Big 3 Ideas from this episode: Negative and Positive Space help to define shapes and focus in art - and life. The shape of your goals, career and business is created by the decisions you make - The constraints or freedoms you choose, and what you do and don't do. Mostly we look at Positive Space - the shape we are creating. But … looking at the neg…

 Seeds hold profound symbolism and are often associated with concepts of growth, potential, and new beginnings. Inside every hard shell - including the one on our shoulders - is a world of knowledge that can guide you in your creative entrepreneurship, but sometimes you just need a little guidance. In this episode, art and business coach Shannon Bo…

Big 3 Ideas from this episode: Landscapes are the place of personal mythology Inner to Outer: Sand Play, the Beach, the Desert The Inner Journey often begins in real places, translated and transformed into art through the artist’s creative process to inner places. Find complete show notes at shannonborg.com/metaphor-mindset-podcast/23-beach-desert…

Big 3 Ideas from this episode: Brene Brown’s challenge to “Enter the Arena” The Roman Arena = The Place of Sand Inner to Outer: Sand Play, The Beach, The Desert Find full show notes at: www.shannonborg.com/metaphor-mindset-podcast/22-in-the-arena-of-sandBy Shannon Borg

Big 3 Ideas from this episode: History of the Artists’ Studio Tour The Studio is the Mind Visit me on the San Juan Island Artists’ Studio Tour See full show notes, artist studio images, and more at: https://www.shannonborg.com/metaphor-mindset-podcast/21-studio-tourBy Shannon Borg

On Mother's Day, let's talk about baby steps. And breakthroughs. One usually precedes the other - but sometimes they work back and forth, from baby steps to breakthrough and back, in a continual process of growth. Find images and show notes at: https://www.shannonborg.com/metaphor-mindset-podcast/20-baby-steps-breakthroughs…

Show Notes In this episode I talk about the Feather of Truth from the story and many sculptures and narrative images of the Ancient Egyptian goddess Maat, who wore a beautiful ostrich feather on her head, representing truth, justice and cosmic harmony. Learn how this metaphor helps us think about balancing our thoughts from different parts of our l…

Rosa Bonheur hung out with Wild Bill Cody, and got a special permit to wear trousers. She was truly a horse of a different color. Big 3 Ideas from this episode: Recap: Plato’s Allegory of the Soul : The “soul” is a chariot driven by a charioteer (Reason), drawn by two horses - let’s call them Yin (dark) and Yang (light). Rosa Bonheur’s “The Horse F…

Are you “White Horsing it” in your art or business? Have you noticed when you are in the state of waiting for that (fill in the blank: prince, princess, cowboy, savior, hero) to come and save you? (‘cuz I have). This episode returns to Plato's Allegory of the soul, with its charioteer managing two horses - a wild one, and a noble one. We need both …

The Chariot of our Creative Life is pulled by two horses - according to Plato - a noble horse, and a wild horse. We have many sides to our interior life that we must manage as artists - emotions, thoughts, ideas, expectations - all are important. Plato’s allegory of the soul as a charioteer driven by two horses - one noble, one wild - gives us some…

What IS Impostor Syndrome? Where did it come from, and how does it manifest in the artist’s life? How you think about Impostor Syndrome can create a powerful result. Find Full Show Notes at https://www.shannonborg.com/metaphor-mindset-podcast/15-embrace-impostor-syndromeBy Shannon Borg

Big 3 Ideas from this episode: When is a work of art DONE? How do you decide? Do you have anxiety over when to call a work finished and move on? Use the Wild/Abandon Scale to help you gain self-awareness around your pathway to finishing project.By Shannon Borg

I can't believe I've been doing this for a whole quarter! In this episode, I offer 3 tools to help you review your art, business or any other event, class or project. Big 3 Ideas from this episode: How much time do you spend in the past? In the future? A Quarterly Review can be a calming and grounding practice in your art - and business. Here are 3…

Creative Meditation can help you find new ideas, process and feel calmer and more connected to the ideas you have, and enhance your creative process, so you can feel calmer, more centered, and more productive as an artist. Find full show notes and images at: metaphormindset.comBy Shannon Borg

George Bernard Shaw said, "We do not find ourselves, we create ourselves." So when it comes to artistic voice, I really feel like it's a combination of the two. Finding yourself and creating yourself. What do you think?By Shannon Borg

"It’s bigger on the inside." Today I want to talk about TIME - how time works in art — and also - how to manage your time. This is a line from the British cult sci-fi show Dr. Who - the TARDIS looks like a blue phone booth on the outside, but when you walk in, it is a huge spaceship. This is like our brains, our art, too. When you enter a painting,…

The art world was in a tizzy last week when a visitor to the Art Wynwood Fair in Miami accidentally kicked the pedestal, where a shiny bright blue porcelain, balloon shaped dog stood knocking it to the floor. This "art event" made all the papers, and made the artist, Jeff Koons, even more famous than he already was. What is fame, what is obscurity …

Let's talk about the artist's struggle. There's a concept I teach called the Struggle Button. This episode, I'll tell you all about it, and there are also a few paintings and stories about little creatures who have overcome their struggles in order to grow. * Each week, artist and art & business coach Shannon Borg explores an idea that relates both…

Today, I want to talk about the flow state. That moment when time stops and you are in the zone. We often know what this feels like because we've experienced the opposite. Fear of the blank page, the creative block. * Each week, artist and art & business coach Shannon Borg explores an idea that relates both to art and to business. By making these c…

What are the roles artists need in a business to help it thrive? The 4 “Hats” we wear are: The Creator Hat The Leader Hat The Operator Hat The Promoter Hat Take the “What is Your Artistic Archetype?” Quiz Take the Free mini-course: The 4 Hats of Artists in Business, and get the free 4-Hats Business Assessment (PDF) at www.shannonborg.com/4-hats * E…

Have you ever noticed that every teacher who wants to help people grow and set goals uses the idea of steps, a stairway, a path forward? I want to explore this idea today to understand why we are so intrigued and motivated by steps, and look at what it means for artists - especially as you set goals and think about your business, your future, and y…

Let’s talk about making decisions! This is important because the more awareness we have around our decisions the more success and growth. We all make decisions all day everyday. No wonder we’re exhausted…. Blue or black? Canvas or panel? Oil or acrylic, light or dark? Paper or plastic! Most of the time we don’t even know we are making decisions, an…

James McNeill Whistler's Nocturne in Black and Gold was ahead of its time, an abstraction of a night scene on the river, but more than that, it captured a feeling of London during the late 1870s, of melancholy and beauty, color and light. How do you create the atmosphere in your mind, your studio - and your business - that you want to create. Isn't…

We think, write and paint in metaphor. What is this magical ability, and why don’t we even realize it is happening in us all the time? * Each week, artist and art & business coach Shannon Borg explores an idea that relates both to art and to business. By making these connections, Borg helps her artist clients discover more unique and innovative way…

In Episode 1: The Setup, I explore how Claude Monet created his series of paintings of the Rouen Cathedral, and how we can set up our minds, our studios, and our creative businesses for success. A podcast for artists, writers, makers, and thinkers who want to love their creative businesses as much as they love their art. * Each week, artist and art…

A podcast for artists, writers, makers, and thinkers who want to love their creative businesses as much as they love their art. Each week, artist and art & business coach Shannon Borg explores an idea that relates both to art and to business. By making these connections, Borg helps her artist clients discover more unique and innovative ways to nurt…