In this episode, you’ll meet Zahra Ammar, whose work can only be described as mesmerizing. She works primarily with paper and uses styles like quilling and origami to bring stunning imagery to life. Listen in as she talks about the big leaps she’s taken in her life and career, how important it is for her to watch people experience her art and why she believes that both taking breaks for outdoor adventures and sitting down to do the work have helped her succeed.

138: Balancing Creative Discipline and a Sense of Adventure with Paper Artist Zahra Ammar

Creating Your Own Path is a weekly interview series featuring inspiring individuals and change-makers from various creative industries.

In asking others about their journeys, I've found that we creatives often veer off course, forge our own paths and don't always fit a particular mold. We tend to be a multifaceted bunch and this interview series seeks to find common ground among us all. Prepare to be challenged, inspired and motivated.

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Today, I’m chatting with our CYOP artist resident Malia Tong as we wrap up Season 6 of CYOP. Listen in as we talk about what we’ve both learned over the course of the season, what’s changed in our lives and careers and some of the surprising things we see on the horizon for our respective work.

147: Navigating This Season of Change: A Final Chat Between Me + Malia Tong

On today’s show, we catch up with past CYOP guests Maritza and Roshaun Davis of the Sacramento Kings and Unseen Heroes, respectively, to talk about Maritza’s recent decision to take on a full-time role outside of Unseen Heroes and what it’s meant for their business, their family and their personal career goals. We also talk about what it’s been like for Roshaun as he’s taken the reins at Unseen Heroes, why he’s assessing how they want to scale the business next and what he does to stay grounded when both he and Maritza are moving a million miles a minute.

146: Innovating with Intention and Staying Present with Maritza Davis of the Sacramento Kings and Roshaun Davis of Unseen Heroes

On today’s show, I chat with illustrator and writer Ludi Leiva about how she’s transitioned from working in media full-time to working for herself. We also dive into what it means to be a creative in a place like New York (and why she’s decided to move out of the city), why she believes we all need to stop worrying about the perceptions of others, and why her family history has her dreaming of some really beautiful projects.

145: Taking the Unexpected Route and Finding the Right People with Writer and Illustrator Ludi Leiva

Today’s show is an interview with multidisciplinary artist Tia Keo. Her story is one I think many of us can relate to — especially if we’ve been working creatively for a while.

In the episode, we discuss how she’s been playing with different mediums over the years to stay creatively inspired and to combat the burnout that comes with working in one medium for so long. We also chat about the dangers of the creative hustle — pushing and pushing to find success — and how she’s discovered a certain amount of flow that is opening up opportunities she may have never considered. 

I loved hearing how intentional Tia is about creating habits while also making space for the unexpected. I hope you’ll get just as much as I did from this interview.

144: Stepping Away from the Hustle and Finding Flow with Multidisciplinary Artist Tia Keo

Today’s episode will get you a front row seat at my recent talk at Sacramento’s Creative Mornings event last month. In it, I discuss the challenges I’ve faced, both personally and professionally, as I’ve navigated significant losses over the last several years. The theme for this talk was END and I cover how I’ve worked to claim my narrative while I was going through the grief process surrounding my divorce and the death of a loved one. As always, my goal in sharing these kinds of topics is to help others who might be going through something similar.

138: Balancing Creative Discipline and a Sense of Adventure with Paper Artist Zahra Ammar

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