Today’s guest is Angela Ferrari, an artist, children’s book author/ illustrator based in Portland Maine, who is also the creator and host of the Story Spectacular podcast.
In our conversation Angela shared her story of developing a successful art business, balancing creating for joy vs. creating for clients, and why she decided to expand her creative endeavors into writing and illustrating children’s books, and now her new podcast.
She also shared the creative pursuit she does purely for fun, and why this is an important part of her life, even though she knows she’ll never be really good at it.
We also talked about:
- The challenge of letting go of the identity that you’re known for by your admiring public, when you find yourself in a creative rut.
- Life as evolution, rather than a destination you arrive at.
- “No skill is ever wasted.” Every skill you learn informs every other skill you go on to learn.
- How Angela approaches writing her children’s books, even though she was always horrible at punctuation, spelling, and grammar in school!
- Where her book ideas have come from.
- How she creates her illustrations.
- Why Angela decided to start her podcast, and how she got started — even though she knew nothing about podcasting!
- “Productive crying / productive frustration” and the importance of tackling frustrating projects early in the day.
- And more!
Angela grew up in the mountains of western Maine. Living in a rural setting, she developed a talent for finding creative ways to play and captivate her imagination.
After graduating with a BA in studio art from The University of Maine, Angela moved to Portland. She was accepted into the Assets for Artists program which focused on business finance for creative entrepreneurs. After completing the required training, Angela received matching grant funds for working capital. She then became a successful artist, specializing in acrylic on canvas, painting landscapes that capture the picturesque aspects of Maine.
She has since expanded her artistic endeavors, writing and illustrating three children’s books: Digger’s Daily Routine, An Extraordinary Book, and What Do You See. Most recently Angela has launched Story Spectacular, a children’s story podcast. The show features original stories and classic retellings.
Working with kids and parents, she discovered that often times children weren’t getting enough time for free-play. Her mission is to help foster the imagination by sharing creative stories.
Story Spectacular is a twice-weekly children’s story podcast featuring original stories and classic retellings, that can be taken along anywhere!
Listeners will enjoy creative stories with vivid characters and sound design. Some shows even feature songs, jokes, or fun facts too.
Find Angela online at:
Website: http://storyspectacular.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/storytacular/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StorySpectacular/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/storytacular
Something Cool
From Angela:
Buy on Amazon (aff): Love Letter (Velvet Bag)
Buy on Amazon (aff): Love Letter (Boxed Edition)
From Melissa:
Infographic by Maptia of 11 Untranslatable Words from Other Cultures
Enjoy!
Listeners Wanted!
Has the Live Creative Now podcast made a difference in your life? Would you like to be featured on the podcast?
I want to start sharing listener stories, so if you have a story of how listening to the podcast has changed your life for the better in some way — big or small — I want to feature you in a Listener Spotlight.
Here’s how it works:
1. Just log into iTunes and leave a rating and review. (If you don’t know how to do that, you’ll find step-by-step instructions at livecreativenow.com/itunes-review).
2. Then copy and paste what you wrote in your review into an email, and send it to me, along with why you want to be featured in a Listener Spotlight, and how the podcast has made a difference in your life. You can email me at livecreativenow.com/contact.
That’s it!
If I pick you for a Listener Spotlight, we’ll have a relaxed, fun conversation, and the recording of our conversation will be part of a future episode! How cool is that?
Want a creative kick start?
Check out my book!
What would change for you if you could totally revel in the joy of creating? You CAN, with The Creative Sandbox Way!
You’ll learn:
- Melissa’s 10 fool-proof guideposts that have helped thousands get joyfully creating.
- 5 reasons why creative play is good for you, AND for the world (it’s neuroscience, baby!)
- Why “I’m not creative” is always a lie, and how to bust it.
- How to turn creative blocks into friends.
AND you’ll get creating right in the book itself.
“It’s one part field guide, one part creative practice—and I loved it. The Creative Sandbox Way is an adventure packaged as a book.”
~Chris Guillebeau
NYT best-selling author of The Happiness of Pursuit and The $100 Startup
Hear ye, hear ye! This is to serve as official notice that all links to anything for sale, be it books or courses, are likely to be affiliate links. What this means is that if you click through said links and make a purchase, although it won’t affect the price that you pay, a few coins will jangle into my coffers, enabling me to buy a packet of hard gluten-free biscuits to feed myself and my husband for another day, or perhaps a pen with which to create some artwork. Or perhaps they will contribute toward paying a fraction of my web hosting bill, so that this blog and podcast can continue to exist. Thank you kindly for your attention.
Thanks for Listening!
Thanks so much for joining me this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!
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Now go get creating!
PS — Pssst! Know someone who might benefit from seeing this today? Pass it on!
10 Tips to Bust a Creative Block: Download Your FREE Poster!
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