In this episode of Deep Natter, Sean and I are continuing a previous discussion about finding our why around the things we make. Sometimes, it’s easy to lose our way and we end up needing to make a few tweaks or…
In this episode of Deep Natter, one of Sean’s Instagram accounts got hacked, which has us talking about to what degree we’re comfortable relying on social media platforms as the main place to share our work and connect with an…
When I was in college, I had a professor who used to say, “Being an artist requires one thing: the ability to see.” For decades, I’ve been interpreting that to mean the ability to see what it is that I…
This is actually episode 10.5 or “10 Take Two” of Deep Natter, since we had a little bit of a power outage situation and had to record this week’s show a second time. It actually worked out for the best…
In this episode, Sean and I are talking about collaboration and finding your voice and to help us illustrate some of this, we’re going to be talking about a terrific HBO documentary from 2017 called Spielberg. While the film is…
It feels like over the past several weeks — maybe even months, since time sort of blurs together as of late — I’ve been finding a bunch of things, both online and off, to be inspired by. Since this is…
Sean Tucker has just released a new book called The Meaning in the Making. Over twelve chapters, using stories from his own life, as well as references from literature, art, philosophy, and religion, Sean attempts to understand and explain “the…
In this episode, Sean Tucker and I are talking about some of the challenges of bringing focus back from our various social media platforms to our own websites, which in many ways are the only places we have online that…
In this episode, we’re talking about chasing objective good in art making and selling out to please an audience versus making strategic choices to keep an audience engaged with the work we make. We also share a few things you…
A couple of weeks ago, I was recording a new conversation with Bill Wadman and he said something that I’ve been chewing on ever since (it starts about 47:15 into the conversation). He said, “We are both in some ways…
In this episode, Sean talks about a recent trip to London where he may have had his most productive day of photography ever, which is a pretty bold statement. We also talk about the importance of inspirational friends as well…
In this installment, I want to tackle a question that I get asked all the time that really doesn’t have a simple answer: “how do you stay inspired?” The short answer is that I don’t, and frankly I would be…
In this episode of Deep Natter, Sean Tucker and I are talking about effort, specifically whether and how and to what degree effort is connected to the value of the things we make. To help illustrate how effort can affect…
As many of you know, I currently produce three different podcasts, each with a different format and purpose. Process Driven is a deep-dive conversation with a single artist to talk about what they do and why they do it. In…
One of the hardest things about being an artist — beyond the actual making of the art — is deciding how to value the work we make. For many of us — and I’m putting myself squarely in the middle…
Like many of you, I could not be happier to finally be rid of the raging dumpster fire that was 2020. I know the next year will be anything but easy, but I am cautiously optimistic that 2021 will be…
What happens next? That’s the question isn’t it? It’s something I get asked a lot, especially lately, both from friends and from strangers. I wish I had an answer but honestly I’m still spending a fair bit of time…
Do you know the Serenity prayer? Even if you don’t know it by name, you’ve likely heard it. It goes: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And…
The recent death of Rush drummer Neil Peart hit me like a ton of bricks. While I consider myself a visual artist, I can’t think of a single painter, or sculptor, or photographer whose death has or even would affect…
I have a question for you, and the answer depends at least partly on the primary perspective you take – either as an audience member or a maker — when you think about how to answer. It centers around effort…
In 2021, I’m launching a brand new show that will be my most ambitious project to date. A Day’s Work is a podcast about how we spend our time when we’re not with family and friends. Inspired by the landmark work…
I got an email a couple weeks ago from a listener asking if I had any advice for finding a mentor. Now, while I have been incredibly fortunate to have had – and frankly still have – some amazing people…
Earlier this week, Adrianne and I watched the first episode of the new season of Abstract on the Netflix . For those of you who haven’t seen it, Abstract is a fantastic show about art and design. It follows roughly…
“We are all unique in the way we see things — the worst thing is to copy. The best thing is to be who you are.” As I sat down to write the intro to this episode of Process Driven,…
Adrianne and I were in the car the other day — I don’t remember where we were going but I do remember that we were listening to Classic Vinyl on XM because we both really dig Meg Griffin. The Low…
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about art – specifically, what really counts as art? Is the art the thing that we make? Or, is in the doing? The making itself. Or is art in the reaction to work —…
A couple weeks ago, I had a terrific conversation with an artist whose work I’ve admired for years. And while it was a treat to get to talk to someone who has inspired me for decades, the work was only…
A week or so ago, I was talking to my friend Gareth about how frustrated I was in not feeling like I had a clear and consistent creative voice. It’s not uncommon for me to feel overwhelmed and frankly paralyzed…
Are you happy? If not, why do you think that is? For a lot of people who make things and share what they make online — myself included — we have a tendency to abdicate our happiness to the fickle…
Not too long ago, I was having a conversation with David duChemin about subject as it relates to photography — specifically, some of the differences between photographs of a subject, versus photographs about a subject. It can feel like a…