Field of Streams
Audio readings of original writing from the creative newsletter, The Stream, written by Janeen McCrae and designed to inspire you to get out and make the thing. Subjects range from writing and art to just some generally odd stuff about what it is to be creative. Sometimes essays, sometimes humor, sometimes creative exercises.
Episodes
149 episodes
You do not need permission to land
Inspired by a Newsweek headline that read: “Woman Gave 'Russian Astronaut' $30,000 so He Could Pay Earth Landing Fees”, I remind us all that when it comes to creative projects, you do not need permission to land your ideas. Related ...
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9:02
Rumble in the Jumble
Why does the vision of what I want to draw - the one that's so clear in my head - not come fully formed out of the end of my pencil and onto the paper? In this episode, I talk about skill deficit when it comes to the vision of what you're tryin...
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12:23
Practice makes practice
The number everyone throws around is 10,000 hours. That's the time you need to spend doing something to master it. But is that a hard and fast rule? Let's talk practice. Related links:
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6:11
Burn Before Needing
Inspired by something Patti Smith said in a post about poetry (“If you don’t understand a poem, sit in it and let it wash,”) this episode encourages you to do the same when attempting to understand influences, relationships, and experienc...
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12:00
Playing Dead for Fun and Profit
Do you ever withdraw from other people’s timelines to make yourself unavailable, declining invites and hang outs to work on your creative projects? It’s the equivalent of “playing dead” socially to get things done. I do it—do you? Let’s talk ab...
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15:40
Raccoons Under the Influence
You're heard of pet influencers on instagram - famous cats and dogs and hedgehogs and the like? What about Verminfluencers? In case you didn't know, there's a whole niche for rats, rodents, and vermin out there, and in today's episode, you'll d...
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13:53
The Tall Order of the Creative Sweet Spot
Did you know that we’re taller in the morning? Gravity and lying down overnight has a lot do with it. Along with being taller, I am also more creative in the morning. It is my “creative tall” time. When do you feel like you are at the height of...
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14:13
For Days When You Have Nothing
Just because you think you have nothing - no ideas or creative inspiration - doesn't mean you do. We've all been there, but you can Turn nothing into something. This little missive is designed to keep you going on days when you open the brain p...
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8:12
The Persistence of Donuts
“Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.” David Lynch said that. He was a director, filmmaker, artist, painter, and I think above all else, a dreamer. R.I.P. David Lynch. Listen to the
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16:36
Just Feel It
What do you feel when you look at art? What do you feel when you... feel? Let's talk about it. Related post: "Happy is a list of things felt strongly by this body."...
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9:35
Introduction to Squirrel Math: Art is Nuts
“Squirrels don’t find 80% of the nuts they hide.” This was the headline that inspired this week’s episode. In it, I equate collecting inspiration for your art as akin to a squirrel collection nuts. Art is nuts, and to make it, you must be a lit...
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18:53
Mote Work
“A mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.” That’s a line from Carl Sagan’s famous Pale Blue Dot text talking about Earth in the universe. This episode riffs of that, positing that we are, in a way, motes upon a mote. Seemingly insignificant, yet ...
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11:18
Happy is a List of Things Felt Strongly by this Body
What does it mean to be happy? Where do you feel it in the body? Can you recognize it when you are happy? Let’s talk about the importance of being able to call back to happy when you need it. Smile lines are badges of honor! Go behind t...
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11:46
Red Plus Blue But Not Green
Did you know that purple does not exist? It is a non-spectral color—not visible on the light spectrum—and so is invented on the spot by your brain. “Red plus blue but not green.” Today, we talk about how amazing your brain is, and that if it ca...
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11:56
Go Your Own Way
Feel like you're on the wrong path in life? Is it too late to change direction? In this episode, I talk about how the concept of ‘desire paths’ can be applied to life. Want to learn more about desire paths? Go
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14:27
"Everything I know about Marketing" as told by a Rooster
Roosters are the absolute kings of self-promotion. We could learn a lot from them. If only there were some kind of seminar that we could attend where a rooster – nature’s megaphone – would share his secrets? Welcome to the rooster equivalent to...
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17:02
The Royal You
You are the newly crowned King or Queen of your creative realm. It is ordered by royal decree (which I will now read to you so that you are familiar with your Royal Creative Duties.)
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11:06
Is there Art in Artificial?
Can AI make art? Can ChatGPT be a poet? Time for me to tackle this question, since my livelihood as a writer and copywriter is already being affected by it. Watch me in this
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21:24
All signs point to North
Inspired by a lyric in a Gorillaz song, today's episode is all about finding your North, your meaning, your purpose in life. Try all the other directions, sure, but your true North - that's the direction to keep reseting your compass for. <...
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8:35
The One About Dangerous Pencils
Are you overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness? Feeling like everything is spiraling out of control around you? Art can help. And all you need is a pencil. As legend and artist, Laurie Anderson says, "Very dangerous art can be made with a penci...
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20:42
Is it time to purge your life pantry?
Do you have a habit of hanging onto bad memories? Bad conversations, bitterness, the pain of relationships – are you an emotional hoarder of them all? This is an episode about letting go. Remove this stuff—all the expired goods—from your life p...
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9:53
"..and the draft horse you rode in on."
After several failed attempts at writing a book, I'm taking another crack. To give myself a pep talk, I consulted writers and scoured the internet for advice on the first draft and have concluded that to get through the first draft, you just ha...
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14:23
Can Bravery Be Bought?
Wouldn't it be great if you could order courage from a catalog? Not just bravery, but a whole Life Package that equipped you with all the tools you need - bravery, judgement, curiosity, etc. - to be an artist? And what if you bought that packag...
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14:27