Jeanne Oliver, Artist, Art Business Consultant, Author & self-proclaimed Beauty Chaser, on what Creativity is, who it's for and why we should stop whatever we are doing to listen to it.
Episode Summary
Jeanne Oliver is an artist, author, teacher and art business consultant. She paints, and teaches how to paint art journals and is deeply committed to the creativity in her. She teaches art, and she created an online art school platform that hosts over 180 art and business workshops serving over 60,000 art students around the world. She has written a beautiful book called “The Painted Art Journal” aimed at helping people find a deeper understanding of themselves and their art and she offers a transformational business course for those ready to take the next step in building their own Creatively Made Business.
Episode Notes
Jeanne Oliver is an artist, author, teacher and art business consultant. She paints, teaches how to paint art journals and is deeply committed to the creativity in her. She created an online art school platform that hosts over 180 art and business workshops serving over 60,000 art students around the world. She has written a beautiful book called “The Painted Art Journal” aimed at helping people find a deeper understanding of themselves and their art and she offers a transformational business course for those ready to take the next step in building their own Creatively Made Business.
Things Jeanne and I discuss in this episode
-That feeling we have from that place deep within ourselves, the need to create.
-Creativity is calling us - what is it and why is it calling us? Why is it trying to get out attention
-How women are more likely to justify why we don’t pursue our creative yearnings and dreams and what is required to shift this
-Why she thinks we keep ourselves too busy to truly allow our creativity to move us
-Where intuition comes from and how to cultivate it
-What happens at 8-10 years old for SO many people that causes us to put down art and believe for the rest of our lives that we “don’t have it in us” and what we can do to go back and undo that
-The small habit she has that changed everything about how she related to her creativity (10-15 mins a day)
-How to make yourself a portable art studio and use it - a practice that can revolutionize your art practice
-The power of art to help us forgive people who have hurt us
-Imposter syndrome
-How to be a mom and an artist and a business all at the same time
-How to build an business that aligns with the life you want to live
-How important is it to have a NICHE for your artwork?
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About Jeannie Oliver:
Jeanne Oliver grew up in rural Illinois and now resides in Castle Rock, CO. She is inspired by our personal stories, travel, and nature. Jeanne uses art to tell her current stories and also those of growing up among gravel roads, cornfields and early life surrounded by open spaces. Through mark making, layers and mixed media, she hopes to convey that we all have a story to tell. She speaks and teaches all around the country and abroad. Connecting with women and sharing that each of us has been creatively made is one of her passions.
Jeanne is author of a book entitled “The Painted Art Journal” aimed at helping people find a deeper understanding of themselves and their art
Kate Shepherd: art | website | instagram
Morning Moon Nature Jewelry | website | instagram
Creative Genius Podcast | website | instagram
Jeanne Oliver: website | facebook | instagram
Resources discussed in this episode:
- Portable Art Studio Free Art Video https://jeanneoliver.com/courses/portable-art-studio/
- The Painted Art Journal by Jeanne Oliver https://amzn.to/3JsYOij
- The Power of Consistency by Weldon Long https://amzn.to/3Jmt12J
- The War of Art https://amzn.to/3E0kwJr
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Jeanne Oliver 0:00
I grew up in a family with my grandmother was a composer and pianist and my aunt was a Broadway dancer. And my other aunt was a violinist, and also a pianist. And so I just grew up with these women doing these really awesome creative things. And so I grew up just hungry for it. And, and it wasn't just that my grandma was a pianist, it was that my grandmother had a little library in her house full of good books and, and she collected art and music was playing and when she would gather us at her long table, she used Miss mix match China and, and crystal and she gathered us with good food and, and so it was I felt like as a child when I would be exposed to these women that were a part of my legacy, a part of my heritage, I got dipped.
Kate Shepherd 1:06
Hello, friends, thank you to everyone who's been leaving reviews, they are real fuel for me to keep going, and also quite helpful for other people to discover the show. So please keep them coming. If you've been meaning to do one, you can head over to Apple podcasts. And you just rate and review the show. It takes probably about 30 seconds, and has such a wonderful impact for me and for the show that I appreciate so much. Today I sit down with Jean Oliver. Jean is an artist, author, teacher, and art business consultant. As you'll hear she is someone who's deeply committed to the creativity in her. She not only teaches art, but she created an online art school. It's a platform that hosts over 180 art and business workshops, serving over 60,000 art students around the world. Jean is one of those people who makes you feel warm and safe to say or feel what is really in your heart. She is one of those humans who is not simply creative, but has crafted a life fully immersed in creativity itself. I'd like to ask you to become a patreon. The reality is I need financial support to continue producing this show for you. And in exchange, I'll make you exclusive beautiful bonuses that I don't think you'll want to miss. You can head over to patreon.com/creative Genius podcast to see if there's an option that feels right for you. When I was pulling together the highlight reel for this episode to share with you. The snippets piled up so quickly. The highlight reel for this episode is the episode, Jean is so warm and generous and plugged in to creativity. She's wise and articulate. And listening to her reminds you of something you already know about yourself, you just maybe forgot. It's like a magical balm for the creative soul. This episode is a bit longer than my usual ones. It really is like two episodes rolled into one. And I did think about dividing it up into two episodes. But there are so many other amazing guests lined up for the coming weeks that I didn't want to make you wait. So please feel free to cut this episode in half, really soak up the first half, and then dive back into the second half. In the first half. We talk about finding ourselves listening to what we really want to do, what holds us back what creativity really is and is trying to do through us. And the second part is a little bit more about how to build a creative business that not only reflects who you really are, but one that is also really likely to help you build the life that you really want to have Jean share some really concrete guidance on these things for us. And I don't think you'll want to miss that. It's a great show, you're probably going to want to listen with a notebook nearby. So maybe go grab one right now. Recently, as I was reading a flood of reviews and emails from you, the creative genius listeners, it hit me, we all have so much in common. In many ways. We already are a community, we just didn't have a place to connect. So I have created for us a magical little place on the internet, where we can gather to be in connection with each other. Our love for creativity, and our desire to really let it out of us is our shared bond. This is a safe place for us to share our triumphs, epiphanies, vulnerabilities to ask each other scary questions and cheer each other on here we'll grow and expand into our true creative self. It's a private Facebook group. So you can head over to the creative genius podcast Facebook page, or Kate Shepherd creative.com. To request to join, we'd love to welcome you. And now here's my conversation with the generous, kind, creative and warmly inspiring. Jean Oliver. Jane, I'm so happy you're here. Thank you for joining us today.
Jeanne Oliver 4:41
Oh, thanks for having me.
Kate Shepherd 4:43
Oh, it's really a treat to get to meet you and see your beautiful face and personal.
Jeanne Oliver 4:47
So sweet. Thanks.
Kate Shepherd 4:49
Before we get into our chat today, I wanted to share with you and our listeners a little bit about my intention with this work and with this podcast and it really It comes out of unknowing that I have that creativity and a healthy relationship with creativity is as important as breathing or thinking, you know, we, I mean, we don't think twice about thinking and how much it gets done for us. But I think we've really lost connection with the importance of creativity as a form of intelligence with us. And, you know, a significant number of people, I had this sort of aha moment, you know, meeting people at markets and galleries and over the years, as they meet me as an artist, and there's this sort of like, oh, are so many people are not letting themselves access this part of themselves. And I thought about why for a while, because I was like, why is this happening? And I think I identified sort of three main beliefs that we have around creativity, which is that it only exists in certain places, you know, that it's art, sculpture, painting, I mean, those are the kind of like the cliche ones, that you either have creativity, this magical elusive thing inside you or you don't, and you probably don't, so you might as well just not even try to train. And that even if you were brave enough to try to express some creativity, the thing that you would create, or the product of your creativity would have to look or feel or sound a certain way in order to be good or acceptable or worthy of being in the world. And so I think that just sort of like stops so many people right away, but I know that when we activate our creativity, we're accessing this deep wisdom and intelligence, that is actually the thing that can help us build the lives of our dreams, and serve each other and be in love and joy and enjoy life. And which to me is sort of the purpose of all of it. Yeah, and I know that we're suppressing this creativity, because we're believing those beliefs that I was just talking about. So that's what this work is about. For me with these conversations I want. I'm on this mission to have as many conversations with people like you out loud in the mainstream, so that I can help as many people as I can, in my life, realize that this intelligence, this this thing, creativity, is actually inside each and every one of us and, and wants to get out. So that's kind of where I'm coming from with the show.
Jeanne Oliver 7:16
And I believe that 100% I think that is so much of what we do, and what we're passionate about. And even the three main points that you talked about, those are those are truths that people carry around with them. Those are lies, that has impacted childhood, young adult, as a parent, often as a retired adult, that they are these whispers that have kept them from a different life. And I think as soon as you can stop listening to that whisper, so if you're 15, if you're 25, if you're 40 if you're 70 The sooner we can stop listening to the whispers, the sooner we can get back to
Kate Shepherd 7:59
who we're supposed to be right, because there's other whispers too. There's like a quieter, more trustworthy whisper. Underneath those kind of the nattering, I think of it says those whispers that you're talking about as kind of like a nattering like, they're noise.
Jeanne Oliver 8:13
And I would even go as far as to say, we are the most maybe, oh, just distracted that we've ever been. And be and that is, we're staying distracted. Out of that fear of doing those other things, too. Because it's scary. It's scary at first to know, I really want to do this, but will it be bad? I mean, I've done this, so long now of, you know, teaching and creating myself and leading groups of people. And there are the certain things that I just hear over and over and over from people. And then there's these really sweet moments of hearing from people that don't consider themselves artists at all. So people that they've never painted or sculpted, now they're artists, but they wouldn't tell you like these are the hostess that are incredible, the best bakers beautiful gardeners, but stories like these aren't come across my desk all the time. And somebody I knew that said, I just I was on a walk in I was downtown and I walked into an art supply store. And I don't even know why I went in there. And I walked into that art supply store and I walked around and I started weeping. I just started weeping. Why was I weeping teen like, Why was I walking around that store and crying I didn't even know what any of this stuff was. But something in me was was telling me to make.
Kate Shepherd 9:45
What is that? Because you would you go to your website. The first thing you see as creativity is calling. Yeah, it's one of the things I wanted to ask you about. Because I it is calling and that that that moment that that person is having and So many people have that moment, you know, Pamela Bates, who was a guest on our show a couple of weeks ago, talks about her moment at the garden Museum, where she stood in front of Julio and was like, just had that moment of like, I, this is what I need to do she she had no no art supplies at home she had to go and just painting on like kids watercolor paper and printer paper I'd like to get you know, but such was the that recognition that feeling that moment of the weeping. And so I wanted to ask you what, so creativity in that sense, when when you say it's calling you, it almost has to be a being in order to call you. It's not an inanimate object. It's not a nonliving thing. But we so often don't talk about what is it? Because we've all had those moments of connecting with that. To me, it's an alive presence, and and intelligence. But what is it? What is it that's calling you in? And why we're jumping right into the stuff? I wanted to talk about that later on in the show. But let's let's just do it like what? What is it? And why is it trying to get our attention?
Jeanne Oliver 11:09
Well, I think first and foremost, I mean, I I believe we are created from a creator god and and that then we are creative beings. And I believe that when we create, not only is it given to us as a gift to fill us up to bring us joy in anything that's pure like that. Anything that is it come from such a beautiful source. It's not actually just for you. And so when we connect with that creativity, it literally fills us up so then it spills over. And then what does it do? It blesses other people. And it shows other people like what freedom looks like what creativity looks like, with taking a breath looks like what a big exhale looks like we're making something for beauty sake just because it's beautiful. And that's enough, and we don't have to justify it. And so I just feel like any time and I think women are more likely than men sometimes to justify why they don't walk out certain things. And that's a whole nother podcast. But yeah, but I but that's why I think it's so important. At the point we can say, No, this is who I am. This is how I've been made, I am going to walk out my creativity and whatever that looks like. And it doesn't mean you make money from it, it doesn't mean that it has to look like somebody else's creativity. It means that we live intentionally. And what does that look like for each of us? And what does making look like so to me, I think a creative life even looks like that I walk every day.
And I love that even before we started the podcast, you talked about that voice you heard in that time saying and now it's time to do this. It's time to start this podcast. And I think we would all hear so much better. If we just went on walks, go outside, go by yourself. Take your sketchbook make ugly art, sit and sketch what's in front of you take a walk with no earphones in no podcast, nothing just walk. And I think there's so much waiting to be downloaded into us. So many beautiful things that can be born out of us. But I think we keep ourselves busy and distracted. And with something always in our ear. Because it's scary to know, I could make something bad I could make which we do. And I love telling this one story is it okay, if I tell a story. I was teaching an art class for some homeschool kids, not like a couple of years ago. And the room where I was teaching this one day sketching and sculpting class. As they came in, I could hear them mumbling. And again, no sometimes I mean, I'm 49 and sometimes we can forget what it felt like to be these middle schoolers or these high schoolers or all these other you know, to be like that age and to have that impact of people. And as they're walking in, they're like kind of mumbling to themselves. And they're saying things to each other. Like, I can't even sketch a you know, a stick person and somebody else's Oh, Yeah, mine's gonna suck. And they keep saying like all of these, like really negative things to each other. Just letting everybody know that when they come to make today. And when they fail, it's almost like they're given everybody a heads up, right? Like given everybody a heads up that it's not going to be good. And so I sat there listening to all of them, and I'm like, What do I do? What do I do? You know, because I knew it could really make such a huge impact on this one day we had to create together. And so as you know, chance would have it there was a piano in the corner of this room. Home. And so I said to the kids, hey, who has never taken piano lessons before, and pretty much everybody raised their hand. And so I reached I said to one of the boys, I pointed him, I'm like, Hey, would you actually go to the piano? Because you haven't taken lessons? Would you go over to the piano? And would you play a little Coldplay? For me? I would just love that. That would really make me so happy. And you gotta love these homeschool kids. Gosh, that kid just he obeyed me. So he got up. He, I mean, wide eyed, staring at me. And he walked over to the piano. And then he sat down. I'm like, well play, like to play something I would love. You know, I'd love to hear and, and he said, Well, I can't do that. And I said, Oh, well, well, why can't you play anything? And he said, Well, I've never taken lessons. I say exactly. Guys, if you have never sketched do, you've never taken sketching lessons, if you've never taken the sculpting lessons, if you've never any thing with fine art, I said, this is the lie that we all believe, is that you are wise enough to know and to say, No, I cannot play this piano because I have never taken lessons and I've never practiced. If I gave you a violin, you would say the same thing. If I gave you a cello, you would say the same thing. But we believe the lie when it comes to making that you either have it or you don't want it has everything to do with what you have been taught and how much have you practiced?
Kate Shepherd 16:35
Absolutely.
Jeanne Oliver 16:36
And the and why? Why when it comes to painting and sculpting and stitching and baking and gardening? Like why do we believe that lie? When we know it's not true? In almost everything else? Have you practiced Have you shown shown up? I mean, I look at like, where I started and where I am now. And then it makes me excited. What Who will I be as an artist and 20 years? Because I'm I mean, I'm gonna stay the same if I don't practice. And it's it's like parenting, it's like cooking. It's like running a business. The more I do something, the better I get. Yeah, and you have to be
Kate Shepherd 17:17
doing it. You have to be doing you have to be doing it. Because if you're not doing it, then, you know, I know I can understand that feeling. I really want to I've wanted to play the piano since I was a little kid. So it's funny that you use that example. And I took a few piano lessons. And then life kind of happened and I ended up not. But now I have children and we bought them a piano and I still want to sit there like I sit in front of piano. Sometimes it just will. Like I want I wish I could just want it enough. And I took piano lessons. And I realized, oh, okay, I made that connection. Like if I really do want to get good at piano, it's going to take I'm going to have to do this many hours a week of practicing. And
Jeanne Oliver 17:53
it's showing up, it's showing up in. And for each one of us. What are those things that are important enough that we say yeah, are important enough? Because we say a lot of things, don't we? We say a lot of things. What do our actions actually prove that we mean it?
Kate Shepherd 18:10
Right? Because when I sat down at that piano, that's hard. Well, what I realized was I did the math, I was like, well, then when am I going to make jewelry? And how am I going to I want to spend time with the kids. And I really am loving painting watercolor right now. And what about my studio work? And what about the podcast? And like, you kind of have to do the math and say, Well, what are the things that I value enough to commit to right? And then and sit down and keep doing them? Right? And I just hear that time and time again. Like I'll go back to Pamela Bates. Again, she had that experience in front of that painting in the museum. And you know, same thing was weeping she felt like electricity was running through like it was one of those moments. Yeah. And she also didn't have a single experience with art supplies in her life like she had. And she knew even though she had this humongous feeling, she knew that it was going to be about just doing it. It's about do are you doing it? Are you are you doing it? Are you doing it every day? And I
Jeanne Oliver 19:04
know where do Where do people think intuition comes from right intuition or only comes from knowing your tools. Intuition comes from practice. Intuition means you're so familiar with something that you can get to a point of freedom with it. And it goes back to the piano. I mean, I think of each one of my kids, they started piano in first grade. And they played all throughout high school that was just included as part of their curriculum as math or reading or anything else. And I remember my little jacket when he was in first grade, just learning where do I even put my fingers I don't even know where they go. And then learning where to put his fingers and now he's about ready to graduate from college with a music composition as an it with a music composition major. And now he can make it up. That's where intuition. That's you know, when you hear about intuitive painting, we can only become intuitive if we start Knowing Oh, those are my marks. Oh, that's my color palette. I don't know what to do next. But or doubt, like five steps from now. But I know what to do next. And I'm going to do that.
Kate Shepherd 20:11
And that's such an important. I feel like creativity is also trying to show us how to walk through our lives. You know, because that is such an important way of living your you know, I don't know how to fix all these problems in my life right now. Get into the right job, move into the right city be like, I don't know how to fix it all. But I know what to do today. Yeah, I feel like art and creativity and being in a creative practice helps us to do that. This episode of creative genius is brought to you by mourning Moon nature jewelry, instantly familiar yet, unlike anything you've ever owned, this extraordinary handcrafted heirloom jewelry is famous for its incredible detail of actual textures from nature, get 15% off your first order and feel the Wonder use coupon code, creative genius, at love morning mood.com. I want to go back to something you said a second ago yesterday, my kids and I were sitting down. And they'll thank me later, I hope but instead of screentime I'm always like we're doing art right now. And they're like, okay, but then they five minutes later, they're happily doing it. But my nine year old, painted a little or did a sketch of a raccoon from a book. And it was amazing. It was actually really, really good. But he just was defeated, he threw the sketchbook on the floor and he you know, it doesn't. And I said to my sweetheart, what, what's wrong? And he said, it doesn't look like the one in the book. And that I feel like is also something we have to ask ourselves about why do we feel like we have to create what's already like something to look exactly like what's already been created? Where does that? And and how can we stop doing that?
Jeanne Oliver 21:51
Well, I think first of all, is that you said nine, right? Nine is around the age or they become very self aware. So before that, I bet he you know, you think of all the years that he probably made like stick rat raccoons, and he was like, this was the coolest record ever. I mean, he was selling them on the street to your neighbors. I mean, he's run into saying, Mommy, look what I just made. I love it so much. And it pretty much was that giant head with legs coming out of it, you know, because there was no awareness of them and somebody else and and what they were making and what somebody else makes. And then it becomes around that age that eight to 10, where I have literally heard, I would say at this point, hundreds and hundreds of stories of this around this age of being in class, looking over and seeing what their neighbor in our class was making or somebody else was and it hit them. Oh my gosh, that person has it. I don't mind is ugly, they crumple it up, they throw it in the trash. And for many people, it is the last time they pick up art. And so then let's jump ahead from that eight 910 year old kid to now a 45, a 50 year old woman saying it has taken me a lifetime to pick this back up. I compared myself once. And it made me not just want to get better. It didn't make me want to practice. It didn't make me look all those other things. It actually told me you're no good. And they put it down. And so I think what you're doing, I think that self awareness and knowing that, like their place in the world, what you're doing is really beautiful to say let's just make and maybe instead of using references, maybe you take your kids outside instead. And let's sketch this flower. Well, the next
Kate Shepherd 23:58
thing that happened that we did was he actually has these really amazing he sat in his in his chair the other day and with just the pencil in his big I was getting them the best art supplies because I feel like if you're going to make want to make great art, you have to have good paper and great brushes and good you know, Crayola I mean, nothing wrong with Crayola, but, you know, you're not gonna have that same experience with pigments like that, right, you know. So he's sitting there he, for when he's doing it from his mind, and he does these amazing fantastical scenes of mountains and he like narrates little stories and and so he did that he threw the raccoon book on the floor. And then I put another piece of paper in front of him and I said just how about you just do something from inside and he started to draw this crazy, like do you know Lauren Harris, the Canadian Group of Seven those those artists of famous amazing, beautiful artists, their various sort of like mountain icy sculptural thing. And he just natural I don't think he's even writing these artists, but this just kind of what comes out of him. And so he finished doing that. And I said to him, did you notice that when you were just creating what came from you without trying to copy what was in the book, how much better you felt about it, and how it like, look how cool this thing is that you've just made? And how do you feel like what's the difference? And, and I feel like that's, you know, when you're talking about what happens at eight, nine and 10. It's so true. I think a lot of us get stuck there. And so as adults now like, Wait, if you're if you're talking to somebody who's and I'm seeing it mostly happening to people in their sort of 40s, Nish is sort of wake up, they realize, you know, what, the life I've created for myself does, it suddenly doesn't feel quite right like that. You know, I've heard Glenn and Doyle talking about not this, it's not this, but what is it? Like? What is it? And so as we're, as we're kind of in that place, and we're trying to discover how can we what is a useful thing that we can do to start to undo the habit, because it's created a groove in us, we think that way now of comparing and, you know, because we've done it our whole lives, what's a good habit, we could have to sort of start to loosen up around that so that we're not so scared about creating the ugly art, and we're not so attached to outcomes of what we're creating?
Jeanne Oliver 26:08
Well, there's a few things and I want to build upon what we've even talked about, even just for one second to go back to even with your son, that it's obvious that he has very high standards, which means that he's going to be a sponge learning. And I think the biggest mistake that parents do is sometimes dumbing down the education of arts for their kids. So not just parents, I just mean in general, even schools, people reach out to me like, Oh, do you have any kids classes on your site, and I'm like, well, not very many. And you could dive into this right now. And your child is going to watch that. And they're going to take away really great techniques of knowing how to use these mediums. And I think first and foremost, you know, that like they can, they can just absorb so much more, right. And so I encourage that. Another thing, that was the biggest change for me. And so and we're going to all be anybody listening, they're going to be in all these different seasons of life. And I'm still in a season where I just can't go to my studio and paint all day. That's not That's not my life, we still have a child at home, we still we have a business that also requires, like other commitments. And so if I thought that creating only is worthy, if I can give it X amount of time, that's also a fear based lie. When in reality, it's kind of like in the morning, when I have my quiet time, I always have a book that I want to read, because I know the rest of the day gets away from me, I'm never going to read it. So I, after I have my quiet time in the morning, then and my journal time, I have a book that is just a whatever random book that I've really wanted to read, and maybe I read for 10 minutes. But at the end of the month, I've read a couple books. And if I waited for to just sit down for hours to read a book, it would never happen. And so the famous thing is, we never make those excuses like, well, I just have 10 minutes, I'd better not be I can't do the laundry. You know, like I only have 10 minutes, I guess I can't do this. No, like, we do little things all the time. And the same thing can be with our creativity. And so what can we do that sets up our creativity that it's because 10 minutes a day, 15 minutes a day, you can have a painting at the end of the month, you can have journal, a journal that's getting thick and chunky and, and you can't close it right? You know, 1015 minutes a day means you see the world differently, and you're a better artist. And so one of the things that really changed for me is creating these portable art studios. And I've done these done this for years now. So like we make these little bags, but you don't need anything from us. You just need like, almost like a makeup bag size that zips closed. And you need maybe, you know, 10 little watercolor pans, and a water brush and piece of charcoal or a charcoal pencil and graphite, and maybe some Jesso and a journal. And I'm telling you keep one in your car, have one at your home. And instead of reaching for your phone, when you're in that car waiting for your kids for 10 minutes or 15 minutes in a carpool line. If you sketched something, anything, I'm just I promise you that if you can get in the habit instead of the habit of picking up our phones, we get in the habit of picking up a book to read or our journal to sketch and it's just these little daily practices. And once again, I come in contact with a lot of people that deeply deeply desire with their whole heart that they could be a better artist that they don't make even the 1015 Minute promise to themselves each day that that I'm going to make something and I'm going to make something and this is just for me this journey. No is for no one else to look at it. And the thing is guys knowing gets access to your journal, like your journal, to think of it as your diary. Like it's off limits, if you're out and about and people want to see it, you can close it. If your family or friends want to see it, you don't have to show it, you deserve a place to make mistakes and to explore and to play and to be a scientist, right, and to figure out your tools, and to make bad art and to make good art. And it's for you. And don't you deserve something in your life that is literally just for you. That's, that just is a promise to yourself that I want this. And I'm going to show up in some way. One of my favorite things about daily sketching, or daily painting or any way that you connect with your creativity, whether it's going out into your garden, and whether like anything that is important to you is that it's scientifically proven that putting pen to paper pencil to paper, you are a happier person. And it and that happiness in this study. And I wish I could remember what study it was it said it had nothing to do with how good your art was.
Guys, that's I mean, isn't that so? Like, thank goodness, but that you are going to be a happier person. If you disconnect. You take 10 minutes, you sketch your coffee cup in the morning, write your thoughts on something, close it and get on with your day. It had nothing to do at the end of well, everyday they sketched and they made some really crummy art. And you know, you know, I guess like Man, what a waste of my life? No, it's It's that because when we stop when we create in any way, we're disconnecting, and then we're connecting with that deeper part of who we are. Yeah, only good can come from only only good.
I've talked to a woman named Sara del assandro, a couple of weeks ago, who does like art therapy as that as a way of sort of dealing with even even things as strong as PTSD or trauma. And she was explained to us that there's, you know, there's the rational mind. And there's the subconscious mind, which is kind of where creativity lives, right. And often, the subconscious mind isn't verbal, it doesn't actually have language, so you can't explain things to it with words. And so it's experiencing life right alongside you. But sometimes it doesn't have a way to process experiences. And that the reason that our therapy can be so profound at helping to heal and resolve trauma, is that what's happening in the mind is that you're kind of replaying things that are bothering you or really hurting you. They're on a loop because the subconscious is like, I don't know where to where should I put this, how do I, but we can't tell it with words, which is why talk therapy is limited. But you can do it through art, you can help it, there's a loop between the two that happens through creativity and through seeing the mark on the page from your and that you're actually able to put away a lot of the experiences that maybe you don't even know you're having, like maybe you're trying to process the laundry list and the kids dropping off in school, and then how am I going to do this and building my business and you're sure you've got all these things, and maybe sketching the coffee cup actually helps that part of you go, okay, just put that over here.
Art has been the best therapy that I could, you know, have ever taken a part of probably one of the most profound moments. I mean, I have, I have literally forgiven people, through creating, I have forgiven myself for things to creating, I had really clear aha moments about all kinds of things during creating. And it was, gosh, I probably five years ago or so I was working on a class and I was in the middle of the project was called the DNA of me creating this collage piece. And so I took like, the hands of my grandmother that was a pianist and a composer. And so it was with me, but I was incorporating pieces of them. So my grandfather and my mother's eyes and, and I was having a really hard time picking apart to use of my father, I was having a really hard time like, okay, like, none of these really seem like they're fitting and I'm having a really hard time I'd used adult images of everybody else. And I was having a really hard time using any adult images of my dad, and it was bringing up just a lot of stuff. And I was just like, I don't like looking at these adult images. And I went back and looked at some other photos and then I found a picture of him as a little boy. And and I included that in the collage and like not just a part I included the whole little image of my dad as a little boy. And then I was able to be like ah, Dad. What happened? Look at you, like look at Like What Did someone say to you? or what did someone do? Or what is that, because here you are whole. And here there is sweetness. And I was just able to look at him with the eyes of the person I want to be, right. And so if anybody has someone you need to forgive, my best advice is if you can find a picture of them as a child, because I'm telling you, my heart just instantly softened. My heart instantly saw him differently. And and, and that was that was free, right? Like how many years of therapy with that
Kate Shepherd 35:38
Maybe not ever. I feel like that may not have ever happened. I'm so glad. Oh, thank you for telling me that story. Because a little while ago, I was doing the artists way by Julia Cameron. And one of the things that she talks about in that book is how forgiveness, you know, is available through creativity. And it's kind of been one of the sticky things of like, well, how you've totally
Jeanne Oliver 35:58
Oh, yeah. And I Yeah, and so it goes, it goes in coincides with what you were saying that as you take time as you disconnect as you I don't care if it's your, you know, cleaning up your creative space, giving your brain that time to process is so important. But then in that making, I had that realization that I don't know, like you said, I don't know if I would have ever, ever had that happen for me without that moment of making. And, and I know, and I shared it in the class. And I know that that it other people I mean, I've heard from hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people that have said thank you telling that about the child image of your dad has really helped me with somebody else. And and I'm telling you, when I think of my dad, I don't think of adult pictures. It's kind of ingrained in me now when I think of him to think of that little boy on that page. And that, and that the DNA of me, that's actually something to be proud of. And there sweetness there. And there's goodness there.
Kate Shepherd 37:07
That's so beautiful. Thank you for sharing that with us. This is so beautiful. At the beginning of the show, I wanted to I wanted to say how how delighted I was to have you here because you are such a creative person, you you have created an online school platform that has I think you host over 180 art workshops, and art and business workshops, and you serve over 54,000 members around the world. Yeah, we
Jeanne Oliver 37:36
have over 65,000 people now, all over the world. It's amazing
Kate Shepherd 37:41
You've written a beautiful book called The painted art journal that that helps people have this deeper understanding of art and how it can help us. You hold retreats all over the world. I love this idea of your portable studio. You have your own podcast, you offer business consulting. I mean, I could keep going, I don't want to homeschool your kids for crying out loud. I just I read that I was my brain exploded. Like how does this woman do all of this?
Jeanne Oliver 38:10
I don't do it all the same day. And I do not always do it. Well,
Kate Shepherd 38:14
Okay, everybody, did you hear that? It's important to remember you does not do it all on the same day or probably all by herself. It's great. But I wanted to ask you if you could tell us a little bit about how creativity came to be such a I mean, it's it's your way of life. It's so clearly kind of your, your, your home? And how did that how did creativity become the thing that took over your life the way that it has?
Jeanne Oliver 38:38
I think since I've been a child I have I wouldn't have known how to put words to it. But I know from a just as long as I can remember I've been a beauty chaser always, always so I really I mean I was the kid making plays up in our barn loft and inviting all of the neighborhood kids and then I got in trouble because I tried to charge the adults admission. I would play school and I would gather up all the other kids in the neighborhood and I would teach sewing classes but I didn't really know how to sew so we used a stapler and made bags. I would be writing under a tree I would be using all my extra money to go to Ben Franklin and buy craft paint and like the raw wooden art supplies and you know be making things all the time. I wrote bad poetry even worse love stories I just loved making I pictured myself when I was a kid standing on the bandstand in our town and I like I was gonna be like I don't know why I thought I was going to be the star of the show but I you know I was going to be singing or dancing. I just wanted to be something creative. I wanted to be an artist or a writer, an actress I wanted you know, ever anything you
Kate Shepherd 39:59
want to do. It all sounds like Yeah, I mean, I really relate to I miss that you should see my house, I don't just have art supplies, I have weaving things. And I have knitting things that I've quilting things over here. And then over there, like I do everything to well, and
Jeanne Oliver 40:10
I grew up in a family with my grandmother was a composer and pianist, and my aunt was a Broadway dancer. And my other aunt was a violinist, and also a pianist. And so I just grew up with these women doing these really awesome creative things. And so I grew up just hungry for it. And, and it wasn't just that my grandma was a pianist, it was that my grandmother had a little library in her house full of good books. And, and she collected art and music was playing, and when she would gather us at her long table, she used Miss mix match China and, and crystal, and she gathered us with good food. And, and so it was, I felt like as a child, when I would be exposed to these women, that were a part of my legacy, a part of my heritage, I got dipped, I just got dipped in creativity. And so for me, you know, this was, you know, I, I wanted to go into fashion design, I wanted to go to art school. And I was from a really small town. So I'm from his town of like, 3000. And so I remember my senior year, like going to my guidance counselor, showing him my fashion designs and my sketches and showing him my portfolio. And he just said, he goes, You know what, it's just hard. And I just think it's a really hard area to go into. And so could I suggest that maybe you do something more like business? And then, you know, my father also was like, hey, that's just to go into anything creative. That's probably not a good idea. And have you thought about business. And so I had these dreams of Chicago and design school and to, to, to be creative to have them, you know, that's what I've always been. And then I didn't, I took other people's words and actions to mean something about me. And I didn't know for a really long time, that their words were not about me. They just forgot how to dream. They forgot how to do things scared, and it's an It's okay. But the thing is that I I misunderstood their advice. I misunderstood their warnings. I thought they were saying you're not any good. So I dropped it. I mean, I put it down. And when I say I put it down, I mean, I didn't take a photography class in college. I didn't take a pottery class in college, I didn't take a sketching class in college. I went on and I got my history degree, and I got a psychology degree. And believe me, there were many times that I called my mom bawling that I didn't feel like I was doing, I felt so lost. And I was lost because I wasn't making and I and nobody else put that together. And I didn't put it together. And so I then went on to DC to I was gonna go to law school, I worked in a law firm at the time. And then I met my husband, and we got pregnant with Jack a year after we got married. And and I'm telling you having kids brought creativity back into my life. There was a neighbor of mine who sold on Creative Memories, the scrapbooking stuff, and I got her scrapbooking kit. And I started scrapbooking. And really my story of being dipped again, was an it's an it's okay, I'm actually I love that this was the journey. I I still didn't know yet that I could create just for me. So for there were many years that I use the excuse all I'm making these scrapbooks for my kids. So I'm going to take the time or spend the money, but it's for other people, Oh, I'm gonna make these beautiful birthday parties because they're for the kids and their first friends and I'm doing this really nice thing for other people. But when I when I it clicked with me, when I made something just for me, and the joy that I had for making it for no one else. I actually probably never gave a really good party ever again. And I definitely never scrapbooked again. Because at the point that I knew that I was worthy enough to make art for that's when everything started. That's when everything changed. So what was
Kate Shepherd 44:31
that? What led up to that moment for you? What was the Can you recall a moment or Oh, yeah,
Jeanne Oliver 44:36
I can promise you I know exactly. I took all of those things that I had been doing in scrapbooking. And I started altering these composition notebooks made wooden frames and these wooden letters and that's actually what started our business which is really funny. And I just remember I'd be down in our unfinished basement like pretty much weeping like I was the luckiest person in the world. I got to make these I just felt so much joy, a and, and even when I come into my studio now, so I've had unfinished basements, I've had dining rooms with no doors that we've liked that have been my space. I've had kitchen tables, you don't need, like, every space, I felt like that any space where I got to go and be creative. It instantly it's like a giant exhale. It's like I'm surrounded by all my toys. And when I even walk into my studio now, there, it's just, it's like, are you coming? Are you coming to make like, because it doesn't even matter what you make team doesn't even matter. Like, if you want to fiddle around with your supplies, if you want to work on your inspiration board, if you want to put a couple of slaps like slap down some Jesso. It doesn't matter. Like this is this is this is where there's joy. And it has long, long long been about what I make. Like that's that's that's, I'm so beyond that. Now. That and I can still get I can. It's not like that voice is never there. Like while you're kind of out of practice. Did you forget how to paint? But you have to be like, Yeah, I guess I did a little let's get back into it. Yeah, I
Kate Shepherd 46:19
think that voice I mean, I hear that over and over again. But no matter what, how much access, you're able to create, that voice is always going to be there. But it's a matter of do you get pulled into its gravitational pull or are able to pull yourself back. That's why
Jeanne Oliver 46:31
I love The War of Art. Because it talks about what resistance looks like. And and I think when we know what resistance looks like in us, we can say yeah, okay, well, that's great, but not not today. That's once we know what we do when we're a little afraid, then we can say okay, well, I acknowledge I'm doing that, and I'm gonna stop. And then you can move forward.
Kate Shepherd 46:51
I love that, that that's such an important key. And I also remember the early days, he was the baby that you could never put down he never wanted, he wanted to be held. And I remember knitting, I never going to get rid of this blanket, I knit this beautiful organic cotton Chevron blanket. And my sanity was, I would do one one row a day, no matter what I would just put it in front of myself somewhere in the kitchen of Minnesota. And that was kind of my thread back to myself because I needed to be creating and I couldn't.
Jeanne Oliver 47:21
That's just wisdom. And I'm I'm so amazed at when I hear the story of with women who just knew themselves better than I knew myself sooner. And I'm just I did that's just sweet wisdom about yourself.
Kate Shepherd 47:36
Well, and I think that mean, you're mirroring that back to you. That's what I'm recognizing in you. And that as you discover that there was a moment where you something in you whispered to you there whispers again, that it would be okay for you to make something wasn't for somebody else. And I think that moment in our lives is so important and to and also that we find what we're looking for. So if we can look for that moment, like where can I find that moment where? Because I hear so many people who have this yearning to be creative, who just end up getting sort of stuck against this like, Yeah, but it has to be good. Or, you know, I even catch myself doing it. I want to make birds all I want to paint right now is birds. I have no idea why. And I caught myself last night getting a good paper to do some birds. And I felt that sort of seizing up that happens when it's like, oh, I want this, but I want them to be good. And then I was like, no, no, no, no, no, no, we're not going to, we're not going to do that. And I think that that's such an important. What you've just shared is such an important thing. But I'm wondering if we can like do you remember that with giving yourself that permission to leave? It's almost like you left one world behind?
Jeanne Oliver 48:44
I did. It's like, I mean, but that must it's very much my personality, when I was talked out of it, and I let myself be talked out of it. I I set it down. I mean, and not in every way. Because I think back when I was in DC and when I was putting my house together, my creativity would still come out in design. And you know, decorating and putting putting a home together it would it would show up in those areas. I was still a creative person. But I really put all of those things down. And I really would say that it really almost was just like a switch. Oh, oh my gosh, I can do this for me. And I don't have to make an excuse. And like and like I said I did not ever scrapbook again. Poor Benjamin will never have a baby book. In that it set me free. And I can't even imagine now, how it's I mean what how it's changed our life in every way. In every single way. From what our kids have studied in school, what they've been encouraged to study in college, what they're encouraged to do, even in high school are my husband works full time with me and he has for years now. When it comes to the life we're able to live And when I say the library will live, I'm not talking about things material I'm talking about when I wake up in the morning, and I have my coffee, and I have that quiet time and that journaling. I know what I need now. I know that creativity is this incredible gift that's been given to each one of us. But we have to say, I'll take it.
Kate Shepherd 50:24
Oh, I love that so much. That is so true. We have to say I'll take it. Yeah, what happened? Yeah, what happens when somebody gives you a gift? And you? Oh, yeah, you don't open it? You know? I mean, for everybody involved for the giver of the gift. Oh, yeah. For the Yeah, you don't get to receive it and enjoy it. Yeah. I did want to ask you about building businesses, because I think a lot of the work that you do is to help people who have stepped into their creativity and who are like, You know what, I think maybe I want to build a business around this. And that I know is really shaky at the beginning of that journey can be really shaky. And I think you talked about it a little bit at the beginning of the show, we feel like we have to do it alone. We feel like we have to do it all on the same day. We're maybe we're concerned that there's not much money coming in? Or what do you tell people when they come to you? And they say, Okay, I want to I want to grow my art business. But this is these are the things that are going on for me, and how do I face all this stuff?
Jeanne Oliver 51:19
Well, there's there's lots that we could talk about just on business and business growth, and using your gifts and your calling and your purpose to in your business. I think this is what makes the my curriculum credibly made business different. First and foremost, there's a lot of wonderful men out there that give really great advice. But they're not. They're not a mom. And there's a lot of women that have amazing business things that they teach, but they're not moms. And so for me, being a mom matters to me. And so if that's true, right, but I also know what I always wanted to be it was an artist, they get to live together, I get to be both, but I need but I needed someone to show me how to do that. And that was really hard for me to find somebody first and foremost to say like, Hey, how do I? How do I do these two things that are really important to me. And they're they're, they're equally just deep down, woven into who I am. And I want to do them well. So that's first like that, not everyone's going to want to listen to me, I think it's going to be more of women that are where I'm at or where I've been, and on that journey. But I think the biggest part too, is that everything about my curriculum is bent bent is like built around, how do you want your life to look and feel, because you can build a business that's aligned with that life or not. So for me, there are so many things that I've learned over 14 years, that could get me back on track. Because I have like things that I asked myself things that I'm able like as a team, we're able to look at as a family we're able to look at. And so everything we want to do with our business is so it aligns with how I want my life to look and feel. So it means that I have those walks, and I have that quiet time. And I have that time with my kids and with my husband, it means that we have these adventures, you know, as a family, it means that I'm in the studio that I get to make and but because I can say yes to a lot of things that have no business, being in my business. So just because I can doesn't mean I should. So it's kind of like for me when you talked about when you picked up this podcast, and then you talked about what you were putting down at the time. And I think that's for all of us that for us to pick up good things, there's going to be something we have to put down. And sometimes it's something bad. And sometimes it's something toxic, but sometimes it's actually something that's beautiful and good, but it's no longer for us. And and so the biggest part of my curriculum really is like how do you want your life to look and feel? And how do we build a business that actually sustains that?
Kate Shepherd 54:13
So so so gets called creatively made business? And as Can you tell us a little bit about like the the format of it. Is it a? Is it a community that you join? Is it a what
Jeanne Oliver 54:24
we used to started as live workshops, and we're not doing any creatively made business live workshops at this time. I hope to get back to doing but more mastermind level for people that have graduated from creatively made business now it's online. It's six modules. And it goes from it's seven hours of content. It has a very hardy workbook that really helps you and it's it's so so full of good information. I think it's one of those things that you could go back through once a year. Clarify because your end the year you're going to be a different person. You're a different business. is like what needs to change? But I think if you lay your foundation, well, then that's going to change everything. And I'm not somebody who's like, and do you order now you're gonna make $2 million in the first six months, building a business is hard work. And it's consistency. But it's also knowing who you are, how you've been made, what gifts you have, that this world needs, and what problem you can help solve for people. And if you can stay like with your eyes clear, because there's a lot of beauty right all around us. There's a lot of people doing really incredible, beautiful things, but they're not for me. And when you know what is for you, the best part of that is that I then get to be a cheerleader. There's no animosity, there's no jealousy, there's no like, oh, I shouldn't be doing that. When you know what your gifts are, what your passion is, and what your calling is, and then you're walking it out, you get to be the best version of yourself, that gets to be the person that shares other people that cheers on other people that says, oh, you know, who you should listen to, you should listen to this podcast, it's amazing, or this person is perfect for you, for consulting or whatever it is, or to teach you more art, that we can see the beauty of beauty and other people because we see the beauty in us too. Mm hmm.
Kate Shepherd 56:22
So is this is this? Is this credibly made business for somebody who already knows that vision? And is clear about that? And he's ready to take the next step? Or are there elements of it that can help somebody maybe discover some of those things about them. So there's
Jeanne Oliver 56:35
elements if you are just in the dreaming stage, that you're just gonna soak it up like a sponge, and they're going to be things you shouldn't have to wait until you're farther along in your business and come back to, I think it's if you're in the, you know, if you are a couple of years in, I think it's the thing that you're gonna be like, Oh, my gosh, yes, I can tweak those things right now and make my business stronger. And I think even if you're in 1015 years, you're going to come back. And I mean, we've had so many people that are 1015 years into business, and they're like, oh, my gosh, I didn't even know how I needed a reset. I didn't even realize I was off track. I've been doing all these things. I'm working so hard. But I'm in all the wrong areas.
Kate Shepherd 57:20
Oh, that's. That's a big one. Yeah. Yeah, I we had the Well, the way I found my way to you is through Andrea Garvey.
Jeanne Oliver 57:28
Ah, yeah, Andrea, she's, she's I mean, if she's not just the sweetest encourager of people,
Kate Shepherd 57:34
right. Yeah, incredible. Well, and she just had such wonderful things to say about working with you. And so it was another reason I was excited to bring you to all the listeners, because I feel like, you know, what she's managed to create, through working with you on some of these things, I think has been really powerful for her. You had talked about how well this does not you didn't say it to me, but I read it in some of your writing about how when you were younger, there were so many things that you loved. And you did share that. I mean, you could have been describing me too. It's about beauty. It's this pursuit of beauty, which is wonderful. But I do feel like, I mean, there's a little bit of wisdom in it. But then there's also some pressure for society to pick something, choose something. And I think there is some inherent value in focusing, of course, we can't just say I'm gonna go out and so but when you're trying to build an art business, what do you think about that focus? What do you think about telling somebody that they have to sort of choose? Because there's different schools of thought, when people say, oh, you should, you know, find your voice and then only make things in that and then build your business around that? What do you think?
Jeanne Oliver 58:36
I think we figure out who we are and what we're supposed to do by walking things out. And I think we find out a lot of things that are for us are where do we find our favor? Where do we where do we find our people? What are we doing that's really making an impact on other people? What did we think we wanted to do, but by walking out, we realized we didn't really want that. And I think so for me, I remember sitting at dinner with my husband, and everyone had been telling me probably in the first year, like starting this business and and people were like, Oh, you need a niche, you need a niche, you need to do this one thing. And I remember just sitting and I was kind of getting tired was not kind of I was really over. Remember when I told you I was like crying for joy that I was making these altered journals and frames and letters. Now I was like crying of like, I hate making these altered letters in these journals. And you know, like that one point I was, I loved it. But now I had wholesale orders. And now I was making it and everything was like, that's a $300 order. That's a $500 order. Everything had a price attached to it, and no joy anymore. I just was tired of making it. But I think that's just your spirit saying Get ready. Get ready. Everything you just did was to learn for what's next. So when you get that feeling of like, that's truly that's like, if you mean that's the purest sweetest part of you saying Have you learned what you needed to learn? And I've got something really good for you. But you're going to have to put this other thing down.
Kate Shepherd 1:00:08
That's, I mean, that's so exciting, but also as a business scary. It's scary because you think, Well, I've invested all of this time. And
Jeanne Oliver 1:00:15
did they tell you though? I mean, I was making altar journals and letters and frames. And so those were $300 orders, $500 orders. I mean, and I was hating it at that point. And, and we were, I mean, this was the first we even had some extra money, I stayed home with my kids, this was extra money. And it was really scary to think. Because at that dinner, I said to, like, my husband, like, I don't want to just, I don't want to just keep doing this one thing. And everyone says, I have to choose one thing. And he said, Well, Martha Stewart doesn't just do one thing. Why do you have to just do one thing, and it was so funny at the time, but I was like, That's right. Like, she has a magazine, and she has a show. And, you know, she has these garden stuff, and she has products and, and and he said, What would you do? If you put down like, if you weren't making the frames and the journals and the letters, what would you do? And I go, Oh, I would do this, and this, and this, and this, and this. And I started telling him what I would do instead. And the truth is, and he goes you to scatter it, he gotta put it down. Like, you gotta Yeah, because you're not going to know, by putting down that that was making a little I was I started teaching for other people online. I started teaching myself online. I started doing the I mean, I magazines, I started doing product lines and soft goods. And that's what the last 14 years have been over and over and over again, it's time to put it down. It's the joy is not there. And it's time to put it down. I've got something else really good for you. You learned everything you needed to do what's next. And, and to trust. And now I know that feeling so well. I know I'm in a transition of stuff right now, I know that there's some things coming. And there's things I meant to put down. And it is scary. But it always has been. It was scary when it was 203 $100 orders. And it's scary. Now, what it's always going to be scary.
Kate Shepherd 1:02:17
It's but fear, can you name it? Like what is the Well, I
Jeanne Oliver 1:02:20
think for me, I mean, I support my whole family. I mean, our business supports everybody. And and so But what I've also learned is, for the most part, the truth is, if I'm ready for it, so our customers, because they're on a journey with me, I'm on a journey with them. And if I'm feeling that, like wrestling, or that, you know, like, hey, for something new, usually they're like, Yeah, I am too. And so and you
Kate Shepherd 1:02:54
did you have to do something for yourself to cultivate that. Because that's a mindset thing. I feel like that's it. I mean, if you had to kind of put a name on it, I would say that's more of like an abundance mindset versus scarcity mindset, just sort of adjusting.
Jeanne Oliver 1:03:06
I very much do have an abundance mindset. That is That is true. My My husband always teases that I'll come up with ideas, that he's always like, Oh, my gosh, what in the world this, you know, and he said, he listened to somebody once years ago, say, say when someone does that, instead of saying how just say wow. And so that's actually the funniest thing. Now you when he literally wants nothing to do with any of my ideas. He's like, wow. But I know it means how literal is that going to even happen? But I just, I feel like, one thing always leads me to something else. And I'm not irresponsible with that I'm not, I'm careful. And I'm cautious. But I'm, I I'm I do love dreaming up new things. And, and dreaming up what things can like, like, how do I want my life to look and feel all the time? Like what do I want more of and what I want more of is not stuff what I want more of is I want to make more, I want to create more, I want to I did that for a while and that doesn't feel good anymore. That doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel aligned with me. And so okay, I trust that whatever is coming, and that's the biggest thing too. I've learned through all the years like, like when we were going to do creatively made business when I was going to do it as a online curriculum. I remember like before leading up to it, thinking gosh, I'm going to actually have to say no to a lot of things to be able to do creatively made business. It was months and months of taping. It was like it was a huge, huge project for us. It was It started off as a six month course as we figure Get it all out. And now you get to get all of it instantly. But it took a lot of time. And it meant I said no to teaching, it meant I said no to live workshops, it meant I said no to so many things that brought in revenue. But I also knew that this idea was not letting me go. And so I knew it could be a total flop. Or it could be a success. And I really, at this point, trust, well, all I know is I can't stop thinking about this idea. So I'm going to walk it out. And I'm going to do it, and I'm going to put it out into the world. And it's either going to open the door, close the door, it's going to teach me something that's going to prepare me for what is next. And I do believe that. So I don't believe that I can, like I can, that I'm in that I can really fail anymore. Even if the world thinks I fail. If that makes sense. I mean, even when I started the podcast, I don't know about you. But the morning my first podcast episode went live, I bawled like a baby. Like, oh my gosh, I just put all I'm putting this stuff out to the world. Yeah, and it feels super vulnerable all the sudden, you know, and something's actually wrong with me that it only hits me the day of my first I mean that that says a lot. But but it's scary. Yes. Like, don't think that people that are doing things don't get scared. Because we do we get scared, it feels vulnerable. And we know we're putting ourselves out there. And and then you're like, Okay, well, I guess we're gonna see what's going to happen. And then you move on to the next thing. And they're just gonna be bigger and bigger moments and more and more bomb vulnerable moments. But, but literally, it started with composition notebooks, and, and it moves forward. And did
Kate Shepherd 1:06:50
you feel did you feel? I mean, I think you'd think I know the answer to this, because I think you did already said, but I'll ask anyway, did you feel a sense of how big what you wanted to create was? And at the beginning, you know, and? Or did you think, Oh, I'm going to be totally just happy in my basement doing these? Did you know that you are going to create something as big as what you've created?
Jeanne Oliver 1:07:12
I don't think I had a conscious awareness of it. But I did have a mother that spoke life over me all the time. And I had a mom who spoke words over me that gene, what you're saying as like, as a young mom, or even as a teenager, she would say you're you're wise. Like you have wisdom, or you see the world differently. I could see you doing, I could see you standing in front of 1000s of people and speaking, she said things that I always thought okay, Mom, thanks. That's really great. You know, like, you just think it's your mom. But think of all the people who don't have somebody in their life speaking that over them, they have something else being spoken over them. And so those are like seeds. What we, what we speak over people are seeds. Of what, that's up to us. Right? And so I think of like, you have kids, I have kids, what are we speaking over them? What are we planting into them? What about other people in our life our friends are and, and I just think that when you get seeds like that planted into you,
Kate Shepherd 1:08:23
it makes you think that more is possible. And if you didn't, you can speak to yourself that way you can be you can learn to begin to, which is the one I want to talk about mindset because I wasn't spoken to that way. And I do speak to my children that way. And my son is often like, Yes, I know. I'm amazing. I know you love me. Yep. And, I mean, it's a very different way of, of being raised, but I've had to learn how to do that for myself. Right? And so for everybody listening who who's, you know, maybe thinking well, I wasn't talked to that way and so that's why it turned out this way or why I'm here or why I got stuck with this or why you know you we can and I wanted to ask you about mindset because I it is something I struggle with you know, I do I have this like one part
Jeanne Oliver 1:09:11
I make a book suggestion even Yeah. And he and he's on my podcast and he's, he's a friend and he's a New York Times best seller selling author and he's, it's the power of consistency by Weldon long. Okay, and he it's all about mindset. And it's all about and and I'd love to even I feel like I'm the storyteller today. But he spoke at my first credibly made business live workshop here at our studio. And he speaks to Fortune 500 companies and here he came to speak to like, our group of 20 You know, and what he asked all the women he said so he asked them to write down what they think of salespeople. Okay, and so, and and then he said, Okay, so and then and then he said, Now tell me what what you said and and he read and he read he goes, Okay, some people said evil deceptive, slimy. And then he said, Now raise your hand if you're having a problem with sales. As most of them raise their hand, he goes, How can you be thinking you're gonna do okay? You're in sales that you actually think somebody is like that tries to sell you somebody something is evil, or slimy, you know, the crooked, right? And so all those words, they actually just they they matter what we're speaking like to ourselves the most who do we listen to the most, it's ourselves. It's a great story, he was in prison a big chunk of his life. And when he got out of prison, he made some changes of the life he wanted when he was in prison. And he has made quite a life since then. And it's based upon the mindset of, of changing his mindset of the lies that he was no longer going to believe that other people spoken to him
Kate Shepherd 1:10:57
is amazing. I'm going to definitely look into that book. And we'll put that in the show notes. I'll put a link to, to that book in the show notes. Ah, I this has been such an amazing conversation. Thank you so much for coming.
Jeanne Oliver 1:11:08
Thanks for having me.
Kate Shepherd 1:11:09
I have Okay, I have two things that I want to share. Before we close. Okay, one, I have the billboard question. So it's, if you had a billboard that every person in the world who had this longing that we're talking about to be more creative, but just is believing these beliefs that they're just not good enough? They don't have it in them. It's too late. Not for me. I wasn't doing all that stuff. What would you what you knew that this billboard was going to reach them and shift something opens up the cracks? What would you what would the words be that you'd put on the Billboard?
Jeanne Oliver 1:11:40
Okay, I have two that I thought of first one would be their words of discouragement were never about you. And the second one is Life is full of second chances go get yours. And I thought for sure when I didn't go to art school, that that, you know, we don't get one shot, to live out our lives. We don't get one shot to pursue our dreams, we don't get one shot to use our gifts that we've been given. And we get second and third chances. And that's what's so beautiful as long as we have a breath, right is that we get to we get to decide, like alright, this is That's it, today's the day, and I'm going to start doing this and, and like I said before, these gifts and passions, they're like they're for you. But they're not just for you. And so I would say I would go as far as saying that you're actually being selfish if you withhold them. If you withhold them from yourself, you're also withholding them from other people. And there are so many people more than ever, that need the beauty that you have to get the world.
so beautiful and so true. Thank you.
Unknown Speaker 1:12:54
Thanks for having me.
Kate Shepherd 1:12:58
Doesn't Jane just make you feel like anything is possible, I want to share my big takeaways with you about today's episode. But before I forget, I want to remind you about Sunday minis. This is a fairly new bi weekly short episode. And they come in between the regular episodes. They're designed to help you bring to life. Some of the things that came up in the episode in a way that you can integrate some of this wisdom from our guests into your week. And you're welcome to join our online community. If you go to the creative genius podcast Facebook page, you'll find we have a group there you can ask to join. And in that group, we have conversations about everything. But specifically from week to week, the topics that came up in the Sunday minis and in the episodes. So I wanted to make sure that you know how to find your way to that and that you feel very welcome to join that community. So my takeaways from Jean, there were quite a few of them. And I want to share sort of my top ones with you here, what she said about how women are more likely to justify why we don't pursue our creative yearnings and dreams that really resonated for me, you know, as a mom and woman I do feel like I have in my life have maybe put some of my own yearnings or desires or dreams on hold. And, you know, I really appreciated how she sort of just drove home how important it is that we be who you know, she said, Be who you are no matter what. And then along with that, listening to that thing inside of you that wants to explore new things and ideas. And even if they don't make sense at first. I think the whole point is creativity is trying to take us on on an adventure and help us live our best life. And so we need to learn how to listen to that thing inside of us that wants to do new things. And practically I loved how she shared about how that 10 to 15 minute habit a day she gave herself for creativity, revolutionized everything for her and then First thing about the portable Art Studio, you know, even for somebody who isn't an artist or has no desire to develop into an artist, having a little pencil case that has a little mini watercolor set in it, and a little pad of paper, and a pen, in your car or in your purse or in your briefcase or at your desk at work, can can actually bring magic into your life, you know, you don't have to have a desire to become an artist to enjoy the feeling. Now we've talked in previous episodes about how there's science behind the thing that happens when we allow ourselves to play with color. So I really loved your idea of the portable art studio that I know I'm going to do that. And I hope that you did that too. One of the moments for me in this episode that I felt really deeply moved, was when Jean told us the story about how she did that workshop, and needed to incorporate pictures of her father. And that in making that collage she was able to experience true forgiveness for him. It really drove home for me the power that making art has to help us find our way to these places that we thought maybe didn't even exist in us, I got the sense that she was very surprised that she was able to have such a deep and full forgiveness and healing of that relationship with her father, I also lit up when she said there are so many people that need the beauty that you have to give the world. So I just wanted to leave you with this thought. You know what would happen if you allowed yourself to follow your desires to follow your dreams to put something else down so that you could pick up this creativity, these creative drives and urges in you and allow yourself to create a little bit of beauty even if it's just for you. At first, what might be possible for you. If you were to do that. Make sure you're signed up for my newsletter. I pick a random person from my email list once every month and send them an original piece of my artwork. It's one of my favorite things to do. It takes a lot to put together the show. Please consider supporting me to do it. You can visit patreon.com/creative Genius podcast to find out more. And please keep my jewelry or paintings and especially gratitude birds which keeps selling out in mind. Next time you're looking for a treat for yourself or for a loved one. You can find everything I've mentioned on Kate Shepherd creative.com Thank you for being here, for opening your heart and for listening. My wish and intention for the show is that it reach into your heart and stir the beautiful thing that lives in there. May you find and unleash your creative genius
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