Art Juice: A podcast for artists, creatives and art lovers Louise Fletcher/Alice Sheridan

This week, we tackle the topic of overwhelm. What causes it and how can we get past it? This is our second time talking about this subject, but it is fresh for us this week because Louise has just ridden the 'overwhelm wave.' We discuss how it feels to simply have too much to do and break down the difference between "real" and "perceived" overwhelm. We also discuss our coping strategies when life gets a little too hectic, including the value of outside perspectives; how you can use a brain dump to clear your head; and the questions to help guide you through times when you have a lot on your plate.

Feeling overwhelmed is probably something we've all experienced - we hope this chat helps if you're in that space... maybe with enough sensitivity we can even learn to pre-empt and reduce these times.



Mentioned:

Lucy Wyndham-Read fitness ⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCag7XoiJLutjBTsM0tAzUzg⁠

ToDoist tasks app ⁠https://todoist.com/home⁠

Our previous episode on this topic: Finding Time for Art and Dealing with Overwhelm [113]



Art Juice brings you honest, generous, and humorous conversations that will feed your creative soul and get you thinking with artists Alice Sheridan and Louise Fletcher.

See Alice Sheridan at: 

⁠⁠⁠www.alicesheridan.com ⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠@alicesheridanstudio⁠⁠⁠

Find more about Louise Fletcher:

⁠⁠⁠www.louisefletcherart.com⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠@louisefletcher_art⁠⁠⁠



Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

We can hardly believe it, but it's 4 years on and 200 episodes in and we're still going strong. This week, we're celebrating our anniversary by doing something a little bit different.  We've both chosen questions to ask each other - these span important topics such as "what's your favourite easy dinner recipe?" and "if you could time travel, where would you go?" but also deeper questions such as "what is your greatest strength?" and "what character flaw would you like to change?" We had fun with this episode and we got to know each other a little better. We hope you enjoy it and perhaps you can share your answers to our questions ....
Find Alice Sheridan at:

www.alicesheridan.com

@alicesheridanstudio

Find more about Louise Fletcher:

www.louisefletcherart.com

@louisefletcher_art

Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

This week Art Juice reached a milestone - 3 million downloads! This somewhat arbitrary number got us thinking about the whole topic of achievement - about the goals we set and the things we choose to measure. When are goals and numbers a useful way to stay on track and when can they pull us off course? And how do our goals and measurements change over time? Our conversation touches on the various goals we have set over the years and the things we have measured including art sales, social media, Youtube, Pinterest, newsletters, and studio time.  We also discuss how our attitude to achievement is changing as our careers develop and what we now consider to be success. We hope this chat inspires you to consider your own direction and maybe to have a think (or rethink) about how you can measure your progress.

See Alice Sheridan at:

www.alicesheridan.com

@alicesheridanstudio

Find more about Louise Fletcher:

www.louisefletcherart.com

@louisefletcher_art

Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

This week, we're discussing what it means to be an artist. Renowned music producer Rick Rubin has written a book in which he argues that the artist is a conduit for creativity comes from source energy. Therefore, he says, the artist’s job is to open themselves up as much as possible to receive whatever wants to come through them. His book is "The Creative Act: A Way of Being" and it really is about life as well as about art. In this episode, we pull out four key ideas and offer our own perspectives - but we should stress that the book really needs to be read in it's entirety. We recommend that you do that and then think about your own reaction to his words. 

Here are the quotes we discussed:

Number One

“The goal is not to fit in. If anything it is to amplify the differences, what doesn’t fit, the special characteristics unique to how you see the world.

As soon as a convention is established, the most interesting work would likely be the one that doesn’t follow it. The reason to make art is to innovate, to self-express, to show something new, share what’s inside, and communicate your singular perspective.”

Number Two

"If you have just one seed - a very specific vision you want to carry out - that’s fine. There is no right way. You might consider the possibility however that it could end up being a limitation because you are no longer taking advantage of all that you have in you. Being open to possibility gets you to a place that you want to go that you may not know you wanted to get to.

If you know what you want to do and you do it, that is the work of a craftsman. If you begin with a question and use it to guide an adventure of discovery, that’s the work of an artist. The surprises along the way can expand your work and even the art form itself.”

Number Three

"You may sometimes wonder ‘why am I doing this? What is it for?... in the end those questions are of little importance. There doesn’t need to be a purpose guiding what we choose to make. When examined more closely we might find this grandiose idea useless. It implies we know more than we can know."

Number Four

“Art made by accident has no more or less weight than art created through sweat and struggle. Whether it took months or minutes does not matter. Quality isn’t based on the amount of time invested. So long as what emerges is pleasing to us, the work has fulfilled it’s purpose….. If you like a result, accept it graciously, whether it arrives in a sudden flash or after long bouts of difficult labour.”

Mentioned

Rick Rubin's book is called "The Creative Act: A Way of Being"

Here is the Johnny Cash video Louise mentioned (tissues required) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AHCfZTRGiI

Rick Rubin interview:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_szemxPcTI

See Alice Sheridan at:

www.alicesheridan.com

@alicesheridanstudio

Find more about Louise Fletcher:

www.louisefletcherart.com

@louisefletcher_art

Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Today we welcome international author Damian Dibben to the podcast. He joins Alice to discuss his book The Colour Storm; an artistic thriller, set in Renaissance Venice, but the conversation goes further than that. Yes, the book is a great read - bringing to life the artists of the era and a search for a stunning new pigment, so there is a lot about the power of colour itself... but we also talk about the patterns of a creative practice. What role does luck or choice have? Working across different creative platforms (Damian has been an actor,  screenwriter and also still works with his hands creatively alongside the writing) and also touching on managing feedback and taking control of your own creative output. 

It's always great to get an insight into how different creatives work, and where inspirational ideas come from, so I hope this conversation leaves you intrigued to find out more.

Mentioned

Find the book: The Colour Storm by Damian Dibben is published by Michael Joseph / Penguin and you can buy it at any book retailer where it is now out in paperback, or on Kindle here

See the furniture collection here: www.damiandibbenfurniture.com/

Find Damian's author website here: www.damiandibben.com/



See Alice Sheridan at:

www.alicesheridan.com

@alicesheridanstudio

Find more about Louise Fletcher:

www.louisefletcherart.com

@louisefletcher_art

Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

This week, we're thinking about what comes next. We're both working on new paintings and both facing different issues. Louise veered temporarily off track once she started trying too hard,  and Alice is wondering if some things are coming too easily. By definition, the life of an artist is about growth and change, and this week definitely highlights that fact. Is it OK to find things easy, or do you need to step it up at that point? How important are deadlines? How do you get back on track when things go wrong? What is the role of teaching in your artist development? And what does all this have to do with skiing?  Tune in to find out :)

Mentioned

Why Women Kill on Amazon Prime

Find more about Louise Fletcher:

www.louisefletcherart.com

@louisefletcher_art

See Alice Sheridan at:

www.alicesheridan.com

@alicesheridanstudio

Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License