Creative People Podcast

• Display your creativity/put on your own art show
• Do it in your house - could be just for yourself to see and appreciate or you can invite friends/family
• First let yourself view what you’ve created 
• How to appreciate your progress/creative journey and build in time to pause and celebrate
• Sometimes when our projects get stored away in a file in our computer, in a sketchbook, we can forget about them, we can forget about the progress we’ve made, the different styles we’ve attempted 
• Remind ourselves where we’ve been, can inspire/help us identify where we want to go next 

—------------- 

Hey, I'm Krista Kankula.  I'm a creativity coach and I’m here to offer short exercises to help you cultivate and express your creativity and do it in a way that’s rooted in joy, playfulness and self-belief.

The exercise I’m about to share with you is great if you’re:

• Wanting to work up the courage to share your art with more people 
• Feeling like people don’t see/recognize your creativity or art
• If you’re experiencing a lot of self-doubt about your progress and creative skills
• Or if you have a dream to one day have your work featured in a gallery, festival or some sort of public space.

The practice today is this:
You’re going to imagine you’re hosting an art open house and it's going to be featuring your art/your creations. 

You get to curate and design how you’ll display your art and which pieces you’d like to feature.  

And then once you’re done you can decide if you’d like to invite friends, family, colleagues - the people in your circle to view it OR if for right now you’d prefer to view it yourself, and share it with others later.

Often we don’t spend a whole lot of time with what we’ve created when it’s finished. It might stay in a sketchbook and after we’re done we’re flipping to the next page, or it gets tucked away in a box or it lives in a digital folder, on our phone, on a social media feed or our camera roll. 

Going through what you’ve created is an opportunity for you to be present with what you’ve made. To fully take it in and appreciate it. 

It’s an opportunity to see your journey as a creative, how your skills and perspectives has changed over the months and years. 

Through this process of reviewing and displaying your art   you can look back and admire what you’ve created and maybe even get inspiration from these past creations. This process also gives us the opportunity to appreciate something we made, that maybe at the time we couldn’t fully appreciate because self-doubt  or perfection was clouding our perception at the time.

So find a way to display a collection of your art, your creations. Use this exercise as a way to pause and appreciate your progress. Use this exercise as a practice in seeing your creative gifts and seeing yourself as a creative/artist - often we want other people to recognize our gifts/creativity, but what are we doing to recognize ourselves? What are we doing to really see + honour our creativity?

As always Ryan and I would love to hear from you. Take a photo + share your display/collection with us or let us know what this process of reviewing and displaying your work was like for you. Tag Ryan @creativepeople.podcast and me @kristakankula 

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

This week we're in the studio for a conversation and live performance by Jaguar Sun.  Chris Minielly talks to me about the evolution of his music and how stepping outside of his comfort zone was part of that process for him.  We talk about navigating social media while staying true to ourselves   Then Chris caps off the podcast with a fantastic live performance.  Do it up!

Jaguar Son
https://linktr.ee/JaguarSun

Krista Kankula
https://kristakankula.com/activateyourcreativity

https://www.creativepeople-podcast.com/

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

Hey buds,

This week we’re talking comics, imposter syndrome, and store ownership with comic book creator Alfonso Espinos of Studio Comix!  I met Alfonso when I stopped in on the way to my barber, and I immediately knew I had him on the podcast.  Alfonso’s passion for comics and helping creators is infectious and it was interesting to learn about the history of comic books in Mexico.  We had a great time.  Do it up.

https://www.studiocomix.com/

https://www.creativepeople-podcast.com/

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

Hi I’m Krista Kankula! I’m a creativity coach that helps adults make time for + access their creativity & do it in a way that’s rooted in joy, playfulness and self-belief. 

Have you ever been working on a creative project or maybe marketed something you’ve created and found yourself thinking “do I just say the same thing over and over again”

Or have you ever found yourself bored with the very topic you’ve centered your creative project on - not necessarily because you find it terribly boring…you’re maybe bored because you’ve spent some much time with it  and spent so much time thinking about it/loooking at it in the same way.

Well today’s exercise will help you if you’re finding yourself in one of those scenarios,  if you’re feeling stuck or if you simply want to activate your imagination and experiment with a little creative challenge.

I’m not sure exactly where I was/what I was thinking when I thought about this exercise, but let’s pretend I was sitting at my desk, opened my drawer - that let’s be honest is probably better described as a junk drawer/mish mash of stuff and the first thing that caught my eye was an eraser.

Today’s exercise is to challenge yourself to write for 20 minutes about an eraser.

Why an easer? Well it’s not the most exciting object in the world, but likely one we have some familiarity with.

The focus of this exercise is to think about the eraser in different ways - what other uses could it have/how could it get repurposed, get curious about it (maybe think about where/how the eraser was invented, how the first eraser was made vs. the ones that get made now) and also to use your imagination and play with telling a story about an eraser. 

Let’s break down how this exercise can help you a bit more:

#1 - it’s giving you some constraints to work with. Instead of saying write about anything for 20 mins, you’re given the topic of an eraser. Constraints can work in our favour and help us generate more ideas/solutions.

#2 - It’s a creative experiment with a slight (but not overwhelming) sense of pressure. There is a time limit and so it challenges you to come up with some bit of writing in just 20 minutes. And it can help challenge our thinking of what’s possible to create in a smaller chunk of time. And hey if you have a writing deadline, you can recall that time you did an exercise like this and you were able to be calm, cool and creative under pressure and get it done.

#3 This one sort of contradicts the last one - but I think you’ll get where I’m going with it. Even though the time may induce a bit of pressure, the exercise itself is low stakes. There’s no assignment to turn in, you don’t have to publish it as a blog post or turn this draft story about an eraser into a novel. You don’t have to worry about whether it’s interesting or your audience or editor or anyone for that matter will like or read what you wrote - because its just for you.

I hope you give this exercise a try - for the record I did and I began a story about the last eraser on earth who kept escaping its glass case in the museum where it was to be on display, so it could go live in the forest with its best friend the pencil. Cheesy? Yeah, but its an exercise I’ll definitely lean on in the future to bring some fun into the writing process, challenge myself and see what other stories I can come up with.

Think about how you can apply the elements of this exercise to what your creating - constraints, being curious, looking at it from different perspectives, making things up/using your imagination.

Let us know what this exercise was like for you + what it inspired in your writing. Tag Ryan

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

This exercise was actually inspired by Ryan and a question he asked me when I was a guest on the podcast. 

We’re going to visualize and animate our creativity. 
This is a great practice to experiment with because…
1) It’s a fun way to use our imaginations and think differently 

2) It gives us an opportunity to appreciate and celebrate our capacity to be creative - remembering even when we’re feeling blocked or uninspired we always have the ability to be creative.

3) It’s a chance to explore our relationship with creativity and be curious about what we might need to support and allow our creativity to flourish. 

So you’re going to close your eyes or focus your gaze. If you’re listening in the car, come back to this when you can close your eyes or focus your gaze safely. 

Take a deep breath in and slowly exhale out and you can even let yourself sigh. Repeat this two more times.

Begin to picture yourself walking through a park, there’s a windy pathway lined by evergreen and maple and birch trees, there are patches of gardens with wildflowers in different shades of yellow, pink, orange and blue and there’s a slowly flowing river off to the side.

In a moment you’re going to walk up and see your creativity.
. Imagine what your creativity would look like if you animated it? 
What kind of character or object would it turn into? 
What colour or colours is it? 

How does it move and communicate with you? 

You now see your creativity waiting for you on a bench. You’re excited to spend some time together.

You’re going to ask your creativity some questions and just notice what it wants to share with you:

Ask your creativity, what encouragement or guidance do you want to share with me?

What’s something you want us to collaborate on and create together?

And lastly, what does your creativity need in order to flourish?

You can open your eyes now and you may want to write down any messages or ideas you got from this visualization. You can always re-ask yourself these questions and journal about them. 

You can use this visualization as a way of connecting with your creativity - maybe you take time to have a weekly or monthly brainstorming session with it OR you can use the visualization to inspire a piece of art - maybe you draw, paint or make a comic about your creativity. 

I hope this exercise helped you activate your imagination and think of your creativity in a playful and different way! 

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

Do the Opposite

Hi, I’m Krista Kankula - a Creativity Coach and I’m all about helping you use play and creative self-expression as a tool to cultivate more self-connection, FUN and joy in your life!

Today is opposite day. Or at least we’re going to pretend it is.

Novelty is such an important factor in creativity.
And for a lot of us who are really living creatively it's something we find ourselves seeking out.

When it comes to our creative practice or creative work it's important to shake things up every now and then and just be curious about how it inspires or influences what we’re making or our mindset.

For whatever project or creative practice you’re working on at the moment you’re going to challenge yourself - just for fun to do the opposite of that for one day. 

I’ll give you some examples of how you can approach this opposite challenge:

If you’re someone like me who paints with a lot of colours - specifically pinks, oranges, greens and blues

You challenge yourself to paint only in black and white 
OR you challenge yourself to paint with your eyes closed
OR you challenge yourself to only use words to create an image or pattern on the page

If you’re someone who photographs landscapes and nature

You can challenge yourself to draw or paint what you see instead
Or take photos of objects or people instead

If you’re someone who writes blog posts

You can challenge yourself to use a voice memo to talk out and record your blog post instead of writing.
Or you can challenge yourself to draw a comic that communicates the main theme behind your blog post

If you’re designing posters
You can challenge yourself to make a poster out of cardstock and cut and glue on the shapes and text

Or You can challenge yourself to create a 2-minute video communicating the event or ideas from the poster instead.

These are just a few ideas to get your creative brain warmed up and thinking about how you can practice this FUN opposite challenge for yourself.

And if you take on this challenge, which we really hope you do, share what you created and tag Ryan @creativepeople.podcast and me @KristaKankula on Instagram. We can’t wait to see what you create and how this opposite approach inspires you!

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

Hi, I’m Krista Kankula - a Creativity Coach and I’m all about helping you use play and creative self-expression as a tool to cultivate more self-connection, FUN and joy in your life!

For today’s exercise, we’re going to focus on creative blocks and how we can bring a playful energy/mindset to moving past them.

Creative blocks are sometimes also referred to as fear, resistance, or feeling stuck. It’s the sensation of not being able to access our creativity or feeling like something is blocking us from saying or expressing what’s inside of us.

What’s important to keep in mind is that:
1) Feeling blocked creatively is not a sign that we’re not creative or that something is wrong with us (there’s nothing wrong with you, we’re all creative)

2) although they may feel like it, they’re not impossible to move past

And 3) When we bring in a playful energy or attitude we can change the way we perceive creative blocks. Instead of dreading them, we can see them as an opportunity to get curious and learn.

That’s because creative blocks offer us helpful information. For example, they might be trying to communicate to us that…

1. There’s a part of us that feels afraid, uncertain, or vulnerable.
   
   
   
2. We need to change something in our environment or approach.
   
   
   
3. That we need rest, a break from that creative activity
   
   
   
4. That we need to shift our perspective.
   
   
   

Play is one of the ultimate antidotes to helping us past a creative block. Play helps us embrace the unknown when we’re not sure how to move past a block, it helps us imagine different possibilities and is really like a warm-up for our creativity.

Here’s how we can bring in that energy or attitude of playfulness to meet these blocks..

First, we bring attention to what’s present
Visualize or name the block (ex. I feel like there’s a block stopping me from saying and writing what I want to say or from allowing me to paint in a way that feels fun)
Then get curious about what’s there - what is this block trying to tell us?

Second, we bring in the energy of playfulness

We can do that in a number of ways, but I like using either movement AND/OR visualization as they both can be done pretty much anywhere and without any equipment.

Through Movement
Move in a way that feels playful to you, such as dancing,  jumping up and down, hopping on a swing in your backyard or participating in a game.

Through Visualization 
Picture a time when you felt really playful, maybe imagine yourself playing when you were younger and notice how the energy of playfulness feels in your body.

If you can’t picture that, imagine a child you know or one of your pets, a cat or dog being playful. Notice how seeing them be playful brings that energy of playfulness into your body.

Now that we’re embodying that playful energy we want to ask ourselves questions to get at solutions.

Here are some examples of questions we might ask ourselves:
How might I move past this block if I were being playful?

What would it look like if this activity felt playful again?

Finally, we want to look back at the block and observe:
How do you feel now?
What do you notice that you didn’t before? 

This process was inspired by what is called the coaching arch in life coaching. 

We can use parts of this process or the whole thing to help us when we’re feeling blocked. 

I hope you give this exercise a try and let a mindset of playfulness fuel your creativity and help you move past any blocks you may encounter.

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

This week we are in the studio with DP Paul Duck!   

https://www.pauljamesduck.com/

Paul tells us about the high-pressure world of documentaries, and how he prepares for it.  We talk about frustrations, how they help us grow, and how he's still chasing the same feeling he got as a teenager when he started shooting skateboard videos.  Great chat!

Also, it's our 100th episode.

And we have a new creativity exercise with Krista Kankula
https://www.instagram.com/kristakankula/

Music by Jobii and sarah the illstrumentalist

https://www.creativepeople-podcast.com/
https://www.instagram.com/creativepeople.podcast/

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

Exercise #5

• Design a failure resume from creative projects/pieces you’ve created
• Use inspiration from the Book the rise and explore how you reframed or transformed each failure into another creation, into a meaningful experience. 
• Talking about the challenges of failure and what comes after it.

Normalizing failure as part of the creative process.


Find out more at:
https://kristakankula.com/creativejuice/

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

This week I'm talking with Jim Han - a B-Boy, Hip Hop Dance Teacher, and owner of the 519 School of HipHop!

Jim tells me about discovering Hip-Hop Culture as a kid in South Korea and how it gave his life direction in college.   We talk dance battles, passing on what you learn, and the history/scope of Hip-Hop.

Great chat.

schoolofhiphop.ca

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

This week on the podcast, Ryan is chatting with Toronto-based photographer Kate Dockeray.
https://www.instagram.com/katedockeray/

Kate talks about her time in school and how she puts herself in the position to be lucky.  We talk Harry Styles and Creative Clowns.  Good chat.  Do it up

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

This week we're chatting with director Brea Grant about her new Blumhouse film Torn Hearts, starring Katey Sagal.  

We talk about her years as an actor and how the creative process led her to direct.  How she treats her creative work as a job and the difference between being creative and being desperate.  Great chat.

https://www.instagram.com/breagran
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15053518/

Brea's Podcast - Reading Glasses
https://maximumfun.org/podcasts/reading-glasses

New creative exercise with Krista Kankula
Learn more about Creative Coaching
kristakankula.com

Program:

0:00 -1:35  - Intro
1;40 - 7:50  - Creative Exercise with Krista
7:45 - 10:00 - Intro 2
10:15 -1:04:50  - Brea Grant


Thank you to our sponsor Him and Her
https://www.himandher.ca/

Music by Dusty Decks
and Matt Large

Made by Ryan Leacock
https://www.instagram.com/ryanleacock_/

Support the podcast:
https://www.creativepeople-podcast.com/

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

Back at it, buds!   

Season 3 kicks off with Abbie Darling!

Abby creates custom crystal and brass jewelry.  She came downtown to the studio, Tim Hortons in hand.  We had such a good time chatting... she's one of those people that just make the rest of your day better.

Check out Abbie online:
abbiedarlingcustoms.com
https://www.instagram.com/sidetrackedwithabbieandjonpod/

New creative exercise with Krista Kankula

Learn more about Creative Coaching
kristakankula.com

Program:

0:00 -3:00  - Intro
3:00 - 7:00  - Creative Exercise with Krista 
7:00 - 8:30 - Intro 2
8:30 -1:24:50  - Abbie Darling

Thank you to our sponsor Him and Her
https://www.himandher.ca/

Music by Dusty Decks

Produced by Ryan Leacock
https://www.instagram.com/ryanleacock_/

Support the podcast:
https://www.creativepeople-podcast.com/

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

I've put together a remixed buffet of some of the best guests and conversations from the most popular episodes this season.

Featuring:

- Stephanie Scott (EP:88) on the Creative Path
2:15 - 10:25

- Densil McFarlane (EP:75) of the OBGM's on being Strong Creatively
11:23 - 18:31

- Isabel Carreńo (EP:85) on "Not Taking it Too Seriously"
19:47 - 26:18

- Kim-A-Tron (EP:84) - "There is No Proper Way to be an Artist"
27:14 -3 5:32

- The High Road Design (Jon Kutt) (EP:89) on Creative Bitterness
36:36 - 43:58

- Robin (EP:80) and Elaine (EP:83) on Marketing, Partnership, and Kitchener
45:00 - 54:54

- Taylor Jones  (EP:81)and Kyle Sawyer (EP:94) on the Keys to Success in Business and Contrived vs Occurring Ideas
56:14 - 1:02:48

- Jonathan Ferrell (farrell_lego) (EP:65) on the Wisdom of Letting Go
1:04:14 - 1:06:48

- Izzy (Isabelle Poirier) of the Ottawa Design Club (EP:82) on Why We Create and Finding her Purpose
1:08:00 - 1:12:10

this episode was produced by Ryan Leacock
(*some audio was corrupted in the mixer - this is the best Mixed Media Sound could fix it.  Better luck next season.)

Thank you for a great 2nd season!

This episode is sponsored by Him and Her
https://www.himandher.ca/


Music for this episode was created by:
Sarah, the Illstrumentalist
Matt Large
shamgang
peerless
Yomoti
Bonkers Beat Club
SINY
Dusty Decks

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

Have you ever had a brilliant idea just occur to you?  Those are rare and they are the ones to follow says today's guest, filmmaker Kyle Sawyer.  Kyle is one part of the duo Digital Sabbath and ones responsible for the Business Unual film series.  A series of films highlighting how local businesses are coping with all the struggles brought on by the pandemic.  

Kyle talks to me about the energy of film, how he uses his "ideas that occur to him"  as guiding lights through the process of putting together a film.  And how he uses creativity to sidestep potentially weak areas of a scene.  

Great chat, do it up.


watch the film series at:
https://www.businessunusualseries.com/

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

This week we are getting into the thick of it with the writer of The Creativity Gene, Rose Gabler.  Rose tells me about her grandfather and how a cancer scare led him to dedicate his life to art and how that has rippled through generations of her family.  She talks about her own journey of writer her book and has the most perfect analogy for creativity.  Great chat, do it up.

https://www.thecreativitygene.com/
https://rosegabler.com/

Episode Sponsored by Him and Her
Music by DustyDecks

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

This week I am talking with fashion designer Christina Harmer.  Christina is the woman behind KHAZ, a fashion brand out of Toronto. Christina tells me about the afternoon at the One of a Kind Show that changed her whole life. We connected about the frustrations of creativity and the peace of being in the zone. She tells me about remixing the classics and the work no one notices.  Great chat. 

https://www.khazdesigns.com/

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

This week on the podcast I'm talking with Broadway Musical Director and Conductor, David Loud.  David tells me about his 34 years on Broadway, the magic of theatre and music "in the room" with someone.  He talks to me about working with some of the best, including Stephen Sondheim.   And how rewarding the teaching he's doing now is.

David tells me about the energy of being in the middle of everything while conducting on Broadway,  and how the best collaborating happens when everyone makes the same show.  We talk a lot about being grateful during the hardest things in life and David tells me about being diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease and the peace he has found since.  David is releasing his memoir Facing the Music in February 2022 be sure to check that out.  
Great, special chat this week.

Music by Guustuuv

This episode was sponsored by Him&Her



About Facing the Music:

https://www.simonandschuster.ca/books/Facing-the-Music/David-Loud/9781682451915

FACING THE MUSIC
By David Loud
"Beautifully written, filled with vivid details, braided with
love and loss and wit and the perspective of someone with
an utterly unique story to tell."
-- Lynn Ahrens, lyricist
(Ragtime, Seussical, A Man of No Importance)
Experience Broadway musicals from a new perspective – from the
conductor’s podium.
David Loud occupies a unique place in Broadway history. In addition
to his distinguished career as one of Broadway’s most respected music
directors, he originated three Broadway roles as an actor, including his
appearance in the original cast of Stephen Sondheim’s legendary failure
(and cult classic) Merrily We Roll Along, directed by Harold Prince. In a
career spanning several decades, he served as music director for the original
Broadway productions of Ragtime, Curtains, Sondheim on Sondheim, The
Visit, The Scottsboro Boys, and Steel Pier, as well as revivals of She Loves Me,
Sweeney Todd, Company, and Porgy and Bess. And he appeared alongside
Zoe Caldwell and Audra McDonald in Terrence McNally’s Tony-winning
play, Master Class.
FACING THE MUSIC is David Loud’s poignant and hilarious memoir
of his extraordinary adventures conducting Broadway shows, rubbing
shoulders with John Kander, Fred Ebb, Audra McDonald, Stephen
Sondheim, Harold Prince, Angela Lansbury, Chita Rivera, Roger Rees, Zoe
Caldwell, Marin Mazzie, Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, Garth Drabinsky, and
Barbara Cook, among others.
It is also a look at his path to the podium, from his one-of-a-kind
childhood (a stage-struck kid growing up at a school devoted to organic
farming and mountain climbing), to formative experiences at a New
England prep school and Yale University. His coming out as a gay man and
his diagnosis as a person with Parkinson’s Disease, combined with his
extraordinarily entertaining backstage anecdotes, make for a riveting look at
what it means to live, love, and make music in the rarefied air of Broadway.
“Luminous and surprising, an extremely honest memoir of a
life lived in the world of Broadway musicals, by one of the
theatre’s most gifted conductors. I can’t think of another
book quite like it.”
-- John Kander, composer
(Cabaret, Chicago, New York, New York)

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

This week on the podcast I'm talking to DJ, experimental artist, and fellow millennial Sonja (https://www.instagram.com/sonja_online/) She talks to me about bleeding through your eyeballs for your dreams, doing things that scare her (like relocating to South Korea), and why she doesn't want to live in North America. ever again.

Sonja means business and her approach to her work is infectious and no-nonsense.  She tells me that in her minds-eye her creativity is a plant and has some extremely insightful/helpful things to offer from that perspective.  She's great, fantastic chat!

Music by Margareta
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2EujXLp3444r3ayjrmwM8L?si=cqBzmFc0RHucUpVMrg42fg


The podcast is sponsored by Him & Her Inc.
https://www.himandher.ca/

www.creativepeople-podcast.com

Disappointment

I'm starting to realize that I'm going to have to accept disappointment -  because it doesn’t seem like it’s going anywhere - and it’s everywhere.

For one - It's part of the process for our work.  Getting better at our craft is a road through disappointment.  Often, the things we create are not what we see in our heads and it takes time and practice to get it to where those two things match.  

And then you challenge yourself again, and the cycle starts over.  More disappointment ahead!  That’s the process.

But the burden is more than that.

Speaking bluntly, it’s people… they are going to disappoint you.  Not in like a heavy, let you down when you really needed them kinda way. (though...) 

But in aesthetic, in scope, in execution, in their capacity, or not seeing what you see, etc, and so on.

It's part of the loneliness that comes along with this life.  People you love won't get it.  Their efforts may not look the way you want them to or be as inspired as you like.  They may be silent expressions or express love in a way that goes under our "creative person" radar.

....

Read the full blog at www.creativepeople-podcast.com

www.creativepeople-podcast.com