THE INSPIRATION PLACE PODCAST
Miriam Schulman: My late mother in law used to say, we spend half our time worrying about things that actually never happen. So now I’m making a deliberate choice not to worry ahead of time and to deal with things as they come.
Speaker 2: It’s the Inspiration Place podcast with artist Miriam Schulman. Welcome to the Inspiration Place podcast, an art World insider podcast for artists by an artist, where each week we go behind the scenes to uncover the perspiration and inspiration behind the art. And now your host, Miriam Schulman.
Miriam Schulman: Well, hey, there it is! Miriam Schulman and welcome to the Inspiration Place podcast! I am so happy that you’re here. This is episode number 337. So today we’re talking all about the word of the year. So this is something that I have embraced Since 2014. I actually have with me my art journal from 2014. So for those of you who are watching this on YouTube, this is the first year that I actually ended up choosing words and not just choosing a word, but actually leaning into the whole art journaling practice slash craze. And I will link up for you the exact journals that I have used every year. Every single year. No joke. Once I got it in gray, but it’s the same exact one. It’s called the Planner pad. We will link that up for you. So the word of the year is something that was a practice I remember hearing from a number of different artists, but it wasn’t until I discovered Allie Edwards that I fully embraced it, and she is probably the first known person to formally thwart is that I’m looking for but codify a personal word of the year. This is something that the dictionary is always chose a word for the year, like 2020. This was the word of the year or whatever, but to have a personal word of the year was something Ali Edwards had came up with in her scrapbooking communities, and it’s embraced beyond that.
Miriam Schulman: I did her program a few years in a row. I never did it as a scrapbook, though. The way that she prescribes it, I always did it as an art journal. And you can do a lot of those exercises yourself. What I like to do when I’m starting to think about the year is I may write a list of words that touch my soul and see which one resonates with me the most. For this year, it was obvious what word that I wanted, though, without having to do that, and I chose the word peace p e a c e as soon as my guy did not win, I was like, I think it’s time to start focusing on some inner peace instead of focusing on the news. Now, if you’re looking for some peace in 2025 as well, I have some tips for you today. Ten tips to be precise. If so, this episode is going to be one that you’re going to want to tune in to. Let me share with you the ways that I am deliberately choosing peace. So for us humans, we have not evolved to handle the news outside of our own little villages. So it’s really overwhelming for us to handle world news, national news, even social media, because we’re hearing about news that goes beyond our village. So a lot of the techniques that I’m sharing with you today about focusing on peace, it’s about really keeping more in your own little world and bubble.
Miriam Schulman: I don’t know if those of you who are old enough to remember, but I remember back in the 70s and early 80s when we were all worried about atomic bombs, and we used to do bomb drills, and that’s not something we really worry about anymore. So there’s things sometimes we can get really anxious about. And as my late mother in law used to say, we spend half our time worrying about things that actually never happened. So now I’m making a deliberate choice not to worry ahead of time and to deal with things as they come. And that is really how I got through having my own child, my now 24 year old. But at the time he was 22 when he was a soldier in a war. So I made a deliberate choice not to worry ahead of time and deal with things as they come. And the grounding practice that I used is I’m okay right now. My kids are okay right now. I think we’re all going to be okay, and that’s going to be the world that I’m going to create for myself. So here are for this episode, practical ways for you to find peace, whether that’s your word or not, in 2025. Number one, break up with the news. Okay, so I was very guilty about being obsessed with certain YouTubers, all aligned with my political leanings that I would be going to for the good news, the bad news.
Miriam Schulman: And I decided I didn’t want to engage with that anymore. I broke up with them. Broke up with all of them. Not only did I unsubscribe from all these progressive YouTubers I used to follow, but I’ve also installed an extension called block two. This works for your laptop or your desktop. It’s a Chrome extension, and what you can do is enter in any words that might trigger you. So for me, those are any words related to US politics. I think parents actually use this to filter out adult content, but I use it so that I’m not seeing upsetting news I don’t want to see. The second thing you can do, and I’ve had this particular desktop app installed since, I don’t know, 2018, so I’ve had it for quite some time now. Six years. It’s called News Feed Eradicator, it’s for Facebook, and it is for your desktop or a laptop. And instead of seeing your news feed, you get just an inspirational quote. So if I need to go on Facebook to go into a Facebook group, if I need to go into Facebook to do something intentional, I can still do it. But I am not assaulted with news that I don’t want to see or opinions I don’t want to hear. Number two. Now, number two is interesting because it’s very similar to the trends that I’ve predicted for 2025 and beyond.
Miriam Schulman: And we will link to that episode about art trends for 2025 that you want to know about. But this is for the same reason I predicted it as a trend for 2025. I’m also suggesting it as a way to find peace. And that is the trend of fantasy, sci fi, or surrealism. Now, since I recorded that episode, I have further proof of this being true. The Man Booker Prize for this year is orbital, which is a work of sci fi. The movie wicked. It’s another one. Afrofuturism is another one. But any time you can step into fantasy sci fi surrealism, you’re going to get that journey outside of your reality. It’s going to give you some grounding and inner peace. Hey there artists, it’s Miriam Schulman here and if you are feeling overwhelmed and feel like you’re spinning your wheels trying to figure out how to attract art collectors, I get it. Marketing isn’t always easy, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are some good news. You do not have to do this alone. This month, I am hosting a free three day experience designed to help artists just like you make more money from your art. Whether you’re stuck on pricing, struggling to find your audience, or just don’t know how to market your art without feeling salesy over three days, you’re going to learn practical strategies to sell more art with confidence, to get noticed by collectors and take inspired action that makes a difference.
Miriam Schulman: The Boot Camp kicks off on January 13th, and trust me, you don’t want to miss this. So head on over to SchulmanArt.com forward slash bootcamp to save your spot now. That’s SchulmanArt.com forward slash boot camp. I can’t wait to help you thrive in 2025 and beyond. And now back to today’s episode. Number three, just like the trend predictions that nostalgia is going to be something people are going to want to dive into, nostalgia is something that can give you some inner peace. Going back in time, perhaps for you, that means you’re compiling old photos, going through your photo albums, whether you’re working to do this work, creating a new album, or perhaps just looking through old ones. Nostalgia is a great way to find some inner peace for yourself. Number four also aligned with my trend predictions is getting into nature. So whether that’s going out in the snow, going to the beach, walking the rain with an umbrella, going out in the sun, taking your socks and shoes off, wiggling your feet in the grass if it’s not too cold, maybe it’s just opening the window for a quick breeze. Getting into nature is always going to give you some inner peace. Number five again. Having very much aligned with trend predictions, our immersive experiences. So just like that’s a trend prediction in the art world, doing those types of experiences are going to help you find inner peace by escaping reality in a positive way.
Miriam Schulman: So all these different kinds of escapes that I’m giving you, they’re not escaping through substance abuse or overeating or over consumption. They should be healthy. They should be social, they should be fun. Then my last one, which is aligned with the trend predictions, our cultural mash ups. So I had said cultural mash ups is a trend in the art world. It’s also a form of escape. So that could be trying a new restaurant, maybe trying a new recipe, perhaps watching a foreign movie with subtitles that makes your brain work a little harder to watch it. Maybe you’re going to learn a new language. Number seven. Rearrange the furniture. I actually did this on Wednesday, November 6th. I completely rearranged the furniture in my apartment, and I did that by. I had actually planned on doing this, but it just happened to be. I followed through with it on that day. On Wednesday, November 6th, I had planned on it because I had ordered a new rug, and I decided I wasn’t going to wait for any help. I wasn’t going to wait for my husband or anyone to help me. I was just going to go for it. So I moved all the furniture and all that heavy lifting felt really good to my body, and I put the new rug down.
Miriam Schulman: I don’t have an affiliate link for the rug, but I’ll link it for you anyway. It’s from rugs USA, and then I took the rug that was in my living room and I moved that here. And then I decided I wanted to swap the desk that was in the living room with the desk that was in my office when I lived in the suburbs. Both of them were my desk. I had mega desk. And when we moved to the city and we didn’t have quite as much room and my husband needed a desk, I gave him one of mine, but I decided I wanted to swap the desk, so that was some more heavy lifting, some more rearranging. But there is something very, very therapeutic about changing your surroundings, and there are some ways that you can do it that are more cost conscious than others. Maybe buying a rug isn’t in your budget, but perhaps a can of paint. This furniture that’s in this room used to be brown, and when I was anxious about moving from the suburbs to the city, I repainted all my furniture, all my brown furniture. I repainted it white. So white is a great color for a new beginning, for a new year. And I have that here in my studio. I have a white carpet, I have white furniture, I have white walls and all that really brings me a sense of calm.
Miriam Schulman: And then the only colors I have in here are this teal green color, the lamp, the dresser, Artpreneur, which is that color. So number eight is true crime. This was something that I just read recently in the New York Times, that the audience of these true crime, both series on TV or podcast or Netflix or whatever, 80% of the audience for these are women. And the reason why is because in the true crime shows and podcasts, justice is always served. I remember there was a time where my husband and I over this past year, we were enjoying watching some true crime documentaries. There was a murder one and yeah, I think there may have been two murder ones, actually. Like the Times Square. I don’t think it was hatchet person, but there was the Times Square criminal, whatever. Murder, serial killer. And then there was another one that was about the homicide unit in New York City. That was fascinating. And they always have really good profiles of the heroes in these stories. They’re never the unsolved crimes. The unsolved crimes can make you more anxious. These have a calming effect on people because justice is always served. Okay. For number nine, for a way to find peace, I have games, so that could be the crossword puzzle. That could be a different puzzle. My favorite puzzle in the times is to not touch. My daughter’s favorite one is the KenKen.
Miriam Schulman: My husband’s is the crossword puzzle. Solving a puzzle really does help you separate from work and any problems of daily life, because your mind is occupied on the puzzle. Right now, I’m learning how to play mahjong with a bunch of friends in the Upper West Side. It’s social and it definitely keeps my mind off of the daily grind, so that is a great escape for me. Another game that I love that I play whenever I have people over for dinner are the Oracle cards, so it’s a great way for everyone to have a turn to like, be in the spotlight during a group dinner. So people who are shy, they get their turn. Nobody dominates the conversation that way. And I just recently discovered this artist who I absolutely love. I’m going to make sure you can see this If you’re watching this on YouTube, you’ll get to see how beautiful these cards are. This is Katherine Wells Stein. She’s definitely working in that fantasy surrealist style that I’ve been talking about. And it’s really great how each card is this beautiful artwork that people really do enjoy it, enjoy looking at it, and it provides escape and it provides conversation. So we will link this up for you as well. Really quite beautiful art. I think the originals are actually quite small, but she does have the Oracle cards and she does offer prints. Okay, the last escape or way to find inner peace for 2025 is art journaling.
Miriam Schulman: Are you surprised I said that you shouldn’t be? I do so much journaling. It’s a practice that I’ve done year after year after year. And to help you out with that, we have a list of 52 art journal prompts that you can get absolutely free just for leaving a review of Artpreneur on Amazon. So if you go to SchulmanArt.com forward slash Amazon, leave a honest and hopefully positive review and take a screenshot of that and email it to Miriam at TheInspirationPlace.net and we will give you instant access to this 52 Art Journal prompts. Since you bought the book, you will also be eligible for the mini art journaling class that I have inside of the Artist Insights, which is the bonus package just for buying Artpreneur in any format from Any retailer that you choose, and if you have gotten it from the library, you are also eligible for the bonus package. Just take a picture of yourself with the book and we will honor that for you. All right, my friend. So thank you so much for joining me here today. I would love to hear from you either in the comments or DM me at Schulman Art Schulman Art DM me. Let me know what your word of the year is. I would love to hear from you. All right, so I’ll see you at the same time, same place next week. Until then, stay inspired. Bye for now.
Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to the Inspiration Place podcast. Connect with us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Schulman Art, on Instagram at SchulmanArt and of course, on SchulmanArt.com.
Subscribe & Review in iTunes
Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!
Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!