EP1 - Introduction

This is a short episode, an introduction to the hosts of this show, Birdie & Ben, a couple of artists that want to share their experience about being artists in modern day.

From our little corner of Appalachia to wherever you're listening, thanks for hanging with us.

However you're feeling right now, we hope you leave a little more encouraged to create. If this episode resonated with you, sharing it with someone who needs it means more than you know.

New episodes every other Thursday. You can follow the show, browse past episodes, and find more information at becauseofcoursewedid.buzzsprout.com.

Be kind to yourself, and keep making art.

- Birdie & Ben

Our art:

Birdie: thedawnbird.com
Ben: dwellertor.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:05

Hello everyone. I'm Ben. And I'm Bertie. And welcome to Because of Course We Did, where we discuss life as a modern artist, the way people react to us being artists and the things that we do, and occasionally recovering from religion and our own mental health journeys.

SPEAKER_00 0:23

Today we're going to be getting into the weeds about ourselves, since you have no idea who the hell we are. So who the hell are you? Who the hell knows, honestly? Um, we are a married couple who have been married for 11 years. Massive. Crazy. Um, and we are artists in our hearts and working towards making it a full-time career.

SPEAKER_01 0:54

So yeah. Well that that's that's going to happen, gonna manifest it.

SPEAKER_00 1:01

Um, I currently am working as an artist. It's a a process. Like I started a couple years ago. I am a print and textile artist. I incorporate quilting and block printing into all of my work. I'm also an aspiring writer, poetry writer mostly.

SPEAKER_01 1:23

She's really good actually. She's being modest. I'm Ben. I'm a musician, a writer, and a photographer. And I'm currently working on trying to do that full time. I have no work to show published except for some covers.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

But a lot of talent.

SPEAKER_01 1:39

Thank you. I appreciate that. Um but I'm I'm working on it. It's gonna happen. Most likely. Stay tuned for that. So some questions. What's your favorite color? Green. Is it green? It's green. That's neat. Mine's green too.

SPEAKER_00 1:57

Green is the best color. It's the color of the earth. And what's better than that?

SPEAKER_01 2:03

There's a lot of there's a lot of good green going on outside. Thankfully, oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 2:10

Now what is your favorite bird?

SPEAKER_01 2:12

My favorite bird. That's a I can't answer that. There's too many good birds. Top three. Top three. Well, that's a bit easier. I'm gonna need four. So it's a chickadee, a wren, a Carolina wren, a tufted, and hummingbirds. Ruby throated. Top four.

SPEAKER_00 2:37

It is a hard question. I didn't think about this enough before I asked this question. My favorite bird is a chickadee. Because they're so little and so sweet and so smart, and I love their songs. Second, I love Wood Thrush. The song. See, I forgot about Wood Thrush. So beautiful. I love Wood Thrush. Let's see. I feel like I'm afraid, I'm almost afraid to like commit to any birds. Like you don't, you can't offend them. I love Tohis. I think they're ridiculous, just out there throwing shit around. I admire that. And thrashers. And brown thrashers, but they're a state bird of Georgia and born and raised in Georgia. So gotta represent. Um and I suppose tufted. Tufted tit mousse mouse mouse. They're so sweet. Sweet little birds. Excellent. Oh yeah. Basic, but beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 3:41

They're beautiful, but not a basic. I think so.

SPEAKER_00 3:45

Yeah. Okay. Well, it's another question. Like, what are goals that we're working towards right now? Well, this podcast.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

Hell yeah. Welcome, everyone. Again.

SPEAKER_00 3:59

Welcome.

SPEAKER_01 4:00

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 4:01

Thanks for being here. For me, yeah. This podcast is, I'm hoping that this will be a fun place to talk about all the things that have to do with art and life and everything, as well as trying to grow my business at the Donbird Handmaid, if you will. Um I have some markets and things coming up that I'm really excited about. It's always fun to meet people and be out in the community and connecting with other artists and working towards that.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

Hell yeah. I like it.

SPEAKER_00 4:35

What about you?

SPEAKER_01 4:36

I am working on getting over my shit, which there's a lot of. And uh writing. So I have been playing music for over, you know, 20 years, I would say. And the I I I'm really good at that part, but the the lyrics I've had a mental block about it for a long time. And uh yeah, I'm I'm working to overcome that going through songwriting with boundaries. Or songwriting without boundaries. We're trying to undo the boundaries. Uh so yeah, you as you know, you're doing it with me. So that's good. Uh actually getting in the practice is making it happen. So getting words down on paper is good, or digital, whatever. Uh getting getting words out is the important part, and that's happening. So yeah, I I want to actually finish songs instead of have like, ooh, this sounds cool. Anyway, move on to the next thing, which is what I've been doing for the past ten years. Gonna try not to do that anymore. Let's finish things, people.

SPEAKER_00 5:44

Make songs, make songs. Yeah. You're so talented and you struggle with confidence, especially in writing. And understandably, I've been writing for hmm a long time. One of my childhood dreams to be a writer, and so I tried, but still I have mental breakdowns on the reg about it, because it's hard. It's hard to express how you feel and make it entertaining, which feels strange, but also you feel like you have to. So yes.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

And whenever you have depression and anxiety, it's difficult to feel like there's a point to it.

SPEAKER_00 6:30

Mm-hmm. Depression is uh real mother.

SPEAKER_01 6:33

So well, I mean, if life doesn't have a meaning, then you know, why would these silly little writings or or songs have any meaning?

SPEAKER_00 6:42

So art is the meaning.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

But art is the meaning. Exactly. We we are the the meaning makers, so get fucked depression.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

Depression and anxiety are very annoying. Always trying to hold you back.

SPEAKER_01 6:57

Working on it.

SPEAKER_00 6:58

Yeah, like that's you know, overcoming your fears and being able to actually put your work out there is like the biggest step, I feel like. It's not even just making the work, it's getting over yourself enough to actually put the work, to actually make the work. Because like once you actually get started, I feel like it's it's fun, it's fun and like it's cathartic and meaningful. But when you just getting like you just have to get over yourself, get over yourself.

SPEAKER_01 7:31

Yeah, all over yourself, girlfriend. Get over yourself.

SPEAKER_00 7:35

Yeah, that's I mean, why we're making this but part of the reason we're making this podcast in order to get over keeping ourselves and each other accountable to actually, you know, getting over our shit and making it happen. Yeah, and like trying to help encourage other people to get over their shit. Thank you. As well, because there are so many creative, beautiful ass people in the world. And they we all just like I'm not gonna say that the world deserves your art, but you do you deserve absolutely and people will feel honored no matter what it is you make. And I feel like that's something that is easier said to other people than done for yourself. But you have to realize that you have something, everyone has something to say, and everyone's only one you. Yeah, there's only one you in this whole freaking time, the world, any time of the world. So if you want to make if you feel the desire to make something, you should fucking do it, bud.

SPEAKER_01 8:44

But yeah, that's that's why we're here. We want to connect with other artists and you know, hopefully make other artists feel seen with the shit that we're going through and the um our processes and you know, our our musings about culture, and a whole lot of other nonsense because a whole lot of other nonsense.

SPEAKER_00 9:01

We're silly little geese.

SPEAKER_01 9:03

Especially you. Especially you, you mean well, uh I I hope that you continue to to listen to us.

SPEAKER_00 9:15

We have fun.

SPEAKER_01 9:16

We we will we will try and uh try not to drag you down too much, try to lift you out. Here's a a word from Mary Oliver. It's instructions for living a life. Pay attention, be astonished, tell about it.

SPEAKER_00 9:29

Smart woman.

SPEAKER_01 9:30

Smart woman.