J.A.W. Cooper is a talented artist who was born in England but was raised all over the globe in countries such as Ireland, Sweden and Kenya. She currently lives in Los Angeles, California where she creates her fine art and works as a freelance Art Director for Print/Motion/Advertising companies, a print designer for fashion companies, and an illustrator for advertising.
In this episode, J.A.W. Cooper discusses:
-Where she gets her inspiration for her unique style.
-Her upbringing travelling around the world.
-One of her earliest creative moments in which she learned about repetition in order to get better at drawing.
-Her advice for anyone who might be older and is afraid to start something new because they are afraid that they are going to be bad at it.
-How it is almost a gift to be dissatisfied with your work because it means that you are able to see where you can continue to grow.
-Fear and the balance of having enough of it to keep you sharp, but not too much to paralyze you.
-How the only thing you can really be proud of are the steps you take to improve your art from piece to piece.
-The idea of keeping a specific kind of “self-analysis” journal to get a better sense of your interests as an artist.
-How she balances “work-work” with her passion projects and personal art.
-The power in creating deadlines for her to complete her personal work in the form of solo shows and gallery shows.
-What art and creativity brings to her life.
-Her love for Alan Watts recordings and nature.
Cooper's Final Push will inspire you to be okay with your dissatisfaction and to keep going down that endless grid!
Quotes:
“It’s okay to feel like your work isn’t living up to your expectations. It’s okay to feel the fear that you’re a big phony and everyone’s going to find out.”
“Dissatisfaction is a factor of you knowing that you have a greater potential and you’re just not quite reaching it.”
“For your whole career, you will feel forever dissatisfied and you kind of have to be grateful for it because the dissatisfaction drives you to continue to grow. The moment that you’re happy with your work is the moment that you stagnate and stop learning and pushing. So you almost never want to feel pleased and satisfied.”
“The main way that I get through fear is just to keep making work, and to keep challenging myself to make different work.”
“I didn’t imagine it would be so wonderful.”
Links mentioned:
Connect with J.A.W. Cooper:
Steve Ferrera is a sculptor from Berkeley California whose work crosses many disciplines including film, television, stop motion animation, children’s books, and collectible toys. Often inspired by mythology, religion, cartoons, and make believe, his curious and absurd creatures exist in their own cosmic events, lurking on the fringes of fairy tale and folklore.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/steveferrera
In this episode, Steve discusses:
-Where his inspiration for his creatures comes from.
-His recent residency at the de Young Museum.
-Having to deal with distractions while working on your art.
-The idea of getting in the “zone” while sculpting.
-The power of getting up early and getting to work as quickly as possible.
-Some tricks that he does to keep himself focused during the entire day, like obsessing over the amount of time he has left in the day.
-The idea of rewarding yourself after you’ve gotten work done.
-The power in trusting your instincts.
-His best and worst creative moments.
-His advice for people who are considering transitioning from a full-time job to becoming a full-time artist.
Steve's Final Push will inspire you to not wait for inspiration, but to just get to work and to keep filling your toolbox with new techniques!
Quotes:
“It’s hard to do something and then put it down and pick it up every ten, fifteen, twenty minutes. It really breaks the creative flow.”
“I try to get up early and get into the studio as fast as I can and get to work.”
“I have all these weird little things to mentally trick me into staying focused.”
“You’ve just got to trust your instincts.”
“Just do it and move on, because if you second guess, things can just drag on forever.”
“Sometimes making mistakes is better than doing it right, because then you’ve experienced the other side where you don’t want to go.”
“It’s almost like a game for me.”
Connect with Steve:
John P. Weiss is an artist, cartoonist, and writer. He writes a weekly column for Fine Art Views, an online art and marketing site. He studied landscape painting extensively with Scott L. Christensen, and he was a staff editorial cartoonist at three newspapers. His cartoons have appeared in several volumes of Charles Brook’s “Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year.” He is also a police chief with over 26 years of law enforcement experience.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/johnpweiss
In this episode, John discusses:
-How he is able to balance so many creative pursuits while still having a full-time job as a police chief.
-His love for political cartoons and a decision that he had to make regarding them.
-How you sometimes have to make a choice as to what pursuits are most important to you, and then you have to let the less-important ones go.
-The impact that Minimalism and Essentialism has had on his life.
-The concept of batching and how it can help to make much better use of your time.
-What he writes about on his blog and for “Fine Art Views.”
-The difference between writing for his blog and writing for “Fine Art Views,” considering the large audience and deadlines.
-The power in reading broadly so that you can find unique connections to the art world that nobody might have made in the past.
-How lack of time is something that can always hurt creativity, and how to make the best use of what little time you do have (and maybe add some more).
-Picking only three major tasks to accomplish for the day.
-His experience discovering how much he loves landscape painting with Scott Christensen.
-The idea that nothing is wasted, even if you switch or evolve your creative passions from one thing to another.
-Why he decided to retire early to pursue his creative endeavors.
-The value of mentors, but also the danger of bringing in too many mentors.
John's Final Push will inspire you to discover the thing that makes you the happiest and gives you the most fulfillment and to GO AFTER IT!
Quotes:
“For me, it really came down to learning to say “no,” learning to cut out things in my life that weren’t essential, and leveraging my time.”
“I’m kind of a Renaissance cop.”
“In some ways, conventional life smothers creativity.”
“I realized that creative passions are like oxygen. Without them, we suffocate.”
“Time is always the biggest struggle.”
“Nothing is worse than having a great idea and then you forget it because you didn’t write it down.”
“Personal expression is a gift that keeps on giving.”
“If I don’t have time to paint and to write, then I get cranky.”
“What quickens your heart? What is the thing that makes time stop for you?”
Links mentioned:
“Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” by Greg McKeown
“Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World" by Cal Newport
“H is for Hawk” by Helen Macdonald
Connect with John:
Youngman Brown is angry. Angry enough to go solo in this episode to try to get you to forget those negative comments you received about your creative outlet that have kept you from really pursuing it with confidence. This episode is all about remembering your unique taste and forgetting any harsh criticisms that you might still be holding onto.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/133
In this episode:
-We hear Ronnie Allen (from Episode 29) tell us about a teacher who publicly ridiculed her writing abilities and how it stuck with her throughout her entire career.
-JT Ellison (from Episode 53) recounts her thesis advisor telling her that she will never make it as a writer, which caused her to not write for eight years.
-Christina Bothwell (from Episode 131) shares how her parents told her that she was not good enough to make it as an artist.
-Youngman Brown shares what gave him the confidence to start to take writing seriously.
-Laura Baumeister (from Episode 129) offers her opinion that you have to be your own motivation if you don't have a supportive teacher or mentor.
-We discuss the idea of feeling what is right and wrong with your art and how that intuition is your signal that you have a unique voice.
-We discover that your unique style is correct for you, so it doesn't matter if one of your teachers, parents, or peers deems it to be "incorrect" -- it simply doesn't match their style.
-We remember that it is important to still determine the areas in which you genuinely need to improve, while making sure to never let go of your unique voice and style.
Quotes:
"Progress comes from practice."
"You need to keep grinding. You need to keep practicing. You need to keep fucking up. But you always need to stay true to yourself, and what feels right to you."
"Pursuing your creative passion is what life is all about."
Brendan O'Connell paints everyday America at this moment of transition. Dubbed by the media as the Walmart Warhol, he paints the everyday through retail, focusing on interior architecture, people, and brands. Brendan has been profiled in the New Yorker and on Sunday morning CBS, a guest on the Colbert Report, and featured in Time magazine. His work is in the permanent collection of the High Museum in Atlanta and the Ga Museum in Athens.
He has recently begun another series which captures America’s transition through its people and their private spaces. He is using Airbnb and couchsurfing the country, interviewing the people he stays with and painting their portrait to accompany the dialogue.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/132
In this episode, Brendan discusses:
-His new project in which he stays with various people from airbnb.
-How he got started with his paintings of Walmart and the people there.
-His goal to make something artistic out of the least artistic place in the world.
-The stigma that is sometimes attached to having the moniker the “Walmart Warhol.”
-His earliest creative moments and the idea of creating a self-mythology.
-How quitting drinking and drugs gave him more free time to start pursuing his creative passions and writing a novel.
-The ways in which Resistance began to enter his creative life after a few years of having no distractions whatsoever.
-How some people need to set the bar low so that they are able to ease into their creative habit with short periods of time every single day.
-How timers can really help to keep you focused.
-How many people play basketball or tennis knowing that they will never be a professional, yet the opposite is often true with creative practices.
-Some of his “best” worst moments.
-What happened to his career after being profiled by The New Yorker.
-His experience on “The Colbert Report.”
-Serendipitous events and how you can’t plan for them.
-His formula for balancing time and also staying organized.
-The idea of limiting the amount of “talking” and “reminding” that goes on in your head so that you don’t waste your creative energy in the wrong places.
-Every Artist Live and what it is doing for young people.
Brendan's Final Push will inspire you to find the thing with which you want to fill the bookends of your life!
Quotes:
“We don’t want our mother-in-law to come stay with us, but any stranger with 100 bucks can have the guest bedroom. We feel safer because it’s a transaction.”
“If I could make art out of the least artistic place on Earth, I would be doing something in my mind that felt significant.”
“I quit drinking, doing drugs, and smoking cigarettes and that gave me a lot of free time. There’s something about free time that allows you to explore your creative outlets.”
“For someone who is prone to addictive or obsessive patterns, finding a working way to hammer out your redemption through an artistic practice is very significant and important to me.”
“You’re actually doing a service to humankind to engage in your creative outlet because quite frankly you become a better human by entering into that place of fear, overcoming it, and just doing it.”
“If you choose a creative path, life will kick you many, many times, even when you think it won’t.”
“Failures are much more funny and entertaining than successes.”
“I won the equivalent of the lottery by getting profiled in The New Yorker.”
“The first phone call I got was from The Colbert Report.”
“I always thought creativity was like a virus and to systematize it would somehow anesthetize it.”
“Creativity, in my mind, is the most important human resource.”
“Between the bookends of birth and death, what are you going to do with your time that gets you up and inspires you on a daily basis?”
“An artist needs three things: A long term vision, something that inspires them to get up and do it today, and enough cash to keep going.”
Links mentioned:
David Allen: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress Free-Productivity
CBS Sunday Morning - Art Inspired by Retail
Connect with Brendan:
Christina Bothwell is a sculptor who studied painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania before teaching herself how to work with ceramics, and then cast glass. She has had eleven solo exhibitions of her work since 2006 and her sculptures are in public collections around the country and around the world. She is drawn to the processes of birth, death, and renewal, and she is fascinated by what lies below the surface as she tries to capture the qualities of the “unseen.”
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/christinabothwell
In this episode, Christina discusses:
-What the “unseen” is that she tries to capture in her sculptures.
-Why she likes to work with glass and how it has an otherworldly quality to it.
-The idea of casting figures inside of her figures to suggest the soul and also pregnancy and birth.
-How much of what she learned with her glass work was due to trial and error and “being a detective.”
-The story of her first creative moments.
-How art is supposed to come from a place of joy rather than anything else.
-Her advice for getting back to a place where the work is enjoyable and doesn’t feel like drudgery.
-Comparing yourself to other people and getting past that.
-The simple fact that there is only one you and the more you you put into your work, the better off you will be.
-The genius of Louis CK.
-Some of her hardest moments along her creative journey.
-An incredibly synchronistic story in which she “manifested red dots.”
-How you have to treat your artwork like a stage mother treats her child. You have to support it.
-If you are creating something unique, people won’t have anything to compare it to, and therefore might not support it the way that they should.
-The creative experience of becoming a mother.
Christina's Final Push will inspire you to believe in yourself and just keep doing the work!
Quotes:
“I just believe that we are much more than our physical bodies.”
“It can do all the same things that ceramic can, except it transmits light.”
“It has kind of an unsubstantial otherworldly quality to it.”
“When you teach yourself, you have to be a kind of private detective. You have to learn through trial and error.”
“There is only one you. That quality that can make your work special is that quality of you-ness that goes into the work and nobody else has that.”
“The more you are true to yourself and express what is unique to you, the more universally appealing your work will be because people will be able to relate to the work more because it will resonate with them.”
“If you are consumed with wanting something really badly in your life, I think it’s because you’re meant to have it.”
“If you have a unique vision, that means that people aren’t going to be able to compare your work. They’re not going to have a context for it.”
“If art is the main thing that brings you joy, I think you have to keep doing it.”
“Persistence is more important than talent.”
Connect with Christina:
Stephanie Law is a watercolor painter whose work is an exploration of mythology mixed with her personal symbolism. Her art journeys through surreal otherworlds, populated by dreamlike figures, masked creatures, and winged shadows.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/stephanielaw
In this episode, Stephanie discusses:
-Where her vision for her surreal underworlds comes from.
-How the things she paints have been on her mind her entire life.
-How she became interested in dance and how she merges and incorporates it into her art.
-The differences between visual art and dance.
-Working for companies such as Wizards of the Coast and trying to maintain her own style at the same time.
-The incredible shift that the Internet has provided for artists.
-The story of her first creative moments.
-Her realization that she did not want to live a life without art.
-Her advice for balancing a non-creative career and a creative passion.
-The power in setting a timeline for yourself with an actual specific goal as to where you want to be.
-How she tries to achieve small specific goals with each painting.
-Becoming a mother and how that affected the decisions she has made in her career and her life.
-Trying to constantly be aware of the art that you are doing and making sure that it is in line with what you believe and want to be working on.
Stephanie's Final Push will inspire you to take steps to make your creative pursuit a part of your daily life!
Quotes:
“I’ve always been fascinated by fantastical imagery, mythology, and folklore.”
“The movement and rhythm that I feel in my body when I’m dancing, I try to pull that out as I’m creating visual art.”
“But after a while, I started to realize that the vision for a lot of these games was not the vision that I wanted pursue for my own art.”
“I was never really bored. Just give me a pencil and a piece of paper and I was happy.”
“I realized that art needed to be a central part of my life and I could not just do it on the side.”
“Be open to all the paths that are branching out around you because there’s a lot more to the world than you initially see.”
“There has to be a conscious plan of action.”
“It’s tricky to constantly be aware of what you’re doing and why you’re doing it and making sure it is the art that is honest and authentic and something that speaks to you.”
“When you decide to let go of the concept that time is precious and that it has to be used only to make masterpieces, then you are freed up to take chances and risk. And that is where inspiration comes from.”
Connect with Stephanie:
Laura Baumeister aka "thatsjustlaura" is a talented 16-year-old artist from Germany who has nearly six-digit followers on Instagram, in which she shares her art, mostly geared towards fashion. She also has a YouTube channel in which she shares art-related videos and tutorials.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/thatsjustlaura
In this episode, Laura discusses:
-How she got started in art.
-The experience of getting featured in a magazine with her fashion designs.
-One of her influential teachers and the lessons he has taught her, including the fact that art has no rules.
-An opportunity to be a part of an art exhibition that led her to create her Instagram page and also join an art association.
-Criticism and "haters" and how to deal with them.
-One of her worst moments when she was challenged to draw bigger than she had ever done, and how she overcame that challenge.
-Her most triumphant moment, when she was featured in her first exhibition.
-How drawing is a part of her daily routine, and how if you love to do something, how can you not find time to do it?
-How the people that are inspired by her work continue to inspire her.
-How various social media sites as well as movies offer her snapshots of inspiration.
Laura's Final Push will give you the courage to start and to remember that there are no rules in art!
Quotes:
"Art has no rules, so you can do whatever you want."
"When you're just starting out with art, you're always insecure with what you can do and what you can't. But you can really just do whatever you feel like."
"The more followers you get, the more haters come along."
"No matter how many people are criticizing a piece of art that you made, there will always be at least one person loving it in exactly the way it is. Usually it is the other way around."
"If people like my drawings, they are my motivation. They make me keep going."
"If art really becomes a job, it might not be that much fun anymore."
"You have to have the courage to start."
Connect with Laura:
Laurita Mazapán is a body artist and photographer who paints her body and the body of others to create an inner portrait of people where feelings and emotions are represented. She uses body painting to represent the person within the body and to represent a moment that will disappear tomorrow.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/laurita
In this episode, Laurita discusses:
-How art is a way for her to release stress and cope with life.
-How she got into painting on bodies as a progression from her photography.
-The difference between painting on her own body and on someone else's body.
-Her emotions when she has to wash away the body paint.
-The story of one of her first creative moments.
-How she didn't think her first body painting was very good, but still had that feeling of "finding gold."
-How she changed the theme of her artwork, but because of the opinions of other people, she went back to painting the things they suggested (and lost her motivation to paint for ten years).
-One of her worst moments, when someone offered her an opportunity that he never followed through on.
-Just because one opportunity goes away, it doesn't mean that another opportunity is right around the corner.
-How she doesn't necessarily have a formula for balancing her time, but instead takes the inspiration as it comes, whether fast or slow.
-How her greatest inspiration is nature, psychology, and art therapy.
Laurita's Final Push will inspire you to create with your heart and to always keep going!
Quotes:
"For me, art is a way of living."
"Little by little, I began realizing that the body painting was the main character of the photographs."
"I just found gold. I came across something that changed my life."
"For me, art is a need."
"After studying psychology and art therapy, I am able to explore myself."
"Keep going. Always keep going."
Connect with Laurita:
Joshua Harker is an American artist considered a pioneer and visuionary in 3D printed art and sculpture. His series of “unmakeable” technically complex tangles is credited as the first to break the design and manufacturing threshold of possibility.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/127
In this episode, Joshua discusses:
-His “Tangle” sculpture series and how it pushed the threshold of what was once thought to be impossible.
-The reception that he got from pushing the boundaries in the way that he did.
-How he ended up becoming something of an ambassador for 3D printing.
-How he runs his operation on his own without employees, and how secretarial work can sometimes take up more time than you want.
-His advice for any creative person that has a lot of things on their plate.
-His Kickstarter campaigns, the avenues they opened up for him, and the exposure that they gave him.
-His advice for the times that you are not being as productive as you want to be.
-His relationship with social media and his advice for navigating it.
Joshua's Final Push will inspire you to do it because YOU LOVE IT and because you HAVE to do it!
Quotes:
“Even if you fail, I still think there’s productive rewards from just going through the process.”
“Discipline needs to be there. You need to get to your space, whatever that is, and actually make stuff.”
“If anything, the problem is that I have too much stuff I want to do, so trying to prioritize what I need to do and focus on can be a problem for me.”
“I don’t want to turn the process into a punching-the-clock kind of thing.”
“The internet is ridiculously distracting.”
“The more you can concentrate on just making good work, being productive, and continue to push it out in different avenues, the better off you are.”
“Do it because you love it and because you have to do it.”
Links mentioned:
Facebook 20% Text Overlay Tool
Connect with Joshua:
Zack is an oil painter from Reading, PA who specializes in dark art. And not just any dark art, but the kind of dark art that will make you remember all the long-forgotten, repressed nightmares from your childhood.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/zackdunn
In this episode, Zack discusses:
-How he got started with dark art as a coping mechanism after coming back from his tour of Afghanistan.
-How painting always helps with the day-to-day stress of life.
-How he deals with criticism of his work.
-The value of having fans who support him wholeheartedly.
-His strategy for painting over his pieces that haven’t sold in a year.
-How he wants to show himself and other people how much progress you can make if you put in the time dedication into your art every day.
-The importance of looking back into the past and comparing it to your present like a “before” and “after” picture when you are trying to lose weight.
-How he hasn’t encountered too many “hard times” from anyone in the art world, as everyone has been extremely supportive and patient.
-What art and creativity brings to his life.
-The story of his piece “Valak” from The Conjuring and how the director, James Wan, reached out to him to tell him how much he liked it.
Zack's Final Push will inspire you to be in it one-hundred percent!
Quotes:
“I was looking into other ways to cope than medication.”
“Painting always helps.”
“I kinda get lost in it and forget the world around me.”
“It’s awesome. I love my fans and the support they give me. I owe everything to them.”
“It’s your life, it’s your goal, it’s your dream. You can’t let people influence that because they don’t own you.”
“You have to want to get better.”
“I try to show people the changes that just one year of dedication can do if you really put yourself through it.”
“You really have to put those comparisons together so you can see the changes.”
“A lot of artists will say that paintings are like their kids. You created it. It’s a part of you.”
“Every time I complete a piece it’s like winning the lottery.”
“I learned art through my generation and a couple generations before me. That’s about it.”
“Don’t let people get in the way.”
Connect with Zack:
Elizabeth is a New York City- based visual artist, specializing in Pop Art and collages, implementing a mathematical approach to her thoughtfully juxtaposed prints. Her work tells the mind of the artist, and with her mathematical proportion and algorithmic color placement, nothing is accidental and everything is intuitive. Elizabeth was also recently awarded a position within the New York Designs Incubator Program.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/elizabethsutton
In this episode, Elizabeth discusses:
-The NY Designs Incubator Program and what it does for artists.
-The importance of sometimes saying “Later” instead of “no” or “yes.”
-Some of her earliest creative memories with scrapbooking.
-How a recent miscarriage affected her creativity.
-The importance of asking for help so that you can progress and learn things.
-How she was able to be cash-flow positive from the beginning.
-Her advice for artists who are just starting off and looking to see if they are going to be able to make money from their art.
-Some of her upcoming events where people can check out her artwork.
-How she balances her time, with all of the many things that she has going on.
-Some of her biggest inspirations.
Elizabeth's Final Push will inspire you to BE RESILIENT!
Quotes:
“You really need to be careful to take care of yourself and not spread yourself too thin or stretch yourself out.”
“It’s definitely nice to turn off your phone and not touch it for 25 hours.”
“Many people don’t ask for help, and if you don’t ask for help, you’re never going to get help. No one is just going to hand you things on a silver platter.”
“During your downtime, hustle!”
“The concept of balance is B.S. There is no such thing as balance. You just need to take it one day at a time.”
“Be resilient. Do not let yourself get defeated by someone telling you no.”
Connect with Elizabeth:
Ali Cavanaugh is an internationally represented fine artist who is known for her watercolor paintings on clay, in a process she calls modern fresco painting.
Her paintings have been featured on book covers, print publications like The New York Times Magazine, American Art Collector, and American Artist Watercolor, as well as internet features such as the Huffington Post, Fine Art Connoisseur, Hi-Fructose. She currently lives in St. Louis, Missouri with her husband and their four children.
Missed Part 1? Listen here!
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/124
In this episode, Ali discusses:
-How every person on this planet has a gift and you sometimes have to change your perspective to see that.
-How she relates more to the female figure, and that is why she ends up painting it more often, even with her own children as the subjects.
-Being featured on the cover of the 100th issue of American Art Collector.
-Her advice for balancing your time in order to keep working on your art.
-The importance of making your creative habit an everyday ritual.
-How being a creative person helps her to be a better mother and a better person.
Ali's Final Push will inspire you to get to where you want to go by taking it one step at a time and to ENJOY THE JOURNEY!
Quotes:
“When I was on the cover, I just couldn’t believe it. I thought, this has to be a mistake. I was speechless.”
“The sweetest people are on Instagram, leaving the nicest, most encouraging comments. It really helped propel me through a new era, a new chapter, an unfamiliar place.”
“It just opened up a whole new way for me to work.”
“It was a really good feeling to know that you can have that again. You can go through cycles in your work. You can be more fulfilled than you have been in years. You just have to keep pressing through.”
“You have to set your time aside. Every day, you have to make it a ritual.”
“Being a creative person helps me to be a better mom, wife, and friend.”
Resources Mentioned:
“Art and Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking” by David Bayles & Ted Orland
“Why Beauty Matters” by Dana Gioia
"A Sense of Place: Dana Gioia's Ted Talk"
Connect with Ali:
Ali Cavanaugh is an internationally represented fine artist who is known for her watercolor paintings on clay, in a process she calls modern fresco painting.
Her paintings have been featured on book covers, print publications like The New York Times Magazine, American Art Collector, and American Artist Watercolor, as well as internet features such as the Huffington Post, Fine Art Connoisseur, Hi-Fructose. She currently lives in St. Louis, Missouri with her husband and their four children.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/alicavanaugh
In this episode, Ali discusses:
-Her modern fresco painting process and how it came about.
-How she used her family as an excuse for her not being successful.
-How your twenties should be about playing around with your art and your style, and how you shouldn’t stress too much about your end goal.
-The unrealistic idea of coming out of school and immediately being able to sell your art.
-Why you actually shouldn’t want your career to take off exponentially from the start.
-One of the toughest times of her art career and her life, when she had to battle post-partum depression.
-How it is not your fault when you have to deal with some of the things that your mind and body put you through.
-How your work and your life goes through cycles and you have to know that you will come out the other end eventually.
Quotes:
“It didn’t hold me back at all. In fact, it opened up a whole new world.”
“Sometimes I think you have to take that step into changing some little tweak with it.”
“I made my family an opposition to me creating my art.”
“Your twenties should be about playing around.”
“If I could tell my younger self something it would be, Don’t be so hard on yourself, you’re where you need to be.”
“It snuck up on me and I didn’t really know what happened.”
“Your work goes through cycles. Life goes through cycles.”
Connect with Ali:
Russ Lascala aka Swell Visuals is a New York based wave photographer. You can find him swimming in the ocean year round mostly during sun up or sun down. One day, Russ found himself awestruck by the movement of the ocean. He wanted to somehow ignite that same feeling in others, which then led him to a camera. From then on it has been an ever changing and improving outlet to show people the beauty that this planet offers.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/swellvisuals
In this episode, Russ discusses:
-The story of the first time that he decided to bring a GoPro out into the ocean with him.
-How he sometimes has to sacrifice his body in order to hold out for the perfect shot.
-Another sacrifice he has to make of facing extremely cold temperatures.
-The upgrades that he has made since taking that first shot.
-A photography class he took that gave him the initial inspiration to go with the kinds of shots that he was interested in taking.
-The notion of taking the same type of photograph over and over.
-How he makes small tweaks or focuses on different aspects of the camera in order to create an entirely “new ballgame.”
-How he physically handles the wave crashing over him after taking the shot.
-How being stuck inside at a job and not out in the water during great waves was one of the biggest resistances for him.
-How he is always pushing to find his limit.
-One particular frightening moment when the housing got ripped out of his hands by a wave.
-How he wants to share with people the beauty of the world that is all around you, locally.
-How he can differentiate the photos just by looking at them, knowing which ones he has shared and which ones he hasn’t.
Russ's Final Push will inspire you to find the thing that you love and JUST GO FOR IT!
Quotes:
“It’s really about timing, and being at the right place at the right time.”
“I got to a point where I was like, this is cool, but it could be better.”
“Just go with what vibrates with you.”
“I have good days and bad days. But I noticed I learn a lot more on the bad days.”
“All of them are the same, but if you look at them closely, there’s not one that will ever be the same.”
“It’s interesting that you can get so much variety out of one thing.”
“When I’m out there, my mind goes blank. It’s just like second nature. My body does what it does.”
“And then I started working. I was just like, ‘Is it over?’ Because it’s just tough to balance two things.”
“Just find time.”
“I’m basically consumed by it, which is a good thing because it keeps my mind off of other things.”
“You have to appreciate everything that is around you and see it for what it is.”
Connect with Russ:
Stephen Silver was born in London and aspired to be a professional artist his entire life. Knowing that drawing would be his vocation, he got his professional start in 1992, drawing caricatures at Sea World in San Diego.
He has designed characters for Disney Television Animation, Sony Feature Animation and Nickelodeon Animation, designing the style of the shows such as "Kim Possible," "Danny Phantom," Kevin Smith's "Clerks" the animated series, and many more.
He is the author and artist of 7 self-published books on the art of sketching, character design, caricature drawing, and life drawing. He is also the owner of Silver Drawing Academy, an art school located in Los Angeles, CA.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/stephensilver
In this episode, Stephen discusses:
-How he was never a good student growing up, but always knew that art was his path.
-At the end of the day, a degree doesn’t matter -- all that matters is how well you can draw.
-The experience of meeting Mort Drucker from Mad Magazine and how that affected his art career.
-The importance of self-discipline, self-motivation, and always asking questions.
-The power that can come from being brave and stepping out of your comfort zone.
-Advice that his father gave him to realize that receiving an answer of “no” is not a life and death situation.
-The power of asking, and not asking your friends and family, but asking the opinion of professionals (and then listening to what they have to say).
-How “failure” is a dangerous and misused word.
-How and why he started teaching and then eventually the Silver Drawing Academy.
-How you have to follow through with the thing that keeps popping in your head.
-How people who are dying typically regret the things that they weren't brave enough to try.
-His YouTube channel and "Art Talk" video series.
Stephen's Final Push will inspire you to dig to find the thing that you really love, and to not be afraid to fail!
Quotes:
“I was always showing my stuff around. I always had a confidence. Even though I was horrible in my artwork I was always prepared to show people and take criticism.”
“When you realize that’s the worst is anyone will ever say to you is ‘No,’ then you can start to relax a bit.”
“All you can ever do is ask. Through asking, things happen. If you don’t ask, nothing can happen.”
“Stop showing your parents your artwork.”
“Don’t rely on your friends opinions. They’re your friends. They’re going to tell you you’re artwork is awesome and how great you are.”
“Every time you try, you get one step closer.”
Links mentioned:
The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying [via Collective Evolution]
Connect with Stephen:
Website / YouTube / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / LinkedIn
Jacob Looney was born in Athens, Texas. He moved to Philadelphia in 2008 to study animation at the University of the Arts, but later transferred to The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts to study painting. He graduated with a B.F.A and Certificate from P.A.F.A in 2013 and went on, with a travel scholarship, to explore around parts of the UK and Scandinavia. Jacob returned to Philadelphia in 2014 and began working at several museums while continuing his art practice in West Philly.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/jacoblooney
In this episode, Jacob discusses:
-His path after college that got him involved with museums.
-The notion of really slowing down and internalizing that things you are looking at.
-His Kickstarter project and what he is attempting to accomplish through it.
-How the first drawings or notes that you take down might seem awkward in an empty book, but it quickly becomes natural.
-The experience of putting his private drawings out into the public and how it is like exposing a piece of himself to the world.
-The joy that can come from not putting your drawings on a pedestal, and instead of worrying about making a perfect drawing, concentrating on having fun and expressing yourself without expectations.
-What people can expect from the Kickstarter project.
-Some of the things that held him back in the past, such as a verbal shyness.
-His advice for not taking personally people's disinterest in your art.
-His formula for balancing his time.
Jacob's Final Push will inspire you to be brave and get back to your creative calling, no matter what other path you are already going down.
Quotes:
"Museums were what really pushed me into fine arts."
"It became this momentum of really studying the energy of these places."
"Drawing gives you a process of really looking at something, internalizing it in your mind, and using your hand to put that information on paper."
"When you get to this point where you're trying to make this a thing that you can live off of, you have to learn how to get excited about sharing it with people. And find a way that they can use what you are sharing with them to better their own lives."
"I'm really pushing for this movement to allow people to start drawing again."
"If you can get people to slow down and just enjoy the moment, so much more of that experience is taken in, remembered, and allowed to be something of substance."
"I got to a point where there was just no excuses for not making things."
Links mentioned:
Drawing at the Academy of Natural Sciences, THE BOOK by Jacob Looney
Connect with Jacob:
Website / Kickstarter / Facebook / LinkedIn / Instagram / Tumblr
Moira Hahn is a talented artist who has exhibited her fine art throughout the United States, Japan and Canada over the last two decades. She has traveled all over the Southwest to study petroglyphs, pictographs, and Native American visual culture.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/moira
In this episode, Moira discusses:
-The difference between petroglyphs and pictographs and how they influenced her earlier art.
-Her uncle who lived in Japan, who was one of her earliest influences.
-How her style is always developing.
-Her fear of exhibiting and the way she was able to get past it.
-The importance of researching jurors of shows and finding out what they like and what their work looks like.
-Some of her earliest creative moments.
-The power in getting back to your childlike wonder in regards to creativity.
-How lack of support of family or friends can sometimes make being a creative person a tough road.
-If you are born with the desire to be an artist, you are going to be an artist.
-One of her hardest creative moments and how she got through it.
-One of her best moments, when one of her most successful pieces initially sold after a dealer telling her that she was “washed up” and that nobody would buy that particular piece.
Moira's Final Push will inspire you to realize that a ship in the harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are built for!
Quotes:
“My art is always deviating and taking turns.”
“I think you get in life what you have the courage to ask for.”
“If you want to be an artist with your heart and soul, do it. But it’s not going to be easy. You have to give up a lot to do it.”
“You have to turn off the script.”
“If you’re born and you’re going to be an artist, you’re just going to be an artist.”
“It didn’t happen the way I thought it would and when I thought things would be the best, they were the hardest.”
“It’s up to us to chart our own course and just do it. That’s all. Just get into it and just do it.”
Connect with Moira:
Andrew Huang is a Toronto-based music and video producer with a penchant for working within absurd, self-imposed limitations. He has released over 2,000 songs in a massive range of genres.
Andrew is best known for his Song Challenge video series, which invites viewers to dare him in feats of musicianship, and has garnered him over 40,000,000 views on his YouTube channel. He has penned a five-language rap, composed a song with 300,000 notes in it (in celebration of surpassing 300,000 subscribers), and covered numerous pop songs using only the sounds of items mentioned in the lyrics - for instance, "99 Red Balloons" played on red balloons.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/andrewhuang
In this episode, Andrew discusses:
-How he started making such creative music videos.
-The story of one of his first sponsored videos from a jeans company.
-His expectations for, and his eventual relationship with sponsors.
-The notion of trying as much as you can and seeing what "sticks to the wall."
-How it is sometimes impossible to determine what makes some songs or videos more popular than others.
-The pros and cons of becoming known for one particular element of a wide range of content that he puts out.
-The story behind his album, Comet.
-The way that excitement for a particular project during it's creation is almost always linked to the actual finished project itself.
-How he isn't afraid of being different, but of being too normal.
-The importance of finding the overall goal of what you want to create.
-How he sometimes has too many projects waiting to be created, and it is hard for him to narrow down which one to work on next.
-How sometimes the first step is the hardest, but you just have to sit yourself down and get started, because it all gets easier once you do.
Andrew's Final Push will inspire you to work hard for what you believe in and what you are passionate about!
Quotes:
"I can usually tell what's going to be possible even before I attempt it."
"I don't know if I would call it foresight, but there was definitely an understanding that this was a growing medium and this was a place where advertisers were going to be coming more and more."
"I thought I was going to be a producer-for-hire and an engineer-for-hire forever, but as I've worked more with YouTube and grown an audience there it seemed to be a more viable thing."
"I'm a pretty prolific person, so for me it's all about that approach of throwing things against the wall and seeing what sticks."
"It's just about doing a lot of things and trying a lot of things and finding the things that work. Sometimes afterwards you don't even know why they worked, but they did."
"Do as much as you can."
"I'm a real advocate for the 'less is more' kind of approach."
"When I look back on the stuff that I'm the most proud of, it was the pieces that came out of being really excited about a particular concept or a particular bit of inspiration that I had."
"For me, I think it's the opposite. I think I have a fear of something being too normal."
"What's important is finding the vision and the overall goal of where you want to be going and aiming there and working towards that."
"Being unique is not necessarily a goal that everyone needs to have."
"I have thousands of projects sitting on my hard drives and it's hard to narrow down which one to work on next."
"I think there's a compounding effect that happens when you can work more in depth rather than in breadth."
"Once you get going, it's way easier than you think it will be."
"Being able to be creative and to have agency over the way that I'm spending my time is actually a health benefit."
Links mentioned:
Bach's "Air on the G String" - played with actual g-strings
"Comet" by Andrew Huang
Connect with Andrew:
Website / YouTube / iTunes / Bandcamp / Soundcloud / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Tumblr
Lois van Baarle is a freelance illustrator and animator living in Utrecht (the Netherlands). She has lived all over the world, including the United States, Indonesia, France, and Belgium. She is widely known online as Loish, and has become a sensation in the digital art world. Her first published collection of her works is called “The Art of Loish” and was successfully funded on Kickstarter in 2 hours.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/loish
In this episode, Lois discusses:
-What it was like to sell out her Kickstarter campaign in such a short period of time.
-What the positive feedback and the support of her fans means to her.
-One of her early memories of drawing in kindergarten, and an important lesson that she learned as a result.
-Manipulating your lucky mistakes in your favor.
-The notion of getting distance from your work and also sharing it out into the world.
-How some of the pieces that she thinks will do the best end up not receiving as much attention and vice versa.
-Her repetitive strain injury -- how it affected her life and how she deals with it moving forward.
-Her advice for people to avoid a repetitive strain injury.
-Her first year of animation college and how it was one of the darkest times of her life (and what she learned from it).
-The connections that you can make on the internet and how those connections can sometimes change your life.
-The value of making attainable goals and not putting too much pressure on yourself for amazing end results.
-How and why she started her mini-tutorials.
-Her formula for balancing her time.
-How you need to have a good read on yourself and how much time you are spending on a particular project or portion of a project and have the wherewithal to call it quits and save the rest for tomorrow if you aren't putting in your best work.
-The freedom that her art and creativity has brought to her life.
-Some of her varied inspirations, including Alphonse Mucha, Grimes, and The Wire.
Lois's Final Push will inspire you to find your own way of doing things.
Quotes:
"If you like to draw rough and you like to sketch, you get a lot of lucky mistakes."
"It's not just skill. It's also how you present your work and talk about your work that adds to your creativity."
"Taking it away from my computer and putting it into the world always helps me contextualize what I do and to see what it means to others and understand how that work is received outside of my own little bubble."
"I've actually learned to turn off that part of my brain to not think too much about how something will be received because you never really know."
"What I would tell myself if I could go back in time is to just not draw for really really long periods of time in a stressed-out manner."
"Sometimes it's better to just not meet that deadline if it means your mental or physical health."
"Drawing is just like everything I do -- I didn't even realize how important it was to me until I had to stop doing it."
"I really felt like I had nothing to say artistically, because I just didn't fit what the teachers wanted. I felt like my ideas were useless."
"If you have attainable goals then you can really start enjoying what you do. Just enjoying the feeling of being in a creative flow."
"If you say 'I'm going to sketch for an hour,' that's attainable. You're not saying what you're going to sketch. You're not saying how good your sketches have to be. You're just saying that it's going to be for an hour."
"When you're just practicing, you don't know where it's going to lead and you shouldn't think too much about where it's going to lead. You should just be in the moment."
"My work has become a way for me to express myself and I feel so lucky to be able to do that as my job."
"There was a certain level of self-acceptance needed for me to understand what was right for me."
"Everybody's got their own way. And I think if you search for your own way and you eventually find it, you get so much fulfillment out of it."
Links mentioned:
Connect with Lois:
Website / Facebook / DeviantArt / Instagram / Twitter
Roxanne Charles is a mixed media artist of Strait Salish and European descent. She is an active and proud member of Semiahmoo First Nation in Surrey, British Columbia where she promotes art, language, and culture. Roxanne is a contemporary story teller whose goal is to touch, move, and inspire others through her work.
She works with a wide range of media. Her work often explores a variety of themes such as spirituality, identity, hybridity, the environment, urbanization and various forms of structural violence.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/roxanne
In this episode, Roxanne discusses:
-Her artistic history and how she got to the point she was at today.
-The moment that she realized that she could get back into art as a potential career.
-How she uses art as a tool to engage in conversations with people.
-Some of the issues that she tries to use her art to start the conversation, such as colonization and the displacement of women.
-How creating an art community allows the art to be seen and touched by so many more people, so that it can evoke more conversation and communication.
-How she is often very hard on herself and that makes her to not want to share it (and how to get over that fear).
-The power that comes in just starting a project.
-How her worst moment and her best moment went hand in hand at her graduation project.
-Her 10 foot tall transformation figure.
-The weaving group that she created and the benefits that come from being in a group like that.
-How it is therapeutic to work on art with other people.
-Her advice for anyone who wants to get involved with artistic groups or communities.
-How most of her inspiration comes from nature and the outdoors.
Roxanne's Final Push will inspire you to share what is really on your mind and what you really feel, because there are people out there that can gain something from your creativity!
Quotes:
"I have always liked art and enjoyed creating things, however it wasn't a path that I believed I could pursue."
"Conceptual art is a way that you can engage the public in a lot of the things that you care about. So for me it has become more about advocacy than the actual process of art. I find that I use it as a tool to interact and inspire others and engage in conversations that people might not typically have."
"I don't think the answers lie within myself, but they lie within someone who doesn't know they exist."
"I try not to preach or protest, but provoke questions that would engage people in offering up their own ideas, rather than asserting my own."
"I tend to be really hard on myself so nothing is ever good enough. Sometimes that prevents me from wanting to share it."
"Every opportunity that I have to start something, I start it, and then try to take the time to continue it. It's not a race. It's about enjoying the process of creating and trying not to be too hard on myself."
"When I'm able to start creating it, I'm ten steps ahead of where I would have been if I just contemplated not doing it or not having enough time."
"I think failures are the best. It's the best way to learn, to have things stick with you, and to discover new things that you wouldn't have considered possible before."
"I constantly challenge myself to do things I'm not comfortable with."
"I find that personal and human interaction is a good way to engage the public. There's things that you can't say through a sculpture or a painting or a vase."
"I don't believe that art should be just visual. It should be more experiential."
"Your ideas are valid. There are people that want to know what you have to say and want to see what you have to create."
Connect with Roxanne:
Zoë Williams creates otherworldly creatures that serve as spirit guides. Her needle felt sculptures are inspired by dreams, visions, and the collective unconscious.
Born in 1983 in New Orleans, LA, Zoë Williams holds a BA in Fine Art from the University of New Orleans and a Certificate in Fiber Art from the University of Washington. Her work in needle felted wool has been exhibited in galleries around the world. She currently lives and works in New York City.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/zoe
In this episode, Zoë discusses:
-Her artistic history and what inspired her to want to start needle felting.
-The first sculpture she made of a rabbit based on a dream that she had.
-The concept of the collective unconscious and how it affects her artwork and her life.
-How she has always been fearless for the type of materials she uses in her sculptures.
-Her advice for anyone who wants to do something completely unique or different.
-The value of trial and error.
-How a part-time job might actually allow more stability than one might assume, and it can also provide a nice buffer for the "feast or famine" nature of selling art.
-Some of the pitfalls that she tries not to get held back by with her art.
-The joy that she gets from connecting with people who connect with her art.
Zoë's Final Push will inspire you to figure out what works for you and GO FOR IT!
Quotes:
"I had only ever seen it in the context of really cutesy little toys and Christmas ornaments and things like that. I really thought it had potential to make sculpture."
"Through the artwork, I was able to work through the dream. And ever since then, my dreams have been a major source of inspiration for the artwork itself."
"It's almost like the piece of art reminds them of their own experiences and their own point of view. And the intersection of those two is what makes it a successful piece of art."
"I've always just done what I wanted when it came to materials."
"At the end of the day it's still sculpture, even if it's soft and not stone or clay."
"There's really nothing like just picking it up and giving it a try. No video will show you everything that you will experience when you try a new technique."
"That's what I thought people did: you grow up, you get a job, you stop making art."
"It's very difficult not to at least consider what kind of work might sell well. I feel like that is a pitfall that I continue to, if not fall into, then tip-toe around the side of."
"The best moment for me is when I meet someone who likes my work and I get to talk to that person."
Links mentioned:
Werifesteria (July 8- August 5, 2016) My Plastic Heart, New York, NY
Femme to Femme Fatale, curated by Beautiful Bizarre, Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Connect with Zoë:
Jane Radstrom is a figurative painter from San Francisco, CA. She is known for her unique pastel portraits of people depicted with multiple poses layered over one another, so that they appear to be moving. Her work is shown in galleries across America, and has won awards from The Portrait Society, The Pastel Society of the West Coast and Pastel Journal Magazine.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/jane
In this episode, Jane discusses:
-Her upcoming move to Berlin.
-A look into what she does as a painter and how she got to her current situation as an artist.
-How she goes about making the double exposure portraits with models.
-The role that her photography plays in the creation of one of her portraits, and how she has to sometimes make an effort to not employ all of her creativity during the shooting so she can still make decisions during the actual painting.
-How the double exposure portraits came to be, almost accidentally.
-How she tries to use an introverted moment and an extroverted moment in her double exposure paintings.
-How one of her concerns is that she wants her work to be important and express something necessary to society and art history and how she has had to let go of that pressure.
-How she wants her art to respond to the time in which she lives.
-The formula that she gives her students to combine elements of other genres and medias that they love into what they are creating to give it an original spin.
-How she sometimes tries to work everything out in her head and refine it instead of just starting and figuring it out as she goes.
-Her advice to avoid paralysis by analysis.
-The value of authenticity, and how people are able to easily recognize when you care about what it is you are making.
-One of her most triumphant creative moments, when she just decided to e-mail her favorite gallery to try to get her work hanging there.
-Her formula for balancing her time.
-How incredibly difficult it is to be a professional artist.
Jane's Final Push will inspire you to set a clear goal and determine what it is what you want as an outcome from what you want to achieve with your art and creativity.
Quotes:
“I really like to try to work fast because if I slow down too much then I’ll chase unnecessary details. Working quickly helps me try to go for feeling or mood instead of pure accuracy. The faster I can do something, the better the final result is.”
“For me, the difficulty that I’ve always had is that I want my work to be important.”
“Instead of waiting for genius or waiting for this perfect, fully-formed idea, I’ve found that it’s more important for me to just do work. Develop the idea as I produce work and then hopefully bring it towards something which at least is important to me personally.”
“I don’t know how to get inspiration from the outside world. The longer I wait, the less inspired I am to paint. Momentum goes in the wrong direction. Whereas the more I paint, the more inspired I am and the more ideas I have.”
“It started to turn around when I decided that if I wasn’t selling any paintings anyway, I might as well just paint whatever I wanted.”
Links mentioned:
New Masters Academy on YouTube
Connect with Jane:
Xin Li is a twenty-one-year-old photographer living in Bergen, Norway who likes to chase light. She has been interested in photography all of her life and believes that photography is not just important to document the beauty that she sees around her, but to also tell stories with her work.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/xin
In this episode, Xin discusses:
-How she got her initial interest in photography and the journey that she took to get to the place that she is now.
-How she gets very emotionally attached to her photographs because they often come from her own feelings.
-How photography (and all forms of art) can be used as a way to get your emotions out, and in that way it can be a form of therapy.
-What it was like when she first started sharing her photos on social media.
-How she sometimes struggles with comparing herself to other photographers, and how important it is to admire instead of compare.
-A time when she was in a creative limbo, not taking pictures (and how she got out of it).
-That it is perfectly okay to take a break from your art, and that breaks, whether long or short, don't signify that you're not an artist anymore.
-How some of her best moments are when she receives admiration for her work.
-One of her favorite photographs.
-How the internet and social media helped to give her confidence, as nobody in her town was out taking photographs the way she was.
-How she has scheduled days in her calendar that are strictly made for photography.
Xin's Final Push will inspire you to ignore the followers and "likes," and to remember to do your art for yourself!
Quotes:
"Throughout the years, I used a lot of disposable cameras."
"For me, photography has always been a creative and emotional outlet."
"I like to document my life and things that I see, sure. But I also want to tell stories with my work."
"I feel very emotionally attached to most of the photos that I take, because the inspiration of it often comes from my own feelings."
"I started taking photos every time I was feeling down, and it worked like therapy for me."
"I felt really exposed, but it felt good because people saw me for my work and not the other things."
"Don't compare yourself to other people. Look up to them instead. Admire their work and maybe it will inspire you and push you to create something yourself."
"If you feel like you need a break from your art, whether it's a day or a month to think and to feel, that's okay. You don't stop being an artist just because of that."
"Always remember that you are doing this for yourself, not to compete with others."
Links mentioned:
"Everything is Illuminated" by Jonathan Safran Foer
Connect with Xin:
Michele Chiaramonte is a former New York City school-teacher turned stay-at-home mom, turned woodworker. She designs and hand-makes children’s imaginative play toys for her company, Little Miss Workbench, an ecofriendly workshop out of Bellport Village, New York.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/littlemissworkbench
In this episode, Michele discusses:
-The story of how Little Miss Workbench came to be.
-How her daughter, Mali, was always trying to play with her DSLR camera, which gave her the idea to make her a wooden one of her own.
-How the camera evolved as it was being created and as more people got their hands on it.
-The support of friends and family who were interested in having the toys for themselves or someone they knew.
-How she always wanted Little Miss Workbench to be a home-grown company that stayed in the United States.
-The skills that she learned growing up from her father, who was a master craftsman.
-The importance of being able to surround yourself with people and resources that can help support, teach, and encourage you.
-How she would have to split up her time thinking and working on her projects in the limited time that she had as a mother.
-How she tries to look at "work" as "play" and what a shame it is when people concentrate on the success of what they do is based on money rather than what makes them happy.
-Her attempt to get kids (and adults) to be imaginative and to look at the world around them with wonder.
-Her "figure-it-out-as-we-go" mentality.
-How big opportunities can often be as terrifying as they are joyful.
Michele's Final Push will inspire you to figure out what it is that makes you tick, and then run with it!
Quotes:
"For my first Mother's Day, I asked my husband if he would get me a table saw."
"It's always important to think about what things are already out there. Is it really feasible for you to make it with creating your own business, creating something that people aren't doing already."
"She was ecstatic when we first gave it to her. She knew exactly what to do. It was incredible."
"It evolved as it was being created."
"The whole idea was to be hand-making these things and providing something that has a story behind it. Not just this manufactured good that gets put on the shelf for people to buy."
"It's just how you define what "stay-at-home mom" means. You can still be a rocket and be a mom 100% and also continue to fulfill your dreams."
"When you think about what kids play with today, there's not a whole lot of imagination that's going on."
"At the end of the day, you just have to have courage. You figure out how you're going to make it work, and if you feel that you're not capable of making it work, you have to ask for help."
"People often feel like they are failures because they weren't able to accomplish something on their own, but you really do need others to accomplish things that you set out to do."
"You become inspired to do something, but if you don't act upon it, no one else is going to do it for you."
"It's never going to happen unless you make it happen."
Connect with Michele: