133: Navigating Boundaries and Expectations as a Creative

Catalyst is a Creative Industries podcast, from Chapman University. Each episode features Chapman students who have completed a Podcasting course through the Center for Creative and Cultural Industries at the university. Students who had no podcasting experience or technical ability in the genre before taking the course were able to contribute all the segments to Catalyst this season with the goal being that they will take this ‘hands-on’ experience and carry it over to the launching of their very own series. Each episode of Season 14 will feature one to two different interviews conducted by CCI students, exploring different aspects of the Creative and Cultural Industries.

On today’s episode we begin with Daylen Motamed who sits down with Amalia Serrano to discuss the world of graphic design. Amalia starts the interview with her lifelong love of creating art, and how she chose graphic design as her career path.  Their conversation touches on topics that are relevant to creatives working in CCI such as how to handle rejection, navigating creative freedom, strategies for dealing with art fatigue and something that is particularly relevant in today’s world, conquering AI fear. This candid and inspiring conversation invites listeners to reflect on their own relationship with creativity and change.

The episode concludes with Vendela Smedeby and her interview with photographer Jena Hess. To begin Jena shares how her passion began at a young age, growing up surrounded by cameras and fascinated by capturing the world around her. They discuss how A spontaneous opportunity to work alongside professional photographers inspired her to turn photography into a career, and how she now runs a thriving personal business that allows her to offer clients the same meaningful, personal experience she once had. The pair also cover how Jena’s creative style has evolved, leaning toward authenticity and cinematic storytelling. She and Vendela discuss the pressures of sustaining creativity, the reality of burnout, and the ongoing process of growth that all artists experience.