The Creative Train Podcast

Ok, we all know artists are usually broke; so how do we end up creating and making things?

How do we "find" the time?

Wanna know? Have a listen.

I actually no answers for you, but I do have a lot of things to think about that might make your creative journey a little smoother and more productive. 

No, I'm not being a meanie here, this is a story of a recent gig of mine which didn't go as hoped or expected but still turned out to be a good night!

What could go wrong, did go wrong, but keeping my focus and integrity together, I got through it and a fine time was had by all. 

Leave a comment about your own experience of when nobody's *really into it, but you keep going!

I had to submit a letter of resignation last week, to one of the best gigs I have had as a music teacher.

It was surreal, as a typically self-employed person, to first find myself as an employee, then thriving in that environment, and then having to choose to leave. 

Here's my story. Have a listen, it may help you with a difficult decision like I just had to make.

This is not just another old guy shaking his fist at the clouds, frustrated with the internet... 

This is a positive story about how the online community can work together and support actual humans making real art in this age of artificially intelligent "creators".

Some of us have a hard time putting a dollar value to our creations. It's not like we don't think our stuff has value, but the "vibe factor" of art is much more than just the cost of materials and a modest "wage" for us to pay ourselves. 

In this episode I take a look at this from two perspectives- knowing the value of your services (if you are an instructor) and letting the actual piece of art you are selling be the determining factor in its eventual cost in dollars to someone. 

Too often, we are worried if we comes across as arrogant or delusional in how we determine fair compensation, but it's not about that at all; it's about the value your art and creations bring to others in their own environments first, but the cost of materials in there too! 

I'm speaking from my own experience, as always, about folks who have deceived their audiences, co-creators and those who are seen as being against-the-grain and maybe you want to steer clear of them!

Maybe this just sounds like I'm bitter and trying to "diss" certain folks, but no, names have been omitted but the stories you are about to hear are all true!

I get it, you're an artist struggling to find your place in a sea of other artists.

What sets you apart?

What keeps you feeling stuck?

Well, here are some tips from my life as a musician and glass artist that may just help you out- it all starts with NOT getting in your own way!

Enjoy, listen, like, sub and share, it's a wonderful form of social media currency!

I tried sitting down to write out my idea on this but it just didn't seem to flow, so this one is off the cuff and a bit of a rant about Ai. 

Love it or hate it, it seems like it's here to stay; so how far do we as artists and creatives let this new "thing" into our creative process? I mean genuine creativity, the sort of product we want to call art...

This is based on an online post I saw from a fellow artist (who I do not know personally) that was an Ai generated narration of her Substack share.

No big deal, right? Well, here's how I feel about artists using Ai to promote their and and their courses on creativity...

In this episode I'm exploring something a LOT of people say- that they hate the sound of their voice; however, I'm adding little pause-for-thought to this notion: is it the tone of your voice or is it hearing yourself recite your inner monologue that you *actually don't like?

A nice, light topic here; have a listen and let me know what you think. 

Firstly, a HUGE thank you to all who have downloaded, played and shared this podcast, you make my day everyday!

Two stories in this episode- one about a young musician whose mom tried to live out her fantasy of stardom through her daughter, creeping most people out in the process; and another involving an over-zealous musician who didn't seem to get the memo about over-sharing among your peers. 

As with all things here, these are all true, real life things I have experienced in my life as an artist and educator in the arts, names have been withheld to protect the parties involved!