Mighty Creative, with Kim Werker
25 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 4 years ago - ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsA podcast about creativity – what motivates us to make things, how to make space in our lives for creative adventures, and how to have more fun with it all. Hosted by Kim Werker, author of Make It Mighty Ugly and host of the Online Community of Creative Adventurers.
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Episodes
mightycreative-s01e12
April 30, 2020 00:22 - 10 minutes - 14.7 MBAs I begin fiddle lessons (!), I see so many connections between my desire to learn folk music and my fascination with handcrafts.
I Had 7 Minutes
April 23, 2020 03:26 - 6 minutes - 9.42 MBI had seven minutes of relative quiet for recording, and I tried to make the most of it. Featuring: me, playing the violin, very badly. (And some crochet for challenging times.)
Episode 110: Serendade & Feminist Rage
April 15, 2020 23:03 - 9 minutes - 13.7 MBWherein I learn to play Happy Birthday on the ukulele for a tuba duet and rekindle my commitment to dismantle the patriarchy. Really, there are no show notes other than that. You... are gonna want to hear this one.
Episode 109: Tiny Creative Joys
April 08, 2020 22:13 - 10 minutes - 14.3 MBWe're gonna be in this for a long while, dear listeners. We'll be experiencing waves of grief over a long time. So it's time to focus on tiny joys, and on how our creativity can help us create some of those joys for ourselves. Show Notes That Discomfort You're Feeling Is Grief The 100 Day Project Discussion thread about our 100 Day Projects My first wee granny square I want to make next week's show like a call-in show and I need your help! Record a 1- to 2-minute clip including you...
Mighty Creative Podcast Episode 108: Time Is Warped
April 01, 2020 22:02 - 11 minutes - 16 MBTime is so weird right now. It's movings so slowly, and so distantly, so fluidly. There are no good words for it, really, but I think we can all agree we're living in a Twilight Zone. In “normal” life, I talk with folks a lot about finding and making time for creativity and creative projects in our daily lives. But when time is all screwed up, and when we may feel inclined to think we have way more of it on our hands than we actually do, does the challenge of fitting in creative projects...
Episode 107: Dispatch from Quarantine
March 25, 2020 23:58 - 12 minutes - 17.2 MBWe're nine days into self-quarantine because the last person we saw before going into self-isolation last Monday called a few days later to tell us he'd been exposed. In many ways, this isn't any different an experience than what we'd been expecting, except we can't go shopping for groceries and the like. Which, at this point, actually seems like a massive difference. My kingdom for a change of scenery beyond what we get walking the dog. I'm keeping the podcast going outside of my initial ...
How Creativity Will Help Us Weather This Crisis
March 18, 2020 20:02 - 17 minutes - 23.7 MBMy friend Erin has been keeping me sane these last few days that have felt like centuries. She's a new friend. We've only known each other for a few months. But meeting her felt like we were always meant to be friends, and we started texting each other daily pretty much from the start. So in these days when I'm thinking about all the folks whose friendships I've taken for granted and haven't spoken with in ages, I'm also taking solace in the habit Erin and I made from the start of just che...
Episode 105: Creating in a Time of Uncertainty
March 05, 2020 01:07 - 14 minutes - 19.7 MBAn exploration of how our creative hobbies and interests can help to keep us grounded during times of uncertainty. Show Notes Each episode this season begins with a short clip of a maker or artist talking about a recent project they were obsessed with. I recorded all of these in April of 2019 at Camp Thundercraft, a retreat for creative businesspeople held each spring and hosted by the folks behind Urban Craft Uprising. I'm very excited to be going back to teach two classes at the 2020 re...
Episode 104: How to Make Yourself a Stress-Free Creative Habit
February 27, 2020 00:10 - 15 minutes - 21.2 MBI tried so many creative challenges and failed at every single one. In this week's podcast, hear about what I changed in my approach that finally led me not only to succeed at finishing a challenge, but that enabled me to establish a daily creative practice that didn't stress me out but made – and continues to make – me so happy. Show Notes Each episode this season begins with a short clip of a maker or artist talking about a recent project they were obsessed with. I recorded all of these...
Mighty Creative Podcast Episode 103: Distributed Cognition (Lists!)
February 18, 2020 23:37 - 11 minutes - 16 MBI first learned about the concept of distributed cognition when I was an undergrad studying linguistics, but I didn't know what it was called until I studied it again in grad school. For an absolutely impenetrable "explanation," read this. For our non-academic purposes, let's consider distributed cognition a way to extend our individual ability to keep stuff in mind. We might ask our spouse to help us remember to take our vitamins each morning – this is a way of extending our own memory to...
Mighty Creative Podcast Episode 102: Derivative Crafts & Remixing
February 12, 2020 19:36 - 11 minutes - 15.6 MBMy husband sent me a screenshot the other night, of a comments thread on a NY Times recipe for Spicy Sesame Noodles with Chicken and Peanuts: He sent this to me because he knew I'd appreciate it from my crochet editorial days. And boy did I. What he didn't know is that I'd already recorded this podcast episode, and that I talked about this very thing in it. The episode is about the derivative nature of crafts – and not in a bad way. In a good way, which involves learning from each othe...
Mighty Creative Podcast: Episode 101 – Prerequisite Procrastination
February 05, 2020 21:49 - 11 minutes - 15.5 MBWelcome to the new podcast! This episode is about the very thing that kept me from making the podcast for nearly three years. Prerequisite procrastination. What a pain. I put my finger on what to call this particular subspecies of procrastination during a video conversation with members of our online community (we do things like talk about the specific ways we procrastinate; you should get in on this). Listen for what this wee beast is, and what we can do to defeat it so we start making ...
Mighty Creative: The Podcast Is Back
January 27, 2020 23:24 - 1 minute - 1.8 MBThe podcast is back, with a new name! It's still about what motivates us to make things, how to make space in our lives for creative adventures, and how to have more fun with it all. But the format will be simpler than it was a few years ago and the episodes will be pretty short. Listen for more details! Look for new episodes of Mighty Creative in February, 2020. For now, be sure to search for the new name in your podcast app, and subscribe!
Episode 202: Betsy Greer
June 19, 2017 20:42 - 29 minutes - 27.5 MBBetsy Greer is a writer and maker who lives in Durham, North Carolina. For the past fourteen years, she’s written about craftivism, the place where craft and activism intersect, and she loves discovering the ways in which people use (and have used) the two together. Currently, her main craft project is You Are So Very Beautiful, in which people make affirmation signs then leave them out all over the world for others to find. Show Notes and Links My hat out of handspun yarn. Action + Cr...
Episode 201: Cheryl Arkison
April 07, 2017 15:21 - 28 minutes - 26.6 MBIn this first episode of Compulsory in two years, we return to our roots with an honest conversation with quilter Cheryl Arkison about the power of habit in creative life, and about embracing the mess of, well, pretty much everything. Show Notes and Links Cheryl’s article about Morning Makes Sophie’s Universe blanket pattern Cutting up jeans Swatch loom Author Rachael Herron on Compulsory Learn more about Cheryl Arkison and her work at cherylarkison.com and connect with her on In...
A Resurrection
March 09, 2017 22:09 - 5 minutes - 5.78 MBAfter two years on hiatus, Compulsory Podcast is coming back! Listen for a brief update about what's changed (and what's staying the same), and how you can help keep the show going long into the future. Be sure to subscribe to the show so you get the next episode as soon as it's out (here are the iTunes, Stitcher and Soundcloud links). To get unedited clips, episodes and commentary before each new show comes out, support the continuing production of Compulsory over on Patreon.
Compulsory Podcast Special Burrito Bulletin: Lauren Venell
March 31, 2015 21:09 - 17 minutes - 16.1 MBLauren Venell is an artist and designer specializing in editorial props and product development. Her work has been published in titles by Chronicle Books, Klutz/Scholastic, Uppercase, Monsa Books and Quarry Books, among others, and featured in several media outlets including The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, Everyday with Rachel Ray and on Canal+ Television. She has launched several of her own successful toy lines including her current line, the Deep Creeps, which can be found...
Compulsory Podcast Episode 7: Rachael Herron
March 25, 2015 03:00 - 25 minutes - 23.2 MBRachael Herron is the bestselling author of the novel Splinters of Light, the five-book Cypress Hollow romance series, and the memoir, A Life in Stitches. As we discuss in the podcast, I've read Rachael's blog for about a decade. So much is my admiration for her dedication to her writing, craft, job and family that I interviewed her for my book Make It Mighty Ugly. She walks her talk, man. She walks her talk. Special for all you listeners out there, Rachael is offering her Udemy course, Ho...
Compulsory Podcast Bonus Episode: Joel Watson
February 19, 2015 00:47 - 16 minutes - 15.5 MBJoel Watson is a cartoonist who writes and draws a webcomic called HijiNKS Ensue, which he describes as "a semi-autobiographical comic about a lifelong geek and aspiring artist who turns his back on an unfulfilling but financially stable career in order to pursue art full time and set a better example for his daughter." My conversation with Joel from Episode 6 went about fifteen minutes longer than what's included; this bonus episode is the remainder of our chat. We talked primarily about s...
Compulsory Podcast, Episode 6: Joel Watson
January 27, 2015 23:33 - 25 minutes - 23 MBJoel Watson is a cartoonist who writes and draws a webcomic called HijiNKS Ensue, which he describes as "a semi-autobiographical comic about a lifelong geek and aspiring artist who turns his back on an unfulfilling but financially stable career in order to pursue art full time and set a better example for his daughter." I’ve read Joel’s comic for years, and I interviewed him for my book, Make It Mighty Ugly. It’s something he said during that interview that inspired me to reach out to him a...
Compulsory Podcast Episode 5: Isaac Watson
January 12, 2015 10:30 - 19 minutes - 17.9 MBIsaac Watson is a project manager, grand-scale organizer, and maker of things like jewelry and homes. In 2014, he launched Maker’s Nation, a nonprofit educational program and community platform for independent creative entrepreneurs. He's also the production manager for the World Domination Summit, co-producer of Pioneer Nation, and a hired gun that excels at design project management. From time to time, Isaac writes about various things on his two blogs: Voiced features musings on creative...
Compulsory Podcast Episode 4: Miriam Felton
December 15, 2014 10:30 - 19 minutes - 17.9 MBMiriam Felton is a knitwear designer and all-around maker living in Salt Lake City. She has been self-publishing since 2004 and now teaches and designs full time. In 2013, she committed to what she called a Year of Making – every day that year, she documented something she made by sharing a photo of it online, with the hashtag #yearofmaking. To get herself going, she further committed to make all of her new clothing that year. Miriam continued into a second year of making in 2014, without ...
Compulsory Podcast Episode 3: Meighan O'Toole
December 03, 2014 01:47 - 19 minutes - 17.5 MBMeighan O’Toole is a digital media strategist who is passionate about connecting people to objects, art, and ideas that better their personal or professional lives, and she derives great meaning in her own life from fostering those connections. In today's episode, we talk about Meighan's compulsion to share, and about the connections, conversations and relationships that result from sharing. Relevant links: Meighan's website, and the What's Your Story podcast Meighan on Instagram, Twitter...
Compulsory Podcast Episode 2: Abby Glassenberg
November 17, 2014 10:30 - 16 minutes - 15.2 MBSoft-toy designer Abby Glassenberg runs a successful online pattern shop and blogs regularly about the business of craft. In today's show, we discuss the siren song of immediacy and impulsiveness, the focus of identifying a very narrow niche interest, and the value of practice. Plus: the tensions between imperfection and perfection, and serving yourself and serving others. Also: cooking! Relevant links: Abby's website and blog, and the While She Naps podcast Abby on Facebook, Twitter and ...
Episode 1: Rachael Ashe
November 04, 2014 00:03 - 15 minutes - 14.5 MBArtist Rachael Ashe makes cut-paper works of intricate, repeating designs. In today's show, we discuss focus, repetition, tediousness, and more. Relevant links: Rachael Ashe's website and portfolio Rachael on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook Vancouver's Eastside Culture Crawl Hot Talks at Hot Art Wet City Podcasts: This American Life, Serial, 99% Invisible The tutorial I used to make my pop filter