The Creative Muscle

WARNING: Do not go home for the holidays without first listening to this episode! We're in a season of joy, celebration and twinkly lights, but sometimes there are hard things hidden beneath the all those gingerbread houses and decorations. The Holidays can be a difficult time for people who have lost a loved one, or are navigating tricky relationships with family, or maybe find themselves expected to play a former role they've moved on from. It's a time of stressful travel, financial burdens, and reflection on another year gone by that may have been great, or not so great. But never fear, the Creative Muscle has got you covered! Featuring fantastic performances by Praytell, funny stories, and rock solid mental health advice from our very own clinical social worker Valerie Guerra, this is a must-listen for anyone who wants to be emotionally safe, manage their expectations, and be themselves at Christmas.

As a young person, Jay Goltz tested well in math, so people said he should become an accountant. But after earning an accounting degree Jay decided what he really wanted to do was start a framing business, which went on to become the largest in the nation before before expanding into the home decor scene with Chicago's legendary store Jayson Home, which he co-founded with creative director Caroline Scheeler. Together they have the professional acumen and artistic taste to operate at least 20 stores, but they have chosen instead to maintain one brilliant store with the utmost care, precision and love. This week Jay and Caroline dropped by the studio to talk with the Creative Muscle hosts about Russian TVs, heavy stoves, "selling out," why creatives should respect math, the one place you can count on people to tell the truth, and why co-workers are NOT the same thing as family. Take a listen and be inspired!

Creativity doesn't happen in a vacuum. From the conception of an idea to planning to production to editing and finally delivery, there are a number of voices that speak into the process of creation, and it can be hard to know which ones to listen to. But we all need feedback in order to grow, so how can we move toward a place of seeing and utilizing feedback as a gift instead of something to be feared, resented and frustrated by? On this week's group discussion episode, the hosts dig into the do's and don'ts of both giving and receiving feedback, the importance of evaluating the evaluator vs. evaluating the evaluation, how to preserve your distinct voice while taking input from others, and how to create an environment where feedback is welcomed and normalized. Check it out!

When asked about the difficulties he must have encountered when sculpting a black of marble into his masterpiece David, Michelangelo famously replied, "It was easy. I just chipped away everything that didn't look like David." But it is that easy? How do you get from the nebulous block of marble to the pristine male figure without cutting away too much, or not enough? What's the difference between editing and polishing? How do you know when something is ready to ship? On this week's Creative Muscle round table discussion, the hosts discuss how to edit your work to make it stand out from the rest. Take a listen to learn how to evaluate your work (and how to evaluate feedback from others), how to find the core message of what you're trying to say, and how to grow in your clarity of vision.

Whether coiffed or disheveled, sleek or tousled, thick or thin, hair tells a story about our personality, our history, our demeanor, even our beliefs. Shani Crowe is an interdisciplinary artist whose work centers on cultural coiffure, adornment and beauty ritual as they relate to the diasporic African, and how these practices function as tools to foster connectivity. She  is most known for creating intricate corn-rowed hairstyles, then capturing them as large photographic portraits. Her work was selected to represent the US in the Venice Architecture Biennale, and has been featured Saturday Night Live in collaboration with Solange Knowles. This week she sits down live in studio with the Creative Muscle hosts to talk about hair as a form of both self-care and resistance, how to incorporate the cycles of nature and life into your attitude towards art, the value of patience, getting out of your head (so to speak ;)), and making a plan while also leaving space for things to happen organically. Take a listen!

As we all know, the creative life is just one long unending stream of successes and prosperity and bliss and fame and gain and triumphs. Right? Oh wait, it isn't? So then what? How do we grapple with and manage the highs and lows of creativity?How do we navigate the peaks and valleys of a career dedicated to making new things from nothing? This week the hosts discuss healthy perspectives on successes and losses, how to keep your chin up through thick and thin, and living fully through the seasons of sowing and harvesting. Take a listen!

You've heard all the entrepreneurial axioms and tropes before: "Do what you know," "It takes money to make money." Mike Michalowicz has made a career out of turning those ideas on their head and approaching business from revolutionary angles. The award winning author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, Profit First, and Clockwork, Mike launched three multi-million dollar companies before his 35th birthday, has had his books translated into 10 languages, is the former small business columnist for The Wall Street Journal, and regularly travels the world as an entrepreneurial advocate. He sat down to talk with The Creative Muscle about why your friends are not your friends when it comes to business, how to understand sustainability and viability, balance, and why everyone (even artists and creatives!) needs to think about profit first. Get ready for a helpful and energizing kick in the pants! You'll thank us later

We all want the flashy gig, the high profile project, the notable client, the award-winning work. But what about the unsexy business that fills most our time and lives? Jack Berdan came from a tribe of highly artistic friends and associates and through a series of twists and turns found himself applying the principles of creativity to jobs and spheres not traditionally thought of as glamorous or creative. Like, say, owning a chain of carwashes. This week Jack sits down with the Creative Muscle crew for a live discussion on how to show love to people through business, how to change the way you think, how to listen, and prioritizing practicing good customer service instead of just talking about it. Take a listen!

Studs Terkel called Kevin Coval’s voice “our hope for a new world of peace, grace and beauty.” The co-founder of /Louder Than a Bomb,/the country’s largest youth poetry slam, and Artistic Director of Young Chicago Authors, Kevin Coval’s life is an embodiment of the Creative Muscle’s fourth element: You Are What You Give. He is a poet, educator and activist who has empowered thousands of young people to use their voices and talents to organize, engage and express. He is the poet-in-residence at the Jane Addams’ Hull House and serves as faculty at the School of the Art Institute and University of Illinois-Chicago. He is the author of several award-winning books of poetry including /A People’s History of Chicago,/forward written by Chance the Rapper, whom he also mentored. He sat down with the Creative Muscle to discuss standing up for what you believe in, hope for young people, and how to sustain a body of work over time.

“Oh you’re an artist? That must be so inspiring.“ Is it? This week we take a look at one of the most talked about and frequently misunderstood aspects of the creative life: inspiration. What is it? How do we find it? How do we use it? What’s it for? Can you just “turn it on?” The hosts discuss different ways to cultivate inspiration, how to make space for it, and how to turn it into something tangible. As a bonus, we get to hear the hosts’ top “unspirations” and this is the first episode of the Creative Muscle to feature input on creativity from not one but TWO of America’s Founding Fathers (surprisingly, neither one is Hamilton). Take a listen to find out who!