Have you ever pondered your creative identity and style? As artists, this is a key question.

Prompted by a quote from Cezanne:  ‘The most seductive thing about art is the personality of the artist himself’, Michelle and her guest, Liz Ackerley, a mixed media abstract artist from the UK, discuss the pursuit of our creative identity in our work.

The questioning of our interests, focus and intent within our artwork is an important part of coming to understand our identity as an artist. The skill of noticing what you notice, the practice of journaling thoughts and ideas and being disciplined with the quantum of time spent absorbing other artists’ work on social media are some of the topics discussed in today’s episode.

Ways to connect with today's guest, Liz Ackerley:

• lizackerleyart.com

Artists, links and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Rebecca Crowell’s The Messy Studio podcast – episode #167 'The Power of Intentions' https://messystudio.fireside.fm/167

You can find your hosts at these places:

Michelle’s website – www.michellewalkerart.com

Michelle on Instagram – www.instagram.com/michellewalkerart

Michelle on YouTube – www.youtube.com/c/michellewalkerart

Jennifer’s website – www.jenniferruthrussell.com

Jennifer on Patreon – www.patreon.com/JenniferandMichael

The old proverb from West African country of Burkina Faso: ‘If you want to go fast, go alone but if you want to go far, go together’ underlines the topic for today’s episode – creative collaborations. Jennifer and Michelle discuss the experiences they have had, why they believe them to offer value to artists and key areas to pay attention to, to ensure they are time well spent.

Artists, links and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Jude White - https://www.judewhite.com.au/

You can find your hosts at these places:

Michelle’s website – www.michellewalkerart.com

Michelle on Instagram – www.instagram.com/michellewalkerart

Michelle on YouTube – www.youtube.com/c/michellewalkerart

Jennifer’s website – www.jenniferruthrussell.com

Jennifer on Patreon – www.patreon.com/JenniferandMichael

What happens to our creative practice when big changes occur in our lives? How does that affect how we see ourselves as artists? In this episode, Jennifer and Michelle reflect on the recent changes in their lives and how that’s affected their identities as artists and how this theme of change is part of the journey many artists experience in their lifetimes. Suleika Jaouad, a best selling author was diagnosed with lukemia at the age of 22 and has gone on to embrace her writing career with the release of her memoir ‘Between Two Kingdoms: The Story of a Life Interrupted’ and now writes the Isolation Journals that she shares with her community. Clarke Reynolds, a vision impaired artist who is currently having his first London exhibition of his brightly coloured braille dot art that tells the story of his journey.

Artists, links and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Suleika Jaouad

You can find your hosts at these places:

Michelle’s website – www.michellewalkerart.com

Michelle on Instagram – www.instagram.com/michellewalkerart

Michelle on YouTube – www.youtube.com/c/michellewalkerart

Jennifer’s website – www.jenniferruthrussell.com

Jennifer on Patreon – www.patreon.com/JenniferandMichael

Starting out the year with a focus on self-care is the topic of today’s episode. Jennifer and Michelle are joined by artist, yogi and Ayurvedic practitioner, Yolanda de Cuevas who takes listeners through an understanding of our natural rhythms as seen in the Ayurvedic practice. Managing our activities with the natural flow of energies throughout the day ( / year / our lives) can greatly help our health and wellbeing. Taking care of ourselves first, means we are more able to be alive to our creativity and give more in the world. Join the conversation with the beautiful wisdom Yolanda has to share.

Artists, links and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Exploring New Places article from Michelle’s trip to south coast NSW - https://michellewalker.com.au/studionotes2/

You can contact our guest here:

• You can get onto Yolanda's newsletter list by emailing her - [email protected]

You can find your hosts at these places:

Michelle’s website – www.michellewalkerart.com

Michelle on Instagram – www.instagram.com/michellewalkerart

Michelle on YouTube – www.youtube.com/c/michellewalkerart

Jennifer’s website – www.jenniferruthrussell.com

Jennifer on Patreon – www.patreon.com/JenniferandMichael

At this time of year, many artists do an end-of-year review. One of the issues that can arise is the feeling of frustration and impatience with the speed at which we are achieving our goals and seeing the results we want. In this episode, Michelle, flying solo shares her thoughts about this issue and how to work through it. One of the ways she recommends to switch focus from any impatience is by joining one of the online art challenges that can ease you into the year and talks about several offered in January that might be of interest.

Artists, links and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Episode #15 Reflect & Release: Harvesting the Gems & Episode #16 Dream & Bloom: Welcoming in the new year

You can find your hosts here:

Michelle’s website | on Instagram | on YouTube

Jennifer’s website | on Patreon

When we are called to create, we are also called to believe that our creativity is supported in every way needed so we can bring it into the world. This is ‘the faith walk of an artist’. It means to walk ‘with a trusting heart’ in the world. This is the topic of today’s episode – Michelle and Jennifer talk about these concepts as well as what happens when we trust that we are called to do our creativity and bad things, like failure and bankruptcy happen? How can we pick ourselves up and carry on.

Links and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Money Mojo for Artists 7-day Challenge - https://tinyurl.com/moneymojochallenge

You can find your hosts at these places:

Michelle’s website – www.michellewalkerart.com

Michelle on Instagram – www.instagram.com/michellewalkerart

Michelle on YouTube – www.youtube.com/c/michellewalkerart

Jennifer’s website – www.jenniferruthrussell.com

Jennifer on Patreon – www.patreon.com/JenniferandMichael

What’s in a name? Inspired by a controversial quote from performance and visual artist, Yoko Ono about what defines an artist versus an artisan, Michelle and Jennifer talk through their views on these titles and how they have come to understand the context of controversy in art-making and the important process of finding one’s voice.

Artists, resources and links mentioned in this episode:

• Money Mojo for Artists 7-day Challenge – michellewalker.com.au/money

You can find your hosts at these places:

Michelle’s website – www.michellewalkerart.com

Michelle on Instagram – www.instagram.com/michellewalkerart

Michelle on YouTube – www.youtube.com/c/michellewalkerart

Jennifer’s website – www.jenniferruthrussell.com

Jennifer on Patreon – www.patreon.com/JenniferandMichael

It can be truly exciting when someone wants to commission us as artists to create an artwork. Navigating what comes next, takes some business savvy and belief in your artistic skills. Managing the contracting process as well as undertaking the work and delivering a well-received final piece can be tricky if you don’t know about the pitfalls. In this episode, Michelle talks you through the steps she follows to undertake commission work so you maintain your sanity and enjoy the process along the way.

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

• Template for an Australian-based artist's commission agreement with a client: https://sprintlaw.com.au/articles/artist-commission-agreement/

You can find your hosts at these places:

Michelle’s website – www.michellewalkerart.com

Michelle on Instagram – www.instagram.com/michellewalkerart

Michelle on YouTube – www.youtube.com/c/michellewalkerart

Jennifer’s website – www.jenniferruthrussell.com

Jennifer on Patreon – www.patreon.com/JenniferandMichael

“Community hones us” is a quote from Jennifer that emerges as she and Michelle talk about how community plays important roles in each of creative lives. The formal and informal communities that support us in our growth artistically can take many forms, and it's up to each of us to find the balance between being in community and dancing out for quiet alone time in the studio.

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

• Spirit Art School https://angelsofabundanceascensionacademy.com/spirit-art-school/

You can find your hosts at these places:

Michelle’s website – www.michellewalkerart.com

Michelle on Instagram – www.instagram.com/michellewalkerart

Michelle on YouTube – www.youtube.com/c/michellewalkerart

Jennifer’s website – www.jenniferruthrussell.com

Jennifer on Patreon – www.patreon.com/JenniferandMichael

In this episode, Jennifer and Michelle talk about the concept of a creative's body of work and how they each go about it for their artistry – whether it’s for an exhibition or a new CD of music and songs – there are phases and tips for embarking, sustaining and finishing your project.

Resources and artists mentioned in this episode:

• Whitney Freya's Creatively Fit Coach Training program

You can find your hosts at these places:

Michelle’s website – www.michellewalkerart.com

Michelle on Instagram – www.instagram.com/michellewalkerart

Michelle on YouTube – www.youtube.com/c/michellewalkerart

Jennifer’s website – www.jenniferruthrussell.com

Jennifer on Patreon – www.patreon.com/JenniferandMichael