This is How We Create – Details, episodes & analysis

In this mini-episode, we explore the unexpected parallel between toe yoga and creative practice. Through her personal experience with a daily exercises, our host, Martine Severin, reveals how small, consistent efforts lead to remarkable changes over time – both in physical flexibility and creative mastery.

Martine challenges the myth of natural talent, showing how persistence and consistent practice often triumph over innate ability. This episode serves as your permission slip to begin that creative project you've been postponing – no matter how small your daily commitment might be.

Chapters:

 00:00 Introduction to Creative Journeys 

00:27 Understanding Toe Yoga 

04:22 The Metaphor of Toe Yoga in Creativity 

08:10 Taking Action and Consistency in Practice

Key Takeaways:

• The benefits of toe yoga extend beyond foot health to our entire physical structure

• Just 1-5 minutes of daily practice can lead to significant improvements in any skill

• Consistent practice often trumps natural talent in creative pursuits

• You don't need expensive equipment or extensive training to begin your creative journey

• Stop waiting for permission and start with small, manageable commitments

 Stay in touch:

Website: MartineSeverin.com

Follow on Instagram: @martineseverin | @thisishowwecreate

Subscribe to the Newsletter: Martine's Substack - Creative Matters

We welcome fine art painter Rhonda K Brown, whose artistic story is deeply intertwined with a remarkable family legacy in the art world. Join us as Rhonda pulls back the curtain on her creative journey - from the influential gallery environment of her youth to her eventual return to painting after exploring other paths. How did growing up surrounded by prominent artists shape her artistic vision? What drew her back to the canvas after time away? And what inspired her to create a new platform supporting fellow artists? Tune in for an intimate conversation about art, inspiration, and the mission to elevate diverse creative voices.

• Rhonda's personal journey as a fine art painter and how she developed her unique style

• The remarkable legacy of the Malcolm Brown Gallery and its influence on her work

• Her approach to selecting color palettes and how she trained her artistic eye

• A treasure trove of recommendations for both historical and contemporary artists worth following

• The story behind Critique House, a new venture co-founded with her son to support BIPOC artists

• 00:00 Introduction to Rhonda Brown's Creative Journey

• 01:31 The Malcolm Brown Gallery: A Family Legacy

• 10:59 Influences and Inspirations in Art

• 17:22 Honoring Everyday People Through Art

• 21:12 Navigating Artistic Challenges and Community Support

• 24:01 The Evolution of Rhonda's Color Palette

• 29:05 Sources of Inspiration and Artistic Growth

• 34:02 The Journey Back to Art and Critique House

• 38:57 Critique House: Supporting BIPOC Artists

• Discover how Rhonda approaches her creative practice and what fuels her artistic vision

• Learn about the influential Malcolm Brown Gallery and its place in art history

• Hear how Rhonda celebrates everyday people through her artistic expression

• Explore the development of her distinctive color palette and artistic eye

Rhonda K Brown is an accomplished fine art painter whose work has garnered recognition for its distinctive style. Beyond her personal artistic practice, she's committed to creating opportunities for other artists.

• Rhonda K Brown: @rhondabrownfineart

• Rhonda’s Website: https://www.rkbfineart.com

• Martine Séverin: martineseverin.com | @martine.sev

This episode has been edited by Casandra Voltolina

In this episode, we pulls back the curtain on our creative process, revealing the digital ecosystem that brings the podcast interviews to life. If you've ever felt intimidated by the technical side of podcasting, tune in to discover a your new favorite tool.

Chapters: 

00:00 Introduction to the Creative Journey 

00:27 Behind the Scenes of Podcasting 

02:53 Tools of the Trade 

05:46 Visual and Interactive Elements 

09:10 Editing and Publishing Process 

11:59 The Courage to Create

Support the Show Website: Martine Severin Follow on Instagram: Martine | This Is How We Create Subscribe to the Newsletter: Martine's Substack

This is How We Create is produced by Martine Severin and edited by Santiago Cardona.

Tools mentioned

Riverside.fm

Lately.ai

Napkin.ai

Canva.com

Veed.io

Audacity.com

Website: Martine Severin
Follow on Instagram: Martine | This Is How We Create
Subscribe to the Newsletter: Martine’s Substack

This is How We Create is produced by Martine Severin and edited by Santiago Cardona.

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• Leave a review

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• Share with fellow creatives

Episode: 30

We’ll start Season 3 talking about a dirty word that starts with the letter F!

No, not that F, silly! We’re going to talk about that other F that has us cringing, second guessing ourselves and dealing with the consequences of our actions and inactions. We’re going to talk about Failure!

We've invited two past guests and one guest from Season 3 to talk with you about Failure.  Each person will share a memory of when things didn’t quite worked out as expected and in turn share what they learned from that episode of their life.

First up is Kristyn Ivey (Episode 23) who shares a financial failure with credit cards that would end up changing her relationship with money.

Priya Shah (Episode 26) shares what happens when a partnership fails and why it’s important to outline out shared values when entering into partnerships.

As a sneak peek into Season, 3, you’ll get to meet Farissa Knox from a coming episode. Farissa shares 3 failures she encountered while running her media company. One such fumble includes when to seek out financing necessary to keep her business afloat, another is on the power of persistence, and lastly she tackles perfection!

I hope you’ll enjoy the show. Send us a voice memo to [email protected] to share your dances with “failure!” I’d love to feature you on the next Failure round up!

Here’s to welcoming more F bombs in your life.

Keep up with Martine Severin https://martineseverin.com/

Follow This Is How We Create on IG. https://www.instagram.com/thisishowwecreate_/

Thanks for listening. This is How We Create is produced and edited by me, Martine Severin. Production help has been provided by Ray Abercrombie!

Hello! Martine Severin here.

The best artists create work that seems simply effortless. As an illustrator and fine artist, Raymond Bonilla’s work captures beautiful fleeting moments.

During our time together Ray tells us how he came to fall in love with illustration and with fine art.   We spend some time talking about how you don’t have to born an artist. You can acquire the skills and later turn those skills into your own style. Lastly, we turn our attention to the art of process and how Raymond’s teachers have influenced and guided him along his journey!

Enjoy!

Learn more about Raymond Bonilla: https://www.raymondbonilla.com/ https://www.instagram.com/raybonillapainter/ 

Live Brush - Twitch link: https://www.twitch.tv/livebrush  

Live Brush - YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoA3RO9a683hh4eWP3PiHVA  

Meibohm Fine Arts: https://www.meibohmfinearts.com/artists/details/1465  

Abend Gallery:https://abendgallery.com/artist/raymond-bonilla  

Arcadia Contemporary: http://www.arcadiacontemporary.com/catalogs/2020/five-and-under-revised.php/   

Stay connected with Martine Séverin:

https://martineseverin.com/

https://www.instagram.com/martine.sev...

This is How We Create has been edited by Henry Edwards

In Case You Missed It (ICYMI), take a listen to one of my favorite conversations with Chicago-based ceramicist, Danielle Chutinthranond of Monsoon Pottery.

Essentialism and minimalism are always on Danielle's mind when creating. To that end, she believes that the objects in our homes should be useful, durable, and beautiful. In service to these beliefs, all of her work is microwave, dishwasher, and even oven safe. Beautiful doesn’t have to be precious. Useful can still be romantic. Danielle specializes in ceramic dinnerware and housewares. She credits her inspiration to nature, classic Asian motifs, Chinatown, and—over everything else—restaurant and food culture. She grew up in a Thai/Pacific rim restaurant in upstate New York and learned from a very young age that food is special, personal, and becomes even more meaningful when presented with care and attention to detail. Each piece Danielle makes is focused on enhancing the beauty and ritual of your table.

Monsoon Pottery:  https://monsoonpottery.com/

Connect with Danielle on IG:  https://www.instagram.com/monsoonpottery/

Book Recommendation: The Secret History by Donna Tartt

How to be an AntiRacist  by Ibram X. Kendi

This is How We Create has been edited by Casandra Voltolina.

Stay connected with Martine Séverin:

https://martineseverin.com/

Brent Lewis is a Photo Editor based out of New York City, co-founder of Diversify.Photo. He hails from the greatest city in the world Chicago, South Side to be exact.

Brent is a photo editor at The New York Times working on the Express Desk, assigning visual coverage of breaking and viral news across the globe.

Brent was a Photo Editor at The Washington Post. Formerly, he was the Senior Photo Editor of ESPN’s The Undefeated, where he drove the visual language of the website that is based around the intersection of sports, race, and culture.

Before turning his life over to photo editing, he was a staff photojournalist with stints at The Denver Post, The Rockford Register Star, and the Chillicothe Gazette.

“Until lions find their storytellers stories about hunting will always glorify the hunters.”

-African proverb

Get to know Brent Lewis

http://www.blewisphoto.com/

https://diversify.photo/

Catch up with your host, Martine Séverin

www.martineseverin.com

https://www.instagram.com/martine.severin/

This is How We Create has been edited by the lovely Casandra Voltolina

Well hello there, Welcome back to This is How We Create. In the guest chair, we are welcoming Priya Shah.

Priya Shah is a Chicago creative and entrepreneur, she has built a network of artists and collaborators dedicated to igniting social awareness and change through art and imagination.

During our time together, Priya shares her wide-ranging career about how she has come to create her organization, Simple Good.

This conversation with Priya picks up where our talk with Dr Charmaine Jackman left off—we focus on social-emotional learning, on negative self-talk and on what it means to focus on the simple good in life.

Ok, here’s more about Priya.

Priya Shah began volunteering in developing countries at a young age, which inspired her to fill the gap between business and the social sector. Shah's passion for art and travel has fueled her purpose to help better communities in Chicago and around the world. Through her experience, Shah has developed a unique perspective on humanity and believes it is her responsibility to engage communities in need.

Her purpose took shape when she founded The Simple Good, a non-profit with the mission to connect the meaning of good from around the world, empowering youth to become positive activists through art and discussion.

By uniting communities under a universal truth, Shah hopes to bridge understanding across all walks of life in order to bring down obstacles separating us in working towards improving the lives of our children and in turn, our future.

She is the co-author of the latest children’s book focused on representative literature called, ‘Sheroes of COVID-19’ and also the producer on the upcoming documentary, Project: Building Hope, documenting the journey of spreading art and resilience from Chicago to East Africa.

Get to know Priya Shah

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/priyashah16/

http://www.iampriyashah.com/

http://www.thesimplegood.org/

Catch up with your host, Martine Séverin

www.martineseverin.com

https://www.instagram.com/martine.severin/

This is How We Create has been edited by the lovely Casandra Voltolina

Hey friends, Martine Severin.  Welcome back to This is How We Create.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about what it means to live in your art—that place where you produce work that pushes you,  the place where you create work that thrills you and work that allows you to be the creative you want to be?

Today in the chair, we’re chatting with someone who proposes a different way of moving towards that goal.  Our guest, Dr Charmain Jackman is a therapist and founder of InnoPsych, an organization on a mission to change the face of therapy and to promote wellness & healing for people of color.

Through this episode, Dr Jackman challenges us on how to we can begin to or continue to steward our mental health to improve our overall well-being and the way in which we create.

Enjoy!

Charmain F. Jackman, Ph.D., is a Harvard-trained, licensed psychologist with over 23 years in the mental health field. Dr. Jackman is the founder + CEO of InnoPsych, Inc., an organization on a mission to change the face of therapy and to promote wellness & healing for people of color. InnoPsych, Inc., is an award-winning organization focused on increasing access to therapy through its online therapist of color directory and thought-provoking emotional wellness programming. 

As a change-maker, Dr. Jackman is passionate about the intersection of psychology, mental health, and diversity, equity, and inclusion and has created social impact initiatives that support community members and mental health professionals. She has used her expertise to shape how organizations respond to and support their employees during the COVID-19 and racial violence crises. Dr. Jackman is the recipient of the City of Boston’s 2021 Innovator of the Year Award. 

In 2020, Dr. Jackman was the recipient of the American Psychological Association’s 2020 PLC Diversity Award, and was named one of the 50 Most Influential Business People of Color by the Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Jackman LOVES talking about mental health and is a national spokesperson for mental health and emotional wellness. She has also been featured in both print and TV media outlets locally and nationally.

Learn more about Dr Jackman: www.InnoPsych.com | www.DrCharmainJackman.com.

Follow: @InnoPsych | @AskDrCharmain

Check out our episode on: How to gain clarity when you’re feeling uncertain: https://anchor.fm/martine-severin/episodes/Solo-Episode-How-to-gain-clarity-when-youre-feeling-uncertain-ei4bcn

Catch up with your host, Martine Séverin

www.martineseverin.com

https://www.instagram.com/martine.severin/

This is How We Create has been edited by the lovely Casandra Voltolina

Hi, It’s Martine Severin here. Welcome back.

We have social justice artist, Tonika Lewis Johnson on the show to talk about how you can use your art to spark compassion, good citizenship and to improve the lives of the people in your neighborhood.

The first part of our conversation focuses on Tonika’s early life and the second part focuses on how her twenties and her upbringing brought her to create Folded Map as a way to disrupt systemic racism and historic segregation in Chicago. I can’t wait for you to dig into to this episode and to get to know the Powerhouse that is Tonika!

Tonika Johnson is a photographer/social justice artist and life-long resident of Chicago’s South Side neighborhood of Englewood. She is also co-founder of two community-based organizations, Englewood Arts Collective and Resident Association of Greater Englewood, that mobilize people and resources for positive change. She turned the Folded Map project into a non-profit organization where she serves as Executive Director. She was named one of Field Foundation’s Leaders for a New Chicago and most recently, she was appointed as a member of the Cultural Advisory Council of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events by the Chicago City Council.

Stay Connected with Tonika Lewis Johnson

https://www.foldedmapproject.com/interactive-maps

IG: https://www.instagram.com/tonikaj/

Personal Site: https://www.tonijphotography.com/

Catch up with your host, Martine Séverin

www.martineseverin.com

https://www.instagram.com/martine.severin/