Suffering For Art

I moved to New York for Broadway and I haven't booked an acting job in three years. So I looked up the actual odds, in every creative field, and then I looked up what waiting does to your brain. This one is about the question underneath the question. Not will you still create if your dream never happens. But will you still live?

Looking for ways to fund your creative project? Whether you're an artist, musician, filmmaker, writer, designer, or creative entrepreneur, this episode is your guide to finding the money to bring your ideas to life.

In this episode of Suffering for Art, we explore 5 proven ways to fund your creative project, including:

• Artist grants

• Crowdfunding

• Sponsorships

• Investors

• Self-funding through side income

We also discuss how to choose the right funding option for your goals, common mistakes creatives make when they receive funding, and why building strong financial habits is just as important as securing the money itself.

If you've ever wondered:

• How do artists get funding?

• Where can creatives find grants?

• Is crowdfunding worth it?

• How do I pay for my first creative project?

This episode is for you.

🎙️ Suffering for Art is the podcast helping creatives build sustainable careers without sacrificing the life they want. Every episode covers the business, money, mindset, and real-life challenges of pursuing a creative career.

If this episode helped you, follow the podcast, leave a rating, and share it with another creative. You can also find us on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube @sufferingforart for more resources, conversations, and behind-the-scenes content.

Interested in attending the Artist Recharge Retreat? Click the link here to complete your application.

What happens when you refuse to choose between your art and your career — and somehow thrive at both?

This week on Suffering for Art, host Brianna Kaleen sits down with Hunter Milkes: a vacation swing for the hit musical Wicked, a published children's book author (alongside his mom), and a full-time corporate professional. Yes, all at once.

Hunter pulls back the curtain on what it really means to live a double creative-and-corporate life — the hustle, the schedule, the mental load, and the moments that made it all feel worth it. We get into what a Broadway swing actually does (hint: it's one of the most demanding jobs in theater), how his corporate brain both helps and challenges his artistry, and what financial stability has actually looked like.

We also go deep on the real stuff: burnout, the relationships that take the hit when your calendar is overflowing, and what rest even looks like when both sides of your life demand everything from you.

Whether you're a creative scared to pursue your art without a safety net, someone secretly juggling two identities, or just obsessed with musical theater — this episode is for you.

In this episode:

• What it means to be a Broadway swing (and a vacation swing on Wicked)
• How Hunter built a corporate career alongside his theater life
• The financial reality of Broadway + a 9-to-5
• Burnout, mental health, and protecting your peace
• Relationships, and making time for the people you love
• What success actually looks like when you're doing it all

🎙️ Guest: Hunter Milkes🎧 Host: Brianna Kaleen📍 Podcast: Suffering for Art

Follow Hunter on TikTok and Instagram for more @hunter_milkes

Is overconsumption quietly killing your creativity?

Packages keep showing up. Your screen time is terrifying. Your brain feels full… but your ideas feel empty.

In this episode, we’re unpacking the psychology and neuroscience behind why buying things feels easier than creating things — and how modern convenience may be outsourcing our imagination without us even realizing it.

We talk about:

• Why dopamine spikes before your package even arrives
• How convenience removes the constraints that creativity depends on
• The shocking number of times the average person checks their phone daily
• Why boredom is actually a creative superpower
• How we’ve gone from processing experiences → to endlessly consuming them
• The sneaky way shopping can trick us into feeling like we’ve made progress
• How creativity comes back the moment friction returns

If you’ve ever felt stuck, uninspired, overwhelmed, or like you’re “doing everything but creating anything,” this episode will hit home.

Maybe creativity isn’t something we need to add to our lives.
Maybe it’s buried under everything we keep adding.

Keywords for search: creativity, overconsumption, dopamine, boredom, minimalism, slow living, productivity, creative block, consumerism, mental health, creative habits, intentional living.

What happens when logic meets emotion in the creative process?

In this episode of Suffering for Art, I sit down with Kiana and Andrew from the Soul Journey Project to explore the dynamic between the “left-brained” and “right-brained” creator. We dive into how analytical thinkers and emotionally driven artists approach creativity in completely different ways—and why neither approach is complete on its own.

We talk about the power of finding your personal “sweet spot,” where structure and intuition work together instead of against each other. Kiana and Andrew share insight into how emotionally attuned creatives can deepen their relationships—with themselves, their craft, and others—while also learning to ground their vision with clarity and intention.

Whether you lean more logical or more emotional, this conversation will help you better understand your creative tendencies and how to evolve them into a more balanced, sustainable process.

Connect with Kiana & Andrew (Soul Journey Project):
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/souljourneyproject
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/souljourneyproject/
Website: https://www.souljourneyproject.com/

Most creatives assume taxes are confusing and intimidating—but understanding a few basic write-offs can actually make your creative life more sustainable. In this episode, I'm sharing the tax deductions that many creatives don't realize they qualify for: creative research, software subscriptions, gear and equipment, home office deductions, and education expenses. Learn which business expenses actually count and why understanding these basics matters.

If you're feeling burnt out, overwhelmed, or stuck in survival mode with your work, I'm also hosting the Artist Recharge Retreat this fall in upstate New York—a three-day space to rest, reconnect with your creativity, and have honest conversations about building a sustainable creative life. https://briannakaleen.com/retreat

Want to collaborate? I'm looking for podcast editors, sound designers, social media creatives, writers, and other collaborators. Reach out at [email protected].

The world teaches women to push through. Push through the pain. Push through the fatigue. Push through the mood swings. Push through the burnout. But what if your body isn’t failing you — what if it’s trying to speak to you?

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Toya Gordon, founder of Journey Well MD, to talk about women’s hormones, menstrual cycles, chronic stress, and what it means to support your body while pursuing a demanding creative life. We break down the phases of the cycle, how energy shifts throughout the month, signs your hormones may be out of balance, and why so many women have never been properly taught how their bodies work.

We also talk about PCOS, endometriosis, cortisol, rest, creative burnout, and how learning to say no can be one of the healthiest things a woman does for herself.

This is a conversation about health, creativity, and giving yourself permission to listen.

To connect with Dr. Toya Gordon, you can find her at JourneyWellMD on Instagram, YouTube, and at www.journeywellmd.com.

You’ve already fallen off your New Year’s resolution — and that doesn’t mean you failed.

In this episode of Suffering for Art, we explore why New Year’s resolutions fail and how to actually build goals that stick in 2026 — without burnout, shame, or relying on willpower.

Most people don’t struggle with discipline. They struggle because their goals are fighting human biology, nervous system regulation, and real life. In this episode, we break down the neuroscience behind habit formation and explain how to create sustainable change that works with your brain instead of against it.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why willpower is a limited resource (and why it runs out)

• What’s happening in your brain when you procrastinate or “fall off”

• How your nervous system impacts motivation and consistency

• Why falling off a goal isn’t failure — it’s feedback

• Identity-based habits that create long-term change

• Simple systems that survive stress, low energy, and chaotic schedules

This episode is especially for artists and creatives navigating unpredictable routines, emotional labor, and high cognitive load — but anyone who feels stuck in the resolution cycle will benefit.

This isn’t about pushing harder or becoming more disciplined.
It’s about building habits that feel safe, repeatable, and realistic — so change becomes your new normal.

At the end of the episode, you’ll get a simple reflection prompt to help you restart without guilt and begin again in a way your brain can actually support.

If this episode resonates, please follow the podcast, leave a review, or share it with someone who needs a healthier way to set goals.

🔗 Artist Recharge Retreat application

In this episode of the Suffering for Art, I’m joined by relationship coaches and longtime leaders Sean Reed and Lanette Reed for a powerful conversation every creative needs to hear.

We unpack the hierarchy of relationships — your relationship to self, others, and your craft — and why getting this order wrong quietly erodes your mental health, creativity, and longevity.

We talk about:

• Why putting your craft first eventually costs you everything else

• The difference between a friend and an acquaintance (and why most creatives confuse the two)

• How isolation sneaks in during both success and failure

• The importance of having people who stay with you through the highs and the lows

• Why healthy relationships don’t compete with your art — they sustain it

If you’ve ever felt lonely at the top, burned out by hustle culture, or unsure who’s really in your corner, this episode will challenge and ground you.

🎧 Connect with Sean & Lanette Reed:
Website: https://ourcouplegoals.com
Podcast: Our Couple Goals Podcast

If this episode resonates, don’t forget to subscribe, share it with a fellow creative, and leave a review — it helps the show reach artists who need these conversations most.

In a world engineered for distraction, what does it actually take to create meaningful work?

In this episode of Suffering for Art, we dive into flow state and deep work—exploring how creativity thrives not through hustle or constant visibility, but through sustained focus. Drawing from the principles of deep work and modern research on attention, we unpack why it’s become harder than ever for artists to access flow—and what’s quietly stealing our creative energy.

We break down the addictive design of social media, looking at real statistics that reveal how often we’re interrupted, how fragmented our attention has become, and why that environment makes deep focus nearly impossible. If you’ve ever felt creatively blocked, scattered, or exhausted before you even start making work, this episode will help you understand why.

In the final part of the episode, we shift from problem to practice. Using the 9 characteristics of a flow state, we walk through how to intentionally set up a creative session that supports immersion, presence, and momentum—so you’re not waiting for inspiration to strike, but creating the conditions for it to emerge.

This episode is an invitation to protect your attention, reclaim your focus, and reimagine what sustainable creativity can look like in a noisy world.

If you have thoughts, questions, or want to continue the conversation, email me at [email protected].

To step fully out of distraction and into deep creative restoration, learn more about the Artist Recharge Retreat here:
👉 link