Your Creative Push

Suzanne is an asexual woman with a great love for writing erotic romance and enjoys spending her time confusing people with that fact. She believes there is a need for heightened diversity in erotic fiction and strives to write enough stories so that everyone can see themselves mirrored in a protagonist.

Her new book, Playing Around, is available April 15!

Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/suzanneclay

In this episode, Suzanne discusses:

-Writing erotic romance as a way for her to investigate the wide range of sexualities and sexual behavior.

-How she was able to see sexual interest and activity as a form of character motivation.

-Why she felt it was important to start writing queer romance.

-How and why she began sharing her work.

-The experience of working with NineStar Press.

-How she lets her characters explore and tell the story (and how that affects the editing process).

-Being a "Plantser."

-The initial fear and guilt because of her religious upbringing.

-Aphantasia and how that affects her writing.

-Her strategies for dealing with depression and anxiety.

-Using programs like Omnifocus and Habitica to help her manage her time and organize the tasks that she needs to get done.

-The rewarding experience of writing commissions.

Suzanne's Final Push is one that you have to hear for yourself! Quotes:

"Sometimes I'm waiting for a reader to stand up and say, 'You know, it's really not that serious and you're putting way too much thought into all of this about your characters.'"

"As I began to research into possibly publishing some of my material, I realized exactly how big the small press and independent queer author community was."

"I think if I had been exposed to more works like that when I was younger, then it wouldn't have taken me until I was 25 years old to recognize my identity and my place in the queer community."

"It's very hard sometimes to trust my characters and believe that they are telling me what I need to hear."

"You're going to bring breathless, beautiful, boundless, bountiful life to your creation – the kind that brings people to tears when they realize they are not alone."

Links mentioned:

Playing Around (Rough Play Book 1) by Suzanne Clay: NineStar / Amazon / Books2Read

OmniFocus

Habitica

Connect with Suzanne:

Website / Goodreads / Amazon / Facebook / Twitter

Join the discussion in the Facebook group!

John Wentz is a contemporary painter whose work is an exploration of process and technique. Working within the classical idiom of the human figure, his goal is to reduce and simplify the image to it's core fundamentals: composition, color, and mark making.

John was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has had 3 solo exhibitions in San Francisco and numerous group exhibitions both nationally and internationally. His works have appeared in many publications and have won multiple awards.

Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/johnwentz

In this episode, John discusses:

-How he landed in fine art after his foray in illustration.

-How a Gerhard Richter exhibition changed his life and remapped his brain.

-Art being about discovery and experimentation.

-The power that comes from disconnecting in order to do some soul-searching.

-Cave paintings and how we have always been creating art, and even risking our lives to do so.

-How he has struck a balance from his former lifestyle of a donut a day and being disconnected from friends and family.

-How he picks his subjects and how he paints them.

-How he was taught that he should never paint anybody that he knows, and why he is rebelling.

-Why he purposely doesn't analyze certain aspects of his process in order to maintain some of the magic.

-Why and how he started creating his assemblages of his art, photography and reclaimed items.

-The story behind his series, "Navigation Unknown."

-How he chooses which ideas to move forward on.

-The dark ways in which social media platforms are controlling your creative process.

-Dealing with anxiety.

-Turning your list of priorities upside down so that you get to your creative passion before all of your other "needs."

-His new course at the NOH/WAVE Academy.

-The differences between living in Paris and the United States.

John's Final Push will encourage you to do the thing that you need like oxygen… and remind you … DON'T BE A DICK! Quotes:

"For me, making art is about discovery and experimentation."

"Just unplug and take time for yourself. It's okay to not be connected."

"There are certain aspects of my process that I don't analyze too much because I want to keep that unknown to it."

"Making it is only fifty percent. The other fifty percent is getting it in front of an audience and creating a dialogue."

"On paper, being a painter is the worst business plan imaginable."

"The people that I end up working with and being friends with are great people to be around and they ignite something inside of me."

Links mentioned:

John's course on NOH/WAVE/ACADEMY

John Wentz on Artist Decoded

Pale Blue Dot (Carl Sagan)

Connect with John:

Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter

On the next episode:

Suzanne Clay : Website / Goodreads

Join the discussion in the Facebook group!

In the ever-evolving landscape of today's music industry, Nashville-based independent artist Ron Pope has plotted his own course. Uncompromising and relentless, Pope has evolved into one of the top grossing independent acts in the business while garnering a legion of devoted fans the world over.

Taking the industry-road-less-traveled and holding fiercely to his independence has proven fruitful for Pope; to date, he has sold out shows on three continents and in more than 20 countries, sold over 2 million digital tracks, had over 290 million streams on Spotify, 700 million plays on Pandora, 150 million views on Youtube, and has more generally crushed every metric used to measure what is possible for independent artists.

Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/bestof13

In this episode, Ron discusses:

-His creative origins and how he got to the point he is today as a songwriter and musician.

-His involvement at the inception of "The District."

-How he writes such a large quantity of songs because he knows that not all of them will be good enough to make a record.

-The belief that if you want to be a songwriter, you just have to sit down, shut up, and write songs.

-How he doesn't really believe in writer's block. It is just accepting that some of the stuff you write will be garbage.

-The importance of working harder than everyone else if you want to excel to the highest level of your creative field.

-One of the times that he was having a very difficult time writing a song, and then all of the sudden he was struck with the song in its entirety.

-How doing the hard work every day and getting used to what the work feels like puts you in a better position to capture inspiration and put it into its "physical" form, even in just one take.

-The role that music played in his life when he was younger to make him feel more connected and less alone.

-The profound connection that comes when people play his music during special events.

-How his song "I Do Not Love You" played a special role in Youngman Brown's life as his first dance at his wedding.

-How art is subjective and it doesn't matter what the artist thinks about it once the viewer or listener has given it his or her own meaning.

-How hard it is to comprehend large numbers of listenership, and the power that comes from one-on-one connections.

-What he has been up to creating and touring his new album Ron Pope & the Nighthawks.

Ron's Final Push will inspire you to choose to do the thing you love! Quotes:

"That songwriting circle was really the difference for me. If I hadn't joined that group, I don't know if I would have been able to become a professional songwriter."

"I just feel like I'm not good enough to sit down and write ten songs and have all ten of those songs be bangers and have that be the record."

"For my last album, Ron Pope and the Nighthawks I wrote 150 songs. We recorded 40 of them or so to get to the 11 that we have on the record."

"Really almost everything is like this. If you want to do it, and you want to do it at a high level, you're going to have to work harder than everybody else."

"It was like I got hit by lightning. It was into my brain immediately. The song in my bones just existed. The whole thing. The melody, the lyrics, the chords, the whole thing."

"You put yourself in a much better position to have chance favor you if you do the right kind of work."

"It made me excited when I stumbled upon music that made me feel something. It made me feel much less alone."

"I very rarely share the stories behind my songs because I want you to take them home and make them your stories."

"It's still a really powerful feeling to know that whatever you're creating is a part of people's lives."

"For me it's the singular achievement of my life as an artist."

"You're going to have to work hard on something eventually whether it's something you choose or something that people make you do, so if you have to pick, you might as well work hard at something that you love."

"It's worth it to work hard on things that you love."

Links mentioned:

Buy Ron Pope & The Nighthawks

East Nashville Spice Company

Connect with Ron:

Website / iTunes / Spotify / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / YouTube

On the next episode:

John Wentz : Website / Instagram

Join the discussion in the Facebook group!

Johnny Anomaly is a spoken word poet, author and public speaker who has been entertaining audiences with the emotionally charged storytelling of his life for the past six years.

He is also the creator and host of The Creative Coping Podcast, where he and his guests discuss the trauma that has acted as a catalyst for their creativity.

Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/329

In this episode, Johnny discusses:

-How he turned to writing and spoken word poetry after the loss of his son.

-How your greatest ministry will most likely come out of your greatest hurt.

-The way in which his motive changed from wanting to be a rock star to wanting to help other people realize that they are not alone in their difficult situations.

-Getting past the denial phase.

-The importance of producing finished work with the tools that you have.

-Dealing with procrastination.

-His process of creating a spoken word poem.

-How he used ten song titles as the basis for his first album, Inspired by Tragedy.

-The art of sublimation.

-Personifying pain.

-Why he started the Creative Coping Podcast.

-Having an alias.

-The experience of interviewing his wife and daughter.

-How easy Anchor makes it to podcast.

Johnny's Final Push will encourage you to stop making excuses and remember to speak up, stand out and stay creative! Quotes:

"There's a lot of healing involved with being able to say what I want to say."

"I was saying things that probably shouldn't be said in front of an audience, but I felt that was the way I had to grieve and get things out."

"You have to personify that pain. Give that pain a face."

"I don't know what I would do if I wasn't able to express myself in my writing or in my performance poetry. Oh my gosh. I'd probably kill someone, man."

"As insignificant or insecure as you may feel, just remember that you have a voice and you are worth being heard."

Links mentioned:

Dare To Be Different with Nevaeh LeBoeuf

Marriage & Mental Health with Jammie LaBoeuf

YCP Ep. 326 w/ Teresa Coulter

YCP Ep. 325 w/ Alisa Kennedy Jones

YCP Ep. 241 w/ Andy J Pizza

YCP Ep. 300 w/ Chrissy Moyer

Anchor

Connect with Johnny:

Creative Coping Podcast / iTunes / Spotify / Soundcloud / Instagram

On the next episode:

John Wentz : Website / Instagram

Join the discussion in the Facebook group!

Andrew Tischler is an artist from New Zealand who has been a professional artist for the last fifteen years. He was born in the United States and moved to Australia when he was 10 years old, where he studied his craft for more than twenty years.

He also has a popular YouTube channel in which he shares his knowledge of painting with people around the world.

In 2019, he and his wife Rachel will be opening their gallary, Tischler & Co Studio Gallery.

In this episode, Andrew discusses:

-How his father encouraged him to pursue art when he was young.

-Growing up in the United States, New Zealand and Australia.

-How there is beauty everywhere and it is just about having the eyes to see it.

-Dealing with introversion.

-How his father had time for only his art and his family.

-How his wife has allowed him to accept himself and to also flourish into who he needs to be.

-The way in which we distract ourselves from the things we are supposed to focused on.

-How we are all here for a purpose or a calling.

-The way in which we are being raised to be cogs in a machine (and why people feel like they don't fit into that system).

-The incredible power of the internet and social media for artists or anyone who wants to share a creative message.

-The importance of writing down goals in all aspects of your life and referring to them every day.

-His issues with anger in the past and how he has conquered it as of late.

-The ways in which you can distract yourself with goals that aren't aligned with the things you actually need.

-Taking the life philosophies of the thought leaders you admire and plugging them into your own life where they fit.

-How he flags certain aspects of life (like the news and negativity) as distractions that are trying to keep him off of his mission.

Andrew's Final Push will inspire you to focus on who you really are and what you truly love. Quotes:

"People have more power than they give themselves credit for."

"Get on with it. Do it now. Don't wait. Stop the excuses. You can do something small, now."

"We're slowly being prepared to be these cogs in a machine, and I feel like that's why people feel like they don't fit with the current paradigm. They're punching in and punching out."

"I was already a professional artist for twelve years before I started my YouTube channel, and I can't believe I didn't do it sooner."

"I think it's time that we dispel that myth that we need to suffer."

Links mentioned:

Why Beauty Matters? - Roger Scruton

Painting Outdoors in Paradixe - EPIC EN PLEIN AIR

The Creative Endeavor - Ep. 3 - Dr. Demartini

Connect with Andrew:

Website / Shop / YouTube / Facebook / Instagram

On the next episode:

Johnny Anomaly : Podcast / Facebook / Instagram

Join the discussion in the Facebook group!

Vanessa Vakharia is the Founder and CEO of The Math Guru, a boutique math and science tutoring studio in Toronto with a unique approach that works - like actually!

She is also the co-founder of Goodnight, Sunrise, an indie-rock-and-roll-superfun-party band based in Toronto, Canada.

Vanessa is also the author of Math Hacks, which is designed for kids (and their parents) struggling with math anxiety and looking for a new approach to homework, studying, tests and marks.

Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/327

In this episode, Vanessa discusses:

-How her life started when she failed math twice.

-The way in which we define ourselves as "good" or "bad" at something and then live that narrative.

-How her tutoring organically grew into The Math Guru.

-How the focus should be in doing something new, creative and enjoyable as opposed to profitable.

-The power in outsourcing.

-Her realization that taking the time to get to one of her pursuits must come from one of her other endeavors.

-Taking a Time Inventory.

-Her lifelong dream of becoming a singer and the stumbling blocks along the way.

-How one man called her "the worst singer he had ever heard," and how she took it as a positive.

-Growing immune to rejection and how that allows her to try for crazier opportunities.

-How anything is possible, but getting small examples of that for yourself as proof.

-Her take on the experience of opening for Bon Jovi and all of the synchronicities involved.

-The story behind her book, Math Hacks.

Vanessa's Final Push will inspire you to hustle as hard as you can so that you can take full advantage of your lucky moments. Quotes:

"Where I am today started with this grand failure."

"It takes a lot for someone who is ambitious to realize that part of what needs to happen is slowing down a little, but also being creative and outsourcing."

"I've always liked being underestimated because it gives me the opportunity to surprise them later."

"It's all about mindset. Cultivate a mind that is a hotbed for creative magic because it's so full of possibility."

"None of the things associated with failure are as bad and scary as never trying to achieve your dreams. That's the scariest thing."

"The hustle is in your control. The luck isn't. You're trying to get to that perfect pinnacle where the two meet and you've done everything you can to take advantage of the lucky moment."

Links mentioned:

Math Hacks: Cool Tips + Less Stress = Better Marks by Vanessa Vakharia

The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck by Sarah Knight

Jia Jiang: What I learned from 100 days of rejection | TED Talk

Connect with Vanessa:

The Math Guru / Instagram / Spotify / iTunes

On the next episode:

Andrew Tischler : Website / YouTube / Instagram

Join the discussion in the Facebook group!

Canadian emerging Artist, Teresa Coulter lives in Calgary Alberta Canada. She is known for her Abstract Expressionism. Her portrait series called " Sock Drawer Stories" forged a new pathway to address the social stigmas associated with Mental Health in the workplace. What started as a small artistic venture to heal herself, as well as Paramedic colleagues, has since grown into a narrative on a national stage. Teresa has been awarded several awards such as: The ATB financial Healing Through the Arts Award in 2017, Hometown Hero Award , and a Public Service Award through TEMA.

Teresa's art raised awareness of Mental Health well beyond her Art studio, and first-responder network. She is honored to have participated in and collaborated with: Calgary Police Services, Legacy Place Society, The Other Side of the Hero documentary; the #nowimstronger 60 day campaign with Canadian Mental Health; White Coat, Black Art with Dr. Brian Goldman; and Uptalk podcast with Sean Conohan . Articles of her work have published and can been seen in: Global News, Challenger Magazine, Link magazine, and Live up Magazine.

Since 2000 Teresa Coulter has been a Practicing Primary Care Paramedic and continues to work at building resilience in the First Responder community.

Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/teresacoulter

In this episode, Teresa discusses:

-How she got into emergency services but always had a desire towards creativity.

-How she became a nude model because she wanted to see herself through somebody else's eyes.

-The vulnerability that holds us back from asking for help.

-How she uses her art to help her interpret the world and to interpret PTSD.

-The way in which she came up with the title for her Sock Drawer Stories series.

-Her experience of opening up and cleaning her "sock drawer."

-How she appreciates when people have a reaction to her art, whether it be positive or negative.

-The ways in which PTSD causes you to lack the words to describe what you are going through (and the way that art can help you to express yourself).

-The value of long-form conversations, and how social media has taken that from us.

-How creativity allows us to be present in the moment.

-The idea of your mind being a garden.

-The power of the story that we tell ourselves and the boxes we put ourselves in.

-How Bob Ross changed the course of his life through art.

-How people can have more comfortable and safe conversations about struggles with mental illness.

-How to handle a situation in which someone is suicidal.

Teresa's Final Push will motivate you to use your self-limiting beliefs as a direction for change! Quotes:

"I became a nude model and would sit for these incredible artists because I wanted to see myself through somebody else's eyes."

"A photograph captures one second, but when you are sitting for an artist, there are multiple seconds that are passing and being captured into one final product."

"I don't paint for people to love everything that I do. I actually appreciate if somebody is strongly disgusted by my art."

"Art is this incredible thing that you can use for change. We need it in our lives."

"People want to see your growth. There's something beautiful in the process of growing. Why wait until you think that you're good enough because that will never be achieved."

"We have the ability to change the course of our lives whenever we want. It's just about connecting to that internal compass and honoring it, feeling it within the depths of ourselves."

Links mentioned:

Mental Health First Aid Courses

Sock Drawer Stories Series

Connect with Teresa:

Website / Facebook / Instagram

On the next episode:

Vanessa Vakharia : The Math Guru / Goodnight, Sunrise

Join the discussion in the Facebook group!

Alisa Kennedy Jones is an American memoirist, blogger, novelist, and awkward public speaker. A regular contributor to NPR, her wildly popular blog Gotham Girl has amassed nearly 50K avid followers worldwide. She also writes for television and theater and lives with the absurdly titled "ecstatic epilepsy" which she's less than ecstatic about.

In her new book, Gotham Girl Interrupted: My Misadventures in Motherhood, Love and Epilepsy, she shares a collection of comedic essays about life with epilepsy as a single mother in Manhattan.

Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/gothamgirl

In this episode, Alisa discusses:

-The story of her first seizure and being diagnosed with epilepsy.

-Learning in television and film that "nothing is precious."

-The lesson that can be learned from improv acting: "Yes, and…"

-When it is time to move past the denial stage.

-How our brain's function is to tell a story.

-The way in which it felt like she had a blank slate after every seizure.

-How she wanted to make her narrative different than the typical ones that involved suffering and alienation.

-The differences between writing a book and writing for television.

-How she had to push to express how she was feeling "right to her edge" in her writing.

-Dealing with the ultimate imposter syndrome of not recognizing yourself in the mirror.

-The importance making room for neurodiversity in our world, and why that was a major reason for her writing Gotham Girl Interrupted.

-How she wrote the entire first draft stream-of-consciousness.

-The experience of meeting the people who have read her book.

-How neuroplasticity helped her to find her words again.

-How boredom can actually be useful.

Alisa's Final Push will encourage you to write and speak to the edge of yourself! Quotes:

"You can be doing things in the way that you think that you are most creative and then suddenly the world rushes in to tell you that you have some more thinking to do."

"What was happening around me wasn't that I was dying. For me, it was like being trapped in a Van Gogh painting."

"Denial works until your head is really hurting."

"It was the ultimate reboot, in a way. It was like waking up with a new brain."

"I wanted to get at something more than just complaining about this thing that had happened. I wanted more invention. I wanted more imagination. I wanted more."

"I think that our world is better for a space that allows for neurodiversity. Everyone is very differently wired. I want us to make room for all different kinds of brains."

"Don't be afraid to write or speak to the edge of yourself, of your fears, of everything."

Links mentioned:

Gotham Girl Interrupted: My Misadventures in Motherhood, Love and Epilepsy by Alisa Kennedy Jones

Connect with Alisa:

Website / Blog / Twitter

On the next episode:

Teresa Coulter : Website / Instagram

Join the discussion in the Facebook group!

Sada Crawford is an artist and athlete who has always struggled with the question, "Am I an artistic athlete or an athletic artist?" as she strove for balance between passions. She moved from Pasadena to Teton Valley six years ago, healing from a divorce and personal issues as she buried herself in renovating a small horse farm in the wilderness completely alone, though she had wolves, bear, moose, elk, foxes, and huge barn owls in a standoff for dominance of the property. Sada now lives on the Jackson side of Teton Valley, where she is finally dialed in, thriving, figuring out the best way to market and launch her jewelry design business, and focusing less on racing ultra marathons and running more for fun and inspiration; finding creativity in everything. Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/sadacrawford

In this episode, Sada discusses:

-Her history as an ultra-marathoner.

-The similarities between ultra-running and creativity.

-"Binging" in the studio.

-How she first got interested in making jewelry.

-Dealing with her own feeling the being a jeweler is less legitimate than other forms of art.

-How calling herself a "maker" allows her the permission to try out other forms of art.

-The importance of remembering that art is meant to make others feel happy.

-How writing her artist statement gave her a backbone and motivation.

-The story of getting through a major injury.

-Her vow to find her true self after realizing that she didn't know who she was.

-The difference between her killer instincts in racing versus her shyness to "win" at art.

-The need for creative individuals to find their tribe.

-The various ways that she is attempting to get in the back door of the industry.

Sada's Final Push offers you four unique and powerful ideas to help you in your creative life. Quotes:

"I cannot stop being creative. It's like this fountain that's just overflowing. And the cool thing about it is that I feel like it's never going to run dry."

"I do not have to apologize for how I choose to thrive."

"I'm thinking of all these backdoors and creative ways to get into the industry that other artists aren't thinking about."

"You cannot flourish if you are living with shame."

Connect with Sada:

Website / Etsy / Instagram

On the next episode:

Alisa Kennedy Jones : Website / Twitter / Blog

Join the discussion in the Facebook group!

Jason Polins graduated from Boston University's Visual Arts Program then attended Florence Academy of Art in Florence, Italy. After graduating, he returned to Boston area to pursue direct studies with notable painters such as Nelson Shanks, Thomas Dunlay and Gary Hoffmann. All of whom Jason remain closely connected to as mentors and friends.

Moved by the beauty of nature and our modern world. His genre of expertise include portraiture, figure, still life and landscape/cityscape. Jason works in graphite, charcoal and oil paint.

Outside of Polins Atelier, he also teaches art classes in oil painting, drawing at Northeastern University and several local art centers.

Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/jasonpollins

In this episode, Jason discusses:

-Studying in Florence using the sight-size method.

-The "reset" that he got through working with Nelson Shanks.

-The innate search for truth that art allows us to investigate.

-His advice for people to stop stewing in their own angst and let go in order to get to their art.

-His mantra of "Make a mark to adjust a mark."

-Just how much of an artist's time is spent practicing.

-The importance of separating yourself from your preconceptions of what you are painting (and how to do it).

-How his mind works with straight lines and angles versus curves.

-His attempt to keep his brain more engaged than the moment that just passed.

-Looking at the world scientifically, through a series of theories and proofs.

-Gathering, organizing and presenting.

-Being mentally present in your decision-making.

-The various ways that he makes money.

-His friendship with Alexander Soukas.

-The importance of not just seeking out mentors and teachers, but also gaining as much wisdom from them as possible.

Jason's Final Push will remind you that you have 86,400 seconds every day, so use them to find out what is important to you! Quotes:

"Visual art is a conversation that I don't think that I'll ever figure wholly but always endeavor to understand better."

"It's not about your skillset. It's about how you use it."

"The idea of, 'Make a mark to adjust a mark,' is just a fundamental starting point to clarify that you have to do in order to do better."

"People don't practice enough. We get pushed ahead to create masterpieces."

"What's the measure of success? I don't like it to be money. I don't even like it to be that I finished something. I'd like it to be that I showed up and put in time. If I can do that I think that I'm moving forward somehow."

"It's not 'in it to win it' with art. Forget that. It's just being in it."

"It's really important to be able to be impressed by a student that you might have and to also impress upon them. Something excellent comes out of that."

"It's too big for us to connect individually. Life is short and art is long. We don't get to see the whole picture."

Links mentioned:

Alexander Soukas on Your Creative Push

Florence Academy of Art

Nelson Shanks

Dennis Miller Bunker

Connect with Jason:

Website / Polins Atelier / Instagram

On the next episode:

Sada Crawford : Instagram

Join the discussion in the Facebook group!