Nurturing the Creative Spirit in Business and Life with Shay Kent

Have you ever found yourself pondering the true essence of creativity and how it can be unleashed? Mind Over Medium warmly welcomes Shay Kent, a Tampa-based mixed media artist and teacher, who reveals her personal reawakening to the arts after a hiatus and offers sage advice to listeners seeking to break free from conventional restraints. This episode promises a journey into the heart of artistic expression, where the rules are bent and a supportive environment is key to nurturing one's creative soul.

As Shay opens up about overcoming self-criticism and the intimidating aspects of managing an art business, listeners are treated to a blend of personal anecdotes and practical strategies. Her emphasis on balancing the raw passion of creating with the necessary evils of entrepreneurship speaks to artists and creators who wrestle with maintaining their creative integrity amidst the demands of running a business. Shay's insights into setting goals, allowing for personal artistic time, and accepting the natural chaos of the creative process will resonate deeply with those striving for both professional success and personal fulfillment.

Finally, Shay and I explore the vital roles of community, organization, and personal well-being in sustaining an artist's productivity and inspiration. Whether it's the importance of connecting with fellow creatives, implementing organizational hacks, or finding inspiration in the simplest joys of life, this episode is packed with inspiration and actionable advice. And for those captivated by Shay's message, there's an open invitation to delve deeper into her world, with opportunities for a one-on-one discovery call or a free mixed media class that promises to spark your imagination and breathe new life into your creative pursuits.

Connect with Shay Here

Connect with Lea Ann Here

Transcript

Lea Ann: 0:00

Welcome to Mind Over Medium, a podcast for artists who want to make money doing what they love. When you tune in each week, 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.

Lea Ann: 0:45

Hello friends, I'm excited for today's chat with Shay Kent. Shay is a mixed media artist and teacher whose specialty is helping students shake off the rules and find freedom while creating. Thank you for joining me today. Thanks so much. I'm happy to be here. Yeah Well, I always like for you to introduce yourself, because you can do that better than anyone. So if you can tell us where you live, give a bit more detail about what you do, and then also if you can describe a time in your life when you felt the most creative.

Shay: 1:18

Okay, well, my name is Shay Kent. I am online as Shay Michelle Studios. I am a mixed media artist and teacher. I do. I love the creative process. I've been creative ever since I was little and it's always been a place that feels safe and fun. I've shared it with my friends throughout my life and now love to teach it and I have a very open-minded approach to art, very curious and experimental, and, like I, for whatever reason, have been able to safeguard that practice from too much criticism, both inward and outward, and have a real sense of adventure with it, which I'm really, really thankful for, and I love to invite people into that experience and I think a lot of people when they, when we take class together, when they take classes from me, they feel really at ease and nurtured. It feels like sitting across the table for me. So I love that.

Shay: 2:22

I am currently living in Tampa, florida. I'm from Texas. Sometimes I got that Texas twang, especially when I'm mad, but I'm in Florida and I love it because the beach is here and I live five minutes from the water and my husband and I take beach walks literally almost every night. That's how we start our day is we walk the beach, we watch the sunset, we talk about our day and it is like the best part of the whole day. It's really a dream come true, like I've always wanted to do this. I lived in Colorado for a while and loved it and eventually we were able to come here and it has just been wonderful, so it's great. Yeah, it's just a big part of that creative process. So I think you did I, so I need to answer yeah, I felt the most creative.

Lea Ann: 3:13

Is that right? Yeah, describe a time in your life when you felt the most creative?

Shay: 3:17

Well, I mean, I think that's a really interesting question because when I look back over my life I feel like I've always been creative, but I have a really open definition about what creativity is Like. I have a son who's an engineer and he very much thinks like an engineer and you wouldn't at first think, oh, he's creative. But I have watched him. He has one of those I cannot remember the name of it, but those machines like the laser machines that you can build things with. I can totally get over the name, but like he just designs things from nothing and he's an engineer.

Shay: 3:51

And so I find I have found creativity all throughout my life. I think creativity is linked to curiosity, highly linked to curiosity and learning, and I'm a lifelong learner, so I've always kind of been. You know, I've did art as a kid. I remember sitting cross legged by my little twin bed with my pentel markers and putting them into the, the fair, the Texas State Fair, and winning you know, ribbons, whatever. But there was a time when I had children I have kids that are around in their 20s I just wasn't doing any art at all. And I didn't do art for like 20 years, which seems so weird to me now. But even during that time I was gardening, canning, cooking. I was like a really passionate home cook and still very, very creative. It just wasn't with art.

Shay: 4:48

And then, at somewhere along the line, I saw a class with Oprah Winfrey and Kelly Ray Roberts, who is a mixed media artist, and Bernay Brown, who is an author and social workers, and she wrote a book on the gifts of authenticity and over, and Kelly Ray Roberts were there and they did a art journaling book club. I mean I was like what is this thing? And of course, as a lot of us have, you know, when we stumble upon it, we are absolutely hooked. It's like a whole bunch. You know, I started there and then started discovering the world of online classes and oh my, my right. So I would say, like I would say, I was always creative always but during that time, for a good handful of years, as I was discovering, that was just filled with like wonder and enthusiasm and really intense learning Everything. Even though I'd always been creative I'd had watercolors as a kid it still felt new to me, like I still didn't know what the heck I was doing.

Shay: 6:01

Yeah, you know, and so it was filled with success and failure. And I remember one time I took up an intuitive art class and I didn't do anything, and so, of course, afterwards I felt like a total failure at it, you know. And I made this huge painting and it was just a junkie mess and I just thought I'm never doing this again, never going to do this again. And I took that painting and I put it behind my dresser and I really, like I wasn't just mad, thinking I'd never do it again. I really thought I'm never going to do this again. This is horrible, I'm not meant for it, you know all those things we tell ourselves. And then it took about three, four, five years before I did go back to it. I went back to it, not in three years, sooner than that, but I'd forgotten about this painting. And so I pulled this painting out from behind my dresser and it was wedged in between the door and I really had to work it. So it was a real mystery about what was it going to look like. I hadn't seen it for years, until it was almost all the way out, and once it was out, I was like, oh my gosh, this painting is stunning, stunning, breathtaking, but it's not done. That's what, that's what was wrong with it.

Shay: 7:23

But I didn't know that time. I didn't know about a messy middle, I didn't know how to complete anything, so I thought it was just a mess and a failure. And now I can barely paint over it. It's still not pretty. It's not pretty, it's not composed, it's not at all finished. I'm not being modest, it's not. But it's just such a symbol of that time of big creativity, big creative risk. And yeah, all your and continuing on, and just I didn't even recognize my own beauty capability to make something beautiful.

Lea Ann: 8:01

I didn't even know, but now I do, you know that's great and I love that you have a physical reminder of that time and I'm sure it takes you right back to that place and gives you so much clarity about how far you've come to that. Yes, there's always a messy middle or an ugly phase of every piece, almost every piece you create, and it's okay Like what a great gift you have to just just remind yourself about all that.

Shay: 8:32

Totally and to think like now I look at it and I just have such like oh, these are. This is a weird word, this is a weird way to say it. So I'm talking about myself, but like an admiration for myself. I know that might sound strange, but just like it's inner cheerleader for the freak me. You know, yeah, yes, you got that. You know that I did not have back then.

Lea Ann: 8:57

Yeah, and probably like a real tenderness too for that time.

Shay: 9:01

Yes, totally.

Lea Ann: 9:03

Yeah, that's great. And I think what you said too about creativity it's not just putting a brush to canvas or, you know, pencil to paper. There's a bajillion ways to be creative and I think that we've discount them or forget or just say, oh no, like, if you're a good cook, you're like, oh no, it's no big deal, but that's another expression of creativity.

Shay: 9:27

It sure is Absolutely. And at the same time you're curious about something, learning about something, problem-solving, any kind of problem-solving you know, is highly creative.

Lea Ann: 9:40

Yeah.

Shay: 9:40

Making things fit that didn't fit before. You know, I even think about, like, even my budget feels somewhat creative, like how, here's how much I have, what are my goals, what do I want to do with it and how am I going to get that done? And there's, you know, many different ways to get it done. So, just always, I just see life through that lens, I think.

Lea Ann: 10:01

Yeah, that's good. I think that's a lovely way to go through life, and especially with you know, like you said, that, problem-solving and curiosity, I think that. And that desire to be a lifelong learner yeah, I think that's great. Yeah, yeah. So the people that you work with in your courses and online, with you saying that your specialty is helping them kind of shake off the rules and find freedom in creating what are the blocks Is there kind of a common thread or theme, you see, with the restriction or blocks that they come in with, and how do you help them move through that?

Shay: 10:39

Yeah, I mean, I think it's a common block that so many of us have. And basically it's sort of like if you could personify your creativity, it might be looking over your shoulder with its arms crossed, going where you been. Why didn't you show up yesterday? You're supposed to be doing this every day. Or look at how much better someone else is, or why aren't you devoted to this? Or why aren't your skills further along. And I think we can sometimes form too much of a relationship, if you will, with that critic who's looking over our shoulder, tapping its foot, being judgmental. And I think, if we can build out our relationship with the other side, which is the side of us, that is, that cheerleader side, the one that's rooting for us, the one that says hey, you're living a real life, if you need to go do other things and leave creativity for a while, I'm going to be right here waiting for you when you come back.

Shay: 11:46

I'll just pick up where we left off, where there's no judgment, and I feel like I've been able to form a really friendly relationship with creativity that way and I hold on to it. I really mother bear it, I really am like I'm not this way in every part of life, but I just feel like, no, I'm not giving up my creativity, I'm not letting that in, I'm not. I'm going to protect it and make sure it loves me and I love it right back. And so I think that's what is appealing to people who take my classes is that comes across as I talk and as I. I really live that out too, like you can see it in my artwork.

Shay: 12:25

My artwork is colorful and wild and full of energy and not a lot of inhibition, and so I think that's the key is, you know, I think people feel overwhelmed with so many choices. They feel like, my goodness, social media will just drag you down if you're not careful with comparison. And then there's like logistics too, like how much time do you have, how much energy do you have? If it becomes this really big thing that you have to perfect, it becomes one more thing you have to deliver even if it's untriggered, you know.

Shay: 12:58

But if you can see it more as your friend, your perpetual cheerleader, then I think you can enjoy the journey more and just feel emotionally connected to it. Yeah, and maybe emotionally connected to it in a way that you might not be able to with other things in your life, like logistically, sometimes we can't, we really have to actually get stuff done. Yeah, exactly, yes, yes.

Lea Ann: 13:25

So, yeah, I like that, and in coaching, the way I was trained, we call that giving equal airtime. So it's like you give equal airtime to the negative voices as you do to the positive, and most of us like really err on the side of giving too much to the critic, the naysayer, the finger wagger, with very little airtime to the cheerleader, the encourager, the gentle conversation that we could have in our heads. So I like that concept a lot. It's like okay, that's what I try to encourage my students, my clients, to do. It's like okay, yes, we've got this voice styled in, we've perfected this part. Let's now turn the volume up on this other voice too and just try to bounce it out a little bit and it really does help your creativity.

Shay: 14:16

It does. Yeah, that's a great way to see it and to articulate it.

Lea Ann: 14:20

Yeah, yeah, that's great that you're able to do that. You said something earlier about safeguarding your inward and outward criticism or critic. How do you do that for yourself? I mean, you've touched on that a little bit, but do you have like a journaling practice or practical ways that you do that?

Shay: 14:39

I think so. First of all, I think the very first place it starts is it's a value system. It's like something I believe in, right, so it's pretty deep. My belief system is to continue to be curious, open, free learning. It's something I love, but that's not to say that it comes without.

Shay: 15:06

I definitely am making conscious choices all the time around that so I have that basis in my values and my beliefs. But then, as I'm creating, I continue to encourage myself inside my head, the voice that's in my head, to try that out, push against that, see what happens. And sometimes it will be moment by moment choices of you know, I'm a mixed media artist, so I layer things and I switch things up and just that medium alone is pretty forgiving really, compared to maybe some other mediums. But it's a conscious decision that I make over and over and over again. And if it's a, I feel like there's the other thing I think is the value around believing that you can always learn from failure. And we are going to fail. I know we don't like to say that, okay, but we are going to make crap, we're going to feel bad about it, and.

Shay: 16:05

I think can you I don't know where I heard this term Can you develop a window of tolerance?

Shay: 16:12

Can you tolerate failure? Because if you can tolerate failure, there is so much to be learned from what you don't like, what didn't work, you know and like, even when I'm creating let's say I'm creating a painting I have learned I love a little bit of weird, a little bit in a painting. I love a little bit of mud, I love a little bit of color that's off, because I think it makes it so interesting and brings balance actually. And so I have learned to even value the actual ugly parts and I let them sit there for a little bit longer than maybe I would have been comfortable in the past. Like I don't automatically go to correct it, you know, I might leave it there and work on another part of the painting, or I just leave it, I just tolerate it just for a little while. And often I have found surprisingly that sometimes those are my favorite parts of the painting. Those weird wonky ugly parts become just interesting and intriguing and a really great contrast. Yeah.

Lea Ann: 17:26

And I know that now you know Well, and it's something you probably couldn't do on purpose. That's what I like. I'm like, oh, I could never have manufactured that had I tried. That's true. Yeah, I love that. There's just prizes in there, mm-hmm Well, do you ever feel overwhelmed in your work with all you have to do or while you're creating, and how do you deal with that If that happens to you?

Shay: 17:52

Overwhelmed. I mean, I feel overwhelmed sometimes in my business, my art business.

Lea Ann: 17:58

Yes, that's right yeah.

Shay: 17:59

Definitely. Yes, that's definitely overwhelming, overwhelming. Do I feel overwhelmed? I don't know. I mean, I'm really gracious to myself. So if I feel overwhelmed, I will just take a break If I can, unless I'm creating for business, and I need to. Sometimes that does happen where I own someone, a project, and it's just not coming together Like it's just not and it has to come together Like it has to by a deadline, and so sometimes I'll feel overwhelmed, sometimes I'll have to scrap it and start over. Often, when you're overwhelmed, I feel like the best thing to do, if you can, is to pause.

Shay: 18:37

Yeah, walk away, take a break, take a break, yeah, yeah so.

Lea Ann: 18:44

Well, going back to the business part, how do you balance your creation and your business Like, practically speaking? How do you manage your time between the two?

Shay: 18:55

Well, I spend a lot more time doing business stuff than I do creative things, for sure. I mean, it's like it's a job. So you know you do run it like a job, like it's not all making paintings. It's just like I have a job and then I also make paintings, or do art journaling or whatever.

Shay: 19:13

So, but I really do love the projects that I do and I do try to I don't know, I guess like not in a legalistic way, but like stick to my style, I do them in my style and so I feel like they're creatively rewarding. So I do my own work too. I don't really feel this big like because I hear some artists talk about who work for art, say, oh, I need to do something just for me, and I don't find that I feel that way too often. I really love teaching, I love creating for that purpose too. I don't know it, just it feels authentic to me as it is.

Lea Ann: 19:50

Yeah, yeah, that's interesting. I can sometimes feel like I need to for me. It's not like create for me, but it's just to drop the, the schedule or something. I don't even know how to say it. It's just like to paint because it feels good to paint, not that I'm working towards a deadline or a project, like. I think that's how it manifests for me, that like needing that time for myself.

Shay: 20:17

Like an ex. Is it more built around expectation or like logistical scheduling?

Lea Ann: 20:22

I think it's more around scheduling. Oh, okay, that's interesting. Yeah, yeah, that's interesting. Do you set goals for yourself and your business? For sure, yes, definitely. Do you, are you comfortable sharing? I mean you don't have to like talk money or anything like that, but just like what's the goal or how do you do that for yourself?

Shay: 20:43

Sure, well, I have a. I've done a lot of collaborations, which have been wonderful, but I would I really would like to develop a signature course for myself, a bigger course, maybe, something like six weeks long, something that's really meaningful and touches on this stuff that we've talked about, about finding that cheerleader, building out our relationship with creativity and really leading people through that. That's definitely a goal that I have. Right now I have a free course called Wholeness Found and there's a large number of students in there, which has been great, but I would love to grow that further and get that out to more people. So those are my two like for me, my two big main goals for this year, and then we'll kind of see how it goes from that yeah, yeah.

Lea Ann: 21:34

Do you ever get bogged down with like, okay, you have this goal and I know I sometimes can be really focused on the end result and then be like, okay, I have to back it way up to the like first step, second step, third step before I take the 35th step? Is that ever hard for you?

Shay: 21:53

Oh man, yes, I feel totally overwhelmed by all of the pieces, like you would never know how many pieces there are until you're really in it and how long it takes. And it's not just a simple like go create a new course. There's like so many parts to it, yeah, and it is absolutely daunting.

Lea Ann: 22:16

And you don't know what you don't know. It's like you don't even know what to not know. You don't know.

Shay: 22:22

And you are really working. You have to be really comfortable with uncertainty because you don't know exactly how is it gonna land. You know, is it gonna be successful? You're gonna work really hard and it's a mystery until you get there. So, yeah, that can all be overwhelming for sure. Yeah, there's definitely no guarantees. No, there's not. I mean, you make educated decisions right.

Shay: 22:49

Sure it's like it's working out and you try to get to know who you're talking to and get to know your own strengths and weaknesses and you can put some guardrails in place, but ultimately you don't know, do you know?

Lea Ann: 23:02

Yeah, it's for sure. Does the isolation of our work ever bother you and if so, how do you handle it?

Shay: 23:10

Yes, like that is a big Y-E-L, like if I could have a neon sign and I was looking behind me. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. That is so hard for me. You and I are in a business group right now. That has been really great. We meet once a week and that has helped a lot with that piece a lot. And I continue to try to cultivate relationships with other creative business owners and creatives and I'm always seeking that out, doing zooms, coffees, a lot of stuff online. Yeah, because I really don't. My idea of a good time is not to work alone five days a week and do everything by myself. No way, uh-uh.

Lea Ann: 24:01

Yeah.

Shay: 24:02

I really value the relationships and feedback and support and reciprocity that you find with other people.

Lea Ann: 24:11

Yeah, that's been one of the huge benefits to this podcast is it's people you know, but then when you're talking to them one-on-one, you really get to know them and develop the relationship so much further and I very much appreciate that.

Shay: 24:25

Yeah, I bet. I bet. It's really neat. You get to spend that time with them and see their faces and ask them questions and you reach through the screen. Yeah absolutely.

Lea Ann: 24:37

Yeah, it's true. How do you support your creativity? Do you meditate journal? Do you have a morning practice? I find all this fascinating.

Shay: 24:47

Hmm, well, like I kind of touched on before, I kind of think creativity is a part of me, so I think it comes into play at all points of my life. I would say the more I can take care of myself, the more creativity is accessible. So like, if I'm too tired, if I'm overwhelmed in life, so I might not be nurturing my creativity per se, but if I have too many things tugging on me in my life, then that might fall to the wayside. Yeah, so I take my walks at night with my husband, I exercise, I eat well, I try mostly to take care of myself as much as I can. And then I do really like to. I like to be kind of organized. So I like my drawers to be organized and my stuff sort of by color, and my studio is always in flux, like I'm actually in my dining room, my formal dining room with my very front door. So I'm in the right in the middle of my house right now, and so it needs to stay clean-ish you know, shut a door to it.

Shay: 26:00

Right, right. So I have like an quote unquote empty drawer next to me. That's really never empty, but it's always revolving projects. That's not a permanent drawer. Nothing lives there permanently so that I can clean up really fast and stuff like that.

Shay: 26:15

I take a travel art kit with me to places. I'll take it to the beach, I'll take it on vacation, for sure. So I have things like accessible, ready, yeah, organized. I have a mixed media artist so I have a lot of materials and so I can reach for whatever suits my fancy at the time. I have a variety and it just really a lot of. It's like how you think about it and what you, you know. So I do try to. I don't have a real tight schedule around creating every day, but especially because it's for my job, like I need to, I need to be creating sort of often, you know. So yeah, and I try to cultivate like I projects that I like and enjoy and that I'm. I try to meet right there in the middle between things that are challenging but also what I'm good at, like if there was a line you know in right there. That's where I try to live.

Lea Ann: 27:12

So yeah, like in the, where the, in the Venn diagram, where those two things intersect, that's your sweet spot.

Shay: 27:17

Yeah. Yeah, it's gotta be challenging so that you're interested, yeah, but you don't want so far out of your actual natural wheelhouse that you're just frustrated.

Lea Ann: 27:27

Yeah, like you're constantly starting from scratch.

Shay: 27:30

Yeah, like if you're a natural let's say real linear person and you like to work really slowly, you like watercolor might be a great fit for you, but if you like to move fast, you're not gonna wanna do oils, you are gonna wanna do acrylics that dry real fast. So like it's okay to honor who you are too. Oh, absolutely, you know, it's not always against about pushing against something to expand and grow.

Lea Ann: 27:54

You know, I think, we think that sometimes. Yeah, I don't disagree Like we push against ourselves. Yeah, okay, as you know, I you can probably see all this junk over here. It's all my papers. I've been doing a lot of collage work and I am in constant search of a better way to organize. Right now I've got giant Ziploc bags by color Not a great system, but it's the system I have right now. Yup, do you have any good systems or ways of keeping track of things or staying organized?

Shay: 28:28

Yes, I have some systems that I love, and one is I love to organize things it depends on what it is, of course, by color. So I have, I kind of think, in terms of warms, colds and neutrals. I have a whole I wish you could see it right now this fly of markers and I used to have like things organized by sets, like a set of colored pencils, a set of this oh yeah Marker set, and I just recently cleaned out my studio and got really brave because I was like that is not how. I'm a mixed media artist, so I don't pull out all the colored pencils and only use colored pencils. All I know is I need something that's green, and sometimes it doesn't matter what it is. So I pulled all of those sets out and, yes, every set and I thought I was like you can always put it back, you can always put it back and I've loved it.

Shay: 29:19

So I do my paints like that, my markers, my pencils, and then, as far as paper, there are some things that I have organized by type If it's a very distinct type. But I do have one big drawer that I just let it. I just it just lays in there Whatever is in there, probably stuff that I've already torn up, scraps, bits, pieces. I don't put it in any order because and I do it on purpose, because I do like stuff to be organized, because I love seeing how things fall together it spurs creativity when I see how and I would never see that otherwise if everything was organized by color or by type of paper when everything is in there kind of harem, scarum, if I have at least one place for it then it opens up a whole world of combinations, which I love. Yeah.

Lea Ann: 30:14

I guess I have a bit of a version of that. Like I keep everything in these giant bags but then as I'm working I have a small tub that I just start throwing things in and pull from that tub.

Shay: 30:26

So so that's more of your preference, like if you're given a preference to grab for something, it's gonna be your tub. Is that right?

Lea Ann: 30:35

Yes, yes, yes, but there are also things that I know are in the bags that I'm like, I really want, like for me it's a lot of memory, like either nostalgia or trip or things like that. I'm like, oh, I remember this thing that I want to incorporate into this piece and I just think, if I think I just need more space, but I've had more space and it was still a problem.

Shay: 31:00

So that's the answer. Do you keep yours in drawers or like where are your?

Lea Ann: 31:05

bags. I put them in clear plastic tubs.

Shay: 31:09

Oh, okay, so they're out. Are you a person that likes stuff that's out, or do you like it hidden away, like?

Lea Ann: 31:14

I put it away. If I'm in the middle of a project, things naturally come out, but then I have to reset after that is done and get everything back in order to start again, like I can't start a new project in an old mess, but I can live in the mess while I'm working in it. Oh, that's a great way to describe it. Yeah, yeah, I get that, but it's funny in my life, like my home life, like I'm very tidy and orderly and like things very, like almost not minimalist, but I don't like a lot of stuff out, but in here, as you can see, it's not like that at all. It's like I have-.

Shay: 31:52

I don't know how you could really work like that too, like really like minimalist and really clean. It would be hard to just make what you need to make.

Lea Ann: 32:02

Yeah, I agree. How do you celebrate your wins?

Shay: 32:06

Oh, yeah, I could work on that one. I could work on that one. How do I tell my husband I definitely celebrate with him. Yeah, he cheers me on and I cry to him and celebrate with him and that's really, really important to me. I tell my kids sometimes they care about it, sometimes they do so they're like whatever I know yeah.

Shay: 32:31

Yeah, so I share it with somebody, I'm gonna share it with someone and I do try to keep mental track of mental note of like that was a good job and I encourage myself like I'm always growing. There's always there's time for change. There's yeah, I mean I would. Yeah, I mean you can tell, even with my answer, like I'm like yeah, that's something that I could get better at and could improve for sure.

Lea Ann: 32:57

I ask this question from time to time and almost everyone says the same thing, like I could do better at this. And that's why I bring it up, because I think it's important to. It doesn't have to be like you're taking yourself out for a spa day, but it's just like, yeah, something's all just acknowledging Like you figured something out that was hard to figure out.

Shay: 33:16

Yeah, you know, for a little while, for like a year I had this. I have this book that I would write down all my business stuff in, so notes. I took a class or I wouldn't even have like a brain dump area and but every month I would write down wins from that month. And I haven't done it in a while. I started putting stuff in a spreadsheet and it's much more like based on numbers. Yeah, you know, like how the numbers have changed. It's very analytical, yeah, and not very cheerleader or emotional. You know, yeah, and I think, just thinking about it, it's like I really need to pull that book out, Cause I really love that. And then when you go back to look at it and you think that what you're doing is so small or temporary or whatever, and you're like, over time, you go, wow, look at what I have done, Look at what I have created.

Lea Ann: 34:08

Yeah, those small steps to add, but they add up. Yeah. I mean, I think we're just so programmed to think it's like these giant big swings that get you this big result and you know that's what people post on social media and things like that. But it's really like the consistent I mean we all know this the consistent day to day actions that add up over time. And I know that's boring and not sexy at all.

Shay: 34:32

It's so true though I think that all the time, I do think that in my head, little steps will get you there. Little steps will take you anywhere you need to go. Yeah, little steps, and I think of it, some of the things, and this is so boring, but like it's kind of like retirement, like save it for retirement my whole entire life and it has not been fun, it's not glamorous, it's not Instagram worthy, and you save for retirement, like I started saving for retirement in my twenties, and it's you have nothing for a long, long, long time, like a long time. And then finally, you're like, oh, like, I have a little bit there, you know. Yeah, I think that it's similar, similar in artistic development and business, like baby steps will get you there, and it's you're right, like it's not all glamorous and Instagram worthy, but it does add up, it does yes.

Lea Ann: 35:26

For sure. Well, my guess is you have a lot of ideas, and if that's true, how do you decide which ones to follow through on?

Shay: 35:37

I don't know if I I know a lot of creatives are just like oh, I have so many ideas and I don't know that I struggle with like focus, or I don't know if that's what that is, but I don't know. I think I just know what I want to do next, or what I need to do next for business, and move forward with that, and I I'm okay, I'm a, I'm a big time thinker. Right, I am such a thinker, I'm very observant, deep thinker, and that has its strengths and its weaknesses. So I have a prolonged process towards like execution. I tend to make really good, solid decisions, really good.

Shay: 36:23

By the time I get there, I'm pretty like trustworthy and like tenacious and and good for it. But it takes me a while, like I'm a think. I really think about things first. I guess. I guess I'm thinking on a much deeper level, like not when I sit down at my desk and like what am I going to create today? Yeah, I'm thinking about it more in terms of the big picture, with business, creativity and things like that. So, so I don't get attached too much to like bright, shiny object. I feel like I'm more, I have that whatever goal and I seek that out and do that yeah.

Lea Ann: 37:02

Yeah, that's great. That's really good. Do you ever deal with creative blocks?

Shay: 37:09

Sometimes I don't know that I would call them a creative block, though, like I, because I don't feel like obliged to my creativity, so I don't. I take it in stride, like I don't really. I guess it would be a block, but I don't really look at it as a block. It just feels like a season. I don't see it as a block.

Shay: 37:30

I see it as a season where you know, this season I'm just not creative or I'm preoccupied or I have other things going on or things like that. So I just feel, I think it makes art more approachable and creativity more approachable when you can follow your natural, you know what your spirit is asking you to do. If you have that I mean. Sometimes we don't, yeah, yeah.

Lea Ann: 37:59

Well, and I think, too, that's a kind of a gift of being in it for a while, like you know that this too shall pass, like if you're not feeling it or you're into like plateau or whatever you're like. Okay, I've done this before. I know that this is something that I have to work through and it's not gonna last forever, but I think in the beginning it can feel pretty daunting, like, well, I've used up all my creativity. Yes, yes, that's it. That's all I get Right, right, yeah, yeah. Well, when you're not creating or helping others figure out how to create, what do you like to do in your spare time?

Shay: 38:34

Well, like I said, I love to walk, I love to be at the beach. It's my favorite place ever. I love to read. I love, I like to travel, I like to. I call it follow my nose. So I like to go somewhere, even if it's around my local town in Meander. I love to meander. My husband and I have ended up in some really weird places because I always like to follow my nose. We've been in Mexico, down. I was looking for papaya and I went. It was during the day and I went down.

Shay: 39:03

It wasn't an alleyway but it was like a little store, like it looked like somewhere I could go, and the guy came out and he's like you really should not be here. So so we left. But I like to meander and I love to spend time with my friends and family. I used to love to cook, but a pretty burnout on that, I must say. But yeah, I love to hang out and to. I love to dance too, like I love Zumba.

Lea Ann: 39:32

Anything else.

Shay: 39:33

I get to be a goofball and dance around my house, yeah.

Lea Ann: 39:37

That's awesome. Well, I've loved this conversation with you. Thank you for taking the time and sharing such wisdom and great insights.

Shay: 39:47

Well, thank you for asking me such good questions. It was fun to talk through it. Yeah, absolutely.

Lea Ann: 39:53

Yeah, where. If people want to learn more about you, where can they find you? And I'll link it all to Yep.

Shay: 39:59

They can come to shameshellcom that's the best place I've got learn and they can come search for my classes. I do have my free class, which is called wholeness found. It's a mixed media kind of abstractly class. Don't be afraid, we are free, we are wild. It's kind of textured, super approachable and you've got just a friendly face to guide you through. It's just you make it. You'll feel really good after you take it. So wholeness found is what it's called and, yep, you can find me on Instagram at shameshellstudios. Sounds great.

Lea Ann: 40:36

Yeah, good, well, thank you, I really enjoyed our chat. Thanks so much, I appreciate it. 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 lianslotkin, or head to my website, wwwlianslotkincom, 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.