The Create! Podcast

A slower season is not a sign to quit. In this solo episode, Kat gets radically honest about the past two years of her creative business: the highest highs, the hardest moments, and how she's recommitting to her goals after ten years of self-employment.
She also shares the principles and mindset shifts that helped her reach a six-figure business early on, and that she's using again to reach her next level.
In this episode:
Why "trust recession" thinking can quietly take you out of the game
Why life and business move in a spiral, not a straight line
Following your joy and choosing the non-negotiables you'd do even if no one paid you
Finding your "enough" number to cover the basics
Setting clear goals that work like a ladder, and tracking them where you can see them
Surrounding yourself with people and voices you want to model
Why being a little delusional on purpose beats being "realistic"
Investing in yourself, including hiring a coach when you feel stuck
Believing in yourself when the numbers feel discouraging
Grab the Art Career Bundle: 13 courses plus the bonus workshop, The Path to 10K Months, where Kat walks you through this in a nervous-system-friendly way.
https://courses.createmagazine.co/art-career-bundle
Join the Create! Magazine Substack for articles, art world experiences and tips for growing your creative business one day at a time:
https://createmagazine.substack.com

Danielle Krysa, the Jealous Curator, joins Ekaterina Popova live to talk about her new book, Real Artists Wear Black. It's a funny, honest look at the lies artists hear from galleries, family, social media, and their own inner critic, and how to step over them and keep making.
Danielle shares the gallery experience that made her say "I have to write a book about this." She also explains why she wears black (it's not what you think), and gives a simple ladder method for celebrating your goals instead of feeling jealous of other people's.
In this conversation:
Why Danielle wrote the book, and the red flags she ignored because she was so excited
Why "we'll talk details later" is your cue to ask for a contract
Do your research, talk to someone you trust, and listen to your gut
Working for free: when it helps and when it doesn't (Ola Volo's first mural)
The myths we absorbed about what artists look like, eat, and wear
How to feel your feelings, reach out to a friend, and keep going after a crushing moment
Turning jealousy into admiration with a success ladder, one rung at a time
Chapter 12, "Don't Rock the Boat," and channeling your inner Peta and Ashley Longshore
Why Danielle's 11-year-old self gets the final say in her studio
Links
Get the book, Real Artists Wear Black by Danielle Krysa: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/danielle-krysa/real-artists-wear-black/9798894142036//?lens=running-press
Danielle's Substack, a daily "one minute art retreat" Monday to Friday: https://thejealouscurator.substack.com/
Create! Magazine on Substack: https://createmagazine.substack.com/

Toy or tool? How artists can use Instagram to build real community, meet collectors and find opportunities, without the hacks.
Alex Mitow, founder of Superfair, is back on The Create! Podcast, and this time we're talking about the app we all claim to be tired of and still open every day: Instagram. Alex has been on it since 2012 (his handle still carries the ghost of a Lower East Side hot dog restaurant), and I've been on it since 2014, back when it was photos with filters. Between us, it has brought collectors, galleries, jury opportunities and most of the friendships that built our careers.
So is it a toy or a tool? Alex says both, and that you get out of it what you put in. We share how to use Instagram as a front porch to your world, why your 2,000 real followers can matter more than someone else's 70,000, and the simple things that build trust faster than any trend.
In this episode
Toy or tool: reframing the frustration and remembering what Instagram has actually given us
Why the platform is favoring authenticity again, and why that's good news if you've never "gotten" the tricks
"For what purpose?" The one question to ask before you chase views
Followers versus prestige: the artist with 2,000 followers and a museum show
Alex's in-person funnel: trade Instagrams at fairs, openings and coffee shops, and let your community snowball
What to share beyond your art: what genuinely fascinates you, what you're proud of, advice you've lived, and opportunities for your peers
Mixing personal and professional on one account, and why nobody has ever cancelled an art sale over a mindset post
Instagram as the front door, or front porch, to your newsletter, studio, book, course and booth
Best practices: fill the frame, use the back camera, pick one orientation and stick with it, keep text simple, and never post a flyer
What's next for Superfair: Houston in February, Boston in September 2027, and Philadelphia, where I'll be showing with Alicia
Alex's list of what to share
Your art, your process, your inspiration
The things that genuinely fascinate you, even if they don't fit the grid (stories are perfect for this)
Achievements, big and small, including the study you're proud of
Real advice from your own experience: how you set up your booth, how you found your gallery, how you got published
Opportunities for your community, shared as you come across them
 
Links
Superfair: https://www.thesuperfair.com
Interested in a Superfair booth? Book a 15-minute discovery call with the Superfair team and mention Create! Magazine to save on your booth: https://calendly.com/d/cqt2-fkf-54v/15-minute-discovery-meeting
Call for art, Create! Magazine: https://www.createmagazine.co/call-for-art
The Create! Magazine Substack: https://createmagazine.substack.com
Alex on Instagram: @alexmitow4real

If you've put your artist dream on the back burner and it's time to come back, this episode is for you.
Painter Jacqueline Bermudez joins Kat to share how she returned to oil painting after 17 years in the corporate world, how she protects her vision from outside opinions, and the weekly art sessions she leads with children at a Miami hospital.
In this episode:
How a childhood love of coloring and one high school painting class led Jacqueline back to oil painting in 2016
Why portraits are her way of exploring the human mind and the inner world
Her ongoing series, her own interpretation of the chakras, with animals and plants as symbols
How to protect your inner voice while a new creative direction is still fragile
What changed when she began treating her painting practice like a job
How she painted her solo show in about 35 days, and why planning made it possible
Her weekly art sessions with children going through bone marrow transplants
About Jacqueline Bermudez:
Jacqueline is a self-taught portrait painter and photographer based in Miami. Born in Orlando and raised in Caracas, she returned to oil painting in 2016. Her work has been accepted into exhibitions including Woman Made Gallery in Chicago and the Crocker-Kingsley Exhibition at Blue Line Arts, and she is a resident artist at Miami International Fine Arts. Her paintings use vibrant color, bold patterns, and animals and plants to symbolize personal growth.
See Jacqueline's work: https://www.jacquelinebermudez.com
Join me for the free Coffee House, every Wednesday at 12 pm Eastern. Bring your questions about your creative goals and get a look inside the Create! Collective membership.
Sign up: https://espopova.com/free-coffeehouse
More from Create!
Free resources for artists: https://www.createu.co/free-resources
Submit your work to our open call for art: https://www.createmagazine.co/call-for-art
Create! Magazine Substack: https://createmagazine.substack.com

Running a creative business can feel like the whole world is on your shoulders. The studio time, the bills, the marketing, the social media. In this episode, Kat shares why she is softening her own "do it all yourself" message and what she is doing to receive more support.
You will hear about the people who lifted her along the way, from her high school art teacher to friends who gave her a place to stay in college. She also opens up about a big loss in her business a few years ago and what she sees differently now.
In this episode:
Why every career and business is built with a team behind it
How hyper-independence speeds up burnout, and how to invite help in
Kat's honest take on social media after two months of learning, a call with Meta, and plenty of viral challenges
Why Substack feels so calm, and how it led to a painting sale to a collector who is also an author
Simple ways to build your own community, like sharing an art fair booth, recommending another artist to your gallery, meeting for coffee, or painting together on Zoom
Why writing down your dreams and then letting them go keeps your vision clear
Trusting that an artwork will find its home at the right time
Join the Create! Coffee House
Starting October 7, Kat hosts a free weekly Zoom room every Wednesday at noon Eastern. Bring your coffee and your questions about your art career, business, practice, or mindset, and come be seen and heard. Kat will also share a quick tour of the ways she can support you.
Join here: https://espopova.com/free-coffeehouse
Create! Magazine Turns 10
Join us in Philadelphia on October 16 for our 10 year anniversary party and pop-up show.
Get your tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/create-magazine-turns-10-pop-up-show-meet-up-tickets-2001784728008
Read Our Substack
https://createmagazine.com/substack
Share your ideas
Which topics and guests would you like to hear this fall? Email info@createmagazine.com.
If you enjoyed this episode, tag Kat in your Instagram stories. She loves seeing who is listening! @katerinaspopova or @createmagazine