This summer I traveled back home to New England to take a landscape painting class in Old Lyme CT. I was looking to inject some energy into my art process by doing something new and learning something new.

My instructor was perfect, and just what I needed. Not only did he paint right beside us students, but his way of providing instruction and guidance was very valuable.

His name Jesus Emmanuel Villarreal and over the 2 weeks working together, we got to know each other as artists and people. A couple of interesting things I learned about Jesus were that first, is father was an artist so he grew up with art being presented as a valid pursuit. The other was was that Jesus started formal drawing and painting training rather young age,15 years.old, and continued this consistently for the next 10 years. I was being guided some with a lot of experience, training and skill.

Driving to my studio every day, I pass a restaurant with a visible rooftop farm right in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. Every time I drive by it I think, “a rooftop farm, what an amazing thing!” When I finally visited Uncommon Ground, I realized there was even more.

Not only is it a successful restaurant with a rooftop farm, it’s a live music venue, an art space, and a organic brewery. There is just a lot interesting things there.

My conversation with Helen Cameron, it’s founder, quickly revealed the character traits guiding the creation of these unique business elements; visualization, eagerness to try new things, willingness to take calculated risks. All of these traits have enabled them to grow ideas, into amazing things.

It was suggested I check out Tony Rossi as a potential guest. I found out he was both an actor and a coach, a mindset coach. I was very intrigued and curious to speak with him. I found Tony to be very honest. His honesty enabled me to understand how the the job of an actor is much different than I expected. Being a struggling actor activates the thoughts and feelings many people struggle with; self doubt, not feeling enough , comparison to others. I found our conversation fun, refreshing and very inspiring.

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Summerdale is a horror novel taking place in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago, where I just so happen to live. Once reading it, I was eager speak with its author David Jay Collins. I was excited to discuss the power of words that formulate a story, characters, and themes. But in speaking with David, I also learned about the power of another set of words; the ones we tell ourselves. And, how what we tell ourselves can hold us back, or move us forward David’s story as an artist and author is about creativity, hard-work and sacrifice, but I also think it’s about the impact of the story we all create in our mind about about ourselves.

A few weeks back, a friend of mine invited me to be his guest at a record release party for a band I knew nothing about. I didn’t know what to expect and as these things happen, I was pleasantly surprised and immediately made a connection with the music.

It was a folk-rock duo called “They Wont Win” and that evening I was able to listen to their songs but also hear them tell the personal experiences that inspired their creation. I wanted to know more and that night they accepted my invitation to be guest on Eager to Know. I have since been listening to their first full-length album titled “Lost at Sea”

I came into our conversation thinking this was duo of talented musicians who produced a wonderful album. But after spending time with Greg and Danny, I see these men, and what they created, in an entirely different way.

Lesley Ames www.lesleyames.com is a designer, brand maker, and photographer. She is currently on a journey to find her creative voice. I speak with her about this journey, what she has leaned along the way and a few suggestions for all of us.

I have been listening to The Rialto Report podcast to in order to prepare for this interview. I absolutely love it - it is very interesting, well done and I could not be more excited to speak with iit’s co-founder, April hall. The Rialto report is an oral history, audio, photo, and documentary archives from the golden age of adult film in New York. We start our conversation by speaking about the variety that is found in the interviews.

Bénédicte Lassale https://www.benedictelassalle.com is a San Francisco bay area based photographer focusing on architecture, portraiture, and lifestyle projects. We speak about her creative journey, inspirations, challenges and being a professional photographer in the age of Instagram.

Ernesto Lopez is the owner of Chicago based Oak Leaf Garden Design. I loved learning about the origins of his interest in gardening and how he always sees the potential of things before he begins. We start our conversation with one of the unique aspects of what he does; that it combines both creativity and biology.

Ernesto Heen artinuum.com and I met at a 6 week painting and drawing workshop in Florence Italy. He is currently a painter based in Hamburg Germany and also has started teaching art technique. Ernesto’s background is very similar to mine and our creative journey has many parallels.

Brian Justice’s brianjustice.com career spans the visual and written arts. He was an oil painter, transitioned to being a freelance writer and is currently working on a play. We speak about creativity across all of these roles and how he keeps things moving forward.

John McDaviit mcdavittdesign.com is an artist and muralist who paints large, public murals. We met at industry event and I immediate liked him. I found his energy fantastic and him very easy to talk to. John's background is different from mine and I aways like speaking with those who have had a different creative journey than me.

Diana Leviton Gondek www.dianalevitongondek.com is a visual artist who’s childhood was filled with all forms of creative activities and creative people. We discuss her journey and what her background in art taught her about being a mom.

Marlon Lyles https://www.facebook.com/Marlon-Lyles-Art is an artist with a varied background, including time as a Chicago Public Schools English teacher. I just love teachers and it is always great to be able to speak with them. Marlon’s unique and art work is called geometric abstraction and it is inspired from a surprising source.

Juan de Lascurain juandelascurain.com is an artist-designer from Mexico City. He travels the world painting and exhibiting his work as well as commercializing his brand Dream Big. We spoke about faith, believing in yourself and seeing obstacles as adventures.