Speaker 1 (00:00):
And believing in yourself, trusting your intuition, painting boldly, like,what wisdom our artists at Bold School have.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
This is the Bold Artist podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
You have answers, and you're expressing them in your art. Your art is important, and it needs to be seen.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome. And let's get started with today's episode, Merry Christmas, everyone. Welcome to the Bold Artist podcast. We are so happy to be here with you on this Christmas Eve. Hi Charla, Merry Christmas.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Merry Christmas, everybody. And you, too, Marijanel.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Are you in the festive spirit doing anything special?
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Uh, yeah, definitely. All of those, all of those. Festivals and busy, and we have, our family has lots of traditional things that we do every year, and it was like a big thing. I wanted to make sure my kids had traditions, and now we have to stick to every one, and we have to build them and make them even better every year. So
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Tell me a few of your Christmas traditions.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Um, well...
Speaker 2 (01:14):
What are you building and making better this year?
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Christmas Eve this year. This is a good one because Christmas Eve, um, I think
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Which is today, yes. Today on the airing of the podcast, but it hasn't actually happened yet. So we're talking pre Christmas.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Yeah. So today Christmas Eve, we always do a special breakfast. And that started when we moved across the country, when the kids were little, and we had no family and zero friends. So I was trying to make it special for them because none of our traditions were going to be happening. So I made big waffle breakfast, like giant waffles with whipped cream and berries and whatever chocolate and whatever I could find.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Can I come over?
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Yeah. It was, I mean, when we make them really big and pile them up and make them look really cool. So that has had to happen every Christmas Eve since then. But now my kids they're teenage boys, and they want more sustenance, you know, waffles are not enough. So this year they've actually requested for eggs and bacon and sausage to be added to this giant waffle meal. Soyes, bigger and better tradition.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Are they going to cook it?
Speaker 1 (02:20):
No, I have to do it. It's not Christmas if they do it.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
I see. Yeah. Isn't that the way, the way the moms get the way the moms get the work for Christmas, right? Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Yeah. So that'll be fun. And that's just one of the things that we're doing amongst all, lots of other things. But I love Christmas, and I love being with the kids, and we're busy and they're getting older, so we don't spend as much time together. So I think it's great. I love it all. How about you?
Speaker 2 (02:49):
We always do. appies on Christmas Eve evening. We do appies and usually watch a family movie. I always give pajamas. So everyone opens. They know what they're getting. So they wait all day for their pajamas. Even now our son is 22 and our daughter's 17. They wait for their pajamas. Last year, I got them matching Grinch pajamas, and they were there matching Grinch pajamas. It was, it was really cute. I thought they were cute. They were like, mom, you know, matching pajamas.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
I still buy myself Christmas pajamas because we always had that too.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Me too. The only person who doesn't get them is my husband because he doesn't wear pajamas. So, uh, but this year I got him some because I got everybody. So the kids are gonna have over their special someones. So I got everybody including the special someones pajamas.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Well done.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
And, um, yeah. So then I got Steve some too, which is going to be the best part of Christmas Eve tonight, tonight. And, and because I'm gonna, you know, have him put on pajamas, which will be like a once in a two decade thing,
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Maybe I'll get Ryan some for tonight as well.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Yeah. Rush out and do your last minute shopping.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Which, by the way, I never do. I don't save nothing for Christmas Eve. I am done Christmas Eve. I wake up and it is holiday festive time.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Yeah. So at the time of recording this, where today's December 3rd, so I still am, um, Christmas shopping, but I'm pretty done and feeling good about it. Like, I feel like this year I managed to get thoughtful, but you know, I don't know gifts that would be thoughtful, but also that the person, the recipient will really like. So I'm feeling good about it. Sometimes it's a challenge.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
It is, it is definitely, I have a lot done as well. And, you know, I ordered, I decided to do whatever I had to do online early, and here in the Okanagan right, we had all the floods, well in BC, and the roads got wiped out. So I had, I think the last thing that I had ordered for the kids online came the day of the storm that caused the floods. So early shoppers, this Christmas season here in interior, BC, they they've kind of made out with the best stuff, I think at this point, because it's getting a little bit slim around here. But I do have some last minute things that I'm hoping I can find in town because shopping online is out right now for us.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Do you know what you're going to get?
Speaker 1 (05:23):
I do.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Do you know, because you found out, or because you knew, cause you said, this is what I want.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
It's a little bit of a story and it might seem very, um, out of character for, I dunno how people view me out there in podcast world.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Is it a drone? Is it a gun?
Speaker 1 (05:47):
It's a gun.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Well, you know what? Most of our audiences American, and I'm sure. they're okay with it.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
So, it's not a big deal.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Here in Canada, guns are a big deal.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Yeah. I have my very first rifle, and my dad picked it out and bought it. And he went with my husband and they outfitted with all this stuff, and I've seen it, and I've tried it. And I got my gun license recently in Canada, we have really strict gun licensing laws and rules. So we have to go through a process of
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Getting our license, which we just completed. So for the first time ever, I'm legally able to own a gun. So it was my first gun. I didn't even handle guns as a kid, even though my family were hunters, and everybody knew how to handle guns, but I didn't for whatever reason. So I'm really excited about it.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Well, congratulations and congratulations on passing the test. 'Cause I know it's, it's a toughie. And you squeezed it in amongst everything else that you're, you've been doing. And, um, and as well as studying for your gun license, you have been painting Santa.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Painting Santa and shooting my gun.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Such a good combo..
Speaker 1 (06:58):
We said we were going to be a little more candid today. So here we go.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
I know we said let's make the podcast on Christmas Eve, to be cups of tea. Where's your cup of tea, Chalra?
Speaker 1 (07:08):
My cup of tea is here. In my...
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Oh, and it's in a Marijanel mug!
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Yes. I love this one.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Oh, that's so sweet. You still have that. That was one of my first mugs as a potter.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Oh really?
Speaker 2 (07:22):
And we saw each other at a Christmas sale. Yeah. Like I was fairly new when I made that. I can already see what's wrong with it. You held it up. I'm like, oh yeah, I remember that glitch.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
I love it. Maybe I need a new one, a non-glitch one.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
A non-glitch one. And you know what, because I'm not firing anymore. Those are slim pickings. Um, I have like a box of pottery left that I save for special occasions, like meaning to give as gifts or, or whatever, but I don't sell it anymore. And a couple of galleries had had it and, and um, it got down to so few pieces left that it's kind of... So hang on to, it might be collector's item someday.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
All right. I will. I don't let other people use it. When I see other people using I'm like, what are you doing?
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Don't touch my mug.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
But I remember seeing you at that Christmas event, I was selling pottery at a booth, and you had art at a booth. And I remember when you bought that mug. And I was fairly new, I was a couple of years into to making pottery professionally. So
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Yeah, that would have been around when we first met and got to know each other. And earlier in the podcast season, we were talking about your art and work and you were talking about pottery and you were talking about how you like to make green pottery and you didn't want to follow all those trendy people who wanted you to make white pottery.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Okay, that, that didn't make it onto the podcast.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
And I was like, I l yooveur white pottery.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
No, one's heard that story before. I think that was something you and I talked pre-show about. 'Cause we were talking about, um, I think it came before the show on Black Friday where we were speaking of monetizing art and you were, you were saying, you know, our artists, we were talking amongst ourselves, are artists supposed to make, uh, art purposely to sell, like make it in the colors. And the subject matter that they know will sell. And I said, well, I have this story about this time when I was really into green, and I just couldn't get enough green. But when I took a load of green pottery to one of the galleries that was selling for me, the owner who knows a lot about sales and art said, by the way, it's actually the blue that sells, you know, you'd be better off to make these blue.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
And I was like, I'm so tired of blue pottery. I don't want to make blue. And I was in a quandary because, you know, I, I, I just didn't know like, am I supposed to make my art to sell? Or do I make it because I want to make, um, you know, like my inspiration right now is to do with green and brown. And, and so, and then white was, was a thing too, because everyone was really into white and plain. And so the plainer, the better, the whiter the better. And I was like, where's the art in that I wanted to make. I wanted to make, you know, what I was inspired by.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
So yes, it was something I had to, I had to kind of deal with and decide inside of myself, how I was going to approach it.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
It's like I've had people come up at shows and they say, um, that painting, I really like it, but it doesn't match my pillows. Like you can get new pillows. They're not that expensive.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
You know, I'm always amazed at how people want to buy art for their colors, for their color, like the colors in their house. And I don't buy art that way. I buy art that moves me, that like speaks to my soul, and that I love. And then from there, the rest of my house has to fit around that. I, I go the opposite where a lot of times when I've had a painting, I'll have people say, well, my house is more turquoise and that sky is a little blue for, for my turquoise. And I'm like, that's what you're looking at right now?
Speaker 1 (11:21):
So I've gotten that a few times. And um, I mean, arts normally are it's expensive. So I think that that's where you put the investment, and then you change some things around your home if you love that art. But yeah, that's a whole podcast probably.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
So what we were going to do today was talk about some of our highlights of the Bold Artist podcast, 2021, because we're nearing the end of the year. And on next week's episode where we celebrate the new year, we're going to talk a little bit about intentions, and setting our intentions as artists for the new year. But today we wanted to just bring out some of our favorite highlights and reminisce a little. First of all, I got to start out by saying this whole podcast, the Bold Artist podcasts has been a huge highlight of my life in 2021. It really has. It's been by far my favorite project and my favorite area of creativity that I've sunk myself into. And so I have you to thank for that Charla, and also just this to celebrate. So, so thank you.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
You're welcome. I don't know. I feel like I should be thanking you. You're like running this whole show, and I don't think it was, I mean, we had that fateful coffee where we had no intention of like, even talking about business ideas, but what else do we do and where together. That's what we talk about new ideas. So I think the fact that last year, this time, it was never even a thought in my head that we'd be here this year. Um, I think it's so exciting because you look at a year, especially a year, like we've had. The world has had in 2021 and 2020, and you just don't know what's coming around the corner. So this was a real highlight and a bright part of our year. It's been a lot of work. I have a friend who's starting a podcast and I'm like, yeah, you don't just buy a mic and start talking. There's so much more to it. Um, so it's been a ton of work. That's been really worth all the effort, and you've made that all awesome. So thank you, Marijanel.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
It has been a pleasure and a highlight. And actually this kind of will help segue into our next week show talking about intentions, but I woke up. So I had set intentions last year. It's around this time of year that I set intentions. I don't do resolutions or I don't call them resolutions, but maybe some people still see my intentions as a resolution. But, uh, I set intentions of how I'm going to be purposeful in the following year. And I usually will kind of pick a theme or have a sense of the direction I'm going. And podcasting had always been a part of my life, but it was this time last year that I set my intentions of 2021 being a year for podcasting at that time. You and I weren't necessarily in touch all the time. We were in touch a little bit, but we weren't, you know, you didn't know that that was my intention at, you know, we didn't enter 2021 in such conversation that you knew, but I, I entered 2021 researching, uh, getting my equipment together, getting, you know, getting myself focused, having no idea that the door would open to work with you.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
That's crazy. That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
And I look at that and I'm like, that is what intention setting is about. That you have to just like set out for what you know is in your heart that's the right thing. Whether or not you see what end product or the end is going to be or what door is going to open. And so I look at that, and I'm so thankful that I followed my heart, even though it seemed a little crazy. And especially for me in my world, I do a lot of things. I, my friends call me an octopus. I ha always have my arms out in different directions doing creative things. And so for the rest of the world, looking on, they're like, oh, she's podcasting. You know? Um, but to me in my heart, I knew this, this is what I, I needed to do. And it wasn't until, so like I stayed diligent to that intention, and it wasn't until July that you and I talked, and it all fell together and happened. And so from January to July, I was just doing my thing. And I had a day of the week set up, um, that I was focused on it and building all the tools and everything that I needed to. And I look at that, I'm like, wow, that's how we have to, to follow our heart.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Yeah. And I mean, I will go so far to say it's Christmas. So we're allowed to talk about God, right? That God had set all these things into action. It wasn't in my mind at all. But sometime early spring, I started thinking about podcasting, and that Bold School needed a podcast or just the art world in general needed a bold color podcast or something. And I just was thinking like, fine, I'll do it. If, if this needs to happen, I'll do the podcast. I have no idea how I'll fit it in. But I was starting to feel like it was a really important thing that I needed to be a part of. And then it was, it was almost felt like an impulsive decision. The day we had coffee for me, because this had just been something in the back of my mind. I had set up the podcast in Bold School.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
I had made lists of topic ideas, and I had, didn't even have a very, the right equipment to make it happen. But looking back at that year, coming together, I believe that God put all those things together and started threading and weaving everything to happen and to come into place. And here we are this year. So it makes me so much so thankful and grateful. Like you set out with this intention, uh, and you diligently followed through on it. I didn't really know what was coming, but I felt that move in my spirit. And I was like, yes, I'll do it. And it came together at the right time.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
And what I'm hearing in that too is, um, not just intention, but obedience.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Sometimes the things that are in our hearts are things we just we're called to do it. And we don't really know why, and we just have to do it no matter what onlookers say, you know, oh, she's doing this again. Or that again, you just have to, you just have to be obedient to what you know is, is in your call. Uh, so looking back from August, I guess what we launched in September, but I was, I was actually interviewing and recording artists starting in August. And so looking back from August, till now, December 24th, I'm amazed. I mean, we have so many episodes already airing on YouTube and the audio apps and they're so rich, so full of, of content that is uplifting and encouraging. And, um, I love hearing artist's stories and the stories of their life and how they came to be, you know, the artists that they are and some stand out to me.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Um, well they all, they all, if you were to say to me, uh, you know, what's your favorite, um, you know, your favorite part of talking to Bethany Aiken, the zookeeper in Toronto, I would, I would know right away. Like I just, I love her connection to animals in nature. And, and I just have like this special place in my heart for every artist I've talked to. Someone asked me the other day, who was my favorite. And I'm like, how, how can I say that? It's like, you can't pick a favorite child. Um, yeah. So anyway then, um, but a few of the talks really stand out to me or some of the quotes. I think Corey, um, Corey Moortgat, who is also a mentor with Bold School. I think she had the quote of the year when it comes to bold color. Um, and so her quote, I've got it here. Do you remember it by heart? Her quote of the year, this is Corey Moortgat, she said, she said, "Bold color isn't using bold, bright colors. It's using any color boldly."
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
It's like pure wisdom. I can't even believe that. I didn't say that before her. Like...
Speaker 2 (19:38):
You started Bold School, Charla...
Speaker 1 (19:39):
I want to claim it!
Speaker 2 (19:39):
You started Bold School, Charla, so that your students can come up with all the great quotes. So, um, bold color. Isn't using bold, bright colors. It's using any color boldly, unpack for me what you hear in that.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
It's just, it's, it's so beautiful because bold color, like bold color artwork, since the first day I showed my first piece, it got attention. Like people were drawn to it. It was it's unique to look at, and it's exciting, and you can read so much into it. And when I started Bold Color Bootcamp as my first class, you know, it was just a name that came, but as it was something that just, um, I guess, uh, organically happened because of the colors that I use. And then as people joined Bold School, they all started talking about being bold. And that wasn't really, it wasn't a word... I didn't use bold to describe the activity of the artists, even though I, my very beginning from the very beginning of my message was always about finding your unique message and boldly going into the world and sharing it.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
But I wasn't using those terms 'bold'. So the artists started to coin it. So I just, I just love listening to those conversations inside the community, and then for Corey to come on the podcast and just that, that line to just flow out of her, like I would say heart and soul, because it's how she paints, and it's who she is. It's just so beautiful to think about it. So, okay. That's not really what it means to me, but, um, maybe to me more personally, I guess, with the journey that I've been on the last couple of years. But to paint boldly, a lot of people, especially if you go into our free community and there's a lot of newcomers who haven't taken our classes, they think you just get the brightest red, and the brightest blue, and the brightest green, the colors of the rainbow, and just paint with them. And you'll, you'll paint with bold color, but you just actually get disaster. You get a giant thing that will make you seasick because it's just too bold.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
I've made those before.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
And people are like, I don't know, what's wrong with my painting. I'm like, there's lots wrong with your painting. Um, but you can't just put...painting with bold colors, even physically, is not about just throwing bold colors onto a canvas. There's a lot more to it than that. So it became, I think, you know, as Corey, as our mentor was dealing with a lot of the students more than I was over time, her and Axel, and they really had to start explaining to people, you need to neutralize your colors. You need to paint sometimes with non bold colors in order to allow those bold colors to show up on the canvas. And it just became... Painting boldly became painting from your own heart, you know, boldly going out and painting your message, boldly, learning, learning new skills, which is difficult to listen, and to practice, and to learn and taking those steps into your own art career is it requires boldness, spending the money on bettering your art is a big, bold step for a lot of people for just about everybody.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
You know, there's so, there's so many places you could go with that quote. I think it just hits all the levels. It hits it exactly what it is to physically pick up a paint brush and, and know what colors to use. And it's also about bringing your message out onto the canvas, and it's, like, about being vulnerable. And it's also about putting that art into the world. All of it requires a boldness in your spirit and in your actions. And, you know, I think that it's definitely, it's, it's the quote of more than just the year. It's pretty much everything.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
Corey. It's not here of 2021, but the quote of all time.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
As far as bold painting with bold color goals. And actually, yeah, I love it. That she didn't recite that. It just kind of came out of her during one of the podcasts. I also often think of Axel saying lose the fear. I love that man. He was such a pleasure to interview. Um, so lose the fear. And the thing that I think about when I hear Axel saying lose the fear is just how a lot of us, um, we lose fear little by little by taking small steps and testing things out and just trying to muster the courage little by little. And that is actually how some personalities need to lose the fear, but Axel was like, lose the fear, and do it now. And I just was like, you know, like, yeah, it is possible to just make a decision that I'm not going to let fear hold me back.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
And I just need to, you know, go forward in whatever it is I'm called to do without fear. And every time it tries to come in or, you know, get in there, you got to lose it. You got to say, "No. Fear, you're not invited here into this art practice of mine." And so I think of, of that a lot, I loved, um, Luzdy's, Luzdy Rivera was in, I think episode two. Um, hopefully I'm correct on that. But one of the very first episodes. I think you were episode one and Lucy was up so too, but she talked about planning and intuition and I love that those two words together, planning and intuition, and she talked about how she'll plan out her palette, but then she lets intuition takeover. And I love how you often talk about learning your skill so well, like through, through Bold School, you teach this skill, and you teach it step by step by step, which doesn't feel like intuition. It feels like learning a skill, but you learn your skills so well, it becomes automated, and it becomes intuition. Does that make sense?
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
So I think about those things, a lot about how you can plan and planning is that real strategic left side of the brain. And then you've got to let what you've automated, all the skills you've automated in your right side of your creative side of your brain, take over and go by intuition. And I think about that, um, a lot, I like that combo.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
You have to lose the fear in order to trust your intuition because you don't trust that you have something in you that you, you know, cause you're not speaking it out loud. You're not even picturing in your mind. You're just trusting that what's in you is going to come out without having to physically think about it, which is tricky. A lot of times when we are going to speak, we practice what we're going to say, because you don't really trust yourself to just speak it out. Kind of like we're doing right now. We're just like speaking stuff out, hoping for the best. You know, it takes, you got to lose the fear of doing that. So, if you're a public speaking, you'll often practice what you're going to say. So because you don't necessarily trust what is happening inside you. And that's what it's like with painting. But I think to really paint free, you have to trust your intuition and you have to lose the fear. Every time I say that I hear Axel's voice in my head. Like I could see him on the screen. Yeah. And his accent and deep voice like lose the fear. I only hear Axel when I say that.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
When Bold School gets merch, we need lose the fear on the Bold School merch.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
Definitely.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
And if you make it for me, I'm pretty sure that the podcast screen gets flipped around. Like, I'm pretty sure people are looking at me opposite.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
At a side like backwards -- the mirror image.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
You have to make me a t-shirt with lose the fear being backwards.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
Backwards, yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
We have Bold School hats, you know. We just don't have them for sale yet, but everyone I know has a Bold School hat.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
Yeah. We'll need, that can be one of our intentions for the new year is to get the merch going. Um, I also love my interview with Stephen Walden. Um, Steven Walden, he says, you're not a failure if you fail. And uh, we could really unpack that one. We could unpack that one in a whole episode.
Speaker 1 (27:35):
Oh, definitely, yes.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
And I know we wanted to keep Christmas Eve episode shorter, and we're running at 27 minutes unedited right now. So how bad do you want to keep your...
Speaker 1 (27:44):
So much to talk about...
Speaker 2 (27:45):
Yeah, how bad do you want to keep your gun in the show. I figure...
Speaker 1 (27:52):
You're going to cut my gun out?
Speaker 2 (27:52):
I won't cut your gun out. But you're, you might get emails from the non-gun people who don't appreciate guns.
Speaker 1 (27:57):
I know. i don't, I don't think I say a lot of controversial things. I felt like that was a controversial thing to reveal to the world, but I like guns.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
...It's one of the things I love about you.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
And next year I'm maybe eating some wild meat.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
Back to Stephen's quote, "You're not a failure if you fail." I really appreciate that because all of us, whether it's in the realm of art, or just in the scope of life, we have all had failure. And what happens is that when you fail, you feel like a failure, you feel like it encompasses all of you. And, um, the thing is that I like about his quote is failure is an event like to, or sorry, like to fail is an event. Like, when you have a something that fails, and maybe in the context of art, it's a painting that it's just a dud or whatever, it doesn't encompass all of you.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
It's not your identity/
Speaker 2 (28:52):
... You're being. There you go! That's what I'm looking for, Charla. It's not your identity. And it doesn't mean you're labeled failure. And, um, and Jolene Mackey is coming up in the new year. And so I don't want to give too much away about her show, but she's coming up, and she talks about how many more, um, paintings she's made that she considers failure pieces out of the sake of learning to get that one that she loves. And I think all artists can say that. And I don't know where we get the notion that we're going to be artists that make every single piece successful. Um, but it is, it is a part of the process to fail. And it is not our identity. And, um, we all share that in common.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Yeah. It's so true. Jolene's even a good example because if you go on her Instagram and you'll see that she also was learning how to rollerskate over the last year or two, and she was,
Speaker 2 (29:52):
Yeah, you haven't heard the podcast.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
I haven't heard it.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
We're going to be talking about that in January.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
Yeah. And she was posting right from the beginning, and I thought she was so brave and she could like barely just go straight down the street. And now she's showing herself doing tricks. So she bravely just showed everybody her process, and her failures in learning how to roller skate. And it's the same with everything. And we all, we all deal with those things. So, we all know that you have to fail in order to figure it out or to learn. But I think we equate the failure with like death, you know, like I failed and therefore I am now dead. And I can, and some people take that on.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Well, sometimes it feels like that. Sometimes it feels like that. It feels like, especially when you put so much of yourself, so much of your energy and time into something, you know. And I've had business failures before where it just, it is so much of your self invested and to see it just not work, or at least not work how you hoped or planned, it, it can really feel like death, a death of sorts. And, and yet, um, we have to remember, it's not our identity. And, and that to have a failure or just to fail doesn't mean you are a failure. And, um, and so those are, it's just good reminders. I feel like every artist that we interview just comes with such good reminders. And I, It's like, we can collectively put everyone's interviews together, and have this whole entire beautiful rich package of goodness to learn from. It's amazing. It's amazing. And, um, and Steven Walden also talks about speed painting for the baseball team before he knew how to speed paint or like before he'd ever done it.
Speaker 1 (31:38):
That's somebody getting o ver their fears , right there.
Speaker 2 (31:40):
Yes. And you, you have a similar story.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
Yeah. Well more, not so much speed painting, but painting, like just painting live in front of somebody is terrifying. I remember the first time I did, it was, like, just an outdoor show and there was not even anybody watching me and I was terrified. But then I remember a few years later at Art Walk, which is a local fair that happens here at the biggest one in the Okanagan, and it's always a huge show with tons of people. And almost every year I've made lots of sales. Like, it's a lot of fun that weekend. And the first year they asked me to participate in the live painting, where you paint for an hour in the foyer when everybody crowds in and watches, and then they auction off your work. So you have one hour to paint a full painting that somebody is going to want to buy, and you want somebody to want to buy it, because it would be terrible if nobody bid on your art or if you like your art sold for $50 or something, like the lowest one. So, and then, and the foyer would be, was packed with like hundreds of people just jam packed and like breathing over your shoulder. It was the most terrifying thing ever. And I was terrified of failure. I'm like this, this is where you die. Like, if you fail here, you die like this. You don't come back. That's how it felt. And I knew that wasn't true.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
Remember that Charla at Art Walk?
Speaker 1 (33:01):
She died that day.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
Remember that painting she did an hour?
Speaker 1 (33:07):
Yeah. It was so scary. So, I practiced. My trick was I planned my painting, and I practiced it at home and see if I could actually do it in an hour. I painted a whale, and I did. My one I did at home was way better than the one I did at Art Walk. It wasn't the greatest painting, but for an hour with that much pressure, like it was...
Speaker 2 (33:28):
Yeah, the pressure. The pressure is like, um, I've seen Adam Meikle -- he was also on the show -- I've seen him compete in, um, I believe they call it Art Battle? It's the Battle of the Arts -- Art Battle.
New Speaker (33:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
Yeah. I've seen him compete and like, the pressure is intense. And I think he actually won it, or at least he got way into the finals. Um, not all, but, um, I also think of how, like, so Adam said on the podcast on his episode, how he paints live in front of commission clients and he, he intentionally does it to keep himself on his toes. Really that's Marijanel's paraphrase, but to keep himself sharp. And he talks about using every brushstroke on purpose. And that has really stood out to me because I'm very experimental. I like to let's see if it does this or that, or what if I do this or that.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
And then, um, to hear Adam explain that he intentionally places the brush so that to minimize the amount of brushstrokes, but also that, um, especially for speed painting and painting in front of someone like rendering the whole commission in front of someone, you have to be so intentional. You can't just play around, you know? And I started to see things different through that talk. 'Cause I was like, yeah, like that's a good challenge for myself to place everything with such intention that like every brushstroke matters. And, uh, and that was good for me to hear. So I really appreciated Adam being on the show and sharing about just the pressure he chooses to put on himself, to paint in front of clients.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
Yeah. Actually, Axel and Corey, they make monthly challenges inside our community at Bold School? And one of them, which they make them all up, I have, I don't even have any input. I don't even usually know what's going on in there. But they made this one, I don't remember whose idea it was, where it was you had to paint a painting in 300 brush strokes. I think it was Corey. And you had to do it in 300 brushstrokes. it was incredible. The work that was being brought out, it was so loose and beautiful. And I didn't do the challenge, but just recently, and I've learned this lesson before, when I was learning how to speed paint in public. I totally agree with what Adam was saying. So often in my studio, I just waste so much time putting down brush strokes that don't even matter. So, just recently I was, I have an idea, or I had an idea for a Santa painting that is, is finished now.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
I'm just going to do some embroidery on it. And I got really, uh, uptight about it because I had this idea and I wanted it to be great. So I was painting it and it was like, you wouldn't even recognize it as my work. It was not that it was bad, but it was just non recognizable as my work because I was so uptight about it. I wasn't painting normally. So I decided, uh, I needed to loosen up, and I needed to lose the fear because I hadn't been painting all fall, and I needed to practice. I need to lose the fear. And I decided to just grab a few small canvases and speed paint some Santas. So I speed painted three Santas, I believe, or four Santas? And I tried to paint them in under an hour. I don't think I got anything down to 30 minutes, but I did them in under an hour.
Speaker 1 (36:41):
And it was, this is exactly what happened is every stroke had to be intentional because I did not have time to lay down the wrong value or the wrong color. So I, I was, I had to give up my laziness. I think, you know, you can get a little bit lazy if you're not, there's no pressure on you in the studio.
Speaker 2 (37:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:00):
So waking up, you know, standing strong and not being lazy, just be aware and, and move with intention, and you can get into flow. Like surprisingly, you can enter flow that way really easily. And believing in yourself, trusting your intuition, painting boldly. Like, what wisdom our artists at Bold School have.
Speaker 2 (37:20):
I know.
Speaker 1 (37:20):
Like, so much wisdom. Unpack that and put it into a session, and you'll come out with the most amazing work.
Speaker 2 (37:27):
Yeah. Yeah. And so I also want to take a moment to give a shout out to our listeners because they're, some of you might be joining for the first time right here on Christmas Eve. Um, but a lot of you have been faithfully watching the show on YouTube and listening. And, um, we've gotten, I got a message last week from someone who I think has listened to every episode, and they gave such encouraging words to us, like a review of the podcast is just so encouraging. And that means a lot that. Um, you know, 'cause I think sometimes we're putting the work into the production and not always knowing the impact that it's having on the other side. And so thank you to everyone who's tuning in. We actually intended to keep today fairly short about half of the time it is now, but with Charla and ...
Speaker 1 (38:13):
Sorry.
Speaker 2 (38:15):
That doesn't happen. We have too much to say.
Speaker 1 (38:17):
Hopefully. Yeah. Hopefully your Christmas is relaxing, and you have some time to hang out and chat.
Speaker 2 (38:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (38:23):
And hopefully it was inspiring. I don't think we're feeling that we were talking about overly festive topics, but all of these things are so great. And if you've got time over the Christmas season, you can re-listen to some of those episodes and kind of get your intentions together for the new year and join us next week when we're going to talk about that.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
Yeah. We're going to talk about intentions. And in closing, um, I want to say, today when I was, um, making my morning tea, I had this moment come over me where, you know, because I've been so festive and planning Christmas and getting excited for Christmas, I had this moment come over me where I just realized there's so many out there who are having a difficult time. It's maybe the holidays are a time of grieving the loss of someone, or maybe things have been more difficult in your life this year. And I just want you to know you're not alone. And if you're there, if you're the artist who is just you and your paintbrush this Christmas, and you know, you're going through something, um, I just want you to know that you're not alone and that, um, you're we care. I, I don't know how to relay that over a podcast message, but I hear it. And my heart felt it today when I was pouring that tea. And I was preparing to be podcasting with you, a festive Christmas show. I thought, you know what, there's a lot of people who are just not in this place of feeling festive or feeling that they want to celebrate Christmas. And, um, that's okay. And, and how, whatever you're going through? Um, you're not alone.
Speaker 1 (40:16):
Yeah. You know, here, we kind of do this podcast for this exact reason. Like think about the artists we just talked about. The one is in Florida, one was in Puerto Rico. One is in Massachusetts. we're here in Canada. There's people listening all over the world actually. And we wouldn't, we wouldn't, um, you know, we could do this locally, but we wanted to be able to bring together everybody that we've met these amazing artists, because we're all separated in a sense. Right. And doing the podcast allows us to all come together, and join in on these conversations about art and all the other crazy stuff we talk about in between. And we're doing this for that reason, so that we can all join together. Even though we're living in separate lives, different parts of the world. In some people, we had a message recently from a lady in Australia who is in complete lockdown, and she was, she was just like, you know, I'm here in my apartment, completely alone, and I'm painting.
Speaker 1 (41:16):
That's what I have. So there's a lot of people that even though they have family, they can't be with them. It's, it's a hard time right now in this world that we're living in, and the podcast is here so that we can have these conversations. So even though we can't see you, and we don't necessarily your name or what you're doing, you know, we're, we're here. I'm so happy that you're listening, and we wish that we could have a two-way conversation, I guess you could say on Christmas and a big Christmas Eve party together. But yeah, I think exactly, it sounds so cheesy, but we're here for you, right? It sounds so cheesy.
Speaker 2 (41:51):
We truly wish you a Merry Christmas. We wish that, um, in your, in your soul, um, in, in the depths of your heart of hearts, that you would feel, um, the peace and the joy that this season should and can bring. And, uh, you know, I think, you know, when I messaged you this morning, Charla, I said, let's keep it short and light and bubbly, like to 20 minutes and here we are running at 40. And, but then I thought, you know what, maybe this is someone's Christmas. Yeah. Maybe this is the interaction that they're going to be able to have because they're on lockdown, or because you're far away from their family, or for so many reasons that we can't even begin to fathom. And so, uh, here we are, the Bold Artist podcast.
Speaker 1 (42:44):
Should we refresh our tea and keep going for another hour? Is that what you're saying?
Speaker 2 (42:50):
We totally could. Because the rest of everybody else is busy.
Speaker 1 (42:53):
Yeah. You know? Yeah, it's true. That is maybe that's why we were speaking longer than we had planned. Um, for anyone who's busy, they're probably too busy to, to sit and to listen today anyways. You know, but if you really think about Christmas, the spirit of Christmas, the meaning of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus, who was, God came to earth as man. And we think of, I think we think about Christmas as big church celebrations or, or lights and glitz and gifts and commercialism, you know, there's all of those ways to go with it. But Jesus, he was, God brought to earth, was born in, uh, in a stable 'cause there was, he didn't even have a, uh, bed for his mother to give birth to him in or a hospital, nothing. And nobody knew he was coming, and nobody was there to greet him when he arrived.
Speaker 1 (43:43):
So he was living, you know, he came into this earth, a pretty lonely little guy, surrounded by some animals. And uh, you know, possibly cold on a cold winter's night, but the angels knew he was coming and they proclaimed it to the shepherds who eventually came to visit and word spread. And he got amazing gifts brought to him by the wisem an eventually, you know. But he, there was no greater moment than that moment. And yet he spent it with just his mom and dad. So, Christmas is not necessarily about it doesn't need meaning only by being with a group of people or your family or any friends. Yeah. So that's what I'm trying to say. So yeah. You know, just to remember that, that that's not what Christmas is, and it doesn't give your meaning your life less or more meaning to be with a large group of people today. We're all, there's so much love and amazing things, inspiration, art in the world. And so Merry Christmas, everybody. You know, we, we love you. We're so glad you were here with us. And we look forward to maybe talking with some of you online or seeing you inside some of the Bold School communities are great places to chat and get to know each other.
Speaker 2 (45:00):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (45:00):
Uh, yeah. So Merry Christmas. And I hope your evening, your Christmas Eve is wonderful. Whether it's full of joyous celebration or just a nice quiet time.
Speaker 2 (45:11):
Yes. And pop onto Instagram at Bold Artist podcast and say Merry Christmas and tell us what you're up to this year. And, um, we really hope that you have just the most peaceful, joyful holiday Christmas 2021. Cheers everybody.
Speaker 1 (45:29):
Merry Christmas.
Speaker 2 (45:33):
Raise your glass. Merry Christmas, everyone. Bye for now.
Speaker 1 (45:36):
Bye
Speaker 3 (45:58):
[inaudible].
