Episodes
Tuesday Feb 20, 2024
Episode 11 - Finding Your Artistic Voice - Part 2 - Cultivating Your Voice
Tuesday Feb 20, 2024
Tuesday Feb 20, 2024
In part 2 of our conversation, we dig into what you need to do to cultivate your artistic voice. Spoiler alert: show up and do the work! Robyn has made the last minute decision to do the 100 Day Project. Michelle is rocking RPM and worries if things aren’t just a little too smooth…
Recorded on February 18th, 2024
Resources, references, and further exploration:
The 100 Day Project: https://www.the100dayproject.org/
Michelle’s blog post on developing your musical voice: https://www.michellemonettemusic.com/post/develop-your-musical-voice
Quotes, ideas, and insights referenced:
“In my experience, it’s in the act of making things and doing our work that we figure out who we are.” - Austin Kleon, Steal Like an Artist
Links:
Learn more about Robyn at https://www.robynlester.com/
Follow Robyn on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robynlester.art/
Learn more about Michelle at https://www.michellemonettemusic.com/
Please feel free to send questions and comments to streamofartpodcast@gmail.com
Connect with like-minded artists and creatives at our Discord server: https://discord.gg/mHa8GSQqsv
Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/streamofartpodcast/
Credits:
Podcast art by: Robyn Lester
Theme music by: Michelle Monette
Podcast editing by: Michelle Monette
Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
Episode 10 - Finding Your Artistic Voice - Part 1 - Defining Your Voice
Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
Join us for part 1 of our conversation on “finding” your artistic voice. We start by discussing how we define our artistic voices and question whether or not our creative output needs to be stylistically consistent. Robyn is feeling the benefits of her daily painting practice and finally admits that she does, in fact, need routine. Michelle strains her brain writing lyrics, but is still managing to keep herself (mostly) together.
Recorded on February 11th, 2024
Resources, references, and further exploration:
Michelle’s blog post on developing your musical voice https://www.michellemonettemusic.com/post/develop-your-musical-voice
Links:
Learn more about Robyn at https://www.robynlester.com/
Learn more about Michelle at https://www.michellemonettemusic.com/
Please feel free to send questions and comments to streamofartpodcast@gmail.com
Connect with like-minded artists and creatives at our Discord server: https://discord.gg/mHa8GSQqsv
Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/streamofartpodcast/
Credits:
Podcast art by: Robyn Lester
Theme music by: Michelle Monette
Podcast editing by: Michelle Monette
Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
Episode 9 - Creating for Yourself vs. Creating for Commercial Appeal
Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
Making art is tricky business, especially when your income depends on the work you create. In today’s episode we talk about creating for yourself vs. creating for commercial appeal. We explore the tension artists might experience when they have an audience they need to satisfy and consider ways to balance making art for ourselves when we rely on our creative output for our livelihood. Robyn continues her daily painting challenge and Michelle begins RPM 2024!
Recorded on February 4th, 2024
Resources, references, and further exploration:
Speaking of Psychology podcast episode - What psychology has to say about art, with Ellen Winner, PhD https://open.spotify.com/episode/5AIxyj8dpb71HTGanHqg1f?si=40766796a92c4926
Seth Godin’s book This is Marketing https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/600458/this-is-marketing-by-seth-godin/9780525540830
Links:
Learn more about Robyn at https://www.robynlester.com/
Learn more about Michelle at https://www.michellemonettemusic.com/
Please feel free to send questions and comments to streamofartpodcast@gmail.com
Connect with like-minded artists and creatives at our Discord server: https://discord.gg/mHa8GSQqsv
Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/streamofartpodcast/
Credits:
Podcast art by: Robyn Lester
Theme music by: Michelle Monette
Podcast editing by: Michelle Monette
Tuesday Jan 30, 2024
Episode 8 - Self-Compassion
Tuesday Jan 30, 2024
Tuesday Jan 30, 2024
In this episode we explore self-compassion. What does it involve? How can we work more of it into our lives? What role has it played in our creative journeys? A couple of tangents lead us to discuss our creative “fingerprints” and developing character skills through engaging in art. Robyn abandons her painting and starts fresh - she’s much happier with it! Michelle battens down the hatches in preparation for RPM.
Recorded on January 28th, 2024
Resources, references, and further exploration:
Michelle’s blog post on practicing self-compassion https://www.michellemonettemusic.com/post/practice-self-compassion
Brad Stulberg’s book The Practice of Groundedness https://www.bradstulberg.com/books
Shane Parrish’ book Clear Thinking https://fs.blog/clear/
Adam Grant’s book Hidden Potential https://adamgrant.net/book/hidden-potential/
Charlie Mackesy’s book The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse https://www.harpercollins.com/pages/charliemackesy
David Gilmour performing “Red Sky At Night” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiliWUh9jZ0
Ben Levin’s YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@BenLevin
We Can Do Hard Things podcast episode featuring Dr. Becky Kennedy https://open.spotify.com/episode/7zidfGzuncI01bLgcpFfuc?si=6f3005de025e4cdc
Art Juice podcast episode with Sara Dalrymple (and Robyn was wrong, she is an artist. She’s a photographer!) who wrote More Sales Please! https://open.spotify.com/episode/2gTNDXj7MluOX9rdhVt3Kq?si=3c8003caff364a03
Tom Quayle’s two-point interval system and course https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE69N3yVbVU
Quotes, ideas, and insights referenced:
“What progress, you ask, have I made? I have begun to be a friend to myself." - Hecato quoted in Seneca's Letters from a Stoic
“Don’t be ashamed of needing help. You have a duty to fulfill just like a soldier on the wall of battle. So what if you are injured and can’t climb up without another soldier’s help?” - Marcus Aurelius (source: https://dailystoic.com/dont-be-ashamed-to-ask-for-help/)
“[Raj] Chetty was able to predict the success that students achieved as adults simply by looking at who taught their kindergarten class. By age 25, students who happened to have had more experienced kindergarten teachers were earning significantly more money than their peers. … When students were taught by more experienced kindergarten teachers, their fourth-grade teachers rated them higher on all four of these attributes [proactive, prosocial, disciplined, determined]. So did their eighth-grade teachers. The capacities to be proactive, prosocial, disciplined, and determined stayed with students longer—and ultimately proved more powerful—than early math and reading skills.” Adam Grant, Hidden Potential, pages 7-9
Links:
Learn more about Robyn at https://www.robynlester.com/
Learn more about Michelle at https://www.michellemonettemusic.com/
Please feel free to send questions and comments to streamofartpodcast@gmail.com
Connect with like-minded artists and creatives at our Discord server: https://discord.gg/mHa8GSQqsv
Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/streamofartpodcast/
Credits:
Podcast art by: Robyn Lester
Theme music by: Michelle Monette
Podcast editing by: Michelle Monette
Tuesday Jan 23, 2024
Episode 7 - Perfectionism
Tuesday Jan 23, 2024
Tuesday Jan 23, 2024
Oh perfectionism! Where would we be without you? This week we chat about the ways perfectionism can manifest in our lives and in our art. We consider how it might serve us and explore possible solutions for when it gets in our way. Michelle catches herself just before burnout takes hold, and Robyn convinces Michelle that she should play more video games (she’s an enabler!).
Recorded on January 20th, 2024
Resources, references, and further exploration:
Michelle’s blog post on excellence over perfection https://www.michellemonettemusic.com/post/aim-for-excellence-rather-than-perfection
Michelle’s blog post on progress over perfection https://www.michellemonettemusic.com/post/look-for-progress-not-perfection
Adam Grant’s book Hidden Potential https://adamgrant.net/book/hidden-potential/
Shane Parrish’s book Clear Thinking https://fs.blog/clear/
Musician James Blake explaining why he enjoys playing video games https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjsr9Sq6-F8 - "I like video games because they use a different part of my brain. I think I spend so much time in the kind of creative part of my brain... it's nice to pay a visit to the other side of it and just turn the creative part off for a second.”
Quotes, ideas, and insights referenced:
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” - John Lennon, from the song “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)”
“The fool, with all his other faults, has this also—he is always getting ready to live.” Seneca quoting Epicurus (source: https://dailystoic.com/dont-be-a-fool/)
Links:
Learn more about Robyn at https://www.robynlester.com/
Learn more about Michelle at https://www.michellemonettemusic.com/
Please feel free to send questions and comments to streamofartpodcast@gmail.com
Connect with like-minded artists and creatives at our Discord server: https://discord.gg/mHa8GSQqsv
Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/streamofartpodcast/
Credits:
Podcast art by: Robyn Lester
Intro music by: Michelle Monette
Podcast editing by: Michelle Monette
Tuesday Jan 16, 2024
Episode 6 - Month-Long Creative Challenges
Tuesday Jan 16, 2024
Tuesday Jan 16, 2024
This week we chat about month-long creative challenges like RPM, Inktober, and NaNoWriMo. Is there value in doing these kinds of challenges? Robyn plays in the snow and Michelle thinks RPM is amazing and that everyone should do it.
Recorded on January 14th, 2024
Resources, references, and further exploration:
Sign up for the RPM Challenge https://www.rpmchallenge.com/
Will Hatton (Inspired by…) https://www.youtube.com/@WillHatton
Michelle’s RPM albums https://soundcloud.com/michelle-monette-music/albums
Cal Newport, Deep Work https://calnewport.com/deep-work-rules-for-focused-success-in-a-distracted-world/
Quotes, ideas, and insights referenced:
“I judge you unfortunate because you have never lived through misfortune. You have passed through life without an opponent—no one can ever know what you are capable of, not even you.” - Seneca (Source: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/10471596-i-judge-you-unfortunate-because-you-have-never-lived-through)
Links:
Learn more about Robyn at https://www.robynlester.com/
Learn more about Michelle at https://www.michellemonettemusic.com/
Please feel free to send questions and comments to streamofartpodcast@gmail.com
Connect with like-minded artists and creatives at our Discord server: https://discord.gg/mHa8GSQqsv
Credits:
Podcast art by: Robyn Lester
Intro music by: Michelle Monette
Podcast editing by: Michelle Monette
Tuesday Jan 09, 2024
Episode 5 - Finding Your ”Why”
Tuesday Jan 09, 2024
Tuesday Jan 09, 2024
This week we chat about defining our “why”. What drives us to create? Is creativity in all of us? Robyn starts a daily painting challenge for the month and Michelle (mostly) gets to bed earlier, but struggles to sleep.
Recorded on January 7th, 2024
Resources, references, and further exploration:
Clarifying Your Vision worksheet (the prompts use the words “music” and “musical” but can easily be answered by all artists) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1B8tV5jN_fkUdQxwapcymbO9-3U0yDeOR/view?usp=sharing
The artist Robyn mentioned, Pet Portraits by Hercule https://www.instagram.com/portraitsbyhercule/?hl=en
Brad Stulberg’s book Master of Change https://www.bradstulberg.com/books
Michelle’s blog post on knowing your “why” https://www.michellemonettemusic.com/post/do-you-know-your-why
Michelle’s blog post on developing your musical (artistic) voice https://www.michellemonettemusic.com/post/develop-your-musical-voice
Michelle’s blog post on how we’re all built to make music (all arts apply) https://www.michellemonettemusic.com/post/we-are-all-built-to-make-music
Michelle’s blog post on the power of asking “what if?” https://www.michellemonettemusic.com/post/what-if
Michelle’s blog post on the perfect time to start https://www.michellemonettemusic.com/post/the-best-time-to-start
Quotes, ideas, and insights referenced:
"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now." Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/joy-and-pain/201504/the-best-time-plant-tree-was-20-years-ago-no-matter
“The satisfactions of manifesting oneself concretely in the world through manual competence have been known to make a man quiet and easy.” - Matthew B. Crawford, Shop Class as Soulcraft
“For all the things in life that you cannot control, there is at least one that you can: your core values, which represent your fundamental beliefs and guiding principles. They are the attributes and qualities that matter to you most.” - Brad Stulberg, Master of Change, page 103
Links:
Learn more about Robyn at https://www.robynlester.com/
Learn more about Michelle at https://www.michellemonettemusic.com/
Please feel free to send questions and comments to streamofartpodcast@gmail.com
Connect with like-minded artists and creatives at our Discord server: https://discord.gg/mHa8GSQqsv
Credits:
Podcast art by: Robyn Lester
Intro music by: Michelle Monette
Podcast editing by: Michelle Monette
Tuesday Jan 02, 2024
Episode 4 - Planning for 2024
Tuesday Jan 02, 2024
Tuesday Jan 02, 2024
In honour of the New Year, we chat about how we’re approaching the year ahead and our plans for 2024. Robyn has a busy holiday week and Michelle stays up late playing Baldur's Gate 3.
Recorded on December 31st, 2023
Quotes, ideas, and insights referenced:
“Well-being is realized by small steps, but is truly no small thing.” – Zeno (Source https://dailystoic.com/zeno/)
“The goal is not to be stable and therefore never change. Nor is the goal to sacrifice all sense of stability, passively surrendering yourself to the whims of life. Rather, the goal is to marry these qualities to cultivate what I call rugged flexibility. To be rugged is to be tough, determined, and durable. To be flexible is to consciously respond to altered circumstances or conditions, to adapt and bend easily without breaking. Put those together and the result is a gritty endurance, an anti-fragility that not only withstands change, but thrives in its midst.” - Brad Stulberg, Master of Change, page 14
Links:
Learn more about Robyn at https://www.robynlester.com/
Learn more about Michelle at https://www.michellemonettemusic.com/
Please feel free to send questions and comments to streamofartpodcast@gmail.com
Connect with like-minded artists and creatives at our Discord server: https://discord.gg/mHa8GSQqsv
Credits:
Podcast art by: Robyn Lester
Intro music by: Michelle Monette
Podcast editing by: Michelle Monette
Friday Dec 29, 2023
Episode 3 - Reviewing and Reflecting on 2023
Friday Dec 29, 2023
Friday Dec 29, 2023
In this episode, we reflect on 2023 and discuss the role planning and goal setting has in our lives. Robyn has some time off from her day job and is in full R&R mode, while Michelle wraps up her work for the year.
Recorded on December 23rd, 2023
Resources and references:
Michelle’s blog post on reflecting and redirecting: https://www.michellemonettemusic.com/post/reflect-and-redirect
Cal Newport: https://calnewport.com/
The Daily Stoic: https://dailystoic.com/
The RPM Challenge: https://www.rpmchallenge.com/remchallenge
Links:
Learn more about Robyn at https://www.robynlester.com/
Learn more about Michelle at https://www.michellemonettemusic.com/
Please feel free to send questions and comments to streamofartpodcast@gmail.com
Connect with like-minded artists and creatives at our Discord server: https://discord.gg/mHa8GSQqsv
Credits:
Podcast art by: Robyn Lester
Intro music by: Michelle Monette
Podcast editing by: Michelle Monette
Friday Dec 29, 2023
Episode 2 - Defining Success
Friday Dec 29, 2023
Friday Dec 29, 2023
In this episode, we explore how we each define success and how those definitions evolve over time. Robyn reconnects with her youth by watching Road to Avonlea (it’s the best!) and Michelle gives herself some rest after a busy week.
Recorded on December 17th, 2023
Resources and references:
Michelle’s blog post on not worrying about what others are doing: https://www.michellemonettemusic.com/post/don-t-worry-about-what-other-musicians-are-doing
Michelle’s blog post on putting the process ahead of the prize: https://www.michellemonettemusic.com/post/focus-on-the-process-not-on-the-prize
Quotes, ideas, and insights referenced:
“According to Seneca, the Greek word euthymia is one we should think of often: it is the sense of our own path and how to stay on it without getting distracted by all the others that intersect it.” - Ryan Holiday, Ego is the Enemy, page 117
Links:
Learn more about Robyn at https://www.robynlester.com/
Learn more about Michelle at https://www.michellemonettemusic.com/
Please feel free to send questions and comments to streamofartpodcast@gmail.com
Connect with like-minded artists and creatives at our Discord server: https://discord.gg/mHa8GSQqsv
Credits:
Podcast art by: Robyn Lester
Intro music by: Michelle Monette
Podcast editing by: Michelle Monette