Why should you bother to set aside time to be creative? It’s easy to say, “what’s the point?” or “I have other more important things I could be doing” rather than to set aside time to cultivate your creativity. We totally get it! On today’s episode Volta and Bree dive in to this mental mountain and discuss why creativity is important, and the benefits of strengthening your creative muscle. We hope with all of these reasons it’s good to spend time on your creativity, you’ll be able to combat any thoughts of it being a waste of time. It’s truly an investment in your wellbeing! Creative Bits Art Story ? This is an amazing story about artists using GIFs (those awesome looping animated images) to bring historical artworks to life. Story: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-hilarious-gifs-bring-art-history-life Creative Workout ? Like a challenge, but without the challenge. Just get that creative muscle warmed up a bit & get some encouragement from your fellow Creative Bitsies. For this episode’s workout, you’ll be thinking about your emotions and drawing something tied to that emotion. Check out this link to see what you should draw based on what you’re feeling: https://www.higherperspectives.com/art-therapy-1472847002.html ? Don’t forget to share your workouts on Instagram with #CBPWorkout! We love seeing your work!? Goodie of the Week! ? This week’s goodie is a book by Keri Smith called Wreck this Journal. This creative journal has prompts that lead you through all kinds of creative exercises such as gluing, cutting, scratching, and more. It is sure to be a a great tool for expanding your creative thinking. (P.S. we aren’t sponsored by any of these products or companies. These are honestly the things we use all the time and have come to love so much we want to share the love with you!) Soul Chai ☕️ Image by Austin Kleon Let's be Friends! Email: creativebitspodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @creativebitspodcast Twitter: @creative_talks Website: Creativebitspodcast.com

Creative Bits Podcast

10: Mental Mountain Series: Why You Should Cultivate Your Creativity

This week we are talking to Alaskan artist Shaylene Reynolds on this super special bonus episode! We will resume our Mental Mountain Series for the next episode, but there are only TWO episodes left in this series. After the series is over, we will be doing a Season 1 Finale episode where we will be celebrating all of you who have either started or restarted your creative journey? Shaylene was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska and is part Yupik/Eskimo & Gwitchen Native Alaskan. She studied Fine Arts at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) until 2010 when she moved to Richmond, Virginia. She recently moved to Dallas, Texas where she is currently creating new works. Shaylene generously shares her own ups and downs on her journey to becoming a full time artist (selling her most of her work on Instagram), what it was like living in Alaska, and how she made time for her art while she was working full time as a nanny(!). We hope you’ll enjoy this super special interview with artist Shaylene Reynolds! Links: www.shaylenereynolds.com Instagram: @shaylenereynolds Let's be Friends! Email: creativebitspodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @creativebitspodcast Twitter: @creative_talks Website: Creativebitspodcast.com

9: From Nanny to Full Time Artist: Interview with Shaylene Reynolds (BONUS EPISODE)

Perfectionism was the #1 killer of our artwork for many years. We put the pressure on ourselves to sit down and create a masterpiece every single time we went to make art. No one ever told us to expect to make bad art! We couldn’t deal with the pressure or the idea of making bad art, so we just didn’t make anything. Don’t fall into this mind trap! In this jam-packed-with-awesome episode we share practical ways to overcome perfectionism and our personal struggles with it so YOU can get back to the joy of creating! Creative Bits Art Story ? Right in time for Fashion Week, we’ve got a story about an incredible collaboration between an artist and Gucci that also involves art history! Story: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/gucci-ignasi-monreal-capsule-collection-1269587 Creative Workout Like a challenge, but without the challenge. Just get that creative muscle warmed up a bit & get some encouragement from your fellow Creative Bitsies. This episode’s workout is to make bad or ugly art on purpose. Say what?! It’s a way to shut down the perfectionist in your head, and dive in to the fun and process of solely making, and not having the outcome be the goal. Bad art parties are even more fun if you want to take it a step further! ? Don’t forget to share your workouts on Instagram with #CBPWorkout! We love seeing your work!? Goodie of the Week! This week’s goodie is a $5 pack of 75 artist tiles. By the way, we aren’t sponsored by any of these products or companies. These are honestly the things we use all the time and have come to love so much we want to share the love with you! With this pack you get 75 small squares of paper that are thick enough to hold watercolor. They are fantastic for working through perfectionism, because of their size and because you can get so many for such little money, there’s virtually no pressure to produce a “masterpiece.” They are also super fun to give away to friends to brighten their day! Soul Chai “Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren't even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they're doing it.” ― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life Books discussed in this episode: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert Show Your Work by Austin Kleon Let's be Friends! Email: creativebitspodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @creativebitspodcast Twitter: @creative_talks Website: www.Creativebitspodcast.com

8: Mental Mountain Series: Punching Perfectionism in the Face

Are you avoiding your creative work? Or hard core procrastinating? If you’ve ever started to make something in your adult years then chances are you’ve experienced what we like to call “blank page anxiety.” This is when you sit down to make something and all of a sudden you feel paralyzed from fear of “messing it up.” Bree and Volta discuss more than 10 fun ways you can practice overcoming this mental mountain. Bonus: you’ll also get to hear Bree find out what a “numpty” is! Creative Bits Art Story ? Pizza art experience?! Say no more! Story: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/museum-of-pizza-comes-to-new-york-1274966 Get Tickets: https://www.themuseumofpizza.org #notanad Creative Workout ? Like a challenge, but without the challenge. Just get that creative muscle warmed up a bit & get some encouragement from your fellow Creative Bitsies. This episode’s workout is condiment-to-be! Grab some leftover ketchup packets and get ready to get messy and make something creative! ? Check out our creative workouts and share yours on Instagram with #CBPWorkout. We love seeing your work!? Goodie of the Week! ? This week’s goodie is the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen! It’s a hybrid between a brush and a pen and it’s only $12 on Amazon (as of this writing). PLUS it includes 2 black ink refills! You’ll want to give this brush pen a try because the ink is waterproof so you can paint over it with watercolor and the ink won’t bleed. This brush pen will add playful character and interest to your sketches because you can play around with the imperfect line widths you’ll make with this goodie! Soul Chai ☕️ This week’s inspirational creative quote is from American author Ernest Hemingway, and captures the essence of overcoming blank page anxiety and being courageous in your creativity! Let's be Friends! Email: creativebitspodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @creativebitspodcast Twitter: @creative_talks Website: Creativebitspodcast.com

7: Mental Mountain Series: How to Overcome Blank Page Anxiety

Have you been putting off your creative work because you don’t have the right space for it right now? Don’t complicate this one, friends. I’ve painted in my garage in the Texas summer heat, used a table-top easel in a computer closet, and splattered paint all over my kitchen floor. Other times I stopped making work completely just because I didn’t have a place for my supplies and easel. SMH. It was an excuse I came back to periodically because it was easier than facing my fears. This episode is packed with practical ideas for you to overcome this common obstacle. You do not have to have a Pinterest-perfect studio to be an artist. Don’t forget, creativity is born from constraints! Creative Bits Art Story ? This is a super special back-to-school story about how a group of teachers used art to encourage middle school students! Source: http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2017/08/alabama_teachers_have_back-to-.html Creative Workout ? Like a challenge, but without the challenge. Just get that creative muscle warmed up a bit & get some encouragement from your fellow Creative Bitsies. We’re back in the kitchen for this week’s super cool workout using your refrigerator! ❄️ ? Check out our creative workouts and share yours on Instagram with #CBPWorkout. We love seeing your work!? Goodie of the Week! ? This week’s goodie is Popsockets! If you don’t already have one,(we’re admittedly behind on this trend) this extremely useful little phone accessory will make it easier to take photos of your work, or to watch videos hands-free. They also come in any kind of design! Creative Confessions ? We’re back with more of our embarrassing creative confessions ? Soul Chai ☕️ This week’s inspirational creative quote is from American author Ray Bradbury, and includes cats? Let's be Friends! Email: creativebitspodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @creativebitspodcast Twitter: @creative_talks Website: Creativebitspodcast.com

6: Mental Mountain Series: "I Don't Have a Space to Create"

Do you see people on Instagram creating breathtaking work and think that you’ll never be able to get there? Did you have an awful experience in your past that caused you to put your pencil and markers down and now you have no idea how to pick them back up? On this episode we’re here to help you climb the mental mountain of how to be creative. This is the third episode in our mental mountain series which are the excuses we tell ourselves that prevent us from answering the call to create. For the first part of this episode we’ll dive into discussing our main topic of “I don’t know how to be creative.” We understand this is a big one to overcome, but we have to face these mountains if we want to be creative. Luckily they are all in our head, which is why they are mental mountains! We have climbed these mountains too (some are still a challenge!) so we want to provide you with some ways to overcome them too so you’ll have nothing but wide open spaces in your mind to create. We’ll discuss ways to change your mindset towards creativity as well as some tactical ways to improve and jumpstart your creative muscles. Some are warm and fuzzy and others involve Bree’s favorite beverage...BEER! Ahem, CRAFT beer.

5: Mental Mountain Series: "I Don't Know How to be Creative"

This Mental Mountain is STRAIGHT UP fear-based. Volta & Bree dig into the root of this fear before we dig in to practical things you can use to get started. While art supplies (musical instruments, graphic design software, etc) can cost megabucks, with some creativity and a bit of research you can create with anything. We can’t stress this enough--don’t overcomplicate it. You can create with things you already have in your home if you stretch your creative muscle, go on a quick scavenger hunt, and stay open-minded. Even simple tools and materials can be elevated through concept and technique. We’ll give you a list of many different ways to overcome the budget excuse like skipping your Starbucks run (just once!) to pay for your Crayola watercolor set, to using things you already have around your house. We’ve already seen a lot of you getting creative with your mediums for your #CBPWorkout, so let’s keep it going and take it to the next level!!!

4: Mental Mountain Series: “Supplies Are Expensive”

Hello friends! Welcome to the Creative Bits Podcast! We are two artists who fiercely believe that anyone can be a bit creative; it’s just a matter of making the time and finding the right tools. With this podcast, we hope to inspire you to take the leap and live a more creative life. Meanwhile we will cheer you on and share tips on building those creative habits, bit by bit. Volta & Bree

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Creative Bits Podcast

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