Speaker 1 (00:00):
I believe that everything begins spiritually in a place of conception, and it grows and it manifests into the physical world. Everything starts with a conception in your mind.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
This is the Bold Artist podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
You have answers, and you're expressing them in your art. Your art is important, and it needs to be seen.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Welcome. And let's get started with today's episode. Happy New Year from the Bold Artist podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Happy New Year!
Speaker 2 (00:38):
We're so excited to be here with you today on the day that 2021 comes to a close, and we all enter the year of 2022 with hopes, dreams, possibilities,
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
...and just, yeah, we're just entering this year with hope and intention.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Yeah. Somehow New Year's just always seems to do it no matter what kind of a shall, I just go right ahead and say, hell year you've had, New Year's Eve just kind of brings hope. You're like, you know, maybe nothing has ever turned out from my New Year's resolutions, but maybe this year will be a good year. So I like to play off that and enjoy that, you know, when you can. So I brought my glass to cheers. Now I don't have a wine glass because I like to drink my wine in a, what I call a tumbler is like a whiskey glass.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
And it looks like we're both using some sort of crystal glass here is, um, was my grandma's. And she was gifted it from the post office after she worked for 25 years -- or from the girls at the post office that she worked with. And so I decided to use that one. This is our kombucha toast.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Yeah. We're drinking kombucha.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Cheers.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
...because we may have gotten a little out of control if we decided to have some champagne.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Yeah. I mean, Charla and I talk a lot without champagne. Imagine if we had some on the air, as well. We would be rambling. We'll say that. But, um, yeah. So, last week in our podcast, the Christmas Eve airing, we did touch on some of the subjects that we wanted to speak on today, which is intention. I shared about how last year at the start of 2021, I, I started out with a lot of intention to podcast, even though I had no clue that the doors would open for me to host the Bold Artists podcast. I just started out with, I call it a step of obedience. I just like listened to my heart and followed through with the intention of getting myself all set, all the gear, all the practice, all the research that I needed to do to podcast. And then the doors opened for this, which has been a highlight of my 2021, as I mentioned last week.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
And, um, and so we wanted to talk more about intention. I think the first time the word intention came up is in the episode of where you and I talked about seasons and sparks and, um, like sparks of, of creativity and
Speaker 1 (03:09):
incubation.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Incubation, yes. And we, we covered the idea of intention because you shared how you use your, your downtime, your quiet seasons, with great intention. And when you, when you explained it like that, Charla, a couple things, I didn't realize that I do the same. I just never thought about it that way. But I try very hard to use my, quiet times with intention. And by quiet times, we mean those times where nothing exciting seems to be happening, and you almost feel like, do I have purpose here? We all have no seasons to use them with intention. I would love to hear what that means to you. And, uh, I think that from that talk, um, about using our times with intention, I, I realized like as artists, we really need to talk about intention more. And going into the new year is the perfect time to do it. Um, because we can set out to enter 2022 with intention.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Yeah. I mean, I think, I think it's, I -- I've always hated New Year's resolutions. I've never done them. I have a certain thing about being forced to do something. And any of my friends,
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Even from yourself, right? Even forcing yourself.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
Any of my friends watching, they're going to know if I'm told to do something like I won't do it. And if I tell myself to do it, I also won't do it. So I don't, I'm still working on that, working that one out.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
So, you have to ask politely. Ask yourself, Charla, would you please?
Speaker 1 (04:46):
No, I have to trick myself.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
I have to do that too.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
I have to trick myself. Um, I have lots of convoluted ways of doing that. So, I always hate, I realized that resolutions didn't work because if I made a list of the to do's, I was just like, no, I'm not doing that. Um, but yeah, learning, learning over the years that those like quiet seasons became a place where I could incubate, and learn, and grow, and then I would be ready for what was to come. So, I've learned to figure out what is it that I want to come in my life? Like, what am I envisioning, imagining in my mind, that I want to manifest later in my life. I don't want it to just sit here. Like, if I'm too stubborn to be told what to do, then am I just going to sit here? And,
Speaker 2 (05:36):
And do nothing.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
And you know, you just allow life to happen to you.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
And usually it doesn't, stuff happens to you is not what you want. So, how do I make that happen? The things that I wanted in my life. So, there has to be intention. You just have to figure out the best way for you to work around that intention, I guess. So I started to learn, um, just how to take time to study and learn the things you want to learn. I guess there's no other way around it. Okay. Let's, let's go back to the Christmas show where I talked about that. I got a gun for Christmas. One -- let's just use that as an example. Because it's, it's just.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Because it's the most controversial thing that we talked about.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Because it's the most controversial, the most controversial and, and the most, uh, it's happening right now in my life. So I want to, I've wanted for a long time to learn how to hunt and, um, you know, just go in and hunt.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
I just think it's, there's something romantic about hunting your own food and providing for your own family. And my family are people I grew up with in my family are hunters. I just never learned how to do it. So in order to get there -- and then I have a son who's interested in learning how to hunt -- in order to get there I had to set intentions. I had to decide, okay, how do I, you don't just show up in the woods. And a gun appears and a deer appears, amd then all of a sudden you've got food. So how do I, how do I get there? And we, me and my son started to setting the intentions. Like we started with learning how to shoot a bow, because that was just an easier process than a gun. And so if you want, in Canada, you want to learn how to hunt,
Speaker 1 (07:10):
you first have to have a license to own a gun. So you have to take a class on that, a course where you study, and you do a practical, and you have tests, and you have to pass that. And then you have to go through criminal record checks, you know, all those kinds of things. It was a process. And in that time you, you learn, you know, just all of the, all of those things, and you have to learn about guns and what gun do you want and where do you get the ammunition? And there's so much to learn. So, instead of saying, go shoot a deer. I'm like, no, I'm not shooting a deer for you. That's because that's how someone tells you what to do and I say, no. I just think, okay, if I want to get there, what are the steps I need to take?
Speaker 1 (07:50):
And I start intentionally moving towards that. I think for me, and I think for my kids, what bogs us down is the idea that you want to do something. And it's so, so hard to get there. There's so much standing in your way. There's a hundred steps to take. So, you want to jump to the 99 step and just go shoot the deer and say, you know, post the picture on Facebook or something. But you have to take the first step and then the first step. And if you look at it that way, it really is not so overwhelming. So the first step is to just go to the class and learn gun safety. And then all of a sudden guns aren't scary. And I understand them. So they're not a scary thing anymore. So, I'm ready now to take the next step in that process. So, if we break everything down and just take the next step, life gets a lot less overwhelming. And I think, I think that's a big part of intention setting.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Yeah. And I think they just even being able to make the steps, like taking the time to make the steps, because I think we're all capable of looking at a big, overwhelming desire of our heart and then saying, okay, what are the steps that will, that will get me there? And as artists, we, we have these big dreams for what we want to do, and it does feel overwhelming. And sometimes we just have to take the time at the beginning of a new year and back up and set the intentions that are, I think intentional steps is what I'm meaning these intentional little steps and, uh, and then make it manageable. And, um, and yeah,
Speaker 1 (09:31):
That's it. You just have much more, a greater chance of success. And even if you fail on one step, you're not failing at the whole process. You're just, you're just staying longer on one step. But then it's, you know, you, you, once you level up in a lot, most things in life, when you level up, you can't really fall backwards. You know, once I learn how to handle a gun safely, I'm not going to unlearn that. It's, it's learned. So, I no longer have to worry. I know how to handle a gun safely. Now I'm not going to unlearn it so I can only take the next step forward or not. And I think there's, you're just even worried about that long process that you'll fall backwards and you'll lose it all. But those are just fears, like unwelcome fears, unfounded fears that stop us from setting the intentions or following through on the intentions.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Yeah. So one of the intentions that I've set for this year, you and I were talking about our 2022 intentions. Uh, one of the intentions that I have is to either complete or be very, you know, far progressed into, uh, publishing a children's book because I write and illustrate and I've had children's books sort of brewing in the... I've stories I've written. And I have gone as far as turning them into what I call dummy books, where they're just like the, kind of like the pretend version of the book -- where the book's going. So, I really want to, if all I do is leave them to my grandchildren someday, I really want to complete my books. And I felt like a good goal was to start with the first one and to break it down into manageable pieces for myself. Um, but as you're talking, I remembered a story, a children's story that I had written.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Um, and it's probably not going to be the book that I publish this year, but, um, but I've remembered it. And now it'll probably stir around and I'll want to, I want to get working on it. But it's about a little frog who, what, who has no stones to cross a pond. And a wise owl -- which I might turn into a crow, I'm not sure, I'm, I'm deciding the bird in the story -- but the wise one comes along and says, you've just got to take the first step. And the frog -- oh, the reason the frog couldn't swim is 'cause he hurt himself. So he couldn't, he hurt himself. He couldn't swim across the, the pond. So he has to figure out a way. And the wise one comes along and says, you've got to take the first step. And the frog says, but there's nothing to step on.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
And the wise one says, take the first step. And as the little froggy, steps out his toes up, pops a rock. And it was there when he needed a stepping stone. And so then every little step he took, up came a rock to help him cross the pond. And my whole like heart for writing that was from the moments that I felt like there was no way. There was no way across. There was nowhere to go. There was nothing to step on, and you have to step intentionally with faith that the stepping stone will be there. And, and that's part of what I feel like going into 2022 is like a lot of us, like the listeners at the Bold Artist podcast, the artists that we've had on the show that we will have on the show, we're all at this sort of pivotal, crucial time in our lives and our careers where we want to grow. We want to level up, we want to go places, but we have to take those bold steps. And sometimes they just, there's no stone. There's no, there's nowhere to step, but you got to do it trusting that the right, um -- I just clapped in my mic -- that the right, um, path will be there, just like that little froggy crossing the pond. And, uh, yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Yeah. So, how do you get the courage or the faith to take that step without seeing what's there? How do you do it?
Speaker 2 (13:43):
How do I do it? Well, one thing I can say about it is that it helps when you've practiced steps of faith before. Because if you get practiced at taking steps of faith, then you have more courage of knowing, okay, this is a step of faith. And when I step out, um, what I need will be there. So I'd say if you, if you don't have any practice at all at taking a step of faith, you got to start with something small.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
In the smallest way, begin to step out in faith. But, um, so it helps me, like when I make big steps of faith, it helps because I have a history of making these kind of moves. The kind of bold moves that we talk about on the show. And I usually ask every artist this past year, like, what is the biggest, bravest move that you've made?
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Um, for me, it helps that I have a history to fall back on of remembering, right? I know how to take a step of faith, and this is a step of faith. And then, but then if I didn't have any practice, and I just needed to do that, finding the courage, um, the gumption to do it is, I feel like how someone would feel if they were bungee jumping. And I've never bungee jumped, and I'm not going to bungee jump, but I can only imagine that you're standing there, and you say, okay, it's the moment. It's a leap of faith. And you just have to put it out there. Actually, one of our artists talked about putting it out there in early December episode. Um, they talked about putting it out there and that whole concept of just taking whatever it is that you want to release and having the faith to just, you know, put it out there. It is scary, but it's almost like you just have to do it. You just have to take that leap of faith.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
So, do you think, do you remember like the first time you ever did that? Like, as you were talking, I was just thinking, okay, what's a bold move I made? Well, you might think it was a bold move to start Bold School. It was a bold move. So before that, it was really a bold move to even decide to start recording the class. And before that it was, I actually had to teach that class in person that was terrifying. I remember doing that. That was terrifying. And so then I started like almost backtracking, but what made me have the faith and the courage to teach that -- it was something I'd done before, it was something I'd done before. So what, what was the first thing in your life that was really courageous, and a step of faith that would have been like that first stepping stone for you?
Speaker 2 (16:18):
For me? Yeah, I'll answer that. I'll answer that for me in just one moment, but I'm just thinking about what you just said. The examples you just said where you were backtracking from Bold School to prior to Bold School when you taught in person. And prior to that, and something came to me was that I wondered if your first bold move started with a simple conversation? And I have often tracked back the seeds of like a desire of doing something big to just a conversation. Like it could have been a conversation where you were at a market selling your art, and you began to talk to somebody about bold color. You didn't, you didn't have that phrase bold color at the time, but you began to see the light bulb go off for them, where they were thinking, wow, I'm having this aha moment a Charla's talking to me.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
And then that fed something within you saying, people need to know about this. And that simple conversation might've led to you then, you know, just teaching your friend a little bit about it. And, oh, that was kind of bold. 'Cause you're putting yourself out there. And, oh wow, I can teach. And there's a need for this. And then it led to like the workshops that you held in person. And I often track a lot of, I think the seed of courage coming from a conversation, but also in that conversation, whether the person knows it or not, they empower me or they acknowledge me or they give me the sense of like courage that what I've shared with them is valid. There's a really neat validation that comes from
Speaker 1 (17:55):
Yeah. And just almost off topic. But I remember when I was learning about public speaking and this guy, just somebody online I was listening to, he's like, no, always have stories that you can share because they're really good triggers to remember what you're trying to share, what you're trying to talk about on stage. So, he said, write these stories down that are significant in your life that you find can help you tell the, the, share, the concept that you're talking about. And then, practice them by telling them to friends, or at a party, bring it up and tell this story at a party. And you'll get used to telling the story, and you'll get used to what makes people laugh, or what doesn't work or how you get your point across. And usually if it works with your friends, and it works in a, at a party, it's going to work really well on stage. But that's kind of what that is like. Like it's, it's practicing and seeing does this really work? And then when the time comes, you're a lot bolder to take that move because it's not quite as scary.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
Yeah. I totally agree. I feel like a lot of life's really powerful, pivotal moments come from starting with a conversation. That's why podcasting and having conversations is so important to me because it, like so much of life is about a conversation. And, um, and so you had asked me like, what is the first, what was the question of what is the first bold move or bold step that I took?
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Yeah. Like, what... not just the first, not the first big one that everyone noticed, but what was the first one that led you to get to that point of making the first big step that people notice? Cause they didn't notice the 10 steps before that they noticed the 11th step. I was thinking about it, and I was thinking about, well, what, what gave me the courage to do things I'm doing? And I'm like backtracking as quickly as I can. And then I thought, well, I moved, I grew up in small town, and I moved from the small town to the big city when I was 18. That was a crazy move that I had was a major leap of faith. But then I was like, no, you know, I don't think that was really as scary as it might look like it was. And I said, well, maybe there was something before that, that helped me make that move.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
And I remembered when I was 15, my sister had already moved to Alberta, and I went -- and she had had a baby - so, I flew from Newfoundland to Alberta when I was 15 by myself in the summer. That was a crazy move for me, because I had been on a plane twice in my life with my mom and dad. I had never traveled anywhere. I only knew my tiny little town, and I got on this plane, and I flew across the country. And I remember it being one of the most terrifying moments of my life. I was shaking like a leaf. I was so scared, but because I did it, I accomplished it. I had, I had broken that seal, you know? And I realized that I wasn't going to die, and I lived, and nothing major happened. And I arrived where I was supposed to go. I look at that as probably one of the biggest moves, one of the first big moves I took as, as a unique person to, just.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
As an individual.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
As an individual, to, to really step out in fear and faith that it would all be okay. You know, like I traveled across Canada, switching planes in big city airports alone. And I was a 15 year old girl from small town Newfoundland. So it was a big deal. I think that might've actually started setting me up to take the next moves in my life.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Yes, I agree. And maybe I'm just being, you know, um, influenced by your story, but you bringing that story up, I traveled with, um, the YWAM group Kings Kids when I was 13. And that was the first thing that I really did independently where we, you know, I, I flew from rural upstate New York to Colorado where we did like the base camp training. And then we traveled around in a bus performing. It was actually a performing arts group. So that would also be one of the first experiences I had, maybe not the first one singing on stage, but I really started to sing, and do a lot of dance and performance and drama, that kind of thing. And so I broke out of a lot of boxes, just learning the performing arts at a young age. And that would have set me up to try new things and to be out there in a sense.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
And then, uh, at about age 18, I did some of my very first recording, like in recording studios. And I released a kid story actually called Lily, the Lady Bug. And I gathered all the cast, and I auditioned all the cast and I got all their audio, and I made Lily the Lady Bug. And the lady bug, she got trapped in a jar. And it was just all this, whatever story. I still have it tucked away. And actually, I'm still friends with some of the cast and they bring up Lily and the Lady Bug all the time. Um, but, but that would have been my first real tester, uh, or like step of putting, um, a creation out there, audio wise. And, um, and then of course like songs that I released and albums that I released and stuff. So, all of that sort of primed the way for who I am now, at least in, I think it impacted all of the arts. Like, because it's easier to put yourself out there in any way when you have some practice and taking those steps.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Right. And I look though, and I don't think I could have taken all of those steps of being brave without community and people encouraging me. I didn't just do it on my own as someone like, even you flying across the country, someone enabled you to do that.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
Yes, definitely.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Someone blessed you, they said, you can do this. Charla you're capable. And they taught you how to switch, you know, change planes and gave you the empowerment. And I, I often -- and I think this is why I love the word mentor -- and I often am in a mentor role, is because I do feel strongly that whatever we've learned in life, we have the ability to empower someone else. Um, whether they're of younger age or a, a different stage, like a stage B, just a step behind. That, we have the ability to empower them to step forward by enabling them, encouraging them, giving them the words, the validation, the permission, whatever it is that they need in their soul to go forward.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Yeah. Giving them the testimony of what you've done, right? Like just, just simply sharing that you've accomplished something, actually just now, when you were talking about, uh, listening to podcasts, I was thinking like I've listened to so many podcasts from people that I've never met that tell their story, and I thought if they could do it, then I can do it. They're a human being. I'm a human being. Nothing has ever been done that has not been done by a human being like me. And we, you know, we are definitely empowered differently and we're, um, we have different opportunities, but hearing somebody else do it gives you that empowers you to be able to do it yourself. So that the testimony of you having done something and then encouraging that person who may have never, ever heard in their life that they could actually do something just changes it. It just creates a new pathway in their brain. And suddenly they think differently.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Yeah. Yes. And I would say like here, you know, at the Bold Artists podcast, we spend a lot of time and emphasis on learning skills and building skills as artists, Bold School is awesome for teaching the painting skills. There's also this aspect that's near and dear to my heart of, um, stepping out in the faith to do something, whether or not you feel skilled. And I'm not minimizing skill-building by saying that. But, I do feel that sometimes we have this desire to, to do something. And I'm even thinking back to a season, a time in my life before I played piano that I wanted to play piano. I also knew I wasn't going to be a concert pianist with years and years of, you know, degrees under my belt. I just wanted to be able to play. That was a desire for me. And I remember starting to play before I knew how to play.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
If that makes sense. I learned the basic chords, and I just started to put on music and pound those chords out on the keyboard. Probably not even sounding good, but I put myself in the role of, um, starting at the beginning, whether or not it sounded or looked good and, and just took on the role of being a player of piano player before I even could. And I think I've always approached my art that way, where I'm just like, I want to do this. I don't know how to do this, but I'm going to do this. And then you kind of go to this humble place of like, I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm doing it. And I think that, um, then we start to skill build.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Then you start to like, get, get ourselves going in, in these, like, noticeable changes of skill building. And, um, I am only saying that to encourage people that as they go forward into 2022, and if you feel ill-equipped or unprepared for any of the desires of your heart that you want in your art, or even your personal life, that there's some things that you just really want out of life, it is okay to show up and begin. Like, take the steps to do those things, whether or not, you know, how. You just start.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
Yeah,
Speaker 2 (27:43):
And, and those stepping stones will rise up. Just like in my story of the little frog,
Speaker 1 (27:48):
They do. I think one thing I thought about as you were speaking was imagining things like envisioning them in your mind. My husband used to be a tennis coach. And I mean, I think our brains are about as opposite. They work as opposite as they possibly could. And he used to talk about he's like, I teach my kids how to visualize or visualization. So when they're not on the court, because they're only on the court an hour a week, when they're at home, and he would do this day in and day out it practicing his swing in the kitchen hundred times while I was making dinner. I'm like, what are you doing? And he's like, so
Speaker 2 (28:25):
I want to hear the rest of it. But I have this funny story. 'Cause there's a kid that walks his dog past my house and he practices throwing a baseball all the time.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Yes. He's getting it right. Yeah. Well that's what Ryan does. And he was teaching our kids to do that when they were playing tennis. Like, he still does it, 'cause it's so habitual in him just visualizing that swing. And he's like, this is what makes you strong and powerful. And I remember reading a story about a guy in prison. I don't know if it was golf or something. He was in prison, and he practiced his golf swing the whole time, like two years, whatever. And when he came out, he was better than when he went in. Like, there's some story like that. Everything starts with visualization. I believe that everything begins spiritually in a place of conception, and it grows and it manifests into the physical world. Everything starts with a conception in your mind, and in a belief or a want or desire to have it manifest physically.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
So visualizations are really important key. And as an artist, we can actually visualize, some people have to learn how to imagine, but we can imagine. Som just beginning with visualization. And learning, um, how to shoot a gun for me, it started that way. I was, I just felt like a fool handling a gun. I didn't know how to do it. So I had to go in there like fumbling with a weapon, you know, that could be a deadly weapon in my hands. And that's scary. And you just have to be able to do you have to trust that process. And then, and so I, when I, we, especially when we had the exam, I was visualizing, I came home. I didn't have guns to play with. So I had to visualize the motions. And what goes first? How do you open the gun to make sure it's not loaded? You know, like what are those processes? So I just visualized them, and I pass the test. And so then you practicem and you practice, and practice. So yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
So what do you visualize for your art? Charla's art.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
You saying you want me to stop talking about guns?
Speaker 2 (30:25):
No, you can talk about guns, but I'm like, let's, I want to know what you're thinking art-wise. And not, you know, not Bold School-wise. I'm thinking like Charla's art, the brush in your hands. What, where do you see yourself at the end of 2022?
Speaker 1 (30:37):
That's a really good question. I don't know that I've really set those intentions. I have business intentions. I have personal intentions. Um, my art, one of my main intentions for 2022 is to just, uh, paint a lot more off camera because I've recognized that I don't, I don't learn while I'm on camera. I don't learn how to become a better artist. I learn how to become a better teacher, and I learn how to, to get my, my concepts and my processes across to everybody. But I don't become a better artist being on camera. So I, and I can feel that in my work, this, this past year. I have not focused on becoming a better artist. So, one of the things that, and I'm just at the very beginning of this thought process, so it's really like where you could see the very first step is just deciding to, to become a better artist this year, intentionally, because it's very easy to get caught up in all the other things in life. So, that means I have to set apart time. So, I have to relook at my schedule, where am I going to fit it in? And then the next thing I want to do is really decide where I want my art to go. 'Cause I have a lot of concepts flying around in my mind about things I'd like to try and experiment with and test out, but where, what is it I really want to learn, you know, when it comes to guns, I want to be able to shoot an animal.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
She wants to talk about guns all day long.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
I would like,
Speaker 2 (32:06):
This is Bold School, not gun school. No, just kidding.
Speaker 1 (32:09):
So, I want the end result is to bring home an animal. Like that would be the ultimate for me. This would be really cool. But it's a, what is the ultimate result in my art? It's not just 'become a better artist' because that's too, like, what does that even mean? So I, I want to... actually, I don't even know what that is right now. So I, but I know that I have to create a very specific intention as to what that means. I, I like where I'm at in my art, but what is it I want to be able to do better? And I have some ideas. I won't really flesh them out here because they're a little bit too raw. But I think that's the very beginning of setting my intention for my art. I know I have to look at my schedule and probably in the first month in January, that schedule be just painting, loosening up, you know, getting some practice, getting warmed up. And during those warmup painting times, I'm going to really think about where I'm visualizing, and seeing my art going. What is that next level and that next step. So, I don't want to remain stagnant. You know, I don't want to just be here till I die. I want to want to move up. I want to level up.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
Yeah. And you know, I, I, uh, think about this word visualizing that you're, that you're using intentionally. I probably don't even realize when I'm visualizing, but I will have a finished picture of something or an outcome that I want, and it will come to me. It'll come to me very strong. And it was in the last couple months that I just saw the completed children's book that I want to do in 2022. And it's really crystal clear in my mind, but it's actually going to stretch me in my skills, in my illustrative skills. And so I also realized I have some work to do to get to the visual. I like what I visualized. And then that work can sometimes, like, and I'm speaking from just past project experience, that sometimes it's too hard to get there in a year. And I have to either say, I'm going to keep that book, that particular book at a, um, like almost like, I don't want to use the word downgrade, but like lower my expectation on myself in order to get the project done or allow myself to take longer.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
And I feel I'm just kind of putting this out there that I feel like I want to, to publish a children's book in 2022, that I will almost just get to the point that I feel like it's acceptable. It's, it's that it's good enough to pass on to my grandchildren, and put it on Amazon, and just have like, have it done. It's like I have to start somewhere, and I don't want it to take me years and years and years to get to where I'm willing to publish or that I accept my work enough to publish. And so, I'm just going to kind of motor through this book and like, it is going to be what it is, and that's my intention with it.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
I think that's a really important part of intention setting is is you, you, you have a goal, you have that perfect vision in your mind, but being willing to not aim for perfection, 'cause we never get there. And it's not about settling for less, it's that we're never going to reach perfection. I have, I don't think I've ever painted a painting. That's been exactly what I.
Speaker 2 (35:35):
I can hear your bird.
Speaker 1 (35:35):
Visualize. I can hear her, too.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
Sorry to interrupt, but I'm like, there she is. She should really be part of the show, Charla.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
She's just outside my studio.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
You should let her sit on your shoulder. Everyone needs to meet your bird.
Speaker 1 (35:48):
She wants to be in here.
Speaker 2 (35:48):
That was one of my intentions. I'm like, she needs... Can you get her?
Speaker 1 (35:53):
Okay. In the new year I'll bring her in. I'll bring her in for the new year. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:59):
Promise?
Speaker 1 (35:59):
She's spitey right now. That's why she's chirping like that. So she's going to come in, and get all mad, and bite me or something.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
I love Charla's bird. And if you actually really want to know Charla, like the way I know Charla, she would have her bird on her. Like, if we're editing or working on something, this bird is like, all up in Charla's face.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
Yeah. Crazy bird lady.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
I forgot. I'm trying not to use my hands so much on podcasts. And I've been doing that a lot in this episode. So I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (36:27):
I think that's okay.
Speaker 2 (36:27):
I'm sorry everyone.
Speaker 1 (36:27):
Oh, that's okay.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
You know, I can talk with my hands, and I try to control it when I'm podcasting.
Speaker 1 (36:35):
I do too. And then, you know I'm getting excited about a topic when my hands start going. Or I'm like, I'm down here, like holding my hands tight so that they don't go. Yeah, I think, um, I don't know. I just, I love this conversation. It's actually making me really think about my art and setting those goals and intentions or whatever. And I think you said something that, um, I think it was really important to like a lot of times you'll say, well, like right now, I'm saying I don't have a clear goal currently. I know it's there. I can, like, feel it floating somewhere in my universe. Like, there's, there's a vision there, and I haven't quite grasped it yet. And I know that the first few weeks of January I'll spend some time writing, and creating, and painting, and waiting for that vision to come.
Speaker 1 (37:20):
And I know that it will come. All of a sudden it will be like in sharp focus right in front of my mind. And I can see where I'm going. And that's when I like hit the pedal to the metal kind of thing. Right. And just like, get to work. Like, now I can see it, now I'm going to start moving towards it. And then, um, and then realizing that I'm not going to aim for perfection. I'm just going to get there. It's like just settle for being 80% done rather than a hundred percent. And then you can, you can do it and you can do take the next step. The next part that comes after that. And you will actually surpass that hundred percent the next time you're... The next set of work that you're doing, you're really working at 150% or 210%, because you've learned so much in that process. If that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (38:06):
Yeah. Oh, absolutely. So true. And I also want to mention that I always keep something new going in my creativity. Like I have these ways that I sort of balance things out. And I always will have something new in order to make me like challenged and learning while I'm sort of doing what's old and familiar. And I got plasticine for Christmas, and plasticine, um, all the colored clay. And I'm going to also challenge myself to be sculpting or like doing 3D, um, parts of illustrations, which may end up being next year's children's book.
Speaker 1 (38:46):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (38:46):
So I'm yeah, it's kind of a new realm. I mean, I am a sculptor. And so I know as far as sculpting, I'll be able to do it. You saw the pie that I sculpted, hey.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
Our family had a bake off and, um, a baking contest, and I sculpted pie dough into a Yoda.
Speaker 1 (39:05):
It was amazing, amazing. Did you post it anywhere?
Speaker 2 (39:08):
It was... I put it on my stories on Instagram. It was at, at Marijanel Art. I put, I put it on my stories, but maybe I'll make an actual post.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
You have to now, because you've mentioned in the podcast. So, you need to go make a post. That was amazing.
Speaker 2 (39:22):
That's design. The design of my Yoda wasn't original. I had seen another pie artist do that. So, I wasn't sure about posting it 'cause it's very, um, it's not identical, but it's similar because I got the inspiration and I didn't have time to really come up with my own design. So I sculpted, I knew it was for my family. Right? So, I sculpted what I saw that other artist do. So I wasn't sure about posting it.
Speaker 1 (39:43):
Yeah. You just post it and tag that artist. They'll be super happy about it. That you're inspired. It's not like you sold it for like $5,000, and claimed it as your own. So,
Speaker 2 (39:53):
No, no, we demolished it pretty much that night, which everyone thought was a pity. They were like, this is such a amazing Yoda pie. We don't want to eat it. And I'm like, here's the knife.
Speaker 1 (40:04):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (40:04):
I made it to eat it. Yeah. And so we ate it. And I won the golden spoon. So the way it worked was that there were different prizes, but I won the golden spoon for creativity. So I get to have a golden spoon in my drawer until next year when I might have to pass it on to the next family member.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
That's awesome. So fun.
Speaker 2 (40:25):
Yeah. So anyway, well thank you everyone for joining us on the Bold Artist podcast on this New Year's Eve.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (40:33):
We'll cheers you with our Kombucha.
Speaker 1 (40:35):
Cheers.
Speaker 2 (40:35):
We do wish you the best new year, full of hope and intention. And that every step you take, like my story of the little frog, every step that you take the right stone will rise up to meet you and be there for you. And that you, you would just see the desires of your heart, those things that you visualize happening in your life and in your art that you would see that come to fruit in 2022. And then it would be a good year.
Speaker 1 (41:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (41:05):
Here's to a good year. We need a good year.
Speaker 1 (41:08):
Yeah. A good year. That would be so nice. Yeah. And so on that note, I'm going to go get some real champagne. Now that we're all done.
Speaker 2 (41:16):
No no no no. You're taking your kids shopping for the band clothes that you need.
Speaker 1 (41:19):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (41:19):
First that comes before the champagne, Charla.
Speaker 1 (41:23):
Then champagne.
New Speaker (41:23):
Funny, funny that I say that because this airs on New Year's Eve, but we're not actually filming it on New Year's Eve. So Charla is going to be shopping for band uniforms. Um, but you are all hearing it on New Year's Eve.
Speaker 1 (41:36):
Yeah. And I'm not waiting till new year's Eve to have champagne. So, I will have some when I get back tonight from band clothes shopping. Happy New Year!
Speaker 2 (41:43):
Cheers! Happy new year, everyone
Speaker 3 (42:10):
[inaudible].
