Episode 7: Are Artists Essential?

Hello Creative Friends, It's fair to say that in this time, we are understanding and re-defining the word "essential" in new ways. Especially during times of collective distress, it's easy to feel like making or creating is not only unhelpful, but selfish. How DO artists matter? What do they offer? Would the world miss them if they were gone? If we imagine a world without art, I think we can collectively agree that feels immediately and viscerally awful. But why? That's harder to articulate. In this episode I tell the story of how an art lesson with 7 year olds, taught me a unique way that artists are in fact, VERY ESSENTIAL.  Artists are deeply needed right now, but the ways they're needed are very different than other essential workers. Understanding the ways we serve people beyond making things is a great first step in moving forward authentically and our own special offerings. AKA Secret Sauce. ABOUT THIS PODCAST Welcome to Secret Sauce, a podcast about the secret ingredients in life and work, hosted by Becca Borrelli. Secret Sauce explores artistry as a helpful framework for inspiring meaning and understanding in our everyday lives.  ABOUT BECCA Becca is an illustrator-educator and part founder of Austin-based female maker collective: Lemon House. She spends most of her time designing adult coloring books, interactive murals, and speaking to organizations about mindfulness, meditation and the benefits of art-making. Clients include Visa, Dell Children’s Hospital, Austin Independent School District, University Hospital- Cleveland, the Austin Downtown Alliance and the Anti-Defamation League.  Becca is most inspired by the invisible connections between all things. Her work aims to be a playful, bright, and hopeful interpretation of the world's whimsical and magical sides. She has fallen in love with her hometown in Austin, where she spends free time exploring nature and hunting for breakfast tacos with her husband and their super-pups Layla and Rose.    Website: beccajborrelli.com Instagram: @beccaborrelliart