Creative Courage Soul Sisters : Part II

Lisa Sonora Beam is an American painter and writer currently living in Oaxaca City, Mexico. She is the author of The Creative Entrepreneur: A DIY Visual Guidebook for Making Business Ideas Real. Lisa leads Creative Entrepreneur workshops all over the world where she strives to help others bring their creative gifts into the world through meaningful work.

Heather Braun-Dahl is a painter and ceramic artist working in Vancouver, Canada. She studied at the Emily Carr Institut of Art and Design, and combines her many talents in her Dahlhaus art studio. See more of Heather's beautiful work here and on her Dahlhaus blog.

Eleanor Mayrhofer started creating printable stationery, paper goods and invitations while working at her full-time day job. Within a couple of years, her e.m.papers business took off and she was able to quit her job to work creatively full time! (See her recent Etsy Quit Your Day Job interview here.) e.m.papers products have been featured in popular magazines such as Martha Stewart Weddings and BRIDES + design blogs like Apartment Therapy and Design Milk. 

Susan Schwake is an art instructor in her own art school where she has created her own curriculum. Her vision to teach and share art on her own terms has grown into artstream studios, which includes a contemporary gallery, an adjunct teaching staff of three, workshops and retreats most every day of the year, and their own full media design firm. Susan is also the author of the popular new book Art Lab for Kids and a writer for Illustration Friday and Illustration Friday Kids.

Candy Glendening is a textile artist and creator of Candied Fabrics. She was featured in Dyeing to Stitch, a DVD filmed on the set of Quilting Arts TV, and she has written about quilting and dyeing fabrics arts for a variety of major textile arts magazines. Candy also leads online dyeing classes here.

Patricia Zapata is a graphic designer, crafter and the author of Home, Paper, Scissors: Decorative Accessories for the Home. Examples of her artwork are found on her portfolio site and in her A Little Hut online shop. Her work has been featured in many online publications such as Design Sponge, Apartment Therapy, Decor8, Poppytalk, and Bloesem among others. Patricia has published tutorials on the Craft magazine and site and was a guest crafter on HGTV’s That’s Clever.

I'm delighted to have this group of talented, creative women joining us for the fall session of my Creative Courage ecourse to share their secrets on how they've accomplished their ambitious goals.

We'll be starting in September and spaces are filling quickly. I hope you will join us too! Get more information about our course here.

Have a lovely weekend!

xoxo

Stephanie

Creative Courage Fall Session Now Open!

 

Hi lovelies! I'm delighted to open registration today for our next session of Creative Courage! 

Our Fall Session will run from September 24, 2012 - November 2nd, 2012. I'd love for you to join us! Be sure to sign up today to get your Early Bird Discount.

Creative Courage is an international e-course for women around the world, and I've designed it as a practical guide to help you start making your creative goals real.

As always, I've invited 12 expert guests to join us for brand new, fresh, and exclusive Creative Courage interviews.

I'm thrilled with the amazing group of women who will be joining us! 

Here is a peek at our Fall Session Creative Courage featured interview list:

Alena Hennessy - internationally known artist, designer, illustrator, and author of the gorgeous, new book Cultivating Your Creative Life: Exercises, Activities, and Inspiration for finding Balance, Beauty, and Success as an Artist

Victoria Smith - design expert, photographer, writer, and editor of sfgirlbybay, one of the West Coast's leading design blogs, contributor to many major art and design magazines

Lisa Sonora Beam - mixed media artist, writer, workshop leader, adventurer, and author of The Creative Entrepreneur: A DIY Visual Guidebook for Making Business Ideas Real

Alicia Paulson - crafter, writer, photographer, multi-talent and author of Stitched in Time, Embroidery Companion, and creator of the lush, beautiful Posie gets cozy

Christine Mason Miller - artist, illustrator, seeker, explorer, and author of several books including Desire to Inspire: Using Creative Passion to Transform the World and Ordinary Sparkling Moments

Heather Moore - illustrator and designer from Cape Town, South Africa, creator of the design label Skinny laMinx, owner of the Skinny laMinx store & studio and extremely successful Skinny laMinx online shop

Arounna Khounnoraj - cofounder of bookhou, a multidisciplinary design studio based in Toronto, that emphasizes natural handmade materials, editor of the poetic bookhou at home online journal

Patricia Zapata - designer, illustrator, creator of A Little Hut and Zapata Design boutiques, author of Home, Paper, Scissors: Decorative Paper Accessories for the Home, guest on HGTV's That's Clever

Eleanor Mayrhofer - owner of e.m.papers, designer of unique, printable stationery, paper goods, and invitations, featured in Apartment Therapy, Martha Stewart Weddings, and BRIDES magazine

Heather Braun-Dahl - painter and ceramic artist based in Vancouver, creator of Dahlhaus and the Dahlhaus art shop, featured in InStyle, style at home, and House and Home magazines

Candy Glendening - textile artist and creator of Candied Fabrics, featured in Dyeing to Stitch, a DVD filmed on the set of Quilting Arts TV, prolific art quilter, designer, and author

Susan Schwake - artist, illustrator, owner and artistic director of artstream studios, a contemporary gallery and workshop space, author of the popular new book Art Lab for Kids

These powerful ladies from around the world will share their secrets with us on how they have published books, built online businesses, created workshops and e-courses, opened stores/galleries, been featured for incredible press opportunities, and are now thriving as successful artists, authors, crafters, photographers, and designers.

Creative Courage is 6 weeks of fun, color, inspiration, tools, and resources to kick start your creative life!

Our topics include:

• clarifying and believing in your creative dreams 

• pushing through your fears and developing your self-confidence

• fresh ideas on how to earn more money with your art and creative skills

• building an online presence to grow your career as an artist

• making connections and finding press opportunities to spread the word about your work

• creating artwork without inhibition and how to avoid getting stuck

• nurturing your body and soul to increase your creativity

• avoiding burnout and promoting balance in your life

• finding positive support for your work and building a community 

• connecting and collaborating with others to energize your creative business

• developing helpful strategies for time management for busy women

• and much more! 

I've added new, bonus material for this session as well:

• tips for using certain colors in your home and studio areas to activate your creativity

• my behind the scenes adventure tales from my 12 Countries in 12 Months European tour

• an expanded bibliography and resource list for continued learning

• brand new exercises to boost your personal courage and creative spirit

I'll be sharing my experiences as an artist, published illustrator, working mom, and American expat living in Germany. I'll also tell you how my family and I do our best to juggle it all and make our lives more creative, interesting, and rewarding.

You'll be able to connect with like-minded women in our private Creative Courage Facebook and Flickr groups. This supportive, community spirit is one of the very best parts of Creative Courage!

When you sign up for Creative Courage, you will receive:

• inspirational, visually inspiring daily posts (Monday - Friday) on a private website to encourage, support, and help you start turning your creative dreams into reality

• a weekly video featuring my personal tips for each week's topic

• colorful PDF worksheets to download, use, and keep forever

• fun, helpful activities to help clarify your thoughts and strengthen your self-confidence

• abundant resources with links so that you can explore each topic in depth

• exclusive, in-depth interviews with an amazing group of 12 of today's top creative experts

• access to a community of international, like-minded, supportive creative explorers who share your wish of living a richer, fuller, more colorful and joyful life

For more detailed information about the course and to read what previous participants have to say, please visit my Creative Courage information page here.

I encourage you to register for the Creative Courage e-course, open your mind and heart, and start listening to your deepest, truest wishes for your life. 

I'd love for you to take part in the Creative Courage e-course! Get six weeks of fun, color, encouragement, inspiration, love, access to a supportive community, plus 12 exclusive expert interviews for only $99.

Our Fall Session will run from September 24th - November 2nd, 2012.

To sign up for Creative Courage, simply click on the Add To Cart button below to secure a space and complete your registration. You'll be redirected to PayPal to complete your payment, and then you'll receive a welcome and confirmation email from me.

Thanks so much for your interest, and I look forward to beginning our next session of Creative Courage in September with you! 

xoxo

Stephanie

patricia zapata : artists who blog

I first became familiar with Patricia Zapata's work through her A Little Hut shop which features unique hand-cut paper arts, illustrations, calendars, and cards. I went on to read more about her and discovered her Crafty Synergy interview blog - a wonderful resource to see and read about lots of great talent. Patricia also owns and operates Zapata Design, and she is now in the process of writing her own book (how exciting). Congratulations to Patricia on all her success and all the best for the future! Enjoy her insights on why she blogs and how blogging has influenced her work as an artist.



from July 11th, 2008:

Why did you decide to start a blog?

I have two blogs. The first one I started was A Little Hut (my personal blog) and Crafty Synergy (interviews with very interesting artists) came along afterwards. To be quite honest I’m not quite sure how I started my first blog. I do remember being very inspired by other blogs I was reading so I guess I just wanted to jump in too.

As far as Crafty Synergy, I’ve always wanted to know a little more about the artists that I admire and I thought that an interview blog would be fun to work on.



How has blogging affected your work as an artist/designer?

I would say that blogging has given my handmade work a voice it never had before. I also found a sense of rhythm and style throughout my work. Blogging also makes me push my projects further than I’d take them otherwise.

Crafty Synergy has also given me exactly what I wanted – a window into to the person behind work that I admire. I still get excited with every new interview that lands in my email inbox. I learn something new from everyone. It’s wonderful!



What are your favorite artist/designer blogs? Why?

Wow. This is a hard one and I can’t even bring myself to admit how many I read. Here are just a few off the top of my head...
Bookhou - Arounna’s designs are wonderful! Her combination of her work and children’s projects is also something that I really enjoy.
Assemblage - I love Kirsten’s design sense and style.
Kirin Notebook - I love to watch Lara’s progress with her fabric designs. She’s doing what I ‘secretly’ wish I could be doing too.
Uniform Studio - I love the simplicity of Martha’s designs and the way she describes her process.



Why do you think blogs have now become so popular with artists and designers?

I think they’re popular because they are so accessible and you can pick and choose what you’d like to read without any limitations. When I read blogs I feel like they are an open book that is tailor made to my interests. Another appealing aspect of blogs is that, for the most part, they are written by “regular” people that I can identify with. As a designer, when I’m in a rut, a good remedy is to visit my favorite blogs. The willingness that everyone has of sharing their work and processes is wonderful and it helps me get my creative engines on track again.



Do you have any advice for artists/designers who are starting a blog?

I think the most important thing is to stay true to yourself and your work and stop if it isn’t fun anymore or it becomes a burden. Don’t feel guilty for stepping aside for a while. I think a blog should be fun tool to use not one that causes headaches!

I would also say that you should put your best foot forward. You really never know who’s reading. I’ve had several interesting projects and opportunities come my way specifically because my work was found through my blog.



What has been the most positive and inspirational aspect of having a blog for you?

Without a doubt I think that the people that I’ve met through my blog and what I’ve learned from them is the most positive thing about blogging. I’d also say that my blogs have become a very important part of my creative playground. I wouldn’t have tried many of the things that I have worked one if it weren’t for blogging. I’ve also been very touched by emails from people that describe or show me what they’ve done after reading one of my project ideas. When one of my posts comes full circle like that, it’s just the icing on the cake.

Thank you so much for the opportunity of sharing these thoughts with you Stephanie!

Thank you Patricia for your participation, and also thanks for all you do to promote other artists' work on Crafty Synergy - a big inspiration for my "artists who blog" interview series!