Crista Cloutier

Do you recognize this museum exhibition? I shared this picture a few years ago after I wandered into a museum gallery and discovered an exhibition of my art! Well, not my art exactly. It was a museum exhibition of work that was produced in my art studio. Well, not just mine. I worked in a […]

 For years, I wished that I could work as an artist. Don’t we all have wishes? We wonder what life would be like, imagining who we might become and what we would have if only…. if only….. … if only wishes came true … I made this video so that other artists could make

   I’m always telling artists to jump, to take a leap of faith. Faith in themselves, faith in their work. But it’s not always pretty, the jump is rarely a graceful leap from one side to another. Superstar artist Kiki Smith once told me that choosing to be an artist feels like choosing to

 It’s not impossible to live the artist’s life without the recognition of your loved ones, but it can be exhausting. Don’t forget that people have their own reasons for their feelings. Everyone is telling themselves their own story.  Even their story about you. I remember one family member speaking about my choice to be

  But what about all the bad stuff that happens to artists? Get over it. No, seriously. Bad stuff is part of the deal in art. Promises will be broken. Calls won’t be returned. Sales will fall through. And apparently global pandemics are even going to hit. It’s going to be tough sometimes. And not

Who do you think you are? How many of us are afraid to say who we are and what we want? Afraid of disappointing our parents, our friends, lovers, colleagues? Almost every artist battles the accusing echoes, “Who do you think you are to be an artist?” We’re afraid we don’t deserve to wear the

Every artist’s journey tells a story. And every story has an antagonist. The story of your artist’s journey is no different. The antagonist is the adversary, the opponent. It’s what comes between the hero and her desire. Consider your own journey, where you are right now. Can you identify an antagonist in your story? Yes, it

An artist recently spoke with me about her work. She tearfully admitted that she’d been too busy to create new work of any substance. She was afraid. Afraid she won’t be able to connect with the muse again. Afraid she’d made a choice to have a family, a proper job, and now that part of