One day Albert realized that it wasn't people or things outside of him that would heal him. After bouts of depression and a challenging education in what he calls "the school of hard knocks" (a.k.a. life as an adult and young father of two) he had a wakeup call. It was time in nature, time in his ceramics studio and time in quiet contemplation that fed his soul and made it possible for him to radiate all the good he had to offer into the world around him. He encourages us to "live our lives like jazz," to be gentle with ourselves and to be comforted in knowing that there is no such thing as work-life balance.  

Follow Albert and his work here: https://www.instagram.com/sameru_kuma/

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Your Quote for the day:

"Creativity springs from the yearning to be the fullness of who you are."

~ Ram Dass

We all know that when there is something our heart wants to do we should just dive in and do it. We also know that this simple idea is often easier said than done. Leadership coach, Atiyeh Ghanbari reminds us that designing your own life is not only possible, but also an ultimate creative act. After gaining a huge love for books from her father, making homes in different countries, tackling a university degree in French (not her native language) followed by years in the corporate world leading teams, large and small, in English (also not her native language) she has applied this approach to her own life realizing that what really lights her up is being a coach. “Each of us has the potential to create and lead the life we want. But too often get stuck feeling like we can’t." As Atiyeh says, it's time to “step up, take a seat at the table and own it.”

Learn more about Atiyeh and her work here:

https://www.instagram.com/thisisleading.co/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/atiyeh-ghanbari-a8a53b5/

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Your Quote for the day:

A book is a dream that you hold in your hand. 

~ Neil Gaiman

Potter, singer song writer, yoga instructor, Ayurveda practitioner and personal health coach Hannah Levin's motto is "Make your life a work of art." Though being multi-passionate has meant different things to her at different times, she has remained faithful to the ebb and flow and enjoys the fact that her different mediums of focus are now overlapping in nice ways in her present work. She encourages all of us to find simple ways to honor our health so that there are fewer barriers between us and our creative inspirations. This could be waking before the sun and letting your energy build with the sunrise every morning or making lunch the largest meal of the day. She reminds us that because everything is always in a state of change, even if we feel stuck, we aren't. Maybe instead, we have found ourselves in the "breakdown" before the "breakthrough" which could be an exciting place indeed. 

Hannah's Website: www.heartfeltwellbeing.com

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Your quote for the day:

~ Paulus Berensohn, speaking in the film "To Spring from the Hand"

Sometimes the answer to overwhelm in art (and in life) is to narrow the infinite number of possibilities down from a great many to a limited few. After a number of enjoyable years as an academic librarian and documentary film maker/teacher Heather Stewart Harvey has found great freedom in this idea as it applies to her main passion of the moment: ceramics. Endless shades of gray, a minimal aesthetic, play with shadow, a focus on form and choosing hand building over wheel throwing because it fits into her start-and-stop work schedule are all part and parcel of a formula that works for her in the midst of the pulls of family life. She continues to fold gardening, home-nesting and playing backup guitar with her fiddler husband into all the rest and though it ain't always easy, it remains worth it. Every day.

Check out Heather's ceramic work here: https://www.heatherstewartharvey.com/

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Your quote for the day:

“The more that each of us tends our own soul, the more the world will prosper.”

~ SARK

What if we want to knit a pair of socks with skulls on them? What if we want to learn the old songs of the Gaelic lands or grab a concertina? Well. If that's what calls you, then you should just get to it. Melissa Weaver Dunning understands this feeling and has plenty of experiences spinning, knitting, natural dyeing and hand weaving that overlap with great stories, traditional music and a desire to choose a life for it's rich variety over the money that may or may not flow in. Melissa reminds us that sometimes these choices mean more time with our children, our spouses...and with our quiet thoughts. On top of that, sometimes loving and pursuing multiple endeavors balances out our introverted selves with our extroverted selves. Added Bonus: Melissa sings a song at the end of this episode!

Hear/See Melissa's 280 song a day project here: - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCSsdMuR6cWc34lVfvJWB_A

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Your quote for the day: 

“Creativity is nothing but a mind set free.” 

~ Torrie T. Asai

Multi-instrumentalist, performer, teacher and award winning yo-yoer Jim Pankey decided one day to quit his day job as a banker and pursue a career as a professional musician. He now mixes "old-timey" traditional tunes and teaching on banjo, ukulele and mandolin with "new-timey" technologies such as YouTube to put his work out into the world. He encourages students to always keep their instrument out and to practice their banjo a little bit every day that they brush their teeth. Added Bonus: Jim plays a tune for us at the end of the episode!

See Jim's lessons & free resources here: www.youtube.com/WildJimbo

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Your quote for the day: 

“Where words fail, music speaks.” ― Hans Christian Andersen

Lauren deSerres went from explorations with clay, sculpture, wood carving and toy making to becoming a mixed media painter, art teacher and raiser of chickens. She experienced an improved emotional quality of life when she decided to become a self-employed, full-time artist. Though some days are full of accounting rather than painting, it remains her happy place...especially if she sticks to her morning ritual of starting each day with yoga. She shares that art making isn't all magic and inspiration, it is also practicing seeing well and noticing combined with lots of motor skills practice and getting your eyes, hands and brain to talk to each other. She encourages everyone, no matter your work/life situation, to always fold creative bits into your days so that you are a happier person and in turn, that much more fun to be around. 

Learn more about Lauren's work here: https://www.laurendeserres.com

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Your quote for the day:

~ John Lubbock

Melissa and Graeme are partners in life and partners in work. They share a love for nature, tiny house building and learning old-time banjo and are known internationally for their collaborative sculptural wood art. Though a life of constant collaboration isn't always easy and juggling the emotions that come with Graeme having left New Zeland to make his home with Melissa in the U.S. can be very challenging, they have a great respect for each other's aesthetics, level of technique and care for the protection of our planet. Life and art are always a work in progress and that gives each and every one of us permission for the first attempt to not be so great, to keep going and have faith that by the third time around (and the next and the next) we are getting better and better.

Check out Melissa & Graeme's work here:

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Your quote of the day:

"I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the heart’s affections and the truth of imagination.”

John Keats

Music, art and dance have pulled Nanette through both the good times and the bad. Everything from her background in weaving, cooking & Morris dancing to intergeneration friendships to super tasty shortcuts for family dinner making to parades with large puppets have helped her deal with life's ups and downs. She agrees that creative expression is good for all of us and therefore good for those around us and therefore good for the entire planet...on so many levels. 

Check out the John C. Campbell Folk School Cookbook by Nanette: https://craftshop.folkschool.org/products/folk-school-cookbook

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Your quote for the day:

You can’t use up creativity, the more you use, the more you have. 

~ Maya Angelou

Head of a cosmetology department, mother and mixed media painter Misty Kelischeck admits that creative thoughts pass through her mind all day long. Though those thoughts may not make it onto paper or canvas, no one/nothing can change what we have in our mind or in our hearts, not even the constant flow of daily responsibilities. She reminds us that there is always a place for color studies, thinking like a designer, collecting inspiration where you can find it and even sometimes being a little obstinate in defense of your own creative life. 

Check out Misty's website: https://www.ilovemisty.com/

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Your quote for the day:

The aim of art is not to represent the outward appearance of things, but rather their inward significance.