In this very candid interview Alisa Burke, painter & mixed-media artist, talks about everything from miscarriage and how art pulled her through what was one of the hardest years of her life to the challenges of being a full-time artist, what happened when she got really brave and put herself out there, how to find your own creative voice amongst the millions of others, and what it took for Alisa to leave the world of a steady paycheck and health care and leap into the world of art, dreams, and freedom.

Andrea Pippins is a successful illustrator and author who didn't take any art classes until her senior year in high school. She applied three times to the Tyler School of Art at Temple University before being accepted. Today Andrea has clients around the world including the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Lincoln Center and Free People. Her work has been featured in O: The Oprah Magazine, Family Circle and The Huffington Post and she’s the author of three books including the coloring book, “I love my hair” and her newest book, Young, Gifted, and Black. This is Andrea’s story from just starting out to freelancer to living back on her mom’s couch to being a full-time successful artist living in Sweden with her husband and baby boy.

In this interview, we talk about

• The best thing to do when just getting started

Fear researcher, author, and productivity expert, Roanne Van Voorst used to be an overworked academic scared of dogs, flying, public speaking, risk-taking, and heights. Then Roanne started putting her research into action. Now she works four hour days producing more than she ever has. She’s written six books in the last six years, including Fear! Extreme athletes on how to reach your highest goals and overcome stress and self-doubt. She’s created two in-depth online training programs, and she flies around the world speaking publicly. In her off time she climbs mountains. And she has a dog.

In this interview we talk about:

Catherine Rains is a collage artist and painter. She began making art at 33-years old to help relieve the stress of her full-time job. Over the last two decades, Catherine has built a strong following and an extensive portfolio. Her work has been shown in galleries, art shows, and is in private collections around the country. Here is the story of Catherine’s journey: from making art while working, to becoming a full-time artist, getting breast cancer, divorced, returning back to work, and eventually becoming, once again, a full-time artist.

In this interview we talk about:

Grace Chin makes art that is both political and pretty, useful and ornamental. She makes beautiful wreaths that surround strong personal and political statements like “smash the patriarchy, hope fiercely, nevertheless she persisted, I believe you," and "take care." Grace graduated with a BFA in printmaking from the University of Kansas in 2012. Before starting her career as a full-time artist, she worked for a while at a toy store until she decided that she wanted to pay her rent doing what she loved. Grace went on to do just that.

In this interview we talk about

Alisha Sommer is a freelance writer and photographer who is, at heart, a storyteller. She is a mama of three, a lover of wine, words, and light. She began her own business at home, as a young mom, wanting to know if writing could become a job and money could be made from stories. Now, nearly ten years later, she earns a living from her creativity. But it’s been a slow build that’s required patience, perseverance, and consistency.

In this interview, we talk about that slow build. And we also talk about:

Michael Gebbens is a videographer, motivational speaker, and business coach. Here Michael shares about the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, the truth about money and business (and his own story of near bankruptcy), and how to do what you love even when what you love isn’t what you’ve been taught to do.

Some things we talk about:

• how to know what’s good advice, what isn’t, and the exact questions to ask to figure out the difference

Alena Hennessy is an intuitive painter, teacher, writer, and workshop leader. She’s been doing the art thing for twelve years and making enough money to keep doing art for the last four years. Alena’s learned a lot on this path. She’s learned about what it takes to build a successful art business, how to trust in herself and her creative voice, what to do when the pain is big and where to turn to make it smaller, and how to make art that only you can make.

Some things we talk about;

Mixed media artist, Nikki Cade, left her full-time job as a special education teacher in June of this year to pursue art full-time. Because she’d spent the last several years building an online following and customer base, she could quit her job when her art became more important than the teaching. It’s been six months since then and she loves it. Here Nikki talks about what it took to leave the full-time job, how she prepared herself mentally and financially for the transition, her path to freedom, and how she found her creative voice.

Some things we talk about:

Christa david left a six-figure earning career in public health for a full-time gig as an artist. She makes collages, paintings, and photographs that she sells online, through galleries, and in-person. Here Christa talks about what she learned as a mom at 14-years-old and how that’s informed her art business today, the ups and downs of being your own boss, and what it means to make art as a black woman in America today.

Some things we talk about:

• The three non-negotiables in art and business