This week I had the pleasure of interviewing Marianna Phillips who is a visual artist and writer exploring the intersections of learning and brainstorming how we can collectively foster more creativity and curiosity in the world.
Marianna is a partner and writer at Forcing Function. She explores these intersections through her creative project Weird Little Lines. She also co-founded The Math Plus Music Series and has an interview series of her own on her website called On Creativity.
Marianna and I go deep into the creative process: how to get unstuck creatively, how to capture ideas, how to set yourself up for success when it’s time to sit down and create and so much more.
Please enjoy!
Full Episode
Guest Links
Show Notes
- Does Marianna identify more as an artist or as an educator? (02:07-02:36)
- What drew her into art? (02:38-03:45)
- Marianna talks about the influence her parents had on her in terms of art. (04:08-04:57)
- Marianna explains why innovation blossoms at the intersection of fields especially in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Maths. (05:04-07:12)
- Her views on traditional education vs critical thinking & mastery. (07:13-09:00)
- Her thoughts on how to create a different way of thinking in learning. (09:01-10:25)
- Who influenced her in terms of the creative side and analytical side of thinking? (11:34-12:31)
- When did she start to identify as an artist? (12:32-13:12)
- Her thoughts on why people resist being labeled as creative. (13:14-14:16)
- Talking about the type of creativity with which she is more associated with. (14:18-16:38)
- How much time does she spend thinking about art as a craft and intentionally working on the craft? (16:40-19:19)
- What role did formal education play for her in terms of learning how to write, draw and paint? (19:20-22:24)
- Marianna talks about the mentors she had. (22:25-25:10)
- Her thoughts on the concept of Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon. (25:12-27:50)
- The leaps of understanding that she went through in her journey. (28:50-33:20)
- How much time did she dedicate to her art while she was pursuing a track in law? (33:30-35:02)
- Talking about the creative block and the process of being unstuck creatively. (35:10-38:50)
- The power of constraints and how constrained she is. (38:50-41:55)
- How does she avoid distraction? (41:46-45:52)
- Marianna talks about how she organizes her memory. (45:53-48:38)
- Cultivating a strong practical and creative intuition. (48:39-50:27)
- Marianna explains “seeing the world in terms of line drawing”. (50:28-52:45)
- The project she’s working on and the intersection between arts and education. (53:00-57:15)
- Marianna on Weird Little Lines. (57:16-1:02:15)
- Does she see herself using art to create awareness for education? (1:02:16-1:03:36)
- Art is what makes everything so accessible from Marianna’s point of view. (1:03:37-1:05:05)
- Marianna talks about the conversation she had with Merrit Moore. (1:05:07-1:07:23)
- The benefits she gets from conducting interviews with different people. (1:07:27-1:09:47)
- What influences are playing in her children’s book project? (1:09:50-1:13:05)
- Does she have a system to capture her ideas in her workflow? (1:13:07-1:14:52)
- How does she manage instant capture of ideas? (1:14:52-1:17:25)
Selected Links from the Episode
- The Covid-19 Feelings Book – Nora Phillips
- Steal Like An Artist – Austin Kleon
- Dune – Frank Herbert
- Merrit Moore
- Notion
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