Pure Fire Creatives

Holly and I chat about her love of The Flaming Lips, the power of giving yourself permission to do it messy, and the importance of doing what makes you happy.  We talk about how Covid impacted her work and how she pivoted to create an amazing and vibrant community experience to help keep people connected in these strange times!

Jayati Vora is a writer, teacher, and editor. In her 15 plus years as an editor, she commissioned and edited stories that were translated into other languages, republished in outlets around the world, and won numerous awards, including an Emmy.  She has a weekly podcast, Cutting Chai Stories, where she breaks down the craft of writing, provides writing tips for creative writers and entrepreneurs who need to write for their business. She teaches creative writing to both children and adults.  Jayati is launching a digital writing course for entrepreneurs called The Words Will Come in early 2021. 

Where we can find Jayati:

As Pyrocrafter’s Creative Trailblazer, Aney does more than smoke up the place. With more than 10 years of working with creative mediums, she brings new life to all of her inspired pieces.

Aney stoked her passion for visual expression by creating unique wood-burned art pieces, founding Pyrocrafters in 2016. What makes her tick? She likes encouraging others to unlock their creative spirits, the same spirit that fuels all of her artistic endeavors. She’s 1-part entrepreneur, 2-parts skilled artist, and all creative. 

Aney talks about her journey from Graphic Designer to Entrepreneur, and how the power of experimentation inspires her work.

Katherine Knight grew up in Columbia, South Carolina.  She received a BA in Studio Art from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, and

an MFA in Painting from American University in Washington, DC.  She has completed additional studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago,

and the Slade School of Fine Art in London.  Her work has been exhibited internationally and she currently teaches painting at Montgomery College

in Silver Spring, Maryland, and lives in Washington, DC with her family.

Where you can find her: 

Artist and Curator Mary Welch Higgins talks about her single-minded focus on the arts and how it started from an early age.  

Mary Higgins is a fourth-generation Washington DC native who grew up continually visiting the local area museums and galleries.

She has a BFA from the Corcoran School of Art and an MA in Visual Information Technologies from George Mason University. Her professional experience includes work as an adjunct professor, a creative director in the computer graphics industry, and most recently as gallery director and curate for the Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center.

In addition, to her various work experiences, she has maintained her professional practice as an artist.

Listen in while we chat about best advice and 3 things artists can do today to get more visibility.

Dr. Fatimah Pierce, a native Washingtonian, established Hickman Rose Strategies after her nearly 20-year career in the federal government. She is an expert in strategic planning, organizational development, and grants management.

Dr. Pierce holds a bachelor’s degree in human development and a master’s degree in organizational management. In addition, she earned her doctorate in public policy and administration, and she is a graduate of the Federal Executive Leadership Program. Dr. Pierce uses her voice as a speaker and facilitator for conversations about inclusion and equity, leadership and career development, and business success.

Dr. Pierce gives three concrete things that creatives can do to help move their careers forward, starting with Being Confident and Being Bold!

Gail Keyes Allen is the Midlife Moneymaker.  She's a Money & Life Coach who helps her clients Master their Mindset of Wealth by seeing their money blocks, beliefs, and behaviors and then transforms them. 

In this episode, Gail talks about the importance of mindset work and pushing past your fears!  She shares the pivotal moment she realized she needed to change things and the beautiful power of giving yourself permission to take quick messy action!

She gives three things creatives can do to get more visibility as well as the role a mini offer has in moving your goals forward.

Naima Dozier is the owner and creative mind behind fearless threads handbags and accessories.  She started the brand in 2011 after receiving a gift box of African fabric from a friend.  She launched her business out of the backseat of a VW Beetle convertible at Fenton Street Market.  She didn't have much to sell at her first market and so sold them as one of a kind.  It quickly became what she is known for.  She now travels the world in search of fabrics that compliment her unique style.  

Naima talks about what inspires her and how Covid has changed the landscape of her business!

Find Naima here:

Wendy Harrop is a veteran wedding planner (with a love of good cooking) turned barn lover, who along with her husband Keith and daughter Amelia, is following her bliss.  Wendy et al have made the magic come to life at The Phineas Wright House in Bolton, MA.  The house was built in 1785 by the third reverend of First Parish Church and the family has transformed it into a destination for weddings and artful events & classes which include opportunities to learn things such as cooking, painting, and sheep sheering from people who are experts in their fields.  

Wendy tells us about her journey to East Coast Farm life and the importance of Being You, Showing up on Social Media, and how to give experiences away without diminishing their value.  Also, she talks about how far her fondness for Brown Butter Sage Sauce really goes!

Her muse:  A friend named Jeff who retired and move to France to cook and garden.

Marjorie talks about the importance of not waiting for inspiration and developing a practice.

Marjorie Atwood is a contemporary artist who has been painting and exhibiting her work for the past 20 years.  After graduating from Holland Hall high school in Tulsa, she moved to New York and earned a bachelor’s degree from Sarah Lawrence College, while also studying at Parson’s School of Design. She has had several solo shows across the United States.

Rose Nash is a writer & artist who is a Fellow at Chateau Orquevaux in Orquevaux, France, and also Director of the Kingsley House, a creative production house in Los Angeles.

Rose talks about the importance of connection, being fearless with your work, and the law of attraction.  And learn what life advice she got from Drake!

Author Faye McCray talks about the importance of self-promotion, giving back to the community, and networking across mediums.  Faye tells us about how she deviated from her first love of writing because there was no clear path to making money from it.   Listen and learn about how she found her way back to her creative self.

Alexandra N Sherman talks about the importance of getting out there, finding your working rhythm, and the exquisite balance of that line between ugliness & beauty, as well as pain & delight.  

Alexandra explores the landscape of the mind in her art through watercolor, installations, and collage.

She seeks to give the viewer an intimate experience through small-scale, evocative watercolors and collages

that explore the human existence, our sense of connection, and the responsibility we have to ourselves, others, and the environment.

She has been a curator as well as worked in several frame ateliers learning conservation framing techniques and the French paper art of cartonnage.

Earning her BA in Philosophy of Religion from Elon University, she continued her studies at the Corcoran College of Art.

Alexandra received her MFA in drawing and painting from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, has held artist residencies in Washington, DC and Buenos Aires, Argentina and has taught experimental and experiential watercolor and collage classes.

Alexandra’s work has been exhibited in galleries and museums, and can be found in private collections and institutions.