
28 episodes

Paintbrush & Ivories Michelle Walker & Jennifer Ruth Russell
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- Arts
Paintbrush & Ivories is the podcast for artists, curious creatives and art lovers that connects creativity with heart and soul. Twice a month, your hosts, Michelle Walker and Jennifer Ruth Russell share generous, soulful conversations about what it takes to have a joyful, fulfilling life while balancing and nurturing your creativity. If you are someone who feels ’called’ to your creative pursuits, then this is the podcast for you. Michelle and Jennifer wish to inspire you to be every bit the artist you’re meant to be. Michelle Walker is a visual artist and creativity and business coach who lives on a farm on the east coast of Australia and works out of the old dairy’s milking bales which have been converted into her studio. Jennifer Ruth Russell is a award-winning singer song writer and spiritual teacher based in California, USA. They bring you perspectives from across the creative pursuits and the Pacific Ocean!
Michelle Walker – www.michellewalkerart.com and www.instagram.com/michellewalkerart.
Jennifer Ruth Russell – www.jenniferruthrussell.com and www.patreon.com/JenniferandMichael.
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Running an Online Challenge Part 2
Having covered the planning and preparation phases of running an online challenge in Part 1 (Episode #27), Michelle and Jennifer dive into the delivery and follow up phases in this episode. From tips on how to manage all the daily activities and communications with your participants and focus on helping your people get the results they want, to closing the challenge and the follow up and reflection steps… it’s covered for you.
Resources and links mentioned in this episode:
Teleprompter 3 app
Mighty Networks
Alina Vincent – https://businesssuccessedge.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/BusinessSuccessEdge/
You can find your hosts at these places:
Michelle’s website – www.michellewalkerart.com
Michelle on Instagram – www.instagram.com/michellewalkerart
Michelle on YouTube – www.youtube.com/c/michellewalkerart
Jennifer’s website – www.jenniferruthrussell.com
Jennifer on Patreon – www.patreon.com/JenniferandMichael -
Running an Online Challenge – Part 1
Online challenges can be a great way to grow your following and engage with folks who are interested in similar things and give back to your community. In this episode, Michelle and Jennifer step through what you need to think about if you are keen to run your own online challenge – what to cover as you are coming up with the idea and focus of your challenge and then what needs to happen in the preparation phase before you go live. This is Part 1 of their discussion about online challenges. Next episode in Part 2 will look at the delivery of the challenge and follow up phase after it has closed.
Resources and links mentioned in this episode:
Tara Leaver’s #21daysinmyartworld challenge - https://www.instagram.com/taraleaver/
Jean Thomson’s #the100dayproject challenge – https://www.instagram.com/lindsayjeanthomson/
If you are interested in the next time Michelle runs the Money Mojo for Artists Challenge, go here
Rory Vaden’s youtube clip – Best Selling Title Formula - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw4NEwytONU
Alina Vincent’s website – https://businesssuccessedge.com/ & facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/BusinessSuccessEdge/
You can find your hosts at these places:
Michelle’s website – www.michellewalkerart.com
Michelle on Instagram – www.instagram.com/michellewalkerart
Michelle on YouTube – www.youtube.com/c/michellewalkerart
Jennifer’s website – www.jenniferruthrussell.com
Jennifer on Patreon – www.patreon.com/JenniferandMichael -
On the Art Trail
Visiting art in the outdoors has become an experience many enjoy. Regional areas and cities have seen the potential and artists have embraced the concept as a way of reaching a wider audience. In today's episode, Michelle, flying solo, talks through her recent experience of being a part of her local art trail and open studios event. She talks through the things to think about when you are making the decision to be involved, how to make your work stand out in your application, what to do in the lead up and set up as well as how to maintain yourself through the event and after. There's lots to be gained from these experiences and well, just get yourself out there!
Resources and events mentioned in the episode:
The Australian Silo Art Trail - https://www.australiansiloarttrail.com/
Murwillumbah Arts Trail - https://www.murwillumbahartstrail.com.au/
Melbourne's street art - https://www.timeout.com/melbourne/art/where-to-find-the-best-street-art-in-melbourne
The Intern with Ann Hathaway & Robert De Niro - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2361509/
You can find your hosts at these places:
Michelle’s website – www.michellewalkerart.com
Michelle on Instagram – www.instagram.com/michellewalkerart
Michelle on YouTube – www.youtube.com/c/michellewalkerart
Jennifer’s website – www.jenniferruthrussell.com
Jennifer on Patreon – www.patreon.com/JenniferandMichael -
Celebrating the Mother Energy of Creativity
May is the month we celebrate Mother’s Day in the US and Australia. It also happens to be Mother Mary’s month and Jennifer celebrates her annual flight around the sun. In this episode, Michelle and Jennifer discuss the mother energy and its connection to creativity, how our relationships with our earthly mothers can affect our belief in ourselves and shape our path to creative expression.
Michelle announces her upcoming event ‘Money Mojo for Artists 7-day Challenge’ helping artists get more confidence in dealing with the financial side of their art biz.
Resources and links mentioned in this episode:
Money Mojo for Artists 7-day Challenge - https://tinyurl.com/moneymojochallenge
You can find your hosts at these places:
Michelle’s website – www.michellewalkerart.com
Michelle on Instagram – www.instagram.com/michellewalkerart
Michelle on YouTube – www.youtube.com/c/michellewalkerart
Jennifer’s website – www.jenniferruthrussell.com
Jennifer on Patreon – www.patreon.com/JenniferandMichael -
The Power of Simplicity in Art & Life
On discovering a beloved poem lost for more than 30 years, Michelle has been thinking again about the concept of simplicity. In this episode, Michelle shares the poem by William Carlos Williams and what follows is a conversation with Jennifer around simplicity in art and life that covers music triads, colour palette triads, do-ability and the zen spiritual practice known as hitsuzendo.
Artists and ideas mentioned in this episode:
Poem by William Carlos Williams - ‘This is Just to Say’
The Imagist Movement of poetry
Hitsuzendo, the way of the zen brush and enso circles
Philip Guston (1913-1980), Canadian-American painter and muralist
Spirit Art School is the live online monthly art classes with Jennifer, Michelle and other art teachers.
You can find your hosts at these places:
Michelle’s website – www.michellewalkerart.com
Michelle on Instagram – www.instagram.com/michellewalkerart
Michelle on YouTube – www.youtube.com/c/michellewalkerart
Jennifer’s website – www.jenniferruthrussell.com
Jennifer on Patreon – www.patreon.com/JenniferandMichael -
Beginner’s Guide to Teaching Creative Courses Online
For the past 2 years, more people have been staying home and searching for creative outlets. If you are an artist with an idea for an online art class, now’s the perfect time to dive in.
So, have you been thinking you want to create your own art course and deliver it online? Maybe you already have a course but are interested in learning what other artists are doing and how they approach the ideas and the technology wrangle. If you are a yes, then this episode is worth a listen.
Michelle and Jennifer talk through the ‘gremlins’ that might come up in thinking about diving in to teaching. They also cover how they go about deciding on their course content, the options for online teaching and hosting platforms for live and recorded workshops and the most important equipment you need to get started. At the end of the conversation, Michelle share more detail about the teaching platforms she’s investigated recently to help those wrestling with the all-important decision about which one to use.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
The Seven Sacred Flames book by Aurelia Louise Jones
Jennifer’s 1st online course: Seven Sacred Flames
Michelle’s online 1st course for graphic facilitators: Essentials of Visual Thinking
Michelle’s online art course: Paint Your heART
Conference call platforms – Instant Teleseminar, Zoom
Spirit Art School is the live online monthly art classes with Jennifer, Michelle and other art teachers
Sanctuary - Jennifer's monthly meditation class
Jennifer’s Free Your Voice class
Apps and software for video editing - VideoStudio Camtasia, OBS
Online teaching platform options – Moodle, TalentLMS, Thinkific, Kajabi, Teachable, Kartra, SamCart
(Please note: there are NO affiliate links for any of the teaching platforms shared above.)
You can find your hosts at these places:
Michelle’s website – www.michellewalkerart.com
Michelle on Instagram – www.instagram.com/michellewalkerart
Michelle on YouTube – www.youtube.com/c/michellewalkerart
Jennifer’s website – www.jenniferruthrussell.com
Jennifer on Patreon – www.patreon.com/JenniferandMichael