Starling

After a long silence, Staling returns with a deeply personal reflection on what happens when your heart is in the art of creation and you are pulled into the orbit of marketing and selling...and how to find your way back to the magic of making. "In this episode I share how turning my work into a product drained the joy from my practice. Even all my own knowing didn't keep me from this tr...

In this episode I share a little about my own process and what I have been up to since the last episode, almost a year ago. Hint, I have been focused on my work as an artist and preparing a path for my art to be shared. I invited my friend and marketing expert, Michelle Mercurio, on to discuss why generic marketing does not work for artists, or anyone really. We also talk about how I am working to...

Is society's relationship to individuals reflected in the way art is received in society? Is the group more important than the individual. This one dives into how the individual artistic process could help us all restore a sense of balance to the groups we function in. 

In this episode we look at the powerful book The Gift by Lewis Hyde. I share a personal experience of gift economy at work that happened in New Orleans, a city that has offered me many lessons over the years. I know it has been a while so I also share a bit about my thoughts on the podcast and my approach to content creation. Please check out this link for show notes with all the stuff I discuss i...

Not that I have managed to actually hide that I believe art is a magical practice and spiritual tradition but in this episode I am more honest about that and share a bit about moving into alignment with the realm of Imagination. And how we are making so much more than a painting and stories when we are working from Imagination. I also share that I am restarting my Creative Mediation Group in 2022...

It's been a while.  After a 6th month hiatus, I return with an episode on artist and director Tim Burton. Learn about the life ofTim Burton, his work and consider how making a connection with a living artist gives us touchstones in our own life process. I share my own relationship to his work and give some takeaways for you to consider in your own creative practice. For all the links and more...

Many people feel like the arts and the sciences are completely different fields that don't have much in common. But, that is just a lie we have been told. The Prussian scientist Alexander Von Humboldt understood how interconnected everything really is and in this episode we look at his influence on American art and so much more. I feel like I was missed out on not learning about Humboldt earl...

Do you believe that there are mysterious forces and energies behind the creative process? In this episode we explore muses, angels and duende discussed by Federico Garcia-Lorca in his famous essay The Theory & Play of The Duende. Where do we connect with inspiration and what is the energy that moves us into artistic action. Whether you actually sense these personified energies or simply like t...

Kinesthetic creative Rachel Martin joins me for a discussion on balance...and we had no idea how much we would have to recenter and remember to direct our attention until we started recording. Let's just say, symbolism and metaphor showed up to help us make the point in unique and interesting ways. You can learn more about Rachel on her podcast Unraveling Rachel and follow her on instagram @u...

How do you wear all the hats as a multi potential creative? In this episode I welcome graphic designer, podcaster and artist Becky Kilimnik to discuss some of the similarities and differences between fine art and graphic design. Becky also use to own an art gallery so understands that side of the art world as well. But, her passion as an art form is storytelling and she uses her podcast Homespun H...

Imagination is one of the four realms I call The Artistic Realms. In this episode we explore the shoreline of Imagination and I offer you the map William Blake created of the levels of imagination as he understood them. We will explore those levels as well as some takes on the imagination by Coleridge and Barfield, and of course my own commentary.  The Human imagination is infinite and awe inspiri...

How do the images of marketing and advertising connect to our imagination? Is it for better or for worse? And how does it affect what creative people create? This episode looks at the father of modern marketing, Edward Bernays, and considers how his tactics have moved from being used on us to being used by us. It asks us to consider how our imagination is often directed towards creating a parallel...

As 2021 starts, I feel it important to discuss how we cultivate our inner critic. After spending time with creative play we have to switch roles and see how our critical self helps the creative self become fully realized. The 4 step process of art criticism is a great guide to build a foundational understanding that can support our opinions, help us reevaluate our ideas and fully develop...not jus...

All work and no play makes us dull...uninspired, bored and boring. In this episode, I share some characteristics of play meant to help us notice the difference between work and play. It is important to think about what the difference is between work and play, and how we can allow creative play to guide us to personal treasure for our creative process. Metaphorically, the American classic film, The...

Have you had those moments of aesthetic experience, when all your senses align and you feel in tune with the universe. That is really different than just seeing things. Our visual senses may be overwhelmed, as we live in a world of constant imagery. And during 2020 our experiences have been more limited than normal. In this episode, I invited my friend Beth Griggs-Anderson to talk with me about se...

Monsters are so important to know, to create and to attempt to understand. In this episode I share a little about monsters in art and a lot about my favorite monster...The Monster that Mary Shelley created in Frankenstein. We discuss how he is the patron monster for artists and how Frankenstein is a cautionary tale for creatives. Discover curated content at THIS LINK , including images of the art...

How have the stories you interacted with influenced your life? Your art? Your creative development? What about the stories you wanted to avoid or ignore? How have those influenced you? Humans learn through narrative and artists have always been able to use story as inspiration in their work. In this episode, we discuss the power of "once upon a time" and delve into why we need the dark s...

How do artists make discoveries? It often means going deep into the cave we fear to enter....at least we are often afraid to enter it as an adult. Kids love to explore things adults find scary. We know too much and limit ourselves. "The creative adult is the child who survived" - I love this quote by Ursula K. LeGuin and the idea that my adult self has just been a vehicle for my child sp...

How is your relationship with your muse? This episode goes into the creative process and our relationship with creativity. Learn a little about the Process Art Movement and how process is seen in the music of William Basinski. Discover more about the topics and practices discussed at THIS LINK. 

Being an artist means moving beyond subject matter and what we see with our eye and into themes of human experience. Learning to transform a simple subject into a way to discuss deeper personal connections and understandings allows for our own personal development and helps awaken connections within those who relate with our work. CLICK HERE  for all the curated content, links and ways to connect....

It's been over a month since my last episode on symbolic living, and a lot has changed. I have had to resign from my teaching job, because I felt it was unsafe to return to school with the rising virus cases here in Tennessee. This has had me reflecting on where I am, who I am and how I got here. The spiral is a symbol that has shown up a lot for me personally, and I have been connecting it t...

Many people struggle to understand the difference between a sign and a symbol, and what symbol creation is all about. In this episode we discuss how signs work with our consciousness and symbols work within our unconscious. We also take a peek at what happens when a culture cannot agree on it's symbols. Listen in to the episode at the link below and explore curated content around this topic o...

Artists must find a balance between focusing their attention on their creative work and seeking attention to have that work seen. How do the issues around attention help or hinder creative process? How does our personal relationship with attention enable connection with our authentic artistic vision? Follow THIS LINK for curated content around this episode, a recap of the practices discussed and t...

In this episode we move into imagination, and the discussion gets a little more esoteric and metaphysical. Discover curated content and info at THIS LINK. Join in as we drop an anchor into art history and explore ways artists have used avatars to map their inner worlds and non physical reality. Through discussions of avatars used by Max Ernst and Leonora Carrington we see how this device can allow...

In this episode we contemplate the influence and idea of home, and its impact on our creative development. We also discuss my favorite artist, Marc Chagall. For curated content around this episode and more information about Starling follow THIS LINK . There you will find information about Chagall, images of places I have called home and a link to the Spotify playlist around the them of home.