Creative Ways Podcast

London based mural artists Eloisa Henderson Fills the world with happiness, she brings excitement to many lucky people’s walls! Of course we know how brave she must be to paint huge murals but what I love about her  is that she explains in our conversation that’s she feels the fear each time! She explains here how she pushes through and her childhood growing up with her mum who works with children who are maybe vulnerable and neurodiverse, which of course has helped shape Elosia's art to this current day.

What I also love is that this was all born through lock down! To help keep a float last year, Eloisa Henderson ran workshops in her garden. Eloisa spins lots of plates, she paints on film sets too!

Eloisa’s Takeaways

1.Just because you didn’t enjoy the project, the teaching, or whatever the thing is the first time, it doesn’t mean you won’t again, try it a second time and see!

2.Put out what you want more of. It’s that simple

3.Worrying about a project is common, it’s what keeps us at our best, we have to look for ways to keep this healthy and not overtake us.

4. As creatives we natural worry

5.If you don’t get the project you pitched for remember, you’re successful to even be in this position to apply.

6. It’s about trying again down the line, it’s not a sorry no’ it’s a ‘not right now’.

7.Some projects can just feel way too big because it is right now, and that’s ok, if you feel it will impact you negatively. Listen to that. Of course, we need to push ourself out of our comfort zone, however, there is a difference, don’t confuse the two.

8.When children play up, we know it’s for attention, use your art to play! This will ease them into a safer, calmer mental space. Art is a super power.

9.You can make people smile through your art that’s the true magic!

10.It is possible to spin lots of plates If you’re interested in a variety of different creative areas, it’s important to do if you know you need the mix

11. When working on a job its expected for you to work out what you need to do to get that job done, so don’t worry if it’s new to you, just say ‘Yes thankyou let me get on with that’ and research later. Your manager just wats it done, they don’t mind if you’ve done it or not.

12. You don’t always know more the longer you’re in a studio, don’t worry, just learn on the job. That’s what we all do!

13. It’s ok to be anxious when you’re putting yourself out there creatively, we can reconise that nasty voice and say internally ‘thank you, I’m doing it anyway! ‘I’m doing the best I can and that will lead to more great art’ This kind of narrative is far more inviting, progressive and helps us move past in the moment than letting all of the nasty mean words paralyse us.

14.Spread your art outside or hang in your windows for passer by’s to enjoy, your art will brighten their day, it’s a gift.

Victoria Tojeiro founder of ‘Happy Stuff Studio’ is a self taught illustrator, designer and now has her own jewellery too

Victoria gave up her teaching career to follow her pull to a creative life that suits her vibrant personality, not only does Victoria create  colourful fun characters, she also literally wears her joy too! Victoria gave up her wardrobe of beige, grey and blacks for a fully pattern on pattern fun retro galore she says ‘everyday is literally dress up day!

Nothing makes her happier than knowing she's been able to spread a bit of 'daftness and joy to the world' 

Victoria’s Takeaways 

1.Question anyone who tells you there isn’t any work for the arts 

2.Step into your children's world rather than expect them to embrace

3.Step fully into your originality 

4.We need to stop limiting children need to teach us

5.The younger generation keep design industry

6.Wear your joy, it’s all connected

7. Create what you want not what you think will sell

8.Don’t force it

9. Your happiness will fill the house with your mood, don’t underestimate it

Connect with Victoria here 

www.happystuffstudio.co.uk

Lisa Metcalfe is a designer and illustrator for the greeting card industry, her designs can be found in many major retailers and charities globally.

Lisa got here, employed to design in her 3rd big studio without a university degree! 

'Lisa didn’t stop there and sit back mind you, she is constantly pushing herself and developing new skills with online course's trying new techniques.

Lisa’s Takeaways

1.You don’t need a degree to make a living from your art

2.Keep knocking on doors

3. Getting back up and being resourceful is always the key

4.Put pride aside and be humble and gracious, we can all agree its an attractive trait

5. Always be curious and perculate, experiment and play with Developing new ideas

6. Set a space up in the house however small

7.Getting looser with your work and not being precious

8. Remember if you don’t like it you can paint over it.

9.Get the kids involved

10. Tell the family how important this new project is to youUse up left over paint with making marks in your sketch book

11. Paint for the process not the outcome

12.You don’t need loads of time for your art – the first 20 – 30 minutes is normally your best most energised work

13.Don’t get in your own head

Connect with Lisa

https://www.instagram.com/lisa.metcalfe.art/

Artist, advertising maverick and author Dave Buonaguidi shares his valuable wisdom with us this week. Dave has been a true shaker in the advertising world for over 30 years. Dave was the founder of Karmarama & St lukes co-operative creative advertising agencies which was way ahead of its time, it was named ‘the most dangerous company on earth!’ by the Harvard business review!  They worked with Ikea, Boots, The Body Shop Anita Roddick to name just a few.

They created the famous ‘MAKE TEA NOT WAR!’ poster for the Stop the War Coalition, which is now in the V&A.

Dave then went on to be creative director for Channel 4 for a time before truly diving into his creative calling as an artist! Dave is the king of messaging and creating connection through his art.

Dave’s has gone against the grain challenging the status quo, and creating noise his whole career, Dave is definitely not beige and this is why we all love him!

Dave shares how to get your message out there and create connection through building your universe and market. He also believes by keeping your values and shinning your true light, the rest will come!

Dave Takeaways

1.We all really need to feel seen and have connection

2.Build your universe and your market

3.Keep getting back up!!

4.Be authentic and guided by your inner morals

5. Create an emotive reaction to get your message out there with connection

6. If you keep going and shining your light bright, people will come back

7. There are more people who will give up and pull the plug than keep going.

8. Keep to your values!

9.Creativity is the cure

10. Your pain is your message

You can find Dave’s work and the galleries he’s at

https://www.realhackneydave.com/

And Buy his book! Blah blah blah I couldn’t put it down!! Buy on Amazon and give.co.uk

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blah-Memoirs-British-advertisings-mavericks/dp/1912892170/ref=nodl_

He’s also done a Ted talk ‘be the driver not the passenger’

https://youtu.be/pmJDpQO-fBo

This week Emma Isaacs talks about feeling stuck and how to overcome this and move forward.

Emma has broken down five main strategies that promise to help break any mental blocks and move past into an inspired joyful space that helps us get back into the creative flow.

Denise Gasser is a mixed media artist, born and raised near the mountains of Utah.

After years of over whelming guilt for wanting to still be an artist mixed with anxiety to try be the perfect mum and helper in her community, Denise decided to hold her hands up and embrace it all, the distractions, imperfections, the messiness around trying to paint and mother 4 young children!­­

Denise founded the ‘Art After’ project. Reconciling art and motherhood. A series of small paintings that occur in one sitting and must be finished once interrupted. When that happens, Denise writes on the back the date the time she started the time she finished and what the interruption was.

As you can imagine this project has had global reach after her exhibition! Denise gives talks and workshops in the US and Canada and is owned in private collections in several countries around the world.

Denise shares honestly about her journey as a young Mum and artist, her thoughts on balance, boundaries and guilt.

Look at her stunning work

www.denisegasser.com

Denise’s Takeaways 

1.Having honest conversation with other women is vital 

2.Being a mum is lonely, being an artist is lonely! Make sure you reach out to creative communities online.

3.Finding time to create is vital to being a better Mum, because you’re being the better you!

4.Feeling burnt out isn’t ok! We are told its path and we need to juggle, spin those plates. Talk to your family and work out scheduling times for you!

5.We don’t have an adult telling us to take care of ourselves! It’s our job to think about what patterns and examples we are setting to our kids.

6.It’s ok to say being at home with the kids isn’t working out for us all. That doesn’t make you a bad parent! You’re an honest human. 

7.Giving yourself permission is vital, not just for yourself but for others. 

8.Take a good look at where your time is spent each day, which chunks are being spent on what areas and write it all down so you can see in detail how many people and jobs are taking you away from what you really want.

9.Stop asking why you should do it. What's the reason? Sometimes our bodies want to move and dance just because!

11.Chipping away is such a powerful mantra. Start telling yourself this each day. 

12.If alarm bells are ringing for you or a family member regarding ADHD take an online test and have a look at the show notes for some of our favourite books. 

Denise's Book Recommendations:

Driven to Distraction

ADHD 2.0

The  ADDitude Website has tons of great articles

Anything by Russel Barkley. I learned a lot from this talk I listened to on YouTube : https://youtu.be/YSfCdBBqNXY

As October is ADHD awareness month, I'm sharing my ADHD journey so far, what I've learned since getting my diagnoses aged 40, just 12 Months ago and what I feel we should all know as parents, teachers, partners and members of our wonderful globe!

ADHD Takeaways 

1.The brain isn’t fully understood, we are all learning and developing all of the time2.What is normal, there are no two humans the same, even identical twins have different fingerprints

3.Dyslexia can be paired with ADHD

4.OCD Is commonly paired with ADHD

5.ADAHD’S are highly creative, they can be inventive thinkers, they often think very differently. Big companies actively seek neurodiverse creatives

6.Family members will say ‘oh it’s the latest trend, answer by saying its only the same as giving someone glasses or a walking stick if they get diagnosed!

7. ADHD in girls is harder to pick up because they learn very young age to mimic others which masks any blocks and struggles.

8.ADHD does run in the family

9.We get used to struggle, get tested if you’re wondering you will be helping your family if you won’t think of yourself!

Andy J Pizza - https://bit.ly/3AexY8Y

Denise Gasser -https://bit.ly/3FngVW4

Brené Brown's TED Talk "Listening to shame" from TED2012

https://youtu.be/5C6UELitWkw

Textile Designer Lauren Lesley has been a senior designer for Surya she’s travelled to many trade shows such as High Point Furniture Market, Las Vegas, New York, and Heimtex + Domotex in Germanyand many rug factories in India.

Lauren has worked with licensees such as Candice Olson, Country Living, Mike Farrell, and Gluckstein Home and not forgetting Anthropologie and Target

Lauren now freelancers and runs online courses- ‘How to become a Textile Designer, ‘How to Find your Own Style’ are just a few examples. Lauren is also a hit on YouTube too!

Lauren’s Takeaways 

1.Transitioning from designing for a studio to freelance is huge, give yourself the time and grace

2.As a designer it’s crucial you keep your eye on future trends

3.Trends are always watered down for the high street, see what’s coming through ahead of time. Is it big puffy sleeves, pattern clash for example?

4.Finding your style can be a headache! Try not to over think it, you can start by looking at your favourite colour palette

5.Generally, we follow creatives on social media who show a style we are attracted too, so look at what it is that you’re loving in those groups

6.Be sure to work off screen this really changes perspective, scale, colour ways and you can take it back onto the ipad and replicate it after.

7.Be gentle with yourself when you are trying new mediums and  techniques it’s not just ok to mess up, we absolutely should messy up, allow it!

You can find Lauren's YouTube channel and work here 

https://youtu.be/YqzZRBHyzM8

https://www.laurenlesley.com/

Megan Sjuts is a visionary designer, online educator, and creative coach. With a decade of industry experience, Megan has mastered the art of visual communications. She is the owner of Building 07, a dynamic design studio through which she has served a wide range of clients, from businesses and brands to ministries and non-profit organisations.

Megan has a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Marketing and Advertising Management. Always wanting to learn more, she later earned a Master of Arts in Mass Communication degree at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, specialising in Web Design and Online Communications.

As a designer, Megan partners with ambitious business women to bring their vision to life through strategic design and creative direction. She offers a unique perspective by effectively combining her knowledge of marketing, advertising, and design expertise to create strategic solutions for her clients.

As a creative coach, Megan is passionate about encouraging creatives to own their design and courageously pursue their paths. As a former design professor, and through her work as an industry expert for the Bucket-list Bombshells Design Skills Course, she has helped thousands of young creatives build flourishing and fulfilling online businesses and careers.

Megan Takeaways

1.Shut down comparison, it completely stumps creativity

2.What do I have? What am I good at?

3.Concentrate on what you have achieved instead of always feeling less than and thinking and wanting to accomplish more.

4.Shift your focus from what other people have done, and shift it to what am I good at? How can I use that and strengthen my skillset to help and serve other people

5.What makes you feel most inspired doing? That’s the thing

6.We all have a completely different lenses and so our interpretation on something will have of course have your individual take.

7.You can give a class the same brief and they will all have a completely different take on something.

8.Collaboration and groups is so powerful for us creatives

9.Not many of us creatives have other creatives in our family or close unit, so it’s important to find your village and keep them close

10.Owning your creativity isn’t one moment to step into, its many tiny steps.

11.Watch your inner dialogue, are you being kind and gentle to yourself?

12.Try to not take yourself so seriously by tapping into your younger fun self

13.Play is vital, allow yourself to enjoy the journey along the way!

14.Look for freedom in your life to connect to creativity

[email protected]

 www.building07.com

@building07 

Artists Nova Zef is a true creative visionary, she’s a trained professional dancer from New York, now living between Bali and L.A Nova, is a vocalist and creative mind behind the NY band Pendulum people, she’s a spoken word artist, a writer, and has the fashion label Tooky Tooky. Nova has performed at large festivals; she’s created staging for shows and she navigates all of this with travel too. You’re going to love hearing Nova’s story and the mindset she has.

Nova’s Takeaway's

1.The big bold exciting gigs don’t come without struggle and compromise

2.Other people’s words and opinions are just that. They shouldn’t define you. The true power is in carrying on.

3.Be the audience or the student and take in everything, having that different perspective is huge

4.When you’re stood on that stage, In that scary exhibition, opening and you feel wobbly or scared, trust  See your inner gift imagine it as a light and visualise it.

5.Trust that you have value and you’re gifting the world.

6.We are all stuck on the internet we are all craving soul and connecting

7.Watch out for social media, if you’re not feeling inspired and instead triggered then turn Instagram off, put your phone upstairs the night before a creative day so you’re not having hundreds of negative distractions and self-doubt.

8.Stay truthful to your vision and goals.

9. Being multi passionate is a gift, yes its a lot of work but it's important to keep on re addressing and aligning.

10. Keep working on your good mental space, on knowing beliveing and working hard.

www.instagram.com/novazef