The Messy Studio with Rebecca Crowell - Episodes Tagged with “Gratitude”

Episode 266: Gratitude and the Artist's Life

Rebecca Crowell — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 11:00:00 -0600

This is the traditional time of year to focus on gratitude for the blessings in our lives. And while gratitude can and should cover a lot of areas of life, since this podcast is mainly aimed at artists, today we’re going to consider some of the ways that we as artists can be uniquely grateful. These include being thankful for being able to do our work, for those who appreciate it, for opportunities that come our way, and for the personal growth we gain from creative practice. Art adds a dimension to our lives that is deeply satisfying and affirming, whether we do it mainly for ourselves or whether we bring it to the wider world or even make a career of it. Today we want to focus on gratitude for the ability and the passion we have for making art.

Spending some time to write about what your art practice means to you is a meaningful way to explore your grateful feelings for your art practice and the creative aspects of your life. We can all get caught up in the ups and downs of the daily situation in the studio but taking a pause to acknowledge its special importance to you is uplifting. This can include looking back to times when challenges and difficulties in your creative life have led to positive outcomes, and the ways that you have grown as a person as a result. Perseverance, trust, and belief in yourself can build up over time as you involve yourself in your work.

Gratitude can extend not only to what comes to us in personal ways but also to what we are able to share. Making art can be seen as a way of loving the larger world when you do it with a sense of gratitude and when you offer others a bit of your sense of beauty and rightness. Whether it is through exhibiting, teaching, writing, or speaking about your work, you can be grateful for having something meaningful to share with others.

The list of things for which an artist can be thankful is long; each of us has our own specific or personal thoughts and experiences, but there are also more universal aspects of the creative life that can be acknowledged. No matter what role art plays in your own life, it enhances your life now and on into the future with its benefits of ongoing involvement and healthy aging.

Thanks to everyone who has been sharing the show and donating! If you would like to donate to the Messy Studio Podcast donate here.
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When you buy art supplies at Blick remember to use our affiliate link to support the podcast! Bookmark this link and then you don't even have to think about it again. This is one of the best ways to support the show. It takes a few seconds and costs you nothing! The Blick website works exactly the same way, but we earn 10% every time you buy art supplies.

www.messystudiopodcast.com/blick

What's new at Cold Wax Academy?
Fall quarter is now underway with sessions on Texture, Materiality and Process, Finding Time for your Work, a return visit with Gamblin representative Mary Tevlin, a painting clinic for works in progress, and the quarterly member critique. As always, Members are encouraged to take part in the online sessions, where lively discussions take place as Rebecca and Jerry respond in real time, But if you can't make it to the live sessions, remember that Cold Wax Academy Members have unlimited streaming access to over 100 previously recorded sessions --and now you can navigate the extensive range of topics with an index to easily find what you need.

By the way, you don't have to use cold wax medium to benefit from the content in these recordings. Artists who use other painting media will also find a wealth of valuable information --including effective use of the visual elements and composition, personal voice and intentions, mentoring topics like procrastination and work/life balance--and much, much more. For more info and to join CWA please visit www.coldwaxacademy.com

Please visit http://www.coldwaxacademy.com for more information as well as basic information about using cold wax medium.

Here is what a member named Sandy has to say about her own experience with Cold Wax Academy:
"Rebecca and Jerry have presented the most professional, authentic and structured approach to a creative activity I have ever come across. Their selfless sharing of all their knowledge and encouragement is a gift in my life unsurpassed."

Also-- please visit https://www.espacioart.org to learn about Rebecca and Jerry's newest project, Espacio, dedicated to providing beautiful living and working spaces for artists and writers. Espacio's first offering is Casa Clavel, a modern, fully equipped house opening this September in the beautiful cultural city of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. A few booking openings are still available in 2023, so please incquire if you are interested.

Have an art related product, service, or event you would like to advertise on the Messy Studio Podcast?
Email Ross at rticknor.core@gmail.com for current mid-roll advertising rates.
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For more from The Messy Studio:
www.messystudiopodcast.com
www.facebook.com/messystudiopodcast
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For more from Rebecca Crowell:
www.rebeccacrowell.com
www.coldwaxacademy.com
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The Messy Studio Podcast is a Tick Digital Media Production.

Episode 250: Expressions of Gratitude

Rebecca Crowell — Sat, 29 Apr 2023 15:00:00 -0500

As artists, what role can gratitude play in our work and practice? On a personal level, we know that focusing on what we’re grateful for is good for overall mental health and contentment. Today we’d like to talk about specific situations in which appreciation and gratitude can help artists cope with some of the tougher aspects of art practice. Expressing gratitude can also help in your professional life to build mutual appreciation and respect in your dealings with the art world. Today we’ll talk about the importance of gratitude on both personal and professional levels.

Thinking about gratitude in ways that are specific to your art life and work ienhances a positive state of mind. To look back over your life, and make a list of who has helped you, who has understood your passion, and what opportunities that have come your way is a powerful tool in maintaining a positive outlook. Becoming aware of these sources of support can help you through times of frustration or feeling a lack of appreciation, understanding the goodness that in the big picture of our lives. Any success you've achieved has not happened without support and encouragement from other people.

Acknowledging this support on both a personal and professional level is healthy for everyone involved. One way of expressing gratitude is simply to be generous--to transform what has been given to you into new forms, whether that is through teaching, supporting your art friends in their struggles, purchasing artwork from others, or simply a direct conversation with someone you appreciate.

It is good also to be grateful for the basic importance of art in your life, the fact that you have the ability to express what moves you in ways that can be shared with other people. In this way, every work of art is an expression of gratitude.

Thanks to everyone who has been sharing the show and donating! If you would like to donate to the Messy Studio Podcast donate here.

When you buy art supplies at Blick remember to use our affiliate link to support the podcast! Bookmark this link and then you don't even have to think about it again. This is one of the best ways to support the show. It takes a few seconds and costs you nothing! The Blick website works exactly the same way, but we earn 10% every time you buy art supplies.

www.messystudiopodcast.com/blick

What's new At Cold Wax Academy?
Rebecca and Jerry launched their spring quarter on April 12th. Sessions this quarter so far included identifying compositional issues in your work, and technical information from Gamblin representative Mary Tevlin. Upcoming sessions include a painting clinic for works in progress, and much more. As always, members can join in on live sessions with questions and comments, and can benefit anytime by interacting with other members on our Members-only facebook page. With 100 recorded sessions in the member library there is always something to learn or review, with topics ranging from technical advice to visual language to guests speakers and critiques of member work.

To learn more about membership, and to purchase cold wax tools and Rebecca and Jerry's book, Cold Wax Medium: Techniques, Concepts & Conversations, please visit http://www.coldwaxacademy.com

Please visit http://www.coldwaxacademy.com for more information as well as basic information about using cold wax medium.

Here is what a member named Sandy has to say about her own experience with Cold Wax Academy:
"Rebecca and Jerry have presented the most professional, authentic and structured approach to a creative activity I have ever come across. Their selfless sharing of all their knowledge and encouragement is a gift in my life unsurpassed."

Also-- please visit https://www.espacioart.org to learn about Rebecca and Jerry's newest project, Espacio, dedicated to providing beautiful living and working spaces for artists and writers. Espacio's first offering is Casa Clavel, a modern, fully equipped house opening this September in the beautiful cultural city of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. A few booking openings are still available in 2023, so please incquire if you are interested.

Have an art related product, service, or event you would like to advertise on the Messy Studio Podcast?
Email Ross at rticknor.core@gmail.com for current mid-roll advertising rates.

For more from The Messy Studio:
www.messystudiopodcast.com
www.facebook.com/messystudiopodcast

For more from Rebecca Crowell:
www.rebeccacrowell.com
www.coldwaxacademy.com

The Messy Studio Podcast is a Tick Digital Media Production.

Episode 231: Thanksgiving Thoughts

Rebecca Crowell — Sat, 26 Nov 2022 20:00:00 -0600

It seems to be true for us as humans who sometimes struggle in our lives that identifying the good things in life--what you feel grateful for-- is a practice that leads to more contentment and joy. Thanskgiving in the United States is a traditional time to count one’s blessings and share time with family and friends. Today, Rebecca and Ross share a few things they are feeling gratitude for in their own lives and hope their conversation inspires listeners to think of what has been good in the past year for each of you.

Gratitude for family and friends top most people's lists of what inspires gratitude, but there are also many aspects of community and creativity that bring satisfaction and pleasure. For our artist listeners, the ability to work in the studio and to get the work out into the world are significant.

Ross and Rebecca would like to express their gratitude for all the followers of this podcast, both those who have been loyeal throughout the two breaks in production last year, and for new listeners. Thank you!

www.messystudiopodcast.com/blick

What's new at Cold Wax Academy?
Rebecca and Jerry sre well into their Fall quarter of live, online sessions with a special focus this time on member participation, plus informative sessions on a variety of other topics. This month also marks the beginning of Cold Wax Academy's 3rd year of teaching sessions, meaning that the member library now has over 80 recordings and other instructional documents available for members. To access this wealth of information and to take part in upcoming live sessions, please visit the membership page at ColdWaxAcademy.com and sign up for one of the two levels of membership available.

Please visit http://www.coldwaxacademy.com for more information.
Here is what a member named Sandy has to say about her own experience with Cold Wax Academy:
"Rebecca and Jerry have presented the most professional, authentic and structured approach to a creative activity I have ever come across. Their selfless sharing of all their knowledge and encouragement is a gift in my life unsurpassed."

Episode 200: Our Milestone 200th Episode: Behind the Scenes

Rebecca Crowell — Sun, 12 Dec 2021 16:00:00 -0600

We have reached a milestone here at the Messy Studio that we are excited to report. We recently surpassed half a million total downloads of our episodes, which we first published in late December 2017. This week also marks our 200th episode, and we are also coming up on our 4th year anniversary as well. We’re proud of our podcast and grateful to our many listeners, and to celebrate we decided to talk today about the podcast itself—how it got started, how it has grown, and the challenges and rewards of this project.

We began with the simple idea of an art-related podcast that would be a conversation between the two of us and would also branch out into the other areas included in our tagline: "travel, entrepreneurship, philosophy, and life in general." We wanted to put our focus on art but allow for other topics that would come up as we talked, or sometimes to allow those to take the main spotlight. We've covered many topics having to do with art business, content about finding your way as an artist, bringing meaning to your work and general attitudes for healthy living. While we've interviewed fascinating guests in various fields our main intention has always been to express our own thoughts about these topics.

Here are some facts and figures about our listener demographics: On a consistent basis, about a quarter to a third of our 2500 regular listeners tune in from countries other than the US. These come mostly from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Ireland but there are almost 40 thousand listeners grouped as an unspecified “other “category. Our most downloaded episode to date has over 8000 downloads. This is Episode #13, Diving into Abstraction. The topic of abstraction has always generated noticeable interest; we have discussed it in many episodes and featured it in about ten. Another very popular topic has been any topic relating to art business. Other very popular episodes have covered elements that help make strong works of art and engage an artist in growing and learning.

The Messy Studio is an exciting collaboration that we love doing together. It gives us the opportunity for in-depth conversation every week with each other and to our listeners. We’ve both learned a lot in the process and have benefitted from talking about many topics in a deep way. Knowing that so many of you are listening, connecting, and hopefully taking some ideas away with you and into your studio and life in general is very rewarding.

www.messystudiopodcast.com/blick

Rebecca and her partner Jerry McLaughlin are excited to be launching year two of Cold Wax Academy's membership program, which began in October of 2020. In the coming year, live online learning sessions will feature an entirely new set of topics---beginning with a deep dive into technique and the steps involved in developing a painting. Other topics for year 2 include professional development, abstraction and realism, principles of design, and expanded uses for cold wax medium.

As always, members have access to recordings of all previous sessions including everything from the first year, so it's easy to join anytime. Fall Quarter begins October 6th. Please visit http://www.coldwaxacademy.com for details about membership levels and to sign up for a year of exciting learning experiences.

Here is what a member named Sandy has to say about her own experience:
"Rebecca and Jerry have presented the most professional, authentic and structured approach to a creative activity I have ever come across. Their selfless sharing of all their knowledge and encouragement is a gift in my life unsurpassed."

Episode 153: 2020 Thanksgiving Spectacular!

Rebecca Crowell — Thu, 26 Nov 2020 05:00:00 -0600

2020 has been a rough year so far for many of us. We don’t need to go into all the ways we’ve experienced anxiety, loss, and other struggles. But today, Thanksgiving Day in the US, is a good day to think about the things we are grateful for and have helped us make it through this difficult year. For many of our listeners that includes gratitude for family and friends, appreciation of nature, and of course, our art practices.

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate it in whatever ways possible this year. This year we may feel grateful in new ways for even the simple things and things we may take for granted in normal times.

Support The Messy Studio when you buy art supplies from Blick.com by using our affiliate link. Right now PanPastels are 20-40% off!!
www.messystudiopodcast.com/blick

Thanks to everyone who has been sharing the show and those who have donated anonymously via PayPal. If you would like your own shoutout on the podcast donate here.

Cold Wax Academy (formerly Squeegee Press) would like everyone who enjoys using their special cold wax tools to know that all sizes of SP Create squeegees are back in stock! Rebecca and her partner Jerry McLaughlin are also launching their online live learning sessions as part of the new membership program, and all sessions will be recorded for future viewing by members. For more information, and to become a member of Cold Wax Academy please visit their website at http://www.coldwaxacademy.com and click on the Membership button.

Have an art related product, service, or event you would like to advertise on the Messy Studio Podcast?
Email Ross at rticknor.core@gmail.com for current mid-roll advertising rates.

For more from The Messy Studio:
www.messystudiopodcast.com
www.facebook.com/messystudiopodcast

For more from Rebecca Crowell:
www.rebeccacrowell.com
www.coldwaxacademy.com

The Messy Studio Podcast is a CORE Publication MGMT production.

Episode 146: Older and Wiser: Creativity in Later Years

Rebecca Crowell — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 15:00:00 -0500

In many ways, art is a great leveler of personal differences among those who create it. Along with other personal factors like gender and ethnicity, the age of an artist often has little or no impact on the pure, wordless first encounter between viewer and art. On the other hand, as artists we know that many aspects of our personal lives do affect the content of our work and how we go about making it. Today we are going to talk about some effects of aging on artists and their studio practices.

There are many benefits of creative activity for older people. Studies show increased morale and sense of purpose, and lower levels of depression and feelings of isolation in those who pursue forms of art as people age. Creativity contributes to problem solving skills and a sense of autonomy, and this helps older artists navigate everyday life in addition to creating art. Continuing to challenge ourselves into our older years keeps us sharp and involved in the larger world.

In preparing for this episode, we considered input that Rebecca requested from various artists in their 60s and older who have had long careers in art. Some of these artists expressed feelings of gratitude for what art has brought to their lives, and the perspective of being able to look back and see how events in their careers were connected and how they have led to growth and progress. Others noted a decline in stamina, but offset by increased focus and clarity about what they want to express, and a refining of earlier goals and expectations.

According to California abstract painter, Sara Post: "For me, aging has brought huge gifts—mostly in terms of freedom from—family care giving, work obligations but also freedom to pause to think more deeply about things, spend hours walking, and taking uninterrupted time in the studio—the freedom to indulge my curiosity about all sorts of things. In terms of my work itself, I no longer feel obliged to stick to a certain style, to reward the expectations of others or, really, to even give it a thought. Making artwork has steadily become a thing of the moment and of trying, faithfully, to record that."

Thanks to everyone who has been sharing the show and those who have donated anonymously via PayPal. If you would like your own shoutout on the podcast donate here.

Cold Wax Academy (formerly Squeegee Press) would like everyone who enjoys using their special cold wax tools to know that all sizes of SP Create squeegees are back in stock! Rebecca and her partner Jerry McLaughlin are also launching their online live learning sessions as part of the new membership program, and all sessions will be recorded for future viewing by members. For more information, and to become a member of Cold Wax Academy please visit their website at http://www.coldwaxacademy.com and click on the Membership button.

Have an art related product, service, or event you would like to advertise on the Messy Studio Podcast?
Email Ross at rticknor.core@gmail.com for current mid-roll advertising rates.

For more from The Messy Studio:
www.messystudiopodcast.com
www.facebook.com/messystudiopodcast

For more from Rebecca Crowell:
www.rebeccacrowell.com
www.squeegeepress.com

Support The Messy Studio when you buy art supplies from Blick.com by using our affiliate link:
www.messystudiopodcast.com/blick

The Messy Studio Podcast is a CORE Publication MGMT production.