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I have interviewed Lisa once before, quite a while back and since that time we have become good friends. I wanted to bring her on this series so you could tune in as we talk about the-meaning0behind-art-creation. Sound deep? Well, it sort of is. Lisa has terrific insight, is a terrific teacher and has been holding my hand a bit as I leap into new territory, you can hear more about that here. Lisa helped me think about writing an artists statement and has help me let go of things that were holding me back. She is a fabulous, deep and FUN artist and mentor. If you get the chance to take a workshop from her, DO IT! She has a gift for teaching! She also has a gift for art. If you get a chance to own some of her work, DO IT! 

I decided to end this Artists and Mentor Series with a note from me. In this episode I talk about what I am up to and why I needed an online break and what evolved as a result. This is a good episode to listen to if you are feeling a bit fatigued with the internet, if you ever needed to stop something you are thought you were invested in and if you think you need to take a good long look at where you are headed. I am sharing what the last couple of months have looked like for me and the motivation behind some of my new art AND how using my own coaching from Smart Creative Style ended up helping me find my visual rhythm. 

I am so excited to welcome back Danielle Krysa from The Jealous Curator. Danielle has recently released her third book (woo-hoo) titled Your Inner Critic is a Big Jerk. This is such a terrific read, I just had to have her back on for the Artists and Mentor Series. Her podcast, Art For Your Ear, has kept me painting when I could otherwise be drifting off into the kitchen in procrastination. Danielle is funny, smart, vulnerable and talented. I adore her collage art (check out the screenshot below from her Instagram feed) Tune in as we talk about producing art while trying to wrestle, make friends with and stamp out that critical voice!

Today I'd like you to meet Jason Horejs. Jason is the owner of Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ and he is also the author of the Red Dot Blog. I have really  gotten immersed in in his blog and in the mentorship that he offers to fine artists. As the son of an artist Jason  grew up attending Art show, hanging out in art galleries (his first job at 14 was at an art gallery!) and he really knows and understands both side of the equation. He understands art collectors and artists. I think that is rare and even valuable! I have found him, his blog and even his followers on his blog (read the comments!) to be a terrific resource. Jason has a heart for helping artists meet their goals and has set up so many ways to help them via his blog, books, his online gallery and mentorship. Tune in to this episode of the Artists and Mentors Series.

HI! Welcome to a mini series called "Artists and Mentors." Today on the podcast I am interviewing Grace Bonney from Design Sponge. She recently wrote a fabulously inspiring book called, In the Company of Women. With a focus on diversity she highlights talented gifted women and asks them about their businesses, how they find balance and even what they have learned from their so called 'mistakes." I have heard Grace speak a couple of times and she is always eloquent and full of wisdom so I know you will enjoy our chat. As for me, I felt a bit rusty when I am interviewing her, what?! Hang tough and I find my gift of gab again on this one! Stay tuned as I reveal who is next up on this mini series!

There is a new wave in town! take a listen to my final episode before my podcast sabbatical and see what is new for Smart Creative Women!

Ohhhh, you are going to like this one! Megan Auman and I are digging into the mind of shoppers and discussing why it is so important to understand your business  model and how you are showing up online. We get get super detailed because I have certainly met my match in Megan and how our minds work out marketing dilemmas. I have always been impressed with Megan smarts,  teaching style and her desire to help other creatives businesses succeed. Some of you might know Megan from her  teaching  site, Designing and MBA. TUNE IN. You will get a lot out of our girlfriend chat, we may have forgotten we were recording (and that is when all the good stuff happens!) I pulled out SOME of my favorite pieces from Megan's jewelry line (just in case anyone is shopping for me, haha!)

Ok, forgive my street talk but the seems to be a lot of talk about business fatigue, malaise and flaming out lately. I have noticed this in several circles that go beyond the creative ones and I wanted to ask you what your thoughts are on the subject. Can you have you own a business and NOT put in a gazillions hours and still be successful? What are ways we can deal all the demands on ourselves and make sure we don't flame out? Most importantly, what are your beliefs around the subject? Tune in to hear what I think and leave your thoughts below. 

Meet Laura Novak the founder and mastermind behind the photography studios, Little Nest Portraits. Laura is sharing how she grew her boutique photography studio into a national brand,  while keeping the high end feel and studio experience.  She had an artistic philosophy that blended classic portraiture technique with spontaneity and emotion. In this episode she explains why and how she had made her brand into franchise and how she communicates and teaches her passion and skills to new franchise owners.  Laura believes families can get high quality family portraits in a relaxed fun atmosphere at an affordable price. Tune in and hear how she manages her team and how she made the big leap in growing her business while being a  busy mother. 

As you may or may or not know, I have a bit of  fascination on how the internet and social media have changed the way we interact with brands. Brand that are trying interact with us as individuals online and offline. My curiosity led me to these lovely ladies, Emma Hetherington and Grace Murray from Fohr Card. Advertising and print media has changed dramatically in the rise of the "new advertising machines" called " influencers." Enter companies like Fohr Card,  a company that brings brands and influencers together for smart campaigns. Emma and Grace have such a fun story  that may have included a quarter life crisis, hopping on an airplane landing in a snowstorm in NYC and making careers for themselves. You will like this dog-walking-turned-into-opportunity story, so tune in! You will you also see a possible opportunity for you!  Get a glimpse into this interesting  world. You may just want to start reaching out to brands that could be looking for a creative with YOUR special skills.  Listen in and check out Fohr Card, no giant following necessary.  It is free and only requires some creative  ideas as to what is possible. Not bad, right? From the founders of  Fohr Card: "We founded Fohr card with the purpose of bringing together two groups of people who share a love for storytelling; creative brands and creative influencers. Alone, each can create beautiful stories. Together, we believe they can create even greater ones."  

 I ran across the team from Project Bead at the MA Conference for Women and I was just so impressed with their hearts, their mission and them and women making a difference in the world. They have a mission to alleviate poverty through education and they are doing it selling one cute piece of jewelry at a time! The Bead Team buys the beads, plans and designs the jewelry and commissions women to create the final products - all in the same region of Ghana where they are funding education. The bead team consists of nine best friends and entrepreneurs who envision a world with less poverty and less hatred. Their drive and mission and their beads just put hope in my heart, what impressive young women!  Tune into their story and buy some beads to support their mission! When you tune in, you will hear Jenna talk about BEAD PARTIES, huh, YES! Doesn't that sound like the perfect way to get your girlfriends together to be creative and be supportive and to interpret your style, your way! 

I was invited to answer a Q and A session with private Facebook group Watercolor Designers. It's a invite group but they love to have fellow watercolor artists in the group, so feel free to ask for an invite. In this Q and A I discuss STYLE, how I found mine and how you can really nail yours too. It is simply one of my favorite subjects! I also talk about my journey as a sales rep in the gift industry and why it is SO important to understand how people shop AND why I started XO, Monica Lee. I cover how to incorporate trends into your particular style and how it applies to you getting your art on products. I am laying it all out in this podcast!

Meet Alexandra Evjen, from Ave Styles. Alex is a stylist, blogger and "power-pinner, pinfluencer, pin ambassador..." She knows about the PRETTY side of Pinterest as well as the smart aspect of using Pinterest. With almost a million followers, she is in the know and works with Pinterest executives to make sure this platform stay fresh, current and workable. Tune into to this episode and hear how she got her start as a stylist, how she runs her business and how she thinks you should be using Pinterest! You can follower her (and learn from her) on Pinterest here and follow her on instagram here. 

I have heard quite  few strategies on how to deal with self doubt, everything from cursing it, to squishing it to making friends with it and I finally came to terms with my own way of dealing with it. In today's mini episode I am discussing times when self doubt tries to stop you dead in my tracks to the times when it shows up as a little pesky gnat that you can't seem to swat away.  If you think doubt only stalks some people and not others, think again. It is an equal opportunist. Tune in to hear how I finally decide to deal with it! You can check out the leather bags and all the new products at XO, Monica Lee  

This is fun story of someone who stumbled into just the right career for herself. Elissa Paquette studied art and design and was playing around with a passion that turned into 3 retails stores and an commerce site. From her beginnings selling vintage on Ebay, tune in and see how Elissa has just kept growing, learning and meet her customers needs. If you have ever wanted to open a retail location, this is a good hands-on episode. If you want someone to let you know that you don't need to know everything BEFORE you begin, this is a good episode. Learn as you go can lead to success! Elissa is hosting a TRUNK SHOW for my line XO, Monica Lee in her Providence location, 381 Broadway on Small Business Saturday, Nov 24th 10-6! Bubbly, munchies discounts and surprises included! If you are local, please join us!

Jennifer is a hot new artist that has been around for some time.  After graduating from Rhode Island School of Design as a textile stylist designing prints for children's clothing and lingerie, she raised her family, designed textiles and worked away. Fast forward several years she started a daily sketch book project that reignited her career in a huge way! I love her story and how she is such a hot ticket after working as an artist for the last 20 years. Tune in and listen to  her story, it's a refreshing one! Her  work is inspired by the everyday small things,  a bird in a tree, a garden, crowds of people, a beautiful table with luscious food and her clients (like Kate Spade home and Abrams Books!)  are eating up her style, her voice and her point of view! You can see more of her   art work at   http://augustwren.com/ Follow her  daily painting project on instagram    https://instagram.com/augustwren/

I am so so happy Danielle Krysa on the show today! If you don't know who Danielle is, she is the mystery girl behind the very popular blog, The Jealous Curator where she  curates and features fine artists who make her a bit "jealous"  Get it? Of course you do, because we ALL feel that way, right? Now she and her blog is so popular that she is not really a "mystery" per se, in fact she has written 2 very popular books, The Creative Block and Collage and takes on speaking engagements all over the country. I am itching to jump into reading The Creative Block, if you want we can jump in together and discuss! Tune in to hear her talk about her books and art in this interview!  She also recently started a podcast herself called Art for Your Ear. Naturally, I know you like podcasts and I feel confident you will like hers! She is just so REAL! I find her refreshingly honest and smart. I love that she has a distinct point of view in the art that she features on her blog and has wrestled with her own "I am going to love my own art too"  issues. Kindred spirits for sure. In fact so much so that I turned art therapist on her, haha! Poor dear! It was so fun meeting and chatting with Danielle, be sure check out her site, podcast AND to follow her instagram.

You MUST tune into this podcast! I have been itching to get it out to you! I cannot say enough of how fabulous it is. I had to edit the heck out of it-we had some audio issues but it came out perfectly. Kerry Lemon is a mulit talented artist, innovator and business woman! With commissions for a wide range of editorial, publishing, advertising, retail and architectural projects for clients, Kerry has SO much talent! She was kind enough to gather her wisdom for this chat! These are just SOME of the things Kerry shares in this episode: How she structured her art as a business from the very start How she views her freelance licenses How she learned how be an installation artist How she managed to get a GRANT from Ted Baker to fund a creative and scientific idea How she is getting her PATTERNS to grow on plants (WHAT?!) Kerry is such a fabulous example of marrying creativity, ideas, hard work and business. I just can't say enough-as I was editing this, I found myself saying "wow!" a lot! You will too!

Meet the stylish duo of Susy Pilgrims Waters and her husband, Keith. I love everything about them both. So talented! Susy is a well known illustrator and painter who has been applying her skills as a textile designer to good use with their lifestyle and home line, Pilgrim Waters.  Every product in their line is exquisite! I am a serious scarf wearer so trust me, the cashmere wool blend on these is the ultimate luxury! They are so so soft and tightly woven as not to sang and they go with everything. (Gushing...love them!) The smart design involved in all they do is so incredibly refreshing to see. Talent! Smarts! Style! I adore them! Tune in hear it all!