The Messy Studio with Rebecca Crowell

Episode 132: The Power Of Beauty

July 4th, 2020  |  29 mins 43 secs

art, beauty, creativity, rebecca crowell

We often say “That’s beautiful” in response to a work of art, but the word beautiful can have many meanings. Most of us recognize it as a heartfelt compliment when it is said about our own work, but we may wonder what specifically prompted the viewer to use the word. And while we may strive for beauty in our work we may have not thought much about what that means. Today we look at what deeper ideas or responses the words “beauty” and “beautiful” can hold.

Episode 131: The Power of Intention

June 27th, 2020  |  28 mins 47 secs

art, creativity, intentions, personal development, rebecca crowell

A key aspect of establishing your personal voice is figuring out what is most important to you in your work. What do you want to communicate to other people? What responses do you hope to evoke? The process of defining intentions can be challenging, involving some basic but important questions, and may take some time to process and refine. But clear intentions are a powerful tool. Today we will look at the process of clarifying your intentions and the advantages for doing so.

Episode 130: Being Authentic

June 20th, 2020  |  38 mins 38 secs

art, authenticity, being authentic, creativity, influences, inspiration, rebecca crowell

This is a topic that we have considered covering for a while. It dovetails nicely with past episodes addressing what inspires and motivates our work. But it seems especially relevant now given the worldwide pandemic and recent social unrest, which have many artists thinking deeply about the meaning and honesty of their work.

Being authentic in your work means being true to yourself, and unafraid in your creative explorations. During this time we are experiencing massive changes all around us. Examining how authentic we are being in our work can lead to new insights and growth. The more challenges we are facing in life, the more important it becomes to bring our whole selves into our work. This results in better work and a better mental state.

Episode 129: Considering Scale

June 13th, 2020  |  36 mins 50 secs

art, fundamentals, rebecca crowell, scale

Scale is an aspect of visual design that is perhaps the easiest to overlook. This is because there is a default mode that generally works—that is, medium-sized works of art, and imagery that fits in expected ways within those boundaries. But challenging habitual ways of using scale can be an exciting path. As viewers, we notice immediately when someone steps outside the expected and calls attention to scale. Today we have some thoughts about using scale in dynamic ways.

Episode 128: Composition: It's Complicated

June 6th, 2020  |  36 mins 30 secs

art, composition, creativity, fundamentals, rebecca crowell

We touched on today’s topic in our last episode when we went briefly over through some important design elements. Basically, we were talking about composition—how to arrange the visual elements on a 2-d surface so that they “work.” This is complex because each aspect of a composition affects others in subtle or not so subtle ways. Intuition plays a role in composition—something just “looks right”—but to make really strong work we need to balance that with understanding. Today we are going to look more closely at composition and its role in your art practice.

Episode 127: Visual Language

May 30th, 2020  |  33 mins 47 secs

art, creativity, elements, fundamentals, principles, rebecca crowell, visual language

Learning to use the visual elements and design principles in your work is often compared to acquiring vocabulary and then being able to use those words to communicate. It also means being able to understand better what other artists have to say in their work. This understanding is basic and contributes to your growth for your whole artistic life. It also grows in tandem with intuitive responses and understanding. Yet many artists do not progress much beyond a limited vocabulary, used in only a few repeated combinations. Today we will give a perspective on the benefits of growing your visual vocabulary.

Episode 126: Handling Critique

May 23rd, 2020  |  39 mins 36 secs

art, creativity, critique, rebecca crowell, teaching

It can be very unsettling to put your work in front of someone else for a critique. We may fear harsh, judgmental comments. Yet the value of critique is exactly that, the chance to gain an outside perspective and insight, and very often criticism can be given and received in a supportive way. Today we’ll talk about the positive aspects of critique as well as handling negative criticism with regards to our work.

Episode 125: Art As Therapy

May 15th, 2020  |  29 mins 10 secs

art, quarantine, rebecca crowell, therapy

As we record this episode, a few months into the COVID-19 pandemic, there is so much we don’t know—what the situation means in our own lives and in the world at large, how long it will last and what we will endure before it is over. How can our art practices help us through this difficult and anxious time? Today our podcast includes thoughts from two art therapists, Mimma Della Cagnoletta and Barbara Bagan, who generously shared their ideas about this topic via email.

Episode 124: Voices Of Experience

May 9th, 2020  |  37 mins 16 secs

art, experience, rebecca crowell, teaching, wisdom

If you have ever had a really good art class, whether, in school or a workshop, you probably retained some real gems of wisdom from the instructor. These may be specific things that were emphasized or their overall teaching philosophy. These positive ideas and words have the power to shape our studio practices for our entire creative lives. We reached out to some art instructors, all friends of the Messy Studio Podcast, to ask them to share their insights and approaches to teaching, as well as how they motivate and inspire students to find their own direction.

Episode 123: A Call For Change

May 2nd, 2020  |  35 mins 2 secs

art, change, creativity, quarantine, rebecca crowell

Many artists are feeling stuck right now--not only in their homes in the midst of the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders but stuck in their work as well. We not only contend with our own worries and struggles but the constant drumbeat of bad news from the media. Our usual ways of working may no longer seem suited to what our lives have become.
Historically, art reflects the times in which it is made. Today, we are considering this aspect of creativity in light of what we are all experiencing. The way in which we handle the current situation creatively can also be applied to other traumas that we experience in life.