THE INSPIRATION PLACE PODCAST
Miriam Schulman: Once your messaging reflects the truth of who you are, people don’t just notice, they respond. And that’s the real power of clear messaging. It’s not about better words. It’s about becoming undeniable.
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: Hey, it’s Miriam. Author of the book Artpreneur and your curator of inspiration and host of the The Inspiration Place podcast. Let me tell you a story that I’ve heard at least many different versions of it more times than I can definitely count. An artist and we’ll just call her Kate was showing her art at a live event and she creates beautiful digital pieces. She’s a digital artist, digitally painted portraits with these gouache style brushes and the work is vibrant, it’s textured, it’s soulful, and it looks hand-painted. She prints them out on high quality paper and presents them in person. But this is what she told me. People walk up and they admire it, but when I tell them it’s digital, they just walk away. So she was starting to wonder, is it the medium? Is there a stigma around digital art? Do they not understand the value? Am I supposed to be explaining something else? Something more, something less? And here’s what I offered her. Because yeah, you could argue that there’s a stigma around digital art. However, what I’ve noticed with most artists is that they focus way too much on the medium and people are not buying medium, they’re buying meaning. So what I said to her, it’s not the medium, Kate. It’s the message. Because what she was doing and what so many artists do is leading with process. And if you do this, don’t feel bad.
Miriam Schulman: Like I’ve gone into galleries in Cape Cod where very established artists are, like boring me to tears about their process. And I’m an artist and I still don’t want to hear about the process. I want to hear why they created it, the story behind it. Not the how, not what tools, not what printer, not what procreate tools or brushes used. Collectors don’t buy the process. They buy meaning they buy resonance. They buy what your art helps them feel or remember or reclaim. It’s kind of like that Maya Angelou quote that people won’t remember what you say, but they’ll remember how you made them feel. What Kate didn’t realize was she was stuck behind a messaging wall. She thought she had a marketing problem. But what she really had was a language gap. And that’s what this episode is about. Now there are four levels of awareness. Every artist goes through when it comes to messaging, from not even knowing you have a messaging problem, to finally speaking with the kind of clarity that connects, that converts and reflects your creative soul. Now, if you’ve ever wondered why people like your art and don’t buy if your bio hasn’t been updated in years, if you find yourself saying, I don’t know how to talk about myself, this episode is for you. Okay, so before we dive in, I want to introduce a concept that’s going to frame everything we explore.
Miriam Schulman: It’s something called the four Levels of awareness, and it’s a way of understanding where you are in your journey as an artist, especially when it comes to messaging your work or talking about your art. Because messaging is not just about bios, it’s about looking in the mirror and asking, does what I’m saying reflect who I really am? And sometimes the answer is no, not because you’re not talented, but because you’re still using words that fit an old version of yourself. Or maybe it never fit you, or worse, no words at all. So that’s where these four levels come in. We’re going to talk about first level one hidden. So if you’re level one you’re the hidden artist. You’re making and sharing art. But something isn’t clicking. People like it, but maybe they’re not buying your website might be out of date. Maybe it’s not even set up yet. Deep down, you’re wondering, maybe I’m not interesting enough. What? You don’t yet realize. It’s not your art, it’s your messaging. But you haven’t looked in the mirror that way yet. Level two is disconnected. Now that you know something’s off, maybe you’ve tried rewriting or writing or about page, but it still sounds like someone else wrote it. Or it could be talking about anybody, which is even worse. So you’re starting to suspect that what you’re saying or not saying is the thing that’s getting in the way.
Miriam Schulman: Level three is the seeker. You’re ready to fix it. You’re looking for a way to clarify, but something real and customized, not another template. You want the reflection in your writing to finally match the artist you’ve become. Finally, level four is aligned. You know it’s available. You’ve seen others do it. You’re hovering on the edge of stepping in and finally finding the words that sound like you, and you just need that one last bit of clarity. So in this episode, you’re going to hear from artists at every single one of these levels. Some are still trying to polish the mirror. Maybe some people are trying to polish the wrong mirror, by the way, like they’re they’re polishing these ChatGPT words, but it’s not a reflection of them at all. Some are afraid to take a look. Some are starting to see themselves clearly for the first time, and some are already stepping into that alignment, sounding like the artist that they truly are, not the ones that they used to be. So wherever you are, this is your invitation. Stop guessing. Stop shrinking. Finally, be seen. And not just in your art, but in your message. First, we’re going to talk about Nina. By the way, I did change the names of some of the artists.
Miriam Schulman: There are some artists, though, who have gone through the messaging process with me, who have already gotten results, and for those I am including their names so that you can go check them out. So Nina’s working on our website and she’s got multiple series, and the work is beautiful and she’s sold from all of her different series, but she wants to build a website and take it online. And during a recent coaching call, she said, I think I’m going to wait till everything’s up on all the series pages, all the text. It doesn’t quite feel ready yet, and I get that I do, but but what I heard in her question felt more like a production problem, because the problem was she had too many different series. So here’s what actually was happening. Nina wasn’t procrastinating because her site wasn’t ready. She was procrastinating because her signature voice, her message wasn’t ready. So she’s confused about which series to highlight because she hasn’t found the through line yet. The thread that’s going to tie her art all together in a way that resonates with her collectors. She doesn’t know what to say, and so she’s trying to say everything, hoping something will stick. Does that sound familiar? She’s not alone. All the examples I picked, I picked them not to call anybody out, not to feel bad. Because these are the problems I see over and over again.
Miriam Schulman: And by sharing it on the podcast, I’m hoping that it’ll help you too. When you try to say everything you end up. But what I’m going to rerecord is this is messaging confusion masquerading as perfectionism. And it’s incredibly common for how artists, because when you don’t understand what people connect with in your art, you default to process, to detail or overwhelm. You wait to get it all done instead of leading with what’s already true. Okay. And then we have Kate. Kate thought the problem was her medium, and Nina thought the problem was her site wasn’t ready. But what was actually happening in both of these cases? Well, they’re making powerful artwork, but they haven’t yet found the language to frame it. And because they can’t name what makes their art matter, they either say too little, too much or something that’s, you know, kind of neither here nor there, like generic. So they wait, they tweak, they disappear. And the worst part is they blame themselves. Are you blaming yourself? They think maybe my work isn’t that interesting. Maybe I’m just no good at this. Maybe I’m not cut out for marketing. But even Monet struggled with this. Yeah. Monet, before his name was spoken with reverence in every museum and every college student hung his posters up in their dorm. Okay, the now famous painting that gave birth to Impressionism.
Miriam Schulman: Well, that word was originally used as an insult. Critics said it was unfinished, sloppy, childlike. Like. So the word that you’ve initially used as an insult actually changed everything, because what happened is somebody gave it a name and now it became a movement. So instead of calling it sloppy, they called it radical, emotional, new. And suddenly the art that was misunderstood became iconic, not because the work had changed, but because the message did. So after I told the story of Monet, how it wasn’t the art that it changed, but the message and artists I coach, Charlie asked me something that made me pause. He said, how do I create a personal voice that touches people, especially with abstract art? I know he’s not the only one asking this. The things I share in this podcast there never once off. Otherwise there’s no point in bringing it to the podcast. So this is not a unicorn question. A lot of people think this. I think what Charlie was thinking was because his art wasn’t representational and it didn’t explain itself. He was wondering, are people even going to get it? Is my work too subtle to connect? Would it be easier if I just painted something more literal? And I think what Charlie was like looking at animal paintings or flower paintings or landscape paintings. But here’s what was really going on.
Miriam Schulman: Charlie wasn’t questioning his talent. He was questioning his transmission. He thought maybe abstract art doesn’t resonate the way figurative or narrative art does. But the truth is, any kind of art can connect deeply if the message around it is clear, confident, and emotionally resonant. This is what disconnected. So remember, the first level is hidden. The second level is disconnected. So you know your work is meaningful, but you haven’t figured out how to frame it so that others feel what you feel. Where Kate thought her problem was the medium and Charlie thought his genre was the problem. But in both cases, the real issue wasn’t what they were creating, it was how they were talking about it. So when you shift that message, everything starts to click. That’s why I want to tell you next about Paula. So Charlie was wondering if his abstract art could really connect. And that question, that doubt is where so many artists live for way too long. But here’s what happens when you don’t just sit with the question. I want you to meet Paula. I’m going to give her full name. Paula. Kristen. She’s a watercolor artist who paints luminous, peaceful landscapes of the Pacific Northwest. Her work is beautiful, grounded, serene, filled with story. She had language on her site, but it was not landing and she knew she wanted to connect emotionally with her collectors.
Paula Christen: I could talk about it, but I couldn’t craft it Crafted into a message that reached my collectors or potential collectors. It felt awkward for me to do that. And so having your help pull out things and it’s truly authentic to me, I just did not have a way to put it. I don’t know, it felt like I was bragging about myself. I wanted to get it out there, but it just it for me, it just felt awkward. I wasn’t very eloquent at it.
Miriam Schulman: So does it feel like bragging now?
Paula Christen: No, it feels comfortable. And I’m proud. I’m proud to put that link in there, in anything I send out. This is me. This is why I do what I do. And it’s just out there for the world to see.
Miriam Schulman: In our other stories with Nina and Charlie and Kate, they thought the problem was the genre or the medium or the website, when really was their message? Paula knew her message was the problem. She knew her messaging wasn’t working. She was ready for help. And so that’s why she came to me. But if you’re like Paula, she did not want a formula. She wanted language that felt like her. So in our session, we didn’t just write copy, which I don’t just do in these sessions. What I do is I’m unpack your values. We find those moments that matter most to your collectors and to you, and build a message that finally matches the soul of your work. Even if you don’t know what it is yourself, we’re going to talk a little bit more about people who came to me. I don’t know what my values are. I don’t I don’t know, I don’t know. And that is common. I want to tell you another story. This one captures a fear that is really common. A lot of artists ask me, but who’s really going to buy art online that they’ve never seen in person? Who’s really going to buy it from my website if they can’t see the art in person? Oh, it’s really understandable question. We’ve all been told that art sells best when it’s live, that collectors need to feel the texture, the scale, the presence. And that’s somewhat true to a point, but I want to offer a different lens.
Miriam Schulman: It’s not the physical art that is going to sell the art, whether it’s a painting or a sculpture or a fiber art or or whatever else. It’s the words. It’s the words on your website that help people see the art, that helps them understand what it is that they’re looking at. Just like Monet with Impressionism, they need to be able to understand it and connect with it emotionally. People buy meaning, not medium. They need to connect to it emotionally, narratively, viscerally, especially when they can’t be in the room with it. Now Carl wasn’t. So Carl was the one whose example he said. He’s the one who said this to me most recently. He wasn’t doubting his artwork, but he was doubting whether his message online could carry the emotional weight of his work. He was asking. Can language actually close the gap? And the answer is absolutely. Now, I’ve had countless artists sell high ticket artwork to people who have never seen the art in person, because the words made them feel like they had the right message. Can build trust, establish connection, activate emotional urgency, and paint a picture in your collector’s mind about why this piece of art matters to them. Now, if your website is quiet, if you’re hearing crickets from collectors, but applause from your peers or not. Either way, if you started to believe you just need more in-person events to sell, which, by the way, could be leading you to burnout. I have clients who have shared that with me.
Miriam Schulman: I have one client that I’m going to start inside the incubator, actually. So she’s made $100,000 and she’s joined the incubator. She’s not in my inner circle, but she was sharing with me because she relies so much on in-person sales. She’s burning out. She needs to connect better with her emails and on her website. That is a missing piece for her. So you may not need more visibility. You may not need more in-person shows. You may not. You may not need that. What you might need is more resonance. So if you want to understand what emotional resonance looks like in its most unapologetic form, look at Marc Chagall. His paintings do not explain themselves. They don’t follow traditional composition. They’re surreal, poetic, sometimes chaotic. A bride floats, a violinist, flies a goat, turns his head mid-air. But what holds it all together? Message. Meaning. Voice. Chagall wasn’t just painting pictures. He was painting. Longing. Longing for home, for memory, for God, for joy and sorrow in the same breath. And here’s the thing. He did this at a time when being visibly Jewish, when expressing your roots, your rituals, your differences was dangerous. Some could argue that’s true right now, but Chagall did not strip his identity to make his work more palatable. He amplified it. He painted the prayers and the ghosts of his childhood village into the corners of every canvas. And the The result? Resonance that transcends time language. Chagall didn’t need a viral reel.
Miriam Schulman: He didn’t wait for a press feature. He just told the truth visually and emotionally, and the right people felt it. That’s the power of voice, of creative identity, of saying something only you can say. So an artist like Carl, worried that they’re not well known enough to sell online, or when someone hesitates to go deep in their messaging because not everyone will get it, or they’re worried about antisemitism, or they’re worried about whatever it is that you’re worried about. I think a Chagall. He didn’t try to be understood by everyone. He just made sure his people, his real audience, could feel him. And that’s what your messaging is supposed to do. Not people. Please not please the masses. Not explain the technique, but open a window into your inner world and say, if this moves you, it’s for you. Now I want to share another client. This is Leigh Nelson. Leigh is a digital artist based in Toronto. Her work is richly layered, a little dreamlike, urban scenes blended with personal photography and a signature sense of mystery tunnels, figures, architecture all woven together into this intuitive visual language that she had no idea how to explain. And when she first came to work with me inside the Artpreneur messaging vault she always wore, a lot of artists find themselves. She knew her work had something to say, but she did not know how to say it, especially since her process was to build her artwork intuitively.
Miriam Schulman: Her bio was minimal, her website wasn’t doing her any justice. She had sold a few pieces in person, enough to know that people liked her art, but online? Crickets. She had very few people on her email list. Her confidence was building, but her clarity not so much. So then in our session, we started digging. I asked her about her process, about what shows up in her work. Again and again I asked about her dreams, her background, her family, her values. At first, lay shared, I’m so bad at this. But then slowly, something shifted. She started naming tunnels not just a city structures, but as symbols of transformation, rebirth and emotional complexity. She talked about her music, the music she listens to while she creates heavy dubstep, the kind that makes her brain fire on all cylinders, and how that rhythm shows up in her art. She spoke about being a fiercely independent woman shaped by a quiet childhood, but a sister who taught her self-esteem and how a trip to Morocco opened her eyes to the reality that women’s rights are not universal. And she was so angry at what she felt seeing the restrictions placed on women there, and how that anger became fuel for her creative voice. And then we shaped all of this into a language that finally felt true. Suddenly, Leigh’s work wasn’t just digital collage. It was a visual midwife, a reflection of my own complexity. It captures what it means to be alone without being lonely. Me.
Leigh Nelson: Oh, my God, that was amazing. So it’s like a therapy session. This is what I was thinking. You’re like a one on one therapy of you my whole life and how I feel. I had no idea that I could use this for my. I did, but I didn’t know how to get there.
Miriam Schulman: It is therapy. But the therapy is for your message. And that’s what I do inside the Artpreneur messaging vault. It’s not branding fluff. It’s not plug and play formula. It’s holding up a mirror for you. A tool for reflection, recognition, and reclaiming your voice. So if you are where Leigh was, I guess she was disconnected. If you’re making art you love, but you’re struggling to explain why it matters. This is your invitation. Your voice is sacred. Your work already has something to say, or you wouldn’t be making it. Let’s make sure the world can hear it. So if this sounds like something you want, you can go to SchulmanArt.com/VAULT to book your session. Okay, we still have some more to cover before we wrap up. Next, I want to tell you about Silvina. She’s a mixed media artist, Argentinean by birth, now living in Canada. Her art is lush, layered, emotional. But until recently, her messaging didn’t reflect any of that. When she came into the Artpreneur messaging vault session, she was showing up. She was doing so she wasn’t hidden. She was doing open studios. She was maintaining a website, sharing on social media. But the story behind the work was missing. In the first few minutes of our session, I asked her how she wanted people to feel when they looked at her art, and she paused and she said, I don’t know. And honestly, Lee had this had the same thing. I mean, this is not calling anybody out. This is exactly why most artists have trouble with their message. You don’t really know you’re working with your subconscious. You’re just focused on the composition and the colors.
Miriam Schulman: And your subconscious is at play. It is working. It is creating, meaning you just may not always be on that level of awareness with it. And it wasn’t because she didn’t feel anything. It was because her feelings and her messaging had never fully met in one place. So as we talked, I started to see the pattern. She wasn’t someone who liked being told what to feel or how to explain herself. She didn’t want to impose emotions on her collectors. She wanted to offer space, reflection and resonance. Her collage process, full of torn paper and intuitive choices, was a metaphor for everything. She believed in freedom, fluidity, emotional truth without over-explanation and she shared, I need personal space to connect with myself. I’ve always struggled with being told what to do, and that’s when it clicked. Her art didn’t just represent abstract landscapes, it represented emotional landscapes. The bittersweet experience of loving someone from afar, of being a mother living on a different continent than her daughter, or living between countries, languages and lives. She said my work is shaped by distance. It’s a kind of therapy. By the end of the session, we had crafted messaging that sounded like this. If your heart has ever stretched across time zones, you’ll feel seen here. These aren’t just landscapes, they’re a visual exhale. And my work is emotional permission to feel both closeness and solitude. Her pieces became more than mixed media. They became emotional oxygen in a disconnected digital world. And the most powerful part? Silvina’s final reflection was not about strategy. It wasn’t about sales. It was this.
Silvina Lanusse: Feel. I’m a very emotional person, but I unless I was talking to you because I didn’t even put it together. So I feel it. So I was feeling it. But then in my artist bio and statement was not in one.
Miriam Schulman: And that’s what happens in the vault. We don’t just write copy. We excavate truth. We name what your collectors are already sensing and give them language to say that that’s how I feel. So if you’re like Slovenia creating work with depth, but struggling to connect that depth to your voice, maybe it’s time to stop winging it and start speaking from a place of clarity. Okay, so next I want to introduce you to Vicki Morrison. Vicki is a multimedia artist. She works in big soft layers think acrylics, pastels, charcoal, collage, nature inspired, subtle quiet in the way that whispers stay with you longer than shouts. And when she came to work with me, Vicki was not new to art. She wasn’t even new to selling it. She had $3,000 sales, as well as smaller $500 sales. But what she was new to was telling that story that actually matched her work. Her old bio generic, disconnected from who she really is. But Vicki’s not generic. Not even close. She’s a former critical care nurse. She’s a grandmother of three. She’s someone who notices the wind in the trees and the stillness between the waves. She’s someone who reads the Alchemist and tears up at the idea that lessons can come from a sheep or from strangers. So when we started teasing out her story, I asked her, what do you believe in? She said, honesty. Being in nature, treating people with respect no matter where they come from or how they speak.
Miriam Schulman: She shared with me, there’s so much suspicion in the world now and we need to slow down. We need to see each other. And that’s when her messaging started to shift. We built a collective profile that reflected those values. They want art that brings calm to a chaotic space. They value soul over status. They believe that nature teaches us who we truly are, and they are drawn to work that listens, that remembers and reveals what words can’t say. And just like that, her message became clear. Vicki’s art reminds people how to listen, how to feel, and how to return to themselves. This wasn’t about technique. This wasn’t about pricing. This wasn’t about genre. It was about truth. By the end of the session, she shared, this is such a good ego boost I can’t believe the stuff that came out. It’s like you pulled it from my soul. And that’s what the vault is for. It’s not copywriting. It’s creative restoration. It’s how we take everything you are and turn it into language that your collectors can feel. So if you’ve ever looked at your about page and thought, oh, that’s not me anymore. If your art is evolving but your words haven’t caught up, or maybe you’ve been trying to use AI and you’re getting very soulless, generic AI stuff, then it’s probably time you can head over to SchulmanArt.com/VAULT, and let’s find the message that only you can say, okay, if there’s one story that captures what happens when messaging meets maturity, it’s definitely Christine.
Miriam Schulman: Christine Mighion is a jewelry artist with over 20 years of experience. Her work is spiritual, intentional, and tactile, All rooted in wabi sabi, beauty, and personal storytelling. She’s been featured in Vogue, lucky, and The Knot, and she’s been a guest on this podcast. We’ll make sure we link to that in the show notes. She knows how to create, but a few months ago, she came to me with a quiet truth. I knew what I loved, but I couldn’t find the words to say it in a way that felt like me. She had sold well in the past, but lately things felt scattered. Her Instagram wasn’t converting the way it used to. She was sending maybe one email every six months. Definitely not enough. Usually when she needed to push a sale and even the emails she did send, it was a little disconnected. And although her work was deeply personal, her messaging didn’t reflect that intimacy. It felt generic, polished, safe. Christine didn’t need to build a bigger audience. She needed to reconnect with her voice. So as part of the inner circle, I did a messaging vault session with her and we unpacked her values, her materials, her collector’s emotional journey. And what emerged? A message grounded in symbolism, empowerment and self honoring jewelry that isn’t just beautiful, but protective, spiritual, ritualistic pieces that act as modern day talismans.
Christine Mighion: First big change was honing my message. I knew what I loved to do, and I could tell you a, you know, a little bit about the elements I liked or why I was drawn to a particular thing, but I couldn’t put that into a message that I could then convey to my customers. So honing that message has been incredibly important to me. Or, you know, anchoring my brand and anchoring me as an artist. It goes into every Instagram post, every email, every listing, and I’m really grateful for that, because now I feel like I’m really getting the customers that resonate with that message as well, since I’ve been able to incorporate my messaging and storytelling. It doesn’t feel like I’m selling anything. I tell you, just about every time I send an email out, I receive purchases and I’m sending them out weekly now.
Miriam Schulman: And yes, even though I helped her come up with this vault, I feel the realness behind those emails because they really are a reflection of her. It’s not gimmicks. So her prices have gone up, her confidence has returned, and her sales. She’s already up 25% this year, even what is normally her slow season. Because once your messaging reflects the truth of who you are, people don’t just notice, they respond. And that’s the real power of clear messaging. It’s not about better words. It’s about becoming undeniable. All right. You’ve heard these stories. From Kate to Charlie to Leigh to Silvina to Vicky and Christine, and every artist hits that moment of quiet tension when the art is strong but the message is silent. The mirror is cloudy and the reflection. You can’t see it. It’s not you. But here’s the truth. You are your messaging. Not because of what you say on your website or your social media bio, but because every word, every sentence, every story, every story is a reflection of how clearly you see yourself. And when that reflection sharpens, everything changes.
Chris Holt: So out of the blue, I got a an email from email form from my website, and it turned out to be a gallery reaching out to me through my own website. So I mean, so then what ended up happening is she ended up signing up for the gallery, and I have a show in September. I’m showing up as a professional now. Kudos to Miriam The Inspiration Place. You know, the whole system. People are starting to recognize me or to know me.
Miriam Schulman: So whether you’re still circling the mirror or just starting to face it, or finally seeing the artist you’ve become staring back, you’re exactly where you’re meant to be. So here’s my last message for you keep going, keep creating. And above all, keep telling the truth. Because the clearest message isn’t manufactured, it’s remembered. Now, if you want a book, an Artpreneur messaging vault session, this is actually now available to everyone, not just my inner circle clients, and I would love to help you with your messaging. You can learn more about that at SchulmanArt.com/VAULT. All right, my friend, thank you so much for tuning in today. This is episode number 360. You’ll find everything we talked about in the show. Notes. SchulmanArt.com/360. Dm me if this resonated with you on Schulman Art on Instagram. Make sure you subscribe or follow wherever you’re watching or listening to this and I will see you next time. Bye for now.
Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to The Inspiration Place podcast. Connect with us on Facebook at facebook.com/schulmanart, on Instagram @schulmanart and of course, on SchulmanArt.com.
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