Artistic Accomplices

When the pandemic hit back in March, it was like hitting a big pause button. As everything was cancelled or postponed, I hunkered down in my house, making art, creating videos, livestreaming, and working on podcasts. It was a great time to reconnect with all of these things, but then I pivoted to teaching online classes, and the world slowly began to reopen. I even got to do some in-person teaching in the form of kids summer art camps at the art center that I managed. And unfortunately, so much fell to the wayside as camps swung into high gear, and I continued to teach online. I had little time, and my life became completely unbalanced.

On today’s episode, I discuss this feeling of being out of balance, and share a few ways that may help you to regain some of your balance if you’re feeling the same way.

I interview collage and encaustic artist Crystal Neubauer. Crystal shares her artistic journey and discusses how many of her ideas and themes for her works develop organically as she works. We also, dive into making art and teaching art workshops, and we discuss the impact that the coronavirus pandemic and the recent racial tensions and protests have had on Crystal and her work.

We are walking through the fire now, and recent events have me pondering what’s important. Even though the pandemic, protests, marches, and political turmoil have stirred up a lot of overwhelming emotions and ideas, creating and making allow us to process our emotions, our reactions, and our thoughts. Turning the energy of the turmoil into creative energy allows us to focus on what is most important as the fire burns away what is not. We can either allow the fire to consume us or we can allow it to make us stronger as we realize what is truly important.

In the simplest of terms, creating is a spiritual act. Creating is a way that we make sense of the world and discover understanding and meaning. Author Brené Brown says, “As long as we’re creating, we’re cultivating meaning.”

I share some ideas on how art and creating can help us discover meaning and purpose in our lives, and I share a bit about my own spiritual journey.

I interview Kansas City artist Amanda Jolley. We talk about her journey from accountant to artists, and we discuss how she come to her main passions of encaustic painting and paper folding and where she gets inspiration for her work. We also talk about how the pandemic has helped many folks focus in on what’s truly important and how art can be a process of letting go of things that get in the way of our authenticity.

We are in an unprecedented crisis that has left many of us panicked and scrambling. But can we find the time and the energy to figure out what is truly important and reprioritize some of the things in our lives right now. I speak straight from the heart as I talk about how this difficult time has been a way for me and many others to reassess our core values and come away with a new outlook on our priorities.

I interview good friend and artist Steve Loya, and we talk about our current situation with the coronavirus and stay-at-home orders. Steve gives some advice on how he’s dealing with the crisis and how he’s finding time to stay creative and keep his sanity.

Steve is an artist and an art teacher who lives in Sterling, Virginia. Steve is a lover of nature and of music, and uses both as inspiration for his art. He has created a wide range of artwork from his fun and fanciful Splotch Monsters to his thoughtful Endangered Kingdom series — from his drawings of trees and animals to his abstract paintings and Tone Poems.

What a crazy time right now! So many folks are affecting in so many unpredictable ways. Things are unpredictable, and there’s a lot of stress and anxiety in the world. Instead of closing down and shutting ourselves in, I am encouraging people to open up, connect, and share — all in an attempt to amplify and uplift others.

I share some thoughts about this time of upheaval and what we can do to support each other and encourage one another.

Instead of setting out to make a work of art, or to write a novel, or to create a symphony. What if we simplified our approach? What if we set out to have at least one artistic action each day? Instead of overwhelming ourselves with grand notions, and deciding that we’re just not up to the task, what if set out to do just one small action. These little notions — these little artistic actions will accumulate, and over time, they will build.

“Your hand needs time to wander enough to be able to find something you weren’t aware of…” Lynda Barry

There might be a fundamental misunderstanding about making and creating. Many people feel that creating is about making some thing — that the creative person simply imagines this thing — a painting, a song, a new dish, and then sets out to make that thing. I believe that creating is an act of discovery, and I share thoughts on how we need to make space to allow our hand to wander so that we can discover something new as we create.