The Messy Studio with Rebecca Crowell

As artists, many of us honor the age-old tradition of creating our work with nothing more than our hands, a few tools, and materials that have stood the test of time. Yet we also live in a high-tech world, and that impacts all of us. How artists view technology ranges from a necessary evil to a full embrace of its creative possibilities. But we should all understand that technology itself is not a...

Each type of painting media that an abstract artist uses has specific qualities that make it suitable for certain approaches-- and less so for others. As part of your studio practice, it’s important to understand and work with the qualities of different media rather than trying to push against their nature. And it is also exciting to explore outside your typical media to see what each has to offer...

A basic human desire is to truly be seen. We long to be understood by other people, acknowledged, appreciated, and accepted for who we are. As an artist, you have a literal way of being seen, of communicating who you are in a visual way. The hope that people will be able to connect with you through your work is a basic motivation for making art. Today we’ll talk about the desire to be seen and und...

As artists we know it’s important to be open to new ideas and changes—but for marketing purposes we’re also expected to have an identifiable style that is consistent and recognizable. This basic dilemma is frustrating when you have wide-ranging interests and like to explore new ideas or media. Your work can appear to be “all over the place” and seem to lack focus. At the other extreme, being overl...

Carrying out a creative project is rarely a straightforward process. A basic aspect of creative work is the way that ideas evolve during the process, rather than being known from the beginning. The outcome is unknown as the artist dives in, and the end is often surprising and exciting for its creator. Yet understanding and accepting this process is very difficult for many people. It seems to be hu...

Privacy and solitude are important factors in producing creative work, allowing an artist to feel secure to explore and take the time needed to develop meaningful work without judgement or observation. Yet the outside world can sometimes push against these needs. It may seem hard to set the boundaries around your studio time, to preserve the time and space you need to focus exclusively on your wor...

As artists we all recognize that intuition plays a role in what we do, but what that role is can seem mysterious and elusive. Like many concepts in art, we tend to use the words intuitive and intuition loosely because they defy exact description. But a closer look may help you understand its place in your own way of working, and to better access its power. If trusting intuition doesn’t come easily...

Artistic expression is driven by an inner need to be your authentic self, to express what is true and unique in your individual experiences and thoughts. That may sound straightforward, but as we know, there is nothing easy about finding the creative voice that is yours, dedicating your time and energy to its expression, or putting the work that results out into the world. Creative expression chal...

Art is primarily a solitary activity. Although some artists collaborate or share studios, most of us spend our time alone with our work and our thoughts, and we value that solitude. But art is also a form of communication, and other artists are often very savvy about understanding the work of others and connecting in that way is valuable. And who better to understand the ups and downs, the challen...

The beginning of a new year is a time to consider what will bring clarity and focus to your art practice in the months ahead. For many artists, that means setting goals and intentions, and to do that means gaining clarity about what to prioritize. Artists’ goals tend to cover a lot of ground--some may be for the work itself, for improving and advancing skills and techniques, or for completing proj...

A studio practice of any kind is an optimal learning environment. As an artist, every day that you work, you set challenges for yourself in your work and figure out how to meet them. But beyond learning how to produce the best work you can, there are also personal life lessons that come from a studio practice. We learn patience, perseverance, the ability to live with uncertain outcomes, and much m...

In the process of making a work of art, the artist deals with many questions and decisions. There is a constant evaluation of asking if the piece is on the right track and considering what is needed for the next move. What will best convey the artist’s ideas and intentions? Many of these decisions are quick and intuitive, but sometimes a more reflective and conscious process is called for. You nee...

There is something compelling and mysterious about the urge to make art. Those of us that make art today are part of a tradition going back many thousands of years. What is its role in your own life? What basic needs does making art satisfy? Why do so many of us spend so much of our time putting down paint, shaping clay, carving wood or marble, or cranking prints through a press? Today we toss aro...

Procrastination may be human nature but identifying its role in your life can be a big help in moving forward. Instead of simple laziness or looking for distractions, procrastination can also be active avoidance behavior in which you channel energy into activities other than what you really want to achieve. You may stay busy, but you’re not doing what is truly important. Today we look at how artis...

It seems to be true for us as humans who sometimes struggle in our lives that identifying the good things in life--what you feel grateful for-- is a practice that leads to more contentment and joy. Thanskgiving in the United States is a traditional time to count one’s blessings and share time with family and friends. Today, Rebecca and Ross share a few things they are feeling gratitude for in thei...

We often think of art collectors as people who love art but don’t create it themselves, meaning that the work they purchase may seem to them to come from a somewhat mysterious creative realm. Yet artists are very often collectors themselves, and have a different kind of appreciation for the work they acquire due to their deep understanding of what is involved in creating art. Many artists focus ma...

One of the trickiest issues that artists deal with is pricing their work. While there are some well-known, basic, and useful guidelines to follow, not all pricing situations are straightforward. Artists also encounter situations that may not have obvious answers—situations that are usually not addressed in basic art-business advice. When the situation is not clearcut, even experienced artists can...

The state of flow has been described as the mental state of being completely present and fully immersed in a task, and psychological studies have delved into what enhances this state and what types of personalities seem to be able to access it most easily, although how and why we enter this state remains rather mysterious. The experience of flow in the studio is one many artists crave as the sourc...

We’d like to begin today with some words from John O’Donohue, the Irish poet, author, priest, and philosopher--who wrote in his poem, For the Traveler: May you travel in an awakened way, Gathered wisely into your inner ground; That you may not waste the invitations Which wait along the way to transform you. May you travel safely, arrive refreshed, And live your time away to its fullest; Return hom...

The influence of specific locations on creative work is important among many kinds of artists, from plein aire painters to site-specific sculptors. On today’s podcast, Rebecca talks about the ways responding to certain places has impacted her own abstract work over the years, and specifically how this has evolved in recent years since her move to New Mexico. We hope that her thoughts invite contem...

For some artists, bringing meaning to their abstract work is hard because they lack ideas, or direction, or a true sense of connection to the work. But for others the problem is the opposite. They have so many thoughts, feelings, and references they want to work with that they become overwhelmed and frustrated. Today we want to talk about the value of focus in your ideas for abstract work, and wha...

Whether it’s your first exhibit or you are a veteran of many, an upcoming show of your work can take you on a wild ride of emotions and expectations. In anticipating the planning, production, and stress involved, you may even wonder, why bother? Yet for most artists, being able to show their work in a public space is important to their identity as artists. In today’s episode, we’ll look at the ben...

Nothing energizes and motivates an artist like being offered an exhibit, especially one that involves showing a lot of pieces together. Even experienced artists with a history of exhibits feel excited by the opportunity, but also a little daunted by all the work and planning involved. For artists preparing for their first big exhibit, there is a lot to learn and figure out. Today we’ll go through...

When artists deal with the world outside their studios, they are often called upon to state their needs, assert their rights, and sometimes to confront unfair actions by galleries, organizers, or clients. Most of us don’t have agents or employees to handle these situations for us, and so we need to handle them on our own. To be effective, you need to be confident and straight-forward with the disc...

Studio practice has noticeable ebbs and flows in terms of productivity, sales, exhibiting and marketing. There is also an energy flow that is less specific and harder to quantify that runs through our days in the studio. Sometimes our energy is strong, and we feel carried along by ideas and excitement, and other times we feel sluggish, lack ideas, and must push ourselves to even go to the studio....