Show Up or Shut Up with Wendy Solganik

Shay Michelle Kent is a mixed media artist and teacher living in Tampa, Florida. She loves to teach art workshops that help people use creativity for self-exploration and find freedom while making art. Shay's students say it feels like a spa for their creative souls. She invites you to come to class with her, where you can let go, explore, and have some fun with art. Shay lives in Florida. You can find Shay on Instagram @shaymichellestudios.

Kecia Deveney is a published mixed media artist, instructor, and world traveler, living at the Jersey Shore.

As a mixed media artist, her eclectic style can be seen in fabric and textiles, jewelry design, sculpture-work, and painting.

Creating is pivotal to Kecia and becomes, for her, art therapy. Her imagination comes to life and allows her temporary reprieve from her role as a full-time caregiver.

Her work is about ingenuity and playfulness. Kecia travels across the world so she may inspire others to find their own artistic spirits. You can find Kecia on Instagram @keciadeveney.

Alison Bomber chose the name Words and Pictures for her blog and then later for Instagram because those are the two worlds she inhabits.  She is a freelance creative working with both words and pictures. Alison's first creative career was as a text and voice coach in the theatre, specializing in Shakespeare.  She is fascinated by the power of words, and how our voices shape our connection to the world.  And she is passionate to the point of obsession about sharing the profound excitement of speaking Shakespeare.  Alison started out as an actor and singer more than thirty years ago, and then shifted to become a text and voice coach.  She worked full time for the Royal Shakespeare Company for nearly ten years, and is proud to be an Associate Artist of the RSC.  Since going freelance, Alison continues to work with them regularly as well as with theatre companies around the world, including Theatre for a New Audience in New York and Song of the Goat Theatre in Poland. When Alison left the RSC more than a decade ago, a whole new creative form of expression opened up for her in mixed media, crafting and painting.   Alison now works (alongside theatre projects) as a freelance artist and designer, in watercolour and mixed media, collage and assemblage, and she is extremely proud and honoured to design stamps for PaperArtsy.  Her first stamp sets were words (of course!) - collections of quotes, gathered by theme.  Alison's newer stamp plates combine her own botanical sketches with theatrical, historical and personal ephemera, and advice from Culpeper’s herbal on the medicinal uses of the plants.    The Pictures part of Alison is still very much about storytelling, about connection, and about communicating emotions and ideas.  And she loves to combine words and imagery in her work.  As she has continued to explore new skills and techniques, nature has become a more and more important part of her visual storytelling, as well as a vital part of her everyday life.  Spending time in the natural world is a constant source of inspiration. Another link between the two creative paths, Words and Pictures, is Alison's passion for sharing the expertise she has developed in these two strands, teaching both one-to-one and in workshops and classes, both in person and online. You can find Alison on Instagram at @w0rdsandp1ctures and @b0hem1anh0me

Barb Smucker is a mixed media artist who enjoys layering collage papers and paint to create surprising results.  Adding lines, textures, shapes and colors onto a page or canvas allows her to experiment and find enjoyment in the discovery. When you look at her work, she hopes you see the play, the search, and a sense of harmony and spontaneity that she is always after in whatever she makes. Barb is inspired by the beauty found in many of the home arts, including quilting, stoneware pottery and all the gorgeous patterns found in linens and textiles. She is also inspired by nature. Barb has a window in her home studio that looks out toward trees and a stream.  The lines and organic material inspire her daily.

Barb has been working at her art making and art practice for many years. Always looking for a way to combine her interest in art and psychology, she has discovered that the practice of art making itself is a wonderful and helpful thing to share.  Barb teaches classes locally out of her studio, with art centers, retreat centers and in galleries.  Whether she is teaching the principles of art, art journaling, collage, card making, abstract art or painting papers, Barb's goal is always the same. She wants to help people discover joy in the process of art making and notice that they have so much to share.

In this episode, I explore my thoughts on Instagram Reels, and how they have effected both my experience as a user and as a prolific content creator on the platform. I give suggestions for how to manage your own user experience on Instagram and what to be careful not to do if you are creating Reels. Thank you to @tiffanysimplysharpe, @rebeccachapmanart and @susieinmn for input and suggestions mentioned in this episode!