Back and ready to chat after a week away!

In this episode, I share what I’m working on in my creative practice as well as in my creative business.

I share why I don’t think creative doubt is a problem, where it's been showing up for me lately, how raising your prices impacts both community as well as your self-worth, and a practice for working with doubt as a portal to great self-acceptance, compassion and growth.

Resources & Links:

• Mariah Oller — a link to Mariah’s art & tarot practice! 

• Follow me @ashleytrabue on Instagram to see the portrait develop.

• Shadows (working title) — here’s a trailer I made about the new abstract painting series I’m working on inspired by my studio’s drop cloths
• ⁠Article on the Hungry Ghost syndrome ⁠

• Check out Professor Stephen’s work here on Tiktok! 

• And register for SELL YOUR ART! our workshop & 10 day challenge,

Connect with ashley & the Creative Self-Love Club online: 

• Instagram
• Tiktok 

In this episode I talk about: 

• My love for “walk & talks” as a tool for navigating the early stages & messy middle of creative processes
• How our inner “good girls” tend to get in the way of our creative process and the importance of meeting them with love but not letting them lead
• Why we need to un-shame and embrace the parts of ourselves that our inner “good girl” fears are “bad”
• What I’m planning to teach next in my artist mastermind
• The power of messy, imperfect action as a creative SKILL
• Dormancy/rest as an essential part of the creative process 
• A question to ask yourself to see where you’re leading with your inner “good girl”

If you want more support working on your art & creative goals, apply to our bad girl art club for weekly creative community, coaching, artist body-doubling time and more.

Click here to learn more & get your application in!

And as always, connect with my online @creativeselfloveclub on both Instagram and Tiktok.
Tag me in any stories or posts this or other episodes inspire and I’ll reshare to my stories to get more eyes on your account! 

Or ya know... shitty podcasts episodes :)

In this episode (which I gleefully record from a scaling-hot, bath with rose salts in the middle of a Monday) I make a case that the fastest way to make great art is by allowing yourself the freedom to make shitty art!

“But ashley! I love only ever making very high quality things! I'm happy with how often I create and the work I produce — I could never!” 

FABULOUS! If it's working for you - - keep it up. This episode probably isn’t for you.

But.

If you’re someone who wants…

• to create more often 
• to feel enjoy more of what you make
• for working on your art to feel exciting and not just like a chore
• to hear less inner-critic and more of your inner-voice and artist
• to be prolific in what you make!

Then the shitty art challenge is for you! You can download a free guide to it by clicking here.

And as always, tag me @creativeselfloveclub in any posts about the #shittyartchallenge, or if you want some help thinking through a way to make it applicable for your specific project or creative goal!

You've got big creative goals and dreams and KNOW your work matters, and/also shit is not okay in a lot of areas of the country/world right now.

In this episode, I share my personal practice called "the pause," which helps me manage overthinking, cultivate presence, and help me stay in-process with my feelings, so I can also stay in-process with my art!

Then, I guide you through making a menu of "micro moves" on the art project you're wanting to pursue next, so even if you don't have a lot of time or focus to give your work, you can always find a few moments to knock-out the very next step.

Big goals get accomplished bit by bit!

Tag me on social media ⁠@⁠⁠creativeselfloveclub⁠ to show me what your project's brain dump looks like and to share what you’re adding to your micro moves menu!!

I’ll reshare and follow, so we can become art friends. 

Show Notes:

1:18 — if you were raised in a household with an unpredictable parent, this admnstration likely feels triggering

2:11 — I introduce "The Pause," an emotional hygiene tool for artists

6:43 — links to some of the research I mention around emotional self-acceptance + + +

9:56 — the connection between experiencing our emotions and experiencing our art/ideas

11:28 — an exercise for breaking down your big art project into a menu of micro moves

18:34 — what I want for US ALL this year

Ways to work together: 

1. Book a call to explore working together 1:1 
2. Or click here to learn more & apply to join our 2026 artist mastermind!

**Heated Rivalry spoiler warning!! Skip to 5:46 to avoid episode 5 spoilers**

Join ashley for a catch-up-with-an-old-friend-style podcast ep where we discuss:

• the joy of Heated Rivalry & the power of seeing ourselves in others (a la Heated Rivalry)
• jealousy as creatively instructive 
• the creative process of writing my first full-length, non-fiction book!
• the difference in creating from a sense of creative self-love (rather than creative self-loathing!)
• and some journal prompts for sussing out where your priorities lie in the new year!

4:53 — I wrote about a few of the artists that inspire instructive jealousy in me in this Substack post (a place where I rarely post anymore!)

5:46 —last mention of HR spoiler content

5:55 —The Jealous Curator, aka Danielle Krysa, on Instagram

6:41 — I announce my newest project - -my hardest one yet!

8:33 —what my book is about

11:14 — a specific example of creative self-loathing vs creative self-love in action

16:33 —journal prompts for you and the new year

Join us for a Fiction Book Club episode because books are more fun with friends!

In part one of this experimental-to-us episode format, I chat with my spouse, writer Trey Adams, as we chat through the first half of the book North Woods by Daniel Mason.

This episode covers everything up to "Case Notes of Robert S.," and thus does contain spoilers through that point!!

If you've already read the book, go ahead and tune in, and if not, lucky you!! Run to your local library or favorite book store, and check it out before giving this ep a listen.

North Woods wrecked me in the best of ways, and gave me lots and lots to think and feel about. Listening back to this episode, I thought of a dozen different things that I wish we had brought up or spent more time talking through.

As you listen, you'll have to comment and let us know what we left out that you loved, hated, or wondered about, and more generally I'm curious to know if you'd be interested in more episodes like this in the future.

Enjoy!

Like many folks, I learned early on in life that feeling my feelings was inconvenient for those around me, and built up a practice of denying, ignoring and actively resisting my honest emotions and experience.

In today’s first episode back after a long break, we chat about why radical self-acceptance is not only important for our mental health but also for growing in self-intimacy, love and creativity.

Join me today with my internet friend and fellow coach Dawn Davis for a fun and unfiltered conversation on becoming shameless and embracing rituals that support a flourishing sense of self-love.

About Dawn:

Dawn Davis is a queer intimacy coach, confidence specialist, sex educator, writer, podcaster, and motivational speaker, modeling for others how to take up space unapologetically. Empowering folks for decades to say no, ask for what they want, and set clear boundaries inside and outside of the bedroom. She helps women and queer folks love themselves and their bodies, and challenge the status quo without shame. No subject is taboo.

Find all their links by clicking here and be sure to follow them and say hello on Instagram @dawndaviscoaching

Wanna join Dawn in becoming more shameless through art?

Experience the thrill of seeing your whole-ass naked truth in the light of creative self-love. Become a work of art by contributing to (or collecting art from) my forthcoming series through my Take Back Your Body project by clicking here.

Friends! I am so excited to share today's episode and guest with you. A very "take back your body" project-inspired conversation between myself and DC area artist and family photographer Mel Worthington.

If you're not already, you can follow my work online https://instagram.com/ashleytrabue and if you want to learn more about being supported in some radical self-acceptance work through the art-making process, click here to learn more about plugging in to my Take Back Your Body project!

Looking for the images we're discussing in today's episode?? Click ⁠ this link to visit a substack post⁠ where I've shared images from today's conversation!

Scarcity and abundance are two sides of the same damn coin. The scarcity side leaves us feeling chronically not-enough, under-resourced, and vulnerable to spinning out in cycles of shame and blame.

The abundance side, on the other hand, feels a lot like the sense of being and having enough, feeling safe to expand, enjoy, be and share.

In this episode, we talk about ways to care for ourselves and our relationship to abundance when we are experiencing some kind of scarcity.