John and Robin sit down again after a long hiatus, but grateful and excited to be back at the mic. Their topic for today's episode: collaboration. What's it like to collaborate with others, in hunting and in art? The Artist and The Hunter dig into their personal experiences and preferences, and discover by the end of the podcast that they may be actually be talking about teaching . . . or collaborating in LOVE.

Show note:
"A new report released on Oct. 12 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows that 14.4 million hunters aged 16 and over contributed $45.2 billion to the economy in 2022. The survey found that 6% of the U.S. population hunted, and they spent a combined 241 million days afield last year."

John and Robin return for season 3 episode 1!

Robin and Murphy joined John for a turkey hunt in April. Robin discusses her reactions to that pleasantly idyllic experience.

They saw a bald eagle, and Robin crocheted a hat!

A vague agreement has been reached that when Robin joins John for a hunt, the day will end with slightly more glamorous accommodations.

Robin’s conditions for hunting include: good weather, beautiful views, and a goldilocks level of fussiness about how much she hikes.

Robin will one day learn not to give up John’s hunting spots, but that day is not today.

John discusses his upcoming hunting calendar for the rest of the year, including some out-of-state hunts in AZ, PA, and potentially UT.

Robin discusses new techniques and materials she’s playing with in the studio, including paper, metal, and all of these skulls she has lying around here.

John shares a fun new word: pedicle!

Robin has decoupaged her first skull.

Cotton rope is not something that Robin has ever felt great buying a lot of, due to ecological damage and human rights violations.

But an art studio filled with WILDERNESS TREASURES is something she can get behind.

Robin and John debate the origin of the bone that Robin bedazzled - femur or pelican or fawn?

John offers another great word: encrusted!

Robin digs John’s style.

- The Artist brings The Hunter to a museum: The Art Institute of Chicago!

- This was John's first time to Chicago, and to AIC

- Robin loves a museum. Can't get enough of them.

- AIC is what's called an "encyclopedic museum" which means it collects and exhibits most if not all periods in art history

- One of Robin's favorite things about museums is going with a newbie like John

- The scene from Ferris Beuller's Day off when they visit The Art Institute of Chicago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBBOMLURSGA

- A Sunday on La Grand Jatte by George Seurat https://www.artic.edu/artworks/27992/a-sunday-on-la-grande-jatte-1884

- Robin estimates they saw around 20% of the entire museum during their 2.5 hour trip

- The Artist and The Hunter agree that their favorite part of the museum was experiencing it together

- Robin is bummed out that people think museums are inaccessible, and that generally speaking they ARE inaccessible because of cost, and well as general lack of arts education

- Robin knows how lucky she is to have studied art history and worked in museums in college, despite not being able to get a job afterward. She thinks that museums are fun and cool and evidence of the most subversive minds in history.

- Art is meant to conjure. Art is meant to bring something out of nothing. It's meant to make you think and react, and no matter what reaction you have, YOU'RE RIGHT!

- Art can help you get to know someone else, by asking: what do you think of this?

- The Cressmans love finding ways of learning new things about each other, and museums are one of their favorite ways to do that.

- Not everyone has a good partner to discuss art with; Robin says that's because we ignore museums and don't have enough art education

- Art is for all of us. Museums are for all of us. Creativity is for all of us.

- More and more small and niche and community museums are closing, especially in the wake of the pandemic

- Robin was inspired by a small textile exhibition, and the conversation veers into necessity of slowness in weaving, textile art, and the modern fashion industry

- Alexander McQueen (Chanel) and John Galliano (Dior) are two modern examples of creative directors of fashion houses losing their minds due to the demands of modern fashion.

- John was most drawn to the furniture on display in the museum; he noted how function and beauty come together in a well crafted piece, including inlay, exotic woods, and decorative materials like bone and ebony

- Robin and John look forward to many more museum dates in the future <3

- Robin and John discuss "Stars in the Sky" by Steve Rinella, available on Netflix
- Robin is an "A" student with excellent notes on discussion topics.
- The movie addresses the rift between hunters and non-hunters.
- R&J discuss how nutritional philosophies also lead to great rifts in ideology.
- Robin describes her own journey of making food choices based on ethics to making choices based on health.
- R&J dive into the ethics of hunting, veganism, and farming.
- The movie presents hunters as conservationists, which Steve calls environmentalists with guns.
- Stars in the Sky posits that hunters are the most well acquainted with "the interconnected cogs of the natural world."
- Is more hunters a good thing?
- R&J discuss how fair chase ethics dictate how people hunt.
- Two thumbs way up for Stars in the Sky!

A longer episode this week, with the excitement of a technical difficulty! After about 30 minutes of hearing about John's elk hunt, the feed was cut (maybe accidentally by Robin . . . ) so they re-recorded the last 20 minutes. All in a day's podcasting!

-John and Robin discuss the results of John’s recent elk hunt.

-Highlights included the vast open landscape, many encounters, and Robin’s chance to experience part of the hunt through FaceTime.

-John is unwilling to take focus away from the hunt to film the experience.

-Robin compares the calling and decoying of a hunt to a performative art.

-Robin and John talk a bit about the movie “The Deer Hunter” including details that may or may not be correct.

-John describes some of the up close encounters with elk on this Nevada hunt.

-Robin and John talk about mental and emotional exhaustion leading to a drop in motivation.

-Technical difficulties lead to an abrupt cut and transition to a discussion on Robin’s art practice.

-Robin digs into the difficulties of finishing her projects.

-John and Robin discuss the relation between the cycle of creating, editing, and publishing to the cycle of peak states.

-Robin describes her state during creation as being drunk . . . or is it more like tripping?

-Robin is ready to add catharsis and communitas to go along with the ecstasis she is so familiar with.

-Robin has the great opportunity to be challenged and motivated to keep up with other writers and creators she has connected with.

Robin and John are back after a summer hiatus! And they're glad to be back at the mic.

- John is about to leave on a weeklong elk hunt in Nevada.
- Robin forgets the word "calf" and refers to elk calves as Elk Children. She might even refer to a sow as a Lady Pig.
- John's tag in Nevada is for muzzle-loader only; an ornery weapon if there ever was one.
- Robin is curious if a muzzle loader feels different to shoot.
- John and Robin eat deer eyeballs!
- Deer have pretty good eyesight. Similar to humans.
- John applied for elk tags in lotteries in the states of Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and California. And he drew in Nevada!
- John doesn't want to wait 20 years for a dream hunt, he'd rather go elk hunting every year. So, he applies for easier tags to get like this muzzle loader (less popular weapon) cow (less popular animal) tag.
- Link back to Season 1 Episode 6, "Frequent Failure, Sporadic Success," the preview to John's Arizona elk hunt! https://www.buzzsprout.com/1777537/10081476-006-frequent-failure-sporadic-success.mp3?download=true
- Nevada is mostly (John thinks around 95%) public state/federal land. The other 5% is Vegas (and Reno).
- Robin uses the word "assuage" and "wifely" in the same sentence.
- Not sponsored by Garmin, but the Garmin satellite phone is highly recommended for backcountry hunters.
- Robin is hunter John's Laker Girl.
- Robin dives into how difficult she finds having a relationship with an audience, and what such a relationship entails.
- Fearless Writing by William Kenower https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/35128554
- There are only two questions to ask when making art or writing anything: What am I trying to say? and, Have I said it?
- Robin reveals she's been afraid of not being understood, especially when it comes to talking about health.
- These are strange times we're in; Robin thinks we need generosity of spirit. John thinks of the benefit of shared experience.
- John's handle on GoWild: @johncressman
- Robin asks John: do you have a desire to be heard and/or known far and wide? John's response: maybe, but he still prefers experiencing over sharing experience. Robin thinks that an audience might actually be her wilderness to explore (or, her favorite phrase to refer to John's hunting, that he "fucks off into the wilderness.")

- Robin thinks its adorable/hilarious that John spends time in the wilderness pretending to be girl animals and/or emotionally manipulating boy animals (as the girl animals surely do).
- John recounts telling a client who works in a school (and gets a little cut off in the recording) about the behaviors of animals he hunts; the client says these animals sound like teenagers.
- Robin thinks Daylight Savings is the dumbest thing ever, and arrived at this conclusion mostly through observing John's hunting practice.
- John decides to backcountry camp on this particular hunt; not his usual choice.
- Robin likes it when John hunts closer to home, which makes for local eatin'.
- Both R&J highly recommend bacon wrapped quail.
- Robin is struggling to balance the call of writing with the call of fiber arts.
- She takes a deep dive and attempts to share her personal philosophy of health - Artist, Athlete, Addict - and how she arrived at this idea, through years of living with illness.
- Robin wants to destigmatize Artists, Athletes, and Addicts; how all of us, at one point or another, say "I don't have an artistic/athletic bone in my body" or "that person is an addict, but not me." She thinks that every single one of us is all three.
- John notes that each - Artist, Athlete, Addict - can be used as helpful tools, or hurtful weapons.
- Robin's definition of Addict: a person who needs medicine. Full stop.
- The way to achieve balance is to know when you're medicating/knowing and acknowledging when you need medicine.
- Robin's mind is further blown (John's less so) of the etymology between text and textiles, her two chosen crafts.
- John describes learning a single macrame knot.
- John stares at hills all day; Robin stares at fibers all day. Both can spend a whole day doing so and end the day with nothing to show for it.

Robin shares something she's been making - an Op-Ed, advocating for greater insulin access and affordability. It's a challenging topic, but when is craft not challenging?