Blog

At 84 years old, Laura Wilson could run circles around most of us. She throws herself into her creative projects — which often take years to complete — with high energy and optimism. She moves quickly, never dallying when pursuing her creative work (a missed opportunity to photograph John Updike still stings). And her work reveals the humanity and stories behind individuals, communities, and events that we rarely see — cockfighting, cowboys, drug smuggling searches, debutantes, world-famous authors, and reclusive religious groups. In our conversation, we talk about working with famed photographer Richard Avedon, the keys to her decades-long career, and her induction into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame (at age 79).

Dava Whisenant, founder and president of Cactus Flower Films, is a master storyteller who has stories to tell, and she tells them with honesty and humor.  For more than 20 years, she’s worked in narrative and nonfiction film as an editor — from The Late Show with David Letterman to the Emmy-winning and Oscar- short-listed documentary short The Flagmakers — and now as a director. The award-winning documentary Bathtubs Over Broadway, was her directorial debut, for which she won Best Director at the Tribeca Film Festival and a Writer’s Guild Award for Best Documentary Screenplay. We talk about her creative process, the necessity of a team, the financial challenges of a creative life, the value of being scared, and the importance of inspirational mugs!

Becca Stevens, the founder and president of Thistle Farms, shares her journey from starting a 5-bed home for women survivors of trafficking, addiction, and prostitution to creating a global movement for women’s freedom. Born at the crossroads of where arts and crafts meets justice, Becca talks about how creativity has transformed the lives of women in her programs, the importance of a walk in the woods, and how one Thistle Farms candle was the catalyst for a birthday party including A-list celebrities. The word timid is not in Becca’s vocabulary — anything is possible!