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price tag that says I want to play guitar really well

The Artist Who Gave Away His Dream

“I used to have a band,” he told me. He’d played lead guitar and sang. It was the 80’s and he worked hard, toured the country, and started to gain a small following. But he never

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Come To France With Me

I have a super exciting opportunity to share with you today. I’m going to France this summer, and you’re invited too! Watch this video to learn more. Crista x Click here for details

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Footsteps in the sand

Little-Teeny-Tiny Steps

If I had a nickel for every time I couldn’t move forward because of money, or because there simply wasn’t enough time… but I decided to stop letting those things that I cannot control decide my

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It Was Every Artist’s Dream

It’s every artist’s dream, but I was shocked when it happened to me.  While in Arizona a couple of years ago, I decided to visit the local art museum, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA). It’s one of my

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ukrainian artist

How to Support Artists in Ukraine: Part 1

On the 24th February 2022, Russian forces invaded Ukraine without provocation. I think I speak for a lot of my fellow artists when I say we strongly condemn the Russian government’s decision to invade Ukraine and

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Old Telephone

Being Called To Be An Artist

What does it mean to have a ‘calling’ as an artist? Who’s calling you? What exactly are you being called to do? Artists aren’t the only ones who feel called. When a person dedicates their career

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a child's open hands

The One Word That Changed Everything

Like so many artists, I was working hard. Submitting, proposing, applying. But it seemed nothing was going my way and I was totally stressed. Have you ever felt like this? I phoned my Guardian Angel. It

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Squashed: 7 Artist Myths

For as long as artists have been creating there have been myths about what it means to be a professional artist. Stereotypes of the ‘starving artist’ or the ‘eccentric weirdo’ seem to follow us wherever we

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My Experience with B-School

When I worked as an art dealer, my schedule was relentless with travel, openings, and sales. I didn’t have time to make my own art. Instead, I wrote all my hopes, dreams and creative aspirations into

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Crista Cloutier and Andrew David Smith

The First Artist I Ever Met

I told Andy about the special place where I ride my bicycle each day. It’s a tiny island in the middle of a pond. I explained how it’s been my destination for years; it’s where I

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Crista Cloutier looking through camera

Do They Like Your Art?

My favorite college professor taught art history. He’d started out life as a photographer, a lifelong dream since he’d mixed his own chemicals in a homemade darkroom under his parents’ stairway. As a young man he’d

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The Artist’s Mantra

There are several definitions of artists that I personally subscribe to, but my favorite is this: artists are alchemists. During the Middle Ages, an alchemist was known as someone who could transform base metals into gold. I

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