The Artist’s Joy: A Guide to Getting Unstuck

Today’s book is: The Artist’s Joy: A Guide to Getting Unstuck, Embracing Imperfection, and Loving Your Creative Life (Broadleaf Books, 2024), by Dr. Merideth Hite Estevez, which is the ultimate guide for creatives. Whether you are a dabbler, a career creative, or a long-time self-proclaimed "tortured artist," The Artist’s Joy is here to help. As a professional oboist, teacher, and creative coach, Dr. Estevez knows the world of creatives and what they truly need to cultivate a life-giving practice. The Artist's Joy offers not only tools for the journey but a deeper understanding of the ways creativity works in our lives. It includes self-coaching questions, a group discussion guide, and a companion playlist with tracks for musical meditation and creative engagement. The Artist’s Joy can help you get unstuck, recover your creativity, and cultivate a practice that is joyful and sustainable.

Content Warning: from minute ten to minute fifteen, Dr. Merideth Hite Estevez discusses ED and addiction.

Our guest is: Dr. Merideth Hite Estevez, who has performed with top orchestras in the US and abroad, including the Met Opera and PhillyPops, and is currently the English hornist/Second Oboe of the Chamber Orchestra of New York. She has served on faculties of numerous universities and schools of music, most recently as Associate Professor of Oboe at the University of Delaware. She has helped thousands of artists overcome creative block through her online creative recovery clusters, and has served as an executive coach for arts leaders, from major museum directors to deans of conservatories and art schools. Her podcast is Artists for Joy, and she is the author of The Artist’s Joy: A Guide to Getting Unstuck, Embracing Imperfection, and Loving Your Creative Life.

Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, the producer of the Academic Life podcast.

Listeners may also like:

• The Academic Life episode on addiction and sobriety in academia
• The Academic Life episode on managing your mental health during your PhD
• The Academic Life episode on protecting your wellbeing in grad school
• The Academic Life episode on healing your writing practice after grad school
• Make Your Art No Matter What
• Becoming the Writer You Already Are

Welcome to Academic Life, the podcast for your academic journey—and beyond! Join us to learn from experts inside and outside the academy, and around the world. You can support the show by downloading and sharing episodes.

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