The Lisa Congdon Sessions

Sarah Sturm is an incredible cyclist and a creative. Her cycling resume is impressive, but what’s even more inspiring is her attitude and approach. She doesn’t train in the traditional way most endurance athletes do with strict training plans and an attachment to a heart rate monitor. Instead, she relies on her intuition and love for cycling as her training motivator. Sarah also prioritizes community over competition and works as a coach to kids in her hometown and as a positive force in the sport for inclusion. When she is not training and racing, she runs a successful graphic design firm from her home in Durango, Colorado. She sees having a balanced life as the key to happiness. Join us for a conversation between friends, artists and cyclists Lisa and Sarah!

In this episode, Lisa answers her first set of ASK ME (LISA) ANYTHING (aka "AMA") questions, moderated by her wife, Clay. Questions in this episode range from "Do you believe in a higher power?" to "Do you believe in love at first sight?" to "What is your favorite procreate brush?" and everything in between! More of these ramblings to come in the future.

This week’s podcast episode is a special one, because it includes my very first interview! And the interview is with one of my favorite people in the world, artist, print maker and author, Jennifer Hewett. Jen and I have been best friends for almost a decade, and I am thrilled to have her on the podcast. At the time of this recording Jen has just moved across the country from San Francisco to the Hudson Valley in New York, and in this episode she shares how she came to move her life and her art practice at age 46 across 2600 miles. We also talk about one of our other favorite topics: boundaries! How to have them, how to keep them, and why they matter. Jen is wise, immensely talented, and what I call “a practical visionary.” I hope you enjoy listening to our conversation as much as I enjoyed having it.

In this episode I tell a story about how I said YES to a professional opportunity I was unsure about, and how I learned so much along the way, mostly about surrendering to the unknown. I hope you enjoy it!

Are you a person who is very sensitive to the accomplishments or progress of other folks on a similar creative path? Or maybe you are someone who routinely compares yourself to others? In this episode, I talk about the emotional danger you put yourself in when you are hyper focused on others and strategies for staying focused on AND honoring your own journey.

Do you ever find yourself asking or thinking: "Who am I creatively?" or "I feel like my art is all over the place!" If so, you are not alone. Honing your artistic voice is a process that takes years and years both exploration and disciplined, sustained practice. But what does it really mean to have a creative voice? Is voice the same as style? Or is it something entirely different? In Episode 6, I continue to break down the components of your "voice" and suggest ways of thinking about your voice so that you can more easily deepen and develop it. If you haven't listened to Episode 5 yet, start there!

Do you ever find yourself asking or thinking: "Who am I creatively?" or "I feel like my art is all over the place!" If so, you are not alone. Honing your artistic voice is a process that takes years and years both exploration and disciplined, sustained practice. But what does it really mean to have a creative voice? Is voice the same as style? Or is it something entirely different? In Episode 5, I begin to break down the components of your "voice" and suggest ways of thinking about your voice so that you can more easily deepen and develop it.

Being creative during times of stress, whether it’s a personal crisis or a global pandemic, is akin to running in hot humid weather. You can do it, but it requires so much more effort than it does on a clear, dry day. What normally might feel easy or enjoyable feels slow and sluggish. This week’s episode is all about being creative in stressful times. From a little science about creativity and stress to suggestions for getting your mojo back, this podcast episode is for anyone who has struggled with creative flow.

Have you ever had an idea in your mind for something you wanted to make and then tried to go make that thing, and it didn’t come out like the vision in your brain? That’s because our ideas of what we want to make are often far beyond our skill level. When this happens, many of us give up, because we think, “I can’t do that, so I why try?” When, in fact, doing anything well usually requires hours and hours and hours of practice. Practice is so central to being an artist that what we do is called our “Art Practice.” This week’s podcast episode is about just that: PRACTICE—what it looks like, how to get in a better habit of it, and how it can propel us to the next level in whatever we are doing (including athletics, writing, music, sewing, etc).

This week’s episode is all about Owning Your Story. In this episode, I talk not only about owning your experience as valid (no matter what it is), but also about embracing the less attractive parts of your story as a way to bring your full self to your creative practice and make your work richer and more interesting.