I Loved This Conversation

I loved these conversations and I haven't stopped thinking about these moments from Season 4! These moments cover figure drawing empathy, magical career paths, film school work ethic, political theater pet peeves, head coaching your inner team, ideas about Israel and Palestine, hard things & fun flings, and much more. Featuring Ohad Salem , Ori Ashkenazi , Hanadi Elyan , Andrew Fox , Sally Fox...

I loved this conversation with art studio founder Ohad Salem! We talked about how figure drawing supports body neutrality and fosters empathy, creating a welcoming space for artists, feeling like an outsider, examining long held beliefs, always being in the middle of the journey, and much more. SOMA Studio: @soma_studio_tlv

I loved this conversation with writer and artist Sally Fox! We talked about when the need for external validation gets in the way of internal creativity, designing days with the best rhythm for creating to avoid burnout, reframing limited beliefs that we learned a long time ago, connecting with the inner muse and keeping that conversation going, and much more. Sally's Blog: engagingpresence.com Sa...

I loved this conversation with musician and orchestrator Andrew Fox! We talked about creating art that can elicit multiple audience reactions at once, art that creates community vs. art that creates in-groups and out-groups, where politics and culture meet, how spending time abroad creates tectonic shifts in perspective, Andrew's creative decision-making around his new play, and much more. Andrew'...

I loved having ANOTHER conversation with actress, nutritionist, health coach and disability advocate Molly Cutler! We talked about writing personal work and how it helps us discover things about ourselves, dating and relationships, committing to social media, Molly's mission to portray disability better on screen, how Molly's career path influenced her relationship with food and her body, and much...

Rewind Episode from September 2022 in anticipation of tomorrow's NEW Molly Cutler Episode! I loved this conversation with nutritionist, health coach and disability advocate Molly Cutler! We talked about keeping parts of our creative life sacred, wanting to be influencers, representation in online body image and wellness spaces, how Molly became more open about her disability personally and more vi...

I loved this conversation with film festival programming director Michael Maria! We talked about creating and gathering during times of trauma, the power of art and film to share both heavy topics and peoples' every day lives, whether social media is a good place for conversation, fears and fearlessness about sharing art and opinions, parenthood, music, Michael's path to becoming involved in the B...

I loved this conversation with magician Ori Ashkenazy! We talked about magic, truth and lies, "honest lies," developing a style, finding a path back to your original passion, protecting the integrity of your art form, creating for different countries/cultures/languages, experimenting with new ideas, Ori's mission to use magic for healing and therapy, and much more. Ori's website: orimagic.com

I loved this conversation with filmmaker Hanadi Elyan! We talked about choosing your next project, navigating the overwhelming logistics of big projects, letting go of control to be more collaborative, getting messages across without being preachy, how to learn a work ethic, Hanadi's experience shooting a feature in Jordan, Hanadi's goal of breaking stereotypes of Arab women, and much more. Hanadi...

I loved having ANOTHER conversation with LA filmmaker and festival organizer Peter Levine! We talked about making huge life changes without talking ourselves out of them, choosing cities to thrive in creatively, fears about being accepted, wanting to work with the people who inspired us, falling in love, dating other creative people, Peter's impending move to LA next week (as of recording), and mu...

Rewind Episode from July 2022 in anticipation of tomorrow's NEW Peter Levine Episode! I loved this conversation with Boston filmmaker and festival organizer Peter Levine! We talked about whether having multiple creative paths is a weakness or a strength, sustaining artist communities during the pandemic, the choice to create in Boston, our uncomfortable fears of settling in our careers, and much m...

I loved this conversation with NYC musician Joanna Schubert! We talked about rebelling against your previous work, creative maximalism, going back to your roots as an artist, making peace with knowing more about your art than anyone else will, being less sure of your identity in a good way as you progress, the directness of processing emotions through music, Joanna’s recent album Waiting for the S...

I loved this conversation with Tel Aviv cartoonist/illustrator, originally from Barcelona, Ana Tirado! We talked about obsession with a new idea, imposter syndrome, our shared love of newspaper comics, being motivated by people not understanding your ideas at first, our changing identities living abroad, Ana's Barcelona to Tel Aviv love story, and much more. Ana's Instagram: @pork_less

It's a bonus episode. I'm still on paternity leave! We had lots of leftover letters from YOU, the Convos, that we didn't get to in "We Love Your Conversation" #1 and #2. With the help of those leftover letters, I talk about finding time to prioritize art, finding creative fuel that isn't your own mental illness, charging enough, AI, letting the state of your industry affect your individual morale,...

It's a bonus episode. I'm on paternity leave! So I put together a supercut of conversations with creative folks who also happen to be parents. In these conversations we talk about how having kids helps you prioritize, how to think of time differently, being inspired by your kids, how kids view your creative career, experiencing things through their eyes, and much more. Featuring Anthony Marquette...

I loved this conversation with LA actor, singer, writer and filmmaker Jake Novak! We talked about creating for yourself vs. creating for an audience, fertile periods of creativity and slow ones, REALLY wanting to get noticed for our talent and hard work, writing clever and meaningful lyrics, Jake's thinking behind his "SNL video," how Jake is finding his humanity after going viral and being widely...

I loved this conversation with Santa Cruz/Oaxaca/Boston-based artist and musical theater director and composer Alysa Escobar! We talked about hard choices when changing careers, healing your relationship with your creative inner child, impatience when you have a flood of ideas, mortality, finding a local art community, finding community while traveling, Alysa's life changing decisions after being...

I loved this conversation with Israeli comedian Noam Shuster-Eliassi! We talked about having professional success without personal success, finding comfort in the quieter, less funny moments, creating in multiple languages, how growing up feeling like an outsider leads to an identity centered around humor, the power of comedy to share unfiltered truth, reaching audiences you disagree with, how Noa...

It's a bonus episode. Nice! Recently I appeared on Behind the Pixel, hosted by last week's guests, Kathryn Taccone and Will Colón. Hear me discuss how I think about myself as an artist, how my freelance work has evolved, how I work with teams of artists, how I set expectations with my clients, "great grand-clients," what I'm excited about creating next, and much more. Behind the Pixel Podcast: htt...

I loved this conversation with Massachusetts animation studio founders Kathryn Taccone and Will Colón! We talked about identity crises, long-term planning as an art business, leadership, how networking events can be so much more welcoming, how trauma can fuel creative passion, how and why Kathryn and Will founded Open Pixel Studios, balancing their relationship with their business relationship, an...

I loved this conversation with Boston-area sculptor Nancy Schön! We talked about building a good reputation with clients, making tactile work that encourages interaction, balancing creative ambition with being a mom in the 1960s, the importance of routine and making use of small windows of time, meeting world leaders, how Nancy's Make Way for Ducklings sculpture changed her life, Nancy's new polit...

I loved this conversation with Boston-area animator Ari Grubb! We talked about being utterly called to a hyper-specific idea, feeling like a mad scientist while deep in a creative project, seeking feedback from non-artists, teaching, the existential crisis that led Ari to change their career and their personal life all in one night, Ari's experience graduating college in 2020, and much more. Ariel...

What's up Convos? In this special episode, we (myself and guest co-host Whitney Tressel) loved hearing from YOU! With the help of your letters, we sat down for a chat about balancing personal and professional work, losing your identity as an artist, when to monetize a hobby, creating just to create, being patient during major creative blocks, maintaining long friendships and much more. Whitney's I...

I loved this conversation with Boston-area artist and illustrator Michael Talbot! We talked about the blessing and curse that is too much freelance work at the same time, having variety in your career vs. narrowing down to one kind of work, public art and public reactions to it, why it's great to have an "Art Rival," Michael's adjustment to school and life in the US having grown up in Jamaica, and...

I loved this conversation with Boston-area dancer, choreographer, teacher and community organizer McKersin! We talked about the urgency of spreading happiness and resources through art, the pressure that comes with positive attention, the challenges of teaching the arts to kids in a variety of settings, how we deeply underestimate inner city kids, McKersin's unique creative process of creating dan...