65 - Advice vs Guidance

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/65 - “You know what you should do?”, “Everybody is totally doing this right now. You should too.” who do you listen to and what is advice and what is guidance.

64 - Learning to take a compliment with Tanya Ryan

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/64 – Yoga, the challenges of balancing the thing you do and business of the thing you do, why learning to take a compliment is to important and the art of creating a live music set. That’s today’s conversation with Tanya Ryan **Links for today's espisode**<br /> Tanya Ryan - http://tanyaryan.ca/<br /> Cry for the Devil - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj1v0yafBE0<br /> Duane Steele - http://duanesteele.com<br /> Jake Matthews - http://www.jakemathew...

63 - Experimenting with creativity

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/63 - Just like a runner doesn’t just start running marathons. Film makers don’t start out making blockbusters. You can't expect to do your perfect work. You need time to play and experiment and try new things. Because in the trying you may find a new awesome combination that is a super fun passion.

62 - What it takes to write over 40 novels with Sean Williams

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/62 – Sean Williams is a novelist with over 40 books to his credit. He writes about 4 novels a year and has created his own series called Twin Maker as well as writing 6 novels in the Star Wars universe as well as one for Dr. Who. **Links for this episode** <br />Sean Williams (Novelist, today’s guest) - http://seanwilliams.com <br />Sean Williams (Ethnomusicologist) - http://seanwilliams.org <br />National Novel Writing Month - http://nanowrimo.org <br ...

61 - How labelling ourselves can limit our creativity

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/61 – This week is insight and inspiration and we’re going to talk about titles, labels and how we define ourselves.

60 - Why do we seem to always justify our creative work? With Ben Rankel

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/60 – Why do creatives feel the need to justify their creative work? We explore this and many other topics in today’s chat with graphic designer and comics artist Ben Rankel. **Links for this episode** <br />Ben Rankel - http://benrankel.com/ <br />Archie - http://archiecomics.com/tag/fiona-staples/ <br />Saga - https://imagecomics.com/comics/series/saga <br />Angoulême International Comics Festival - http://www.bdangouleme.com/ <br />Ira Glass ...

59 - Learning something is never a waste of time

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/59 – Wether you learn to waterski, juggle, paint or fry an egg no skill is ever wasted. They all just wind up in your backpack to help you with your next project.

58 - Are you a multipotentialite? With Emilie Wapnick

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/58 – What is a Multipotentialite? Basically it’s someone who says "I can’t follow my passion because I have too many”. In today’s episode we talk with Emilie Wapnick who believes not everyone is meant to have one true calling. If you beat yourself up for bouncing from interest to interest Emilie will soothe your anxiety and let you know that everthing is going to be alright. Embrace everthing about yourself and move forward as a Multipotentialite. **Links for this episode**...

57 - Inspiration comes from the work

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/57 – Where does inspiration come from? Should you wait for inspiration to strike or just sit down and get to work regardless. You can probably tell from the title what the answer is going to be. Let’s see if you agree with me after you’ve listened. **Links for this episode** http://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/10/30/inspire-nine/ <br /> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-h4A7bF8wQ

56 - Orchestral video game music with Maxime Goulet

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/56 – Maxime Goulet composes classical music for both the orchestral performances and the scores of video games. Not only has he created orchestral pieces around eating chocolate but he has scored game adaptations for titles like Shrek, The Amazing Spider-Man and Iron Man. We dig into where ideas come from and his desire to keep classical music engaging as more than just music by adding visual and edible elements. **Links for this episode** <br /> <br />Maxime Go...

55 - The hand of the artist

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/55 - too ragged and all people can see is what's lacking. Too polished and audiences can't see the humanity. Finding that balance is the challange. In this episode we talk about how to make sure your work shows <i>The hand of the artist</i>

54 - Guitar Hero, User Experience and Music - Combining passions with Davidicus

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/54 - Like most user experience designers Davidicus kind of wound up in the role and he tell about his interesting path to get there. We talk about his heavy involvement in the design and experience of the interface for the video game Guitar Hero. Davidicus is also a musician and we talk about how time has influenced his view towards making music.

53 – Morals & Money: A definition of Selling Out

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/53 – Pepsi, porn and Jim Henson are all examples in selling out and holding on to your beliefs when making money with your creative work.

52 – Don’t compromise your morals and don’t be a jerk with Spencer Goldade

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/52 – It’s been a year since this podcast has started and the first interview I did was with today’s guest, Spencer Goldade. A lot has changed in the year since we last heard from Spenny. One thing that hasn’t changed—and comes through clearly in this chat—is Spenny’s passion for creative work and his love of friends, family and colleagues. - Links from today’s episode - <br />Spencer Goldade - http://www.Monkeyslunch.com <br />Post + Beam - http://www.postandbea...

51 – Appreciation vs Adulation

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/51 – Adulation is people saying you're great. Appreciation is a connection. Which do you want from your art?

50 – A fulfilling career through helping others build robots with DJ Sures of EZ-Robot

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/50 – Today’s guest is building a company that helps others build robots. But while robotics has been a passion of his all his life it’s not the only career path he’s followed and trust me some of them are as far from robotics as you can get. **Links for today’s episode** <br /> <br />EZ Robot - http://ez-robot.com/ <br />Makerbot 3D Printer - http://www.makerbot.com/ <br />Short Circuit (Johnny Five) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091949/ <br /&gt...

49 – Do what you can with what you have

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/49 – What do you need to be an animator? A Painter? A Writer? You probably have most of it already. You just need to do what you can with what you have.

48 – The Dancer & The Mind Reader with Stephanie and Mark Toland

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/48 – How important is a partnership when making a career in the arts? When you are today’s guests it’s what makes it all possible. Stephanie is a dancer and Mark is a mind reader. It’s an interesting chat where we talk about why Mark doesn’t do kids’ parties anymore and Stephanie talks about what it takes to be a dancer and they both talk about the amount of work it takes to build and sustain a creative career. **Links for today’s episode** <br />Blog - http://starvin...

47 - Tear it down or live in it?

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/47 - What do derelict barns, extreme weight loss and cats dressed as sailors have in common? They are all in today's episode.

46 – Voice Acting with Jay Britton

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/46 – Jay started in IT (information technology) and after getting pretty far in his career decided to make a hard change. He didn’t just start auditioning and hope for the best though, he got coaching from some top names in voice acting. We talk about his time in the technology world, what it’s like to meet a hero, his love of the Simpson’s and most importantly the power of a coach. I wanted to actually talk to Jay and not have it turn into us showing each other the kinds o...

45 – Who’ll Build it? Who’ll Buy it? Who’ll Fund it?

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/45 – As a creative person you’re probably good at making stuff. But if you want to earn money from your work you need to know who’s gonna buy it. If you want to do something big you need to know who is going to fund it. In today’s episode we explore these three pieces and how they work together. — Links for today’s show -- Liz Stevens - http://www.TheSparkAndTheArt.com/44 Matt Ruby - http://www.TheSparkAndTheArt.com/42 My Songs - http://www.songstuckerwrote.com/born-to-the-...

44 – Make Art Make Money with Elizabeth Hyde Stevens

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/44 – Jim Henson created the Muppets. But he didn’t do it on his own dime and he didn’t get people to work for free. If you feel like you need a little insight into how to ride the line between making money without compromising your art you’re going to love today’s talk with Elizabeth Hyde Stevens author of the book Make Art Make Money as she follows the career of Jim Henson through his struggles with keeping his art while still making money. **Links for Today's Episode** Ma...

43 - Your Job vs Your Work

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/43 – What is your job. Not your job in the traditional sense. If your life is your job, does the work you do match the job description?

42 – Rock ‘n’ Roll, Comedy and Native Advertising Models with Matt Ruby

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/42 – Matt Ruby is a stand-up comedian who started in a rock band and now has a successful online sketch comedy show that takes shots at the technology world. He talks about finding that one thing that you can do well that no one else can and put it into action. Plastics Hi Fi - https://myspace.com/plasticshifi/music/songs Vooza - http://vooza.com/ Club Scale - http://www.clubscale.com/ The Onion - http://www.theonion.com/ SandpaperSuit - http://www.sandpapersuit.com/...

41 – Your Current Future

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/41 – The future is going to happen no matter what. What will happen in yours?

40 – When creative friends become creative family – Tyler Nilson and Mike Schwartz

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/40 – We’ve talked before about the power of collaboration on the podcast but today’s episode is a wonderful example about when collaboration becomes more like a family. Tyler Nilson and Mike Schwartz recently finished showing their short film The Moped Diaries across the festival circuit this summer garnering them 10 Official Selections across the country. **Links for this episode** Tyler Nilson - http://www.mynameistyler.com/ <br /> Mike Schwartz - http://www.imdb.co...

39 – Any Spare Hour

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/39 – Do you work a day job and have trouble finding big chunks of time to complete your projects? In today’s episode we talk about spare hours and how they can really help keep projects moving one little bit at a time.

38 – From personal passion to theatrical release - Jodorowsky’s Dune with Stephen Scarlata

37 – The more you do something the better you get

TheSparkAndTheArt.com/37 – Today’s topic may seem pretty obvious but for some reason we can still get discouraged when we’re not as good as we’d like to be.

36 – Designing Tabletop games. From idea to publisher pitch with Jeff Hunt

Jeff Hunt makes tabletop games. Not just any table top games. Epic 250 piece games for 6 people to play for a couple hours kind of games. The craziest part is that he does it after his full-time job and it was the first game he decided to design. In today’s chat with Jeff we talk about the design process starting at the mechanics and philosophies he wanted to put into the game, the importance of play testing and understanding player types. Also he tells what it’s like to pitch to game publishers...