Making Artists

This episode of the 'Making Artists Podcast' explores the concept of 'beginner's ego' – the overambitious mindset often encountered by artists at the start of their creative journeys. Using a viral meme about a three-year-old's nonchalant approach to becoming an astronaut as an entry point, this podcast episode goes into the importance of maintaining enthusiasm while managing realistic expectation...

In this episode of "Making Artists," we dive into the complex and often misunderstood emotion of anger. This episode centers on embracing and understanding anger as a natural part of the human and artistic experience. Anger, is often seen as a negative emotion—something to be suppressed or avoided. This perspective can be particularly harmful to artists who might feel compelled to wait until they...

Welcome to another episode of the Making Artists Podcast! Today, we're diving into a powerful piece of advice that's not only relevant for parents but for artists like you too. Have you ever heard the saying, "When the child is born, the parent is born"? Well, I'm here to introduce its artistic counterpart: "When the art is made, the artist is made." This piece of wisdom has been resonating with c...

In this episode, we dive into the concept of "what's in and what's out" for 2024, inspired by the trend forecasts that flood social media at the end of each year. In this episode I share my own list, tailored for creative individuals, identifying common mindset mistakes and offering alternative solutions. First up: "downloading" versus "uploading." Many creatives blame excessive social media use f...

Welcome to another episode of the Making Artists Podcast! Hey, artists, it's your host, Nancy, checking in and genuinely asking, "How are you?" No, seriously, how are you *really* feeling, especially in your body? Today's episode is all about *every body.* Whether you're a painter, filmmaker, storyteller, or just a human navigating life, this one's for you. And if you've never thought of yourself...

This episode is inspired by the many coaching sessions where clarity seekers come to me with one burning question: "What's my life purpose?" They've got the family plan, the dream locale, even the number of pets sorted. But when it comes to their artistic journey, it's a foggy mess. So, they're on a quest for the perfect "why," assuming it's the golden ticket to success. They believe that unlockin...

In this episode we continue our deep dive into Taylor Swift and what we can learn from her success as an artist and the impact she has made.  There are only three steps that you need to take in order to become a creative success. I reference these in another episode 3 Steps To Creative Succe$$, but I’ll summarize the 3 steps here:  Make Your Art Share Your Art  Ask Others For What Y...

It’s time we talk about Taylor Swift and what we can learn from both her success and impact that she has made. In this episode I'm going to talk about how Taylor Swift identifies as an artist, makes art, shares it, Sells it to make a fuck ton of money and makes an impact. Her art, in itself, is sufficient to make an impact. Her music creates connection, empathy, self compassion, catharsis, and com...

This special episode about how to make art worthy of accolades, using the 2023 Oscar for Best Picture 'Everything Everywhere All At Once' as a case study. When I fall in love with a piece of art I go on an internet binge to learn as much as possible about its creators and its origin story: what inspired it, who made it, under what circumstances, and with what obstacles and what allies. After doing...

For this final episode of Making Artists Season 1, I want to share with you the lessons I have received on how to be a human, how to be an artist, and how to treat my art that I have learned from being a parent, from being a mother, from raising another human being. I hope that these lessons will inspire you to treat yourself differently, to treat your creativity and creative process differently,...

Often, people see their lack of self worth as the reason they’re not going after their dreams. That can include anything from going on a trip, going for a big goal, making a big decision, or even the way we own our identity.  In this episode, I’m going to talk about self worth in a way that you’ve probably never heard from a mindset coach before. When you don’t believe in your humanity, you d...

Most often, people who hire me want to become a creative success. Usually, that success is defined with a dollar amount. I counter that in order to call yourself an artist, all you need to do is make art. It doesn’t all need to be polished, published, or even finished, but assigning a dollar amount to it doesn’t make you any more or less of an artist.  If you watch The Great British Bakeoff o...

Here in the States, and much of the Northern Hemisphere, we’re heading into the winter holiday season, if we’re not there already. This time of year gets many of us thinking about the end of a calendar year and beginning of the next, bringing to mind new beginnings and fresh starts. One thing that comes up often is that people, and artists in particular, are wanting to create more balance in their...

I was inspired by episode 6 about your creative process and I thought it might benefit you and me to share a peek behind the scenes of how this podcast gets made. I hope to accomplish 3 things here:  I hope it makes all you creatives out there feel less alone, no matter how your process works. I hope to debunk any myths you have about me, both as an artist and a coach. I want to show you the...

What you believe about yourself is often the reason why you aren’t who you want to be, where you want to be, or living the life you want. So many artists think that they are in their own way, that they are the problem, and I hear it all the time. This might show up in your thoughts like: I don’t believe in myself. I don’t trust myself to… I’m not good enough at… I’m not worthy of… I haven’t earned...

Welcome back and thank you for being here! Also, a huge thanks to my community who responded on IG when I asked what topics need to be covered. I’m so excited! For today, we’re getting foundational. What is your creative practice? Do you even have one? Is it working, or not? What is your relationship to it? Before you can make an audience or make money with your art, you need to actually make your...

Today’s topic has come up a lot in my one-on-one practice and in my Making Artists Mastermind, so that’s what I want to talk about today. We’re often told to dream big, set the impossible goal, and believe wholeheartedly that you can get there. As an artist though, if the belief isn’t 100% there, that can keep you from taking the next step. We don’t need to worry about what the Academy will think...

In this episode, I’m going to talk about the ways using fear as fuel can sabotage you. A metaphor for you: If you want to run a marathon, and you hire a bear to chase after you so you finish the race, you probably won’t run linearly and you’ll spend more time looking behind you than ahead of you, and you definitely won’t enjoy the marathon. If you take the time to prepare, condition yourself, and...

Recording this episode, I’m feeling a roller coaster of emotions on top of being physically tired. It’s tempting to put off this episode until I’m feeling better, but that’s a classic example of emotional perfectionism. That is the belief that in order to be creative, you need to be in a certain emotional state, or at least not be feeling anything negative. Emotional perfectionism is totally norma...

You may be wondering about me and how I’m qualified to coach artists. I am a writer who writes, and an actor who acts. I make this distinction because many of you may identify as an aspiring writer or artist or actor, but aren’t showing up regularly doing that work. In this episode I will introduce myself, give you some context for who I am and the life I live, and define privilege and marginaliza...

Welcome to the Making Artists podcast! I’m your host, Nancy Sun, and this podcast is a container for me to help other artists out in the world, outside of my coaching practice. These episodes are intended to unblock artists like you and allow you to realize your full dreams for your personal and artistic life. The world will change when all humans realize they have the power and ability to create,...

Hey artist! Want to learn how to go from aspiring artist to full-time creative? Look no further. In this podcast, we will cover Who gets to be an artist What an artist’s life looks like How to become a successful, professional artist  And we will bust the myths that keep so many creatives starving, struggling, and stuck. I’m your host, professional certified coach and fellow artist Nancy Sun....