Malinda Prud'homme's portrait art

Today on Willful, Toronto portrait artist Malinda Prud'homme on:
• how the flooded teaching market forced her to chase her real dream
• whether she believes “the staple of our generation: if you work really hard, get good grades and volunteer you can achieve whatever you want”
• Female beauty that goes against the “Disney princess ideal” (we have freckles, gap teeth, fros and more)

Prud’homme is a mixed media artist who believes in a broader definition of female beauty, regardless of age, size, ethnicity, or personal style. Check out her work at Malinda Prud'homme Art and malindaprudhomme.com

Jumpstart your day and get inspired by all of our Willful guests at WillfulProject.com.

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.

Establishing good client relations

Today on Willful, artist Heather Kocsis describes: 

• How her work invites viewers to be present with their emotions.
• How everything goes away, but art has a permanence.
• Tips on developing good client relations.

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.

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.

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

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!