Dani Ives is a self-taught fiber artist from Arkansas who has developed a beautiful and unique technique, which she calls “painting with wool.” She creates two dimensional works of art directly on fabric. Her inspiration comes from a love of nature and science, which has an enormous influence on her work.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/daniives
In this episode, Dani discusses:
-How she became an artist in a roundabout way after getting a degree in biology and conservation education and then worked at a zoo as an educator.
-How she first became interested in needle felting.
-The challenge to do something new every week for one year, and how that led her to start doing wool paintings.
-Her transition from working at the zoo to creating art full time, and how pet portraitures helped her to generate income.
-How her process is different than traditional wool felting.
-How people are often surprised by how her art mimics traditional paintings and drawings.
-The effect that nature has on her art and her inspiration.
-The way in which she chooses between many different ideas.
-Her self-imposed challenge to fill a sketchbook and all of the things she learned as a result of her success.
-The importance of determining what you don’t like.
-How much she enjoys teaching other creative outlets to people.
-Dealing with imposter syndrome.
-How she balances her time.
Dani's Final Push will inspire you to be proud of your creativity!
Quotes:
“There was always a part of me that wanted to be a maker and I needed to fulfill that creative urge that I was having.”
“What I like to do is create the most realistic pieces I can with this medium.”
“I like the challenge and I like being able to surprise people about the medium. That’s the most fun part for me.”
“It’s really important to me to introduce other creative outlets to people, because you never know what will help somebody flourish or build up their creativity.”
“It doesn’t really matter what you think and sometimes it doesn’t matter what other people think, either. If you want to do it, you just do it.”
“Really cool things can happen when you step out of your comfort zone and when you push boundaries.”
Links mentioned:
The Jealous Curator: Art for Your Ear Podcast
Connect with Dani:
Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
On the next episode:
Alatar : Instagram / Newgrounds [NSFW] / Podcast
Share what you've created this week in the Facebook group!
Lori Richmond is a corporate creative director turned picture book maker. She is the author-illustrator of Pax and Blue and Bunny’s Staycation, coming in 2018. She is also the illustrator of A Hop is Up and several other picture books.
Lori is also a runner, and she documents her race training by drawing what she sees on her runs, in the same amount of time as each run via the hashtag #ViewFromMyRun.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/loririchmond
In this episode, Lori discusses:
-How she started with her illustration and picture book making as a hobby and then slowly transitioned into making it her job.
-Her advice to not quit your job before you know that you can make money from your “side hustle” and also that you would actually enjoy doing it.
-The story of how Pax and Blue came to be.
-Being observant of the world around you and maintaining a childlike wonder.
-How and why she started running.
-How she was struck with the idea for #ViewFromMyRun
-The overwhelming positive response she got from the running community that encouraged her to continue #ViewFromMyRun.
-Getting picked up by Runner’s World and making friends with running legend Hal Higdon.
-The reasons why she limits the time she spends on each image to the time she spent on her run.
-The many benefits of using a timer.
-Some of the lessons she has learned from running.
-How your creative habit doesn’t have to be a daily one, because that often puts too much pressure on yourself.
-Friends Work Here and why it is valuable for her to surround herself with likeminded, driven, creative individuals.
Lori's Final Push will make you realize that the only thing holding you back from taking that first step is yourself.
Quotes:
“As artists, we need to be observers and listeners.”
“It was just like a lightning-strike moment – I should paint it, but let me see if I can paint it in the same amount of time that I’m doing this run.”
“I’ll put it on Instagram, and Instagram will be my accountability partner.”
“It was just so funny how all these things wound up coming out of this side project.”
“I was noticing so many overlaps between running and making art.”
“It’s more of a visual journal of my runs and my training for these races. If I leave one out because I don’t like the drawing, it’s almost like I’m not respecting the run.”
“You are only one decision away from starting that thing that you’re thinking about. The only thing holding you back is yourself.”
Links mentioned:
Connect with Lori:
On the next episode:
Dani Ives : Website / Instagram
Join the discussion in the Facebook group!
Sarah W. Goldhagen taught for ten years at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and spent many years as the Architecture Critic for the New Republic. She’s written about buildings, cities, and landscapes for publications all over the world. Sarah’s new book, Welcome to Your World: How the Built Environment Shapes Our Lives is a thoroughly entertaining, eye-opening manifesto arguing that the buildings we live and work in deeply affect us, physically and psychologically, and that we can’t afford the soul-crushing architecture we mostly subject ourselves to.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/sarahgoldhagen
In this episode, Sarah discusses:
-How her book, Welcome to Your World is a shift from the work she previously did.
-“Blindsight” and how we take in information subconsciously or nonconsciously.
-How there is no such thing as a neutral built environment. It is either helping you or hurting you.
-The story of when she had to change her setting while writing her dissertation.
-What creative people can do to put themselves in a better environment while they are creating.
-Complex natural light, views of nature, and tactile experiences.
-How her interest in cognitive neuroscience and inspiration from Alvar Aalto is what drove her to write the book.
-Some of the big challenges that she was faced with in taking on such a big project.
-Her advice to someone who is thinking about taking on a project that requires a large amount of research and learning.
-How she was slammed by her colleagues after an early presentation of material from her book, and how she courageously went forward with the book anyway.
-The traveling and photography that she did for the book.
-The pros and cons of using pictures of architecture.
Sarah's Final Push will inspire you to think about why you create and to strive less and teach more!
Quotes:
“People should recognize that the built environment and its quality and design, has a far greater impact on people than anybody previously realized.”
“There is no such thing as a neutral streetscape, building, or landscape. If it’s not doing something good for you, chances are it’s doing something really not good for you.”
“Creativity is such a demanding cognitive state that you don’t want anything in the built environment that’s going to be tugging at you in any way.”
“I ended up delving into a lot of different fields and then it was up to me to figure out what the paradigm of how people experience their environments actual is based on these studies, most of which didn’t have much to do with the built environment.”
“It doesn’t have to be perfect, but you just have to do what you believe might help or might bring people to new ideas and new places.”
Links mentioned:
Welcome to Your World: How the Built Environment Shapes Our Lives by Sarah Williams Goldhagen
How Nature Resets Our Minds and Bodies - The Atlantic
Connect with Sarah:
Website / Facebook / Twitter / Linkedin
On the next episode:
Lori Richmond : Website / Instagram
Where do you go to create your best work? Join that discussion at the Facebook group!
27gkn7iz
Tyler Thrasher collects found objects and deceased creatures, and grows delicate, gorgeous crystal clusters on them. His unique talents for combining chemistry and artistry have gained his work some much-deserved attention. He is also an artist, music producer, traveler, rare plant collector, and photographer.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/tylerthrasher
In this episode, Tyler discusses:
-How he decides what he is going to use as a creative outlet on a day-to-day basis.
-How creative people have a baseline to create and then they pick an outlet to do that creating.
-The importance of pursuing your curiosities and scratching every single itch.
-Remembering that the reason we started doing something creative in the first place wasn’t to become the greatest at it or to try to make money from it, but because we were curious about it.
-How his crystallized natural art started.
-How his interest in caves started and his analysis as to why he loves them so much.
-The importance of writing down all of your ideas and attacking them.
-Some of the opposition he has encountered from other people, and how it motivates him to prove them wrong.
-How he first began producing electronic music and photography.
-Losing everything in his recent house fire and the incredible support that they received from fans, followers, friends, and family.
-The synchronicity of titling his new book The Wisdom of the Furnace.
-Another synchronicity of J.A.W. Cooper’s Phoenix being the only piece to survive the fire.
-His advice to put all of your work on the cloud.
-How he got back to his creative work immediately after the tragedy.
-How he found ways to turn the fire into something positive by using it as a backdrop for a photo shoot.
Tyler's Final Push will inspire you to TAKE A HIKE and to pursue your curiosities!
Quotes:
“I have a lot of interests and I just make time to do something. I don’t really pick what it is I want to do, I just use three hours to create.”
“I think curiosity is a huge component in being a human and creating.”
“From my childhood, I’ve always been an avid supporter and admirer of nature and what it has to offer.”
“I went into my first cave and fell in love immediately. It felt like home.”
“It went from scientific curiosity to just mad science artistic expression.”
“If you’re lying in bed and your subconscious starts screaming DO THIS COOL SHIT, get up, write it down, go back to sleep and then wake up and at least attempt to begin that idea.”
“A thing that artists should learn is to ignore that voice and boldly run in and at least give it a shot.”
“It was a weird juxtaposition. It was one of the most heartbreaking things I’ve experienced coupled with one of the most human-embracing things I will ever experience.”
“I had lost everything for the book in the fire, but in return I kind of just got the book. In the end, the book had realized itself and came out of the fire.”
“I realized that I can’t talk about alchemy and transformation until I experience it first hand. And that’s what happened.”
Connect with Tyler:
Website / Facebook / Instagram / Soundcloud
On the next episode:
Sarah Goldhagen : Website
Join the discussion in the Facebook group!
Yellena James is an artist who uses pens, inks, markers and acrylics to combine complex abstract forms into dazzling images which take on lives of their own. Her colorful arrangements of organic shapes and tangled lines are at once floral and alien, organic and sci-fi
She has participated in shows around the U.S. and overseas including solo exhibitions at Giant Robot, the Here Gallery, and the Hijinks Gallery and she has done illustration work for Anthropologie, Crate and Barrell, Relativity Media and many others.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/yellena
In this episode, Yellena discusses:
-Growing up in Sarajevo during the Bosnian War.
-How she developed her creativity despite the conflict that was happening all around her.
-Her family’s move to Florida and where she went from there.
-How she started doing pen and ink work in her sketchbooks because she didn’t have studio space.
-Her decision to post her work on Etsy and where that led her.
-How bloggers began to notice her work and how that enabled her to be in shows and obtain illustration gigs.
-How many of her jobs seem to come out of nowhere and at the perfect time, but how that all comes from her work being out there.
-Her advice to put all of your work out there and to reach out to bloggers.
-Letting go of your internal dialogue that constantly asks if you are going in the right direction.
-How she balances her time.
-Her new book, Star, Branch, Spiral, Fan.
Yellena's Final Push will inspire you to stop listening to your excuses and start listening to your own heart.
Quotes:
“It was kind of intense art-learning and I was very fortunate to be in that environment even though everything outside was very hectic.”
“It felt almost like somebody knew when I would finish one job and something else would come along.”
“Put it out there. Make sure people know about you.”
“I think if you work really hard and put your whole soul into it, you’ll eventually get to the point that you’re really happy with your work.”
“Don’t listen to your excuses because they are lying to you and they’re not worth listening to. You’ve got to follow your own heart.”
Links mentioned:
Star, Branch, Spiral, Fan: Learn to Draw from Nature's Perfect Design Structures by Yellena James
Connect with Yellena:
Website / Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest / Twitter
On the next episode:
Tyler Thrasher : Website / Instagram / Soundcloud
Share what you've created this week in the Facebook group!
Christina Mrozik is an artist from Michigan who uses pen, ink, marker, and watercolor to compose semi-surreal visions of nature that are very different from the usual paintings of serene landscapes and friendly animals.
She is currently based in Portland, Oregon and enjoys working with arts education nonprofit groups.
She is currently being shown at Antler Gallery until June 26th.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/christinamrozik
In this episode, Christina discusses:
-How there is no clear-cut path for artists and creative people, and how each one needs to walk their own path.
-How art acts as a mirror in which you can learn more about yourself from what you create.
-The importance of pursuing your curiosities.
-Embracing the idea that you will learn more than you will be able to create.
-How everyone has a finite capacity, and it is just a matter of utilizing that capacity over and over so that it can grow and so that you can grow.
-Looking back to work you made very early in life and seeing the core that has existed throughout your life.
-Her advice to young people to explore any genre or style that piques their interest and to continue to create things that they enjoy or think they might enjoy.
-How she makes most of her money doing commercial illustration for various companies, and how she balances that with her personal work.
-How she meets and has conversations with her new ideas.
-The fact that people curate their social media to appear as if a creative life is easy, but how most people struggle to make it work and have much less time than it appears.
-Finding ways to be creative in everyday life.
-How she is unafraid of white paper and approaches her pieces without a plan.
-Pieces that sometimes hang on her wall for years until something else will inspire and inform her to complete it.
-How her understanding comes first from movement, then imagery, and then language.
-How learning to draw feels like learning to play an instrument whereas working with clay feels like singing.
-Her show at Antler Gallery and her feelings about the pieces in it.
Christina's Final Push will remind you to be kind to yourself as you battle through your creative journey!
Quotes:
“I feel like art acts as a mirror. It is revealing the parts that are inside of you already and you’re just putting them on paper. Then you have something to look at that informs you about your inner world. So it’s this back and forth process.”
“We’re constantly dividing ourselves into categories and I think what I’m really trying to do through my art is figure out how to merge all those things back together into one complex being rather than to divide all those out into digestible pieces.”
“I think something every artist should do, no matter what stage they are at in their life, is pull out everything that they’ve made as far back as they can go and have everything out at the same time.”
“Your art should be a reflection of yourself and the only reason it should stay the same is if you do. If you’re on a path of growing and shifting, your work should grow and shift with you. You should feel like you have permission to allow it to change.”
“Make sure you get lost in something that you really like and feels really good, because if you’re hating what you’re making because you think it’s what you should be doing, you’re doing yourself a double disservice.”
“If I really want to have a good creative day, there will just be no noise anywhere and it will just come find me.”
“There are so many times where I don’t really have a clear idea at all, I just know that I’m feeling creative. I’ll just sit down at a piece of paper and see what’s in there.”
“For me, so much of the making is the thinking itself. They’re not always ideas that have been hashed out and put together. They are the hashing out.”
“It’s like the actual process of moving my hand is what helps my brain think or understand.”
Links mentioned:
Christina Mrozik at Antler Gallery
Connect with Christina:
Website / Facebook / Instagram / Tumblr / Twitter
On the next episode:
Yellena James : Website / Instagram
Join the discussion in the Facebook group!
Tai Taeoalii is an amazing artist who uses ballpoint pen to create surreal pieces of art intended to stimulate the viewer’s mind and evoke honest emotion. Tai has recently taken his art “on the road,” using the time that he is not busy creating to tour the U.S. at various art galleries, museums, and art fairs.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/artbytaireplay
In this episode, Tai discusses:
-His creative origins, doodling in class with a ballpoint pen, until selling his work on Ebay.
-How he is now 38, but only really discovered who he is and his style 6 or 7 years ago.
-How at art festivals and art fairs, you get to talk to the people buying your work and you get to get feedback from them.
-How he starts a piece with an idea, and doesn't think much from that point on until the piece is done.
-Listening to music helps him tap into his subconscious, much like doodling while on the phone.
-The difficulty he experiences in attempting to do commission work, and why he doesn't do it anymore.
-What it is like to be an artist on the road and how it makes him a better person and a better artist.
-Why he makes his artwork affordable.
-The process of making timelapse videos of him making a piece, and how they are like an out-of-body experience. But setting them up takes some of the spontaneity out of drawing.
-His method for writing ideas down on his phone, then being alone to flesh it out onto paper, and then shading when he is at his shows, when he is able to multi-task.
-How he obtains his Bic pens.
Tai's Final Push will inspire you to be honest, be passionate, and to work hard.
Quotes:
"I'm 38 now. I really just discovered who I am and my style 6 or 7 years ago."
"When I create, I don't have to think at all anymore. I can just make, and what I make works."
"That whole 10,000 hours thing is totally legit."
"What really makes the difference is the confidence."
"It's like I dream while I'm awake."
"I usually experience the drawing for the first time after I'm done. After I've put the pen down and I've signed it."
"The trick that I discovered to tap into my subconscious was music."
"There's something kinda romantic about the artwork that I create eventually fading away with time."
Connect with Tai:
Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Shop
On the next episode:
Christina Mrozik : Website / Instagram
Join the discussion in the Facebook group!
Amy Kuretsky is a health coach, acupuncturist, and herbalist with expertise in traditional Chinese medicine, digestive health, and a wide variety of nutritional plans. She coaches creative entrepreneurs to be their healthiest selves and to tap into the energy that is the source of everything we do.
Amy also hosts Health Fuels Hustle, a podcast all about living a healthier life as a creative.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/amykuretsky
In this episode, Amy discusses:
-How she came to be an acupuncturist and a health coach for creatives.
-How she got off of all the drugs that she was taking for an autoimmune disease.
-Her advice for creative individuals like Youngman who suffer from burnout and let their health fall by the wayside.
-The importance of establishing our priorities and being aware of the fact that we say “yes” to too many things.
-Her method for doing a “brain dump” to rid yourself of the things that take up your energy but don’t bring you money or joy.
-Creative entrepreneur’s hesitancy to delegate.
-How “done” is better than “perfect.”
-How breaking up larger tasks into smaller portions can be effective in overcoming the sense of overwhelm.
-Taking the quiet time to set a baseline for yourself with positive and negative thoughts and how they affect your body.
-How the biggest excuse she hears from creative entrepreneurs is that they “don’t have enough time” to take care of themselves.
-The power of morning and evening routines and a glimpse into hers.
-Cell phones and the importance of keeping them away from the bedroom.
-Alarm clocks and setting reminders for yourself throughout the day to be present in the moment and to fill yourself with the warm feelings that your goals bring you.
-What acupuncture is and it’s benefits.
-What people can expect from her podcast, Health Fuels Hustle.
Amy's Final Push will inspire you to recall the reason why you started your creative passion in the first place and to tap back into that beginner’s energy!
Quotes:
“I found that so many creative entrepreneurs were burning the candle at both ends. They had so much going on that they were letting their health fall by the wayside. This was a community that really needed support when it came to their health.”
“When it comes to our energy, our health, and fueling our hustle, it’s all about building up our reserves. So if we can do more of the things that we love doing and it brings us energy or joy, those are just as important as making money.”
“Oftentimes what I see when it comes to creative entrepreneurs is that they really fear delegation.”
“Done is better than perfect. Perfect is a myth and so often we hold ourselves back from completing a project or putting ourselves out there because we don’t think that either we ourselves or our work is perfect yet.”
Links mentioned:
Amy's Pick Your Priorities Worksheet
Connect with Amy:
Website / Podcast / Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest / Twitter
On the next episode:
Christina Mrozik : Website / Instagram
What's something that you do to fuel your hustle? Join that discussion at the Facebook group!
Marta Nael is a Spanish artist currently working for Ediciones Babylon as an artist and art director. She has a love for all painting techniques, using both digital and traditional media. After completing her Fine Arts degree, she specialized in concept art and matte painting. This allowed her to develop her own style, which could be described as a game of light and color, or Digital impressionism when it comes to digital media.
Marta has published four books, her latest being Sketchbook 2.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/martanael
In this episode, Marta discusses:
-Some of her earliest creative memories.
-The lessons she learned in art school.
-Her switch from traditional to digital painting and the initial resistance she received from her professors.
-Her advice for people who are afraid to get into digital painting for various reasons.
-Where she gets her inspiration for her concept art.
-The story behind “Darth Monroe.”
-Her early process for starting a piece of art and how she knows which ideas to move forward.
-Struggling with the lack of support from her parents when she first decided that she wanted to be an artist as a career.
-Dealing with the inner demons that tell you that your work isn’t good enough as you are trying to share it on social media.
-How she started making money from her art.
-How she gets the courage to post work when her self-doubt is at its peak.
-Her advice for when your creative passion starts to feel like work.
-How she doesn’t have much time for personal work, so she tries to put as much of herself into her commissions as she can.
-Her new book, Sketchbook 2.
Marta's Final Push will inspire you to not be afraid to pursue your creative passion with the intention of making money from it!
Quotes:
“As an artist, I’m always getting inspired by what surrounds me, so if you love something, it is normal to want to paint that.”
“That’s my only fear. When I want to upload something and I feel like maybe it’s not good enough.”
“When it comes to social media, you can have that feeling that if you don’t upload something people will forget that you’re there.”
“When you have to paint daily, you lose that freshness that you have when you paint whenever you want.”
Resources:
Connect with Marta:
Artstation / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
On the next episode:
Amy Kuretsky : Website / Instagram / Podcast