On January 29th, artist Marc Johns saw this on social media: Drew Barrymore shared a photo of her daughter wearing a jacket that had Marc's art on it.
Amazing right? This is the type of thing that many artists dream about: a celebrity sharing their work with 8 million followers. But there was a problem. The jacket was not an officially licensed product. The company who made it stole Marc's art. Drew didn't know this.
I sat down and talked to Marc about this, and he shared an extremely honest account of what happened, and what he did about it. He doesn't hold anything back, and shares how this made him consider giving up art entirely.
Luckily, this particular story has a happy ending, but I know that isn't the case for many artists. Marc and I also talk about the complexity that all creators face when dealing with art, money, and piracy.
You can find Marc in the following places: https://www.marcjohns.com/ https://www.instagram.com/marcjohnsart/ https://twitter.com/marcjohns https://www.facebook.com/marcjohnsart
You can find Dan Blank at:
http://wegrowmedia.com
Be the Gateway: http://a.co/evyrsjw
https://www.instagram.com/DanBlank/
https://twitter.com/danblank
Today I speak with Srini Rao, who is the host and founder of The Unmistakable Creative podcast, and the author of Unmistakable: Why Only Is Better Than Best.
In this chat we discuss how to find more time to do the creative work that you love.
You can find Srini at:
https://unmistakablecreative.com
His book: http://a.co/9ul7Gib
https://twitter.com/UnmistakableCEO
You can find Dan Blank at:
http://wegrowmedia.com
Be the Gateway: http://a.co/evyrsjw
https://www.instagram.com/DanBlank/
https://twitter.com/danblank
How do you navigate creative burnout? That is something that illustrator/author Rebecca Green has been working through.
Her work is incredible, but a couple months ago, she shared this with her 225,000 Instagram followers:
"I have to be honest, my well is empty. Bone dry. It’s been a rough last six months and recently, strange as it sounds, when I show up to my drawing table, I have an immense urge to weep, sing, or run. Anything but make art."
"This is of course, extremely difficult when you make art for a living, so I suppress those feelings and keep pushing and showing up and am happy to do so."
"I am though, experiencing a major burn out that’s unlike anything I’ve ever gone through. Work has always ebbed and flowed with periods of intense creativity and moments of resentment, but this time feels a little too deep. I find myself unmotivated, lost, and not sure who I am, what I make or why any of it matters."
When someone looks at Becca's body of work and accomplishments from the outside, it is tempting to feel that her success makes her fortunate and that it makes creating easier.
It doesn't.
The line from above that rings in my head the most is this one:
"I find myself unmotivated, lost, and not sure who I am, what I make or why any of it matters."
When I read this, I emailed her and asked if she would be open to coming on my podcast and talking about the topic of creative burnout, and dig into her journey as an artist.
To my great delight -- she said yes!
What Becca shares in this interview is relevant to someone working in any creative field.
You can find Becca in the following places:
I sat down with book coach Jennie Nash to run a Q&A session with writers. Jennie has many super powers, and on this call we discussed aspects of how to write a better book, how to manage your creative time, and the connection between audience engagement and writing.
Jennie gives brutally honest answers about what it takes to improve your craft and reach readers, and gives practical examples of what that looks like.
You can find Jennie at:
JennieNash.com
AuthorAccelerator.com
Twitter.com/JennieNash
And you can find Dan Blank at:
WeGrowMedia.com
Be the Gateway on Amazon.com
Instagram.com/DanBlank
Twitter.com/DanBlank
Often, writers and artists talk about how to get better at their craft, publish their work, and engage an audience. They look for tricks and trends and shortcuts and "best practices."
Yet, in working with creative professionals over the years, I have found that there is a topic which can undermine all of their other efforts: neglecting their health. Not just physical health, but mental health, including stress, anxiety, loneliness, and sleep.
Today's guest, author Joanna Penn, is here to talk about her new book, The Heathy Writer, which she co-wrote with Dr. Euan Lawson. In our chat, we dig deep into ways that writers can improve their health, and Joanna is incredibly honest in sharing her own story.
You can find The Healthy Writer here:
https://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Writer-Reduce-Improve-Writing/dp/1912105810/
And Joanna here: