My mom and dad at their foundry, Alpha-Cast, Thur July 8, 1976 What does experiential immersion really teach you about entrepreneurship? Well, welcome to the story of my mom and dad and the lessons I learned from watching my father and mother resuscitate a failing business, turn it into a wild success...

Psst..Hey, I am hungry for some good conversation? How about you? Regardless of the differences in our backgrounds, entrepreneurs and artists are visionaries. We all want to make a difference, create and be innovative. Isn’t it cool to try and prove that creating the “impossible”...

Today I was reminded of a valuable lesson: When speaking to a (potential) collaborator focus on the scope of your project with them exclusively. Focus on what the two of you share as the basis for your relationship; not  on anything else.  Let me explain. Today I was meeting with the owner’s...

The Creativity Crisis by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman July 10, 2010, Newsweek For the first time, research shows that American creativity is declining. What went wrong—and how we can fix it. Back in 1958, Ted Schwarzrock was an 8-year-old third grader when he became one of the “Torrance...

In honor of achieving independence as artists, I began a string of short creative stories about life in The Blue Bike Shop during the Fourth of July holiday back in 2007. I was writing my book at the time, Build A Blue Bike, and thought building your own  blue bike would be a lot easier to learn...

All  last weekend we lit a candle next to our little statue named Buddha Boy in honor of my mother. We bought Buddha Boy at an AMAZING art gallery called Volcano Garden Arts very near Volcano National Park in Kona, Hawaii on our vacation last November. This joy-filled art gallery was BRIMMING FULL...

“Is it possible to successfully raise a family and have a career in the arts?”  There’s a question that perplexes many aspiring and emerging artists.  My answer…absolutely. If you truly want these things out of life, unconditionally YES!  Of course, building a great...

Ever wonder why Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, our white gazelle’s who define entrepreneurial success, never finished college? Is what made them hugely successful creating their own kind of lifestyle simply all based on their ability to out smart everyone or write THE BEST business plan? How did their...

It was no accident I stopped speaking to my mom four years ago almost to the day of my birthday- June 11th. One more fight didn’t “bring me there” nor were harsh words splattered between us, like the tomato sauce in my mothers cookbooks.  All I had to do was stop calling her. Very...

As I walked out of Lifetime Fitness yesterday morning I felt depressed by the results of my metabolic basal rate test. “1400 calories is all I get to eat if I want to lose weight?  No wonder my life long battle with my weight can never be won. I have mom to thank I guess. She taught me to love...

Check out this interview that was on WFAE 90.7 FM in Charlotte NC with Daniel Pink (Arts Integration Activist and Author of four books including A Whole New Mind)  and Christie Kahil ArtStart Coordinator (ArtsStart develops arts integrated curriculum for Charlotte NC schools). Their radio interview...

An interview with David Cutler appeared on Carla McElhaney blog on Saturday June 5th, 2010. Pianist, Carla McElhaney is an innovative presence in the classical music field. and is highly regarded as a passionate and dynamic performing artist, teacher, and coach.  She is co-founder, pianist, and...

I received this email this morning and, with Katie’s permission, thought it was so well said I had to share it. Hi, Lisa- I just wanted to let you know that I found your ETA and Lisa’s Clarinet Shop websites via David Cutler’s Savvy Musician site, and I really appreciate what you are...

This post was written by Seth Godin and appeared on his blog. Thank you Bobbie Soeder for sending this on to me.  Does this post remind you of any artist you know?  It certainly struck a chord with me… Society makes heroes out of entrepreneurs and adventurers that tilt at windmills and succeed....

This past week I had the honor of participating in The School of The Art Institute’s career development workshop titled Power Tools.  The purpose of this workshop is to expose alumni and students to the resources and tools they need to succeed in their artistry. What struck me from my particular...

Every day of our lives we pour our energy into ideas, people and activities. Daily these choices require investments of both our time and money- both symbols of energy. Whatever daily energy you spend, is it enough? Do you wish you had more time to create your art? More money to help change the world? While...

Our fortune cookies and No More Starving Artist Button Board were a big hit at the Chicago Creative Expo. On Saturday April 10th, at the 7th Chicago Creative Expo held at The Cultural Center in Chicago, The IAE was in full blooming form. Our imagination training ensemble, The Bite-Size Arts Ensemble,...

Happy 10th anniversary SEA! The SEA conference is coming right up and if you have never attended you need to! Come learn more about how to turn your artistic passion into a living from other successful artists. What The Conference Offers In addition to keynote presentations, topic specific sessions...

Success is a common theme in my writing.  Of course, there are many types of success: landing a job, performing well, creating a great composition, mastering a technique, getting noticed, going viral, attracting web traffic, moving audiences.  Yet some artists accomplish many of these things,...

It seems that every time I am interviewed by someone who is interested in my work, the question always comes up: “Well, do you still play the clarinet? What do you do as an artist?” For some time now, I have been scratching my head and thinking to myself, “What is it that I am saying...