Tom Csatari is a New York City-based session guitarist, composer, and environmentalist who leads the New York Times-featured “free folk-jazz” collective Uncivilized. In this interview, recorded in June of 2021, Josh and Tom talk about music, the environment, creativity, brain tumors, and what is next for Uncivilized Tom.

You know that moment when you start a project? The exciting time when the idea is fresh and new, but then it starts to loose its shine? You might even say to yourself “This sucks, why did I ever think this could be any good?” As the project continues to be difficult “This Sucks turns into I Suck”.

All of us have heard the voice of the Inner Critic and in this episode, Angie and Josh dive deep into those murky waters and discuss how to deal with the Inner Critic and turn it into an Inner Mentor.

Creative work is just that, work. It may be fun and soul filling but behind the scenes of every “talented” artist is hours and hours of practice honing their craft. As a culture we are attracted to the shiny finished product, the glorious outcome, and very little attention is given to the daily grind of being an artist. We call this “The Long Slog.”

The concept of 10,000 hours is a benchmark for reaching “mastery” of a skill. We see that as barely scratching the surface. This is the runway for the “The Long Slog.” In many cases those hours happen while an artist is still in high school or college and then comes the real work of being an artist.

In this episode, Angie and Josh, discuss “The Long Slog” and how setting your priorities for your life and creative endeavors will help set you up for fulfillment.

“Dan and Faith are an award-winning, New England-based husband and wife singer-songwriter duo who describe their music as dream-inspired folk. Daniel Senie (guitar, banjo, harmonica, vocals) and Faith Senie (mandolin, bass, ukulele, dulcimer, vocals) tap into dreams and everyday life in crafting their original songs.”

Josh and I love how they weave together stories of place, connection, and belonging in their folk inspired compositions. Learn about how we met (it involved vegan muffins and a market!) and how they found music again after many years. Listen to Dan and Faith explain how they have embraced being musicians while juggling professional careers and a marriage.

You can learn more and listen at their website: https://www.danandfaith.com

Follow them on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/danandfaith

View their Youtube channel here.

I often say that my most amazing creative project has been in the role of a parent. Josh and I have aimed to create an environment that supports creativity in all forms.

Fostering creativity as parents goes way beyond Mozart for Kids and Baby Einstein. In this episode we address the different methods we have used in parenting, from infancy to teens, and how that approach has changed over the years. From homeschooling, unschooling, modeling behavior, artistic spaces, and playing with the five elements, we describe what our path as been in being parents of creative children.

How do you foster creativity as a parent?

You know when you first meet someone and something inside tells you “wow, I must learn more about this person", well that’s Desiree Mwalimu-Banks.

Angie met Desiree in a peer review group while a student at Goddard College. Every time Desiree shared with the group, she offered true gems of insight. Desiree is an artist, a priestess, and a wisdom teacher who lives in NYC and has Indian and African ancestry.

Inside this interview, Desiree shares inspiration in her art practice, the sacred transformative powers of water, the energetic quality of bees, and her upcoming installation project.

While a little stress can help to boost our creativity, too much stress can cause a host of problems in our lives. What is that edge? How can we invite the right amount of stress in our lives? How can we cultivate ease and rest in our fast paced culture?

Angie and Josh discuss a recent study on creativity and how it relates to stress reduction and vagal tone. If you have never heard of vagal tone and want to know how it can help you with stress reduction and creativity, you will want to listen to this episode.

There are many benefits to doing what you love as your career. But it isn’t all roses all day long. Between keeping up your credentials, working to make a living, and staying inspired in your field, there can be many challenges to being a professional creative. Ultimately, we think these challenges are worthwhile.

Josh and Angie discuss what they love about making creativity their calling and career, and how they navigate the limitations. Josh shares a story from Dave Grohl of the Foofighters and explains how sometimes you have to fall in love with your work all over again.

The arts are not the fluffy-extracurricular-fun thing to do if you have time and the privilege to engage.

The arts are absolutely essential to our wellbeing and our very existence as humans.

This is a heated discussion. Angie woke up one morning to the daily NYT times headlines and what she saw lead to this rant. She also invented the phrase: The Trifecta of the Creativity Death Dance.

What narrative were you told and believe about the importance of the arts? How does that narrative play out in your life? Now imagine a world with zero art. None at all. No movies, no books, no poetry, no pictures, no dance, no music. What does that world look and feel like?

How important are the arts???

There are always new projects in the works at our house!

Tune into this episode to hear about Josh’s new album, the process of working on that album and how it is coming to a close.

Angie discusses her current writing projects (writing is so different than artmaking!) and the new mixed media pieces she has on her art desk.

She also hints at a few new house improvements she wants to make! It goes beyond the studio!

What are you working on??? We want to know, so send us a message!

Angie and Josh have been married for over 20 years and together as a couple for 30 years. The secret to our relationship is founded on the our individual relationships to our creative selves.

The same foundational principles are needed in any relationships: nourishment, time, space, listening, commitment, forgiveness, and choice.

Listen to learn more.

An offering is a kind of gift that we bestow in honor of something sacred. What if we consider each creative act an offering to something bigger than ourselves? What if we remain unattached to the outcome of our creations?

If the source of our inspirations isn’t willed into being but instead arises from a wider field, then our relationship to the process changes. Perhaps we can view our own creativity as a gift to ourselves from the world.

What are you offering? Do you choose to listen to the call to create?

Is it possible to teach someone how to be creative? What happened to your own creativity during your early school days? How can educators use the right words and actions to inspire students to be more creative? Angie and Josh discuss the role of the teacher in the creative process through their personal experience, and share 3 key ways that teachers can encourage creativity: 1—by holding a space of encouragement; 2—being generous about expectations; and 3—helping students to find their own voice and vision within the practice.

Creativity is a necessary skill for challenging times. As we face the impending climate crisis and seek out solutions for our energy needs, and many other unforeseen situations, we will be called upon to develop our divergent thinking. Angie and Josh talk through their thoughts on how creativity and creative practice can place us in a better situation to deal with these challenges.

Angie and Josh elaborate on why they think creativity is innate, and that creativity is your birthright. Learn more about how the world pulses with creativity.

When we learn to get comfortable with our imperfections and we embrace making mistakes, then failure becomes a part of the creative process. Angie and Josh discuss how they embrace failure and why you should too.

Is there a gatekeeper to the sacred rules of creativity? Who decides the rules and why should there be any rules to this process?

How long do you wait before you begin that new idea? How long do you wait before you reveal your special project to the world? Is it better to get it all splendidly perfect? Does perfect even exist?

Initiation to the altar of the muse. Meet your hosts, Angie Follensbee-Hall and Joshua Hall. Learn about creativity, the creative process, and discover ways to connect to your inner muse.

Initiation to the altar of the muse. Meet your hosts, Angie Follensbee-Hall and Joshua Hall. Learn about creativity, the creative process, and discover ways to connect to your inner muse.