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One of my favorite writers is Seth Godin. I’ve been reading his books and blog for years because his advice for creatives is paradigm-changing. But life was throwing me some challenges. I wished I could ask Seth Godin about it. “Seth Godin would know what to do,” I thought to myself. “He always has the […]

“But Crista,” the artist asked, “How can I make a living from my art?” “I wanna be wealthy! I wanna live on a beach! I wanna be dripping in jewels! And I want my art to pay for all of it!” Then I reply with something that artist Kiki Smith once told me: “Your art doesn’t exist to support

Every family has a story. They called her “Grandma Ach” because of her habit of beginning each sentence with a guttural sound of disapproval. “Ach! What is this?” But her name was Mary Anne. She was the daughter of German immigrants. Farmers. But Mary Anne was an artist. Bright, beautiful, and serious, the photos of my

I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen a lot of art critiques in my day. Even though artistic taste is subjective, even though everyone has their own aesthetics and set of experiences and education that they bring to the work; critiques are an important part of the artistic process. Why? I often ask that

They tell me that I have always been creative. My family recognized the symptoms from the start. I often heard them wail, “She’s creative!” when they didn’t understand why on earth I made the choices I did. They would cry out, hands on-head in despair, “What will become of her?” At school, I’d entertain the

I was speaking to a group of university students. As I finished, a young woman approached the stage. “May I ask you a question?” Of course! I asked if she was an artist. I inquired about her work and her practice. “But the question I have isn’t about me. It’s about my boyfriend. He’s an

As our world seems to be spinning out of control we are looking around wildly for what we need; leadership, community, toilet paper… But what I believe the world really needs is a sense of its connection. The connection is already there, it’s the totality of all we are. This virus is making that blatantly

I’m thinking a lot about the art community and about you during this challenging time. I’m looking for ways that I can help, and I have a proposal for us as well. As artists, it’s time for us to gather, to inspire and to lead. Please watch this short message and reply to me with

I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather hang out with The Muse and make stuff than create an inventory. I think we can all agree on that. But anyone can chase inspiration, that’s the fun part. To put the ‘work’ into your practice, you’ve got to slog through the hard stuff. Like it

Throughout my career, I’ve worked with many other creative professionals. But my inspiration doesn’t always come from the art world. I’m inspired by people who forge their own path. Artist or not, these are the people who inspire me. Erik Durschmied’s story is so captivating that I wanted to share it with you. He’s not