Hummingbird

Catherine Graham joins as the new co-host on The Hummingbird Podcast team with Jessica Outram.  We begin with hummingbirds. How do they inspire us? What can we learn from them? How are hummingbirds like our creative work? We chat about some of the themes we will explore this season. (And we are mostly just super excited to chat together!)

The topic of our final episode for Season 2 seems fitting - Celebration. We talk about what celebration means to us. What are the different aspects of celebration? How does it affect the way we view our creative work? How do we connect and celebrate?  Listen in as we unravel the next layer of the creative process: celebration. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/creativehummingbird/mess...

Do you have questions about how to use social media effectively? For our monthly business episode we invited social media expert Rachel Spence in to share her knowledge and expertise. We had lots of questions and made lots of notes so fair warning, have paper and pen near by. Rachel will tell you how to be more effective and reach more people in an authentic, meaningful way.  --- Send in a voice m...

We are coming to the end of our book study soon. Two more chapters. Today we continue our book study with ‘Learning by Heart: Teachings to Free the Creative Spirit’ by Corita Kent and Jan Steward. Last time we talked about versatility and possibility when choosing tools and techniques. In this episode we unravel the next layer of the creative process: the relationship between play and work, or as...

We continue our book study with ‘Learning by Heart: Teachings to Free the Creative Spirit’ by Corita Kent and Jan Steward. We’ve been talking about the energy of connect and create. Today we look at another big part of the creative process: Tools and Techniques. We also welcome Choral Conductor and Music Teacher Marie Anderson to the conversation. This is where we get into craft but where we go ma...

Today we continue our book study with ‘Learning by Heart: Teachings to Free the Creative Spirit’ by Corita Kent and Jan Steward. We’ve been talking about sources and structures.  Today we look at another big part of the creative process: Connect & Create. These two words summarize everything. In this episode we connected with guests Jennifer Trefiak and Jenni Burke and created something we feel is...

Today we continue our monthly focus on Business for Creatives and look at Money & Emotion with Joan Sotkin. How do you feel about money in your creative business? You may want to look deeper because, as Joan says, "It's never about the money." This episode is a bit of a departure from our normal format in that we mostly sat back and let our guest share her wisdom. And we barely scratched the surfa...

We continue our book study with ‘Learning by Heart: Teachings to Free the Creative Spirit’ by Corita Kent and Jan Steward. Last week we looked at Sources and talked about how everything is a source. There is great freedom in that. When we look at everything as a source, sometimes it’s hard to choose which direction to take, which idea to follow. This week we look at Structure. Structure helps us t...

In this episode we explore the idea of sources. How do you gather and use sources in your creative work? What or who inspires you? We continue to explore the ideas in our book study to expand what's possible in our projects. “Working from a source is not the same thing as copying. The work is yours only--drawn from your experience and coloured by your perceptions. The source frees us to depart fro...

In this episode we talk about Chapter 2 in Learning by Heart: Looking.  Nurturing and developing ways of seeing is one of the most important practices any artist or writer can engage in. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/creativehummingbird/message

In this episode we begin a deep dive into ‘Learning by Heart: Teachings to Free the Creative Spirit” by Corita Kent and Jan Steward. Each week we integrate the ideas into our practice and talk about how it goes, one chapter at a time. We hope you'll join our Facebook Community "Hummingbird Podcast Community" where we can continue the discussion and share the learnings with each other.  --- Send in...

How do I develop a brand for myself in a way that feels authentic and not like I’m trying too hard or misrepresenting? Our guest, Julia Archer answers this question and quite a bit more in our monthly focus on building a creative business.  Branding isn't just for the big corporations. As a creative business, it will help you stand out in the crowd, establish trust and attract your audience.  ---...

What is the relationship between our creativity and our Resilience? How can a sense of meaning help in difficult times to nurture our creativity and how can our creativity help us get through difficult times? In our last episode we talked about creativity and wellness. Here we go deeper into some questions we have about Resilience and how creativity can help to add meaning into our lives. Visit ht...

There are so many health benefits to being consciously creative, not the least of which is healing - both mentally and physically. For some, COVID shone a spotlight on the healing benefits of creativity. Many creatives have turned to creating in times of stress and know the true impact of creativity from personal or community experiences. In this episode, we discuss some of the research behind lea...

We’ve missed you! We’ve missed each other. We begin Season 2 by catching up just like we did as kids in September by asking "What did you do on your summer vacation?"  What was easy? What was harder? Were you able to connect with other creatives? Join us we launch Season 2! For more details visit: https://thehummingbirdpodcast.com/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/creativehummingbird...

This week we do something a little different as Aprille guides Jessica through the art of creating a story about her business that invites people to be part of the story. We explain why story is so powerful, how to build trust relationships with your customers and other ways to use story as a business tool.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/creativehummingbird/message

This book has been a major influence in our creative journeys and we wanted to share it with you, both the book and the journey. We talk about how this book changed us creatively and some of the concepts and core truths that stand out for us.  We'd love to hear from you, too. Leave us a message and share your experience with The Artist's Way or tell us about another book that had a major impact on...

In this episode we look at creativity and process through the lens of metaphor. Using quotations, we explore how metaphor can enrich our creative process and projects looking at some big questions. How can metaphors inspire how we create? How can artists and writers use metaphor to make something new? Metaphor can help us to go deeper and understand our own creative process in simple but powerful...

How can we use story and story structure in our arts? In this episode we explore this big question by looking at through the lens of Pixar's 'rules' for great storytelling. We realize that story connects to all aspects of our creativity during the process and in the product. Aprille shares how she uses story to inspire her artwork and Jessica shares how she uses story to prepare a song for perform...

We create by making connections and to connect to other people. If we change the business word "marketing" to "connection" it becomes less overwhelming. In this episode we talk about what it means to connect to your audience and how it fits into a creative practice.  Visit https://thehummingbirdpodcast.com/ for show notes. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/creativehummingbird/message

What can we learn from those who inspire us? Then what happens when we take it a step further by looking at who inspired them? Climb your creative family tree and see who's hanging out in the branches. You might be surprised. In this episode, we explore this idea from Austin Kleon's book 'Steal Like an Artist.' We talk about who inspires us and then who inspired them. This is an invitation for you...

We had so much fun talking about the ideas in Austin Kleon's book 'Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative.' From our first impressions to a detailed discussion of each big idea, we 'steal' what we can to refine our creative processes.  Warning: Don't read this book unless you're prepared to be inspired. Visit https://thehummingbirdpodcast.com/ for show notes. --- Send...

What people, places, arts, and things inspire you? What is the magic that happens when we let it get personal? What are some examples of our work and what inspired it? Join us as we reflect on inspiration, the source of ideas, and creative process. Aprille reflects on a fabric piece she is working on that started as a test piece. Jessica reflects on writing and staging a play inspired by the women...

In this episode we begin a regular feature of chatting about creativity and business. Do you want to turn your passion for arts into full-time work? Have you wondered about were to start in creating a business or selling your work? We explore some practical first steps and next steps. From generating new ideas to building a plan, we explore ways to expand your dreams then bring them to life. Visit...

In this episode we respond to David Kelly's TED Talk "How to Build Your Creative Confidence." We explore his big ideas including: fear of judgement, guided mastery, empathy, and then the importance of regaining lost creative confidence. Creativity and innovation touch every area of our lives. From reflecting on innovation in medicine and education to our own personal creative journeys, we explore...