E29- Guest: Lori Siebert
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[00:00:00] Hello, my creative friends. Welcome again to another episode of BDI Create Today. Today we have a very special guest. Lori Siebert has been a creative friend of mine for a long time now. I have so many wonderful Thoughts and feelings and memories that Lori has brought to me as a creative and a lot of what I do professionally, I really owe a lot of thanks and gratitude to Lori for what she has been able to help me do, show me or introduce me to the people who have gotten me where I'd like to go with what I'm doing.
So Lori, I'm so excited. to bring you on the podcast today and share you with everyone that is coming in today to learn a little bit about creativity. If you would just come to your mic and take a moment to tell everybody a little [00:01:00] bit about who you are and where you're coming to us from and how you got to be creative.
First of all, thank you, my friend. I'm very honored to be here. We talk all the time and we should have. Hit record before we hit record, because we, you always have such great little pearls of wisdom that I'm like, darn, she should have recorded that. So I'll just share a little bit about my background.
I've been drawing, painting. I started art lessons when I was seven years old. So making, drawing, painting. Doing lots of creative things has been part of my life since I can remember. I was very shy as a kid. And so I had this, my family used to say, Lori's in her own little world. And I still am that to this day, I go to my own little world a lot.
So I pursued a degree in graphic design because my high school counselor said, that's how you can make a living with being an [00:02:00] artist. I got a great education and we had a co op program. So I worked every other quarter at different design firms through college got a job at a first at a small design firm and then became an art director for a magazine and three years out of college started my own design firm.
That was in 1987. And I'm still working. Since 1987 my husband is my business partner. Our daughter Kenzie she is, One of our designers now, at one point we were up to 12 people on staff. Now there are four of us and we all work remotely, but we first focused on branding and typical graphic design projects.
We did a short stint in environmental graphics. And then we moved into art licensing probably about 20 years ago. And I'm still doing some of that but [00:03:00] over the last several years, I've been doing more passion projects such as teaching. I love travel and I love to travel, teach, and I love to inspire other creative people and be around kindred.
So that's a big part of what I'm doing today. That's the story.
Oof, that's such a good story. Being creative from when you were little and having that be a way that you became probably one of those extroverted introverts or introverted extroverts, right? Because you travel and you teach and you cannot be completely introverted if you're going to put yourself out there when you're teaching.
And when you go someplace on a retreat, you're going to places where you haven't been to teach to people you don't know. I actually do find though that when I'm around creative people, it's way different than walking into a party at a gallery or something [00:04:00] where. I don't know if they're kindred spirits or not, but when I'm around other creatives, there's really no need for small talk.
We just get one another. So I don't feel as awkward about trying to talk to other people because we just get each other.
And that happens on every retreat. Like the saddest thing is when you have to say goodbye because, people come from all over the country and you bond so deeply.
so tightly with everyone there.
Yep. Travel like that. And those kinds of retreats so much happens, relaxation, inspiration, motivation, friendships. It's an amazing thing for your creativity to have one of those kinds of retreats. Oh my god. Yeah, I love it. I love it so much. In creativity, I know that it has played a pivotal role in your profession and as a hobby because I know that And for [00:05:00] you, creativity doesn't have an off switch.
It doesn't exist. So talk to me a little bit about how creativity plays that role in what you do in your profession and as just a creative who just needs to draw every day. I like to use the word curiosity to replace creativity because I think I feel that if you are passionate about something and you are curious about something, you just want to explore it.
And that could be learning how to bake or Trying to style your clothing in a different way or taking a ceramics class or any of that, where you're flexing those creative muscles. And the reason you're doing that is because you have a passion and a desire to learn more about it. It's something that's coming from your heart.
And if you [00:06:00] deny that, you're really taking something very special away from yourself because when you go with it and you have that little whisper of something that you just really want to learn more about. you just, whether your first attempt at it is not good in your brain, the experience of it and the exploration of it and the play of it is what's most important.
That's why I love watching our grandkids because for them, it's all about just trying and playing and making a mess. And, they don't sit down and draw with a masterpiece in their brain that, that's how it's going to end up. they'll draw and my grandson will half the time end up painting his hands or his belly, or, it, it doesn't always end up on the canvas because it's just about the experience.
So I think creativity is just about play and discovery [00:07:00] and curiosity and exploration. That's so well put. That is for create today. The reason this podcast exists is for what you just said that it's creativity is something that should be spontaneous. That makes you feel good. And if. If it's for your job, then yeah, you have to have an outcome that someone is going to say, yes, we'll use that thing.
But when you're doing it for your own good, for your own good, then it shouldn't be anything about what that outcome is for. It should be all about the process and about that curiosity that makes you go, okay, if I did that, what happens if I do this? And just find out what happens when you do that.
I have found, especially over the last couple years, that when you allow yourself to do that, and you aren't thinking like, okay, is this going to make money? Will [00:08:00] anyone like this? Is this going to sell? You're just doing it for yourself because you want to, and you love what you're doing.
Sometimes something happens where you end up making money from that thing, because people feel that authenticity and that joy in what you created. And opportunities come your way because of it. So something tells me you've got a really good example of that, that you could share with us. Yeah. I have a few one is my daughter, Kenzie, who goes by snippets of whimsy and she decided a few years ago, she was just going to learn procreate, which is what she what you very well teach.
And it was easy for her because she's a mom of young boys and so she could do it anywhere. And she wanted to start drawing for herself and posting every day. And now she's like over a hundred thousand. I think she's at one 14 followers and lots of [00:09:00] opportunities have come her way because she's just, she was just playing.
And I recently I have these journals. that I was doing art in inspired by some of the challenges I've hosted on Instagram. And I allowed myself to not think about, is this going to sell, is middle America going to like this? When I was drawing and painting in these journals, I was just working from the prompts.
And I decided to bring those journals with me to the latest licensing show or the gift show in Atlanta. And when I pulled out those stacks of journals they were oohing and aahing. They're like, have you licensed any of this? I'm like I didn't know that it was licensable. I was just, painting what I, it was just, I was just having fun.
And yeah, I think things will come from showing those, which I wasn't going to do. And I don't know why I had a wild hair and I decided to bring them along. So [00:10:00] yeah, if you're drawing or creating or making from your heart, people respond to that. I know Lisa Congdon, that's how she's been. Built her business.
She just was creating and sharing on Instagram and making the things that she wanted to make and sharing her thoughts and opinions on things. And she's very authentic and has grown an amazing business because. That's how she operates. Creativity is often that way. If you channel it too much, sometimes you crimp it and it's suddenly difficult to figure out how to get something done and done the way you think it should look well, if that makes sense.
But if you just let it loose, then It can fly. It's like holding on a butterfly. If you hold on to a butterfly, the dust comes off its wings and it can't fly anymore. So if you just let it alone and you just let [00:11:00] it fly by itself, then you can enjoy what it's capable of doing. So I think your creativity is a lot like that.
If you hold it too tight, you're And you think I have to be right on top of all the trends and be right there with what everyone's doing. And what is the latest way I should be drawing? You might stifle something that could be super amazing if you just let it fly. So I think that your idea about those journals is a great idea.
Yeah, knowing that on your own time you just had this idea and you let it go and you just let yourself You gave yourself permission to do it too.
And that's also important. Yeah, like I'm painting right now I've been painting over magazine pages and I have no idea why I'm doing them, but it's so weird because I had this drawer for years. I've been tearing out pages out of fashion magazines and I have a huge drawer full of these not knowing what I [00:12:00] was ever going to do with them.
And then I just got this wild hair and started painting over them and making my own stories and people have really responded to them. I don't know if they'll become anything, but I don't really care. People are asking me are you preparing those? And are are you taping them down?
And I'm like, Nope, I'm just painting right over them. And I'm going to stick them in a journal. I'm not worrying about how archival they are. I don't really care. I'm just doing it because I wanted to. Yeah that's, that is wonderful. And when you first started talking about this, you mentioned it could be anything.
It could be something that you're baking or something that you're crocheting.
It's just wild to see what one little idea can do and how that can grow into so many other things. So it doesn't always deal with art or something that is close to art, like music or writing.
It can be any idea that you have. And you just think. Could I do [00:13:00] this thing? And then when you start to explore that, you are letting your creativity loose because you're letting yourself figure out how that works into your own life. Yeah, I think you can use the word passion to replace creativity because, if you're passionate about athletics or music or anything like that, and you allow yourself to follow that passion from your heart, I think that's creativity.
Yes. The very first podcast episode, we talk about. Finding your creative passion and that everyone is creative.
So if you're thinking, I wish I had a creative passion. I wish I was creatively curious, like Lori. Go back to episode one. And listen to that and I can guarantee you that you will have a track to take to figure out what your creative passion might be. And I've had some people tell me that their creative passion is spreadsheets.
That they love creating spreadsheets. And that to me [00:14:00] seems really hard and very mathy. But for a lot of people that is something that just makes their fingers itch. Like how can I get that to work? If I do these things, that's creativity, that's curiosity, that's a passion. And yeah, if it fills in the blanks for you, then go for it.
Yeah. And it looks different for every person cause we're all unique and authentic to ourselves and we all have different interests and our brains all work differently and yeah. Yeah, I would cringe over a spreadsheet. My husband was joking with me yesterday because he has a meeting coming up with our financial planner and the woman asked if I would be coming with him.
And he's no, Lori falls asleep in those meetings, my husband's very black and white. So figuring out all that stuff and what we're investing in and that's creativity to him, even though he's a very black and white kind of person. Yeah. Yeah, you just need to figure out what [00:15:00] speaks to you.
What are you curious about? What is that thing that if you allow yourself to have an afternoon to work on this, that the afternoon would just fly by? That's your passion. That's where your curiosity is laying. So yeah, go find it and have some fun. Yeah. Now, Lori Do you have any specific tools or techniques or rituals that you rely on to let your creativity have some consistency? I my creativity doesn't normally have consistency. I will say that because I'm all over the board in what I'm interested in and what I want to create, but there are a few things that, that light me up. One is travel. And that could mean going to Europe when I teach, because I love travel teaching.
But yesterday I met a friend for lunch at a restaurant we'd never been to in a neighborhood. I've not visited often. And the whole time I'm at lunch, I'm looking across the [00:16:00] street at these windows. And I almost drove by it. I'm like, Nope, I'm going to stop and go in there. And it was this store called hybrid and it was a vintage consignment shop, which was chock full of vintage clothing with amazing patterns.
And, I was just taking picture after picture in that store. And that was, in my town. So Field trips are really good when you're feeling uninspired, go somewhere that you take a walk or go to we have chrome conservatory in Cincinnati, which is full of plants and flowers, and I'll go there sometimes.
And I find that if you're just sitting in your studio and you're waiting for inspiration to hit you, that doesn't always work. I think inspiration comes from being out in the world. And I take a gazillion photos when I'm out and about always, I'm always dragging behind [00:17:00] my friends are always like, come on, we'll work.
Come on. Cause I'm taking pictures of windows and sewer grates and graffiti and. I'm just, again, back to that curiosity, I just, I'm like a little kid. I am in awe of most things I see, and they all, trigger ideas and thoughts that end up somehow becoming part of the work that I create. So when your episode lands, we will have just finished up four weeks of exploring a creative process that I have, I've developed into four stages.
They don't always happen separately. They, you can be mixing them up, but one of those stages is called realize. Where you take yourself out of autopilot, and you put on those glasses that allow you to see things creatively, and you go out and collect, and you're realizing what is around you, you're being aware of things that you find curiosity in, and you collect them, by [00:18:00] taking pictures, by buying things that you can bring back and observe again, and then arranging them so that when it's time to work, remember where they are.
And that whole realize phase is so important. Because, for two reasons, one, when you were at your restaurant and you thought I'll probably, I'll come back, I'll draw I'll come back to that store, maybe you would never have gone back to that store and you would not have gone in and noticed the treasure of curiosity that you found inside.
And I think, Lori, you're one of those people that phase never turns off, that it's always on in the background,
Yeah. I do find though that when I'm traveling with kindreds again, I think a lot of us we are the art of noticing is instilled in us.
I think we see the world. We are gifted with an ability to see the world and to notice things, whether big or small, that maybe other people pass [00:19:00] by. So I, that's, when I was on that same trip with the women artists, it was really fun to walk around Oaxaca with them because All of us were taking pictures, looking at things, pointing things out to one another versus I traveled with my high school friends years ago.
And I was always the one taking up the rear because I was noticing everything. And then it was fun though, by the end of the trip, my friends started pointing things out to me because they were starting to notice things and pointing, point them out to me because they knew I was doing that. So that was fun.
It's a little dangerous at times, especially like in places like San Miguel or Oaxaca because the streets and the roads are.
often uneven. So if I'm walking along and I'm gawking up or I'm gawking down at the street or whatever that could be bad. So I have to physically tell myself, [00:20:00] Lori, stop, take the picture. Don't try to do it while you're walking because you'll fall on your butt. Yeah, I have to really make myself mindful of where I am sometimes.
I love that. I love that. Let's take a look at maybe a specific instance or a story where you can tell us about a creative approach that has led to a breakthrough or success with your work. I know you've already given us a little one about your journals, but do you have one just when you wrote up your information for me, you gave this as a life looking back over your life aspect.
Does that make sense? That's what I'm just saying. Yeah, absolutely. I'll share one story from years ago, and that was we took on a project. It was a big environmental graphics project when we didn't have a lot of that work under our belt at the time. [00:21:00] And it was for Universal Studios and My whole office was freaking out years before that.
If I didn't know how to do every aspect of a project myself, I wouldn't take the project on because I was of the mindset that I had to know how to do all of it or else. I'd have to say no. So for this, because I had been at it for a little while and I had an architect friend who had a firm, an architectural firm, I thought we'll just put a team together and where our strengths will be on the design, the graphic design side, their strengths will be to make sure our designs aren't going to fall on somebody's head and kill them.
Good idea. Yeah. Good idea. So we took that project on, but the designers in the office were terrified and they were not really happy that I had took, taken this project on because they were like, how do we have the business [00:22:00] to do this? but we faced our fear. We did the project and years later, one of the designers who was the lead on the project said, that was the most rewarding project that I've ever been part of.
I was scared to death, but we did it. We conquered it. And now I'm very proud of that project. So I think facing fear and pushing yourself a little bit. sometimes. And I think there's a real power to collaboration and working with people that you trust and respect and compliment your talents.
I think all of that can propel you to something and help you to grow and face something that you never would have tried. I love two things that you said One is that you pushed yourself past your comfort zone and that the [00:23:00] fear was actually something that ended up being beneficial for you.
Cause you know, Your brain is trying to keep you safe. So when you have fear, normally it's run away from that because there's danger there, but there are times where. And if you face what you're fearing, it's going to make you that much stronger and that much more confident about what you're capable of doing now and again tomorrow.
If you could do this today, imagine what you can do tomorrow. And the second thing that you mentioned is collaboration, that you don't have to do everything all by yourself. You can find people who compliment you, like a puzzle piece, and that's going to make you stronger and able to do leap tall buildings with a slinger bound, right?
So those are important things. And I think you learn when you work with other people because, different points of view come into play and you learn from each other. Even when I'm teaching, when I first decided I wanted to teach, I thought, who am I to call myself a teacher? [00:24:00] Because I don't I'm pretty much a hack.
I hacked my way through, through most things. But I don't know. I realized that teaching is also, it's bringing people together and learning from one another. So I personally, as the person who brought them together, I don't have to have all the answers and I can admit to them when I don't have all the answers usually someone in the room does.
And I love that about Art Biz Jam, which is the conference that Phyllis and I have co hosted for probably close to 15 years now, because, we bring a host of speakers there, but all the people that attend. They're all learning from each other because everybody knows what they know and everybody knows something different.
And so exposing yourself to those kinds of experiences again, makes you more confident, makes you more creative adds to your arsenal of what you [00:25:00] know and what you can apply to your work. Yes it's very true. And I know A lot of the artists that go to Art Biz Jam are nervous to go because they're thinking,
is this something that I should be at or could be at? At the end of the week, they realized how similar they were in Commonality and creativity was the other artists there.
everyone had time to talk and chat and share and encourage. And that to me is like the epitome of Art Biz Jam that you, you don't have to go in and think, will I measure up?
There's no yardstick there, but you do learn so much. That's probably another aspect or another part of the ritual of creativity. I mentioned travel and I mostly talked about physical things that you see when you're out and about or, like the buildings or the leaves or the flowers or whatever.
But another thing that I love to do is to be around other creative people. [00:26:00] So I just taught with Carrie Schmidt and Jessica Swift and just watching how they process things and how they work and. Like taking seeds from that, and then again, back to that Oaxaca trip. The women on the, in that group were most of them draw from life.
So we'd be at a coffee shop and they'd be pulling out their sketchbooks and dinner sketchbooks out and they were drawing always what they were seeing around them. I don't work that way normally, but I just, watching them. It made me curious about wanting to try that. And I probably would not have if I wasn't exposed to being around them.
So I think exposing yourself to places is one thing, but also people. People. Yeah. Wow. That's. That is such a great share. Thank you for telling us that learning from everyone. I know when I meet people, especially when I meet creatives for the first time, [00:27:00] you have to start with no first impressions.
You really don't know a artist until, or a creative until you've seen them at their passion. Do you know what I mean? Oh, my God, for sure. Because I have a story years ago, I was asked to speak at I don't know, it was when I was in my graphic design phase. And I did a lot of speaking and judging shows and things.
And I went to the party the night before. And I remember feeling out of place because I was a little bit older than most of the people there. And I don't know. I felt a little bit like you're in those instances where you feel like people really aren't interested in knowing who you are more about you or whatever, and went home feeling a little insecure.
Then the next day I gave my presentation and people that had maybe not given me the time of day, the night before at the [00:28:00] party came up to me afterwards and said, Wow, like I didn't know that was in you. So yeah I am a firm believer of never judge people for so many reasons. People might be having an off day for, you don't know why when you meet them.
So yeah, it's always better to dig a little deeper and try to understand a little more before you pass judgment. Yes. Oh, so much. Let's take a look about how creativity has contributed to your success in your fields and in your, or in your projects. And this is something that if you don't mind me first reading this I always take it away.
Okay. I always ask The people I'm interviewing, they get a little questionnaire from me. So in this questionnaire, I had asked Lori how creativity contributed to her success in her field or in a project.
And then [00:29:00] this is what she wrote. She said, Creativity is what begins every project. I think it is a blend of curiosity and passion.
You need creativity in every aspect of life. How you eat, how you dress, how you go about your day. Creativity is a thread in all of it. I believe that it is a practice. a muscle that you can develop through constant use. I have always been a dreamer, but through schooling and practice, my problem solving skills have gotten stronger.
Without being a creative, I would not have had the career I've been blessed with. I just think that should be embroidered on a bunch of pillows. I thank God every day for the fact that my Curiosity has never waned. I'm a little bit like a little kid in some ways, because I really do get excited about.
a lot of things. [00:30:00] And so I thank that for, I've been in business since 1987, but prior to that, in college, in high school, in grade school, and when I, ever since I can remember, I just was, in awe and amazed by so many things around me. And so I'm thankful for that. And it is the driving force behind everything I've done and the career that I've had.
Yes. I liked how you said that it is a muscle that you can develop through constant use.
If you're not allowing yourself to get to it every day, then you you will find that when you go back it takes a little while for you to warm up. If you give yourself time and it doesn't even take a lot of time every day to just, You know, play around let your brain work And then if, while you're not working your brain still is so that when you go back your muscles warmed up and you can take up where you left off.
[00:31:00] absolutely. And a lot of times that when I'm teaching people say I'm not creative, I'm not an artist.
I'm, it's this, either I, you are or you aren't. And I always use this analogy of, I say, I'm not a saxophone player, but if I wanted to practice and I really wanted to learn it. And I, I put my heart and soul into it. I could maybe I won't be the best saxophone player on the planet, whatever that means, but I could do it if I wanted to practice it.
And that art and creativity is pretty much the same way. It's the same as being an athlete. Athletes don't become great athletes by just dreaming about it. And, thinking I'm an athlete. So I'm just going to be good. Like they practice practice. And it's the very same with being a creative person.
Yes. It's something that you have to allow yourself to [00:32:00] do. And I do believe that there are lots of creatives who think it's my hobby and I'll get to it when I have some time. And then especially Women, and I'm not saying men aren't getting really busy too, because they do, a lot.
But women, we are always thinking about who needs us more, and quite often, we put ourselves in the back seat, and we think, I'll do that when I get a chance. And creativity is often one of those backseat pieces that we intend to get to, but just didn't have time.
So how are you scheduling? Like, how do you find the time to do those little, I don't know, I just had a, wild hair and I wanted to see you if I, how do you find time and give yourself permission to just play like that, Laurie? I have to say over the last few years, some different things have happened in my life that have allowed more of that to occur.
So I'm [00:33:00] lucky for that lucky. And maybe something's not so happy, but within the span of a few years, I lost both parents, we 30 years which allowed us to pay off all our debt. I turned 60. My husband wasn't stressing. He's my business partner. So he wasn't stressing out about money quite so much.
So I could take a little bit of a step back from, always feeling like I had to pump out work for licensing and take a little more time to do the things that I really am interested in. But even when I first started doing that, I still, it took me time to let go of all those things in my head where I would say should I spend my time on this?
If it's not going to make money, or if it's not gonna, end up being licensed, or it's not whatever, then I shouldn't spend my time on it. And I was looking, I was thinking back to [00:34:00] years ago, I would always always do the thing that I, Thought I should do first or something that was deadline driven or whatever and then after I would allow myself to do something that I wanted to do.
And I've been really trying to make a conscious shift to plug more of that, those want to do's into my daily day. And I was just listening to Margot Tantal's her windowsill chats with Mary Jo Hoffman, and she has a daily practice that she grabs things from nature and photographs them, and she does it every single day.
And She started out thinking she was going to do it for a year, and now she's done it for over 4, 000 days, and she's realized that [00:35:00] plugging that little thing into her daily day. Starts her day off at a much happier, much joyful place. So it doesn't have to be anything grand or something that takes you hours to do.
It might just be, creatively making yourself the most wonderful cup of coffee every morning. That's a creative act and finding time to do those little things that just get Bring you some joy every day. Yes. Yes. Okay. There's a couple things that I just want to point out. One is that it doesn't have to take a lot of time.
And two the feeling that you have after you've done the thing that you wanted to do. That, that is going to carry through the rest of your day. When you take time for yourself, it heightens. your mood.
And then that it doesn't have [00:36:00] to even be an amazing creative thing. It can be just making yourself your favorite coffee. Yeah I decided because a lot of people were jumping on the hundred day project every year they do and I can't stick to anything for that many days in a row, but I thought, what could I do that was manageable for me and so I came up with the idea of drawing post it notes because I thought I can certainly draw a doodle on a post it note.
And so now I have a journal full of these things and I take them with me when I travel and anything that I see around me I'll record on a post it and so it's become this really lovely. record of my life over the last few years. And I can look at the post its and remember, Oh, that was from when we were at Disney animal kingdom and those masks on the wall were like, I love them.
And that's why I drew this post it. And and they don't take a lot of [00:37:00] time. It's just a tiny little creative practice that has built into this archive that I reference and use in all my work. Oh my gosh that's so simple and easy. And who doesn't love a post it note? Everyone loves a post it note.
So I do. Huh. It's easy to do and super unstressful. So you don't have that feeling of failure because I couldn't stick with something.
Oh my gosh, it's such a great idea. It's a visual, it's a visual diary. And I love how rituals like that can build, like you start with one small thing and then, doing it over time, all of a sudden you have this journal full of something or stacks and stacks of photographs that you've taken because you just started.
And then you, and you have to make it easy, something that's easy for you that you can build into your day. If it's a chore, if it takes too long, if it's something hard, [00:38:00] you won't stick to it. So if you can find something that's easy, that is effortless, that makes you happy, that's just the perfect way to start your day.
Oh my gosh, just take Lori's idea, get some post it notes, start drawing on your post it notes, right? It's. Yep. Oh, people have and they send me direct messages or they'll tag me and I love seeing people do that. Oh my gosh, that's such a great idea. So you guys, if you're out there drawing on post it notes, make sure that you put it up on Instagram and tag Lori and I and let us see what you're doing.
I'd love to see that. It's a great idea. Let's talk a little bit more about. confidence and creativity, because I do think that a lot of creatives are afraid to say that they're creative about anything because they don't have confidence in themselves in so many different layers and [00:39:00] facets. How have you seen your confidence grow with your creativity and then flip it around and how can you say how has your creativity grown because of your confidence?
Again, I think I would Replace the word creativity with maybe facing fear and growing. My creativity grows when I face something that I'm afraid of sometimes. For example, I applied recently for a residency in France and I had wanted to apply to this for years.
And it finally got up the nerve to do the application. And then the night that I was accepted, I was elated. And then my next thought was, Oh my gosh, now I have to travel by myself to Europe, which I've been here a bunch, but always with other people. I have to get myself there by myself. And I'm going to be with All people [00:40:00] that I don't know.
So normally when I'm teaching, I have repeat people and people that I know. And so it was, I was very afraid and. anxious. Yes. But I also knew it was calling me. It was something that I kept looking at and dreaming about and imagining myself doing it and wanting it. And so I. Got, I went there this past March and it was one of the best experiences in my life on so many levels.
I had a lot of bumps in the road and I conquered it. And next time I'm like, Oh, No big deal. I can do this and yeah, I'm going to have to be really patient and yeah, there are things that are probably going to go wrong, but I am a problem solver. I am a creative person. I can figure it out. Yeah, facing fears, doing it anyway, that's what builds [00:41:00] your confidence. when you can step outside of that clothing of fear and think to yourself, Oh, I must be in a good spot because I'm afraid.
Yeah. And then use that almost as your cloak to carry on that it's okay, you're afraid, you've been here before and you've been okay. We'll figure this out. So when you can get to that point where your fear doesn't keep you from doing something, you never run out of fear.
Do you Laurie? Right? No. Oh God. No.
you don't ever want to put yourself in danger by accepting things you have to, prepare yourself and be ready.
And I think that's another thing of building your confidence and facing these things is preparedness. If I'm going to give a speech or whatever, and I'm scared to death and I walk up there and I have no preparation, that's going to be terrifying. But if I'm [00:42:00] afraid, but I prepare, I have confidence and I get up and I do it.
And then you get that rush afterwards. Oh yeah, I did that. Look what I did.
So do the work and then go and enjoy the experience and then get that feeling of utter elation. It is almost heady what happened after you conquer something that you were very nervous about. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. Absolutely. And then, like I said, then you're excited to do it again and push yourself even further.
It's like getting off the roller coaster for the first time and you're so afraid to be on a roller coaster and then you get done and you're like, Oh, yeah, I know. There is oftentimes where you go on a roller coaster and then the next time you go back to the amusement park, you're like, let's do the roller coaster.
And then you get on the, in the line and you get into the cart and you think, wait. I told myself I'd never do this again. What am I doing? And then you get done with the ride. And again, you're like, what did I just [00:43:00] do? That's a metaphor for life. It is so true
So being able to say, okay, I'm not alone with my fear. Everyone has it and it isn't something that's just going to go away after a while. But it is going to be something that I'll recognize and almost welcome because I'll think this is going to be a great growth experience for me and I can't wait to see what I'm going to learn.
Somebody was telling me that when they have those feelings they speak to it. They'll say, okay, fear. I know you're trying to protect me. I know you don't want me to come into harm, but I got this. And thank you. Thank you for looking out for me but I can do this. Having that kind of internal conversation, I think is a cool concept.
the Carrie Schmidt retreat I was just at She is such an advocate for being grateful for creativity [00:44:00] and realizing the power of creativity. So one of the exercises we did there was to write a love letter to creativity and what it meant to us. And for me, I thought back to myself as a little girl, because I was very shy.
I did get bullied, but for my happy place and what saved me in a lot of ways was that I could go into my own little world. I could draw, I could take nature walks and, make mud pies or, all those things that, it was just a safe place and a happy place and a joyful place.
And yeah I wrote a love letter to creativity from way back when, because it's just always, it's always held my hand. It's always been there. And even in times like, of grief or times when you're not feeling as creative.
Give yourself some [00:45:00] grace because it also comes in seasons and in waves and life can impact the sparks that you have. And there's just times when you can't access it as easily, but that's okay. Cause it'll still come around. It'll still be there when you need it.
Lori, what kind of advice would you give to a creative today that is wanting to heighten the gifts that they don't know they have, that they think they have, that they know they have, but they're not using or are trying to use better?
Does that make sense? Yeah, I think first, I think getting really clear on what you're passionate about and what you're drawn to, because sometimes people will say, I don't know what, I don't even know what to focus on. A woman that was a social worker for 30 years came to one of my retreats and she was feeling really lost [00:46:00] because her whole identity was wrapped around.
that career and she had no idea what to do next. And there are just so many clues you can take from, what, what are you drawn to when you look through a magazine? What movies do you love? What books do you like? People make vision boards, if you're constantly watching baking shows or cooking shows, sign up for some cooking classes or.
Have a friend come over and bake with them. So I think getting clear on what you are passionate about and what you really want to explore is the first thing. And then I think reaching out and finding those ways to practice it, whether it be getting together, if you want to learn how to bake. be someone that draws from life, get together with a friend and go to coffee shops and draw together or like I was really curious about hand [00:47:00] building.
And so I've been taking these classes. I'm on my like fourth session. Now I'm obsessed. Seeking ways to encourage that practice is the next step and then just do it. And don't put that critic on yourself. Try to approach it like you're playing like a child. And if a kid's really wanting to learn how to plant a garden, they're just going to go out there and do it.
They're going to dig in the dirt. Just don't stop yourself and don't be fearful and don't think it has to be a masterpiece right out of the gate. You're going to have so many flops because you're learning. Like you don't get up and walk when you're a baby without stumbling a little bit first, you stumble.
You take a few more steps, you take a few more steps, and then pretty soon you're running. And every artist doesn't do a masterpiece every time they put pen to paper or brush to canvas. I think about the [00:48:00] work I do,
A lot of it never gets seen. but it's me. drawing and letting things out and practicing and experimenting.
That's where the breakthroughs happen to sometimes the failures or the flops or the things that you don't love propel you to the things that. Are you think in, the way you want to see it, it'll propel you towards that, but you have to fail a little bit.
Yeah. Yeah. And that is exactly how you sometimes find your authenticity because you're not doing it like everyone else is doing.
Yeah, like back to those magazine pages, each time I do it, I'm learning something or I'm trying something different or experimenting with color or the way I'm painting the face or whatever.
And I'm taking away, Oh, I really liked that aspect. I think I'll try that again. So it's you do have to fail to get yourself to something that you view as a [00:49:00] success. But I have to say, as probably in every creative act, there's this roller coaster where you start out and you're like, Oh, this is fun.
This is really cool. This is going to be great. And then you're like, This is not looking how I imagined it at all. What am I doing wrong? And then you walk away and come back and you're like, Oh, this is working. I like this part. It's always a journey. I think the walk away.
Is really key because if you're having trouble with something and you're just muddying the water, you do need to just go away. And science shows that while you walk away, your brain isn't done. Your brain is still thinking about it in the background. And then when you come back you look at what you were doing and you go, Oh, how did I not see this?
This is what I need to do next. And it all just flows out. So the walk away is important. A lot of times I'll take a photograph of something when it's at a certain point that I'm really [00:50:00] frustrated and I just walk away from physically painting and look at the image and just problem solve in my head a little bit because you're so right.
Like when you walk away, my brain's still like thinking, why don't I like it? What's wrong with it? How can I improve it? What can I change? What can I paint over? which I paint over a ton, which that's the reason I need to learn Procreate, so I can just double tap. You do, yes, or make a new layer. I find myself when I'm biking, I am in my head thinking about a project and I'll think about Layers, and should I do a clipping mask there?
What technique should I use? And then I will think to myself, Oh, I know what I need to do. And then I can hardly wait to get back to my iPad to give it a go. Really? Yeah. Oh, exactly. I have a, I do have a funny story about Ken's because she doesn't normally Paint analog [00:51:00] style she uses procreate.
Yeah, and she was on a retreat with me And she was painting a wood panel and she didn't like something. She painted and she was double tapping the wood panel To be able to do this. Yeah, she caught herself. She's oh that's not gonna work
Oh, she is an artist after my own heart. Cause that's exactly what I do. And I know you can double tap up to 250 times on procreate. You can take yourself way back to like yesterday.
So one more question for you. How are you maintaining a balance between your work life and your non work life?
How do you find that balance to structure yourself so that you're not feeling that stress of I have to get all these things done? I'm really lucky in a lot of ways again, because my husband. He does a ton. He takes a lot off of my [00:52:00] shoulders. I don't have to worry about things. He does like the financial side of the business and because he likes things a certain way, he does a lot of things around the house.
Cause I never do things the way he likes them. So I'm like, all right, you have it. It's all yours. So I'm lucky in that way. Yeah. And then I have Jeremy, who's worked for us for over 20 years, I have I'm just lucky cause I do have support. I, again, I don't have to do it all myself, but when I am feeling stressed, which is less and less these days because I'm doing more and more of what I'm choosing to do again, I'm grateful for that.
the podcast that I'm doing with Jamie called Rebloom, one of the things, cause we're talking about. Pivoting in your life towards something that lights you up or is more authentic. And so many of the conversations we've had are people saying [00:53:00] they, they pivoted back to something that they loved when they were a kid and something that was really more authentic to them.
They might've gone down the path of doing something that they thought they should do or were expected to do. And then ultimately they circle back to something that was them when they were a kid. what do you want to be when you grow up? Yeah. Yeah. And what was that? Sometimes you wanted to be a ballerina.
Time to take those dance lessons. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. Yep. So Lori, how can people find you out there in this wide world? If they want to learn more about you, where do they go to find you? I would really love to grow my email list because I have a lot of exciting things coming up and I'm going to start doing weekly prompts, creative prompts.
Kenzie and I are working on that. I'm a research geek and I love to find ways to inspire myself. So I want to share that [00:54:00] with other people. So if they just go to laurisebert. com and it's at L O R I S I E B E R T and sign up for my email list. I'm on Instagram. I'm active. I post pretty much every day there. And then I am on Facebook, but basically just sharing from Instagram. And then there's this big buzz about Kara, the new platform. That a lot of people are joining up. I'm, I, I put up a profile there. I'm not sure how that's going to play out, but we'll see. I can't do much more than posting every day on Instagram.
And that's been my platform of choice. Okay. And tell us just real quickly a little bit more about Art Biz Jam, because I know that is coming up in October of 2024. Yes, so my partner Phyllis Dobbs and I began Art Biz Jam close to 15 [00:55:00] years ago. It is a live conference that happens annually and it's geared towards professional artists or people on the brink of wanting to be a professional artist.
We have a lineup of speakers. We have product. Managers. We have a whole host of people that are going to speak to different things that can impact and help your business to grow or to refine or to change. It's happening October 6th to the 9th this year in Richmond, Virginia at a manufacturer that I work with called Evergreen Enterprises.
They do flags and garden decor and home decor and all kinds of products like that. And I've licensed with them for a long time. So they're allowing us to host it there. And we the community that's been built through ARPA's JAM. You're part of that community. It's really. It's really made me very happy to see how supportive this community is of one another.
Like they meet [00:56:00] at they meet once at Arpa's jam and they're like friends for life and we get together. Phyllis is really good about getting zoom calls together. She just had one last week where one of the attendees from Arpa's jam she's really proficient in augmented reality, which I knew nothing about.
So she shared all about that. And you never know what topic is going to spark you in, in. Like gear you towards something new. So we talk about social media and AI and licensing and contracts and pricing. And, just arm the artists with a lot of things to help them really make their businesses better.
It's true. It's where I met Lori I just believe the universe said it's time to meet Lori. And I don't know, you fell into my lap on, in some sort of way. I can't even remember how I saw it. And I was just like, I need to know more about this. [00:57:00] And went all by myself.
I did not know a single person. I just drove myself to Kansas City that year, parked my car, and walked up to the path and said, Hi, I'm here for Art Biz Jam, and everyone just welcomed me like they've known me forever. Yeah. And I've not looked back. It's been a huge blessing. A huge boost for me professionally.So if you're someone who wants to know more about how you can sell your art as an artist, Art Biz Jam is something you don't want to pass up. And what really gives, makes my heart grow is so many people like yourself have said it changed my life.
That's a big statement. Like Mandy Blackford, she's been, she, has made a tremendous shift in her business and is gearing towards becoming a full time artist and leaving her other job. And I don't know, I just I thought. That [00:58:00] really makes me happy. It's true. And the people that I've met from art is jam have been friends of mine since that time.
I'm so proud to have so many creative friends that I know I can reach out to and they will email me back. They will zoom with me. I see them when I'm in Atlanta and I, some of them, I only met online during COVID and then now we are good friends. It's so cool. It's amazing.
So if you're looking for a place where you're going to grow your passion as a creative, it's a good place to look into. So Lori, if they're interested in learning more about Art Biz Gem, what do they do? They just go to artbizjam.
com. Boom! Easy to do. It's a r t b i z g a m. com. Yes, and I will have a link in the show notes that will take you right to the spot so you can sign up and join in the fun. Yeah. Yay!
Can I share a few other things that are coming up? Oh yes, please go ahead. Yes. Yeah. So I'm teaching also [00:59:00] in Connecticut. If you go to artists, plural rising, Artists rising. net. Pat, our friend Pat Brubaker has a beautiful bed and breakfast in Connecticut. So I'm teaching there in October.
And then I'm really excited about some things next year. I teach at a place called Richwood on the river. And it's an hour from my home and it's right near Madison, Indiana, which is the most adorable town. Ever. And Cara Fox and Colleen Sutton and I, we are planning a conference for May 5th to the 8th there next year.
And we're going to have several speakers and a closing dance party. I'm doing a creative session and then I'm teaching in France again next fall and in Portugal with Kenzie also next fall. Oh my gosh. So if people sign up for my email list I announce all, or follow on Instagram I announce all that stuff there.
Great. [01:00:00] Great. So many places to go and be able to meet Lori and do a little arts and a little creativity with her. There's always something happening when I talk to you, I like to keep it. Keep it busy. Keep it creative. Keep it creative. Oh, Lori, thank you so much for taking time out of your hugely creative life to spend a little time talking to me about how you create today.
I love talking to you and I love how you see the world and I love how you like you use a lot of metaphors that are really good. Like you're good. I love a good metaphor
It's just the way I explain myself because it's like, it's painting. Yeah. With words, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You're really good at it.
Oh thank you so much for coming. And listeners out there, take a listen to what Laurie has just said. And remember, thinking about your creativity as a passion, as curiosity, as something that's going to fight [01:01:00] your fear. Think about how you can cloak yourself. in the passion that you've got. Figure out how you can use that every day so that you can uplift your spirits.
It's going to make you healthier in heart, mind, body, and soul. So take a look at what you can do this next week and whatever you do. Stay creative, my friend. Until next time. Bye bye.
00:00Â Introduction and Special Guest Announcement
01:08Â Lori Siebert's Creative Journey
05:16Â The Role of Curiosity in Creativity
08:30Â The Importance of Passion Projects
20:47Â Facing Fears and Embracing Collaboration
35:03Â Finding Joy in Small Creative Acts
36:05Â The Power of Simple Creative Practices
38:39Â Building Confidence Through Creativity
40:55Â Facing Fears and Embracing Growth
45:19Â Advice for Aspiring Creatives
51:37Â Balancing Work and Creative Life
58:52Â Upcoming Events and Opportunities
01:00:12Â Final Thoughts on Creativity
Links to Lori
Lori’s website:
https://lorisiebert.com/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/lorisiebert.studio/
ArtBizJam:
https://artbizjam.com/
Links to Create-Today
Get my Free Kickstart Video:
https://www.bdi-create.today/kickstart
Information about Create-Today offerings:
https://www.bdi-create.today
