This week we interview Crystal Marie, an artist and author with a passion for teaching others how to find and discover their own unique voice. Crystal has an established career as a professional artist with gallery representation, a published book on the art of collage, and she's currently writing a book about the intuitive voice. She teaches online workshops and runs a community for creatives called Canary Rising. You'll want to listen closely as Crystal share so many great insights about listening to your intuitive voice and pushing through fear to find the gold. I know you're going to love Crystal as much as we do. TOPICS DISCUSSED Crystal’s Startist story beginning her art career in her 30s after a nervous breakdown How a co-worker transformed her life with one simple action How Crystal rediscovered her inner artist and gave herself permission to play How she started selling her art and connecting with others through eBay and blogging Her shift from whimsical collages to abstract collage Crystal's exposure to art retreats and how she began teaching at them How Crystal got an offer from a publisher attending an art retreat and how long it took her to submit a book proposal Crystal's process of writing and photographing her first book, The Art of Expressive Collage How Crystal got gallery representation How to move past fear and go after what you want How Crystal ended up giving Nikki her first encaustic teaching gig in Paducah Living as an artist with chronic illness and autism and how they can affect your ability to teach/work Creating her community, Canary Rising, on Facebook (shifting from Patreon) How Canary Rising grew during Covid when Crystal moved to teaching online, starting with free workshops in her Facebook group Her new website canaryrising.com and the shift to her own teaching platform And finally, Crystal's best advice for artists getting started and following their intuition Read the transcript and find links to all mentioned resources in the STARTIST SOCIETY SHOW NOTES: startistsociety.com/crystalmarie JOIN THE STARTIST SOCIETY FB GROUP: facebook.com/groups/startistsociety/ FOLLOW STARTIST SOCIETY ON INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/startistsociety/ LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR? BUY US A COFFEE BOURBON: buymeacoffee.com/startistsociety/