Susan Nethercote Studio Insider Art Podcast

Hi friends and welcome to episode 117.  It’s been a wild month for me as I’ve had my second solo exhibition, ‘An Ornamental Education’ running here at the art gallery of Ballarat.  It’s been an incredible ride having my first exhibition at a public art gallery and I wanted to make sure that I shared it with you before it ends on 14thApril.

I’ve created a full guided tour for you on my YouTube channel. I really hope you head on over there to check it out, because the audio for this episode makes a whole lot more sense when you can see the artwork.  But nevertheless, I know that many of you prefer to listen rather than look while painting in the studio, so I wanted to make it available to you here on the podcast as well.  I’ll be sure to leave the link to the video in the show notes so you can check that out too.

 This episode also includes an absolutely brilliant address given by my dear friend and fellow artist, Dr Louisann King.  at the opening celebration held at the gallery on 8th March, which also happened to be International Women’s Day.  It was so incredibly eloquent and brought so much depth and understanding about this body of work, that I really wanted to include it in full. 

I also just wanted to mention, that in May and June I’m teaching my first in-person  2 day painting workshops since before Covid. I’m running them with the beautiful crew at Artable in May and June.  The workshop on the Gold Coast in June has sold out, which is wonderful.  But there are still a few spots available at my Melbourne workshop on 4th and 5th of May.  So if you’d like to learn how to paint in my signature bright, floral abstract style, be sure to click on the links below.

It’s been a while between episodes, so in this chat I’m filling you in on some rather big changes that have been happening in my art practice and, well, my whole life as a consequence.

 As I’ve been working on my latest solo exhibition ‘An Ornamental Education’ (Art Gallery of Ballarat 7th-14thMarch 2024), I’ve been working intimately with historical sources for the first time, and it has lit a big fire in me for this method of making research-based artwork.  

 It gradually became clear to me, with my art history background, that what I had created already would be a great foundation for a MA research project.  This raised the question for me- is returning to post graduate research something that is calling to me after 25 years away from academia?  

 As it turns out, there were so many yeses that have presented themselves to this question overt the past 6 months, that this is indeed what will be starting in about 3 month’s time.  Join me for this cozy studio chat as I walk you through how this latest evolution in my art career has transpired and why I have made this choice to return to life as a post-graduate student.

 And if you’re a visual person like me and would like to see me in the studio alongside some lovely footage of me painting for my latest exhibition, then be sure to pop on over 

Links:

Finishing difficult paintings.  I think we all have one (or two or three) faced against a wall or at the back of a cupboard, those difficult paintings that we just can’t seem to face completing. I know that you know what I’m talking about.

Well, I have some artistic medicine for you today.  In this month’s episode, I’m walking you through 20 tips that I use in my own art practice to help me finish difficult paintings. All tips are super practical and down to earth and I hope will really help you find your flow with completing those tricky artworks.

In today’s podcast episode once again sharing with you the audio component from my latest vlog over on YouTube that was released a few days ago. It’s a bit of a mixed bag of topics including how I grow my own botanical art samples and how I photograph them later in the studio for future reference.

The main topic of today’s conversation is a big ‘ol life update. If you’ve noticed that I’ve been around much less often in 2023 and not very present on social media and are curious as to why this is the case, then you might just want to listen in, especially around 7 minutes in or so when I tell you what’s been going on for me lately.

I’ve been learning some new video editing software skills lately and feel enormously proud of the vlog from which this podcast is taken. It shares some beautiful moments I’ve had in my garden over the past couple of months as I’ve been navigating some big shifts in my life.

So I really hope you pop on over and check the accompanying video to this episode over on YouTube. It’s a particularly visual episode and I want you to get the full vision of everything I am sharing.

Links:

YouTube video: https://youtu.be/4NF6roY72NM

Susan Nethercote:

It’s just me on the podcast today and I’m doing something a little different. I’m undertaking my Painting as a Practice challenge this month and I thought it would be fun to talk you through all the fantastic things that I’ve learned in the first week of my practice month about painting on timber panels and raw linen.

Bringing you inside my studio practice in a more practical sense has been something I’ve wanted to do for ages, so in order to make this chat as rich as possible, I’ve made a Youtube video about it too.  So if you would like to see the video that accompanies this podcast, but sure to look me up on youtube under Susan Nethercote and check out the latest video I’ve posted there.

I also wanted to let you know that in celebration of the February challenge I run each year, all my e-courses are 20% off until the 1st of March 2023. So if you’ve had your eye on one of them, simply use the code FEB23 at the checkout to claim your discount.

Links:

For today’s episode, Steph and I got together at the Old Butcher’s shop gallery here in Ballarat where my exhibition Autumnal Dreamscapes is currently happening. We recorded our very first live episode in front of what was meant to be a live audience.  As it turned out, the only people that turned up were Steph, myself, the gallery owner Julie and my mate Amie who helps me in the studio sometimes!  So as you can imagine, I kind of felt like crawling under a rock and hiding after.

But as I’ve learned many times over in this art game, the very moment you feel like you’ve failed and want to crawl under that rock is the very moment you need to own what has happened and share what has happened so you can feel less crap about it.  So if you ever thought that because I have this podcast and lots of Instagram followers I’m brimming with confidence and always succeeding, then I want you to know that sometimes I fail and feel like a complete loser!

I’m working really hard to keep this moment in perspective and remember all the other wonderful things that have come about as a result of this exhibition.  I’ve had so many lovely people come to visit during the exhibition and have had really strong sales, which has absolutely blown me away. So I guess, it all evens up in the wash.  And the conversation that I had with Steph about my journey in creating work for my first solo show is a really good one and I hope you enjoy it.

• The journey that I had before having my solo art exhibition
• Reality as an artist
• The good in having an art gallery
• The preparation before having the solo art exhibition
• Measuring and getting canvas to fit
• New learnings, and new techniques during the art exhibition
• Finding inspiration behind my art
• And much MORE!

Links:

In today’s episode, I’m chatting again with Steven Patterson, the CEO of one of my favourite paint brands, Derivan Matisse.  Steven and I first chatted in episode 96, so if you’d like to hear more about his journey with this fabulous and innovative Australian paint brand, then be sure to go and check that out in the archives.

We identified in that conversation that we both had a fascination with colour and the history of pigment and thought it would be great to have another chat, this time focusing on Steven’s vast knowledge in these areas.

So join us as we dive deep into how it is that we actually see colour and how the pigments in paints that you know and to use today came into being.  There are so many bizarre and fascinating stories to unpack as we zone in and look at the history of the colour blue.

In this episode, we talked about:

• Steven explains how it is that we actually SEE colour
• The history of how humans see colour
• What are some of the earliest pigments that were used by early humans to make art?
• Paint and fabric drying during the middles ages in the west
• All about the first pigment that was created
• The story about another gorgeous blue, cobalt blue, which appeared about a century later and also has a really interesting history of evolution
• short notes on what makes these pigments so revolutionary?
• And MUCH MORE!

Links:

Steven’s links:

In today’s episode, Steph and I are chatting about how our recent decision to pursue exhibiting our artwork has enriched our art practices in a variety of ways.

Since re-orienting our art businesses to include exhibiting, both of having found that we are reaping huge benefits in the way we are approaching day-to-day studio time. For both of us, it now includes more of the deep and considered exploration of materials and techniques that come with upping the ante with what we are creating.  We are also both valuing the process of diving deeper into the less tangible moments of creative exploration that can sometimes be lost in the busyness of having an online art business.

This a great conversation that unpacks how to rediscover the joy in art exploration that comes along with creating a body of work.

In this episode, we talked about:

In today’s interview, I’m chatting with Irish-born, Sydney-based artist Marnie McKnight.  I first fell in love with Marnie’s beautiful abstract expressionist artwork over on Blue Thumb.

Since getting to know more about her, I’ve marveled at how she moves through different styles of painting and mediums in her practice with ease.  We had a great conversation about how Marnie keeps focused on the joy of the painting and how this focus has shaped her thriving art business.

We chat through how she approaches selling artwork without a huge social media following and how she has gained clarity on her client base who have become extremely loyal collectors.

In this episode, we talked about:

• Marnie’s early life in Ireland and what brought her to live in Australia and shared her life as a painter
• What inspires Marnie’s art style -  sweeping blue expressionist paintings with touches of gold
• Marnie’s “Challenge Tuesday”
• Marnie’s approach to selling her arts successfully
• Tips for selling successfully “Blue Thumb”
• The process of using home interiors to display art
• Marnie on entering art prizes
• And MUCH MORE!

Links:

PAINTING AS A PRACTICE CHAPTER 2 (USE COUPON CODE: PP2)

In today’s episode, Steph and I are chatting through our processes with overcoming limiting beliefs we’ve held in the past and exploring opportunities that we once thought we’d left behind.

For me, this has happened in my desire to exhibit, which I never thought that I would do again.  In this episode, I unpack some of my process of realizing that this was something that I really wanted to do again and then going on a journey to heal old wounds and create permission for myself to do that.

For Steph, it’s happened in coming back to realize that she wanted to fully embrace a ceramics practice and heal old wounds around poverty that had previously made her feel like this was out of her reach.

This is a super-juicy episode where we dive deep into personal histories and journeys toward a place where we are truly in love with, and excited by our art practices.

In this episode, we talked about:

• Our current art and personal journeys
• Overcoming the limiting beliefs that are holding us back
• Dealing with fear of rejection
• Getting through tough creative blocks
• Process of writing the proposal
• How an opportunity can present itself in many different forms
• And MUCH MORE!

Links:

PAINTING AS A PRACTICE CHAPTER 1 (USE COUPON CODE: PP1)

In today’s episode, I’m chatting with Sydney-based artist and surface designer Maggi McDonald. Known for her bold use of color and signature palette knife style, Maggi has always been creative.

But it wasn’t until her son started pre-school and she confronted a period of depression after suffering miscarriages, that Maggi discovered the healing power of art and she decided to study design. During her studies, Maggi discovered that painting was calling her and since that time she’s built a global art and surface pattern design business.

During this conversation, Maggi and I discovered that we share many parallels in our art journeys.  She is incredibly generous in sharing her journey and so many great tips for emerging artists in this beautiful conversation. I really hope enjoy the episode.

In this episode, we talked about:

• Maggi’s form of art
• How did Maggi discover her love for painting
• Does living in different countries impacted Maggi’s creative evolution?
• Selling paintings on different platforms
• Maggi’s painting workflow
• The transition from a home studio to renting a little studio and storage space
• More about ‘Creative Coaching Sessions’ with Maggi
• Promoting mental health and how art has helped Maggi
• Social media growth tips

Links:

Maggi McDonald:

@maggimcdonaldart

Well, it feels like forever since I’ve released an episode! After being well whacked with influenza, I really needed some time off to recover, so thanks for your patience.

I’m so happy to be back with today’s episode where Steph and I are unpacking the subject of collaborations.  This can be a bit of a buzzword out there in the online world, but the reality is that collaboration can take on several different faces.

Join Steph and I as we walk through many of the different forms that collaboration can take.  We also dip into where collaborations cross over into the world of licensing and how the two can be very intertwined.

I really hope you enjoy the episode.

In this episode, we talked about:

• traditional and digital art collaborations
• how you can use collaboration with other artists to your advantage
• artists collaborations on sharing ideas, feedback, and inspiration, which often leads to a more cohesive and innovative final product
• Steph and I shared our collaborations with other artists
• art brand licensing deals
• cultural collaborations
• and MUCH MORE!

Links:

Susan Nethercote:

In today’s episode, I’m chatting with fellow Aussie artist Anna Price. Anna is a Sydney-based artist who began painting full-time in 2019 after craving time away from her screen-based interior design career.

Growing up she was constantly drawing, and she’s circled back around to art as an adult and Mum of four. Anna paints intuitively, unscripted and untrained. She draws on her creative intelligence to come up with multiple styles of busy abstract expressionist and geometric style artworks. Her paintings are predominately large scale and involve huge amounts of bold colour. Her inspiration comes from repetition, scale, her surrounding environment and children’s literature.

Anna and I covered a lot of ground in this inspiring conversation, as she’s fit a lot into the past few years as her art career has rapidly blossomed.  We chat through her experience with commissions and why she doesn’t do them anymore and mounting her first exhibition in her own gallery space.  We also chat about her experience creating a repeat pattern shop and exploring making ‘art sweaters’. There is so much more in this fantastic conversation with Anna, who is incredibly generous with her information.

In this episode, we talked about:

• Ana’s kind of art
• Ana’s journey to becoming an artist
• Experience with commissions
• The transition from having a home studio to a public studio - Shopfront in Sydney
• How did Ana build her passive-income print business?
• Ana’s first exhibition
• And MUCH MORE!

Links:

brand new e-course ‘Be Like Water’ A watercolour e-course to soothe the soul.

In today’s episode, Steph and I are talking about teaching what you know as an artist.  Steph talks about her experience teaching in-person workshops and delivering teaching for institutions. And I talk about my experience teaching in-person workshops, retreats and online courses.

We talk through how teaching can be an important income stream for artists seeking to generate a bit more of a regular payday.  We also talk through the pros and cons of each method of teaching and which we prefer best.

As timing would have it, I am also so excited to share with you, that my new e-course ‘Be Like Water- A Watercolour e-course to Soothe the Soul’ is here. This course teaches my unique approach to watercolor that is a unique blending of eastern and western techniques and als

I really hope you enjoy the episode.

In this episode, we talked about:

• Steph’s teaching experience in community workshops
• Diversifying income as an artist
• Why teaching and creating e-course is important in my income as an artist
• My advice for those aspiring artist who wants to teach and create e-courses
• Building networks and relationships through teaching
• And MUCH MORE!

Links:

Link for Be like water early bird list:

In today’s episode I have a lovely interview with fellow Aussie artist Lizzie Alsop. Lizzie is a full time contemporary artist who works from her home studio on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. She’s been creative all her life and launched into her full time art career after a move to the coast fourteen years ago.

Her artwork is a joyful and colorful mix of abstract and realism.  Lizzie loves to create and express the wonder of her natural environment with abstract layers of geometric shapes and botanicals which are mainly Australian Natives.  Much of her inspiration comes from spending time walking the coastal tracks, and ocean swimming close to her home.

Lizzie and I had a great chat about what it’s like to be an artist located in the country and coming from a country background. We talk through her process of finding her second career as a professional artist and navigating the way to success without a degree in art.

With lots of practical insights to how Lizzie has approached collaborations, created prints, tea-towels and also exhibited in a number of solo and group shows, this interview contains a wealth of information for emerging artists.  I really hope you enjoy the episode.

In this episode, we talked about:

• Lizzie shared her journey on how she became an artist and how it evolved over the years
• Lizzie on how she became a professional without that training and validation
• How living in a rural environment affected Lizzie’s art practice
• Using digital social media platforms for selling artworks
• How Lizzie balances her life as a mom of 3 and as an artist
• Lizzie’s studio space
• Lizzie’s upcoming exhibition: Where The Earth Meets The Sea

Links:

Lizzie Alsop

I can’t believe we’ve created 100 episodes of this little podcast.  It’s been such a joy to connect with you in this way over the past couple of years and I’m so grateful to each and every one of you for tuning and sharing the journey with me.

I love the connection with you and with creatives all over the world that I’m able to nurture thanks to the podcast.  It’s been the perfect way for this little introvert to deepen my connection with other artists and such a pleasure to be able to share it with you.

In today’s episode, Steph and I dive deep into the sometimes elusive question of what our art is truly about and what motivates its creation.

Anyone who has ever written an artist’s statement knows how tricky this question can be to answer, particularly when it comes to articulating it for the gatekeepers of the fine art world.

But this conversation goes so much deeper than that. We explore how excavating this information can help in binding together all the different avenues and mediums of our art practice.

We also explore how relating to this deep level of our ‘why’ as artists can provide fuel and nourishment for the journey of becoming more masterful practitioners and free us from the never-ending grind of focusing on product and profit.

I really hope you enjoy the episode.

In this episode, we talked about:

• Expressing feelings through art
• What does our art say about what motivates its creation?
• The continual art evolution and creative process
• Steph shares her knowledge in ceramics and the difference between selling ceramics and selling artwork
• The business model for Steph’s art business
• Establishing self as a fine artist
• And MUCH MORE!

Links:

In today’s episode I’m on my own talking about some of my favourite books that I read over the summer holidays that have just passed here.  There is a pretty big range in breadth of the books that I read, but the ones I talk about in today’s episode are all ones with a focus on creative inspiration in one way or another.

Some relate directly to art, some to interiors and women, some on the Eastern approaches to painting, and one is soulfully reflective. I’ve listed all of them in the show notes with links, so you can get a closer look if you like to know more.

I really hope you enjoy my nerdy little deep dive into my favourite current books that are floating my creative boat.

Books mentioned:

In today’s episode, Steph and I are unpacking the world of art prizes and grants. We talk through various aspects of this world- such as how prizes and grants differ from each other and what the experience of applying for each is like.

We also talk about the exposure to the risk of failure in this process and how, for someone like me, this can be disabling.  But for Steph, she has found that she’s been able to move on from hearing no and find her way through this.

I was recently the recipient of an art prize, which surprised no one more than me, and it’s made me realize that it is actually worth the effort to apply for opportunities for art funding that are out there.

So if you’ve been thinking about applying for art prizes or grants, this is a great episode to help you build your bravery and learn about what to expect.

In this episode, we talked about:

• The story on how I won the recent art prize from AGES (Australasian Gynaecological Endoscopy & Surgery Society)
• My 3 upcoming paintings for AGES and its art prize’s marketing benefits
• Advantages of offering discounts
• Steph’s story on applying for the art grant
• Handling rejection as an artist and how to move and be motivated
• Where to look for art grants
• Some tips and best practices to consider in applying for an art grant

Some useful resources for exploring what art prizes are available In Australia:

Today's episode is a real treat for all the art supply nerds out there. Steven Patterson is the CEO of Derivan, a family-owned Sydney-based company that manufactures one of my favourite brands of acrylic paints: Derivan Matisse. Many of the Aussie artists out there would likely have used a Derivan product at one time or another as they were the first company to manufacture student grade acrylics back in the 1950s when his father started the company with a couple of partners.

Steven grew up at the factory and started off working in the lab in the day and studying chemistry at night. He's a multi-passionate creative and innovative CEO that has been involved with the creation of a number of unique products, many of which have been inspired by the requests coming from artists.

He also continues to strives to make the factory and the products he makes as environmentally friendly as possible. I really hope you enjoy learning more about this unique paint company and the man behind it.

In this episode, we talked about:

Today Steph and I have a special little bonus episode for you. We’re talking all about the FREE painting challenge we run for our community every February and we’d love you to join us. In this studio chat we talk about the immense value we’ve both found after taking on this challenge, which we’ve done 3 times now and also how much we love the connection it gives us with you guys and the work that you’re making. Be sure to pop on over the challenge page on susannethercotestudio.com/challenge, or just click the link in the show notes to download all our free resources to help you to have a super-fruitful and fun painting month. 

And remember, this structure will work for you any time of the year, not just February. So if you’re listening to this at another time of the year, you can still access my freebies and make your own challenge. But February is when we gather is a community. It’s so special to connect with all of you during this month, so I hope you’ll consider coming along for the ride so we can get to know one another better. 

Join us as we chat about: 

• What we have received from the challenge in past years.
• How we intend to make the challenge work for us this month. 
• Making the challenge structure work within our lives. 
• How you can participate this time around. 

It’s a fresh new year and new podcast season, so in today’s episode, Steph and I are talking about some of the big projects we have planned for 2022.

Neither of us is a big one for micro-managing our art businesses.  But each of us does have a couple of big projects coming up this year that we are excited to share.

Join us as we chat about:

• Crowdfunding your next project
• Creating e-courses that feel very ‘in the flow’
• Relocating to another country
• Creating a brilliant art database

Links:

Painting as a Practice FREE painting Challenge, find all the details at:

In today’s episode, Steph and I are discussing our mutual tendency to go off on unexpected tangents in our artwork.  In the world of art business, honing on one style that sells is what we are often encouraged to do.

But as this conversation unfolds, we realise how vitality important following these tangents is for our emotional, spiritual and intellectual wellbeing. We also realise that it is an essential component to building integrity and professionalism as an artist in the longer term.

This is also the final podcast episode for 2021.  The summer holidays are in full swing here in Australia, and now that we are free to travel, I’m going to be taking advantage of it and spending lots of time away from the studio with my family for most of January.  We’ll be back at some point in late January or early February with a brand new season.  I’m also going to be sticking to the fortnightly rhythm with episodes, as this shift has been a game changer for me and allowed me much more time in front of the easel.  And let’s face it, that’s what we’re all chasing right?

Thanks so much for all your support of the podcast for another great year.  We cherish you guys and love all your feedback, so keep it coming!

Take care until then and I hope you have a truly beautiful holiday season.

Episode Highlights:

• The unexpected creative tangents both us have been enjoying
• Importance tangents in building integrity as a creative professional
• Artistic goals, what they are, and how to create them
• The importance of freedom to artists
• Engaging with the deeper mysteries of life and trying to understand them throughout artwork
• Relating to natural elements in our work

Links:

Hi and welcome to episode 93 of the studio insider art podcast.  Have you been experiencing a downturn in art sales over the past few months?  It’s something that Steph and I have both been experiencing, so we’re wondering if other artists out there, particularly in Australia, are experiencing this too?

In many ways, this is not surprising to us, given that we have only just come out of two years of lockdown where we live. Our capital Melbourne has been the most locked-down city in the world, and we can see how this has really affected mental health on a mass level in our state and consequently people’s desire and financial ability to buy art.

As often happens to creatives, when our work stops selling, we can tend to take this a bit personally and start telling ourselves all kinds of stories, true and imagined, about why this may be the case. And for each of us, that has been a bit of a journey over the past few months. Join us as we dive deep into how we are managing these times when we find ourselves valuing our worth by how much we are, or are not, selling.

In this episode, we talked about:

• How the pandemic has brought down sales to a halt for art business and artists
• Effects of the pandemic on my art business
• How we should pause and acknowledge that we are lucky to be alive and enjoy the small things - just be happy and not hustling all the time
• Lessons pandemic has given us
• How Steph and I cope up with the pandemic
• And MUCH MORE!

Links:

Susan Nethercote:

Hi and welcome to episode 92 of the studio insider art podcast.  In today’s episode, I’m chatting with the artist and author Jules Ostara.

Julia Ostara, aka Jules, is a lifelong explorer, artist, author, and creator of 2 inspiring oracle card decks. Jules lives in the ancient Appalachian Mountains with twin boys, a guitar man, and a few feisty cats. Jules loves to see people shine from the inside out while discovering the depths of their wisdom and wonder. She encourages this through her books and fun creative courses. Making art helped mend her broken heart after her mom died from ovarian cancer in 2010. She hopes to carry on a legacy of love and zest for life.

Jules and I first met many years ago in an online class and have stayed in touch over the years.  Recently Jules approached me about featuring a few of my paintings in a book that she was creating.  Of course, I said yes and today we’re talking about her beautiful new book ‘Born to Bloom Bright’ and the process she went through in putting it together and self-publishing.

She also talks about how important she feels it is to value what you have to say and share as an artist, back yourself, and not wait for permission to bring your dreams to fruition.

Jules is a bit of a veteran of self-publishing, not only books, but oracle card decks, so this conversation has lots of juicy tips about how to go about that process. I hope you enjoy the episode.          

This week is our biggest sale of the year when ALL of my e-courses are on sale!

So if you’ve been thinking about checking out or furthering your learning with my ‘Painting as a Practice’ e-courses, then THIS is the time to invest.

From now until 30th November 2021, I’m offering:

20% off single courses. Were $77 USD now $61.60 (save $15.40)

Simply click on the course link and apply the coupon codes below at the checkout to claim your discount.

Hi and welcome to episode 91 of the studio insider art podcast.

Ahhh, social media.  It’s both a blessing and a curse.  And with the shift to Instagram becoming a video-based platform with reels recently, Steph and I sat down and had a chat about how we are navigating the new world of video on Insta.

In this rather meandering episode, we explore quite a few things such as the question of if selling art on Instagram has improved or declined with the introduction of reels.

We also chat about turning up videos on socials while navigating the aging process. And then have a conversation about and how the natural slowing down that comes with age is impacting how we are going about our businesses in general and the pressure we put on ourselves as creative earners.

There’s a lot going on in this studio chat, so grab a cuppa and let’s dive in.

In this episode, we talked about:

• How Instagram Reels affects my painting
• The things I hate about the new feature
• Keeping up with social media and technology as we age
• Cultural pressure on social media
• Do videos on social media help to showcase our artwork and promote it to a broader range of audiences?
• Should we consider using Instagram reels when promoting our brand?

Links:

Hi and welcome to episode 90 of the studio insider art podcast.  This week I’m connecting with US-based author, artist and life coach Andrea Scher. Andrea guides women to feel more brave, joyful, and vibrant through her innovative use of creativity as a springboard for self-empowerment.

Her new book, Wonder Seeker: 52 Ways to Wake up Your Creativity and Find Your Joy straddles the world of creativity and mindfulness - playfully inspiring readers to live more vibrant lives full of presence, joy and connection.

Andrea and I discovered that we have many parallels in our lives and our conversation ranged wide and deep through mental health, fertility challenges and how she got her book deal with Harper Collins.

I hope you enjoy this super-inspiring conversation with a truly generous spirit.

Short bio:

Andrea Scher is an artist, author and life coach whose work is driven by her belief in the transformative power of creativity. She guides women to feel more brave, joyful, and vibrant through her innovative use of creativity as a springboard for self-empowerment. Her new book, Wonder Seeker: 52 Ways to Wake up Your Creativity and Find Your Joy (HarperCollins) straddles the world of creativity and mindfulness - playfully inspiring readers to live more vibrant lives full of presence, joy and connection.

In this episode, we talk about:

• How Andrea started as an artist
• How SARK, an American author and illustrator of self-help books benefited Andrea’s life and career
• Andrea’s award-winning blog - Superhero Journal and how it helped her in building her creative business
• Podcast VS Writing blogs
• Andrea’s personal challenges that helped her personal growth
• Andrea’s upcoming book - Wonder Seeker

Links:

Hi and welcome to episode 89 of the studio insider art podcast.  It’s a new season and it’s also ADHD awareness month, so I’m kicking off with something that I haven’t done for a really long time- a solo episode.

I’ve been pretty open about my journey with ADHD of late, but what I’ve not talked about much on the podcast is my journey with other aspects of my mental health such as anxiety, insomnia and depression.  And the truth is, that the two are very related and intertwined.

So, I’m sharing really transparently with you today about what my mental health journey has looked like, the treatments I’ve explored, and how my recent diagnosis of ADHD has brought a tonne of clarity to my overall mental health picture.

I feel really nervous about sharing this so openly with you, but I know it’s this kind of transparency that can help others the most. This episode won’t be for everyone, but I know that there will be a few people out there that will probably hear something they really needed to.

I also just need to say, this is a personal story. I’m not a medical professional and this episode is not medical advice.  I hope it’s helpful.

In this episode, I talk about:

• what it's like to find out you have ADHD at the age of 46 and how it's changed my life
• most common misconceptions about taking medication for depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders.
• what these symptoms looked like and how they impacted me in my university years
• the therapy and medication that has worked for me and contributed to my overall health and wellbeing

Links:

Two excellent and informative podcast interviews with Dr. Russel Barkley who is an authority on adult ADHD.

In this episode Steph shares a fresh and raw experience where she made  an expensive and painful mistake in her business. Although this wound is still fresh we step into the power of owning our mistakes and using them to propel us into protecting ourselves and our customers from them in the future.

As always we manage to find the humour in our struggles and use it to step out of the shame spiral and  into some solutions aligned with our hearts and neurological diversities.

• How Steph managed to quickly exit the shame spiral and her epiphany around bringing in outside help.
• We share about the shift in negative  self-talk that comes when you accept your own weaknesses without judgement.
• How going through these hard lessons and owning your part in them allows you build things into your life that protect you from them in the future.
• A random segue all about my cute puppy and her impact on my life in the studio.

To membership or not to membership, that is the question that Steph and I are asking in this weeks podcast episode.

We mean literally, we are asking you the question, would you like to have a membership with us? This idea has been inspired by the suggestion of one of our lovely listeners and the particular way she framed up what she would like, felt very resonant for both of us.

So listen in and let us know if it feels resonant for you too. If you like it, we’ll do it, if you don’t, no stress, we’ll just move on.

In this episode we discuss;

• Why we’ve resisted a membership model up to this point.
• A brainstorm of ideas as to what value dipping our toes into this world could bring to listeners.
• A raw discussion around rejection and failure.
• An open call for feedback and thoughts from you guys!

Today’s podcast guest is a bit of a hero for me.  Flora Bowley is an artist, author, and gentle guide whose creative process and soulful approach to living have touched thousands of lives.

Blending over twenty-five years of professional painting experience with her background as a yoga instructor, healer, and lifelong truth seeker, Flora’s intimate popular in-person retreats and online courses have empowered a global network of brave painters while creating a new holistic movement in the intuitive art world.

One of the earliest painting e-courses I took was with Flora. And her book ‘Brave intuitive painting’ and also ‘Creative Revolution’ rung very very true for me.

I’m chatting with US based artist Denise Gasser.  I first discovered Denise via her ‘Art After’ project which is all about reconciling art and motherhood in the most unique and inspiring way.  I then progressed to going down a rabbit hole of watching Denise’s IGTV’s and just knew that I HAD to have this inspiring woman on the podcast.

In this conversation Denise and I chat about Instagram and why it’s so important that we take charge of this very powerful marketing medium as artists and make it a place that supports us rather than shuts us down.  We dive deep into Denise’s journey of creating artwork for her ‘Art After’ project and how she worked her way through successive rejections from galleries to have her work exhibited, to finally mount her own hugely successful show.

We talk a lot about how to negotiate being and artist with being a Mum, embracing ordinariness and also negotiating neurodiversity.

This conversation with Denise was so inspiring to have and truly left me feeling like I had connected with a kindred sprit.

Some of the key moments include;

• Making Instagram a positive, healthy environment for ourselves.
  
• How she created an exhibition of work embracing the craziness of the season of raising small kids.
  
• How after experiencing rejection after rejection she mustered the determination to host her own exhibition on her terms.
  
  

Welcome to a special episode of the podcast which we’re calling the ‘holiday replay’.  Steph and are taking a break for a couple of weeks while our kiddos are home holidays, so this week we-re airing one of our favourite episodes- How to tackle style diversity in your art brand’. So if you missed that one, be sure to listen in as this was one of our most popular episodes ever! And if you caught it the first time around, we think it’s definitely worth a second listen.

This week  we’re talking about something that comes up often out there in the art world- which is the idea of having to stick with a particular style to establish yourself as an artist and a brand.  Steph and I sat  down and had a great conversation about the advantages and pitfalls of taking this approach when seeking direction for your art.  I hope you enjoy the episode.

Some of this episodes key insights;

• That it is possible to find threads of consistency in amongst a variety of stylistic directions in your work
  
• Ways that I personally manage having diverse styles in my own art practice and in putting forward my brand.
  
• How the history of art teaches us that it is indeed ‘part of the job’ for artists to venture through different stylistic periods in their work throughout their lifetime.
  
• How the ‘Instagram grid’ mentality can keep us hemmed into a narrow perception of our stylistic output.
  

Welcome to a special episode of the podcast which we’re calling the ‘holiday replay’.

Steph and are taking a break for the next couple of weeks while our kiddos are home on school holidays, so this week we-re airing one of our favourite episodes- the interview with Rach Jackson. If you missed the episode first aired ion Season 3, be sure to listen in this week as it’s so inspiring! If you caught it the first time around, we think it’s definitely worth a second listen.

In today's conversation with Steph, we're continuing our series on steps to prepare a collection for launch with a chat about product photography for art.

This has been a bit of a pain point for me personally as, no matter how hard I try, I'm just really not very good at taking photos of my art and I really really dislike photo editing. Therefore this is an area of my business where I have brought in help. Inversely for Steph, it's a strength area, so she does it herself.

We talk through the pros and cons of using a professional photographer and also what kinds of photos you need to sell your art.

Some of the key moments include;

• Different product  images that you can use to sell your art.
  
• Giving yourself permission to invest in help with areas of your art biz that are a struggle.
  
• How combining product photography with lifestyle images is a powerful combination.
  
• To start where you’re at and use the tools that you have.
  

In today’s episode Steph and I are talking about the different steps each of us go through when preparing our work to sell.  This is different for both of us because we each sell our work in different ways.  I sell mine directly to customers via my newsletter and website.  Whereas Steph sells through retailers.

In our conversation we zone in on some of the challenging parts of the process which for me includes, lots photo editing and time on  the computer and also those first moments just after hitting publish. For Steph its deciding when her works are ready to let go and actually packaging and sending them off.

I think each of us has these moments with different aspects of the journey. I really hope you enjoy the episode!

• How I’m re-framing the ‘drudgery’ work of your art biz
• Switching modalities from creation to sales.
• Why we both work in collections.
• Caring for yourself emotionally while in sales mode.
  

In today’s episode I’m chatting with fellow Australian artist Ange Miller. Ange is a Multi impassioned artist, currently working on large-scale organic acrylic and oil abstracts on canvas.

She also teaches masterclasses both online and offline, is a creativity coach and is passionate about sharing her perspective on the traditional art education system that she taught within for many years.

Ange has observed first hand the blocks that can happen as a result of this kind of education. In her own educational offerings, she’s constantly evolving new ways for her students to discover and work from their own unique creative identity.

I really loved digging deep into so many topics with Ange throughout this conversation and I hope you enjoy the episode.

• How her experiences teaching within the Art School system has given her a unique insight into the values of traditional education and how they are misaligned with the creative brain.
  
• How she’s launched a membership group to help people re-landscape their art-brain.
  
• Keeping the flame of creativity alive within ourselves and our children.
  

Sometimes in our creative journey we get drawn into divergent creative paths that don’t always make sense in terms of our existing work or the core money earners in our business.

In todays episode steph and I explore our own experiences with recently exploring work that we felt drawn to make and why we feel it’s so important to follow the creative threads and compulsions in our creative practice- because you just never know where they might be leading. We also talk about our experience with working within our own feminine cycles and how we feel that working cyclically is a much better way for us to develop our businesses when compared to the traditional patriarchal business model. 

• How exploring new creative threads can inform your current art practice.
• Shifting between new explorative work and the safety of the familiar.
• What it means to reject the masculine paradigm of making money and step into the feminine.
• How exploration phases can uncover ‘full body YES’ moments that propel us forward.

This week I’m chatting with contemporary artist Jessie Rigby. I fell in with Jessie’s beautiful abstract landscape paintings long ago and she lives not too far from me in the Macedon ranges of Victoria, so I’ve been wanting to have her on the podcast for a while.

Jessie and I share a lot of parallels in our careers, both of us starting out in the fashion industry before finding our art path.  But Jessie has taken a different road with selling her work,- pursuing a more commercial avenue of  working with boutique homewares outlets and galleries.  So we chatted through some of the advantages and disadvantages of working this way.

We also talk through lots of practical tips such as how she works on pre-fabricated framed canvases, who her fave stockists and suppliers are, and of course her amazing new, customised and removable art studio.

I really hope you enjoy this conversation with the gorgeous Jessie as much as I enjoyed having it.

• Paying attention to the scale of work our bodies call for.
  
• Jessie’s unique, moveable studio space
  
• Building relationships with retail store owners to sell her art and tips for you to do the same.
  
• Her experiences with pricing.
  
• How support from her studio assistant Beth has streamlined all her processes to relive stress and free up time.
  
• How leaning into her artists community has helped her feel held in her solo pursuit.