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[00:00:00] Merideth Hite Estevez: I when, when somebody asks me if I'm procrastinating, I'm just gonna like, no, I'm stewing in creative juices. Leave me alone, .
[00:00:08] Sara McMahon: That's right. Let yourself be open to that. The, the conduit for creativity that's all around us. You're always going and filling it with other stuff. You're not present.
[00:00:17] Merideth Hite Estevez: Right. Hello there.
Merideth Hite Estevez here, your host of Artists for Joy podcast. If you are new here, welcome. Today's episode is number two of the new series we started last week entitled The Artist's Oath Last week's episode, featured a full length one, all about this concept that I made up with the coaching client of mine Oath, writing for the artist, getting down on paper.
What matters to you, how you wanna. In your creative practice, the code of conduct that you have in your creative life, signing it, having a friend or colleague be a witness to all that, you are joyfully swearing in your oath. I turned that into a workshop and invited friends and [00:01:00] members of my online community.
And so during the rest of the month of March, we will be hearing the oaths from other artists for joy artists. Before I introduce today's show, just a quick reminder that April 21st and 22nd of this year, I am doing another round of the Artist Oath workshops on two different dates, so you can pick one that works best for your schedule if you have wanted to do some one-on-one coaching with me but weren't able to afford it.
Or if you are longing to connect with other creatives like you, click the link in the show notes to register. this week on the show we have a dear friend, Sarah McMahon. She is a classically trained actress with a tendency to fly by the seat of her pants, which is what her bio says, . I love that she is also a passionate improv performer and instructor who teaches others how to enhance their listening skills, playfulness.
Empathy, connectedness, and liberation from fear of failure. She [00:02:00] called me from her home in Seattle to tell us about her creative process and to share her oath for all to hear. Hey Sarah.
[00:02:08] Sara McMahon: Hi Meredith. How are you today? I am doing really well. How are you doing? I'm
[00:02:14] Merideth Hite Estevez: good. I'm glad to see you. Tell us, tell us a little bit about yourself and about your creative.
[00:02:19] Sara McMahon: Oh, well. Um, yeah. My name is Sarah McMahon and I am a paper cutter and I am an improviser, and I am a, an applied improv facilitator, which means that I do improv both for performance and then I teach it as a way to, um, connect with life skills as well. Mm-hmm. ,
[00:02:40] Merideth Hite Estevez: how do improv and paper cutting go together?
Like how do, which, which skills do they have in.
[00:02:47] Sara McMahon: Hmm. They are both so much about flow and mindfulness and being present and also so much about being okay with [00:03:00] mistakes. So, um, You know, both in paper cutting and in improv, uh, the creativity feels alive. It feels like you're connecting to the creativity and you, uh, might do something that might look outwardly like a mistake, right?
Like I might. Be cutting and right, like cut right into something that I really wanted to keep there. But I look at it and I go, oh, well maybe the art actually wanted to do something different. What can I do with it as it is now? Because paper cutting especially, you can't, if it's cut, I could glue it back on, but I really try not to, you know?
So once it's done, it's. Kind of
[00:03:43] Merideth Hite Estevez: reminds me of OBO reads actually.
[00:03:45] Sara McMahon: Uhhuh . How so?
[00:03:47] Merideth Hite Estevez: Well, because when you're scraping reeds, there's no putting, there's no putting the cane back on. And once you, like, once you scrape too much in particular parts of the read, the re it could ruin the Reid. But, but there's like, there's tricks you can use [00:04:00] by.
In proportions, in scraping another part to make the other part seem thicker, if that makes sense. So, yeah. Yeah. I, I never thought of remaking, like improv, like accepting the offering of what you get .
[00:04:11] Sara McMahon: Yeah. It really is. We have a saying in improv where we say, play the scene you're in, not the scene you wish you were in.
Right. And that sort of applies for in your art as well. Play the scene, you know. Play with the art. Sometimes if you paint your art is too thick and yet all of a sudden you end up with this gloppy thing that's different than it had looked like when you went into it. But then if you say yes to it, you can see a whole nother thing that starts to be created.
So it's the same way improv and paper cutting really have that in common, that really that ability to, um, see mistakes as gifts.
[00:04:49] Merideth Hite Estevez: Hmm. Yeah, that is, that is such a beautiful. Tell me about some of the challenges that you face creatively.
[00:04:59] Sara McMahon: Well, it's [00:05:00] interesting that, um, improv is completely a, uh, community-based art form.
You, you can't do improv by yourself really. It's not standup comedy. It all relies on listening, paying attention, connecting with other people, and paper cutting. Very solitary. It's just me sitting alone with a blank piece of paper for many hours and sometimes it can be tricky to switch my brain back and forth between the two sort of ways of being creatively.
Um, so that's one challenge, I think. And then just also trying to be, um, trying to continuously be connected to what I. Like my purpose in both of those art forms, right? Like partly I do them just because they bring me joy because I see a picture in my mind and I wanna cut it. Or I [00:06:00] think, oh, I wanna play that game and I go play it with some friends or something.
And there's also the piece of it that I feel like is about purpose and about how to use my art and how to use my gifts in a way that feels. Uh, relevant and, um, connective to the bigger world and, um, impactful. Yeah.
[00:06:24] Merideth Hite Estevez: One of the, the lies that I have had to stop believing in my, my music training was that it's like being multi-passionate or multi, multi-faceted is not a liability.
That that could be, that could be a gift. And so you've talked a little bit about how the, the art form. Speak to one another, but how, how does your, does your paper cutting, um, purpose and your improv purpose align?
[00:06:53] Sara McMahon: Oh, I think there are a couple ways. One is that I feel [00:07:00] like both of them. Because when I do sort of surrender to the joyfulness of them and they, they both bring me joy.
And then I think that allows me to bring joy to others and connectedness to others. I think that's a real, like, in and of itself that is, is valuable, that is enough to, uh, to participate in delight and joy and playfulness is, uh, is huge. And as I wrote in my Artis oath, which we'll talk about later, , I believe that, um, making art is powerful and is a form of resistance against, uh, a lot of things that, um, are in our society and our culture that tell us that it's not worth really much of anything.
So, um, yeah, that's what I can think of right now. Uh,
[00:07:50] Merideth Hite Estevez: what I, what I see in you as a friend and as a, as a co-facilitator is like a deep love for community and a deep connection with others across the Zoom [00:08:00] room and. in, uh, I haven't met you in real life yet, sadly, but, um, , I know that that is a really important part for you.
And so I wonder how, how you're able to find the energy and sort of the, the courage really to show up and be real in so many places and to share yourself with the creative community. Like, what's that? What does that feel like? And could, can you tell me about how you do value community in finding connect?
[00:08:30] Sara McMahon: Yeah, I, uh, I, I, first of all, I have a really, I just have a natural enthusiasm for learning and then also for teaching. So as soon as almost the second I learned something new that I just. Think is amazing. I want to talk to other people about it. I wanna, if I learn a new game, you can bet I'm gonna take it immediately to my class and start teaching it to them and talk about how it builds us up as [00:09:00] community or how it.
Um, how it helps us tune in more to ourselves, how it helps us tune in more to our listening skills, our, um, empathy, our playfulness, all of those things. And, um, so that's one of the things is that I, I just naturally am a, I'm curious and I'm excited to share. So I think that really helps. I have learned through the artist's way and therapy and, um, just a lot of years.
Working on myself that taking care of myself and as Julia Cameron talks about treating myself like a precious object, um, will make me strong. I, the, the self-care that I do, the way that I have learned to. Take care of myself and love myself as is, which I also, um, reference in my artist's oath, allows me to then, um, care [00:10:00] for and show up in a genuine way with others.
When I say no, I don't have that bandwidth right now, it allows me to say yes when I do have the bandwidth. So, um, that's, that's something that I really, um, take seriously. Yeah, and I, I.
[00:10:17] Merideth Hite Estevez: I've read your oath. I was with you when you were crafting it, and I think one thing that strikes me about the power of naming what matters and connecting with who we wanna be and naming how we wanna show up, right?
Is that then we can use it as sort of a calendar or a net to, to run things through, to make sure is this, is this aligned with who I wanna be and how I wanna show up, and what do I need to do? To, you know, to show up at this audition and feel prepared or to show up this at this group and be ready to share my heart or to be authentic and real.
Yeah. And I, I saw that come, come through in your oath. Tell me a little bit about what the process for you was like writing your [00:11:00] oath. You attended the, the very first workshop I ever did on it after the original Artist Oath episode, and I. What was that a, did you have to give yourself permission to go there?
Was it, when you heard the episode, were you just like, ready to write your oath right away? Like, tell me about that.
[00:11:17] Sara McMahon: Oh yeah. I was so excited. I, I can't remember. I feel like I had been kind of, Thinking about writing some sort of artist statement or something that sort of tried to encapsulate it, but this felt like so much more.
Um, it just felt bigger and deeper and more rich and it really was. Uh, Meredith, you really led us through, there was a small group of us and we shared the things that shaped us as artists. Um, Poetry and artists, and you had us think about people who we looked up to as artists and mentors and um, and we could, um, sort of grab things from their, from what they had put out into the world [00:12:00] from their art and uh, and then from each other and really encouraging each other and writing in, in bits.
And then it just was really a, um, it was a really, a great experience and I was, I was ready for it. And like I said, I had been doing all this work that it felt like, it felt like a really great opportunity to write a, a love letter essentially to my artist, to myself. And like you said, you know, I, I take it out and I read it, um, pretty regularly to remind myself, uh, it's sort of like the values.
You know, when you sort through and do your value stuff, like you're saying, like that's kind of a filter that you make choices through having your artist's oath there for you to look through, reminds you of how you really feel about yourself when you push comes to shove. Hmm.
[00:12:53] Merideth Hite Estevez: Can you read it for us now?
I can.[00:13:00]
[00:13:00] Sara McMahon: I believe that I am part of and a conduit for the creativity that is always flowing around us. I believe that I was created to create. I believe it makes a difference in this world to honor my creativity. I believe my creative impulse is inexhaustible. I believe art is a revolutionary act, rejecting the narrative of apathy, white supremacy, and scarcity.
I joyfully swear I will allow myself and others to fail joyfully and maintain a sense of humor about the ridiculousness and sacredness of the human experience. I joyfully swear to make art. Bad art, weird art. Art. I don't understand to sit in the chair or take the stage and make the art. I joyfully swear to accept my role as a teacher to cheer and support others on their artistic journeys.
I will treat myself as [00:14:00] a creation and not a problem to be solved. I will treat myself and my body with hydration, healthy food, dancing. Sleep, tenderness, coddling, spoiling, treats, and rest. I will love the body I live in, not merely tolerate it or wish it were different. I will say yes when I am enthusiastic and no.
When I feel drained listening to my gut, I will advocate for myself and protect my artist self. Always I will say, I will say yes to the offers as they are and not as I wish they were. I will name myself as an artist and make choices for my life that honor that identity. I will make space for myself and others to expand into our creative selves.
I will not limit my life as an artist to a certain number of years monetary threshold to hit or approval from those around me. I will have the [00:15:00] stubbornness to accept my gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world. I will leave space. I will sit for the same lesson as many times as it takes to learn it with no judgment on myself or my abilities.
I will laugh at my own jokes. I will forgive myself a million times over.
I love it so much. I love, and I can see all these fingerprints from so many other artists. I see this part and I think, oh, that's from my experience in the artist's way with Meredith. And there's from I for I will Forgive myself a million Times Over is from everything everywhere, all at once. And I will laugh at my own jokes and thinking about the ways that improv impacted me.
And I see my parents in here. Mm. You know, and [00:16:00] I see my community. It's really, it's pretty, it's a pretty amazing experience. I hope you do it again cuz I think it's great for everyone to dig down and think about what do they joyfully swear, you know, .
[00:16:14] Merideth Hite Estevez: Yeah, I am. I am gonna offer it again. And that's, uh, you can read more details about that in the show notes,
[00:16:21] Sara McMahon: Yeah, it's, it's pretty stunning. I'm very, um, I feel very. Very tickled . Very joyful to have to have this in my, in my, uh, artist's toolkit. Good.
[00:16:39] Merideth Hite Estevez: Yeah. Tell me how listeners can support you. Where can we find you in your work? Where can we go and give you a digital high five? Uh,
[00:16:47] Sara McMahon: digital high five. Let's see. I'm on Instagram.
It's Sarah Mac Paper Cuts, and uh, my website is sarah delighted.com and I provide updates for everything that's coming, uh, [00:17:00] in the. Month or so on my newsletter, which you can sign up for on sarah delighted.com. And I would love to have you as part of the delighted community. It would be great.
[00:17:12] Merideth Hite Estevez: Love it. All those links.
We'll, we'll put them in the show notes so that people can just click and hit follow and click and enter their email address and all of it. We're all connected on the internet . Um, before I let you go, I'd love to ask you what or who I guess technically, um, is bringing you joy today?
[00:17:31] Sara McMahon: Hmm. Today, what's bringing me joy today is, um, well, this time with you, Meredith makes me very happy and, uh, I'm really excited to, I have a couple of, um, new ideas for paper cuts that I'm.
Percolating on sort of stewing in creative juices makes me really happy. Like before you sit down and start working on the project, but while you're still just kind of percolating. So that's bringing me a lot [00:18:00] of joy is thinking about some portraits that I'm gonna do for people as presents. And um, and I'm really excited about a big project that I'm working on with some applied.
So
[00:18:12] Merideth Hite Estevez: cool. I, when when somebody asks me if I'm procrastinating, I'm just gonna be like, no, I'm stewing in creative juices. Leave me alone, .
[00:18:20] Sara McMahon: That's right. It looks like I'm just staring outside into the, into the wilderness. But really, I'm. Creating. Yeah, it's true though. I mean, it's really true. You have to let yourself be peaceful and let the, let yourself be open to that big creativity.
Like I said, you know that the, the conduit for creativity that's all around us. Hmm. You're always. Going and filling it with other stuff, you're not present. Right. So,
[00:18:47] Merideth Hite Estevez: totally. I think, I think I did an episode, a musical meditation about how daydreaming is productive . So , it's, yeah,
[00:18:54] Sara McMahon: it's important. It's important.
I, yeah, I feel like we had a just big discussion about this recently, but Yeah, [00:19:00] you need
[00:19:00] Merideth Hite Estevez: to, you need to do a paper cut that says, uh, daydreaming is product.
[00:19:03] Sara McMahon: Okay, I'll add it to the list to give you some more
[00:19:06] Merideth Hite Estevez: creative Jesus
[00:19:07] Sara McMahon: to stew in . . Thank you Meredith. This was lovely. I always love seeing your beautiful face and talking to you.
Hmm. And uh, I love doing the artist's way with you. It's really fun.
[00:19:20] Merideth Hite Estevez: Thanks for sharing your heart
[00:19:21] Sara McMahon: with us. Yeah, thank you, Meredith.
[00:19:24] Merideth Hite Estevez: Thank you so much to Sarah for sharing yourself with us, encouraging us to feel the joy of whatever offering the world gives us and to play the scene that we're in. To say yes to Joy.
You can follow Sarah via the links in the show notes and sign up to her email newsletter to learn about online and in-person improv classes if you are in the Seattle area, plus you can buy some paper cut prints and other delightful products. All of the links about Sarah are found in the show notes.
Today's music featured Artie [00:20:00] Sun and Angela Sheik. Also, don't forget to grab your seat to the Artist's Oath Workshop so we can help you get creating with confidence and with joy. That workshop is April 21st and 22nd. Until next week, take good care.
Today's sounds of joy is a little improv game Sarah and I played at the end of our call. I think you can hear the delight in our voices. Enjoy. All right, Meredith.
[00:20:30] Sara McMahon: So bumper stickers is a game where we go back and forth each. Saying one word at a time and we're gonna do a very short little saying that would fit on the back of a car like a bumper sticker.
And when we feel like when we've got to the end of the bumper sticker, we're gonna stick our hands out and say, stick it. Cuz that means it's ready to stick on the bumper. . Does that sound good? Sounds
[00:20:52] Merideth Hite Estevez: great. Okay. Do you
[00:20:54] Sara McMahon: want me to start? Yes, please.
[00:20:56] Merideth Hite Estevez: Okay, great.
[00:20:56] Sara McMahon: Um, um, [00:21:00] forever is,
[00:21:03] Merideth Hite Estevez: Really long journey stick.
Stick it .
[00:21:11] Sara McMahon: Okay, you start
[00:21:12] Merideth Hite Estevez: one. Artists find that joyful creation begins with explosions of off love. Stick it. Stick it. Good. Your turn. Okay. Um, Hawk, if you love spaghetti.