The no’s are just hard.  They are so hard, as a matter of fact.  Getting a no can feel devastating, and it may take serious effort to move forward, but getting a no can also be a beautiful thing.  We have both gotten so many no’s to opportunities, to pitches, to product lines...we have been there.  Getting negative feedback & criticism, or even receiving a no is worth feeling.  Feel the no.  Feel the frustration and disappointment, and keep going.  It may sound simple and a little fluffy, but believe us, allowing yourself to feel the no’s, and keep doing what you do is the way to move through them.  This week we talk about some of our own no’s, and the ways we can all cope with them, learn from them, and be shaped by them.

You can find us, Marian and Shaunna, at www.thecreativeexponent.com where we continue our passionate conversation around all things creative.

3.8 - Bouncing Back From Nos

3.9 - Conscious Creativity With Philippa Stanton

3.10 - Seeking Your Creative Purpose

3.11 - How Overthinking Kills Creativity & Joy

3.13 - How To Prepare For A Creative Retreat

If the feeling of other humans helping you out sounds amazing right about now, today's podcast episode is for you.  We said this recently on Instagram, "I think for us, it's probably the reason we fell into coaching other creatives outside of our own art and writing.  We know what it means to be mentored well, and mentored wholly."

And boy, do we.  We mentor each other and we've had other mentors.  We get coached and we coach.  Today's episode is all about the beauty of being a master and apprentice wherever you are in your creative/work journey.  It's so incredible to lean on community and it's so incredible to provide it.  We share a little bit about our Community opening on Friday, May 14, but more than anything we talk about why you need to be coached and why you need to pour out into someone else, too.  This cycle is one of the best gifts you can give yourself as a creative.

If you want to know more about our Community opening on May 14, check it out here on our website:  https://thecreativeexponent.com

You can find us, Marian and Shaunna, at www.thecreativeexponent.com where we continue our passionate conversation around all things creative.

3.12 - The Importance Of Having Creative Mentors & Apprentices

It happens. You’ve gotten older. You’ve gotten wiser. You have so much experience, and a lot of it is good.  Out of nowhere, it seems just like in our lives, we face situations and feelings within our business that force us to feel like it’s just not like it used to be. 

After you have been in business for quite a while, there is simply more time for things to go wrong and to face disappointments. In the beginning, even though you may not be where you want to be yet, there is literally nowhere to go but up. Everything is fresh and new, and there is really only opportunity (or the hope of it) ahead. We talk about the mid-life crisis of a creative business and how we try to navigate it ourselves. It is normal, it is to be expected, and you most certainly can navigate through it as well.

You can find us, Marian and Shaunna, at www.thecreativeexponent.com where we continue our passionate conversation around all things creative.

3.14 - Let's Talk About The Midlife Crisis Of A Creative Business

We love having guests...we love the rich conversation, and so do you guys.  And when we asked Jena from A Spoonful of Faith one of many questions, “So tell us about your style,” her answer blew us away. “Your Style is Your Voice.” You will love hearing Jena’s story around the beginnings of her business, how she discovered her voice, and how she tries to use her platforms and work to bring beauty into the world and to bless others with positivity and goodness.

You can find Jena on Instagram @aspoonfuloffaith and her website https://www.spoonfuloffaith.com.

You can find us, Marian and Shaunna, at www.thecreativeexponent.com where we continue our passionate conversation around all things creative.

3.15 - Your Style Is Your Voice With Jena Holliday 1

3.18 - When You Hit A Life Wall

3.20 - Ruth Chou Simons & Creating A Market For Your Work

3.19 - All Of The Details About Getting Published

3.21 - Taking Calculated Risks

3.22 - On Judging Your Creative Work Fairly

3.23 - Cozy White Cottage Season & Blogs aren't dead with Liz Marie Galvan

3.24 - Permission To Change Your Mind

4.1 - Filling Your Space With Pieces You Love

4.2 - Say Yes, Life After The Death Of Dream With Scott Erickson

4.3 - Know What You Want Out Of Social Media Before Opening The App 1

4.4 - Living A Life In Art

5. 1 We’re back and talking about when life is bananas

So where have we been, what have we been up to, and what has been going on in our lives in the last year?? By the way, we can’t believe it’s been a year, we have MISSED YOU, but you’ll certainly get a better understanding into why it has taken this break to begin recording again. 

So when life is actually bananas…not just sort of busy, but very, very up in the air, where does our creative work go? Anywhere, everywhere, nowhere, somewhere, and all the seeds planted along the way for the future.

Marian shares about her move and her six months in a boot barely moving and Shaunna shares a little about her year long custody journey, as well as their moments trying to appreciate the seasons they are in, how they have coped, the way they don’t have the answers, but ideas to help yourself ask the right questions that work for you.

Our creative contraption for the week: 
Japanese Watercolor Brush Set with Brush Roll Up Holder
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097MJTLQ8?psc=1&linkCode=sl1&tag=thecreati06de-20&linkId=fe195f1e7aaa24e91aabb489ed854ee8&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

You can find us, Marian and Shaunna, at www.thecreativeexponent.com, Marian at www.missstudardseed.com and Shaunna at www.perfectlyimperfectblog.com  where we continue our passionate conversation around all things creative.

5.1 We're Back & Talking About When Life Is Bananas

5.2 Talent & Work, Let's Discuss…

Hey podcast friends! This week our conversation was sparked by a book, Deep Work by Cal Newport, Marian is reading. So what is deep work? What is shallow work? We think these answers are personal to you, and the work you do. We chat about:

Defining deep and shallow work in your life & the difference between the two

How the online climate is pushing us to work in the shallows and we can struggle so much to work in the digital world, when so much of our work is deep.

How we sense the shift of peers on social media platforms…we are all just a little tired of the pressure to show up on these platforms as a second (shallow) job on top of our deeper work.

The permission we all have to share online as simply a way to share the work we actually do.

The “soul tax” of social media platforms and their intended purpose (and it doesn’t have anything to do with growing your business).

How to show up online in a way that feels authentic to you, so you can spend your days on the deep work of your life.

Our creative contraption for the week: 
A Painter’s Color Diary

You can find us, Marian and Shaunna, at www.thecreativeexponent.com, Marian at www.missstudardseed.com and Shaunna at www.perfectlyimperfectblog.com  where we continue our passionate conversation around all things creative.

5.3 Deep Work Vs. Shallow Work 1

This week Marian and Shaunna introduce the idea behind The Creative Exponent, and their hope for you to allow your creative voice to shine through and to own its place in the world.  We chat about the root of the creative, and how they move through this world, and multiplying your creative efforts, whether in a creative business or living your best creative life.  You will hear stories of how they each started small, and how their dabbling in creativity led them here to this new passion of helping other creatives discover, uphold, and share their creativity.  

You can find Marian and Shaunna at www.thecreativeexponent.com where they continue their passionate conversation around all things creative.

1. Welcome to The Creative Exponent

This week Marian and Shaunna delve into busting the myths surrounding creativity: you’re not creative, you aren’t good enough, and that creativity is only for kids, actors, and artists.  They argue the case for YOUR creativity and share their beliefs that creativity is for everyone and should not be contained inside of a box.  They share silly stories of their childhoods, and how our upbringings can shape our definition of creativity, while sharing their own insecurities and roadblocks along the way.  They hope this episode gives you the courage to find creativity within yourself and to blend that creativity into your world every single day. 

You can find Marian and Shaunna at www.thecreativeexponent.com where they continue their passionate conversation around all things creative.

2. Discovering Your Creativity

Working from home.  What a gift and a challenge.  We certainly know all about it, as both of us have worked from home for the last ten years.  It can be a complete joy and almost impossible, depending on the way you approach setting up your space. 

This week we talk about setting up your creative workspace at home:  What does the space need to look and feel like to be conducive to creativity?  What’s the top priority in the space?  Does everything in the space give the space the chance to function for its highest and best use?  And lastly, what kind of boundaries need to be set around the space...and you?

You can find us, Marian and Shaunna, at www.thecreativeexponent.com where we continue our passionate conversation around all things creative.

2.16 Setting Up A Creative Space At Home

We would argue that everyone is creative, and we give you some more reasons to believe us this week.  But just in case you’re still on the fence, we talk about practices for the “non-creatives” out there.  What are some small, simple ways to shift your perspective or maybe open up the creative work or hobby you had to sideline some time ago?  We chat about these this week, and talk about the ways we have used these exercises to stir up our creative juices again and again.

You can find us, Marian and Shaunna, at www.thecreativeexponent.com where we continue our passionate conversation around all things creative.

2.19 Creative Activities For Non - Creative People

2.23 - Talent Vs. Creativity

A picture is worth a thousand words.  In this case, maybe Janelle’s photos aren’t worth a thousand words, but they do tell the story of how much she loves color and how it shaped the course of her now hand-dyed textile brand.  

 

And maybe the best part?  This all started after her year abroad in Italy, as she searched for a refrigerator on Craigslist, and wound up buying a business instead.  And the rest, as they say, is history.  We chat about drive, adapting, funneling your energy into projects you really love, and the art of being a little scrappy to get where you want to be.

 

You can find Janelle at https://tonoandco.com and on Instagram @tonoandco.


You can find us, Marian and Shaunna, at www.thecreativeexponent.com where we continue our passionate conversation around all things creative.

2.32 - Janelle Of Tono + Co Shares How She Shopped For A Fridge On Craigslist & Bought A Business

When we set out to talk to Mariele, the founder and jewelry maker behind Young in the Mountains (and also the rockstar woman who created Shaunna’s wedding ring), we had no idea what a treasure trove our conversation would be.  We knew she was talented, but listening to her talk we found ourselves furiously taking notes and getting so worked up we could hardly sit still.

Mariele tells us the fascinating story of how Young in the Mountains came to be (even her business title has a beautiful backstory), the work it took mine and source natural stone, to get her here, running retail stores, managing wholesale lines, managing her full time team, and yes, still finding some time to make her one of a kind pieces.  We loved hearing her perspectives on social media, on how to foster the team surrounding her, and building a brand around something bigger than simply herself.  If you are starting a business as a solo entrepreneur, or want to, this episode is for you.

You can find Mariele and Young in the Mountains at https://www.younginthemountains.com and on Instagram @younginthemountains. 

You can find us, Marian and Shaunna, at www.thecreativeexponent.com where we continue our passionate conversation around all things creative. 

**************

2.36 - Business Savvy & Wisdom With Mariele From Young In The Mountains

Welcome to Season 3 of The Creative Exponent Podcast!!  We wanted to kick off 2021 with a bang, and today’s conversation stemmed from a session we taught our Mentoring group.  A truth about productivity is this:  It’s one thing to BE productive, and it is an entirely different thing to FEEL productive.  You can be productive, accomplishing plenty, but if the obstacles in your way are making you feel unproductive, the tasks themselves can be irrelevant.  

This episode will hopefully give you some ideas to be more productive, but hopefully, it will give you perspectives to feel more productive this year.  We have found little tricks like the way we approach our lists, what we tell ourselves is priority, and avoiding the procrastination lies we recite internally, give us more energy doing less, and more intentional work.

You can find us, Marian and Shaunna, at www.thecreativeexponent.com where we continue our passionate conversation around all things creative.

3.1 - Five Ways To Feel More Productive In 2021

cre·​a·​tive ex·po·nent (noun):
a person who believes in and upholds the truth of their creativity

Authors, Bloggers, Business Coaches and friends, Marian Parsons and Shaunna West launch their latest adventure, The Creative Exponent Podcast.  They long to hold a conversation around all things creative, and encourage every person to discover, uphold, and share their creativity. To encourage you that you do have a creative voice to offer, and it is yours alone.  To laugh with you. To be real with you...creativity is sacred. It is scary. And it is a gift.  

You can find Marian and Shaunna continuing their passionate conversation around creativity and creative business at www.thecreativeexponent.com.

Podcast cover art exceptionally created by Gabriella Larson and Heidi Sellers.  The Creative Exponent Theme written by A Walker Spring and performed by Elly Swope and Johann Wagner.

Popular tracks by Marian Parsons & Shaunna West