46: Creative Lies--"My Work is My Worth"

How do you answer that pesky, well-meaning question that strangers inevitably ask: ”What do you do?” This week on the podcast, a debunking of a lie creatives tell--”My work is my worth.” Does the answer to that small-talk icebreaker make you feel anxious or inadequate? If you aren’t creatively performing well in any given moment, does it affect your feelings of self-worth? Merideth will explore ways to replace that negative core belief with some joyful truth that can help you separate your value from your performance.

Listen to more of Schubert’s 1817 Sonatas performed by Sookkyung Cho

Episode sponsor: Watercolors and Mindfulness

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45: Solitude

How does unstructured alone time affect our creativity? Where is the line between healthy solitude, which can promote important reflection and growth— and social isolation, which may cause loneliness? Merideth shares a little of what science has to say about the difference and explores the importance of restorative solitude for artists and creatives.

Study on the healthy aspects of social withdrawal

Article: The History of Loneliness

Leave us a comment or question

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44: Worry

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After the popularity of the anxiety episode, a follow up—this time anxiety’s legitimate, responsible, older cousin: worry. How are worry and anxiety different? What does the science say about worrying? Can it be helpful/useful? Merideth will share the results of a recent social media poll about artists’ worries, plus some things that are helping her cope with it lately.

Frederick Buechner’s book “Beyond Words”

Controlled Burning Makes Forests Healthy

“The Upside of Worrying,” Kate Sweeney

43: Meet an Artist Who: Painted everything she owned

This week on the podcast, the first in a series of new bonus episodes entitled "Meet an Artist Who," where we invite artists to share their stories in their own voice. This week Merideth chats with painter Jaye Schlesinger about her show "Possessed," a collection of 380 oil paintings depicting every item she owned after a two-year decluttering process.

Jaye's website

Purchase a panel from "Possessed"

Jaye's Etsy Shop

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41: Mindset

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How does the spirit with which we approach things change our experience? How can we learn to cultivate a mindset of growth and gentleness in our creative work, especially as we are trying new things? Merideth shares the story of how she learned the answer to these questions from a certain toddler this week. She also shares insights of Psychologist Carol S. Dweck, specifically how mindset can contribute to success. Watercolor art used this week by MB Whitaker. Find her work on instagram @mbwhitakerrr.

Be in touch!

Carol Dweck’s Book

Indictus Project

Respectful Parenting

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40: Friendship

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What stops us from cultivating deep friendships, especially with other artists? This week on the show, Merideth explores how friendship can be a powerful tool in the creative process, offering us not only companionship, but also self-knowledge, inspiration, perspective and healing.

Big news: Artists for Joy is expanding!

Read about Transactive Memory Systems, The Atlantic

39: Just. Start.

On this week's show, Merideth explores why we are so reluctant to take that initial step towards a creative goal and how we might follow Nike’s call to "just do it." She'll share a story from her marathoning days and offer a deep insight she learned from a successful entrepreneur recently about the relationship between things that are scary and/or dangerous. 

Coach with Merideth

Join the Artist's Way Creative Cluster

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38: An Artist's Search for Why

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In this episode, Merideth takes on the ever-important topic for artists--naming and claiming your “why.” What benefit is there in this singularity of purpose, of making meaning in work and life? She'll share three concrete practices/questions/ways of thinking to help you name yours, plus offer insights from two major thought leaders on the subject. 

Watch Simon Sinek’s Ted Talk

Join the Artist’s Way Creative Cluster

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37: Competition

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This week we talk competition, how comparing ourselves to others can drain us and lead to creative drought. Merideth will offer a metaphor for scarcity mindset that will probably make you hungry. Plus she’ll share some tips for choosing abundance and gratitude over jealousy and fear in your creative practice.

Learn more about The Artist’s Way Creative Cluster starting soon

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36: Anxiety

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This week on the podcast, Merideth explores a topic she and so many artists struggle with: anxiety. She’ll share info from two studies on how anxiety affects our brain health and offer some insights into managing the stress that she found in the most unexpected place. 

Study “Positive attitudes reduce dementia risk”

Study “PTSD doubles dementia risk”

Mental Health Resources on our website

35: Artist as Empath

This week on the podcast Merideth explores the strength of being a deep feeler, how artists can use their sensitivity to nurture empathy in others. She'll also discuss the important distinction between being an empath and suffering from clinical depression; how we all might see our potential for deep empathy as a strength, while setting healthy boundaries around our mental health. 

Check out these mental health resources on our website.

Read the article from The Atlantic about spiders taking flight

Submit a creative conundrum to the show.

Watch and listen to more Todd Groves

33: Talent + Hardwork = ?

This week on the podcast Merideth examines the popular mantra: talent + hard work= success. How much do our unique and innate gifts contribute to our success as an artist? Are those two parts of the equation all there is to a satisfactory life as a creative person? Merideth shares a story of how a complete stranger once called out an unexpected talent that would became a calling. She’ll explore a not so commonly considered third element to that equation which she believes could help all artists along their journey to joy.

Join our next Artist’s Way Creative Cluster starting soon!

32: Repeat the Sounding Joy

What *is* joy, how is it different from regular old happiness, why is choosing joy an important practice to cultivate as an artist, anyway? This week, Merideth shares some ideas on what to do in between joyful memories on stage, plus more on what is behind the podcast’s name.

Learn more about Indictus Project here

31: People Pleasing

Should artists be people pleasers? Is it possible (or wise) to stop caring what people think? This week Merideth shares a personal story about a big decision that helped her stop her people pleasing habit, plus she’ll explore how the work of sociologist and writer Martha Beck impacted her perception of her “generalized other” and led to a more joyful life as a musician.

Enneagram Workshop Registration

Artist’s Way Creative Cluster Registration

27: Change

Change—even when it’s for the best—is hard. Merideth shares a time when she was surprisingly resistant to change and offers one way of viewing our creative work as an offering and invitation into hope. She’ll answer a listener’s creative conundrum about creative blocks, plus share a special announcement.

Share your creative conundrum here.