Podcast – Adventures in Arting Podcast

This one is a doozy. Mom and I definitely do not see eye-to-eye at all on this topic and it makes for a very lively conversation!

Maria Popova at The Marginalian wrote a 2013 blog post called “Art as Therapy: Alain de Botton on the 7 Psychological Functions of Art” It’s an exploration of the book “Art as Therapy” by Alain de Botton and John Armstrong. I read an interview with Alain de Botton and I loved everything he had to say about the function of art.

“Art can help us with our most intimate and ordinary dilemmas, asking: What can I do about the difficulties in my relationships? Why is my work not more satisfying? Why do other people seem to have a more glamorous life? Why is politics so depressing? The purpose of this book is to introduce a new method of interpreting art: art as a form of therapy. It’s the authors’ contention that certain art works provide powerful solutions to our problems, but that in order for this potential to be released, the audience’s attention has to be directed towards it in a new way (which they demonstrate), rather than towards the more normal historical or stylistic concerns with which art books and museum captions are traditionally associated. The authors propose that the squeamish belief that art should be ‘for art’s sake’ has unnecessarily held back art from revealing its latent therapeutic potential. This book involves reframing and recontextualising a series of art works from across the ages and genres, so that they can be approached as tools for the resolution of difficult issues in individual life.”

This is what he said about the 7 functions of art:

“art works can help us to remember what matters; they also lend us hope; they dignify sorrow; they expand our horizons; they help us to understand ourselves; they rebalance us; and lastly they make us appreciate the familiar anew.”

This is the Matisse painting I referenced during the podcast, “Woman on a High Stool”:

Links:

• Mo Issa’s Desensification of Time article
• Tip the Artist: PayPal.Me/balzerdesigns
• Sign up for the Friday FREE newsletter: https://forms.feedblitz.com/bco
• Monthly Membership: https://bit.ly/JulieMembership
• Take an online class: https://balzerdesigns.com/Classroom/
• Shop: https://www.juliebalzer.com/shop.html
• Let’s connect on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balzerdesigns/
• Favorite Things: https://www.amazon.com/shop/balzerdesigns

Thanks for listening and subscribing!

Mom and I sat down last week and recorded this podcast. It’s a fun premise. We each got to ask the other three year-end questions. You can watch the video version on my YouTube channel, or you can listen above (or anywhere you get podcasts):

And, I did find a discount code for the Bombas socks. New customers can use this link (it’s an affiliate link) to get 25% off your purchase.

Please let me know what topics you’d like us to discuss on the podcast in 2023. We’d love to know!

And here is the podcast transcript. It’s automatically generated and I didn’t have time to clean it up as much as I would have liked, so apologies for any errors.

PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Julie

Hello and welcome to the Adventures in Arting podcast. My name is Julie Fei-Fan Balzer and I’m a working artist and mother to a curious toddler and my business Balzer Designs is all about helping you to live an artful life through thoughtful art education. On this podcast, together with my super special co-host and my mom, Eileen Hsu-Balzer, we ask questions of each other and our guests while discussing learning, the creative career path, finding balance, looking at art, setting goals, and why being creative matters. Our goal for this podcast is to stimulate your imagination. Hi, mom.

Eileen

Hi Julie.

Julie

How are you?

Eileen

I’m good and it feels good to be good because this has been such a winter of sickness for everybody.

Julie

Yes, that’s so true. And the theme today that I gave you is that we’re wrapping up 2022 and basically the format is: I said you come up with three questions that we both have to answer and I’ll come up with three questions that we both have to answer and we won’t know what the questions are before we start. And one of the reasons that I thought this was — I mean it’s fun to sort of like throw questions at each other, you know, a little bit. That’s always an interesting thing. I think that’s what so much conversation is about anyway, right? It’s not sort of like regurgitating information, but the second thing is one of the things that I teach all the time, like to my private coaching clients or my Boot Camp students. Or like we talked about it at this month’s group coaching — is about reflection and evaluation. It is the step that I think a lot of people miss when they make art or do anything really — write something? I mean, we joke about this because my husband right now is in school and I feel like I’m talking to a teenager when I’m like: OK, well if you finish the test early you have to go back and check did you answer the question? Do you know what I mean? And we talk about it all the time. And because there is a desire to just be done with the task as opposed to considering and so — for instance, I’m currently teaching this class, The Carve December Work Book and a huge part of that class is getting better at carving, not through me teaching you like, here’s a carving technique, here’s a printing technique, but through teaching you a framework. Or how to evaluate your work, what you liked, what you didn’t, where you had problems, and in fact, so we’re on day 23 of Carve December. And a lot of people in the class been talking about how they’re losing steam. It’s hard to carve a stamp every single day. It really is — to carve it, print it, post it, all that stuff and people are talking about how they’re losing steam. And one of the things I said is. I said: you know that’s fine, and I think what you need to do is not beat yourself up about the fact that you’re losing steam, but kind of make a note of it. Physically make a note in the workbook, because that’s important and then figure out how you’re going to stop that from happening next year. Not the fatigue. But the bad carving because of the fatigue. So for an example, one of the things you could do is say like, oh, I always tend to lose steam around like the 21st because like you know I’m preparing for Christmas or whatever. So maybe a solution is to plan out my carves really carefully in October, November when I have lots of energy so that by the time I get to those days in December, I don’t have to think. I just have to look at what I’ve written that I’m going to do. Pull it out of my pocket and do it. You know what I mean? Because I think the fatigue is not the physical act of carving. The fatigue is mental.

Eileen

You know what I’m thinking while you’re doing this? As you know, it’s not art for me, but you get fatigue from having to think up a new dinner every day. Yeah, and it’s exactly the same kind of procedure of finding a way to make yourself. Able to make dinner while you’re feeling totally blah about everything that comes to your mind so yo...

Our guest today is Kara Doyle-DuMouchelle:

Pizza and bagel addict| Married the most wonderful man in the universe| Passion for art, fashion, food, and travel| Love to explore new places and try new things| Also love to be lazy and watch HGTV| Went to school to be an art teacher| Currently working for the fabulous Rue La La as a Merchandise Planner and loving it| One of my favorite quotes from Alice and Wonderland, Lewis Carroll, “I’m not crazy, my reality is just different from yours”| insta @karaldoyle

On the podcast we discuss “the shoe exhibit” at the Peabody Essex Museum (which I blogged about back in December 2016).

As well as their WOW — World of Wearable Art exhibit (which I blogged about in March 2017)

We discussed several exhibits from the Museum of Fine Arts, here in Boston — including this one that featured technology such as 3-D printing:

There’s also a mention of the current fashion exhibit at MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) in New York City (which I shared a peek of in my vlog a month or so ago):

We also discuss personal fashion choices and decorative vs. fine art.

We would love to hear your opinion on the topic of fashion and art. So, let us know what you’re thinking!

Thanks for stopping by!

In this episode of the Adventures in Arting Podcast, Julie and Eileen delve into the intricacies of developing an artistic practice, emphasizing its dynamic and personal nature. The discussion unfolds in four parts, covering various aspects of an art practice.

Part 1: Introduction to Artistic Practice

Julie introduces the concept of an artistic practice, highlighting its multifaceted nature. She draws parallels between her art practice and other daily practices, such as exercise. The importance of consistency, routine, and the inclusion of both creativity and business aspects in an art practice are emphasized.

Part 2: Documentation and Capturing Ideas

The second part centers on documentation as a crucial aspect of an art practice. Julie stresses the significance of recording thoughts, ideas, and the creative process itself. She introduces the concept of a “thought feather” — fleeting ideas that need to be captured before they disappear. The importance of understanding one’s artistic language and building a visual vocabulary is explored.

Part 3: Field Trips and Gathering Inspiration

Part three delves into what Julie calls “field trips” in her artistic practice. Drawing inspiration from Julia Cameron’s artist dates, Julie emphasizes the necessity of stepping outside one’s comfort zone and engaging with the real world. Museums, nature, networking, and community-related activities are all considered as potential field trips. Julie encourages processing these experiences through writing or drawing to integrate them into the art practice.

Part 4: Reflection and Developing an Artistic Lifestyle

The final part explores the often-private nature of artistic pursuits and the challenge of finding a strong artistic community. Julie and her mom discuss whether everyone needs an art practice, with the consensus being that it depends on individual goals. Julie provides six steps for developing an art practice:

1. Define your artistic goals.
2. Consider your preferred process.
3. Balance routine and flexibility.
4. Embrace continuous learning.
5. Build a supportive community.
6. Evaluate and adapt.

In summary, the podcast offers valuable insights into the nuanced and evolving nature of an artistic practice. It underscores the importance of documentation, gathering inspiration from various sources, and the role of reflection in fostering artistic growth. The steps provided by Julie serve as a practical guide for individuals looking to develop their own unique and fulfilling art practices.

You can also watch the podcast on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/ZzsLYVJNuLI

Be the boss of color. Join me for Practical Color for Painters! “Don’t try to be original. Be simple. Be good technically, and if there is something in you, it will come out.” – Matisse

Links:

• Tip the Artist: PayPal.Me/balzerdesigns
• Sign up for the Friday FREE newsletter: https://forms.feedblitz.com/bco
• Monthly Membership: https://www.myartpractice.com/
• Take an online class: https://balzerdesigns.com/Classroom/
• Shop: https://www.juliebalzer.com/shop.html
• Let’s connect on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balzerdesigns/
• Favorite Things: https://www.amazon.com/shop/balzerdesigns

Thanks for listening and subscribing!

I’m delighted to bring you another episode of the Adventures in Arting Podcast!  We have a guest on today’s podcast!  Our guest is Suzanne Sicuranza.

Suzanne was born and raised in Massachusetts.

She has worked in scientific fields for almost 20 years.  She also worked at Michaels for 2 years — as a custom framer and go-to art expert — and for Balzer Designs for almost 1 whole year.

Suzanne is a CZT (Certified Zentangle Teacher)…

…as well as a self-described: Curator of Arty Knowledge, Online Class Junkie, Blog Reader Aficionado, and Supply Collector (okay….maybe hoarder).

She says, “What I love, seems to defines me. Purple, owls…

…hoodies, doodling, laughing, quotes/lyrics…

…circles, Instagram, Patriots, nail polish, YouTube, music (mostly less-known), calendars (I already have 5 for 2017), Pinterest, storage stuff (The Container Store is just as fun as going to Blick), and T-shirts that represent any of all of the above.”

Links of interest:

• Find Suzanne Online:
  •