Stories and pictures. What are we documenting and for whom? Photographer Samia Minnicks has a pretty simple ask: "What brings genuine joy into your life? Do me a favor and close your eyes to take a minute to think about it." Do that for her, do that for us, and then—and only then—press play on this episode.

Beyond what you can see, photography connects us to emotions—even, as was the case with Samia, with family we never had the chance to meet. Her gift to the world goes well beyond the exquisite photographs she captures for her clients, and to be blunt, her ardor for those connections can not be summarized here.

After you've listened to this show, check out more from Samia here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5Gzo39mNfg

https://www.samiaminnicks.com/

This conversation with Heather Carter and Nazish Pasternak from projectART was an absolute delight. If you are a Wimberley local, you already know about all the amazing things projectART has done and is doing in our community. And if you haven't, you must visit their gallery, ARTSPACE. If you aren't local, guess what?! There's a lot of important information and themes and ideas in this talk with this dynamic duo about: the importance of introducing art to children early, the relationship between mentors and students, and perhaps the inspiration to seek out something like projectART in your own hometown to help support!

Artist Chad Rea is creating from an unusual place in his soul these days: JOY. It would be hard to summarize his journey any better than he has done himself in the description of his latest creation, Cult of Happy: "A love letter to the human spirit, a joyful rebellion against negativity, and proof that art doesn’t just transform spaces—it transforms lives." Trust us when we say this was another feel-good, leave-better-than-you-came-in hour for us. If that sounds appealing to you, join the cult today. Kidding. But do listen to the show.

You can also visit these links for more from the show:

https://www.lockharthousetx.com/

https://www.instagram.com/cult.of.happy/