January 22, 2020

Viral Hope

January 22, 2020/ Isa Adney

How digital painter Nikkolas Smith turns grief into art and activism.

I’ll never forget driving by the teddy bear.

It was two miles from where I lived. Where Trayvon Martin was last alive, walking with Skittles from the Sanford, FL 7-11 I got that bottle of water from that one time.

There were piles of flowers and cards, near the grass his shoes last touched, still growing.

There were piles of stuffed animals too. Reminders that this was just a kid.

A kid.

He should have been in school today. He should have been unfurling a day-old Skittles bag to finish whatever colors were left.

I kept driving, but I did not know where to go from here.

November 09, 2018

the missing ingredient in most creative plans

November 09, 2018/ Isa Adney

Inspired by Samin Nosrat: Chef, author, and host extraordinaire of the Netflix show Salt Fat Acid Heat

It’s fine to do some things fast. There is a time for all that speedy goodness - to whip something up and get it out. Done is better than perfect and all that jazz.

We live in this amazing time where we can create quickly. Like, right now. I had an idea and I rushed to my computer and here I am, with you now, because I just got going.

But what about those Big Creative Projects?

September 19, 2018

Surviving Instability

September 19, 2018/ Isa Adney

Actor Zach Knighton on the ups and downs of the creative life, and what to do on the “down” days.

Think about your favorite TV show of all time. You know the one. It’s that one you watch over and over again - on airplanes, in hotel rooms; you devour it like your favorite food after a rough day or a big life transition. Something about it feels like home.

It’s also the show you and your partner (or best friend) quote so much that at some point you realize almost half of everything you say to each other is quotes from this show (and in that exact moment you realize you and this person have the perfect relationship).

Now think of your favorite character on that show, the one who brings you the most joy.

July 21, 2018

Hiding in Your Room

July 21, 2018/ Isa Adney

Singer-songwriter Molly Jenson on showing up as your real self, especially after heartbreak.

So much about being a professional artist is showing up.

Again and again and again and again. Even when it hurts.

It also requires a transmutation of rejection, seeing it in a new skin.

What a professional artist knows is that rejection is part of the job – not a sign you’re wrong for the job.

May 15, 2018

When it's Time to Walk Away

May 15, 2018/ Isa Adney

Broadway performer Morgan Marcell (Matayoshi) on walking away from something good to pursue what lights you up.

Morgan Marcell is a force.

You might know that from hearing her on the Hamilton cast album, seeing her on Broadway, or maybe you saw her on TV that time she performed at The Grammys.

(If you’re a super Hamilton fan you definitely saw her perform “My Shot” as Alexander Hamilton for a few minutes outside The Richard Rogers theater, or caught a glimpse of her at The White House performance.)

I know it because I met her backstage at Hamilton once where her smile literally changed the electricity in a room already lit up with stars (and cake).

April 11, 2018

Making a Living as an Artist

April 11, 2018/ Isa Adney

Disney artist Antonio Pelayo on the importance of practice and how to make a living as an artist.

It was one of those Instagram posts that make you scroll back up and stare.

It was more real than real.

And it wasn't done with a camera.

But with a pencil.

A pencil?!

May 16, 2017

Feeling Terrified

May 16, 2017/ Isa Adney

Original Hamilton cast member Seth Stewart on taking risks even when you’re terrified, and the surprising ways those risks can pay off.

In my favorite episode of the TV show How I Met Your Mother - "Lucky Penny" - protagonist Ted tells his kids how finding a penny on the ground created a seemingly random series of events that caused him to lose out on his dream job.

February 13, 2017

why throwing away my book plans felt so good

February 13, 2017/ Isa Adney

I've been working on a book about dreams since 2014. Think The Alchemist meets real people's stories.

Today, while working from a gorgeous co-working space during an uncharacteristically rainy day in Southern California, I hit the restart button on the whole thing.

February 07, 2017

Surviving the Editing Process

February 07, 2017/ Isa Adney

Journalist Jada Yuan on why needing 17 rounds of edits doesn’t mean you’re bad at your craft.

You’ve probably never heard of “Jada Yuan,” but you’ve heard of the people she’s interviewed: Steven Spielberg, Taylor Swift, Mindy Kaling, Stevie Nicks, to name a few. But who she knows is not what makes Jada interesting – it’s how she writes; she is one of my favorite writers.

Jada is a storyteller – and I want to find out how she got so good at her craft.

February 06, 2017

spinning teacups

February 06, 2017/ Isa Adney

"Chaos is a ladder," so says Game of Thrones.

My goal is to meet the person who wrote that line.

Like all great art, there are a million ways you can interpret that line. Please, enjoy your own. But mine? Mine came to me like my first book idea jumping into my head while walking on campus - a bolt of lightning that feels like it's come out of nowhere until you realize it is something that has been building for 24 years.

January 20, 2017

When No One Will Hire You

January 20, 2017/ Isa Adney

Oscar-winning makeup artist Dave Elsey on what to do when no one will hire you for your dream job.

I wish you could hear Dave Elsey’s voice. It’s all kindness and wonder, wrapped up in an accent that makes me long for the two weeks I spent across England in my third year of college, climbing up moors with sheep everywhere, eating jacket potatoes in places called the “Red Lion,” and trying chana masala for the first time in London.

Also there was the Monet room, which I stumbled upon while lost, roaming the giant halls of the National Gallery in London, the art museum guarded by giant bronze Lions in Trafalgar Square. I stood in the exact center of the Monet room, equidistant from each painting, and slowly walked closer until my breath touched the paint.

October 20, 2016

when your creative project wants to be something else

October 20, 2016/ Isa Adney

I woke up today and decided it was time to scrap everything on my website (isaadney.com) about the book I've been working on for two years and rewrite.

Over the course of these past two years, the book became something completely different than what it started out as.

July 28, 2016

Following Your Obsessions

July 28, 2016/ Isa Adney

Musician Will Wells on following your obsessions and investing in your craft (Part 2 of 2)

We meet outside the Richard Rogers Theater, where Hamilton: An American Musical, a project Will worked on not too long ago, is currently playing to sold out crowds (and a few months later wins 11 Tony's). Will just finished saying hello to his old friends backstage; he is based in LA. We were originally supposed to do this interview on the phone, but somehow, we both ended up in New York City in the same week.

After a whirlwind backstage at the Richard Rogers we set off to the recording studio.

October 08, 2015

when your creative project isn't fun anymore

October 08, 2015/ Isa Adney

I've thought about the First Post for this blog for a few months now. I've been thinking how I could introduce this new blog, what I could say, how I could put into words the swelling of emotions and failures that have led me here.

The sentences and ideas have been rumbling around in my head since July. I wanted to get it right.