Artsy Types

Whether or not to take commissions is a question every creator is faced with at some point. Joy and Teresa are talking pros and cons, logistics, and reliving a commission gone awry involving an airbrush and a Harley Davidson. Rabbit holes and recommendations is on a hiatus, and taking its place is a new segment, “The Last Thing I Wrote Down.” Joy is taken to task in real-time for gatekeeping Gen X culture, and Teresa laments not having any Garanimals in her closet as a kid. ~Show Links and References~10 Questions to Ask Before Accepting an Art CommissionArt Commission AgreementOn Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen KingA History of Garanimals This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit artsytypes.substack.com

Daydreams, hidden ambitions and a never-before-shared passion project—Joy and Teresa are telling each other their secret goals for the first time. A coffee table book, a herd of cows and St. Sulpice all get laid bare in this swap of secrets. In Rabbit Holes and Recommendations, Teresa has discovered a mysterious cure for insomnia, and Joy has discovered a band that everybody else discovered 30 years ago. The episode ends with both artists reliving the day in high school that they were put on a bus and taken to motivational speaker, David Toma, to get scared straight. If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime! ~Show Links and References~Nick Bantock's Griffin & SabineAn Artist "Sketchbook Wandering" Wanders the St. Sulpice NeighborhoodPlein Air artists encountering cowsAI Generated ‘Boring History’ Videos are Flooding YouTube"Is This It" Debut Album by The Strokes1983 News Article about Speaker David Toma This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit artsytypes.substack.com

Joy and Teresa are back at it, starting season two by workshopping four seemingly-eccentric journal entries (rodents seeking revenge, a strange golf tournament, big strawberries, pickups at the gym), determining which “is something” that could be transformed into a developed story. The twosome workshop the ideas, settling on a concept, sharing their creative process as the discussion moves along. Teresa goes down a rabbit hole to explore Cabinets of Curiosities, and Joy raves about the André 3000 interview on Rick Rubin’s Tetragrammaton podcast.The episode ends with Joy and Teresa sharing memories about the first time they each went on the internet and what web browsing was like for young GenX’ers, the last generation to know life without the internet. ~Show Links and References~Meetup WebsiteSteven Pressfield: The Foolscap Method of Story OutlinesThe Erewhon Viral StrawberryMassimo Listri Cabinet of CuriositiesAndré 3000 Interview on TetragrammatonGabocorp WebsiteThe History of Netscape This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit artsytypes.substack.com

Joy and Teresa are on hiatus enjoying the final days of summer by taking a holiday in the South of France. Just kidding! Joy is getting kids back to college and Teresa is helping her mom move to a new house. In the meantime, they have carefully assembled a “bespoke” offering of their favorite segments from season one. From losing a limb to having a bunny mistaken for a gopher, they are opening up about the fears they each have as artists. They try to figure out how to write in the style of the Twilight Zone, discuss the hidden messages in flowers and recount the horrors of the President’s Physical Fitness Tests of their youth. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit artsytypes.substack.com

Making money, going viral, and having peers compliment your work are all ways of measuring results as an artist. Joy and Teresa are trying to figure out the best barometer for success in art. In the penultimate episode of season one of Artsy Types, they’re asking if there’s shame in chasing social media, if wanting to have sales is a bad thing, and they’re confronting the daunting possibility that creators may never know if they’ve arrived as an artist. While not the bibliophile Joy is, Teresa confidently claims her territory as an audio-bibliophile and surprises with a recommendation instead of a rabbit hole. Joy has just discovered an R&B EP that re-imagines Radiohead classics. She deftly asks permission to interject princess snark into the segment and wraps the episode up with brief musings about walkie-talkies, but not before the two commiserate that “bespoke” has made its way into the mainstream.~Show Links and References~Follow Artsy Types on Instagram for more conversation and references that relate back to the show. Humanity, Can We Please Stop Abusing the Word 'Bespoke'?Joy's Short Story: The BatsLearn about the Libby App for AudioBooks, e-Books and MoreThis Album of Mashed-Up D'Angelo and Radiohead Covers Is All You Need This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit artsytypes.substack.com

Teresa and Joy commiserate that their creative pursuits have been put on the the backburner as Teresa helps her mom move and Joy has kids home from college. All hope is not lost, however, as the two share ideas for keeping creative sparks alive when life gets hectic—including a technological idea that may surprise! In Rabbit Holes and Recommendations, Teresa raises the bar with her acquisition of a Chautauqua Desk and Joy immediately lowers it with a glowing recommendation of. . . truck stops. The episode ends with memories of two books from their childhood, a Tolkien classic and Misty of Chincoteague, a beloved story of a horse that results in a meandering discussion of plastic cemetery flowers. ~Show Links & References~The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos WilliamsThis is Just to Say by William Carlos WilliamsBilly Collins's Tips for Writing PromptsChautauqua DeskLove's "Travel Stops"Time Magazine's Retrospective on The HobbitSmithsonian Magazine's "True Story of Misty"Misty of Chincoteague FoundationEtsy's Selection of 1970s Plastic Flowers This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit artsytypes.substack.com

In the first of what will be a recurring segment featuring case studies of artistic failures and attempting to turn them into opportunities, Joy unravels after not being able to paint a basic lemon tree, while Teresa provides input on what might be happening and methods for turning lemons into lemonade—or in this case a painting that works! In Rabbit Holes and Recommendations, Teresa introduces the concept of a poetry volta and Joy is studying the Twilight Zone. There’s also discussion of Easter Hymns, Enameling and the Schwabinchen fair ride (who was the wench in the middle of that ride?) ~Show Links & References~What is a volta?Writing in the style of the Twilight ZoneSchwabinchen Fair RideBayern Kurve Fair Ride This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit artsytypes.substack.com

After a quick update on Teresa’s recent collection release, Joy and Teresa get into the topic of artistic fears, with each counting down fears that accompany creating and sharing their art. While some of the fears are universal. . .several are surprises. In rabbit holes and recommendations, Teresa talks about discovering ex-voto paintings and Joy makes a confession. Closing out with an anecdote from growing up together, the two recount the horrors of taking the President’s Physical Fitness Test in gym class.~Show Links & References~ Teresa's Dead Poets Society Collection“Ex-voto: The Mexican Art of Gratitude,” by Jimena Escoto Daily Art Magazine Graphic Audio Version of A Court of Thorns and Roses“The Origins of the Presidential Physical Fitness Test” by Vince Guerrieri. Mental Floss This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit artsytypes.substack.com