Sheryl Gordon and the power of words

In today’s episode of Willful, we spoke with Sheryl Gordon, author of the book, A Rewording Life - ARL. Sheryl wrote eight heartfelt essays on dementia for her book, then asked 1000 Canadian contributors to pen sentences using a bemusing and obscure word she provided them. Through her curatorial work, Sheryl hopes to harness the power of words to help eradicate dementia. In Ep. 1, she talks about:
• Not being a word nerd growing up
• Studying at The Sorbonne, living in the Marais and working as an au pair
• Basking in the culture of Paris while she considered her life’s options

Willful is the web series that tracks how artists and creative entrepreneurs work, thrive and survive. We interview one artist a week, then post five three-minute snack films from that interview on YouTube every day.

Follow us here or on our YouTube Channel and website, WillfulProject.com, for our entire archive of inspiring interviews.

Thank you, Greg Garson and The Merchant Taps & Tavern, a popular downtown stage for words like #Beer, #Yum and #Satiated

* 50% of the profits for Sheryl’s book sales will go to the Alzheimer Society (alzheimer.ca)

#Language #Words #CreativeEntrepreneur #Philanthropist#ARewordingLife #Dementia #The6ix #DemENDtia #Alzheimers#Meaning #Alz #DementiaStories

Leaving your job ... now what?

Mark Challen gets Willful this week. Mark is an illustrator, art and culture historian, and the creator and host of The Stylecooler Podcast on iTunes. Also look for his soon-to-be-launched website, Stylecooler.com. In Ep. 2, Mark talks about:

• How the world reveals itself to you after leaving your job
• Combatting feeling adrift by creating one thing day
• How creative ideas at birth are rarely perfect elevator pitches
• Creating Stylecooler.com, the Wikipedia of style (“Imagine if Wikipedia was fun!”)

Willful is the web series that tracks how artists and creative entrepreneurs work, thrive and survive. We interview one artist a week, then post five three-minute snack films from that interview on YouTube every day.

Follow us here or on our YouTube Channel and Facebook Page for our entire archive of inspiring interviews.

Thank you, Greg Garson, for your hospitality at The Merchant Taps & Tavern.

I want to start my own company

Mark Challen gets Willful this week. Mark is an illustrator, art and culture historian, and the creator and host of The Stylecooler Podcast on iTunes. Also look for his soon-to-be-launched website, StyleCooler.com. In Ep. 1, Mark talks about:
• His 18-year run at House and Home Media
• Answering the call that said, Own your own company
• Creating a new avenue to express our intense nostalgia for design history and pop culture

Willful is the web series that tracks how artists and creative entrepreneurs work, thrive and survive. We interview one artist a week, then post five three-minute snack films from that interview on YouTube every day.

Follow us here or on our YouTube Channel and Facebook Page for our entire archive of inspiring interviews.

Thank you, Greg Garson, for your hospitality at The Merchant Taps & Tavern.

Emo confessions

In episode 2 of Willful, Opera 5s Rachel Krehm and Aria Umezawa talk about:
• Growing up immersed in the arts
• Opera bragging rights in grade school
• Feeding their teenage souls with Stevie Nicks ballads, Emo confessions, and harpsichord scales

Rachel and Aria are the founders and directors of Opera5, an independent opera company in Toronto that’s hooking a new generation with its immersive live productions and YouTube high jinks.

Willful is the web series that tracks how artists and creative entrepreneurs work, thrive and survive. We interview one artist a week, then post five three-minute snack films from that interview on YouTube every day.

Follow us here or on our YouTube Channel and Facebook Page for our entire archive of inspiring interviews.

Thank you, Greg Garson, for your hospitality at The Merchant Taps & Tavern.

Cultivate your quirky side

During #BlackHistoryMonth, artist and vision activator, Ricardo McRae, closes out this week's Willful by discussing:
• Why certain apps drain you of your natural courage
• Why introspection and a strong sense of self are the next frontier
• Why cultivating your weird and quirky self can help you compete globally

McRae is a painter, TEDx speaker, and vision activator for Wedge15, the branding agency he co-founded with Gloria Roheim McRae. He is also the founder and host of The Framing Podcast.

Willful is the web series that tracks how artists and creative entrepreneurs work, thrive and survive. We interview one artist a week, then post five three-minute snack films from that interview on YouTube every day.

Follow us here or on our YouTube Channel and Facebook Page for our entire archive of inspiring interviews.

Thank you, Greg Garson, for your hospitality at The Merchant Taps & Tavern.

#bhm #politics #Canada #BlackPACan #Canada150 #BlackInCanada #CreativeEntrepreneur #Interview #Willful #Mentors #Inspiration #Motivation #Innovation #Leadership #FindItLiveIt #LeadFromWithin #SmallBusiness #Solopreneur #Interview #Freelancer #BrandStrategist #BlackLivesMatter, #Trinidad #EmotionalIntelligence #NelsonMandela #Introspection

Black in Canada profiles

During #BlackHistoryMonth, artist and vision activator, Ricardo McRae, returns to Willful to discuss:
• Individual lives that have been changed by a Black in Canada initiative
• How schools are incorporating Black excellence (and BlackInCanada.com) into the curriculum
• Inspiring students with living achievers and historical Civil Rights leaders

McRae is a painter, TEDx speaker, and vision activator for Wedge15, the branding agency he co-founded with Gloria Roheim McRae. He is also the founder and host of The Framing Podcast.

Willful is the web series that tracks how artists and creative entrepreneurs work, thrive and survive. We interview one artist a week, then post five three-minute snack films from that interview on YouTube every day.

Follow us here or on our YouTube Channel and Facebook Page for our entire archive of inspiring interviews.

Thank you, Greg Garson, for your hospitality at The Merchant Taps & Tavern.

#bhm #politics #Canada #BlackPACan #Canada150 #BlackInCanada #CreativeEntrepreneur #Interview #Willful #Mentors #Inspiration #Motivation #Innovation #Leadership #FindItLiveIt #LeadFromWithin #SmallBusiness #Solopreneur #Interview #Freelancer #BrandStrategist #BlackLivesMatter, #Trinidad #EmotionalIntelligence #NelsonMandela

Normalizing Black Success

During #BlackHistoryMonth, artist and vision activator, Ricardo McRae, returns to Willful to discuss:
• Shifting the collective thinking of all Canadians on the contributions of Black Canadians to our country
• Making Black success a normal expectation for everyone
• Claiming and acknowledging Black achievement every single time it happens

McRae is a painter, TEDx speaker, and vision activator for Wedge15, the branding agency he co-founded with Gloria Roheim McRae. He is also the founder and host of The Framing Podcast.

Willful is the web series that tracks how artists and creative entrepreneurs work, thrive and survive. We interview one artist a week, then post five three-minute snack films from that interview on YouTube every day.

Follow us here or on our YouTube Channel and Facebook Page for our entire archive of inspiring interviews.

Thank you, Greg Garson, for your hospitality at The Merchant Taps & Tavern.

Working her circular saw

Today on Willful, artist Heather Kocsis (@HKocsis) describes: 
• If being a woman who works with blades, rip fences and sawdust ejection chutes still cocks a few eyebrows.
• Pricing her work, and why putting a value on her art gets easier with experience.
• Seeing yourself as a business person.

Learn more about Heather’s study of architecture and the effects of time at HeatherKocsis.com. Her multidimensional wood assemblages are in public, private and corporate collections across North America, including the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto and The City Reliquary in Brooklyn, New York.

Willful is the web series that tracks how artists and creative entrepreneurs work, thrive and survive. We interview one artist a week, then post five three-minute snack films from that interview on YouTube every day. 

Follow us on our YouTube Channel and Facebook Page, or here on our website WillfulProject.com for our entire archive of inspiring interviews.

Thank you to Greg Garson and The Merchant Taps & Tavern for your tremendous hospitality!

Photo credit: StanSwitalski.com

Hunting for inspiration

Today on Willful, artist Heather Kocsis describes how tearing down a historical building scatters its stories. Kocsis makes wood assemblages of old buildings and back alleys that make us rethink our past and present. In Video 2, Heather describes: 

• Hunting for inspiration in the urban landscapes of New York and Chicago.
• Deciding on a composition and building it, using layers of wood like a paintbrush.
• How buildings change our sense of community and our sense of self.

Learn more about Heather’s study of architecture and the effects of time at HeatherKocsis.com. Her multidimensional pieces are in public, private and corporate collections across North America, including the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto and The City Reliquary in Brooklyn, New York.

Willful is the web series that tracks how artists and creative entrepreneurs work, thrive and survive. We interview one artist a week, then post five three-minute snack films from that interview on YouTube every day. 

Follow us on our YouTube Channel and Facebook Page, or here on our website WillfulProject.com for our entire archive of inspiring interviews.

#CreativeEntrepreneur #Interview #Willful #Mentors #Inspiration #Motivation #ArtMaking #Innovation #Leadership #FindItLiveIt #LeadFromWithin #SmallBusiness #Solopreneur #Interview #Freelancer #Painter #Sculptor #Architecture #ArchitecturalHistory #UrbanActivism, #JaneJacobs

Thank you to Greg Garson and The Merchant Taps & Tavern for your tremendous hospitality!

The Jane Jacobs Effect

Today on Willful, we sat down with artist Heather Kocsis (@HKocsis) whose wood assemblages of old buildings and back alleys make us rethink our past and present. In Video 1, Heather describes: 

• Going from painting and printmaking to ripping apart pieces of wood.

• The role Jane Jacobs’ urban activism has played in her art practice.

• The joys of living with no rules.

Learn more about Heather’s study of architecture and the effects of time at HeatherKocsis.com. Her multidimensional pieces are in public, private and corporate collections across North America, including the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto and The City Reliquary in Brooklyn, New York.

Willful is the web series that tracks how artists and creative entrepreneurs work, thrive and survive. We interview one artist a week, then post five three-minute snack films from that interview on YouTube every day. 

Follow us on our YouTube Channel and Facebook Page, or here on our website WillfulProject.com for our entire archive of inspiring interviews.

#CreativeEntrepreneur #Interview #Willful #Mentors #Inspiration #Motivation #ArtMaking #Innovation #Leadership #FindItLiveIt #LeadFromWithin #SmallBusiness #Solopreneur #Interview #Freelancer #Painter #Sculptor #Architecture #ArchitecturalHistory #UrbanActivism, #JaneJacobs

Thank you to Greg Garson and The Merchant Taps & Tavern for your tremendous hospitality!

When to ignore your client

Today on Willful, Ricardo McRae explains why he and his partner, Gloria Roheim McRae, won’t let their clients lead a project. “We don’t do mock-ups for feedback, we don’t do surveys, and we don’t do rounds of changes. We have conversations.” He also describes:
• Promising clients things you have no idea how to deliver (to create pressure and force growth).
• Blending project management, business, and art.
• Knowing when to listen to your client, and when to ignore them.

McRae is a painter, TEDx speaker, and vision activator for Wedge15, the branding agency he co-founded with Gloria Roheim McRae. He is also the founder of Black In Canada the host of TheFramingPodcast.com.

Willful is the web series that tracks how artists and creative entrepreneurs work, thrive and survive. We interview one artist a week, then post five three-minute snack films from that interview on YouTube every day.

Follow us here or on YouTube Channel and Facebook Page for our entire archive of inspiring interviews.

Thanks, Greg Garson, for inviting us into your beautiful restaurant, The Merchant Taps & Tavern, and for also always believing in delivering the best you've got.

When to listen to your parents

Today on Willful, Ricardo McRae describes: 

• Turning down a placement in business school … for art school.
• When to listen to your parents’ advice, and when to say, “I got this!’
• Combining practical and analytical skills with emotional intelligence.

McRae is a painter, TEDx speaker, and vision activator for Wedge15, the branding agency he co-founded with Gloria Roheim McRae. He is also the founder of Black In Canada and the host of TheFramingPodcast.com.

Willful is the web series that tracks how artists and creative entrepreneurs work, thrive and survive. We interview one artist a week, then post five three-minute snack films from that interview on YouTube every day. 

Follow us here or on our Facebook Page for our entire archive of inspiring interviews.

Thanks, Greg Garson, for inviting us into your beautiful restaurant, The Merchant Taps & Tavern.

The starving artist scenario

Today on Willful, Ricardo McRae (@RicardoMcRae) describes: 

• Growing up in Trinidad, a hotbed of colour and creativity.
• How fear of being a starving artist pushed him into the tech sector.
• What racism feels like: “It’s like facing waves in the ocean. You can’t win against the ocean, you have to ride the waves.”

McRae is a painter, TEDx speaker, and vision activator for Wedge15, the branding agency he co-founded with Gloria Roheim McRae. He is also the founder of Black In Canada, and host of TheFramingPodcast.com.

Willful is the web series that tracks how artists and creative entrepreneurs work, thrive and survive. We interview one artist a week, then post five three-minute snack films from that interview on YouTube every day. 

Follow us here or on our YouTube Channel for our entire archive of inspiring interviews.

Thank you, Greg Garson and the staff at The Merchant Tavern for your hospitality!

Taking control of your digital marketing

Her years spent working on digital strategy for the CBC has made mystery writer, Angela Misri, a crackerjack digital marketer. In Ep. 6 of Willful, Misri shares tips on:

• How you can take control of your digital marketing.
• Showing what you want to be known for.
• Researching plot details on the internet

Angela Misri (@karmicangel) is a Toronto-based journalist and former CBC’er, now a co-host of the podcast, Ada’s Sisters (with Eden Spodek), and the author of  A Portia Adams Adventure Series.

Willful is the web series that tracks how artists and creative entrepreneurs work, thrive and survive. We interview one artist a week, then post five three-minute snack films from that interview on YouTube every day. Sometimes we post 6 or 7 interviews a week if the material blows us away. 

Follow us here or on our Facebook Page for our entire archive of inspiring interviews.

Thank you, Greg Garson and the staff at the beautiful The Merchant Taps & Tavern for your generous hospitality. #CraftBeer

Writing YA fiction with Angela Misri

This week on Willful, I sat down with Angela Misri (‪@karmicangel‪), a Toronto-based journalist and former CBC’er, now a co-host of the podcast, Ada’s Sisters (with Eden Spodek), and the author of the A Portia Adams Adventure Series. In Ep. 3, Angela shares her thoughts on:‬‬

• Writing Young Adult fiction.

• Searching for female protagonists in books.

• Why Nancy Drew isn’t her cup of tea.

• Running in heels.

Willful is the web series that tracks how artists and creative entrepreneurs work, thrive and survive. We interview one artist a week, then post five three-minute snack films from that interview on YouTube every day.

Follow on our YouTube Channel (WillfulProject) and Facebook Page, or on our website WillfulProject.com for our entire archive of inspiring interviews.

Thank you to Greg Garson and the staff of  The Merchant Taps & Tavern for the location and the hospitality.

Shot and edited by the talented Yann Yap.

Being an outsider

This week on Willful, I sat down with Angela Misri (‪@karmicangel‪ ‬), a Toronto-based journalist and former CBC’er, now a co-host of the podcast, Ada’s Sisters (with Eden Spodek), and the author of the A Portia Adams Adventure Series. In Ep. 2, Angela talks about:‬‬

• Being something other than a doctor or an engineer, and telling her South Asian parents about it.
• The teacher who changed her life
• Being an outsider
• What makes a good mystery writer

Willful is the web series that tracks how artists and creative entrepreneurs work, thrive and survive. We interview one artist a week, then post five three-minute snack films from that interview on YouTube every day. 

Follow us here or on our YouTube Channel and Facebook Page for our entire archive of inspiring interviews.

Shot and edited by the talented Yann Yap.

Thank you to Greg Garson and the entire staff at  The Merchant Taps & Tavern for hosting us.

Finding time to write with Angela Misri

This week on Willful, I sat down with Angela Misri (‪@karmicangel‪ ‬), a Toronto-based journalist and former CBC’er, now a co-host of the Ada’s Sisters Podcast (with @EdenSpodek), and the author of the Portia Adams Adventure Series. In Ep. 1, Angela talks about:

• Finding time to write when you’re spending all your creative energy at work. 
• First steps: filling Moleskin notebooks with ideas.
• How her characters make themselves known to her.
• Creating a female detective out of Baker Street.

Willful is the web series that tracks how artists and creative entrepreneurs work, thrive and survive. We interview one artist a week, then post five three-minute snack films from that interview on YouTube every day. 

Follow us here our website WillfulProject.com or our Facebook Page for our entire archive of inspiring interviews.

Creativity and compensation

This week on Willful, I sat down with Andrew Dobson (dobbernationLOVES), the editor in chief of DobberNationLoves.com, a food, luxury travel, arts and entertainment blog now in its 9th year. In episode #3, Andrew talks even more about:

• His efforts to change the culture of free on the internet.
• His favourite example of creativity and compensation coming together. 
• When he has said YES to non-paid work, and why.

Willful is the web series that tracks how artists and creative entrepreneurs work, thrive and survive. We interview one artist a week, then post five three-minute snack films from that interview on YouTube every day. 

Follow us here on our website, or on our Facebook Page and YouTube channel for our entire archive of inspiring interviews.

Monetizing your blog posts the DobberNation way

This week on Willful, I sat down with Andrew Dobson (@DobberNation), the editor in chief of DobberNationLoves.com, a food, luxury travel, arts and entertainment blog now in its 9th year. In Ep. 2, Andrew talks about:

• The social media landscape after he graduated in 2007. Twitter was a year old!
• Monetizing your writing and videos.
• The mistakes he's made/lessons learned in the push to get paid for his creativity.
• Setting expectations with clients.

Willful is the web series that tracks how artists and creative entrepreneurs work, thrive and survive. We interview one artist a week, then post five three-minute snack films from that interview on YouTube every day. 

Follow us here and on our YouTube Channel for more inspiring interviews.

Maureen Judge remembers her start in documentary filmmaking

In this episode of Willful, award-winning documentary filmmaker, Maureen Judge, recalls how she got her start in film.

Maureen heads up the production company, Makin' Movies, and creates documentaries that take you inside people's lives.

Highlights in this interview include:
• Why Maureen chose documentaries over other forms of filmmaking.
• Her first camera.
• How photo albums, sewing, and studying philosophy all worked together to shape Maureen's vision as a documentarian.

Willful is the web series that tracks how creative entrepreneurs work, thrive and survive. We interview one artist a week, then post five three-minute snack films from that interview on YouTube every day. 

Follow us here and on our YouTube channel for more inspiring interviews.