Creative Bear Hug

Based in Orange County, CA, for over 35 years Karen worked as a high school art teacher where she had the opportunity to both guide and observe her students as they engaged in the creative process of making art. Since retiring, Karen now draws from her years of experience in the classroom to inform her own work in mixed media collage.https://www.instagram.com/karenakashi/

Based in Orange County, CA, for over 35 years Karen worked as a high school art teacher where she had the opportunity to both guide and observe her students as they engaged in the creative process of making art. Since retiring, Karen now draws from her years of experience in the classroom to inform her own work in mixed media collage.https://www.instagram.com/karenakashi/In this episode Karen shares her daily routine, finding comfort in ambiguity, and the liberation of finding your voice.Listen to more on Patreon.

Based in Orange County, CA, for over 35 years mixed media artist Karen Akashi worked as a high school art teacher where she had the opportunity to both guide and observe her students as they engaged in the creative process of making art. Since retiring, Karen now draws from her years of experience in the classroom to inform her own work in mixed media collage.In part 1 of my chat with Karen we talk about collaborating with your work, how a change in perspective can make way for breakthroughs, and how decision making can inform your own artistic style.https://www.instagram.com/karenakashi/

Faye Yim is a musician based in the Los Angeles area who records under the moniker, Meishi Smile. They founded the record label Zoom Lens before going on to co-found Metaphysica, a new label and art collective.  https://linktr.ee/meishismilehttps://linktr.ee/metaphysicaIn our conversation Faye breaks down their three-step creative process, how looking to their past work has provided profound creative growth, and the intrinsic value of creating art and music for a community.

In this episode…Aaron Valenzuela is a musician originally from The San Francisco Bay Area currently living in Los Angeles, California. He records under the moniker Harriet Brown. You can follow his work here: https://www.instagram.com/yourveryownhb/In our conversation Aaron talks finding confidence as an artist and collaborator, losing sight of why we create, and learning to let go of precious ideas in order to write songs.Aaron's journey…Born and raised in the San Francisco bay area, Aaron first became interested in music after singing in his churches choir, sparking a passion that followed through his adolescence. But it was after he started his studies as an architecture major at UC Berkeley that he realized it was music that he was truly determined to pursue. Without looking back Aaron changed his major to music and went on to graduate with a BA, launching the beginning of his musical journey in earnest.After some time living and working in Oakland Aaron decided to move to Los Angeles in hopes of taking the next big step in making music his career. In the first few years living in LA, Aaron found himself taking every opportunity that popped up and in turn he began making concessions in his personal work that ultimately led him to lose sight of why he had moved in the first place. Thus began a period of self-reflection in which Aaron was able to reaffirm his passion for music and establish a way to make ends meet by releasing music under the moniker Harriet Brown as well as DJ'ing and scoring for commercials and films.More on Patreon…Included in the unedited version and in the second part of the episode Aaron and I talk about finding our personal fashion styles, world building when it comes to making music, how he's brought choreography into his work and his recent hobby of leather working.Listen to more on Patreon.

In this episode…Ellen Akashi is a contemporary dancer originally from Orange County, California. You can follow her work here: https://www.instagram.com/ellen.akashi/In our conversation Ellen discusses changing lanes to pursue your dreams, distinguishing the difference between hobby and passion, and embracing discomfort to become a better artist.Ellen's journey…Born and raised in Orange County, California contemporary dancer Ellen Akashi started studying ballet when she was just three years old, and in time dreams of becoming a professional ballerina started to materialize. However, as she grew and started taking dance more seriously Ellen was suddenly faced with the realization that her passion and determination to become a ballerina were not enough as she lacked physical attributes like height and bone structure required of most professional ballerina. And now standing at a crossroads Ellen made the difficult decision to put dance behind her.But just as soon as she'd made the decision a new door suddenly opened in the form of Contemporary dance, a style she was previously unaware of. Quickly Ellen found herself excelling again on this new path, sustaining her toward studying at Chapman University where she went on to earn her BFA in dance performance and onto dancing and performing in several projects and companies over the next several years.Finding various levels of success, Ellen created a stable situation both financially and creatively for herself. However, after COVID she came yet again to another crossroads having discovered that she'd become complacent in her routine, and in an effort to grow and become a better dancer she's decided to move across the country to New York where she hopes to push herself outside of her comfort zone in order to forcibly move to the next step in her career.More on Patreon…Included in the unedited version of our conversation Ellen details her start as a dancer as well as the ins and outs of what its like to work as a professional in the field of dance.In the bonus episode Ellen talks about her love of KPop and Korean culture before we segue into what it was like for Ellen as a Japanese-American the first time she went to Japan.Listen to more on Patreon.

An update for upcoming episodes between June and July of 2022. Due to several upcoming life events, weddings and the like I'll be traveling back home to the west coast between the months of June and July and therefore will not be releasing any new episodes until my return. But, I am already scheduling conversations with some great artists in California which I'll begin putting up starting in August. So please stay tuned. As ever, if you'd like to support the show please consider becoming a patreon supporter. And be sure to follow the Creative Bear Hug social media pages on twitter, instagram, facebook, and TikTok. All of the links are available on my wesbite creativebearhug.com. Thanks for listening and see you on the other side. 

Cathleen Clarke is an American painter born in Chicago and currently based in Brooklyn, New York. Inspired by her childhood and the enigmas that surround it, Cathleen's work explores themes of memory, mystery, and the passing of time. You can find her work at https://www.cathleenclarke.com/.---Born and raised in and outside of Chicago Illinois, from a young age Cathleen dreamt of becoming a fine artist. But like most, in her adolescence Cathleen put those dreams aside feeling she should find more practical means of making a living.Jumping from job to job seemingly attempting to find her place in the world the years grew on until, after finding herself lacking direction, and with the inextinguishable desire to paint nipping at her fingertips, she packed her bags for San Francisco where she entered the Academy of Art. There she would go on to receiver her BFA in painting and drawing with gusto and for the next six or so years would continue to maintain a close and nurturing relationship with that which she had put aside all those years.Since then Cathleen's paintings have been exhibited across the US and internationally and now living in New York she continues to paint while striving to find a healthy balance between her creative pursuits and making ends meet. ---In this bonus episode only available on Patreon Cathleen and I talk about our mutual love of Vanderpump Rules and how I got banned from the Vanderpump Rules subreddit, as well as my neuroses of reviewing books on Goodreads. We then dive further into Cathleen's painting influences including the film Night of the Hunter.Listen to Part 2 on Patreon.

Scott Whittaker is a musician currently residing in New York. He records under the moniker Tallinn. Born and raised in Calgary Canada where he studied classical guitar Scott moved to Scotland in his teens where he was suddenly exposed to the avant-garde noise music scene. So starkly contrasted to the structured nature of classical music, Scott found the uninhibited sonic textures of this novel genre intriguing and with guitar in hand and an amp blasting in the basement of his countryside home he began experimenting. But over the next few years diverting his attention away from music to pursue his other passion of computer science, it wasn't until after college that Scott was able to continue his sonic exploration. Moving to a small apartment in New York City where he was unable to return to the exciting screams of amplified guitars, Scott found himself compelled to discover another way to re-establish his zeal for making music, eventually leading to Tallinn, the musical moniker under which Scott has recorded and released (to date) four singles and two EP's with more on the way. In our conversation Scott discusses how pivoting away from guitar sculpted his artistic identity, how rebelling against the phenomenon of demoitis led to his second release, and how he utilizes literature to write songs. https://www.instagram.com/xtallinnxhttps://xtallinnx.bandcamp.com/ 

Intending to work as a commercial designer after graduating from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, New York Based Painter, Jared Friedman quickly found himself at odds with his plans as his passion for painting and fine art called his name. Determined to spend his time in proximity with the art he loved, Jared began working in galleries, museums, and assisting in art studios while devoting his free time to painting and building his own portfolio.For ten years Jared continued to paint, and although satisfied with both the growing quantity and quality of his work, his enthusiasm waned as the natural limits of his ability to progress on his own became apparent. Looking for a path that would nurture his momentum, Jared decided to enroll in the MFA program at Hunter College in New York where now, in the throes of his second year, he spends almost all of his waking hours either painting in his studio or engaging in the intense regiment of immersive education and peer critique prescribed by the program.In our conversation Jared speaks about how critique has helped him grow as an artist, the benefits of working in an intense creative environment, and how he strives to uncover the interesting within the uninteresting in his paintings.https://www.jaredpfriedman.com/Listen to Part 2 on Patreon. 

Having gone through the arduous task of completing his two year masters thesis on Jazz Diplomacy during the Cold war at San Diego State University, writer Mike Campbell finally decided to take on a more personal project, a script that's been gnawing at him for years inspired by his time living and working in San Francisco. And although the project is still in its relative infancy, I was eager to speak with him about how he finally came to the table to start writing, and what he's learning through the process.In our conversation Mike discusses his trick to finding the motivation to begin a new project, valuing the journey of the process over the destination, holding himself accountable when working on something personal, and his daily routine, an interesting regiment of tasks split in 3's.https://www.instagram.com/mike_camp__/Listen to Part 2 on Patreon.

Originally from Turkey but now living in New York City, Poyraz Aldemir is a professional drummer who has been perfecting his craft for over 20 years. In our conversation Poy discusses the art of practice (a ritual he has kept daily for years), how practicing consistently can open a path to creative new ideas, and how, by profoundly embarrassing himself in front of one of his drum heroes, he learned what it really means to be a great musician.  

Musician Ben Cook details his creative process working on his records GUV III and IV, living in an artist commune during COVID, and the romance of cosplay.Ben Cook is a musician and songwriter originally from Toronto, Canada. He is one of the founding members of hardcore band No Warning and former guitarist of Fucked Up. His current solo project Young Guv showcases his impeccable talent for pop-centric rock and roll songwriting. To date Young Guv have released five records and several singles, remixes, and other collaborations.https://www.youngguv.com/Listen to Part 2 on Patreon.

Embroidery artist Wells Brown speaks on how following a thread can lead you to a meaningful artistic medium.  Wells Brown is Los Angeles based artist working primarily in Chainstitch Embroidery.https://www.wells-brown.com/homeListen to Part 2 on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/creativebearhug

Artist Ilani Fay speaks on healing and growing through casting your fate to the wind. Ilani Fay is an artist from Los Angeles, California. Not held by any one creative discipline, Ilani dabbles in writing, illustration, music, and sound healing. https://www.instagram.com/ilanifay/https://www.creativebearhug.com/ https://www.patreon.com/creativebearhug Logo by a.abdi

Artist Nadair Asghari speaks on the inspiration of romance and the benefits of surrounding yourself with ambitious people.Nadair Asghari is an artist from the San Francisco Bay Area currently living in Brooklyn, New York. His work has been featured in several exhibitions at key galleries and museums, including the Part 2 Gallery, Oakland.https://www.instagram.com/nadair69https://www.creativebearhug.com/ https://www.patreon.com/creativebearhug Logo by a.abdi 

Multimedia artist Brain Vu speaks on finding creative purpose through his community and the silver lining of burnout.Brian Vu is New York-based multimedia artist – mainly working in the medium of photography – who has made a name for himself capturing the creative and LGBTQ+ community around him. He has worked with the likes of Aquaria, Kim Petras, and Jazelle as well as creating colorful creative looks on himself.https://www.instagram.com/brianvu/https://www.creativebearhug.com/ https://www.patreon.com/creativebearhugLogo by a.abdi

Musician Aria Rostami speaks about his key to prolificity and how keeping a healthy routine helps sustain creative output.  Aria Rostami is a musician from San Diego, California currently living in Brooklyn, New York. Rostami started releasing music in 2011 and has releases on labels such as Spring Theory, Glacial Movements, Dark Entries, Crash Symbols, Zoom Lens, Audiobulb and Jacktone Records. Rostami occasionally performs and releases work with Daniel Blomquist.https://www.ariarostami.com/www.creativebearhug.comwww.patreon.com/creativebearhug

The creative process is an intoxicating experience, but it can quickly become hopelessly cruel. Feelings of self-doubt, alienation, and despair are common among artists, and yet we press on, unable to outrun the inscrutable, instinctive desire to create.  The question is: why?  Creative Bear Hug is a podcast delving into the artist's psyche, structured around in-depth interviews with creatives of all sorts, covering rituals, techniques, struggles, breakthroughs, and more. True to its name, Creative Bear Hug's goal is to provide solace to struggling artists—to remind them that they're not alone, that their work is valued, and that they occupy an important place in the artistic tapestry that binds us all together. www.creativebearhug.comwww.patreon.com/creativebearhug