Creative Courage Soul Sisters : Part I

There are loads of creative e-courses out these days, I know. A unique strength of Creative Courage is the huge variety of fresh, talented guests I gather to share with us each session. 

I'm so very honored to have these amazing women join us on our new journey this September! Each week, my course features two exclusive interviews where our Soul Sisters will share their secrets on how they have realized their creative goals. Spaces are filling quickly for this session, so please don't hesitate to sign up here. 

The next session starts in September (my last Creative Courage session for 2012), and I'm delighted to introduce the following incredible guests who will be joining us:

*****

Alena Hennessy does what she loves best, living life as a working artist, author, and teacher. She is deeply inspired to teach others the creative process and to find their own unique voice though art making. She also has a passion for free movement, yoga, plant spirit medicine, and the healing arts.

Alena's book Cultivating Your Creative Life: How to Find Balance, Beauty, and Success as an Artist, published by Quarry Books, is now available and she is also leading an online workshop called Abundant Wild Life starting in October. 

Her prints and gift-wares can be found through out the US and abroad. She has exhibited her paintings in galleries in major cities though out the United States and has received press from several publications including Dwell, The Washington Post, ReadyMade, Redbook, ME Home Companion, Victoria, and Natural Health magazine.

Christine Mason Miller is a Santa Barbara based writer, artist, illustrator, seeker, explorer, and author of several books including Desire to Inspire: Using Creative Passion to Transform the World and Ordinary Sparkling Moments. 

Christine's mission to inspire has provided the foundation for all of her creative work; the desire to encourage others to pursue their passions and create a meaningful life is the common thread throughout an expansive body of work that includes mixed media collage, commercial illustration, photography, writing, teaching and speaking. 

Arounna Khounnoraj is a cofounder of bookhou, a multidisciplinary design studio based in Toronto, that emphasizes natural handmade materials, editor of the poetic bookhou at home online journal. Together with her husband she creates furniture, textile accessories and home goods, they started the company 10 years ago and currently run their practice out of a studio/storefront in Toronto, Canada.

Arounna’s work includes drawing, sculpture, ceramics and fiber-arts, with a particular focus on screen-printed textiles. In addition, she has also spent 15 years teaching art and design in various institutions inspiring students at all levels from children to college and university.

Combining her studio, shop and home, Arounna has found a way to live a creative life, and to make it part of her everyday experience. 

Victoria Smith is a design expert, photographer, writer, and editor of sfgirlbybay, one of the West Coast's leading design blogs. She is a contributing writer to uppercase, anthology, and 7×7 magazines, and she has also worked as a freelance art buyer and stylist producing photo shoots for advertising agencies and designers on accounts such as condé nast publications, including high profile home and shelter magazines domino, architectural digest, house & garden, gourmet and bon appetít.

Victoria has 1/2 million followers on pinterest which include influencers like oprah winfrey and ellen degeneres. She was just mentioned in this forbe’s magazine article: “new web 2.0 phenomenon pinterest saw its success finally take off after after partnering with influential blogger sfgirlbybay.”

Heather Moore is an illustrator, writer 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. 

Visit Heather's blog at www.skinnylaminx.com to find out more about her work, and you can watch a beautiful Etsy produced video profile about her home, studio and work here. (You will love Heather's gorgeous South African accent too!)

Alicia Paulson is a Portland, Oregon based designer, writer, photographer, crafter, and charming, delightful multi-talent. She is the author of the books Stitched in Time and Embroidery Companion, and  the creator of the lush, beautiful Posie gets cozy blog.

Alicia's drop dead gorgeous photographs and her gift with words never fail to cheer me up, to make me hungry, and to desperately want to visit Portland, Oregon. Be sure to visit Alicia here.

Thank you lovelies for taking part!

And I hope you will join us starting in September! Be sure to register today to save your spot here.

Hugs from sunny Berlin and Part II on the way...

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

victoria smith : artists who blog

Victoria's blog: www.sfgirlbybay.com
Victoria's shop: www.sfgirlbybay.etsy.com

Why did you decide to start a blog?

I started sfgirlbybay as a fluke back in June of 2006. I had taken a bunch of photographs of my interiors and needed a place to store them online (this was prior to my introduction and current addiction to flickr), so I experimented with blogspot.com. I enjoyed it so much, it evolved into a daily practice. Blogging encapsulates my three loves - design, photography and writing, so I find it the perfect creative niche for me. The fact that people wanted to read it was a shock and thrill to me. I enjoy trying to inspire readers to decorate to reflect their own style, and focus on affordability.



How did you come up with the name of your blog?

Again, it was really just an accident - I had previously been using 'girlbybay' for email and I think for some reason I decided to put the 'sf' in front of it. I never intended to start a daily blog, or hopefully I would have come up with something a bit more witty!



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

Well, my artwork, or photography really came afterwards, too. I'd always loved photography but I never really did anything with it professionally. I started shooting more and more for the blog and eventually started Sunday in the City - the series I run every Monday which documents my weekends living and exploring in San Francisco. Lauren and Derek of the Curiosity Shoppe invited me to do a show in their gallery and honestly, I was shocked. That was my first show since maybe high school. Since the show, I have been selling my Sunday in the City images in my etsy shop. So, the blog really had a huge impact on my art - it basically brought out the repressed artist in me. Ha! I need to have at least one camera with me at all times. I take shots of even the most mundane subject matter ever, much to the chagrin of my companions.



What are your favorite artist/designer blogs? Why?

My first love is for interior design, but photography is creeping up! I love the work of Wary-Meyers - it's so eclectic and they are the masters of re-purposing home furnishings and accessories. Very hippie chic! I also love stylist Pia Jane Bijkerk's blog - I find her photographs so inspiring. Amy Butler, too - she has a wonderful inspiration page on on her website. I go there often to soak in her beautiful photographs.



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

I'd say just write from your heart. Try to share your own, unique personality, and talk to readers like you would to a friend. Share what's meaningful to you, and you will find your own following.



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

The blog has kind of taken over my life - in a good way. I have met countless wonderful new friends, and I've been able to to quit my job in advertising to focus entirely on the blog. I never would have thought that possible. My life is now filled with artistic people who inspire me everyday and everything I do kind of blends into the blog. If I go out to a gallery or shoot photos all day, eventually they tend to end up on the blog. Life imitates art, as they say.



What do you find the most difficult/most rewarding part of having a creative profession?

Well, the positives are also sometimes the most difficult. I'm not sure sometimes how to just relax and have fun, without thinking about what I'm going to write about next. It can be challenging to write 2-4 posts a day, to keep things fresh and interesting to the readers. But the rewards are when the readers really like a post I've written and really relate to it. I love the positive feedback they share with me, and with the other blog readers. It's pretty awe-inspiring sometimes. I've been moved to tears sometimes. It's very moving for me.



Other than your blog, what has been the most effective way for you to promote your art/design?

I have been fortunate enough to have has the show at the Curiosity Shoppe, and a few magazine articles, in Better Homes & Gardens DIY, Australia's Real Living and Sunset magazines, as well as a mention in Domino and most recently The New York Times...so all of that keeps me pretty busy. Other than that - word of mouth through other kind bloggers, like design*sponge, Poppytalk, decor8, Design for Mankind and so many others. I have found the blog world is one full of really generous friends.



How do you maintain a healthy work/life balance?

This is where I burst out laughing. I don't. I work all the time! But it doesn't feel like work, so it balances out all right. I'm not very good at time management at all! Good thing I love what I do, and all the research and work I do for the blog is mostly just something I'd want to be doing anyway!



What are your main goals for 2009?

To balance my life! No, really I'd love to add more and more interesting interviews to the blog, and travel more and share some of those experiences with the readers. I've also recently written one article for Uppercase Magazine and am about to do another, so I'd like to write more for outside sources other than my own blog. And I am always working on improving my photography.

Thanks Victoria! I'm honored to have you as a guest :)