Episodes

If you ever wished you had a deeper or more meaningful relationship with your work, or wished you were able to make your work more you so that people like you could more deeply connect to your art, this episode is for you. Even if you’re not interested in making ultra revealing super serious art, there’s still a difference between work that feels authentically connected to who you are vs work that just feels hollow or soulless. In this episode we will explore how one personal breakthrough lead to both a creative inflection point, as well as my adult diagnosis of ADHD.

Do you feel overwhelmed by the amount of incredible creative work out there? Scrolling through an endless stream of creative genius on every platform day in and day out is enough to make you want to give up for good. Today’s episode is an antidote to that feeling by means of identifying the surprising places your own creative genius may be hiding. Hint: it might be the last place you look! ALSO if you’re feeling uninspired by your current creative outlets and need to breathe some fresh inspiration into them, this episode explores why your creative skill or medium doesn’t have to be your passion to be your best asset!

You wouldn’t get very far as a basketball player, if you played by the rules of soccer. Can you imagine? Trying to play without touching the ball with your hands? It’d be ridiculous! Actually impossible! And yet, in your creativity, you let other people’s creative rules and values make you feel disqualified all the time. You’ve heard it before “the only rule in creativity is that there are no rules”, so why do we constantly feel like imposters who are “doing it wrong”? I have a hypothesis: Because we don’t realize that creativity means very different things to each and every artist. We all define and value creativity extremely differently. In this episode I want to help you figure out what creativity is about for you. When you start to figure out why YOU love creative work, you can let go of what OTHERS think it’s about and thrive in your own way. Let these frameworks help define where you’re going next. This episode was originally released as 280 in June 2020.

How does someone from Indiana with parents with normal jobs become a full time artist living and working in France? Today on the show we deconstruct Jessi Raulet’s (aka EttaVee) creative journey to find out just that. In this episode we will:- Debunk the myth that you must transform and find yourself as an artist overnight- Find tips and tricks for when you hit a rough patch or get stuck on your journey- Show the difficult process of finding your place creatively in vivid detail!

Have you ever put something out into the world and were just devastated by the results? This is pretty much par for the course when it comes to posting a new piece, publishing a book, or launching really anything as a creator. The more failed and disappointing launches I had in my career, the more I just felt like maybe I just suck… and honestly, I did suck. No. I didn’t suck at making creative work, but I DID suck at launching things. These are two completely different skills. In the episode we dive into a process for covering your bases and making your next creative launch, your best yet.

Is there an area of your creative practice that you just can not seem to make progress in? Do you second guess every new piece and project to the point of doing nothing at all? In this episode we explore the two competing forces within you that are pulling your creativity apart, and how to get them working together on the same team. In this episode: - Why the definition of creativity is surprising - What it means to be a career creative - An activity for determining what work you should focus on

Sometimes the adventure chooses the hero and other times it’s the other way around! Both are valid. The only trouble? Most of us have a default that we get stuck in, it’s helpful to recognize when we need to switch things up. In this episode a classic flying-by-the-seat-of-his-pantser (Zac) and goal oriented plotter (Andy) sit down and compare notes. If you don’t know Zac - he is a phenomenal creator. He won an Emmy for his work on the celebrated mini-series “Over the Garden Wall” on Cartoon Network. Zac has also written several books, many issues of the Rick and Morty comic series, as well as many other incredibly inspiring illustration works!

We’re living through some hard times – but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have the opportunity to really, really matter. In this episode, we’re going back to THE CURSE OF ART ISLAND from Episode 202! For me, the creative career path is a roller coaster. There are so many circumstantial and emotional ups and downs, and if you ride every twist and turn, it can be exhausting and discouraging. Sometimes, I almost feel like this road is somehow cursed even!!! When you’re hitting obstacles and setbacks, you just might be onto something! My hope in revisiting the themes in this episode is that you’re able to find a renewed sense of creative fortitude to help you dig in when times get tough.

Have you ever fallen out of love with your creative practice? Maybe you got stuck and couldn’t reach your goals. Maybe you reached your goals and they weren’t as fulfilling as you thought they’d be? Maybe the creative process itself has become too fraught with expectation and pressure that you can’t even face the proverbial blank page? In this episode we dive into essential ideas for unlocking meaningful and enjoyable work, and ultimately, get better results from this flow. Key ideas from the episode: - What philosopher Keiran Setiya calls “atelic” activity and why it matters to creative work - The lie about creative potential that I had to learn the hard way

Ya ever pour yourself into something and people essentially respond with “meh”? It’s so demoralizing! If you want a few ways to bake in more potent layers into your work that don’t necessarily just mean trying harder. This episode is for you! We explore: – How to use patterns no matter what art discipline you create in – How artists use the psychology or archetype for powerful effect – Why nonsense makes more sense in art

At some point you may notice that putting more time and effort into your work isn’t making the work any better. This overworking results in the ceiling of diminishing returns. What do you do when you want to level up your work, but just trying harder isn’t cutting the mustard? If this is you, it’s time to quit making artwork… and start learning how art works. If this is where you’re at, it’s time to dive into the psychology of human perception and maximize your creative work for bigger impact!

It’s very tempting to get obsessed with WHAT you’re making, but have you given much thought about the WHERE of your creative work? Where you make stuff. Where your head is when you’re making that stuff. Where you publish stuff! These spaces really really matter. Don’t just take it from me. In this episode we’re going to dive deep into what scientists say about what it takes to have more creative breakthroughs, as we explore the 4 spaces I see in almost all of my heroes’ creative practices.

Today on the show we have two of my dream guests ON ONE EPISODE!! Welcome New York Times Best Selling author Mac Barnett and Caldecott Honor Winning author / illustrator Carson Ellis!! These two were both essential inspirations in my creative journey, and it’s no wonder why. They both exude artistry and playful creative spirit in every single thing they create. This conversation could have gone on for AGES but I was just grateful for the time I had. Talking shop with these two was mesmerizing and truly a dream come true. ALSO don’t forget to pick up Caron and Mac’s new picturebook “What is Love?” - it’s as GORGEOUS as it is MOVING!! A classic in the making. It is a must have!

Do you ever fully “find your style” for good? I don’t think so. It’s a living document. I’ve done episodes on the topic. Taught whole classes on it. But, I’ve stayed on the hunt for over a decade, and I still have breakthroughs that surprise me. In this episode, I want to share some new thoughts on how to think about finding your style that really unlocked stuff for me and give you some exercises that I hope unlock something for you TODAY!

In this special episode, we make space to honor the memory of Adé Hogue, who we lost in October, 2021. Adé was a phenomenal lettering artist and designer with an incredible, authentic spirit. Adé cared so passionately about the communities he was a part of, bringing that energy into all of his work. That work will continue through the initiatives at the Adé Hogue Foundation, a non-profit forming in his name and honor. You can support and stay in the loop here: https://www.instagram.com/adehoguefoundation/ We hope you enjoy this conversation with Adé, where he openly shares some great insights about his experiences within his creative practice. We miss you and love you, Adé.

First time listening? This trailer will tell you which episode to start with, explain what the show is all about and ultimately give you a little taste for whether Creative Pep Talk is gonna be your kinda thing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s so easy to get carried away focusing so much on your work, that you neglect yourSELF! BUT the quality and depth of your work comes directly from YOU, so it’s a dangerous habit to get into! In this episode, we dive into 9 powerful creative prompts that will help you connect and deepen your sense of self, and therefore deepen your ability to express yourself.

NFTs, 3D, AR, VR, YR. Oh you haven’t heard of YR?! Ya know, like YR are you googling what YR is. Is it because you’re curious or is it that you’re just afraid of being left behind? It’s very easy to be tempted to run your creative practice on FOBLB (Fear of Being Left Behind), but is this a renewable sustainable source of energy? Or will it leave you burnt out and depleted? It is true that in order to reach your creative potential and remain on your creative path over a lifetime that you need to be a lifelong learner. But in this episode I want to show you that you don’t just need to be, you actually definitely WANT to be too! If you’re overwhelmed by the pace of the world and tech’s evolution, this episode will help you find a cleaner fuel to run your creative practice on that will pep you to the max and help you push into new heights.

The creative brain is amazing at coming up with infinite options and connections, but sorting through and choosing which options are best and should be focused on is a totally different skill. In this episode we talk to incredible Illustrator and Youtuber Cheyenne Barton, right in the midst of working this stuff out for herself. At the time we talked, Cheyenne was feeling overwhelmed in her practice and I found the vulnerability of this chat to be a real gift. If you’re burnt out or feeling overwhelmed, this snapshot will help you feel less alone in it and may just give you some tools to overcome it!

Why do doctors and pilots both need checklists? Because even life saving information is easy to forget! That’s why in this episode we establish the ten ideas that define this show and what we think staying on track in your creative journey is all about. Every idea on this list significantly impacted my creative practice. In this episode:- Why you need to embrace a small audience- The one thing you will be lost without- A prompt for creating a new foundation for your practice- MUCH MORE this episode is JAM PACKED to help you start your year right!

Think back to a time in your creative journey where you felt right on the heels of your potential and you knew the exact way to spend your energy. Pretty much all of us have been thrown off this path at this point. In this episode I want to share with you 3 specific exercises that have helped me re-spark my passion for my creative journey and awakened decisive direction and excited action again! In this episode we dive into:- Why getting lost is part of the process and therefore what skill we need to master- A tool for seeing the essential things you uniquely need in your everyday- The opposite of a New Years resolution and how it creates the environment for reaching your most important goals

Are you feeling like the world is leaving you behind? Do things feel so noisy and fast paced that you fear you don’t have a chance to ever really be seen as a creator? If you’ve been creating from a place of fear and anxiety and want to get back to creating from passion and heart, it starts with tapping into who you are and that means getting deeply acquainted with your story. In this episode we talk about how to do just that. In this episode:- A Technique for Finding The Most Powerful Aspects of Your Story- What to Do Instead of Chasing Trends, New Social Media Platforms & New Software- How Finding The Stories that Defined You Can Act as Breadcrumbs to Finding Yourself

There’s nothing quite like that feeling of being exactly where you’re supposed to be on the creative path. You’re seeing 5 steps ahead. Things are coming together in your work with surprising serendipity and satisfying ease. Your progress is meaningful and tangible. You’re passionate about what you’re doing and there’s a peace around where you currently find yourself. In this episode, we explore a process for finding where we are stuck and how to get back into the groove again, so that we can show up in the new year with our best creative selves, full of excitement and motivation. In this episode: - The Old School Mindset the Holds Most Creators Back - Identify Which of the 3 Problem Areas You’re Stuck in and How to Beat Them - The Big shift in Strategy that Changed my Creative Journey __________

Are you finding it hard to get your hopes up about what comes next for you creatively? Does it ever feel like no matter what you do, the results are the same? In this end of the year episode, we explore a 3 step process for finding your next step breadcrumbs, as well as the inner reservoir of energy for making it all happen.In this episode we dive into: 1 - Why Our New Year Efforts Often Fall Short 2 - Stepping Away from Your Creative Work to Step Up in the Next Chapter 3 - A Tool for Intuitively Getting in Touch with Your Top Lesson From Last Year