don’t feel bound by what one person says. This is a great platform and it is rife with possibilities right now. Most importantly, don’t be afraid! Just jump in and have fun with it.
 
What was the last costume you wore?
 
     Oh! Unikitty from The Lego Movie! I made a Unikitty costume with a light up horn for Halloween last year and I am currently doing some upgrades and repairs to it in preparation for this year’s Rose City Comicon. Unikitty is my patronis… I love the crap out of her!

Unikitty in all of her glory!