Finding Harmony, Gratitude, and Bringing Art into Communities with Artist Leslie Braginsky
Release Date: 11/12/2025
This Super Simple Confidence Hack for Artists with Marina Granger
The Create! Podcast
In this episode, Kat welcomes Marina Granger back for another installment of their ongoing series. They dive deep into the nuances of identity, confidence, and a unique manifestation practice Marina has utilized since she was twelve. Whether you are transitioning into a new career phase or simply feeling a dip in your creative self assurance, this conversation offers a quick, actionable ritual to realign with your highest potential. Episode Highlights Identity and Visual Recognition: Marina shares how a recent change in hair color triggered a shift in her confidence because she did not...
info_outline
The Timeless Principles of Getting Paid for Your Art (Still Relevant in 2026)
The Create! Podcast
So much of what we hear right now is about what is changing, what is closing, what is shifting. In this solo episode, Ekaterina Popova cuts through the noise to focus on what has remained true across every platform, every trend cycle, and every era of the art world: the core principles of getting paid for doing what you love. Kat takes us back to her teenage years, painting prom backdrops and dance team sets for a hundred dollars at a time, with no connections, no following, and a kind of blissful confidence that the work would find its people. That early experience shaped a belief system...
info_outline
The Secret Financial Lives of History's Most Famous Artists (Yes, Including the Illegal Stuff), with Mason Currey
The Create! Podcast
What does it actually take to make art and make a living at the same time? This week, Ekaterina Popova sits down with Mason Currey, author of the beloved Daily Rituals series and his brand new book, Making Art and Making a Living (Celadon Books), a rich, research-driven look at how artists across centuries have funded their creative lives. From day jobs and patrons to inheritances, government grants, and a few schemes that fall into grayer territory, Mason has compiled the stories so many of us have needed to hear. In this conversation, he and Kat explore why community matters more than most...
info_outline
How to Climb Out of a Funk and Get Your Passion Back
The Create! Podcast
If you have been going through a funk, whether it is burnout, a creative slump, seasonal blues, or just feeling stuck, this episode is for you. Kat gets real about the challenges she faced this past winter, including some big personal changes, and shares the honest unglamorous things that helped her climb back out: taking care of her body, dropping what was not serving her, shifting her mindset around showing up, and finding people who cheer her on too. No toxic positivity here, just real talk and practical perspective for anyone ready to get back on track. Ready to stop navigating this alone?...
info_outline
You Don't Have to Choose Between Making Art and Building a Career. James Miille Proves It.
The Create! Podcast
You Don't Have to Choose Between Making Art and Building a Career. James Miille Proves It. Photographic artist James Miille has shown work in New York, Paris, Miami, and Mexico City, built two companies, and never stopped making the art that started it all. In this episode he pulls back the curtain on how he actually does it. James creates surreal composite photographs entirely from scratch, every element shot by him, every image sparked by a song. He breaks down his creative process, why documenting your work is now more important than ever, and how he thinks about the business of being an...
info_outline
The Gap Between Where You Are and Where You Want to Be Is Not a Problem with Kat
The Create! Podcast
You invest in a mentor, a course, or a new skill, and instead of feeling excited, you feel exposed. You see the artist you admire and wonder if you will ever get there. Your ego wants you to quit before you even start. Sound familiar? This week Ekaterina gets honest about her own experience of evolving, trying new things in the studio, shifting her art, and the vulnerability, self-doubt, and resistance that showed up right alongside it. She turns that moment into the most important conversation you can have as a creative or entrepreneur: what to do with the gap between where you are today and...
info_outline
The Art Business Advice Nobody Tells You About Commissions, Burnout, and Actually Making It Work with Emily Jeffords
The Create! Podcast
Emily Jeffords is back on The Create! Podcast and this one is for every artist who is quietly wondering if there is a better way to do this. Emily is a painter, educator, and founder of the Making Art Work program - and she brings a level of honesty to this conversation that is genuinely rare. We talk about what it looks like to be in an "incubation year," the bravery it takes to begin again after you've already mastered something, and why the sale starts long before anyone opens their wallet - it starts when you fall back in love with your own work. She shares the real story behind her...
info_outline
Daniel Arsham: How to Break Into the Art World and Build a Career Nobody Can Ignore
The Create! Podcast
Most artists wait for the art world to invite them in. Daniel Arsham stopped waiting - and built his own gallery at 21 instead. In this episode, Kat sits down with Daniel Arsham, one of the most sought-after artists of his generation, to talk about his brand new book Future Relic - a brutally honest handbook written for his 17-year-old self who dreamed of being an artist but had no roadmap to get there. Daniel's iconic "eroded" aesthetic has made him a singular force in contemporary art, but behind that vision is decades of showing up, collecting failures, and building a career on his own...
info_outline
When Art Meets Craft: Color, Creativity, and Calling Yourself an Artist with Lisa Solomon
The Create! Podcast
What does it mean to call yourself an artist - and who gets to decide? In this episode, I sit down with multidisciplinary artist, educator, and author Lisa Solomon for a wide-ranging conversation about the blurry line between art and craft, creative experimentation, and the practical realities of building a sustainable creative life. Lisa's work spans embroidery, fiber, painting, and installation, and her new book is an absolute feast for the eyes - organized by color, featuring 20 artists working in 20 different mediums, with projects for all skill levels. We talk about: When you can (and...
info_outline
Astrology, Feng Shui and Owning All Parts of Your Creative Identity with Marina Granger
The Create! Podcast
If you've ever felt like you had to hide certain parts of yourself to be taken seriously in the art world, this one is for you. I'm sitting down with my dear friend Marina Granger, founder of The Artist Advisory and host of the brand new MFA Podcast, for a candid conversation about what it really takes to step into your next level as an artist - from the inside out. Marina spent years working at the intersection of practical gallery strategy and deeper identity work, but kept the mystical side of her practice quietly in the background. In this episode she's fully out, and we get into all of...
info_outlineWe’re celebrating one million downloads! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for tuning in, sharing the show, and leaving us love on iTunes. I’m so grateful to be able to share this program with you and our creative community.
In this episode of Create! Podcast, host Ekaterina Popova sits down with Colombian artist and designer Leslie Braginsky to talk about gratitude, harmony, and the beauty of bringing art into communities.
Leslie shares her inspiring journey from Colombia to the U.S., how gratitude shaped her perspective as an artist and mother, and how she began creating inclusive, meditative coloring books that celebrate women of all backgrounds and body types.
Together, Kat and Leslie discuss how to reconnect with creativity for joy—not just productivity—and how to create harmony between art, business, and life. Leslie also shares how she’s using art to build connection in her local community through collaborative coloring gatherings.
Before the interview, Kat reflects on balance and alignment and invites artists to submit their work to Create! Magazine’s Winter Solstice 2026 Print Issue, curated by Sarah Potter, celebrating transformation, renewal, and light through the dark.
In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
-
How gratitude can transform your creative practice
-
Finding beauty and self-acceptance through art
-
The importance of making art for joy, not just results
-
How to bring art into your community and create meaningful connections
-
Leslie’s story of healing, motherhood, and creative flow
Links Mentioned:
✨ Submit to the Winter Solstice 2026 Issue:
https://www.createmagazine.co/call-for-art
🎨 Explore Create! Magazine:
https://www.createmagazine.co
💖 Learn More About Leslie Braginsky:
Website: https://www.the-pistils.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leslie.braginsky/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/lesliebraginsky
🖌️ Connect with Kat:
Website: https://www.katerinapopova.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katerinaspopova