Doing it Afraid: How one Woman Came to Life through Painting with Artist Libby Scheele EP: 22

We don’t always know whom we are meant to be when we are young, but if we are observant, there are clues everywhere. For Libby Scheele, they were obvious in her fascination with color and texture and a variety of materials that could be used in artistic endeavors. When she didn’t have ‘real’ art supplies, she expressed her creativity by arranging rocks and sticks.

Today, her work is much more sophisticated, as are her tools… even though they are the basics of an artist: high quality pigmented paints, good paper, sharp pencils, brushes, and permission to take the time required to allow the vision in her mind to emerge.

Libby studied art at university, but then was married and had three small children at home; there wasn’t time or space for art. But then she was introduced to the concept of an ‘artist’s date’ by a friend who further encouraged her to carve out some space in her home that was just for her. She did; it was in the furnace room! Not ideal, but it worked… and today she has a more spacious studio room in the home she shares with husband, Paul.

In today’s episode, Laura and Libby have an animated and sometimes emotional conversation about how their inner artists called to them, spoke to them, and finally drew them out into the act of creation, even though in the beginning you sometimes have to ‘do it afraid.’ It was also one of the things that drew them to each other at their first meeting. Libby describes it as a “spark when you’re in space with another artist.”

Libby shares the story of wanting to create art so badly that she called an artist and asked for a job as her assistant even though she had no experience, no portfolio… just an undeniable desire to learn and a willingness to do whatever it took to move forward.

You’ll want to listen in as she shares stories of pivotal moments in her growth and awakening as an artist, of the investments she continues to make in working with artists further along the path who are doing work she admires and longs to do herself, and of how important it’s been to find her own creative style, rhythm, and arena.

While Libby would feel compelled to sketch and paint regardless, she is currently driven by an altruistic impulse to create a body of work for her collectors that will, in turn, help to pay off the medical bills of a family member.

If you’re interested in learning more about Libby and the things she and Laura discussed today, check out these links:

Jeffrey Hurinenko – Old Master Techniques
Joe Paquet – Plein Air Landscape Painter
Libby’s Bio
By age 5, it was obvious that Libby was fascinated with color and the world around her.  Her parents would often find her sitting outside, patiently watching the sunset, exclaiming that “indigo was the next color.”
A retired art teacher, Neola Johnson, became her first mentor at age 8. Neola would ask her questions such as “what is beauty?” and “what is art?” These questions became the start of a passionate search for answers, which of course always led to more questions.
Libby attended the University of Minnesota, majoring in Art Education. She spent many years sharing her love of art with children in schools and summer camps. In 1995, she began a career as a mural painter having been trained by muralist Tricia Farrell. It was a joy to bring her client’s artistic dreams and wishes to life.
In 2007, she continued her fine art studies at the Hurinenko & Paquet Studio, learning Old Master portrait painting and plein air painting.
Libby is a member of the Outdoor Painters of Minnesota and the Minnesota Figure Study Collaborative.

 

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The Power of Bibliotherapy to Change Your Life with Author, Book Lover, and Mom Melissa Hart EP: 21

Like Laura, Melissa Hart found refuge, safety, and a sense of freedom in books that was missing in her childhood. She and Laura connected because of a shared love of books and the idea that “books make me feel rich.”

 

Laura reached out to Melissa after reading an essay Melissa submitted to Real Simple magazine about building a Little Free Library in her yard in Oregon. Laura has always loved seeing them, and sometimes longs for one of her own, so when she saw an opportunity to connect with someone who had built one, a great conversation was soon in the works!

As the conversation flows, Melissa introduces the idea of Bibliotherapy – using books in an intentional way for connection, recognition, healing, and understanding. She first learned of the concept in an independent bookstore that arranged its books by topic rather than author, so readers could quickly find stories that resonated with their personal experiences and allowed them to feel seen, heard, understood.

Melissa decided to try it in a more intense way when her adopted daughter was struggling in school. She had experienced significant loss in her young life and was not settling in at school, so Melissa rearranged her life to be able to home school with a curriculum built around literature.

Then one day, she saw a Little Free Library in a park and was mesmerized! Loving the generosity of it – “Take a book! Leave a book!” – she knew she wanted one of her own. So, as a family, they built one, using old windows from their house, and placed it in their yard.

“It’s always a great surprise,” she explained. “You never know what you’ll find in it…” As people are taking and leaving new books and magazines frequently. It’s become yet another connection and bonding opportunity for their close-knit neighborhood. And Melissa has even come to planning her daily runs to ensure she passes other neighborhood libraries, often using it as an opportunity to exchange books from one to another, ensuring an ongoing mix and variety in what’s available.

As for Melissa’s daughter, Bibliotherapy has proven to be a powerful healing tool… Perhaps it’s something you might find solace and healing in, as well.

Listen in as Melissa and Laura discuss the power of books and share some of their favorites, then share your thoughts:
Facebook
Melissa Online
Instagram
Twitter

Melissa’s Bio
Melissa Hart is Contributing Editor at The Writer Magazine and author of Better with Books: 500 Diverse Novels to Ignite Empathy and Encourage Self-Acceptance in Tweens and Teens (Sasquatch, 2019), plus the award-winning middle-grade novel Avenging the Owl (Sky Pony, 2016). Her essays have appeared in Real Simple, Woman’s Day, Spirituality & Health, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Los Angeles Times, Working Mother, and numerous other publications. She lives in Oregon with her husband and daughter, five chickens, three cats, and one very patient terrier.

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Take off Your Mask and Live Your Legacy Forward with Jeff Saperstein

Jeff-Saperstein-7x9

Legacy isn’t necessarily in the past. If we could reverse-engineer our lives with a focus on how we want to show up, and how others experience us, we could create our legacy on purpose, explains business consultant and career coach, Jeff Saperstein. In this paradigm we are living into our lives with the end in mind: How do you want to be remembered? What do you want to be remembered for? Because the truth is you get to choose, and you are creating your legacy every day in what you say and do and how you say and do it.

Jeff goes on to highlight the extreme toll we pay when we compartmentalize our lives and believe we can show up in various roles differently. For example, if we create a work persona that is different than our ‘at home’ persona, and may be different, still, from our ‘out with friends’ persona, we are wasting a lot of effort and energy in playing those roles, which inevitably leads to burn-out.

The determining factor is our awareness and willingness to be internally directed – aligned with our values, beliefs, and desires, rather than allowing external agents and forces to decide who we will be and how we will show up. First, of course, one has to have thought into and defined his or her core values and made the decision to stand by them regardless of the situation or people involved.

This is, in effect, intentionally choosing to take off our masks and stand in our authentic power. Then we get to embody our values in our everyday behaviors, words, and actions.

Laura and Jeff go on to discuss the prevalence of ‘contrived urgency,’ the prevailing behavior of being busy for busy-ness’ sake; of trying to to do it all and having it all done by tomorrow! Jeff encourages us to be a whole person through focus and specifics and spend some time in reflection on each facet of our lives: work, family, friends, spirituality, finance, health, etc… and recognize where we are in alignment and doing well, or have developed thinking and behaviors that are disharmonious to what we want to create for our lives.

They go on to dive into some of the tools they both use with coaching clients to help them see and understand the clues to recognizing and developing each person’s unique strengths for greater contribution and satisfaction in life and work.

As they near the end of their conversation, Jeff offers this wisdom: First uncover, then discover yourself! Meaning each of us has to peel back the layers to see all that lies within us, then discover what it means, what it allows us to offer, and become… and know that along the way it sometimes requires unlearning and relearning beliefs, ideas, behaviors that will serve us in healthier ways… so we can live our legacy forward – on purpose and with intention!

You can learn more about these ideas and the tools Jeff and Laura use at these links:

Jeff on Facebook
Jeff online
Jeff on LinkedIn
Jeff’s Podcast – Interconnected Individuals
Carla Harris TED Talk – Finding a Sponsor
The Start-Up of You book
StrengthsFinder
Explore Strengths with Laura

Jeff’s Bio

Jeff Saperstein helps highly educated, high performance, business professionals transition to find work that matters to them. Jeff is a San Francisco Bay Area based business consultant, author, university teacher, career coach, and podcaster, who empowers people to navigate their careers to lead a successful, happier life.

Jeff is particularly attuned to mirroring and reflecting feelings, emotions, and awareness in his intuitive listening ability and to connect the dots. He has a three-stage approach to coaching: self-awareness for your operational values and aspirations; market reality exploration; and building you network and online presence to bring the right opportunities to you.

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