When the church hurts artists, both the church and the artist lose. Here at AEM we wish we didn’t continue to hear these stories of artists wounded and hurt by the church, but we do. The church should be the place you are encouraged and nurtured in your creativity, but when that doesn’t happen, the […]
Don’t Wait to Be Discovered If you want to succeed, don’t wait to be discovered! In the world where YouTubers get TV deals, bloggers get book deals, and social media moguls make money from 140 character tweets, the old rules come crumbling down. The gatekeepers have lost much of their power in the wake of […]
A Way Forward In moments of cultural crisis, it can be hard to find a way forward. Emotions have been at a sweltering high. This week as my son graduates high school, I am reminded of the Rodney King riots during my graduation from college here in Southern California. We all hoped things would be […]
We continue with the next video in our vlog series called Christianity & Creativity: The Audience. You need more than great ideas and craftsmanship to become a great artist. You also need a great audience of patrons, fans, or online customers. But your relationship with your audience should be driven by one key passion if […]
The Artist’s Achilles’ Heel As artists and creative professionals, we have killer instincts in the creative process but often have the artist’s Achilles’ heel. Most of us creatives are really quite disciplined, and some would say aggressive when it comes to creating, iterating, and finishing our creations, regardless of what they are: paintings, sculptures, choreography, […]
When Artists Stop Creating There is a time when artists stop creating. It is not a new struggle but a struggle we find over 2,000 years ago in Babylon. The reasons are many. It may be a long stretch between gigs. It may be a weariness of the soul. Maybe you even achieved your goals […]
Is There Art in Heaven? Is there art in heaven? A curious question with serious implications. Heaven will be a haven for creatives. It will be inspiring, empowering and a breath of fresh air that will last for eternity. Artists will be able to continue the work they loved here on earth. This will not […]
Toilet Paper Inspiration As I refer to toilet paper inspiration in this case, I am referring to the amazing turn of the tides in the art world regarding the famous and very successful, deceased artist Thomas Kinkade. As the saying goes, you can’t make this stuff up. Who would have thought someone the mainstream art […]
A Convict Who Taught Us About Creativity The best-selling novel in history was written by a convict who taught us about creativity. The author, convicted for crimes against the Church of England, was imprisoned for over 10 years. What was the crime? John Bunyan was guilty of preaching without a license under the direction of […]
Grasping Your Calling in Uncertain Times Grasping your calling in uncertain times can be daunting, but remind yourself it is the pivotal moment before embarking on a spectacular journey. We were all told life would throw us curves. As the Paul Simon song says of hard times, “Momma said there’d be days like these.” And […]