Call it visual art 101, with a twist. Paint and sip studios school grown-ups on ways to create a simple painting. Vino in hand, optional. We visit one such location in Grand Junction, Colorado. Originally from Austin, Minnesota, acclaimed Americana rock band, Gear Daddies have been playing together since 1986. Band members return to First Avenue for the 25th Anniversary of the band's record, "Billy's Live Bait." We visit the Blue House Gallery and Studios in northwest Dayton, Ohio. Since 2014, this once-vacant property has blossomed into a contemporary arts center where artists can collaborate, create and exhibit. Political Cartoonist Dwane Powell looks back on a lifetime of covering the news.

Heidi Hoy’s expressive bronze sculptures render women with incredible strength and femininity. Wilmington, Ohio is often known for its antique shops. This small, sleepy town is home to a tattoo parlor which is anything but antique, it’s an art gallery. Photographer Steve McCurry tells us about his travels around the world which lead him to create iconic photographs of vanishing traditions, armed conflicts, and contemporary life. A hard-early life and eventual enlightenment influenced artist Forrest Prince in the creation of some striking multi-media art.

The Art and Culture Center of Hollywood exhibit delves into the fads, trends, and contemporary influences of the Peanuts comic strip and shows us how those references have changed over the last 50 years. Museum curator Gvido Trepsa talks about the artistic inspiration and the hardships encountered by Roerich in his work. Zach Braff discusses his new crowd-funded film “Wish I Was Here. And artist Charlotte Kruk explores the ideas of consumerism through fiber arts made of packaging from items she’s consumed.

Meet Houston artist Wiley Robertson who is using signs, buildings and more to spread his message of love around the city. Artist Gabriela Michanie shares how she found her passion for photography. Sculptor artist Greg Shochko attempts to capture people’s attention as well as carbon monoxide fumes with his prototype scooter. And for anyone who has ever dreamed of turning a secret family recipe into a food product for sale in stores, there’s a program giving hope and advice on how to do it.

The Fiber Arts are frequently associated with old-fashioned quilting and crochet, but we learn it’s making a name for itself in the contemporary art world. Love reveals its true face in Cyrano Mio, a Spanish adaptation of the French original. We follow the music to Denver, Colorado where world-class pianist Katie Mahan reveals her love of music and we visit the Roberson Museum in New York.

Meet a roofer whose passion for woodworking leads him to make handcrafted guitars from wood salvaged on the job site. We take a look at a film festival showcasing the voices and perspectives of women – both as subjects and storytellers. We take a look at photographer A.J. Meek’s new book featuring clouds and poetry by children. And we have an immersive art experience at The (e)merge Art Fair in Washington D.C.

A profile of StreetMule, one of more than 350 members of the MTA’s Music Under New York Program. New Mexico painter Laila Cola Weeks feels technology is changing something fundamental about ourselves. Christopher Seggi started drawing at an early age. He also wanted to grow up to be a police officer. Now, he combines his passions into a career that helps put criminals behind bars. It takes a special kind of story and a talented group of story tellers to take the fun of the silver screen and imagine it into an interactive experience… the perfect job for the best of Disney Imagineering.

We visit midtown Kansas City for the annual Chalk and Walk Festival. Every year the festival keeps getting bigger and better in its quest to prove chalk is a legitimate way to make incredible art pieces. Jessica Helen Lopez shares how identity inspires her poetry. Artist Julie Crews is not painting, she is co-parenting her five children with her husband, Neil. Julie says she mostly paints the people, places, and things that she encounters running errands for a family. Lastly, satisfy your sweet tooth with a visit to Mmelo in the Arena District in Downtown Columbus. Owner Michelle Allen shows off her tasty confections, namely her signature marshmallows.

A struggling Cleveland, Ohio, artist finds success documenting the lives of others, who, like him, are trying to get by. At MOPCO Improv Theatre in Schenectady, New York, Kat Koppett runs a consultancy that specializes in using the principles of improv to train and coach business leaders. Kathy Flynn shares stories of discovering Works Progres Administration (WPA) art works lost over time in New Mexico. Reno, Nevada, artist Gina Iwahashi specializes in Shibori, a Japanese tie-dyeing technique resulting in a variety of one-of-a-kind patterns.

We travel to The Piper’s Opera House in Virginia City, Nevada, which has been the centerpiece of the town’s arts and culture. Since opening in 1863, it has withstood two fires, financial hardship and over a century of the changing tastes in entertainment. Sir Winston Churchill, best known for being the leader of England during World Word II, but many don’t know him as a painter and a very skilled one at that. We have a look at Churchill’s artistic side though an exhibit at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum. We visit the world’s biggest alligator made out of a mosaic of tiles. And we meet a duo who dreams up and creates unique skateboard designs at The Flophouse.

This time on Art Connection, we take an in depth look at the glass art of Dale Chihuly at the Denver Botanical Gardens. We see how ASL interpreters and Angela Roth, who work closely with the deaf community, take singing to a new level. Meet Clint Holmes as he speaks on topics ranging from what it was like to grow up as a mixed race child and what inexplicable “thing makes him so passionate about music. And self-taught artist, Debbie Loffing, shares her tactile, natural and at times humorous work.

We get an exclusive look at the life of musician Antsy McClain, who combines folk sounds with a little bit of country and a little bit of rock and roll. We meet contemporary painter Kevin Sloan who focuses on nature and its relationship with the modern, technological era. We sit down with non-fiction writer William Donati who is turning his attention to the past with an eye toward the world of fiction. And we visit a collection of artists that have come together to create, collaborate, and inspire.

We head to London, Ohio where fiber artist Karen Mulier is using her long-practiced sewing skills and love of alpacas to make the world a warmer place. We explore that land and skies with artist Bill Gilbert. Creole Jazz musician and composer Don Vappie performs and describes his love of music and we head to Sacramento to take a look at permanent display for local artists.

"The Art of Gaman" exhibit at Holocaust Museum Houston highlights art made by internees at the Japanese Internment Camps in the Western US during WWII. Learn how the Carmelite Sisters of Reno, Nevada design and create charming cards for every occasion from start to finish at their monastery, with help from their very own printmaking shop. Carl Peters was a WPA artist during the '30s and '40s working in Rochester, New York. The Memorial Art Gallery teams up with students at a local high school to study these murals and carry on the tradition. Sam Hundley adores junk and the rejected debris left behind when function is gone from an object. Scrap metal left outside to decay holds an artless beauty for him. No longer garbage, they now live to tell a new story.

We visit the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum and travel through its grand opening. Multi-media artist Tony Carosella embeds QR codes into portraits to combine traditional photography with digital media. We talk with the sculptor who brought the creatures to life on Boston’s Rose Kennedy Greenway carousel and we explore the International quilt festival.

Meet the two artists who wish to revitalize an area once thriving with a wealth of African American culture in Houston, Texas. Take a look at the glitz and glamour of the upper crust society of New York during the time of Downton Abbey. We’ll talk with Michael Cina, an award-winning graphic designer and we take an in-depth look at Heimrad Backer’s body of work Downloadable docsing the remnants of Nazism and the Holocaust.

Owner and lead sculptor of Sculpted Ice Works, Mark Crouthamel, shows off his ice carving skills. We speak with Phyllis Magidson about the attire of the elite of the Gilded Age and what it takes to design period costume pieces. Get to know the touring company of Wicked and we follow Zeb Andrews, a man who likes the bare basics of photography.

In this episode of Art Connection we sit down with Bonnie Gale, a New York artist, who uses willows to create her living outdoor sculptures. We catch up with Grammy award winning pianist, Billy Childs, who merges classical music with smooth jazz. We go behind the scenes with the creators of a spell bounding adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest and we check out “To The Brink, an ongoing exhibit at the JFK Library that sheds light on U.S-Soviet Relations during Kennedy’s Administration.

An arts nonprofit in Washington, D.C. builds community through the art of storytelling. "Mona Hatoum: Terra Infirma" showcases some of the major sculptures from this world-renowned artist. The Filomen M. D'Agostino Greenberg Music School is the official music school of The Lighthouse Guild, a nonprofit healthcare and service organization for the blind and visually impaired. Cincinnati artist, Terrence Burke, developed an interest in puppets when he was growing up. But it took special encouragement from his daughter to help him realize his childhood dream.

Students in Detroit, Michigan learn the trade of media making. Poet Tanaya Winder shares her inspiration. Visit Mark Groaning's gallery in Rochester, New York, and you'll quickly realize that he likes to explore. It isn't often that you come across an artist who is as comfortable with a paint brush as they are with a torch. Stephen Koury is an artist in central Florida, who is known for his paintings of animals.