Entries Tagged as: interview

Intuition, Art, & the Right Brain with Jennifer Lee

May 13th, 2010, Comments (6)

I'm so thrilled to be able to share my chat with the fabulous, Jennifer Lee! Jennifer is an amazing coach, writer, artist, and author of a soon to be published book. And she's my dear friend!

Listen in as we talk about the process of Intuitive Painting, how you can try it out for yourself, and how the right brain and intuition interact. Click below to listen here or right-click (ctrl-click on a Mac) to save to your computer and listen to later.

Click here to listen.

Jenn's Right Brain Business Plan e-course is starting up again on May 17th and I highly recommend it for any creative entrepreneurs out there who want to put a creative spin on a task that can feel a bit intimidating. Jenn is a great guide and coach and the plans her students have created are so cool!

You can find out more about Jenn on her website and blog. And you can also find her on Twitter @artizencoaching.

Thanks, Jenn!

Talking Intuition with Bridget Pilloud

May 7th, 2010, Comments (7)

I had the pleasure of speaking with the fabulous Bridget Pilloud this week and I'm so thrilled to be able to share it with you! Bridget is an Intuitive, Healer, Teacher, Writer, and all around awesome person.

Bridget has some great tips and tools to share about how to connect with your intuition in your everyday life and also as you create art! I especially loved her suggestion to "let your brain take a back seat" as you create. And of course the impromptu visit from Leo the cat was fun too! :-) You can listen to the interview below or right-click (ctrl-click on a Mac) to save to your computer and listen to later.

Click here to listen.

Bridget is planning an exciting year-long Field Expedition to the Energetic Body to start in June! Keep up to date with this and all the other amazing things Bridget is up to at her blog, Voila and follow her on Twitter @intuitivebridge.

Stories in Expressive Arts: a chat with Silky Hart

March 24th, 2010, Comments (7)

Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking with the lovely, Silky Hart, an Expressive Arts therapist who I've come to know (and adore!) through blogging. You can listen to our chat here by clicking on the link below or right-click (ctrl-click on a Mac) to save to your computer.

Click here to listen.

I was curious about some of the ways you might use Expressive Arts to explore the theme of stories and Silky had some fabulous examples of how it could be utilized, using work such as Playback Theater and the Five Rhythms. As another example of using her work to explore stories, Silky is generously offering a gorgeous, free pdf workbook, "Writing the New Story of Your Life: A story writing playbook to awaken who you really are." Wow, I've taken a look at it, and it's awesome! Definitely a fabulously creative way to play with your stories and work on creating new ones.

Click here to download Silky Hart's "Writing the New Story of Your Life" playbook.

Silky is leading an Expressive Arts and yoga retreat in Costa Rica from April 24 - May 1, 2010. And it sounds simply amazing. You can get all the details and sign up for it here.

You can find Silky online at her website and blog, Expressive Hart and on Twitter, @ExpressiveHart. Thank you again, Silky for sharing your fabulous self, your creative energy, and your gorgeous playbook!

Storytelling & Collage: A chat with Kathryn Antyr

March 17th, 2010, Comments (53)

I'm so excited to be able to share this chat with the super sweet and creative, Kathryn Antyr! I've known Kathryn through the world of blogging for some time now, but this was the first time we'd had a chance to speak. And oh, was it fun! Kathryn is bursting with wisdom and insights about the creative process and the magic of telling stories through art.

I could relate so much to her collage-making process of letting go and allowing intuitive feelings to guide the process. I loved the way she talked about using art to re-tell our stories and I also loved how Kathryn is using the Hero's Journey as a framework in her Storytelling + Collage online workshop, What a beautiful idea!

Learn more about Kathryn's beautiful process by listening in to the interview below. Click the link below to listen or right-click (ctrl-click on a Mac) to save it to your computer and listen to later.

Listen here

*Giveaway!* Kathryn has generously offered to give away one spot in her upcoming Storytelling + Collage online workshop! Leave a comment on this post by Sunday March 21st at noon EDT to enter and I'll announce the winner on Monday the 22nd. Good luck!

You can learn more about Kathryn on her blogs Collage Diva and True North Arts.You can also follow Kathryn on Twitter, @truenortharts. The collages in this post are all by Kathryn Antyr.

Thank you, Kathryn!

The giveaway is now closed! Thank you for entering! I will announce the winner tomorrow (Monday, the 22nd.)

Itty Bitty Kitty Stories

March 13th, 2010, Comments (17)

I'm working on a new series of itty bitty kitties for my shop and these are the latest, "First signs of Spring" and "The Yarn Basket." As I create these little kitties, I'm always thinking about the little stories that go along with them. The Spring cat was inspired by a neighborhood cat with the same spots that I saw on a walk the other day. He was proudly carrying a mouse as he trotted down the sidewalk towards his house. I saw him again today, standing guard in front of his owner's garage. All cats have such distinct personalities once you get to know them, so I imagine that each itty bitty kitty painting has it's own personality too. I'll have them up in the shop soon.

In the meantime, some more links for you!

- I was interviewed this week by the fabulous Jennifer Hofmann of Inspired Home Office. She's doing a series about the everyday organizing habits of creative entrepreneurs. And while I would never think to interview me about organizing (ha!), I did have a fun tidbit to share that makes keeping track of my to-do list a lot more fun. You can listen to the interview and read Jen's post about it here.

- To celebrate the launch of Red Dress Studios, Ana Ottman is offering a fabulous (and free) ebook of advice from female entrepreneurs about how to build your confidence muscles. You can grab yourself a copy here.

Loving our Rooms, an Interview with Lisa Baldwin

February 27th, 2010, Comments (5)

To close out the month of home for the Creative Every Day Challenge, I'm so thrilled to be able to share this interview with the super smart, funny, and lovely Lisa Baldwin of Zen at Play. Check out her awesome clutter-clearing advice below and her super cool Love that Room e-course!

1. Please introduce yourself:

Hi! I'm Lisa, and I help people make space for their awesomeness.

2. What led you into the work of helping people with their clutter?

I got interested in clutter because I had a lot of it. As I cleared, I noticed unexpected benefits that went way beyond just having a tidier house - it can be a journey of discovery and an act of self-care, and creating a less crowded environment makes way for better things. It didn't seem right to keep all that a secret, so I set about finding ways to teach others and that became my work.

3. I used to use the excuse that I'm artist as a reason for my messiness. Do you think there's a correlation between creativity and a messy house?

Ooh, the answer to this question could be a whole post. So many layers! So many angles!

Active mess is a side-effect of living and is a part of the creative process. If you've got a creative, busy mind, then that can certainly result in something that looks a lot like mess. In that sense, I do think there's a correlation between mess and creativity.

At the same time, there's a difference between that active, creative, happy mess and the passive, stagnant, stuckifying kind of mess that is clutter. (Clutter isn't necessarily messy, by the way, but that's a different question. See? Layers! Angles!) That kind of stuff hinders creativity by sucking up your energy and attention, so there's a relationship there, but not a happy one.

The trick is to determine the level of mess that feels good to your creative self, and then set up helpful systems and habits that support you in maintaining that. If your way of being tends to create mess, then run with it - just be sure to keep that mess fresh by letting go of that which no longer serves you.

Did I answer your question? I answered something, that's for sure. I really need to write a post about this.

4. The theme this month at Creative Every Day is home. Do you have any tips for bringing more creativity into your home?

Create space for what you love. Hold it high. That's all.

5. What's one small, simple thing we could try at home to enjoy our space more?

Recognise your treasures, then love them up. Some things you own light up your life with their beauty, meaning or usefulness. Other things just sit around taking up space and blocking your view of the good stuff. Once you know what your treasures are, treat them as such - put them where you can see them, take care of them, appreciate them - and create more space for them by letting go of the other stuff.

6. I love the name of your online course, "love that room." Could you talk a bit about what the class involves?

Love That Room is a clutter-clearing adventure where we focus on loving up just one room. (You know, that room.) It starts with seeing - really seeing - the space, then gently letting go of the stuff that no longer serves us. There's private blog where course-doers can download exercises, support each other, ask questions, celebrate wins and check in for gentle accountability. It's definitely not a scary bootcamp course - it's all about mindful interaction with your self and your stuff, so it's pretty special. I just opened up registrations for the next offering (starting March 22) and you can take a peek here.

7. Do you think focusing on clearing clutter in one room at a time is the way to go? And how do you deal with clutter overwhelm?

I like to focus on one room at a time because I like to set up a series of small, easy wins. Clutter can be so overwhelming when you look at it all at once, because we tend to think of it all as one big thing - The Clutter! [cue ominous music]. But it's not a big thing - it's a gathering of many little things, and little things we can handle.

8. Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Just that I'm so happy that you invited me to hang out on your lovely blog with your lovely people. Thank you! *waves to Leah's lovely people*

9. Where can people find you?

I have the beginnings of a blog over at ZenAtPlay.com and there's a newsletter there too. I'm an enthusiastic Twitterer - @zenatplay. (Let it be noted that I don't often talk about clutter on Twitter - I'm more likely to do magic tricks and show off my Wonder Woman underwear. Just so you know.)

**

Thank you so much, Lisa for sharing your awesomeness!!

Gentle, Creative De-cluttering with Jennifer Hofmann

February 9th, 2010, Comments (9)

I'm so excited to share this chat with the absolutely fabulous Jennifer Hofmann, of Inspired Home Office. Jen is what you might call a professional organizer, but she's so much more than that. She's got the sweetest soul and she immediately came to mind when I knew I was going to be doing the theme of home for the Creative Every Day Challenge this month.  You can listen to our chat by clicking on the link below or right-click (ctrl-click on a Mac) to download to your computer. Enjoy!

Click here to listen.

I've taken a few of Jen's Office Spa Day classes (you can read about my experience here.) It's a wonderful process that I've turned to when I felt stuck (or in major avoidance) around a cluttered-up area. The group energy is always great and Jen's questions are super helpful in making the work go smoothly.

In our chat Jen generously offered to take a question by email, so feel free to contact her. You can also find Jen on her blog and on Twitter. Thanks so much, Jen!!

Connecting to Your Body with Briana Aldrich

January 17th, 2010, Comments (7)

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with the brilliant Blisscovery expert, Briana Aldrich. Briana is a coach who helps folks find their thing and also with helps people heal their relationship with their bodies. I loved talking with Briana about her work and ways to creatively connect with the body. You can listen to it here by clicking the link below or right-click (ctrl-click on a Mac) to download and listen to later. Enjoy!

Click here to listen.

You can find Briana's at Blisscovery and Blisscovery Wellness. Briana has a (diet-free) weight loss teleclass starting up on Tuesday the 19th, which you can find out more about here. You can also find Briana on twitter: @brianaaldrich.

Thank you for the great chat, Briana!

Soul Artist, Laura Hollick

January 13th, 2010, Comments (5)


Laura Hollick working in her studio

Last night I had the pleasure of speaking with the lovely Laura Hollick, an artist, workshop leader, and creative dynamo. Do check out her site and her blog, she's up to so many amazing things!! Laura interviewed me about my creative process and artwork, and you can listen to our chat here.


"Unicorn and Pink Dragon"
Soul Artist Laura Hollick enters the magical world of Heartland where she is transformed into a unicorn and frolicks through the meadow with pink dragon.
vision, sculpture, costume, model Laura Hollick
photo by Kevin Thom

Fitting in beautifully with the body theme this month, Laura has some absolutely stunning pieces that utilize her body as part of the creation. Some of the work is photographs of her, such as the image above. Last night, while perusing her work, I also noticed a series of images she calls Body Mapping. These mixed-media pieces began as tracings of her body and were transformed into these stunning images. I absolutely love them! And I love how she uses them as a tool to dive into the language of her inner world.

It reminded me a bit of what I've been doing with my body shadows painting (which I shared here and here.) As I've continued working on that piece, it has been a similar process to what Laura has done with her body mapping work. It has felt like some body wisdom has been coming through the piece which has been very interesting. I'll share where that piece has been going tomorrow.

In the meantime, I wanted to point out that Laura is teaching a free teleclass tonight called Shift the sh*t so you can launch: 3 keys to total transformation. Love the name! :-) You can get all the details and sign up for that here.

Body talk with Goddess Leonie

January 12th, 2010, Comments (12)

Late last week, I had the opportunity to chat with the beautiful Goddess Leonie about the body and some of the fabulous things she's up to in the world. I love how we're able to chat like this from opposite ends of the world (I'm on the east coast of the U.S. and Leonie is in Australia.) And I loved seeing our opposites in the seasons (summer for her, winter for me) and our dark and light hair. Why I get such a kick out of these things, I'm not sure, but I do! It was like a little video yin-yang!

The sound is a little wonky (not matching our lips) in the first part of our chat, but it gets better. And it's worth listening to to hear Leonie's great tips about connecting with the body. Plus, you'll get to see two cat cameos (aka video bombers.) :-)

To drink in more of Leonie's awesomeness, I highly recommend checking out her Creating Your Goddess Year Planner and Workbook. It's 40 beautifully illustrated pages that you can download and print at home and use to bring closure to your 2009 and plan your amazing 2010.

Leonie's also got some courses starting up soon, including the Radiant Goddess e-course (which you can purchase with the Goddess Planner for a discount) and the Creative Goddess e-course (both of which start up on January 17th.) And you can always find Leonie on her beautiful blog, Goddess Guidebook.