Read more about the article #73 Chris Zydel: Healing through Creativity
#73 Chris Zydel: Healing through Creativity

#73 Chris Zydel: Healing through Creativity

Chris Zydel is a psychotherapist who now teaches painting as a way to provide healing through creative expression. She teaches near her home and at retreats on the coast.  She even teaches others so that they can bring her techniques to their areas. Chris has been teaching for years, so if you think you need a little help in getting back to art-making or you need some creative healing, she’s got the class for you.

Listen here or download from iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, CastBox, or Stitcher.

Chris Zydel

The gathering place.
The altar in the classroom
Supplies ready for her students.
Creating at a workshop.

You can find details about all of Chris’ classes and retreats on her website creativejuicesarts.com

Chris is known as the Wild Heart Queen. You can find her on Facebook as Chris Zydel and Instagram as wildheartqueen.

Be sure and sign up for her newsletter on her website to find out the latest from her studio.

Here are some great takeaways from this episode:

  1. Being with a community of other artistic people is a great experience.
  2. Intuitive painting is using the process of painting to explore your inner world.
  3. Creative expression is a tool to assist in healing.
  4. She teaches intuitive painting on paper rather than canvas so that her students won’t worry about messing up good supplies. This gives them tremendous freedom.
  5. When you’re painting intuitively, it’s not coming from your head, it’s coming from your heart.
  6. Marketing is simply letting people know what you do, so don’t be afraid of it.
  7. When people paint together in the studio, they are gaining community and they get support and they get celebrated.
  8. She’d like to remind people that creativity heals and it’s a way for you to become more fully alive.

 

Read more about the article #72 Is a Co-op Gallery Right for You?

#72 Is a Co-op Gallery Right for You?

Co-op galleries can be a great option for artists who don’t want to do outdoor art shows, but they want to get their art seen and sold. The artist displays their artwork at the gallery for a couple months, often they are committed to work at the gallery, and they split the sales with the owner of the gallery. In Episode #71, I spoke with artist AJ Brockman who created a new type of gallery, called The Brewhouse Gallery. It’s a little like a co-op, with some key differences. In this episode I talk about his gallery and traditional co-op galleries so that you can decide if those galleries are right for you.

Listen here or download from iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, CastBox, or Stitcher.

The Brewhouse Gallery

The Brewhouse Gallery in Lake Park, Florida is like a co-op gallery because many artists display their art there, and they rotate in new artwork every three months.

You can find out more about The Brewhouse Gallery on their Facebook page here.

You can listen to how AJ Brockman started The Brewhouse Gallery in my Episode #71.

Read more about the article #71 AJ Brockman: Creating a New Model for Selling Art

#71 AJ Brockman: Creating a New Model for Selling Art

AJ Brockman is an artist turned entrepreneur in Lake Park, Florida. He is a talented artist living with a progressive disease, but it has never held him back from his art goals. After attending art school and working the art show circuit in Florida, he realized that there must be a better way to sell his art. He created a new concept, called The Brewhouse Gallery, where people can enjoy a nice craft beer in a unique gallery setting. After less than five years, the gallery is a huge success for AJ, his partners, and the artists and musicians who now call it their creative home.

Listen here or download from iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, CastBox, or Stitcher.

AJ Brockman

AJ working it on the outdoor art show circuit.
AJ with his artwork.
AJ with an image of the artwork that he took two months to create. He was then able to meet President Obama and present the original to him.
A close up of how AJ uses one finger to create his art on the computer.
Working on the computer to make his art. I provide a link below to a video that explains his process.
The interior of The Brewhouse Gallery, a concept created by AJ to sell art and provide entertainment.The artwork is changed out every three months.
The Brewhouse Gallery is located at 720 Park Avenue, Lake Park, Florida.
The interior of The Cave, an expanded section of The Brewhouse Gallery.
The back side of the strip of stores is covered with murals by local artists.
They also hold events in the back alley.
The Kelsey Theater is an entertainment space that hosts bands and a variety of other acts.
The back alley murals are changed out every 3-6 months, giving other artists an opportunity to paint a mural.

AJ Brockman’s website for his art is singlehandedstudio.com.

You can find a video on his website where AJ explains his process for making art on the computer.

You can find out what’s happening at all of AJ’s properties on their websites:

The Kelsey Theater

Kelsey Cares, which is their 501c(3) organization which raises funds to pay for murals and scholarships for artists.

You can also find them on Facebook, with a list of all upcoming events:

The Lake Park Arts District

The Brewhouse Gallery

The Kelsey Theater

Kelsey Cares

Here are some great takeaways from this episode:

  1. Don’t ever let an idea hold you back. Once you put your mind to something, do everything in your power to make it happen.
  2. You have to be willing to work and put in the sacrifice without any guarantee of return. Then good things will come your way.
  3. His gallery business model is different in that the artists pay for the space on the wall, but they receive 100% of their sales.
  4. The Brewhouse model gets a lot more people coming in per week to see your artwork.
  5. The buyers can imagine the artwork in their home because it’s displayed in a living room-type setting
  6. If you want to create public art or murals in your town, but there aren’t laws that allow it yet, consider helping your town write the new laws.
  7. If there’s a type of art or a particular project you’d like to try, consider collaborating with another artist to learn from them.
  8. Make sure when you are accepting art jobs that you are getting paid for them.
  9. Consider creating a crowdfunding campaign to finance large projects, like he did to renovate an old theater.
  10. As long as you have the passion to do something, you can ask questions and get with the right people to get it done.
  11. If you do your best, things will happen, even if it’s not instant gratification and it takes a little time.

As AJ said in our conversation, The Brewhouse Gallery is a fanchiseable model. Get in touch with him if you think this concept would be great in your town.

Read more about the article #70 Getting Back to Art

#70 Getting Back to Art

Many artists that I’ve interviewed studied art in high school or college, but then worked in another field for many years. The timing has been right for them to return to art making and start their own art business. In this episode I’ll talk about how you can get back into making art, how you can meet other artists that will encourage and inspire you, and how you can find art opportunities.

Listen here or download from iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, CastBox, or Stitcher.

How do you get back to art?

Make art.

Then make some more.

Read more about the article #69 Katiana Jarbath Smith: Honoring Her Culture with Her Art

#69 Katiana Jarbath Smith: Honoring Her Culture with Her Art

While artist Katiana Jarbath Smith was born and raised in South Florida, and she makes her home in the West Palm Beach area, her parents emigrated here from Haiti. Katiana started making art in middle school, went to a high school to study art, but then she abandoned art for many years. When you see her artwork, you’ll be amazed to discover that she only picked up painting again about a year ago. She’s now making a splash in the South Florida art scene with her meaningful paintings that are greatly influenced by her Haitian culture.

Listen here or download from iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, CastBox, or Stitcher.

Katiana Jarbath Smith

Jubilee
Joined Asunder
Tomorrow's Dream
Femme, Elle, Je, Reine (Woman, She, I, Queen)
Endurance
Kanaval Ayiti I (Haiti's Carnival I)
Ti Zwazo (Curious Gaze; Little Bird)
Espwa de Jen (Hopes of the Young)
Ayiti Cheri I (Haiti My Love)

Katiana Jarbath Smith’s website is jarbathart.com.

She can also be found on Facebook and Instagram.

Katiana has been involved with the Art Prevails Project with Darius Daughtry.

Katiana lists her upcoming art shows on her website here.

Here are some great takeaways from this episode:

  1. As an artist, there is nothing that you’re supposed to do. You have to do only what works for you. In art school, Katiana was told to always keep a sketch book and draw every day, but she knew that wasn’t something that worked for her, so she didn’t do it.
  2. Every artist has a story to tell. For Katiana, it is her Haitian culture and her family’s lives as African Americans. Find your story so that you can create more authentic artwork.
  3. Go to art shows and talk to other artists for guidance.
  4. Start an Instagram account and post everything you do.
  5. Even if you’ve been away from art for a long time, like Katiana was, you can return to art.
  6. Ask for permission if you want to use someone’s photo as your painting inspiration. She has even paid for some images so that she’ll know she definitely has the right to use them.
  7. Be a part of an art community, whether it is in person or online.