Art of the Song Coffeehouse Creativity Corner
Musician and Author John Dillon
John Dillon is co-host and co-producer of Art of the Song Coffeehouse with his wife Vivian Nesbitt. Originating in Taos, NM, Art of the Song explores creativity and inspiration through in-depth interviews with makers of folk, jazz, roots and blues music. In this inspiring series, John explores the history of creativity, creativity in the 21st century, inner and outer sources of creativity, and how we are all creative and have 'a song to sing' in our creative renaissance.
Actress and Singer Vivian Nesbitt
Vivian Nesbitt is co-host and co-producer of Art of the Song Coffeehouse with her husband John Dillon. In this inspiring series, Vivian explores how creativity connects us to the world, how persistence guides the creative life, the value of stopping and silence, light and shadow play of creativity, honoring creative process and claiming your creative birthright, and swimming deep in the creative process.
Author and Creativity Coach Eric Maisel
Eric Maisel is a frequent contributor to Art of the Song. These essays are reprinted with permission from his on-air segment and are excerpted from his books: Creativity For Life; A Writer's Paris; A Writer's San Francisco; and others and explores cultural permission to create, opinions of others, crafting a starting ritual, taking the good with the bad, and ideas to get you started in a creative escape.
Singer, Songwriter Don Richmond
Award-winning songwriter Don Richmond has been a professional performing musician for more than forty-five years and regularly performs and records on more than a dozen instruments. He is the author of Getting Your Music Past the Fear and explores the psychology of creativity through metaphors, allowing space, introspection, and expression in this inspiring series.
Painter and Teacher Maria Mikhailas
Long-time teacher and painter Maria Mikhailas dreams and paints in northern New Mexico enfolded by mountain peaks where one can touch the sky and hear the quiet prayer of the wind. In this inspiring series, Maria explores how to access creativity, welcoming mistakes as opportunities, seeing creative blocks as muse directions, and balancing creative process with training techniques.
Writer, Speaker, Songwriter Eileen Kalinowski
Eileen Kalinowski has a background in education and was brought to Taos through a prestigious Wurlitzer Foundation residency in creative writing. She sings, produces music, and writes and explores creating when you don't feel like it, writing and self-doubt, using life as writing material, dipping into the darkness, day jobs, and the messy parts of being creative in this inspiring series.
Painter and Teacher Jan Haller
Jan Haller has dedicated her life to the mystery of the creative process and has been a painter for over 45 years. She is the founder of Magic Brush Studios in Taos, New Mexico, where she teaches painting to children and adults. Jan explores creativity and the inner critic, intelligence and trust, and the possibilities that await before a blank canvas in this inspiring series.
'Source' with Artist, Designer, Musician Lisa de Burlo
Art of the Song Team member Lisa de Burlo wrote this essay after an animated discussion during a team meeting. Lisa lives in Taos and is an artist, designer, and musician. She loves creating things that other humans can use to express their own creativity. In this inspiring piece, Lisa writes about the concept of source, what it really means for us, and how we can recognize and nurture its role in our lives. Her website is lisajoycedesigns.com.
'Sourcing Creativity' with Artist, Anthropologist, Activist Clarie Long
Art of the Song Team member Claire Long is a native Northern New Mexican and graduate of the University of New Mexico. Claire walks the tight rope of the artist, anthropologist and activist. As painter, photographer and paper artist, her commitment to social change and environmental sustainability as well as a fascination with the human experience inspire her work. In this inspiring piece she explores how sourcing the physical place where our creative practice happens gives physical dimension and identity to this process.