Today, FRIDAY MAY 22nd at NOON {et} I’ll be hosting a LIVE ART SALE on Showfields.com! I curated a grouping of the 8 fabulous artists above {and ok yes, I curated myself into the lineup!}. Please tune in because A. it’ll be fun, and B. for every person that hops on to watch, Showfields will be donating $1 to the charity of my choice… I chose Doctors Without Borders ♥  Soooo, come on over, invite a friend… or ten! This post gives you a peek at half of the available work, and here’s the description I wrote for this curation:

“While the various pieces are quite different – from ceramic eye masks and quiet landscapes, to self portraits and embroidered bits of nature – for me, the element that connects this collection is the feeling of intimacy. Each piece gives us a peek into the artist herself, creating a cocktail of beauty, humor, and vulnerability … and yes, that’s my favorite kind of cocktail!”

…….

Aaaaand that’s a wrap! That was FUN! A bunch of the work sold during the LIVE event, but you can still pop over to Showfields to see my curation and buy some gorgeous work from some very talented artists.

Who wants to escape into nature for just a few glorious minutes? Me too. This is the work of Nova Scotia based artist Briana Corr Scott … from sketches to paintings to her absolutely gorgeous textile design. Sigh. I lived in Nova Scotia when I was little, and looking at her dreamy studio filled with gathered bits from forest floors and the seaside make me want to take a deep, cleansing breath. Ahhhh, that’s better.

ps. If you love her patterns as much as I do, you can find them at Spoonflower.com as wallpaper, pillows, table cloths and more! She also has prints, notecards etc in her shop.

Work from three different series, all of which are very appropriate right now… medication we all could use, an installation about eating our feelings, followed by a funeral for capitalism. Mic drop. This is just a tiny sampling of work by Kansas City based artist/illustrator Lauren Phillips. Her woodcuts pulled me in, but my goodness, Lauren’s portfolio is full of:

“… a combination of her interests: the female experience, bringing awareness to social inequities, the natural world, joy and pleasures.” 

Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes.

Aloha! Yep, I’m back from Hawaii feeling refreshed, and I’m excited to bust some more creative myths with my friend, and creative guru, Andy J. Pizza. Before we get to the myth-busting though, I am doing a bit of reading… off the top, I’m sharing an email I received from an artist {and podcast listener} named Sally Podmore re: the idea of “labeling” ourselves as one thing, and one thing only. Her email immediately reminded me of a chapter I wrote in one of my books, so I read that too! Grab yourself a coffee, or settle into the studio because it’s storytime! You can listen right up there under Andy and all of his magical friends, or subscribe to the podcast right here.

First up, a peek at Andy’s super inspiring class that he recently did with Skillshare…

 

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A post shared by Andy J. Pizza (@andyjpizza) on Nov 12, 2019 at 6:25am PST

Gah! It’s all just so, so, so good. He’s one smart cookie, that Mr. Pizza.

So, last time Andy was on the podcast, we started a series called “Creative Myth Busters”! It was so much fun that we decided to keep it going…

Yep, we busted three myths on today’s episode, all of which were sent in by you guys: 1. “The only art worth making is the art that flows through you instantly”, 2. “You’re not legit if you’re self taught”, and 3. “Everything’s been said/done, so there’s no point in trying.” Ooof. Big ones. Okay, so what’s the best way to bust myths? Analogies! Here is one of the many we used, actually illustrated by Andy…

Ah, it’s funny cuz it’s true.

And finally, I’d like to leave you with this…

YES, let’s go do that! Thanks so much to Andy for busting more myths with me; thanks to art consultant Alissa Sexton for supporting the episode; and thanks to YOU for listening. There will be more ART FOR YOUR EAR next weekend. ps. I hope you’re about to start rewriting your labels the second this episode finishes!!! 

Other links:

1. Alissa Sexton, Art Consultant : Website Services
2. Andy’s Skillshare class
3. Emily Henderson’s design Skillshare class
4. Me at TEDx Nashville, March 20-21 {I think I talked about this, right? If not, I should have! Tickets on sale now}
5. Your Inner Critic Is A Big Jerk {book}
6. The list of 30 subjects for an Instagram/day challenge {so you don’t even have to think of them yourself… ie., no excuses}:

1. water
2. circle
3. texture
4. fly
5. five
6. new
7. upside down
8. horizon
9. open
10. vintage
11. blue
12. mirror
13. cold
14. lines
15. noisy
16. boat
17. pattern
18. fur
19. bright
20. sweetness
21. balance
22. cold {yep, accidentally included it twice?!}
23. intersection
24. peak
25. grow
26. red
27. twins
28. simple
29. delicious
30. twilight

Have fun!

Patterns and lines and boldness, oh my! This is the simple yet striking work of London based artist/illustrator Rosie McGuinness. She describes her work as a place “where fashion drawing meets life drawing”… I would like to live in that place.

Ahhh, I would love to spend a weekend inside that lovely head. This is the work of San Francisco based artist and illustrator Lindsay Stripling. I wrote about her three years ago and, I’m happy to report, the magic is still alive and well over there! Lindsay says, “I like to keep things surreal, edgy, and fun and explore themes of folk, nature, community and psychology.” Yep. Nailed it. Happy Friday.

Ahhh, one of my very first art crushes… Philadelphia based artist, illustrator and teacher Martha Rich! Today’s we’re diving into, “Ask Martha – it’s like Dear Abby but not at all like Dear Abby.” Basically I invented this segment because I looooove asking Martha questions. Her answers are usually hilarious, she’s super smart, AND she has a really inspiring attitude when it comes to life. You’ll see what I mean when I ask her the questions that you guys sent in. Yep, I asked my Instagram crowd to send in some questions, and you did! I picked 5 or 6 of them – some serious, some silly and then I followed the whole thing up with a bunch of really dumb trivia questions, because listening to Martha answer trivia is hilarious. You’re welcome. You can listen right up there under “log head” (aka the photo I took of Martha while our show was being installed in Joshua Tree a few weeks ago), or subscribe on iTunes. ps. My intro is all about creating your own visual vocabulary!

First up, a couple of quick snap shots from the opening of “Crush It”, a group show at Hey There Projects in Joshua Tree featuring Martha, Bruce Lee (far right), and me! ps. The show is up until December 13, 2019:

“Double doink”. Yeah, I’m not sure what’s happening here, but it made me laugh so I threw it in! That’s me and Martha with Aaron Smith (left) and Mark Todd (right), the founders of Hey There, both of whom are fabulous artists and teachers at ArtCenter in Pasadena. Hm, maybe the “double doink” is for all the name dropping I just did! Ok, moving on…

Here’s just a little taste of the work Martha’s being doing lately, and yes, I love it all:

Donna Did It. Hahahaha! Oooh, and all of that pink FURY up there is a perfect lead into this:

YES! Martha’s new book, “The Furious Notebook”, perfect for “releasing your rage” and “chilling the heck out”. I held this furious little beauty in my hands when we were together last week, and not only is it filled with Martha Rich fantastic-ness, it’s also very helpful in the current political climate. Blarg. Anyway, let’s not dwell on that. Here’s a peek at the mural Martha is finishing up on Monday at the airport in Philadelphia:

Um, hello “selfie-opportunity” while waiting for your flight! I like the blue guy and his yellow beard. I hope he finds his missing dipping sauce. ??? (This is why I love her).

Now, I’m sure you were interested in this part of our conversation. BlueQ and Martha have been working together for a few years now, turning her artwork into bags, coin purses, socks, oven mitts, and PASSIVE INCOME:

So. Good. ps. I buy that “Random Crap” bag for people all the time. Hilarious, because it’s true.

Next, this is the fabulous artist Martha named as one of her faves, and the woman she’d love to have paint her portrait. California based artist Georganne Deen:

Oh my word, love love love! Okay, well now I need to see what “Martha Rich by Georganne Deen” would look like.

And finally, because she brought up the pineapple glasses, I have a perfect excuse to pop this beauty into the post as the final image:

Luv ya, mean it. Seriously, I’m so glad my art crush from eleven years ago turned into a really wonderful friendship with an incredible woman. Thanks so much to Martha for answering all of my questions – even the dumb trivia about cow graffiti in Texas; Thanks to THRIVE for being such a fantastic partner; and of course, thank YOU for listening. There will not actually be a new art for your ear next weekend. Saturday November 30^th marks the one year anniversary of losing my dad, and I’ve decided to give myself the weekend to just be still. I’ll be back the following weekend though with Esther Pearl Watson, and she’s bringing a whole bunch of weird ‘n wonderful stories from art history. See you then ~ Danielle

Links from my intro:

1. The Artist’s Way, book
2. Kirstin Lamb, Episode no. 54
3. Meghan Hildebrand, Episode no. 97
4. Mando Marie, Episode no. 100
5. Martha’s current show at Webb Gallery, TX (up until mid Dec)

Yes, yes, YES. There are so many creative myths that need busting, and I know just the man for the job! Andy Miller, aka Andy J. Pizza is my joy-filled creative expert for this 157th episode. And, spoiler alert, we’ve put together a brand new segment called: Creative Myth Busters with Danielle Krysa and Andy J. Pizza. We kicked off this first busting session with two big myths, but before we did that, I had a little catching up to do with this creative dynamo! You can listen right up there, or subscribe on iTunes.

First, I present to you the definition of JOY in photographic form:

Hahahahaha! Ahhhh, Andy hanging out on Sesame Street. Seriously, I would’ve cried if I was sitting that close to Big Bird’s nest. Look how happy Andy is… yep, this fills me with joy for sure!

Okay, more joy. Andy and Joseph Gordon Levitt {aka Joe. Yeah, that’s what I’ll call him too once we become super good friends … any day now}:

I love that Joe did this, and that Andy had the cojones to to reach out to him. Listen to the episode right here, and if you don’t know about JGL’s project, HITRECORD, check it out here! Oooh, and while I’m fan-girling, Joe also did a great TED Talk, titled “How craving attention makes you less creative”.

Next up, joy in the form of five foot markers and a mural for YOU to color in:

So frickin’ fun! The top most image is from the current mural at Color Factory, Houston – an ongoing collaboration between Andy and artist/designer Andrew Neyer {ps. I think the green one might be from a past “Color Me” mural they did.}

And finally, Andy’s brilliant, fun and always inspiring podcast, CREATIVE PEP TALK, just turned FIVE!

Wooohooooooo! High five on five years, Andy! [insert sound fx here] And with that, I will say thank you so much to Andy for taking time to bust some myths with me; thanks to Thrive {sign up for their Mastermind group!} for supporting yet another episode; and as always, thanks to you for listening. I’ll be back again next weekend with a new episode. ~ Danielle

More Links:

1. Andy on ART FOR YOUR EAR, December 2017
2. Andy’s Skillshare class : Make Creativity Your Career: Six Exercises to Create a Successful Side Project
3. Brené Brown, Researcher / Author
4. From Good to Great by Jim Collins
5. Jim Henson: The Biography
6. Seth Godin
7. Samantha Fields on AFYE
8. Terrence Payne on AFYE
9. Debbie Millman : on Creative Pep Talk
10. TED Talk by Ingrid Fetell Lee : “Where Joy Lives and How to Find It”

Kate Bingaman-Burt is back on the podcast! Kate is a Portland based artist, illustrator, professor, entrepreneur, and now – thanks to a little fella named Hank – she’s also a mom. So, how does she do allllll of those things I just listed? That’s what we’re going to talk about in our segment titled “Kate Bingaman-Burt had a baby, and yes, she’s still an artist!”. I had a baby too, granted, that was thirteen years ago, but I still remember those early days like it was yesterday. I remember the fog, not showering for days, and feeling like I might not ever make art again. We’re talking rules, daily practice and that, YES, it’s absolutely possible to be a mother AND an artist. True story. You can listen right up there under Kate ‘n Hank, or subscribe on iTunes.

First up, what Kate’s daily “Obsessive Consumption” drawings used to feature:

Ahhhhh, I love it all. I also love that the items she’s buying / documenting NOW, are slightly different:

Haha! YES! Okay, she might not be keeping a traditional “Baby’s Firsts” book, but she’s definitely capturing everything in a super fabulous Kate Bingaman-Burt kind ‘o way! Also, that jean jacket is ridiculously cute. She posts these on Instagram now, so you can follow along over there.

Kate talked about how important having a daily drawing practice is to her, even if it’s only for 15 minutes a day. For years she has made time for this creative outlet… even one day after giving birth. Here are the hospital drawings she mentioned:

So, so special! What a way to capture Hank’s arrival into the world, and a wonderful way to keep a new mom calm (and feeling like herself in a time when it’s really easy to completely forget who you are. Yes, I’m speaking from experience!)

Next… ceramics!? Yep. Seriously, she is never not trying new stuff. Here’s what she’s been doing over in her mom’s kiln:

Oh, thank goodness… somewhere to keep my fingernails!

So, having a full teaching schedule, a daily art practice, and a baby aren’t quite enough for Kate. Enter her fantastic shop / Risograph print workshop studio, Outlet PDX:

Ooooh, I want to go to there. And look, it’s sweet little Hank giving Barbara a hug! Maybe that’ll keep her going just a little bit longer. Speaking of Barbara, she has a message about perfectionism for all of us:

Amen, Barbara, amen.

And finally, the project for this week. This was the unblocking project Kate gave me as part of her interview in my very first book, Creative Block:

Do it… and embrace every little imperfection. Barbara would want that. Thank you so much to Kate for taking time out of her very busy life to do this with me; thanks to both of this week’s fantastic sponsors – Thrive {sign up for their Mastermind group!} and Carve Out Time for Art {preorder their book!}; big mama love thanks to my very special guest at the end of the episode; and as always, huge thanks to you for listening. I’ll be back again next weekend with a new episode. ~ Danielle

Ah, the gorgeous ‘n hilarious book paintings of Australian artist and illustrator Anna Hoyle. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. I’m guessing here, but it certainly feels like she’s allowing us to “read her mind”. They really cover the full gamut too – from awful art parties to anxious pecking – pure gold {especially for those of us who have anxiety about awful art parties}. Sooo many of Anna’s fabulous book paintings are available as prints in her online shop. Just sayin’.

ps. I had her on the podcast in 2017, so have a listen if you like.