Ever wonder how the creative minds behind dazzling designs find their inspiration? Meet Emily Mann, the artistic genius and founder of Inc and Indigo Studios, as she invites us into her world of color, shapes, and textures. Get ready to uncover the secrets behind her unique process, how she taps into numerous sources to fuel her creativity and the importance of setting time aside for defined tasks.
Emily not only shares her creative process, but also imparts wisdom on the role of emotions in establishing success. Hear her speak about how humor keeps her grounded, her vision for eco-friendly designs, and the art of dealing with discomfort. You'll get a unique glimpse into how she celebrates her wins and embraces change with grace.
Finally, Emily opens up about the fine balance between art, parenting, and business. It's not all about chaos and multi-tasking, but seeking help, stepping out of the comfort zone, and learning from mistakes. Prepare to be inspired by Emily's journey and her nuggets of wisdom on manifesting goals and making the most of our lives. This episode is sure to leave you brimming with motivation for your own creative journey.
Learn more about Emily Here
Ever wonder how the creative minds behind dazzling designs find their inspiration? Meet Emily Mann, the artistic genius and founder of Inc and Indigo Studios, as she invites us into her world of color, shapes, and textures. Get ready to uncover the secrets behind her unique process, how she taps into numerous sources to fuel her creativity and the importance of setting time aside for defined tasks.
Emily not only shares her creative process, but also imparts wisdom on the role of emotions in establishing success. Hear her speak about how humor keeps her grounded, her vision for eco-friendly designs, and the art of dealing with discomfort. You'll get a unique glimpse into how she celebrates her wins and embraces change with grace.
Finally, Emily opens up about the fine balance between art, parenting, and business. It's not all about chaos and multi-tasking, but seeking help, stepping out of the comfort zone, and learning from mistakes. Prepare to be inspired by Emily's journey and her nuggets of wisdom on manifesting goals and making the most of our lives. This episode is sure to leave you brimming with motivation for your own creative journey.
Learn more about Emily Here
Welcome to Mind Over Medium, a podcast for artists who want to make money doing what they love. When you tune in a twink, you will learn how to attract your ideal commissions, approach galleries for representation, have a great online launch of your work, and how to do it all with less overwhelm and confusion. You will have the opportunity to hear from amazing artists who will share how they have built their successful creative businesses. My hope is to create a space where artists and the creative curious can gather to learn about one of the most important tools creative entrepreneurs need in their toolbox their mindset. Thanks so much for tuning in to Mind Over Medium podcast. Let's get started.
Speaker 1:Emily Mann is the artist, designer and founder of Inc and Indigo Studios. Emily believes in creating and sharing beauty every day. In this episode, you will hear Emily and I talk about so many things that I know you're going to find really, really helpful. Emily and I were studio neighbors for a long time and I can tell you from my personal experience she is as genuine, kind and generous in person as you will hear her be on this episode. I'm excited for you to listen to our conversation and I know that you will find some good takeaways to help you in your creative business. Enjoy my creative friends. How are you? It's good to see you, it's so good to see you.
Speaker 2:I'm in your old space.
Speaker 1:I know it looks so much better than when I was in there.
Speaker 2:Oh no, I wish I could give you a whole tour, but really it's mostly empty, but very functional in that it has a desk with a computer at it, which is what we are going for.
Speaker 1:Yes, well, and I know it's important for you to be able to kind of separate yourself from the actual making, to be able to get work done.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that has been huge and definitely already seeing a change in what I'm able to do, sort of like the writing part or like the planning part, is very hard for me to do without a little bit of separation and you know the lack of, you know, trying to get away from distractions, and it's very hard to unless you chunk out some time to do this kind of stuff, to really get it done, so I just kept putting it off.
Speaker 2:I'm like I know I need to send a newsletter, but I got to, also got to make all this art or you know whatever else, so it has been really good to just be able to be like I got to close this giant door.
Speaker 1:If people could only see that door. I know I really wish we would have to take a picture of the door and take a picture. Yes, it's a sight to behold, yeah, yeah. Well, I will say let me back up. You know we were neighbors for a long time at the studio and you were a delightful neighbor, you and your folks that work with you.
Speaker 2:So I've been missing you all. Yeah, we really do, and the puppies miss you.
Speaker 1:I know I'm missing small. I need to come over for some puppy therapy.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Puppy therapy. We need to go to lunch. I know, I know we do. We'll get that scheduled. I will start by saying, witnessing firsthand, you are one of the hardest working people that I know. Thank you Truly. I mean you know, it's no wonder that you are successful and you're an ass. I mean you, you work really, really hard and I do yeah yeah, and.
Speaker 1:I think sometimes there's a misconception and tell me how you, what you think about this that to be an artist, to be a working artist, you have to wait for inspiration to come and you have to be led and all this, but really the case.
Speaker 2:No, I would say I certainly haven't ever found that to be the case For me. So much of what I make is about process. Like so much of my work involves multi, multi step things, lots of things that are assemblages, lots of things that are like multi process kind of pieces. So a ton of the inspiration in itself for me is coming from the process of like trying new things out, being kind of fearless with materials. You know, testing stuff Like that is a big part of my inspiration. But certainly I haven't I've never really, I've never really like caught inspiration in that way of just sort of like sitting back and, you know, waiting for it to arrive.
Speaker 2:I'm sort of always getting inspiration right. So, like I think, like you, I listened to so many different podcasts I'm getting a ton of inspiration from. You know, I listened to everything from political to cultural, to, you know, really really dumb pop culture stuff, to to comedy, whatever I said, I'm getting a ton of inspiration, just like in. I love music I mean, that's a given but I, you know, I love fashion and design, like I have since I was a kid. I started getting vogue, like you know, before I was a teen or something you know.
Speaker 2:Oh, my gosh for someone who is not like particularly like fashionable myself, like I've never spent like real money on clothing or anything.
Speaker 2:Oh, thank you, but I, you know, like, I've just always loved design and you know so I'm certainly always pulling inspiration from, just, you know, interior design, travel, and I certainly nature. Like a lot of my work is sort of, you know, obliquely, sort of referencing nature. You know, patterns and nature repetition, sort of pedals and these elements, and I'm, you know, definitely, if I wasn't doing this every day, I would probably doing, be doing something with plants every day, because that is definitely my other love.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know, I love seeing pictures of your home in your garden.
Speaker 2:I would like that. I wish I could just like deep dive on that sometimes, because it that is one thing that is hard to do without the big chunks of time, you know, because I'm like there's there's parts of my yard vision that is just languishing, but it's definitely been, you know, a passion of mine since I was a little kid, so it's fun to actually have a place to live it out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's awesome. Do you ever feel overwhelmed, like with your work? And if you do, what do you do about it?
Speaker 2:I don't so much feel overwhelmed with work. Thankfully, as things have scaled up, I have gotten more help. I mean it's been, you know, obviously the biggest piece I do feel overwhelmed with being a parent and being a creative. I mean that part has not. You know, there there is this sort of myth of you have babies and things are hard and busy when they're babies but then somehow it's going to get less busy and like, wow, you'll be able to get right back to it, and that is not true. It is not true for any other parents.
Speaker 2:I know and, as you know, like I've had a lot of really hard parenting years and so that part is, yeah, right, so that part is overwhelming to me. And how I get help with that is really my, my community. So like being able to talk to other parents like you, being able to talk to, you know, even just people, like listening to podcasts, listening to people on the you know, internet who've had similar experiences as my kiddos have. And then you know, I am lucky enough that my parents moved here when I, when my oldest was, you know, just a toddler, and having them here has been huge. But honestly, I think if I did not also have to parent. I would be like unstoppable.
Speaker 1:I mean it just sounds negative because I also know what you mean.
Speaker 2:I get really motivated because I have kids and I'm so inspired by them and all those things.
Speaker 2:But the time French that is that is the most overwhelming, like the, the sort of never ending, you know, tick, tick, talk down of the day, of like I got to be there for school pickup, is just ever present.
Speaker 2:You know, sometimes you just want to be able to go and go and go, and I really respect people who found other ways to like balance it out. You know, I think, like Michelle Armis once told me she had this system with her husband where like one day a week she was like not at all like the parent, basically. I mean obviously she is, but like yeah, she didn't have to. She's not the go to to pick up, she's not whatever, and she could work as late as she wanted, she's not having to think about dinner or whatever. I'm like that is so good for your brain to be able to sort of just have that open ended time to really, you know, follow whatever trail you're on, and that's definitely, I think, could be a really interesting way, if you can make it work, to at least give yourself one day a week, or even if it's one day every few weeks, to sort of be able to, you know, just be a you and not.
Speaker 1:Not everything, I totally agree. Do you do anything to carve out that just time for yourself? I know Fridays are your kind of your time right.
Speaker 2:Yes. So I would say that has been something that has been kind of a game changer, because we really found that in the last couple years, as we have, you know, been able to hire Robin and Sam to be here in the studio, you know, there also then became this aspect of me I mean, I'm not really managing people as in the traditional sense of like a business, but you're like helping, you know, you're you are.
Speaker 2:Yeah right, so it's like coordinating what's happening and you know, answering questions and all of that, and I mean that's glorious. But it's also meant that I wasn't really having any time to just sort of like noodle on stuff and I just play. So what we've done is we've sort of kept Friday as my you know open studio like just me here, and unless we're on like some insane deadline, we're really trying to keep that open for me to just play and be creative. So I would say that's what we're able to do right now. And then things are always changing with kids and with schedules and stuff, and there's hopefully going to be a little more leeway in the future with my kids being able to be at home by themselves and stuff that will ease up. But yeah, I think having Fridays to myself has been huge and that's where I've made a bunch of new work. So a lot of the stuff that's come out in the last couple of years has been sort of new stuff, has been sort of conceptualized on Friday.
Speaker 1:Yay, that's awesome, and you're pretty close to having them be able to be home by themselves, right?
Speaker 2:Like you're just almost there, or are you there? We're almost there. I would say, we can definitely do it for short, short stints, but just the dynamics between them does not make me super comfortable For leaving them with each other. It's more of the each other part 100%.
Speaker 1:If I ever told you this, so you know we're a blended family and we had the three youngest with us when we first got married and we carved out Wednesday nights date night, and we still do it Like date.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because you know life's a little crazy and we're all busy and all that, and so when we first started doing it, we had the oldest one be in charge of the two youngest ones. So my oldest, my youngest stepdaughter was in charge of the two boys. I at least twice. We came home people were in tears, I mean. I mean there was like had been a food fight.
Speaker 2:I mean just like you're walking into a wall of chaos, a chaos.
Speaker 1:I'm like it's the same thing worth it, but it ended up being worth it, but yes. So I know exactly what you're talking about. But just yeah, I guess you just have to deal with the right, the walls, and we're just to get a little time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. So we're definitely like testing those waters, but it's and this summer will be a little bit of that. So I'm going to try to to test out maybe becoming for earlier studio hours and, like you know, letting them kind of do their own thing with the oldest sibling in charge at home for some of that time and then be scooting out of here mid afternoon and then, you know, hopefully get to do more like summery stuff. But yeah, that struggle is I just I really feel for every kind of parent and but I do think there's extra pressure on moms.
Speaker 2:Hi you and I are in agreement there, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what emotion do you think is most important for creating success?
Speaker 2:I mean, I would say I don't know if it comes as an emotion, but, like you know, being good humored about you know all of this, I think really helps, like I, I tend to move pretty quickly through like the frustration, anger, fades of something not working out, to sort of like I got to be able to laugh at this or I got to be able to, like you know, I I sort of say like I take my work very seriously.
Speaker 2:I don't take myself very seriously, you know. So I think I think just being you know and being playful in your work and you know seeing where that sort of takes you, but yeah, I think, just having like honestly being lighthearted about stuff and bringing that into other situations, I think it's fun for other people too. So, yeah, I think that's sort of part of the secret sauce over here is that I think we try to be fun to work with and you know whether that's working with other people who are helping, you know, sort of on the backend, or whether it's like more client you know facing, but, yeah, being able to sort of laugh off because there are some ridiculous situations that occur. You know things can get uncomfortable, especially when you're working in the type of way that we do, where it's commissioned work almost exclusively. So there's. You know you have to check your ego.
Speaker 2:you know a lot of times you're like okay lots of checking that ego and I think obviously, yeah, humor is a big part of that. So, yeah, I would say that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think, and I think that shows in your work too. Oh, thank you, it comes across. Yeah, just give a little bit an explanation, overview of what kind of work you do and what you do for people that just come Sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you know, we sort of the elevator pitch for Inca Nindigo is that we are a multi-disciplinary creative studio and we are working primarily right now with interior designers and art consultants. That's our main client base to create custom works that usually are going to be placed in, you know, like a hospitality setting, like a hotel, or also that could be corporate spaces, it could be healthcare, casinos, cruise ships.
Speaker 1:I don't think I knew you were in casinos, are you? Yes, I am in casinos. Sure, that's awesome.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we actually got to install one in person a couple of months ago. Was it in Vegas? Yeah? Yeah, I had never been to Vegas.
Speaker 1:My husband's in Vegas right now. Where is it? I'll see if he can go take a look.
Speaker 2:It's kind of off the strip. It's at Red.
Speaker 1:Rocks. It's at Red Rocks Casino.
Speaker 2:It's in the High Roller Suites. Oh well, he won't go there. Well, you can see it from outside. It's got windows to the main floor. That's awesome. Yeah, it was really fun.
Speaker 2:So, you know, with that our work is sort of. You know, I've always been super inspired, like I said, by process. You know, most of what I'm making right now is large scale sculptural work and those could be textile pieces, they can be sort of repurposed materials, they can be the material I think I'm maybe primarily known for working in. As far as sculptural stuff right now is paper clay, which is this really amazing material that I've sort of been able to work in similar ways as ceramics or you know, other types of clay. But because it's oven and air dryable, I can use it in ways that really work for the scale and the pace at which I work, which is fast, and it has all these possibilities. So we're doing a lot of dimensional work. But then I also, you know, have all these two dimensional pieces.
Speaker 2:I work in encaustic, I work in pigments, I work in watercolor and a lot of that work. You know I have the originals. I also have a licensing line, so that's work that consultants and interior designers can license and reproduce some projects in a number of ways. And then I'm sort of just now starting to get my brain around offering some, you know, hopefully eventually a course, maybe just initially, a workshop on working with consultants, because I do think it's kind of this mysterious thing for a lot of artists and I was an art consultant.
Speaker 2:That was my first sort of gig in the arts, so I have sort of like this insider knowledge and sort of you know, deep understanding of what consultants need from artists and what makes their job easier. And I just love the industry, I love that whole, I love the type of projects I get to work on, because a lot of what I work on is large scale, you know, much larger than you can do typically as an artist. And where is it going with that? Oh, yes, so, yeah, so, hopefully, you know, workshops and courses and you know, just really trying to test out some other stuff. Like I always had this idea of doing sort of more broad creative, like you know, maybe licensing for products or other design, like one thing we've really been trying to do to look at is like wall covering designs.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah your work would look great. Wouldn't that be so fun and I just so amazing. I think it'd be such a cool application and a lot of the pieces that are already in our licensing line are high res enough they could look huge. But, you know, I'm trying to figure out ways to sort of look at that and figure out how that works within what we're doing now and also how I can do that in like an aligned way.
Speaker 2:I have this sort of anxiety generally about creating things that will end up in the landfill, you know, or like, or or going to be have this huge carbon footprint in general and like trying to think about how, how, you know, we can sort of maybe work out some of these visions, but do it in a way that I think what I would, you know, feel really good about long term. But I am definitely, you know, more and more feeling the, the pull to do some in person you know, workshops and stuff, because I've never really, you know I've been asked about techniques. I've been, I've made up a few techniques that are, as far as I know, aren't really anyone else's doing. I think it would be really fun to show people, but I've always had a lot of hangups about, you know, doing video. I've had hangups about, you know, like I'm just generally, you know, I guess, uncomfortable on video, uncomfortable being recorded, and I'm literally getting over it as we speak.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, it's just something I didn't. I didn't click in with it when people first started doing it, like I like that other people do it, but I it wasn't something that I really got comfortable with and I just am an over thinker. I like things to be. You know, I often can see the sort of end version of what I want in something. And when, when, when there's that sort of block as far as understanding technology or or just not having the time to make it how I want, I don't, a lot of times I just get stuck on it. Well, it's not going to be this version that I have as the end version of something. I want to be perfect, you know, or whatever my version of perfect. So a lot of times I'll just not do things, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that's normal. But I mean, you seem to be able to work through those types of roadblocks. How do you work through it?
Speaker 2:I have gotten really inspired by seeing other people doing it. You know, like you know, there's just so many people who are doing it in really fun ways.
Speaker 2:Like you know, people like you, like our friend over here Amy, all like seeing people like her who are just breaking their whole selves and like you know, and she's so funny and she's so creative and obviously like the way that she shares I would never be able to replicate anything like that. But just seeing how other people are doing it and I'm never judging them in a like a, you know, negative way so it's like just knowing that, wait, I'm not, I don't think that's dumb, so or whatever you know, so like that's not how other people are looking at it.
Speaker 2:So that and just you know, I think there is a little bit of like, get on board.
Speaker 2:Like like you want to really be stuck in the way that we've done something for the last however many years. Like this, these changes aren't going anywhere. Like this, you know, we're only going to all be pushed more and more to show our work in all these different ways that are available to us. And it's not to say that I really don't want people to think that they should have to be everything and do try all the things. But I do think, you know, pushing ourselves a little bit to try different stuff and and see what works for you and sort of what opportunities can come from different things is fun and exciting. And if you hate it, then don't do it.
Speaker 1:Exactly, yeah Like treat it like a giant experiment and see what works.
Speaker 1:And well, it's interesting because obviously, to get where you are now, you had to work through those feelings same, probably the same feelings of discomfort, of showing your work, trying new things, probably pitching to the word, just left me Consultants. Yes, thank you, you know. So you have the skill set and the prior knowledge to be able to work through those feelings of discomfort and it's just like we have to then, like, put that onto this next new thing and the next new thing, so right.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. It's so many years of practicing that and yeah, and sort of learning how, like, what other people need to sort of understand you better, and I, and I think you know social media in general is a really good way to try that out. It's. It's funny how much sometimes you think your own messaging is very clear and then you'll find that in fact it has not been received that you offer this or do that or whatever. So you know, I think a lot of these things are opportunities for us to really sort of refine you know our messaging and you know it's not just all about like from a branding perspective either, but it's just like clarity on your own work. You know all of that can be, you know, really interesting to get other people's feedback on.
Speaker 2:But, yeah, certainly working with consultants, a big part of what I would try to prepare other artists for is the fact that you may not, might not hear back on a project that you have been. You know, if you've gotten an inquiry, that actual project might, first of all, never come through and that's not personal. Second of all, if it does come through, it might take months, sometimes years, because, imagine, these giant projects have also giant lead times usually. So there, you know there that you are. The art is sort of the last part of this. You know much larger project. You know that has to have every other element go into it. So you know you can't take that personally. So certainly it's kind of like a don't have all your eggs in one basket situation. You would want to be, you know reaching out constantly and we still are, even though we're at the status. So I've been working as an in to go for 10 years. This year that's awesome, congrats, thank you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you'd think that I've sort of know everybody in the biz or whatever. But no, I really don't like where there's constantly new firms being established and there's, you know, new stuff happening and there's new people working in new ways. Yeah, so there's, there's new opportunities all the time and and you do have to kind of keep putting yourself out there and putting in that effort to reach out and you know, no matter what you're, obviously not everybody is going to work with consultants or whatever.
Speaker 1:But yeah, you do have to just keep keep plugging along, yeah, and I mean I think, even if you, you know, my route is a little bit different than yours, that I you know, have my working galleries and then I'll sell directly through commissions and my website and things like that.
Speaker 1:But you, I have to, you can't. I can't put my eggs all in one basket. You can't put your eggs all in one basket, I mean. That's just. I mean, maybe some people can. I've not met the artist that can or has that ability. That's not, you know, trying to sell online or courses or all the things I think that's very few. Yeah, yeah, I'm off the top of my head. I'm not thinking of any, but I'm sure there are some.
Speaker 2:Well, and and the I think even the ones I can kind of think of, I think that those were also different eras, like the way stuff has sold just in the last few years is so different and that's just going to continue to happen. So there's, you know, you got to kind of keep it fresh or just keep getting really, really good at the thing you do, like if there is, like, if you have a niche and that is, you know, absolutely working for you, you know, just keep keep perfecting, keep being the best at it. That you, you know, can be for sure, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Do you take time, and if so, I hope you do. Do you take time to celebrate your win, and how do you do it?
Speaker 2:I am terrible at this. I was. I was listening to this other completely not related to art podcasts of the day and they were talking about this. She's sort of improv girls who women I should say girls and they they do. One of them does sort of imitations of like a Kardashian or something that she became well known for on TikTok and Instagram or whatever, and the other I think, whatever. Whatever. One of them is like a housewife imitator, all these things, and so she actually had the chance to co-host this big event.
Speaker 2:I wish I could think of her name off the top of my head. I just am blanking. But with this housewife that she's been imitating online for years and like you could tell, even like, as she was sort of talking to this other host about it, that she was just sort of processing in real time like, oh wait, this is like a couple years ago, when I'm making this dumb video in my bedroom or whatever. I wouldn't. I couldn't have dreamed that I'm going to then be going across country like hosting this big event and this has meant huge things for their career and other ways or whatever. But I was thinking to myself, oh, that is so like true, I think of all kinds of people, and especially probably creatives of where you're just sort of like, yeah, you get sort of swept up in the making it all happen and you know the busyness of it all that you're not like really able to stop and reflect.
Speaker 2:Like you know, I really have to force myself to stop and be like, hey, this is a big deal. Like you've grown from like a, you know, just being able to do this sort of art part-time, you know, from my basement, while kids were napping, while you know, like literally in fits and starts and you know, but I have always taken it really seriously and worked really really hard and, like you know, over a decade being able to have a freestanding studio, you know, have people working for me, have, you know, this huge, amazing client base, have a, you know, growing body of work. It's all you know, a lot to be proud of. But I'm definitely it's hard for me to stop. I'm always thinking about the next thing. I wouldn't say this like that's the silly negative thing, but it is hard to just sort of sit there and think you know, really appreciate what you've done. And I think it often takes hearing it from other people where you're like, oh yeah, wait, that was pretty cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean well, just someone that has seen you work, and I mean not what, maybe I don't know how many years, three, five, I think well, yeah, probably met you about four, four or five years ago.
Speaker 2:I've been in Little Tree five years yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, I've seen you grow. Yeah, totally, I think that you should. I mean, this is me telling you what to do, but I would encourage you to really try to figure out a way to take some time to reflect on your accomplishments, because that's a really big deal.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you. Yeah, it's often like being able to hear it from other people maybe who I haven't talked to in a while too, who are sort of quietly falling along and then I'll see them in real life or something and they're like Holy crap, like look at all this stuff you've done and it's like oh yeah, that's pretty cool. A lot of times the installation pieces, especially those, are sort of a little bit easier to reflect on how exciting and cool you know that project is, because you do get this sort of end vision, you know you get to see what you've done. But one really tricky thing about this little niche that I'm in is that so often I don't get to see any pictures of my work installed. Yeah, so I'm like sending it out into the ether like bye.
Speaker 2:And you know never get to see it. It's in the belly of a hotel somewhere. So I love it when people send me. Like a lot of times when people see my work in hotels and stuff, they'll send it to me or DM me. So if ever you see my work in the wild and you send it to me, like I love that I'm gonna take Bobby to see if he can go to Red Rock.
Speaker 1:and yeah, I also have stuff at cosmopolitan.
Speaker 2:I have a giant and caustic piece there and a big gold dimensional piece. I think it's like a circle circular piece. I have a lot of stuff in Vegas. As you can imagine, Vegas is a huge like. I would be interested to do a little like heat map, thinking in to go. I think, Vegas is a lot, dc a lot. There's a lot of you know stuff in that sort of area, florida.
Speaker 2:Yeah, tons of stuff in Florida and then just you know all over, but I would. There's definitely certain areas where hotels are constantly being added and renovated and that's one of the kind of crazy things about the hospitality industry is like they really do have to renovate every. I used to. They used to say seven to eight years. I don't know if that's still like the industry standard.
Speaker 2:I didn't know, but so just yeah, just imagine there's always art just sort of you know, and a lot of times they will repurpose like really you know they're more big ticket art pieces, but sometimes the whole thing's getting redone.
Speaker 1:So yeah, yeah, that's, yeah. That's a very, very good niche that you've carved out for yourself with all your hard work.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 1:I have another question for you what do you believe about your ability to create what you want?
Speaker 2:Oh, I feel like I this is like one of my very the things about myself I'm the most grateful for is that I think I've sort of always felt maybe too confident that I can have almost exactly what I want. Like I really I don't I wouldn't say it's, I would have thought of it as visualization, as like a kid or something, but I really have always been able to sort of see a path or see a goal and then see the path and maybe not I couldn't say it's always like you know as clear as how it's played out, but I really have. You know, that's that's really a gift. I don't know really where it came from, but I have always felt pretty confident about like knowing what I want, knowing what I don't want, like I'm always been really clear on that, which helps too, but I literally always knew I wanted to be an artist. I always knew I loved the business I do. I you know even stuff like it's funny, there is this I was trying to go through old Google documents and you know there's some really old, like you know, word doc, whatever you call them in there, and one was called things a house should have, and I had just made a list of things that I wanted in a house.
Speaker 2:This is before we had, you know, started house hunting and it was like, you know, lots of trees, lots of windows, looking at trees, you know lots of natural wood, you know all these things that you know, my house was a major renovation and stuff after we had already been there 10 years. But but truly, like the thing that is, you know, the hallmark of my house and why we ended up there is because it's got this beautiful wooded lot and this like it's just kind of like a magical, even though you're in a city, like this sort of wilderness feel almost. And it was just funny to go back and look at this list and think, wow, like really we ended up with that. You know, and I don't think I was like checking the list against every you know house listing as we did it, but I think I've always just had that real gut instinct. You know about a lot of things that mean a lot to me, about people, about work, stuff. Yeah, so does that answer the?
Speaker 1:question. It does. Yeah, it just, and I'm like super fascinated by it too. So obviously you're a list maker, it sounds like, and it's not. It sounds to me and tell me if I'm wrong like you don't have like a process, like I'm manifesting this thing, but it's like you have an idea and then you might make a list about it or journal about it or something, and then it's just kind of back there percolating. Is that how you would describe it?
Speaker 2:Or my lists are a little schizophrenic. I keep everything I don't have anything. Oh my gosh beautiful. It all lives together my notes about what I need to do for my family, my notes about my you know appointments. I need to make my ideas for artwork. I don't keep separate sketchbooks. I, it's all just, yeah, it's all just in here, and I have these going back for, I would say, probably the last 20 years or so.
Speaker 2:I've kind of always kept it this way since college. I would, I would say so I do use lists, but I'm also constantly talking things over with myself in my head. You know, like I've got kind of this constant, which that would be something. You know, I'm sort of never really dabbled in meditation, but our good friend MK is, you know, she has a really strong meditation practice. I'm like, oh, that sounds good, because I definitely have constantly thinking about stuff in my head. So I'm really thinking stuff through as I'm working.
Speaker 2:And that is one of the beautiful things about being an artist is like you've got your hands busy and you're doing all this stuff and your brain can be doing something completely different thinking out, you know, strategizing, thinking about new ideas or whatever, and I think you know, being able to do work that is basically constant flow state really allows you to sort of like multitask in a really powerful way of thinking about what you want to do, and I get that also. You know, gardening and with plants and also walking, that was a huge thing that I've always loved to walk. I'm not an athletic person but I can like walk to the ends of the earth. And during the pandemic, when you know we had all the kids home and everything was so hard and so crazy, we really I started walking. I think at that time it was really almost every day like really long walks. So the main loop I do is like five and a half miles and it's really beautiful in your neighborhood.
Speaker 2:Yeah, our neighborhood has the beautiful trails that go all through the forest and along Peachtree Creek and everything, and then it goes all the way across into the Emory campus around the low water. Yeah, that's so pretty, yeah. So it's this real sort of like oasis within a city and so definitely I'm always just sort of thinking and getting inspiration and literally sometimes talking things through in my head, you know, and I get like sometimes I'll get a little stuck, like I'll have. I have phrases that go over and over in my head for years sometimes. So sometimes that's like an idea, like a or like, or literally just like a dumb series of words.
Speaker 1:Can you give an example? I mean if you're comfortable.
Speaker 2:Oh, I'm trying to think of, I mean truly a lot of the ideas that you like the work you see me make is ideas that have been playing In my head for years and years. So a lot of like the way that the sculptural work is assembled and everything. A lot of that has been playing out, you know, for years in my head. But phrases and stuff I'll start to send you some. But yeah, just being dumb it's like getting an earworm. Sometimes it'll be like a phrase I hear in a podcast or something and that would get stuck in my head, and sometimes it's going to come into work and like into my artwork, and sometimes it's not. But yeah, so definitely I'm in my head a lot. I guess I'd say yeah.
Speaker 1:I feel like that's kind of the nature of what we do and part of it for me, like tell me if you're the same. Like my home environment, like where I live. I, in order for my head not to feel chaotic, has to be very orderly, but my studio can be a mess and it feels great.
Speaker 2:Yes, I that and truly one of the most challenging things about having children is the constant chaos in the mess and the surfaces being like I'm not like a neat freak, but like I'm the same I feel really I would say that's one of the most anxiety inducing things to me is that it's my house being not just messy but just cluttered and disordered and all that it really that will stick in my brain like or some people could just go to bed with a messy kitchen. My brain's going.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I'm the same and I'm like well, I would just much rather just get it done and get it to. But the studio is, I would say, hey, I'll stay today like on on the tables and stuff. We do try to be respectful, especially now that we have, you know, more people in here working. We do have to be respectful of, like work zones and everything and just creating systems where there weren't any because it was just me. That's still been something you know that we've had to develop.
Speaker 2:But yeah, day to day I'm like surfaces covered. I can't stop and like reset. Every time you know I'm switching mediums or you know jumping around. So by the end of the week it's chaos. And then the beautiful kind of system that we've come to is that Thursday is usually kind of a hard reset. So Thursday we sort of try to pick up everything and just, you know, put stuff back in bins that can be put in bins, organize everything, put spec spec up on the spec board. You know, just do like a big cleanup and then a lot of times Sam and Robin will even do like a next level, like full vacuuming. We've done all the tables and everything, and then, which is incredible to come into on a Friday, yeah, that's great yeah.
Speaker 2:I definitely am hyper sensitive to my environment as far as the lighting. That is the hardest part in this studio, as you know the lighting is rough, but like in general in life too, like lighting is huge for me, yeah, definitely pretty sensory, sensitive to like the way things feel and you know it has to kind of match how I want it to feel or it's very distracting.
Speaker 1:I am 100% the same way. I wonder if that's something about what we do. I wonder if that's common. I don't know.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I think it's part of being like an esteem or whatever you know, like that you're very, very. You're taking it all in and I mean, obviously I try not to be overbearing about it, but it is definitely something that's challenging, I was saying, makes me a little challenging to live with, I'm sure.
Speaker 1:Absolutely yes, same, and there's nothing better than that feeling of completing a big project and doing that cleanup afterwards.
Speaker 2:Oh, it's the best, it's really the best. Yeah, I love that about the way that I work too is that I'm always on a deadline right. So I have, like you know, usually our lead time in eight to 10 weeks, depending on what it is. But, you know, a lot of these things are determined on clients deadlines, and so you've got this like big push. You've got a lot of like mess and chaos and everything, but then you've got this hard stop and the goodbye, you know, and a lot of a lot of times.
Speaker 2:You know, especially if I was doing like a body of work for like a gallery opening or something, you'd be living with this. They work for a really long time and I love that. I don't have to. I love, I love making it and then putting it out into the world. I'm not very sentimental in that way, even though I am very. I take a lot of pride in what we do and I want to go out perfect, but then I'm like goodbye, it's great.
Speaker 1:I'm the same way. I don't get super sentimental about it, but also take great pride in what I put out into the world, and I think in order to have it be a business, you almost have to get there to that place.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I've definitely not sort of like the moody, broody version of a studio artist or something like temperamental or any of that.
Speaker 1:Yeah me neither. So, celebrating 10 years, are you going to do anything to celebrate first of all, and then I have a follow up question.
Speaker 2:We. I only had sort of realized that it was 10 years after, just I don't get, can't remember what it was, but basically saw in some documentation that the LLC was, you know, incorporated or whatever 10 years ago and we had gone to a party for our friend, gina Sims, and here designer.
Speaker 2:And she's. She just celebrated her 10 year anniversary as Gina Sims and it was so fun. She did such a great job. She brought so much of like her whole vibe and I'm sure what it's like to work with her as a client to to this beautiful fun like, really like engaging sort of party, and so that had Laura and I thinking we really need to have a 10 year party, yeah, so hopefully we will it.
Speaker 2:Kind of right now we're still kind of, you know, waiting to see if we're going to be in this space longer or if we'll be moving to another space. And if we do move to another space, especially, that is going to be this whole other thing to celebrate as well, and that, you know, part of what's been fun to sort of think about with that is that it would be a space where I think we would really be able to offer a lot of more in person thing. Like you know, do workshops, host classes, host other artists. You know I would love to do things that support other artists who either don't have spaces or don't have, like you know, certain gallery relationships or whatever. So all that to say yes, we do plan on doing something. We just don't have the sort of details worked out, but we we have to celebrate 10 years and I think we should all just be celebrating everything we can. You know right now, as you see, how uncertain everything is like go ahead.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I completely agree. I feel like that is something that we can very easily like put on the back burner. Just to go on to the next thing. I'm very guilty of it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, it really helps to have a community and friends and stuff we're good at like patting you on the back and cheerleaders. There's this woman I love, odette. I can't think of her last name, but she's a baker. Well, I guess she's like a cook and a baker but she has this book called simple cakes. But one of her whole things is just sort of like every meal, everything can be a celebration and like just sort of bringing that like joie de vieze or whatever, to like life and I love, I love that vibe. I would love to, you know, bring even more of that, you know same.
Speaker 2:I can't think of her last name.
Speaker 1:that's annoying Love to put it up and it in the show. Yeah, you think it's not. It Simple cakes, or yeah? Well, talking about your 10 years, if you could go back 10 years and talk to you, talk to Emily, then in Keninda, go then. What would you tell them not to worry about and would you do anything differently?
Speaker 2:to tell them not to worry about. Okay, I would say, maybe just don't worry so much about, like, each individual project and relationship and, you know, really be confident in, in myself and my skills and sort of you know, the professionalism I think I've kind of always had, because I definitely was so much. I could be a little bit of a up and down at the beginning, I think, because I was trying to please client so hard and really saying yes to things I probably should have turned down based on budget or whatever. So I think I would have, you know, just tried to like and so a little more confidence in my skills and my ability. But you know there is just some of that you have to grow through. Plus I was just really young, you know. And then what was the second part?
Speaker 1:Is there anything you?
Speaker 2:would do differently, oh, do differently. I probably would have tried to get more help sooner. It's obviously a huge investment and when you have kids you're already a big part of your investment in your art making is the help with your kids Like that's huge. I mean, I basically wasn't making money for many, many years because we were paying for childcare. So I think literally as soon as I could have, I should have gotten more help, and whether that would have meant more help at home or more help making art, that would have been good, because I physically have put myself through a lot in the last 10 years, a lot of like missing sleep, repetitive stress, injuries, like I'm on my feet almost all day, every day, and I'm doing really, really physical work almost all day, every day, which is I love, like that's. I can't imagine a job where I just sit all day, like when I'm doing all this computer stuff.
Speaker 1:I'm like like a wiggly little kid, I'm just like hi, I'm gonna do this.
Speaker 2:I mean I get like that pain. I'm like is this how do people do this? You know, no wonder we have.
Speaker 2:like everybody has chronic pain and stuff. So, yeah, I think I would just have pushed myself to get help even sooner and you know, like we were talking about the beginning, I think I would have said yes to things that maybe were a little bit outside of my comfort zone a little sooner. You know, because I have been asked for years to teach things. I've been asked for years to, like, do workshops and stuff, and I've always said no because it just seemed too much or too overwhelming or just the moment I was in.
Speaker 2:It's not to say that like timing was perfect then either. But I think you know, getting whatever help you sort of need to overcome fears, to like, for me it's practice. I really have to be able to have a safe space to try things out and to practice and to feel like a dork and know that you know, not everyone just saw me be a dork, but yeah, I do think that I wish, not wish, but I definitely could have said yes to some things earlier than I have. But yeah, you know, all in good time and I can't believe it's been 10 years. I, you know time is such a thief and I just, yeah, I can't believe it's like what happened.
Speaker 1:I just had these. Yeah, I totally agree. I mean, I feel like my concept of time sometimes feels so skewed, because I do believe that things come to you in the right time, when you're ready and all of that, but also it goes by so fast.
Speaker 2:It really does. It's just like this weird.
Speaker 2:And faster and faster. That's the other part, Like I thought it was already going by fast, and then something about having kids that are busy all the time and work that's busy is just. It's definitely brings back to what you were saying about like focusing on sort of what you've already done and slowing down and appreciating what you already have. And I do think I am pretty good about saying no to things that make me feel completely overwhelmed. Oh, I've gotten better at it so that I can sort of appreciate where I'm at a little bit more too.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah. It's a fun, interesting, weird, complicated business that we're in.
Speaker 2:It is. It's so much more of a business, I think, than a lot of people even realize. Like a lot of what we're doing on the back and I have help. I have Laura, who is man. I literally could not do anything of what I've done in the last 10 years without her. She's awesome, yeah, so she's really. I wouldn't have her on too. Yeah, I really can't recommend enough, like getting help, especially for the things that you're weak at or that you literally just don't have time to do, cause I'm actually, I think, perfectly good at client relations and emailing and all that, but I just cannot do that in a timely manner and make art. So the you know I was able to bring her in, you know, really early to help with that, and that has been huge for sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I've hired her, I've worked with her, you know, just for a few one-off projects that I've done and it was amazing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it really just helps to have somebody who has some insight and who isn't in it. In the same way, you are too Like, who can have a little bit of an outside perspective and you know truly from the business side, just looking at like the pricing and all these things, that can really be intimidating and there's not necessarily a magic formula for stuff. You really have to play with things and there, you know, sometimes we make something here and we realize we actually lost our ass on it, like if you look at the ow of the material and it's like but until you've done it there's no great way to know.
Speaker 2:It helps to have somebody who's seen a lot of different things, made a lot of different ways over time, to at least see if you're way out of your ballpark, you know, and you know sort of flag it for you like no, that's not realistic and I can like I said before, I can be a bit of a pushover. So it helps to have somebody who is not a pushover and who can sort of advocate for your work and your. You know, livelihood is huge when you can Absolutely.
Speaker 1:But in half of it is until you do it. You don't know. I mean you don't. Yeah, it's like well, I made zero dollars on that, but oh well.
Speaker 2:Right, and I really try to not take those things on too much as like a hit because, yeah, almost all of my work is made from like or my new commissions and stuff come from previous work, right. So people have seen something I've made or done and then they want a different iteration for their space of that piece. So I really have to think of a lot of the things that maybe aren't super profitable the first time as an investment. You know, research and development kind of thing.
Speaker 1:Well, and when I'm working with you know, when I'm coaching artists, and usually they're more emerging and you know, getting their business off the ground. That's part of what we work on. Is that maybe this project event, whatever it is, didn't turn out exactly how you had hoped monetarily, but I promise you something else will come from this. Yeah, Because that's been my experience.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I could make a mega list of all the things I've done that were not profitable, but have you know, long-term been hugely beneficial to me, if nothing more than realizing that that's exactly what I don't want to be doing?
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely yes.
Speaker 2:Sometimes that costs.
Speaker 1:Learning what you don't want to do is just as important, I think, as learning what you do want to do.
Speaker 2:I have half a masters of art education to show me that I do not want to teach children art oh my gosh In the classroom setting.
Speaker 1:Yes, that would be bad for everybody. The people we would all be crying.
Speaker 2:The people who can do it really are phenomenal and I'm so inspired seeing how they do it. But wow, once I got to the student teaching portion of my program, I was like, wow, I hate this.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, and I'm so grateful for the teachers I had that could do it. It's amazing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was everything to me for sure. Yeah, my biggest mentors.
Speaker 1:Well, is there anything you want to share that you have going on or there will be more to share.
Speaker 2:So if people want to sort of follow along with what we're sort of doing every day here in the studio, I'm incaindigo on Instagram and that is the main place I hang out on the social means. I have not mastered looking at TikTok yet, so I have a handle over there, but you won't find me doing anything.
Speaker 1:Do you feel like you're going to go over to the TikTok world?
Speaker 2:I don't think so because really I mean it could be interesting. But I really am focusing right now on sort of refreshing the way that I'm looking at Instagram and sharing my work there effectively and sort of just having more fun with it.
Speaker 1:You can tell it looks great, you're very fun to follow.
Speaker 2:And you know what?
Speaker 1:Do you take requests on what people want?
Speaker 2:to do Sure. Absolutely, I would like to see more Smalls because I miss him. Oh sure, I mean truly. I'm like my camera roll is just like all dogs, all the time to like an unhealthy degree. It's like don't you have children.
Speaker 1:I love seeing that. All right, take a photo.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, he's very photogenic too. And then I am working on actually right now before I was even on a call with you I was working on our newsletter. So we're working at sort of getting that up to every other week. So if people want to go on to incanindigocom, you can sign up for my newsletter and that will be right now. It's largely sort of meant for our consultant and designer base, but we will eventually be having segments that are more meant for other creatives and artists than people just looking for inspiration or education or also just fun stuff, like maybe different materials, techniques and stuff we're playing with. But yeah, I think that's about it as far as where you can find me and what you'll see, but I'm always posting new work. We actually have like a horde of work that you've never even seen anywhere, that I will continually be sharing, and yeah, so come hang out.
Speaker 1:I appreciate you doing this with me. It's so fun. I miss you every day. It's so fun we really I miss you.
Speaker 2:We all are like we miss. Leanne, I know so we'll have to do a creative lunch soon.
Speaker 1:Yes, you know what I thought about. I think, with the weather turning nice, I'm like I should make lunch at home and have y'all come over. Yes, that would be so fun. Yes, or happy hour, whatever you prefer.
Speaker 2:No, I love a lunch and your house is so beautiful and so you. It's so fun. You can definitely see the Leanne touch on everything it's so beautiful.
Speaker 1:Thanks, I appreciate it Well. Thanks for giving me your time.
Speaker 2:I'm super happy to. Oh, I'm so happy to. This is so fun, thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for listening to Mind Over Medium podcast today. If you found the episode inspiring, please share it with a friend or post it on social media and tag me on Instagram at Leanne Slotkin, or head to my website, wwwleannslotkincom. To book a discovery call to find out more about working with me one on one. You can also head to my website to get a great tool I've created for you to use when planning your own online launch of your artwork. It's an exercise I've taken many of my coaching clients through and it's been very helpful. It's my way of saying thank you and keep creating.