Authentic Obsessions

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**Authentic Obsessions**

Inspiring stories and practical tips from artists, curators, photographers, and writers in hot pursuit of their lives. Guests reveal their creative obsessions, fears, joys, uncertainty, and the impact they hope to have, leaving you feeling less alone as you proceed down your own creative path. Acknowledge the mess and keep going!

Latest Episodes:

Jane Davies - Visual Language Dec 21, 2021

Show notes

Takeaways

"If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it's not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. That's why it's your path.” Joseph Campbell
Fine art is essentially an exploration. You DON’T know how everything is going to turn out.
Art is never easy – you must learn to live with the discomfort.
Pay attention to the difference between inspiration (what gets you into the studio) and what your paintings express.
People get stuck because they have a plan and stick to it, when sometimes you just need to NOT plan.
Notice your defaults and then expand upon them.

Mentioned

Jane Davies

Jane Davies on Instagram

Jane Davies on Facebook

Jane Davies on Youtube

Jane Davies on Pinterest

Jane’s book, Abstract Painting: The Elements of Visual Language

Rupert Village Trust and The Sheldon Store

Winslow Art Center

Musicians James Hill and Anne Janelle

Aboriginal artists Minnie Pwerle and Emily Kame Kngwarreye

Marin Laukka - Authenticity Nov 23, 2021

Show notes

Takeaways

Sometimes it’s just not the season to follow through on the original plan.
It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. It’s a continuous process – it’s those little leaps of faith that build upon each other and create more clarity and foster more confidence within ourselves that lead to more fulfillment and life satisfaction.
Make your quit list.
Ask yourself: is it time to ditch the physical manifestation of your “thing” and pursue something different to get to the same outcome, or should you pause and come back to it another time?
Once you’re stepping toward the thing that you’re considering, you’ll free pretty quickly whether it’s the right thing for you or not.

Mentioned

Via Character Strengths

Positive Psychology

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Matt D’Avella

Lisa Woodward - Footpaths Nov 16, 2021

Show notes

Takeaways

1. You don’t have to make anything, you can just explore. And if meaning comes out of that, great, but it doesn’t have to.

2. We need to forgive ourselves for not being other artists than who we are. Who we are in the rest of our lives is going to come out in our work. It comes from who we are and we can’t change that. When we make art, we are who we are.

3. Don’t despair if your art doesn’t sell. Alice Sheridan said that sometimes you need to hold on to your art because you’re not finished learning from it

4. When you become an artist later in life, you’re not starting from zero. You have a huge resource of experience, confidence and self-knowledge that gives you a head start and lets you develop a clear voice and style more quickly and more surely.

5. “You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don't take.” Wayne Gretzky

Mentioned

Lisa Woodward

Lisa Woodward on Instagram

Lisa Woodward on Pinterest

A Glorious Freedom: Older Women Leading Extraordinary Lives, by Lisa Congdon

On Trails, An Exploration, by Robert Moor

Jane Davies

Algonquin Provincial Park

Jess Pillay - Finding My Voice Oct 26, 2021

Show notes

Takeaways

It takes a village to be creative even if the work is solitary.
Little tweaks to the environment can help you transition to the creative work.
Your identify is not in what you do, it’s in who you are.
It’s all about showing up every day – you don’t have to be perfect.
If you want to be a good writer, be a good reader.

Mentioned

Jess Pillay

Jess Pillay on Instagram

Jess Pillay on Twitter

Jess Pillay on Facebook

Jess Pillay on Bandcamp

Jeff Tweedy, Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back)

Amelia Kaiser

Wes Speight

Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

Rachel Yamagata

Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Frank Korb - Planning & Preparing Materials Oct 19, 2021

Show notes

Takeaways

1. Keep working, keep moving forward and eventually it all gets done.

2. “The only rule is work.” Sister Mary Corita Kent

3. “Inspiration is for amateurs.” Chuck Close

Mentioned in this episode

Frank Korb

Frank Korb on Instagram

Frank Korb on Facebook

Frank Korb on YouTube

A Brush With podcast

The Modern Art Note Podcast

Robert Rauschenberg

Sister Mary Corita Kent's Rules of the Studio

Chuck Close

Jasper Johns and the Savarin coffee can

Taliesin

Flavia Testa - Thinking Oct 12, 2021

Show notes

Takeaways

1. Try to be stronger than your shadows.

2. Give your art away.

3. Tilt your head and looks sideways.

4. Art is a way to always move forward and open yourself up to curiosity.

5. Success is getting to your essence and being willing to have a conversation that is uncomfortable.

Mentioned in this episode

Nirmal Raja - Mutability Oct 05, 2021

Show notes

Takeaways

1. Installation – within an exhibit space - is an art form in itself.

2. Entering a wooded area feels like a hug.

3. Reach out to someone who is different from you in language or color or heritage and connect over art or making or simply just being together.

Mentioned in this episode

Nirmal Raja

Nirmal Raja on Instagram

Nirmal Raja on Facebook

Nirmal Raja on LinkedIn

Reimagining the Global Village

Reimagining the Global Village on Instagram

Reimagining the Global Village on YouTube

Mary Oliver

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Wild Mind: Living the Writer's Life by Natalie Goldberg

Global Village and Marshall McLuhan

Art 21 art documentaries

The Tate Modern short art documentaries

The Brooklyn Rail

Ann Hamilton

UWM Special Collections Library

Nicola Bennett - Flavour Sep 28, 2021

Show notes

Takeaways

1. “Food is edible love” Nicola’s mom.

2. Write a list of nice things you’d say to a friend and tell those to yourself.

3. Say “shut up” to your inner critic.

4. Celebrate where you are and be proud of the work you make.

Mentioned in this Episode

Nicola Bennett

Nicola Bennett on Instagram

Nicola Bennett on Facebook

Neuroscientist Camilla Arndal Andersen

Nino

Wayne Thiebaud

Brianna L. Hernández Baurichter - Mind-Body Connection Jul 23, 2021

Show notes

Takeaways

1. Be more forgiving of yourself for not meeting those impossible standards every single time.

2. Ask yourself: What do I authentically want to communicate and what is the best way for others to receive that message?

If you don’t try it definitely won’t go anywhere.

3. During the creative process give your body permission to lead where things are going, and the reasons will become clear.

4. If it’s genuine part of your experience, anger is an acceptable emotion during the grieving process.

5. Try and create as many access points as possible because your viewers are living in the framework they are given, and don’t necessarily have the context to see your work from just one point of view.

Mentioned in this episode

Follow Brianna on Instagram

Brianna L. Hernández Baurichter

The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD

Janine Antoni

Bruce Mau - An Incomplete Manifesto for Growth

Emma Freeman - Nature, Poetry & Buddhist teachings Jul 20, 2021

Show notes

Takeaways

1. My art table is my oxygen, my sanctuary, and the place I go to let my breath out.

2. If I can get out of the critical part of my mind and enter the deeper place it feels better in my body and the work feels so much richer.

3. Befriend those difficult emotions. Acknowledge the anxiety.