Art Ladders: The Creative Climb

Art Ladders is excited to announce that 2024 will be guided by the word, prosper. We intend to flourish and thrive by creating new habits that will benefit our art, finances and health.

In this episode a review of habits to help us prosper will be examined. We talk about the importance of planning ahead and dreaming big. A practical list of doable habits is attributed to, Ruben Chavez, who maintains the Instagram page, @thinkgrowprosper. There will be a Pinterest link to the list in our show notes.

Well, it's a brand new year and we are looking forward to sharing our journey with you all. Our studio is expanding and by springtime there will be a gallery space that will be open by appointment. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for announcements regarding this progress.

Let us know your plans for 2024. We can keep each other accountable while showing support. It's going to be a great year!

Show Notes

Ruben Chavez's Instagram Page

Book by Litsa Spano: Secrets of the Art World

Pinterest link of "Habits to Help You Prosper" List by Ruben Chavez

Valerie's Second Sunday of the Month Mentoring Group

Armin's First Tuesday of the Month Mentoring Group

With over 30 questions collected over that past years of the podcast, Val and Armin draw five specific questions from their sunflower bowl to answer in this end-of-the-year episode.

Diving in to teaching and communication styles of artists to keeping a budget, you will learn areas that artists need to know for success. Val and Armin are very honest in what they do best and what they need to work on.....think budget.

By showing vulnerability, they are honest about imposter syndrome appearing during tough times and how they handle advice that may not be welcomed at the time but prove to be correct in the future.

Enjoy this episode and Art Ladders with Val and Armin wish you all a very happy holiday and peaceful New Year for 2024. Thank you for all your support of Art Ladders and our art careers.

Here is our Linktree Bio with more information.

We have spent the last few days working on the exhibit, Contemporary Realism with artists Frits Hoendervanger, Robert Shefman, Todd Burroughs and curated by Armin for Buckham Gallery in Flint. Armin and I work as a team for these major events in our lives. There is framing, marketing, delivery and just overall hard work involved in reaching the deadline. Being under pressure and maintaining a sane and cordial married life can be challenging. During this podcast we work through some of the emotions we go thru during the rush to complete the tasks. Deadlines are a fact of life for artists working toward goals and hopefully you will get some tips on how to go with flow.

Armin's exhibit opens Friday, December 8 from 6-9pm at Buckham Gallery in Flint. There is an Artwork that will be happening the same evening. Hope to see you there.

Show Notes:

Buckham Gallery Website

December Artwork Downtown Flint

Armin Mersmann's Website

Valerie's Mentor Group

Looking within and revealing the personal reasons you create art can be a meaningful way to connect with your collectors, audience and yourself. Art is influenced by so many subtle interactions in our day to day life and it is worth making note of those experiences and weaving them into your story.

Armin and I were recently inspired by an Instagram reel we viewed from @SAB.GalleryCollection. It featured producer and author, Rick Rubin. He is the author of the 2023 release titled "The Creative Way: A Way of Being". In the video, Rick explains (and I'm paraphrasing), "If you want to live in a creative way, which will benefit everything in your life, you need to make it great by being personal. Being personal in all its imperfections and all its quirkiness, makes it great and how you see the world". This theme resonated with us both.

By taking a cue from this riff by Rick Rubin, we discussed how being more personal has made an appearance in our own art. Were there opportunities we missed by not revealing ourselves, of course there have been some. But when we made the leap to follow our hearts, be authentic, and have the courage to reveal the real reasons, we made ground in our art making.

We are hoping this episode that artists will be conscious of when they are making their art with their personality, tastes and backgrounds in the forefront. Stronger art will come out of those sessions and courage will lead to rewards.

Some show notes from the episode:

Rick Rubin: "The Creative Act: A Way of Being"

@SAB.GalleryCollection

Armin's Mastrius Mentor Group Open to Join

Valerie's mastrius Mentor Group Open to Join

Art Ladders Patreon Page for Podcast Membership Support

Give us a cup of symbolic coffee if this episode resonates with you! :)

On Tuesday, October 17, 2023, we had the honor and pleasure to interview author, ⁠⁠John Seed ⁠⁠via Zoom from his home base on the Central California Coast. He defines himself as an art writer and we would add storyteller with rich experiences in the world of art that tell all the sides of the art coin. From taking the path of an art student, to MFA, to gallery driver, collector, curator, installation team member, art professor, to author, he has done it all and uses all the facets to his advantage in his writings. 

He has written for the art section of Huffington Post, Hyperallergic, a round the clock online art newsletter, Arts of Asia and other fine publications. His books include My Art World: Recollections and Other Writings, ⁠⁠Disrupted Realism: Paintings for a Distracted World⁠⁠, and his most recent book ⁠⁠More Disruption: Representational Art in Flux⁠⁠. He was the recipient of a Society of Professional Journalist's award in art and entertainment writing. 

For over three decades John Seed taught Studio Art and Art History at Mount San Jacinto College. He also taught Modernism at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and Theory and Criticism for the MFA program at Laguna College of Art and Design. Since 2013 John has served on the board of the ⁠⁠Sam Francis Foundation⁠⁠ and am currently serving as the President of ⁠⁠Greenspace: The Cambria Land Trust.⁠⁠

Here is a video interview with John Seed titled ⁠⁠"My Non-Tragic Backstory".⁠⁠

John is also teaching an online class called ⁠⁠Art Criticism for Artists⁠⁠ through the Penn Studio School of Art. Val will be taking this class starting in January and is looking forward to hearing more from John. Check out the link above to learn more about this class. 

Thank you, John for spending time with us and sharing your knowledge and stories. By the way, he invites our audience to email him at [email protected] with questions and comments on any of his books. He is generous and kind with his correspondence and you will be richer by sharing an email with him. Enjoy this episode! 

Val and Armin's experience highlights an important issue for artists looking for work that allows them to pursue their creative passions. While jobs in art-related professions can provide valuable experience and insights into the art world, they can also be demanding and time-consuming, leaving little time and energy for personal artistic pursuits.

Here are some additional points to consider when seeking employment as an artist:

Val and Armin enjoy using a casual "coffee talk" style in this episode that includes spontaneous and personal segments. They invite their audience to share their job experiences, which can benefit aspiring artists and provide interesting stories for those already in the field.

Thank you for listening! 

Show Notes:

Valerie Allen's Website

Armin Mersmann's Website

Join Valerie's Mentor Group (Second Sunday of Every Month 4pm Eastern.)

Join Armin's Mentor Group (First Tuesday of the Every Month 6pm Eastern.)

Here Is Fong Choo's website. He is an award winning potter who does beautiful clay work. Val was thrilled to help pick up his work for an exhibit at Midland Center for the Arts.

Lilongwe, Malawi in Southeastern Africa is indeed a long, long way away and we are happy to travel over the Zoom waves to visit with artist, designer, educator and mentor, Kristen Palana. Valerie met Kristen virtually a few months ago as a student in Kristen's Web Presence and Social Media Marketing class through Mastrius.com. Through Mastius, Kristen, Armin and Val are now colleague mentors with many other artists across the globe. It's a great opportunity to bring collective art knowledge to our podcast.

Kristen's artist statement is rich with optimism and positivity contrasted with bringing awareness to the reality of our planet.

“I draw the world not as it is but how I wish it could be. Inspired by the lofty mission statements and development goals used by the world's top organizations, my images can be used to imagine better outcomes for our lives, communities, and the planet. I'm currently developing a body of drawings that move beyond making creative visualizations at the individual level to expand to include the larger global community.

I use symbols, icons, and patterns with cross-cultural significance combined with color psychology to help soothe, heal, and reinvigorate weary idealists. My backgrounds are not always content to remain quietly in the background. Through highly charged color choices, energetic lines, and regional and global textile patterns commonly made by and for women, these backgrounds sometimes ask nicely and other times demand with exasperation to be seen, heard, accepted, and appreciated.” - Kristen Palana

You will hear Kristen describe how this is a "move year" for their family. It is the year where they find out the next adventurous location they will live and make home. That process can be daunting and exhilarating but always unpredictable. She and her husband are providing a lifestyle for their sons that will send them into adult life well prepared to adapt and excel. Very exciting times ahead for Kristen! We wish her all the very best.

Here are show notes to learn even more about Kristen Palana and her art and life.

Kristen Palana's Website

Kristen's Mastrius Information

Al-Tiba9 Contemporary Art Interview with Kristen Palana

Comparing yourself to other artists means that you are evaluating your own abilities, qualities, or achievements in relation to those of artists. This can involve looking at someone who you perceive as better than you in some way, or someone who you believe is worse off than you in some aspect. This type of comparison can have both positive and negative effects on your self-esteem and personal growth. On one hand, it can motivate you as an artist to work harder and strive for self-improvement. On the other hand, it can lead to feelings of inadequacy, jealousy, and low self-esteem if you constantly feel like you're falling short in comparison to others. It's important to remember that everyone is on their own journey and has their own unique strengths and weaknesses, so it's not always helpful to compare yourself to others. Instead, focus on your own progress and growth, and celebrate your successes along the way.

Show Notes

Upcoming Mentorship Group with Val starting October 8th

Join Armin's Mentorship Group here.

Val's Abstraction Now! Class starts October 4th. Register here

Website of Denis Peterson

Website of Erwin Lewandowski

On a beautiful August afternoon we had the pleasure to talk with artist and mentor, Larry Butcher. This conversation proceeds to tell a story of a young man coming to age on a rural Michigan farm with a father who expected his children to be navigators of inventive thinking and a mother who encouraged her young ones to be makers. Creative thinking and hard work was the norm and from that Larry became a visual artist and art educator, who to this day believes in the sharing of artistic knowledge.

Larry Butcher has a Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in Education from Central Michigan University and continued art studies at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Detroit. His background includes sign painting, teaching art in the Mount Pleasant School System as well as a long career as professor of art at Delta College. In the episode you will hear Larry speak of his amazing connections to artists Charles Breed and Russell Thayer, who both shaped Larry's position at Delta College which went for a 39 year run.

He is well-known as a prolific painter who developed unique shaped canvas paintings as well as wonderful drawings as an amazing draughtsman. He has work in many corporate and private collections. We will be posting images on our Art Ladders: The Creative Climb Facebook Page.