Creative Genius

In this episode, we discuss the importance of playfulness, discernment & collaboration inside creativity, how we are all worthy of blooming creatively, and why we do not need to fear collaboration when it comes to creativity. Artist and two-time author Jules Ostara grew up on what she calls a “hippie farm in West Virginia” and still ended up becoming a (self-proclaimed) “recovering valedictorian” she shares her thoughts on how widespread the temptations to seek external validation and become overly self-critical are when these start to creep into our lives, and the transformations that took place for her as she journeyed away from a path of seeking external validation, to looking inside for direction and guidance for her life. We talk about what she had to let go of to reconnect with her inner artist.  What happened when she started creating art for herself and her kids she was not worried about being good… and the process of turning creating art into play. She shares how reconnecting with creativity as she grieved the loss of her mother was a powerful lifeline that opened her back up to the touch, intuition, joy, creativity, she had become disconnected from, and how when she had kids of her own, she learned to mother herself in the process as she saw what she wanted for them she began to give it to herself. Self love. Worthiness. Knowing we are worth being here. At one point, she shares an incredible insight (that caused a deep shift in me) about how creativity is like scattering the seeds that you won’t want to miss. This is a beautiful, curious, conversation.  May it spark you knowing that it is more than ok for you to playfully, joyfully scatter the seeds of your creativity not worrying if they all take, AND that you are absolutely, innately worthy of blooming creatively. Kate Shepherd: website | instagram | facebookJules Ostara website | Instagram | Facebook  

This episode feels important with a capital I. I sit down with Sarah Dalesandro, an artist who has been painting for over 20 years with a background in graphic design and art therapy. And it is the art therapy that I really wanted to dig into with her in this episode. I'd heard about art therapy over the years, I had even gone to a few sessions myself, but I hadn’t understood the mechanism of it, the why or how art therapy works and can heal past trauma.  Sarah explains what's actually going on with the left brain and the right brain in trauma experiences, and how creating art can support us to access, reconcile and ultimately resolve past traumas in ways that are sometimes limited by talk therapy alone. Her explanation of left brain-right brain relationship and how art can help us process things that are keeping us stuck made so much sense to me, she explains in a way that nobody has ever explained it to me before and I found myself wanting to jump into my studio to start to explore the possibilities of communicating with my own subconscious through art. Her insight about the importance of UGLY art was a significant perspective shift for me. Have a listen and see if it is the same for you. Sarah shows up fully for us in this episode today, she is brave and raw and open. I marveled at the thing inside her that from a very young age never gave up on herself and kept beckoning her back to Art as a way to process some of the terrible things she’d been through.  And it dawned on me that we all have this presence within us. May her sharing her story remind us of this part of ourselves.  Kate Shepherd: website | instagram | facebookSarah Dalesandro: https://sarahdalesandro.com/Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sarahdalesandro

In this episode we sit down with California artist Andrea Garvey. A beautiful, joyful, effervescent soul who’s positivity is not only contagious, but is completely infused in every single piece of her heart-stoppingly beautiful work. Hers is the kind of art that makes your soul smile. In this episode she shares the incredible story of the painting that came to her in a life-changing dream, after the passing of her beloved mother in law. How that painting helped her through her grieving process and would go on to lead her on a completely unexpected journey leaving a busy, hectic career in Corporate America behind to become a full-time artist with a thriving career. Andrea reminds us that there is a mysterious, dormant, unseen energy that lives inside all of us waiting for the perfect, pivotal moments to present itself. And that meeting these moments with curiosity is how we can step onto the paths of our destiny. And she wants us to know that when we get creative nudges or universal whispers as she calls them - no matter how big or small, our job is to do whatever it takes to listen, stay open and follow them. Once we start to make space for the nudges to come, it becomes easier to recognize the next one and the next one. She talks about the life changing power of creating rituals for ourselves like journaling, meditation, gratitude, quiet time and slowing down. I thought it was worth underlining that many answers to questions Andrea has had, have come to her when she has asked a question out loud and then left some space for the answer to come. Kate Shepherd: website | instagram | facebookAndrea Garvey: website | instagram | facebook

“If you don’t believe in yourself, prove yourself wrong”  - Pamela BatesAfter 23 years of her creativity getting lost in client expectations working in PR and doing too much to take care of others and not enough to take care of herself in her personal life, Pamela found herself utterly burned out. That is when her sister took her on a restorative weekend trip to Boston where the two of them visited the Gardiner Museum. Pamela shares the story of how life dramatically grabbed her attention with an electrifying, life-changing experience that she says was the beginning of her now flourishing career as a painter. Pamela shares the importance of tuning into and remaining open to the quiet voice deep inside as it has all the information we need to find our own callings. And how crucial rest and quiet are for supporting our ability to tune in. We are trained to go go go. We need to retrain ourselves to be quiet. She shares her theories about Radical Rest. Humans hold themselves back on this quest for perfection, which is utterly pointless and unattainable. The magic resides in letting go. When we hold something too dear, it tends to get in the way. Listen to her terrifying advice on what we should practice in our art to help us really learn about the magic of letting go. Don't let anything be too precious or it will jam you up. Many artists are bent on “finding their voice” Pamela urges us to stop trying so hard to find it, and instead become curious about what is already there waiting for you to stop being in charge. What you’ll find, she says, is that you already have the special magic thing you are looking for, it is you. The only way to access that deep well of creativity is to paint, paint, paint. Daily practice is more important than anything else you can do: the act of painting will connect you to the thing you are looking for. There is no other way to find that than to just do it. Trust yourself. Focus on the need to create. Stop looking outside for validation. The desire to create is itself, the map. You have to be working for the magic to happen, so get busy. The painting that jolted the painter in Pamela to wake up El Jaleo - by John Singer Sargent 1882Kate Shepherd: website | instagram | facebookPamela Bates: website| instagram| facebook

“Accept and love yourself, it’s the start of everything good”   Jane believes that “One way or another, every single decision we make has the opportunity to be driven by the creative impulse” and she reminds us that we all came into this life with curiosity and creativity and if we feel we have lost connection with it, we can certainly find it again. Her work with her Creative Strength Training Book, and online community are dedicated to exactly this. When we practice loving-kindness toward ourselves and others, we can evolve to a place where we don’t take everything so personally and can start to access some of the gifts that the difficult situations in our lives are trying to give us. “You are perfect the way you are AND you could use a little improvement” Suzuki RoshiIt is important to cultivate noble friends, ones who won’t just tell us what we want to hear. In this episode, Jane shares her method for finding out what you truly value so you can come into alignment with what your soul wants to be doing and make your own roadmap for your life (not follow someone else's roadmap for you). We discuss the importance of getting in touch with your dreams and then actively looking for ways to bring them to life. Your big dreams are not going to happen with you sitting on your hands behind closed doors. Find people to share your crazy dreams with, but don’t tell everyone. Part of believing yourself into where you’re headed is having the courage to reach out to people you admire. You never know what might come of it. In this episode, Jane mentioned Invisible Acts of Power by Caroline MyssFind out about Jane’s Creative Strength Training Community and her BooksKate Shepherd: website | instagram | facebookJane Dunnewold: website| instagram| facebook

"When we feel creative, we feel in charge of our lives.”   At 22, Jane found herself in tears in the shower of her college dorm of divinity school, unfulfilled and unhappy feeling that she had to pursue other people's vision for her life. This was the beginning of her starting to realize that she could choose her own life Looking inwards we can find what we really want and art can help us be brave to follow those whispers. It is important to learn to trust ourselves and our gut instincts, they are rarely wrong. This is all a process and it takes time. Jane shares her 4 Cornerstones of Creativity, which are an incredibly elegant way of looking at what can support a flourishing creative practice. Kate Shepherd: website | instagram | facebookJane Dunnewold: website | instagram| facebook

“Being good at creating art is not your gift, your LOVE of creating is.”   When Wendy McWilliams was 49 years old, she felt like she needed a hobby. What started as a search for a simple past-time hobby, quickly evolved into her life’s passion - a thriving art career her work sought after for private collections around the globe. After working through 22 different jobs including for Calvin Klein & Revlon in Europe, she finally landed on what she was meant to do in life - painting. It’s hard to not be skeptical about ourselves and our abilities. Art allows us to channel a source of energy, of inspiration, and opens us to become a vehicle for creativity to create beauty through our hands. We are meant to create, to allow creativity to flow through us. Our job is to remain open and to make sure we do not believe everything we think - especially when it comes to limiting beliefs. “ You hate your own creations because you think they look too much like you made them. You think if you keep trying you can make your work look like some other, better person made it. But there is no level of skill where you transcend yourself. The thing you hate about your art, is the most valuable thing about it”  (paraphrased from Elicia Donze) Kate Shepherd: website | instagram | facebookWendy McWilliams: website | instagram | facebook

“If more folks recognized their creativity, no matter how small they think it is, it will bring more happiness to them.” -Betty FranksAt 50, Betty Franks made a bold transition from a lifelong career in customer service management, to becoming an internationally celebrated abstract artist whose work can be found in private collections all over the world. And it all started with a wish and an intention. Her journey to becoming creative started when she discovered mixed media and fell in love with the medium. She then started attending art workshops which led her to become an abstract artist. Creativity is an expression of our truest self. If we allow ourselves to be loose and be vulnerable, to let go - we are rewarded with a deep sense of happiness and contentment. Among other wonderful insights, Betty shares the genius way she developed for getting her rational mind to be quiet so she can sneak off and play with her wild creativity. See images of Betty’s work along with the affirmation that changed her life at https://kateshepherdcreative.com/blogs/creative-genius-the-blog/creative-genius-podcast-episode-3-becoming-creative-with-betty-franksThe Magical Path (the book that Betty mentions that changed her life) https://marcallen.com/magicalpath/Kate Shepherd: website | instagram | facebookBetty Franks: website | instagram | youtube 

“The rational mind is the home of bad painting.”Anong Beam is an accomplished artist and founder of Beam Paints, truly gorgeous handmade watercolours. Her father, Carl Beam, one of her great teachers, is an award-winning artist and the first Indigenous artist to have their work purchased by the National Gallery of Canada as Contemporary Art. Anong’s work has been featured in multiple solo exhibitions and public collections throughout Canada and the world. The call to become creative is powerful, but can be met with all kinds of limiting beliefs in our own minds, if we let it. A powerful, ineffable force is waiting to meet us when we allow ourselves to play with the materials and create what delights our senses, sometimes, for no other purpose than to connect with the simple, beauty of colour itself. Kate Shepherd: website | instagram | facebookAnong Beam: website | instagram 

In the first episode of Creative Genius, we sit down with Amanda Evanston to hear about her own journey of cultivating creativity. She recently launched Insider’s Studio, an online community where she teaches art classes, gives weekly talks, and stewards a supportive, nurturing community focused on painting and creativity. Seriously pursuing your creative passion is a big move. Often our biggest obstacle is ourselves. Our doubts, our confidence, our need for external validation, and that little voice within that might be telling us “you can’t do it” can stop us from exploring creativity. Believing in ourselves and finding a way to push past that voice and listen to the voice that’s been telling us “you can do this” instead, is critical in unlocking our creative genius. In this episode, Amanda tells us the one key thing in how she was raised that she credits with her being able to be a wildly free creative person and how even if it was missing in your childhood, it’s not too late to lock it in now to cultivate your creativity. “It’s important to know you have this amazing thing inside of you, and that you can shepherd it and let it grow.” My favourite Amanda Evanston work tends to be whatever she is working on, but if I had to pick one, you can see it here https://kateshepherdcreative.com/blogs/creative-genius-the-blog/creative-genius-podcast-episode-1-cultivating-creativity-with-amanda-evanstonFind out how more about how to join Amanda Evanston’s Insider’s Studio https://www.amandaevanstonlearning.com/Kate Shepherd: website | instagram | facebookAmanda Evanston: website | instagram | facebook