Podcast by Drea Macdonald
07 August 2025
I met Donnalee Downe a few decades ago when she opened a gallery space attached to her home in Charlottetown, and the Peake Street Collective was born. I attended many of the opening parties over the years, and even submitted one of my early paintings for one of them. I knew I wanted to talk to Donnalee about making art because she's always had a unique style and is such a champion and a mentor for other artists.
She refers to an interview/article by a musician and neither of us could think of who it was. Turns out it was Brian Eno - here is a link to "Composers as Gardeners":
https://www.edge.org/conversation/brian_eno-composers-as-gardeners
Theme song: "Art" by Tanya Davis https://tanyadavis.ca/
Podcast logo/artwork by Birdmouse https://www.birdmouse.ca/
00:00
45:34
31 July 2025
Richard Haines is an old friend and a multi-disciplinary artist. He is a photographer, visual artist, theatre actor/director, and he teaches art and drama to high school students. We talked about how he got his start in both drawing/painting, how he was much more enamored with photography when it was about developing film in dark rooms, what he's learned about himself through the characters he's played . . . and much more. Art is magic.
Theme song: "Art" by Tanya Davis www.tanyadavis.ca
Podcast logo/artwork by Birdmouse www.birdmouse.ca
00:00
44:17
24 July 2025
I've long admired Jane Ledwell's poetry and was so glad that she was able to pop out to St. Peter's Bay for a chat. Our wide-ranging conversation covered the importance of collaboration in finishing projects, how artists are needed more and more in a world that pressures us to conform, and why PEI is a popular place for creative people to settle. You can find her books at The Bookmark in Charlottetown, PEI (and order from their website www.bookmarkreads.ca).
Theme song: "Art" by Tanya Davis www.tanyadavis.ca
Podcast logo/artwork by Birdmouse www.birdmouse.ca
00:00
48:19
17 July 2025
Another "from away" artist, Shannon Linton spoke to me from her home in Ontario for this episode. We had a great little chat about why she chose not to pursue a career in opera and instead writes folk songs on her farm, advocates and performs in and for her community. She also writes regularly on Substack: https://shannonlinton.substack.com/ and you can find her music on Bandcamp: https://shannonlinton.bandcamp.com/music
Theme song: "Art" by Tanya Davis www.tanyadavis.ca
Podcast logo/artwork by Birdmouse www.birdmouse.ca
00:00
29:50
10 July 2025
I've loved Dan Currie's guitar playing and songwriting for a very long time, and we've played (and recorded) in a number of bands together. It was so great to sit down and talk about how all artists have the innate need to create, when he made the choice to finish what he starts in life, and how he still thinks about playing guitar all day, every day. You can find Dan's music on the streaming platforms, and keep an eye out for his (as yet unnamed) new band.
Theme Song: "Art" by Tanya Davis www.tanyadavis.ca
Podcast Logo/Artwork by Birdmouse www.birdmouse.ca
00:00
39:16
03 July 2025
So glad to have Tanya Davis on the show! Tanya is a writer, poet, songwriter, musician and PEI's currant Poet Laureate. When I was dreaming up this podcast, I attempted to write a new song to use as a theme, but nothing was working. Eventually I had the feeling that the perfect theme song for this project had already been written, and soon after I remembered Tanya's wonderful song "Art". Graciously, she allowed me to use the tune for this season. Our chat covered a lot of ground, including religion, money, and how art can be an important tool in learning about oneself. Please check out Tanya's website to check out her past work or to find out about her current performances.
Theme song: "Art" by Tanya Davis www.tanyadavis.ca
Podcast logo/artwork by Birdmouse www.birdmouse.ca
00:00
43:04