Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 Good morning, Fort McMurray, wood, Buffalo, and the rest of the world. You've tuned into the Mac city morning show as usual. I'm your host, Elliot Pierre. And we're going to start the show off the same way we start every show off with a moment of gratitude. I know you could be doing a million other things with your time. So the fact that you're spending with us truly does mean the world to me on that note, Tanner hidden with the intro.
Speaker 0 00:00:29 All right. We are back. I think you can tell that I'm not on my normal sets. I'm actually on a business trip in Winnipeg. And so, uh, yeah, we've met some really cool people and I, we bumped into this local artist and we kind of Voll and asked her voluntold, uh, can we come to your studio and like learn a little bit more about you and graciously graciously? She said, yes. So as you know, I don't introduce my guests because they can do a better job, but that they can do a better job at that than I, sorry. Um, so on that note, can you please tell everybody at home who you are and what you're about?
Speaker 2 00:01:02 Hi, I'm Anastasia Pondera. Um, I'm a visual artist and I'm primarily make jewelry as well as wearable sculpture with installation and photography component.
Speaker 0 00:01:15 Okay. So we spoke a little bit about this, so they don't know that we spoke, we spoke for an hour or two. And so we have a little bit of background together now. So first and foremost, how did you get into this in regards to like the metalworking and the painting and where did that all start for you?
Speaker 2 00:01:33 I mean, it started when I was like kid. Okay. Where me and my brother would paint in our little brains at the kitchen table. Um, and then I, eventually I went to study political science and sustainability and things like that at Del Hosey. Okay. But I really missed making artwork. So I ended up going to NASCAD university in Nova Scotia to study fine art. And I was going to be a painter and I randomly took a jewelry class on a whim. And I thought it was just going to be like this super easy elective, but it turned out to be like one of the hardest things I've done. Like it's very highly technical. I thought I was going to be like stringing beads together and stuff like what people typically think I do
Speaker 0 00:02:14 That.
Speaker 2 00:02:14 Um, and then I kind of fell in love with the process and that's, that's how it started.
Speaker 0 00:02:19 So you do a lot of metal work. Like I went to your website and checked it out. So like you're wearing some of the errands that you make right now. Very beautiful. You wearing them the night that we met you as well. So how did you get into metalwork? And like, they can't see it, but offset, like you got ventilation systems going, you got welding tanks. Like, how did you get into welding?
Speaker 2 00:02:37 So it's not welding soldering and that I do. Um, and it technically it's braising, if you want it to get all of the, there's all the specifications of it. Okay. So soldering is like done anything below 800 Fahrenheit would be considered soldering, but for some reason, jewelry people call what we do soldering, even though it's freezing, but there's essentially always a filler metal that's going in. So you'll use like a flux, which keeps the metal clean while you're heating it. Cause while you're heating it, it's oxidizing it becoming more dirty and you need it to be clean in order for the filler metal to flow. Right. Um, but yeah, it's just a difference in the temperatures for the most part.
Speaker 0 00:03:17 And when you were taking your course to learn how to make jewelry, was that a component of what you learned in the class or did you kind of just push your boundaries further on your own?
Speaker 2 00:03:26 Um, so yes, like soldering a hundred, like it's, uh, one of the first things you learn kind of thing. So we learned it on a very small scale. So like my first thing I ever made was a band ring. Just as simple, I would have a simple piece of sheet metal. Okay. And then you could do holloware where you're like creating larger forms, like a teapot. Okay. Um, and I did start to push it in the way that I started making these like things that kind of should be welded cause welding, I can't really explain welding, but like you add something metal on top of it. Like that metal is heated. So it's rather than when you're brazing, you have to like disperse the heat across all of the metal, which is hard when you're doing something at such a large scale. So I kind of pushed it in that sense, like figuring out how to make my work, technically function with the skills that I had.
Speaker 0 00:04:14 Cool. Now after school, uh, you went on an adventure, you left the country. So where did you go?
Speaker 2 00:04:22 I went to south America and I started in Chile and I went up through Bolivia and or Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and then finished in Columbia. Okay.
Speaker 0 00:04:35 So I know the answer to this question, but what drew you to south America originally, like out of all the places in the world that you could potentially go to? Why start your adventure there?
Speaker 2 00:04:45 So one of my best friends from growing up is from Chile. And so she had moved back when we finished school and I ended up going to visit her and I fell and I kind of went down south and did like the Patagonia and all that stuff. And I fell totally in love with it. Along with the fact I had multiple friends with, from Latin America when I was growing up. So I was kind of always surrounded by Spanish and like reggaeton and all that stuff. So I kind of want, I had always wanted to learn the language. So I decided one day I'd go back and I do a big trip where I could learn to speak Spanish and, you know, see the continent. And so I did it because there was no better time than men.
Speaker 0 00:05:23 There you go. And you were there for like, we're not talking about a week or two, you spent, you spent a long time there. How long were you in the country? Until our continent in total and
Speaker 2 00:05:31 For about 11 months. Yeah. That's
Speaker 0 00:05:34 Cool. Yeah. And so what did you do while you were there other, from visiting? Did you work? Did you look, what did you do to keep your time busy? Basically?
Speaker 2 00:05:42 So I was, um, I did some different artists residencies and art projects, Argentina. I did an urban mosaic mural project, a woman's shelter. So I, in residency, I learned how to, I learned the technique and so on. And part of a component of that residency was then to do a project. But most of my work is like kind of feminist and conceptual in nature. So the woman I did the residency with helped me find someone that was interested in the project and we ended up doing it with them. And we did a workshop component with the residents where we made mosaic, mosaic fragments that were incorporated to the, into the larger mural.
Speaker 0 00:06:23 Cool. So how does that, I'm not an artist by any stretch of the imagination. Like I'm somewhat creative, but non-artist, so when you're traveling and you're going down there for, to visit a friend, you have a passion for this content. How do you find that? Like how do you start working with people in a medium that your, you want to be in? Is that something you plan prior to, or you just kind of stumbled upon?
Speaker 2 00:06:46 So I don't like to plan trips. Yeah. You don't seem like that
Speaker 0 00:06:49 Person.
Speaker 2 00:06:51 I like, I, I find like it flows better. Like, you know, it's like if I were to plan a week here a week here, then I wouldn't have gotten like, you know, if you fall in love with a place, I want to be able to stay there. And I would stay in places for two months at a time. But what I used was Workaway, which I believe it's called Workaway, which is a website. And you could do it like even two weeks, a week in advance, a couple of days in advance, depending on the people. And on that website, they have all kinds of different stuff all over the world where it's like, you could work on a farm. I worked on a farm in the jungles, in Bolivia at one point, and you just hook up with people post about what job opportunity they have. And then there's some kind of exchange component that happens. So I'm doing work for you, you feed me or hose me or whatever that is. Right. So there's some different art. And I, I mean, I'm an artist, so I wanted to do some art projects. And I found that one, which honestly was pretty spectacular. Like the whole thing all around was like exactly what I would've wanted. Cool.
Speaker 0 00:07:46 So you're in south America, you having a great time, you're finding employment of some sort. Why come back?
Speaker 2 00:07:55 Um, I came back
Speaker 0 00:07:58 And why picked you picked Winnipeg to come back to, right. Okay. So let's hear like why this specific in person.
Speaker 2 00:08:04 Yeah. Yeah. So I basically, I kind of thought I was going to keep going forever. I have a residency which was supposed to be coming up two years ago, but it's been postponed multiple times due to COVID, but I had a residency in Mexico, which is an art and activism residency. And I was going to just keep traveling all the way up to Mexico, which would have been like another eight months. And I was definitely gonna do some like solid volunteer projects because there was no way like hopping around for like over, I don't know, even over three months, it's like incredibly exhausting. So I kind of need to like settle wherever that may be. Okay. But then I don't know, I was talking with a friend and the idea came up to like surprise my family for Christmas. And I was like, you know what? Yeah, I'm just going to do it. And the whole time, like, as I'm on the plane, there is a lot of, um, protests and stuff happening, I think at Bogota and Metagene, and my dad's like asking the 4, 1, 1 on the situation. I'm just like going on and on. And when I first, when I surprised him, he's like, so when I was asking you what the heck was going on in Metagene you were here. Right? Like, I mean, I was like on my way here. Right,
Speaker 0 00:09:13 Right, right. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:09:15 They were very surprised. So that was like, I don't know. You don't have that many opportunities to do that. Right. Very bad. I mean, not for your family, but like it's a pretty exciting Christmas present. No doubts,
Speaker 0 00:09:25 No doubt. They probably were pretty excited about it. Yeah. That's hilarious. So how long ago was that when you made the move back to Winnipeg?
Speaker 2 00:09:36 So that would have been right before COVID the Christmas before that is that 20 18, 20, 19, right.
Speaker 0 00:09:45 2019. And so that's, how long have you been in this awesome facility? The studio that you've built around yourself here.
Speaker 2 00:09:52 I've been here for since last August. Okay.
Speaker 0 00:09:58 Yeah. Sweet. So you've been here for a while. So like it was a Christmas present that just like extended how awesome it was.
Speaker 2 00:10:05 Yeah. I mean, like, I wasn't planning to stay here. I had all my stuff in a storage locker in Nova Scotia. Yeah. Um, and I didn't know if I was going to go back there, but I also want to go to Spain and a little LA, but then, um, COVID happened. I was living with my mom. I started working at the king side and then, then I got laid off and I'm like, well, what else are you going to, like, you know, I'm going to stay living with my mom. Right. Obviously, but everything has kind of fallen into place here. And like, the studio is awesome when it takes like an affordable place to live and I'm close to family, which honestly, I didn't realize how much I had missed it. I've been gone for like nine years, but it's so nice to have.
Speaker 0 00:10:43 That's great. Now, what can you tell us about the art scene here? Like myself and Jay are just exploring and the people have been lovely and the food and the environment it's been amazing, but obviously we're only getting the surface level of that. Um, as an artist, what's the community like here in Winnipeg for somebody who's like in it.
Speaker 2 00:11:03 So I left when I was 18. So I feel like I never really got like a sense of the art scene. Cause I wasn't really like in it at that point in time. Um, and it's been a little different, like engaging with it during COVID because there's no openings happening and all that stuff. But I was doing, um, are just closing up a mentorship program with Mahwah, um, where there was a group of 10 mentees and then 10 mentors. My Trish, my mentor is Trisha was me, who also is one of the, only to my knowledge, like jewelry artists in the city. Right. Um, so I got to know a few people there, but like in general I feel like the art scene is like pretty tight knit. Like everyone's going to know each other, everyone's going to go to all the openings, you know? And it's, it's pretty intimate in that way, which think is cool. And it's
Speaker 0 00:11:55 Yeah. You got a good support system around you. Yeah, exactly. That's neat. Okay. So you're making this stuff during COVID. Um, how can people find or get in touch with you to potentially support you? May it be like your art or your sculptures or your jewelry? How can people get ahold of you?
Speaker 2 00:12:12 So I have, um, my main platform is Instagram, which is Anastasia Pondera. Okay. Um, you might want to write that one out there. I was doing a workshop recently where it was like on marketing and stuff like that. And they were like, yeah, you should make your name really short and easy to remember, but I've decided to go with my entire name. Okay.
Speaker 0 00:12:36 We'll see how it goes.
Speaker 2 00:12:38 And it's working. I feel like Anastasia Pindari is like a famous name. Like it's like, it's got that to it. So I might as well use that.
Speaker 0 00:12:48 I love it. I like the confidence level. Okay.
Speaker 2 00:12:51 I mean, I was, yeah, I was given that
Speaker 0 00:12:53 Name. So you might as well rocket, there you go. So you can find you on Instagram. You also have a website though. I have a website. So it's the website,
Speaker 2 00:12:59 Which is anesthesia, pondera.com.
Speaker 0 00:13:01 Okay, cool. So those are the primary places. People can get a hold of you and then I'm assuming they can order your stuff and you'll somehow get it to them globally and or regionally. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:13:10 Right now I'm working on, I'm like pricing things out and I'm going to get either start selling things off Instagram or off my website itself. So that will be happening by December. I think I'll have things up and running, but people can always contact me on either platform to do something on the fly.
Speaker 0 00:13:27 Yeah. Great Christmas gift. Yeah. There you go. Awesome. So we're at the part of the show where it's completely up to you. We get, you got to do a shameless shout out or plug. So the microphone is on you go,
Speaker 2 00:13:39 I don't know. Wasn't that my plug
Speaker 0 00:13:41 Allows your plug for your business. Maybe keep plugging your business. If you want to or say hi to your mom or whatever. Yeah. Cool. Yeah. Okay. I don't know. There you go. You said hide your mom. That's that's what it's all about. Well, thank you very much for inviting us into your studio. Really. It's been amazing. So, and you didn't have to, so thank you very much. Thanks for
Speaker 2 00:14:01 Coming. There
Speaker 0 00:14:02 We go. All right. Well Fort McMurray, wood, Buffalo, and the rest of the world. That's been another episode of the Mac city morning show Winnipeg edition. Hopefully you're having a great day. And once again, thank you for tuning in. I know you could be doing a million other things with your time, so thank you on that note, have a great day. We'll see you tomorrow. Peace
Speaker 3 00:14:22 And Dalio Wade. And another morning show later by us.
Speaker 5 00:14:38 Yeah. Talk about quenching your ugly thirsty.
