The Spark

Fridays at Noon

The Spark is WMRA's own creative look at --well-- creativity.    We dig into whatever people are passionate about in the WMRA region:  sculpture, model railroading, costume-making, poetry, whatever  --we might go there.  We want to hear from those who are doing artsy or interesting or wonderful or obsessive things.  We also recognize that lots of creatives are a tad shy and might not ever speak up for themselves. 

You can put something on our radar about yourself or can tell us about someone you know of who might be interesting by sending an e-mail to the show host, Martha Woodroof:
WoodroMH@jmu.edu
(To launch an email to Martha automatically click here. )

Scroll down to hear past segments.

Consider this hour a community-wide celebration of the many people among us who invest time, energy and discipline into pushing against life's boundaries.

Listen to a typical 2012 version of the show's end credits (including Martha asking to hear from those who know about creative goings-on) : here (60 seconds).

 

Genre: 

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The Spark
12:57 pm
Fri May 11, 2012

Physicist Giovanna Scarel

What is a photon?  Solid state physicist Dr. Giovanna Scarel explains photons and why such tiny things are intriguing.

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The Spark
11:50 am
Fri May 11, 2012

Glassblower Minh Martin

Glassblower Minh Martin works as part of the Waynesboro artisan collective, South River Studios.

The Spark
12:06 pm
Fri May 4, 2012

The Head of The Hook

Hawes Spencer

We meet Hawes Spencer, the founder and editor of fearless Charlottesville indy newspaper The Hook.

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The Spark
12:05 pm
Fri May 4, 2012

Portrait Photographer Fran Fevrier

Fran Fevrier creates "images out of the ordinary" in Lexington, Staunton and surrounding areas.

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The Spark
11:56 am
Fri May 4, 2012

Essay: Classroom Time for Daydreaming

A fantasy scene (by Soviet artist Ivan Bilibin)

Trisha Brown Leweke says maybe Steve Jobs or J.K. Rowling wouldn't have grown up so imaginative if they were schooled in a No Child Left Behind curriculum.  She values daydreaming and she feels that an overemphasis on standardized test scores blunts students' creativity. 

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The Spark
12:36 pm
Fri April 27, 2012

Essay: His Goofy Clothes Shouted Self-Assurance

In pants like that, he had to be completely self-assured.  Jenna Joseph recalls transferring into an area high school and seeing a peer whose merry rejection of youth fashion trends was endearing.

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The Spark
12:20 pm
Fri April 27, 2012

Playwright Ingrid De Sanctis

Left: Ingrid De Sanctis Right: Sarah Elizabeth Pharis
Nikki Fox / Daily News Record

Actress, director, and playwright Ingrid De Sanctis talks about life, liberty, and a play she wrote based on another guest of The Spark:   Sarah Elizabeth Pharis.  Pharis' struggles against cancer while maintaining an active and artsy life were inspirational.

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The Spark
12:18 pm
Fri April 27, 2012

Painter Janice Breeden

In a different take on "sitting for a portrait" Janice Breeden paints chairs as a way to express her vision of the people who use them. 

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The Spark
11:15 am
Fri April 27, 2012

Sarah Elizabeth Pharis

Sarah Elizabeth Pharis and her cat, Penny

Self-described writer/artist/cancer patient Sarah Elizabeth Pharis is also the inspiration for a play called "Sarah and the Dinosaur." 

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The Spark
12:03 pm
Fri April 20, 2012

Sarah Cohen of Route 11 Potato Chips

Who's this with celebrity chef Jacques Pépin? It is Sarah Cohen of Route 11 Potato Chips. Her  sweet potato chips took the gold

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