Charon Henning on Exploring Authenticity & Creativity (Pt. 1)

Greetings!

My guest today is Charon Henning, illustrator, fine artist, and dear friend.

I first met Charon almost twenty years ago, on what turned out to be our first day at George Mason University as adult learners. Charon has been a performer, a tattoo artist, a bartender, and now has a working illustration studio in rural Vermont, where she lives with her wife and two cats (who make appearances during our conversation).

Charon graduated from George Mason University's New Century College with a BIS degree in Multimedia Storytelling and she is currently the Art Director for Katie Hinde's March Mammal Madness tournament, while also working as a freelance scientific illustrator and visual science communicator. She is building 18Hz Arts Collective, a nonprofit that fosters creative exploration in liminal and legendary spaces.

Charon and I wandered freely, from discussing our religious and spiritual journeys, to the deep well of myth, ritual, and identity that shapes creative work. We also talked about the intersection of science and art, and about how paying attention with all the senses helps us train our intuition, creativity, and work in the world.

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

Also!! Enjoy a sample of Charon’s artwork, cuz, WOW.

Other Places to Find Charon

• Website: http://charonhenning.com/

• Social Media: http://instagram.com/the_oddangel

Other Places to Find Megan

• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/emjayarre.bsky.social

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Favorite Quotes

And it's important stuff—that is making connections, giving information—and it really helps me to remember that there isn't one model for success. There isn't one role model that's going to be, “I'm going to do it like this and within five years. This is where I should be.” It's never linear. It never works that way.

 And the thing that I kept coming back to was consistency. Rush was consistently put out material that was true to who they were: without the expectation of it doing anything other than being out in the world.

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If you have feedback, a comment, or a suggestion for someone you think I should talk with, let me know!

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Watch on YouTube!

• Links Mentioned

  • 18hz Arts Collective

  • March Mammal Madness

  • Discovery Place

  • La Parrilla Suiza

  • The Bobcat Cafe

  • Gettysburg National Park

  • An Environmental History of the Civil War, by Judkin Browning and Timothy Silver

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Let’s be hopeful, creative, and wise—together.

Shalom,

What else?

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