In this conversation, Cecily Feng @littlesparrowla and I talk about cooking and baking as a way of connecting—to memory, to other people, and to the present moment. We also talk about the business of food, and the ongoing balance between creative instincts and practical constraints. What it means to make something expressive while also making it sustainable.

authors mentioned:

Jessica B. Harris

Krishnendu Ray

Ana Sofia Palaez

Josh and I talk about screenwriting, but really it’s about all kinds of making: collaborative, internal, structured, and intuitive.

We talk about voice — how it gets lost, how it returns, and what happens when collaboration becomes an act of trust instead of compromise. There’s a lot in here about creative identity, about how co-writing or co-creating with others can test what’s yours and, at the same time, reveal what’s essential to keep. And, at it's core, how storytelling, at its best, is about reaching another person — saying, “does this move you too?"

#thecraftofbeing #creativelife #storystructure #collaboration #creativevoice #connectionthroughart

Josh Breslow IMDb

Colin O'Brien Lux's Bandcamp

Why aren't you watching these shows?

Deadwood

Ted Lasso

The Matrix

Slow Horses

The Studio

Why aren't you watching these movies?

Children of Men

8 1/2

Lawrence of Arabia

Mauvais Sang

Days of Heaven

The Conversation

Blowout

Days of Heaven

Lost in Translation

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

This episode of The Craft of Being explores what it means to hold both structure and freedom in the creative process. Jonathan shares a concept called adaptive currency—a term rooted in physical fitness but deeply relevant to creative life. It's about the internal resource we spend when responding to change, challenge, or inspiration. It’s resilience, flexibility, and focus—not as fixed traits, but evolving capacities.

We talk about how creativity lives in the tension between openness and structure, between the part of us that dreams and the part that refines. From the neuroscience of improvisation to the slow art of iteration, this conversation offers a grounded look at creativity as something both embodied and practiced—something we build through presence, recovery, and trust in the process.

Beatty Study

Charles Limb Study

What does the evolution as the radio as a functional tool to performance space have to do with the creative process today? How do form and structure create the conditions for creativity to grow?

In this episode of The Craft of Being, filmmaker and director Alek Lev joins me for a conversation about navigating the space between order and play. We trace how projects—whether film, theater, or collaborative endeavors—take shape when guided by thoughtful planning and made alive through adaptability.

This dialogue explores how logistics can hold space for intuition, how transferable skills move across creative disciplines, and why building systems is less about containment and more about expansion. Creativity thrives when structure is designed to let ideas breathe.

WHAT? the movie

How We Made Your Mother

Meeting Tom Cruise

Arts Educators Save The World

LISTEN HERE: Colin O'Brien's Lux Band Camp

In this episode:

Creative planning as a catalyst for discovery

Translating skills between film, theater, and collaboration

The balance of structure and spontaneity in creative work

How logistics can nurture imagination

Building systems that expand possibility
Follow The Craft of Being: @thecraftofbeing

alek lev podcast

creativity and structure

creative process podcast

filmmaking creativity

logistics in art and film

creative planning and design

collaborative creativity

podcast for creatives

balancing order and play in creativity

Cultural producer, storyteller, and community builder Negin Singh talks about how creativity can be the scaffolding that holds communities together.

From her work leading large-scale public art programs to reimagining participatory spaces, Negin brings experience in building environments where people feel welcome, inspired, and seen. Together, we discuss the artistry of logistics, the emotional architecture of events, and the ways creative leadership can shape culture at scale.

Whether you’re an artist, producer, or someone who works behind the scenes, this conversation will help you see creativity not only as a spark of inspiration but as a durable, sustaining framework for connection.

Visit: Smorgasburg

Music: Colin O'Brien-Lux

Keywords for SEO: creativity as infrastructure, community building through art, participatory spaces, cultural producer, creative leadership, building belonging, event production strategies, designing for inclusion, Negin Singh interview, The Craft of Being podcast

What happens when you stop waiting for permission and begin shaping the world around you as if it belongs to you?

This episode explores the creative act of making space — physical, emotional, conceptual — for the kind of art, work, and presence in which you feel most alive. We trace the lineage of artists who have built their own frames, from the Salon des Refusés in 1863 Paris to the Dadaist cabarets of Zurich, where performance, sound, and shared rhythm rewired art in the space.

Folks to follow:

@sauvingon_blake

@steers_n_queers

@garrettmendez

@sliztoonz

@_all_fools_

@ramonlovesyou

Andrew joins us to explore the creative power of “yes, and." We talk about collaboration, presence, and the trust it takes to co-create. A conversation about creative risk, listening, and learning to build.

Check Out: Camp Indigo

Colin O'Brien Lux: Band Camp Music

and.... uh,

The X- Files

What does it take to stay connected to the creative part of yourself that just wants to play? In this episode, I sit down with comedian and all-around dynamo Mimi Von Shack, who embodies what it means to stay open, responsive, and full of mischief—while still sharpening her creative voice with intention and craft.

Mimi shares how she honors the instinctual joy of her younger self, while holding space for the more seasoned, self-aware creative she’s become.

This conversation is an ode to the part of you that still wants to experiment, get it wrong, make people laugh, and maybe surprise yourself in the process.

In this episode we explore:

How the inner child survives in creative adulthood

The link between improvisation, self-trust, and bravery

What it means to share your creative instincts and let the response shape you

How creative identity evolves when you stop trying to control it

Follow Mimi @mimi.vonschack

HOLLYWOOD'S BIGGEST PODCAST

Colin O'Brien Lux's Bandcamp

This episode invites you to consider how creativity lives in systems, in testing and improving; Chelsea’s insights reveal how problem-solving is creative and generative.

If you find yourself most alive in the act of fine-tuning, in making things more seamless, or in the care and craft of behind-the-scenes magic, this conversation is for you.

Key Topics Discussed:

The creative intelligence of refinement and iteration

How structure can be a powerful creative act

The collaborative power of adjusting and adapting

How problem-solving supports experiences and events

Recognizing creativity in the details and behind the scenes

🔎Takeaways:

Problem-solving is a form of stewardship and creative leadership

Creativity often reveals itself in how we make things work for others

Behind-the-scenes adjustments are part of every creative experience

LINKS:

Liberty In North Korea

Certified Delight with Rachele Friedland

Colin O'Brien-Lux Bandcamp

instagram.com/thecraftofbeing

When, and under what circumstances, do we first meet our creative selves? Matt Takimoto talks learning styles, creative risk, and how to nurture the identity he's discovered.

Music, "Wide-Eyed" by Colin O'Brien Lux: https://colinobrienlux.bandcamp.com/

Space Boy, Graphic Novel: https://www.webtoons.com/en/sf/space-boy/list?title_no=400

Divergent Thinking:

https://web.ics.purdue.edu/~gill53/GillProwse_Creativity.pdf

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871187124000051?utm