The Creative Muscle

Why does it seem like art is so expensive? How much money goes to the artist and how much goes to the middle man? Where can people turn if they value quality art but can’t afford the price point of traditional galleries? The Other Art Fair was born from a realization of the gap between an audience eager to discover meaningful pieces for their walls and talented artists hoping to share their work. This week the fair’s director Sophie Lucas sits down with The Creative Muscle to help us understand the ins and outs of the wild world of art. As a bonus, you’ll get to hear from three emerging talents featured at the fair: architect and painter Nathan Casteel, printmaker Emily Shopp, and craftivist Shannon Downey (Badass Cross Stitch). Take a listen and be sure to stop by The Creative Muscle booth at The Other Art Fair at Mana Contemporary May 16-19.

From collaborations with Feist, Drake and Daft Punk to breaking the Guinness World Record for Longest Solo Piano Performance in history (27 hours), Grammy-winning musician Chilly Gonzales is one of the world’s most interesting musical scientists, a purveyor of the mischievous and sardonic, a revivor of Romantic-era chamber music, a revelator of the deep joys of solo piano, and the founder of his very own music school, The Gonzervatory. In this insightful and thought-provoking episode, Gonzo shares with the Creative Muscle his beliefs about the power of being an outsider, the difference between success and money, and why it’s healthy to express your fantasies through art.

Growing up, Erika Sánchez did not see anyone who looked like her represented in the books she was reading. So she decided to solve the problem herself by putting her own authentic Mexican-American voice into the world through writing. Her novel I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter is a New York Times-bestseller and a finalist for the National Book Award. She is a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Poetry, and has written for Rolling Stone, The Guardian, TIME, Cosmopolitan, Jezebel, and many other publications. She talked to the Creative Muscle about identity, truth, judgment, and the importance of serving the work instead of the ego. As an added bonus, listen to this episode to find out which of the hosts is Not Your Perfect Mexican Son. :)

Ok, we can’t avoid it any longer. It’s time to talk about the F word. Probably not the one you’re thinking of. We’re finally broaching the dreaded topic of...finances. Specifically, the Top 5 Financial Mistakes Freelancers Make. Why is it so taboo to talk about money? Why is there so much shame around what is or isn’t in our bank accounts, especially for people in creative fields? This week the Creative Muscle hosts get vulnerable and open up about their failures and mistakes, tips and tricks, and things they wish they’d known when they first went freelance. Don’t bury your head in the sand! Instead, listen to this episode to wise up about zero-sum budgets, tax write-offs, pricing yourself accurately, subscription audits, saving for retirement, and why it’s never too early to start being generous.

Today is International Women’s Day, and we are featuring one of our favorite female artists in town: celebrated muralist Lauren Asta, whose public art has become recognizable from the Bay Area all the way to NYC. In Chicago’s West Loop her playful and iconic murals have been the backdrop for thousands of selfies, engagement photos, graduation photos and even baby announcements. Our city is truly a more beautiful and interesting place because of Lauren. This week she dropped by the studio to talk about how taking a random job at a distillery led to the opportunity that launched her career, why you should make art for yourself that no one sees, the upsides and downsides of social media for creatives, and what every person starting out in their career needs to know. Take a listen for some important advice and real talk from a smart, scrappy woman whose work makes the world a more abundant place.

Jahmal Cole thought his only career options were to be a basketball player or a rapper because that’s all he could see in the neighborhood where he grew up. It wasn’t until a Greyhound bus trip to Texas took him outside the city that he realized there was a great big world out there waiting to be discovered. Decades later, Cole is a multiple award-winning youth mentor, author and community organizer who has been named “Chicagoan of the Year” and one of the “20 Most Inspiring Chicagoans.” His organization My Block, My Hood, My City takes youth from under-resourced Chicago schools on field trips around the city in order to overcome isolation, boost educational attainment, and open them up to new possibilities for their lives. In one of our most inspiring interviews to date, Jahmal Cole tells the Creative Muscle his harrowing story of overcoming obstacles, using creativity to beat seemingly insurmountable odds, the importance of mentors, the need for the long game, and power of goals.

What should you do when no one’s hiring you to do the kind of work you want to do? How do you find the balance between creating things that make money vs. the things you personally love and want to see? This week the co-hosts of the Creative Muscle sort through interesting and important questions about navigating passion projects, how to be present to your “yes” when accepting an opportunity, knowing when it’s time to make a change, and thinking intentionally about the three forms of payment: money, experience, and influence.

A lot of people have developed their skills and passions into successful careers that bring satisfaction and profit. But what if businesses could be more than just profitable? What if they could play a bigger and more meaningful role in the world? Flowers for Dreams CEO Steven Dyme has built a socially conscious company that not only brings smiles to the faces of people receiving flowers delivered by bicycle, but also contributes to the greater good by donating a quarter of their profits to amazing local charities. With hand-written notes accompanying the bouquets, blooms sustainably sourced from local farmers, and the all-around good vibes that come from working hard at something that benefits the community, Steven’s story is a case study in profit and purpose working together. He sat down with the Creative Muscle team to discuss the value of starting out with no money, the importance of tackling one thing at a time, and why some businesses choose to be great instead of big.

When you find a problem in the world that needs to be confronted but it falls outside your area of expertise, what should you do? Start over? Go back to school and get a whole new degree? Born in Naples and raised in Milan, Chef Bruno Abate spent several successful decades in the food business before finding in himself a passion to reform the American prison system. But how? His solution was to utilize his existing skill set to create Recipe for Change, a culinary arts training program inside Cook County Jail, providing a solution to the problem of inmates released without job skills or self-confidence. We couldn’t be more excited or honored to feature Chef Bruno on our first episode of 2019, a year we hope will be marked by many more conversations with and about using creativity to change the world for good.

It's been a year full of ups and downs, surprising turns and new revelations. Events in the news like soccer players trapped in a cave, the royal wedding, Senate Judiciary hearings and the March for Our Lives proved that everyone must use creativity- from rescue divers to wedding planners to government leaders and high school protest organizers. Creativity and empathy have been in high demand in 2018, and they will be even more in 2019. This week, in what our co-host Jon Guerra calls a dose of "extra-high-octane-super-charged-inspiration," we bring you some of our favorite moments from interviews this past year, and fill up on gratitude, courage and enthusiasm for the year ahead. Take a listen to get refreshed on the best and brightest nuggets of wisdom from 2018 and get calibrated for 2019. Take a listen!