Just Make Art

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The Wonderful Mistake. Where Do You End and the World Begins? Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

Grief has a way of erasing your map. One day you’re moving with confidence, and the next you’re standing in front of your work thinking, is this the first time I’ve ever done this? I’m recording solo while Nathan’s away, partly because I need to hang out, and partly because the last few weeks have been heavy with loss. When your mind goes quiet and your body goes numb, the usual creative routines don’t always work, so I lean into the simplest thing I can do: tell the truth, read, write, and keep showing up.
From there, I pull a single thread through four very different voices, all pointing to the same idea: not knowing is worth protecting. The Delphian Gallery’s guidance on building an art career, Orson Welles talking about the freedom of ignorance, Peter Hook’s line about “wonderful mistakes,” and Austin Kleon’s warning that knowing can make you boring all land in the same place. Mastery isn’t the enemy, but comfort can be. If you want real artistic growth, you have to experiment, take creative risks, and accept that making bad work is often the cover charge for discovering something true.
William Kentridge takes it even deeper, describing the studio as a kind of machine that turns the outside world into visible form, a collage under construction made of memories, fragments, conversations, and pain. A story from Edith Schloss about a 1943 loft makes the metaphor physical: the artist in the storm, steering what they can while admitting they can’t control the weather. We end with a question I can’t stop thinking about: where do you end and the world begins?
If this resonates, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s stuck, and leave a review so more artists can find us. What’s one “wonderful mistake” you’re willing to make this week?

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The Long Game: Georg Baselitz and Rafael Nadal: Kind of Part 2 Sep 03, 2026

Show notes

A 15-foot painting stops Ty cold, and it kicks off a conversation that keeps getting bigger: what does it look like to keep making serious work when you’re old, tired, and no longer trying to prove anything to anyone? After a London walk from a heavy Tracy Emin experience to Georg Baselitz at White Cube, we can’t shake the feeling that we just saw a masterclass in artistic longevity.
We connect that late-career power to the Raphael Nadal Netflix documentary and the brutal reality of sport: your mind can still be hungry while your body forces the ending. Painting works differently. Baselitz talks about continuing “despite an almost complete absence of pressure,” and we wrestle with whether a younger artist can reach a version of that freedom sooner. We get into confidence built on discipline and time, the role of career momentum and visibility, and the trap of making work on other people’s terms.
From upside-down paintings to walker marks dragged through wet paint, Baselitz becomes a case study in adapting studio practice to aging and illness without shrinking the ambition. We also unpack self-doubt, the difference between public failure and inner conviction, and why time tells in art more than any single moment. If you care about creative discipline, expressionism, contemporary art, and building a sustainable art career, this one goes straight to the nerve. Subscribe, share with a friend, leave a review, and tell us: what helps you stay free in the studio when the pressure spikes?

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The Long Game: Rafael Nadal and Georg Baselitz: Kind of Part 1 Aug 13, 2026

Show notes

Ty Nathan Clark and Nathan Terborg are back!

A career that ends because your body says “no” forces a kind of honesty most of us try to avoid. That’s why the Rafael Nadal Netflix documentary hit us so hard and why we couldn’t stop talking about it as artists.
We trace Nadal’s mindset back to the studio: the way victory fades fast, the way difficulty becomes the real teacher, and the way motivation can turn dangerous when it turns into obsession. We also dig into the difference between an athlete’s timeline and an artist’s timeline. Tennis can become a race against time, but art can be a lifelong practice, which means we get to adapt, evolve, and keep making work for decades if we stay present and keep training.
Along the way, we pull quotes from Nadal, his dad, and his coaches to talk about pressure, discipline, community, and perspective. We explore why “control the controllables” is a studio survival tool, how self-made deadlines can sharpen your focus, and what it means to compete with yourself without turning art into a zero-sum game. We also ask the uncomfortable question: what does “suffering more” look like for an artist, and how do we bring joy into the drive so we don’t regret the moments we’re living right now?

In the coming Part 2 we will discuss Georg Baselitz and his life long practice, comparing it to the short period of time Nadal was able to complete.
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Breathwork And Nervous System Resets with Michael Gazzo Jul 23, 2026

Show notes

The fastest way to kill creative flow is to turn art into an identity you have to defend. Nathan sits down with special guest host Michael Gazzo (@Michaelvgazzo), a coach, rebirth breathwork facilitator, master NLP practitioner, and platinum-selling music producer, to talk about what happens when external success still leaves you empty and what it takes to create from a more honest place.
We trace Michael’s path from childhood music obsession to major-label moments, touring, and high-pressure industry wins and then into the quieter work of rebuilding from the inside. Along the way, we unpack why curiosity and play create the “happy accidents” that make work feel alive, and why creative block often isn’t a lack of talent but a nervous system and heart issue. If you’ve felt stuck in perfectionism, overthinking, or the need to make something that “works,” this conversation offers a different frame: become a better receiver first.
We also get practical. We talk breathwork as a tool for regulation and deeper emotional release, how to redirect spiraling thoughts without bypassing your real feelings, and how journaling can become a direct dialogue with the work itself. Finally, we break down intention setting, focusing on a cleaner why, avoiding negative motivators that burn out fast, and serving the art instead of using the art to chase approval.
If this resonates, subscribe for more conversations on creativity and the inner life, share this with a friend who’s blocked, and leave a review so more artists can find the show.

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How Music Builds Memory And Momentum In Art Jun 18, 2026

Show notes

One song can pull you back to a room you haven’t seen in 30 years, and that same song can push you into the studio with a totally different kind of courage. Nathan Terborg and Ty Nathan Clark go all-in on the music that formed their taste and still shapes their creative process, from early mixtapes and older-sibling tape raids to the ritual of Tower Records, used CD bins, and the album art that taught us as much as any design class.
We trade stories about the records that became emotional landmarks, the soundtracks that acted like secret portals to new bands, and the way certain albums become permanent studio companions. Ty shares how the Basquiat film soundtrack helped reroute his path as an artist, and we dig into the very real chain reaction of influence, like Jeff Buckley inspiring Thom Yorke’s approach on Radiohead’s work. Along the way we hit The Crow soundtrack, OK Computer awe, deep-cut favorites, and a few “no shame” listens that still surprise people.
Then we bring it back to craft: how to build a studio playlist with intention, how to match music to the energy you need, and why silence can be the most powerful tool when you’re trying to hear what the work is asking for. If you’ve ever wondered how music and creativity connect at a practical level, this one is a blueprint you can actually use.
If it resonates, subscribe to Just Make Art Podcast, share it with an artist friend, and leave a review so more people can find it. What album changes the way you make work?

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How Cameron Crowe’s Memoir Teaches Artists To Keep Going Jun 04, 2026

Show notes

Cameron Crowe wrote for Rolling Stone as a teenager, rode alongside the biggest bands of the era, and somehow stayed human enough to turn those years into art. We use his memoir The Uncool as a springboard to talk about the real creative process: the awkward beginnings, the brutal winters, and the small daily choices that keep an artist moving when nobody is clapping yet.
We pull quotes and stories that hit hard for working artists. What does “opportunity favors the prepared mind” look like in practice when you’re sending work out, building taste, and stacking reps? How do you protect the “invincible summer” in you when the studio feels cold, the market feels loud, and your mind starts running worst-case scenarios? We also linger on the difference between being discovered and being ready, and why preparation beats panic every time.
Then we get into confidence and evolution. “Act like you belong” isn’t fake swagger, it’s a quiet claim to your seat at the table if you’re doing the work. And Joni Mitchell’s advice cuts straight through the fear of changing your style: stay the same and get crucified, change and get crucified, so you might as well keep it interesting. We close with a challenge we all need: notice the work you’re avoiding, because it might be the work that matters most.
If this conversation lights a fire, subscribe, share it with an artist friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What’s one piece of work you’re going to start or finish this week?

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De-Romanticizing Art And What It Gives Back Apr 30, 2026

Show notes

Art-making isn’t a vibe. It’s a practice that can feel exhausting, confusing, and sometimes flat-out miserable, yet we still wake up wanting to go back. We sit with a blunt question that every working artist eventually faces: what is making art giving us even when it doesn’t feel good?
We start by de-romanticizing the work through Hugo Winder-Lind’s reminder that painting doesn’t always feel good, especially now that artists are expected to be multi-faceted creators. From there we get honest about envy, creative cycles, and the kindness we owe other artists when they’re in the ditch. We also call out the social media highlight reel, the edited two minutes that hides the seven hours of staring, failing, quitting, and starting again.
Then we move into what the studio actually gives back. Mark Bradford frames labor as a way to slow down until you can hear yourself think and reach the quieter voice with the better idea. Sheila Hicks adds the bigger frame: discovery is part of being alive, so hang in there because you never know what the next discovery might be. Along the way we talk logistics, perfectionism, routines that prime the pump, excluding distractions so actions match goals, and Noel W. Anderson shares why the studio nourishes us in ways we can’t fully explain.
If you’ve been stuck, burned out, or questioning why you keep doing this, hit play. Subscribe, share this with an artist friend, and leave a review, then tell us: what does your creative process give you when it’s not giving you joy?

Audio artist clips from:

TimeStamps: https://www.instagram.com/time____stamp/

Louisiana Channel: https://www.instagram.com/louisianachannel/

Artists:

Hugo Winder-Lind: https://www.instagram.com/hugowinderlind/

Noel W. Anderson: https://www.instagram.com/nwa_studios/

Sheila Hicks: https://www.instagram.com/hastingshicks/

Mark Bradford: https://www.hauserwirth.com/artists/2838-mark-bradford/

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Cy Twombly And The Beauty Of Contamination In Art Apr 09, 2026

Show notes

This is a replay from Season 1. A single line from Cy Twombly cracks open a huge question for artists: “One must desire the ultimate essence even if it is contaminated.” We sit with that tension between purity and grit and ask what “essence” really means in abstract expressionism, mark making, and the real studio process where rust, dust, scraps, and revisions refuse to stay out of the frame.
From there, we trace why Twombly still feels so magnetic and so misunderstood. He left few interviews and little public persona, which forces viewers to do the work themselves. We talk through Joshua Rivkin’s Here We Go Chalk and the image that won’t let go: the unswept floor. What’s more contaminated than what falls, gets cast aside, and ends up as leftovers? Rivkin treats that debris like a mosaic, and it becomes a clean way to see how Twombly gathers fragments of history, poetry, the body, and the mind, then buries and reveals them through layers.
We also get practical about how art communicates. What does it mean for a painting to “claim the room it inhabits” when the artist is not there to explain it? How much context should titles and statements provide, and when does mystery make the work stronger? If you’ve ever stood in a museum and felt pulled into a surface like an archaeologist, this one puts language to that experience and gives you a better way to look.
If this sparks a reaction, share the episode with an artist friend, subscribe so you do not miss the next conversation, and leave a review to help more people find the show.

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Make The Art No One Is Asking For with Jeff Musser Mar 26, 2026

Show notes

Nobody is asking you to make your art. Jeff Musser thinks that’s exactly why you have to make it anyway.

Jeff is a Northern California figurative painter who builds images from collage, family photographs, sketches, and historical source material. We talk about painting as a primal need to make marks, why the studio can feel like a scratch-off ticket you keep buying with your time, and how the best ideas often arrive only after you start. Along the way we bounce off quotes from artists like Jenny Saville, Julian Schnabel, Kerry James Marshall, Ai Weiwei, Lisa Yuskavage, Gerhard Richter, and Chuck Close to get specific about process, risk, and the messy realities of creative work.
Then the conversation turns toward meaning. Jeff shares how his work takes on the history and construct of race, especially the invention and evolution of whiteness, and how that construct shows up in family history and private thought. He also reflects on living in China as a visible outsider, experiencing attention and privilege that made power dynamics impossible to ignore. We talk about art as a form of self-repair, and why serious subject matter still needs play to stay alive.
If you’ve been waiting for permission, this is your reminder to build momentum and make the work. Subscribe, share this with an artist friend, and leave a review.

Find Jeff Musser on Instagram: @jeffmusserart and online at jeffmusser.com

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Art Friendships That Fuel The Work Mar 05, 2026

Show notes

Three artists. One exhibition. A decade of friendship that turned into fuel for making braver work. Ty sits down with Vy Ngo and Eric Breish to explore how creative community shapes everything—from the courage to apply, to the way we process rejection, to the rituals that help us recover after the lights go down.
We start with origin stories and the rush of seeing our pieces hang together at Art Center Waco’s Amplified show. Then we dig into the practical spine of a thriving art practice: how to pick the right opportunities, why research beats volume, and how strong documentation (clear, well-lit photos and short videos) becomes your first studio visit. We talk about building a cohesive submission that tells a story instead of tossing in disconnected “greatest hits,” and we unpack the difference between galleries that simply move product and those that invest in your evolution.
The conversation gets honest around critique and growth. Safe feedback from trusted artist friends can be uncomfortable and necessary—pushing you to clarify intent, separate your voice from influence, and keep evolving. When no arrives, confidence returns to the work itself. One pivotal story turns a painful rejection into a better fit with a smaller gallery that encouraged risk and led to the most personal show of a career. The lesson: alignment and patience create momentum.
We also name the quiet crash after big openings—what we call post‑artum depression—and offer tools to navigate it: nature days, spiritual or wellness practices, journaling, and time with people who truly understand. Finally, we celebrate DIY paths and authentic networking. Show up for spaces you love without treating every hello like an angle. Be interested before trying to be interesting; your people will find you.
If this resonates, follow, share with an artist who needs it, and leave a review so more creatives can find the show. Your support helps us keep bringing real conversations—and practical tools—to the studio.

Vy Ngo: @vjngo_art

Eric Breish: @eric_breish_art

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