The Create! Podcast

What does it actually take to make art and make a living at the same time? This week, Ekaterina Popova sits down with Mason Currey, author of the beloved Daily Rituals series and his brand new book, Making Art and Making a Living (Celadon Books), a rich, research-driven look at how artists across centuries have funded their creative lives.
From day jobs and patrons to inheritances, government grants, and a few schemes that fall into grayer territory, Mason has compiled the stories so many of us have needed to hear. In this conversation, he and Kat explore why community matters more than most creatives realize, how constraints can actually be an artist's greatest asset, and the practical power of reverse engineering the career you actually want.
If you have ever asked yourself whether you are doing this whole creative life thing right, this episode is your answer. Spoiler: you are in very good company.
In this episode:
Why community and creative scenes have always mattered more than solo genius
How Mason's entire career grew from a blog post he wrote while procrastinating
The surprising truth about artists who got everything they wanted, and still couldn't work
Baudelaire, Whistler, and what history's most dramatic artistic money struggles can teach us about our own
How to reverse engineer the career you want by studying the people who have it
Why constraints, including financial ones, are often where the best work comes from
The power of doing something, even a small, imperfect, DIY version of your vision
Links and resources mentioned:
Making Art and Making a Living by Mason Currey: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250824523/makingartandmakingaliving/
Mason Currey's website and newsletter (Subtle Maneuvers): masonwcurrey.com
Best American Essays series (mentioned by Mason as a career research tool)
Work with Kat + explore Create! Magazine:
Create! Magazine celebrates working artists through features, interviews, and juried open calls. Submit your work, explore available articles, and join the community at createmagazine.co.
Ready to grow your art career with step-by-step guidance? Explore micro courses on marketing, sales, visibility, and more at www.createu.co
Visit www.createmagazine.co and click Programs to learn more.
Private mentorship and coaching with certified master coach, Ekaterina Popova https://espopova.com

If you have been going through a funk, whether it is burnout, a creative slump, seasonal blues, or just feeling stuck, this episode is for you. Kat gets real about the challenges she faced this past winter, including some big personal changes, and shares the honest unglamorous things that helped her climb back out: taking care of her body, dropping what was not serving her, shifting her mindset around showing up, and finding people who cheer her on too.
No toxic positivity here, just real talk and practical perspective for anyone ready to get back on track.
Ready to stop navigating this alone? Kat works with working artists and creative entrepreneurs through private coaching at espopova.com. If you are ready to get back on track with someone genuinely in your corner, learn more and book a session at www.espopova.com.

You Don't Have to Choose Between Making Art and Building a Career. James Miille Proves It.
Photographic artist James Miille has shown work in New York, Paris, Miami, and Mexico City, built two companies, and never stopped making the art that started it all. In this episode he pulls back the curtain on how he actually does it.
James creates surreal composite photographs entirely from scratch, every element shot by him, every image sparked by a song. He breaks down his creative process, why documenting your work is now more important than ever, and how he thinks about the business of being an artist without letting it kill the passion.
This one is packed with real, actionable insight for artists at any stage.
Episode Highlights
How a song becomes a surreal photograph and what James is building right now
Why showing your process is your biggest competitive advantage in the age of AI
The through line running through all his work: men having feelings and why that still feels radical
His upcoming coffee table book mapping emotions through surreal portraiture
The video game based on his art universe currently in the concepting phase
How co-founding Superfine Art Fair led to launching Studio Chamiilleon
The mindset shift that makes the business side of art feel less like a chore
His plan to take entire exhibitions on the road in a single suitcase
Connect with James
jamesmiille.com studiochamiilleon.com
Join the Create! Community
Read artist features, discover new voices, and get resources built for working creatives at createmagazine.co

You invest in a mentor, a course, or a new skill, and instead of feeling excited, you feel exposed. You see the artist you admire and wonder if you will ever get there. Your ego wants you to quit before you even start. Sound familiar?
This week Ekaterina gets honest about her own experience of evolving, trying new things in the studio, shifting her art, and the vulnerability, self-doubt, and resistance that showed up right alongside it. She turns that moment into the most important conversation you can have as a creative or entrepreneur: what to do with the gap between where you are today and where you want to go.
This episode will shift how you see your progress, your timeline, and your worth as an artist right now, before you have it all figured out.
In this episode:
Why your brain treats learning a new skill like a threat, and how to push through anyway
The one question that separates artists who grow from artists who stay stuck
What the research says about how fast you can build real confidence in a new skill (it is faster than you think)
How to stop comparing your Chapter 1 to someone else's Chapter 20
Why sharing your work before you feel ready is one of the highest-leverage moves you can make
What taking responsibility for your own success actually looks like on a Tuesday night
If you are an artist or creative entrepreneur who is learning something new, building something from scratch, or feeling behind, this episode is for you. You are not behind. You are not untalented. You are not too late.
Ready to stop figuring it out alone?
Kat has 3 spots open this season for one on one coaching. If you are an artist building a sustainable career, transitioning to full time, or growing a creative platform or mentorship practice, apply now at espopova.com. Applications are open and she is currently scheduling free discovery calls.
Resources:
One on one coaching: espopova.com
Create Magazine: www.createmagazine.co
Instagram: @createmagazine
Substack: createmagazine.substack.com

Emily Jeffords is back on The Create! Podcast and this one is for every artist who is quietly wondering if there is a better way to do this.
Emily is a painter, educator, and founder of the Making Art Work program - and she brings a level of honesty to this conversation that is genuinely rare. We talk about what it looks like to be in an "incubation year," the bravery it takes to begin again after you've already mastered something, and why the sale starts long before anyone opens their wallet - it starts when you fall back in love with your own work.
She shares the real story behind her commission journey, from charging 5% of what she charges now to intentionally opening just three spots for large-scale work and selling them all. We get into how she structures commissions entirely on her own terms, the nervous system collapse that was her 2021 burnout, and why she chose to scale her business down from seven figures - and has never looked back.
This episode is honest, practical, and genuinely grounding. I hope it gives you the permission slip you didn't know you needed.
In this episode:
What an "incubation year" actually looks like in your creative business
The bravery of beginning again after you've already mastered something
How Emily structures commissions so she stays creatively in charge
Selling older work - three tips for falling back in love with your inventory
Why she walked away from a seven-figure business and what she built instead
Burnout as a nervous system issue, not a productivity problem
The 1% a day mantra inside Making Art Work
What profitability really means for artists beyond money
Links mentioned:
Emily's free 4-day Share Your Work Challenge - starts March 24  
Emily's Making Art Work 9-week program 
Submit to Create! Magazine: - createmagazine.co/call-for-art