Creating Your Own Path

Today, I’m chatting with our CYOP artist resident Malia Tong as we wrap up Season 6 of CYOP. Listen in as we talk about what we’ve both learned over the course of the season, what’s changed in our lives and careers and some of the surprising things we see on the horizon for our respective work.

On today’s show, I chat with illustrator and writer Ludi Leiva about how she’s transitioned from working in media full-time to working for herself. We also dive into what it means to be a creative in a place like New York (and why she’s decided to move out of the city), why she believes we all need to stop worrying about the perceptions of others, and why her family history has her dreaming of some really beautiful projects.

Today’s episode will get you a front row seat at my recent talk at Sacramento’s Creative Mornings event last month. In it, I discuss the challenges I’ve faced, both personally and professionally, as I’ve navigated significant losses over the last several years. The theme for this talk was END and I cover how I’ve worked to claim my narrative while I was going through the grief process surrounding my divorce and the death of a loved one. As always, my goal in sharing these kinds of topics is to help others who might be going through something similar.

Several months ago, I was lucky enough to be on my friend Non’s podcast called “You, Me, Empathy,” which is a show about mental health and wellness. He kindly shared the audio and today’s show is his interview with me as a guest. In the episode, I chat about my recent experiences with loss, both through death and divorce. We also discuss the importance of sitting with the uncertainty that is the grieving process and allowing ourselves to slowly make our way through it.

Today’s show is a chat between me and our CYOP Artist Resident Malia Tong. The artist residency includes several co-hosted conversations on topics that are either timely, top of mind or both, and this is one of those chats. On the show, we catch up on what we’re working through in our careers right now, what previous jobs have taught us about life, work and everything in between, and what skills we feel like we’re collecting and perfecting on the job right now.

In this episode, you’ll hear from fiber artist Dani Ives who has managed to blend her early career of working at a zoo with her love of creating art out of wool. Dani not only dives into the changes she and her husband had to make in order for that career transition to work, but she also shares how she’s created multiple income streams for her business and why building community is becoming so important to her.

In this episode, you’ll meet professional podcast producer Ray Ortega, who is currently helping out with technical production on CYOP. Listen in as we chat about what it’s like to produce audio and video for a large nonprofit, how Ray landed a creatively fulfilling day job and what it takes to start a podcast (or any creative endeavor) these days.

In today’s episode, I’m excited to kick off the start of CYOP Season 6! First, we’re taking a trip down CYOP memory lane with 10 past episodes listeners have resonated with the most over the years. We’re also diving into some exciting updates about the show this season, some behind-the-scenes improvements, announcements about the company and more.

In today’s episode, we’re talking about shame. It’s a topic that has shown up in so many of moments over the last year. It’s also something that’s come up in conversation with others pretty regularly, so I felt the need to address it here as it relates to both creative endeavors and life choices. If you’re open to hearing how I’ve navigated the topic in recent months, please have a listen. You can find the full episode + show notes at creatingyourownpath.com.

After a year off the air, CYOP is back! Tune in to find out more about what to expect in the coming weeks, what's been happening around here and why I'm calling this last twelve months a rebuilding year. For full episodes from the Creating Your Own Path archives, please visit creatingyourownpath.com.

Today is the final episode of Season 4! I'm wrapping things up with a co-hosted chat with this year’s CYOP Artist Resident Melanie Biehle and we're talking all about the artist residency. When I launched the CYOP Artist Residency, I had a pretty good idea of how I wanted it to roll out, but I learned a lot throughout the season and Melanie did too. In the episode, Melanie and I chat about what we loved about the residency, what we learned, and what we might do differently next time. Melanie also shares some really great advice for those who might want to participate in any type of residency in the near future and some updates about her work as she prepares to close out the year. Please find the full episode + show notes at creatingyourownpath.com.

We’re back with another episode featuring documentary director Sami Abdou. If you're just finding the show, I highly recommend you go back and listen to last week’s episode — episode 124 — before diving into this one. Everything will just make a lot more sense if you do. On today’s show, I’m talking with Sami about his side projects, what they mean to him, and how he fits them in while he’s working some seriously long hours as a director for the show Intervention. We also talk a lot about the magic of Los Angeles and why being a solid human being is crucial when you’re looking to be gainfully employed in the entertainment industry. For the full episode + show notes, visit creatingyourownpath.com.

Today we’ve got the final episode in my three-part series with writer Keah Brown. If you haven’t listened to the other two episodes — 121 and 122 — please go back and listen to those first. Everything will make a little more sense if you do. Today, I’m chatting with Keah about all of the people in our lives who keep us moving forward. We talk about why it’s so important to have a support system, different places to find and build community these days, and why having the right people in your world will make it a little easier to do the things that scare you. SHOW NOTES: Keah's work Keah on Instagram + Twitter #DisabledAndCute Roxane Gay Ashley C. Ford Tweet thread about writing/editing credits For the full episode + show notes, please visit creatingyourownpath.com.