The Art of Joy with Jen Sievers
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What is the host’s introduction and the main theme of the episode?
The HETS Podcast Network.
Hello and welcome to Slow It Down. I'm your host, PJ Harding, and this week I am joined by the incredibly talented Jen Seivers. She is an expressive contemporary artist based in Auckland, and she's known for her joy-filled, abstract landscapes. Honestly, Goshikato work, it is beautiful, it is uplifting. And this week on the show, Jen talks to me. About the literal concept of joy. How we can bring more joy into our life. How it doesn't need to be this unattainable thing that we work towards, that we actually genuinely try to bring into daily life. She's got some great tips and tricks and practices that actually help shift her awareness into a more joyful state. This was such a good Reminder to not take everything so seriously, to have a bit more fun, to lean into the play, and also follow those pebbles of joy.
If you're feeling a pull towards something, often that is a sign from the universe that that is where you need to go. Often. And I just, yeah, it was just a really beautiful reminder to infuse colour, to infuse fun, and bring out that youthful. stage a little bit more where we can. I hope you enjoyed this week's ear of slow it down. Jen, thank you so much for coming on today. It's lovely to meet you.
Oh my gosh, it's so exciting. Thanks for having me.
So, okay, we're gonna get into what you do and what you're about. But can you tell me, first of all, you're an artist. How did you get on this path in the first place?
Well, I guess there's like a long story and a short story. The long story is that I was when I was about two or three, I decided I was gonna be an artist. People would say, What are you gonna be when you grow up? And I would say, I'm gonna be an artist. And they'd say, That's so cute, but that's not really a job. And then um so over the years, that message of it's not really a job sunk in, and I was informed about this bright and shiny job called graphic design.
How did Jen Sievers discover her calling as an artist and transition from graphic design?
Where you could kind of be an artist, but also they pay you. So I um I went and studied graphic design when I left school and worked there for about fifteen years. And um one day just had the call to paint and I I just haven't stopped since. And that's a pretty good story on its own if you want to hear it.
That that is. I I have I I know how tricky it can be for artists who want to take that route, but then it is just really hard to turn it into a career. And so this thing they love ends up just kind of getting pushed to the side. And I love that you have actually made this, you know, made a living from this. I think that takes courage to do that.
Yeah, I think a c a bit of courage, maybe a bit of like Um, overconfidence maybe. I mean, may maybe I believe in myself a little bit too much and I just wouldn't I wouldn't stop, you know. I I just will stop at nothing to make it work. So I think that's that served me well.
And you are all about the art of joy. You've obviously released your book, which talks about how we can infuse joy in our daily life and how it doesn't need to be a luxury. Talk to us about the birth of that. How did that come about?
Well, it's actually it's quite tied in with me starting my painting career again, because the the way that I started my painting was by listening to joy. So I um Uh one day I had um taken my daughter out with my best friend. We used to have Fridays off work 'cause we were both working. And um we w took them out in a little out and came back and as you'll know, because you have small children you get to put them down for a nap and you can just breathe for two hours if you're lucky. If you're lucky. And as I put it down for a nap around lunchtime, I just had this overwhelming call, like this voice in my head that said, just go and paint something. And I hadn't painted for years. And I found a piece of ply in the garage and I found some old house paint and some of my daughter's fluoro paint craft paint.
And I just sat outside for the entire duration of the nap and painted this abstract painting full of like colour and feeling and joy. And I literally
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the host’s introduction and the main theme of the episode?
0:00–2:12
2
How did Jen Sievers discover her calling as an artist and transition from graphic design?
2:12–4:58
3
What inspired Jen to write her ‘Art of Joy’ book and how did the idea develop?
4:58–8:45
4
Which simple daily practices does Jen use to bring more joy into everyday life?
8:45–13:54
5
How did Jen turn a back‑injury setback into a creative breakthrough?
13:54–17:12
6
Why does Jen believe adding colour to her home and studio fuels her creativity?
17:12–19:52
7
What advice would Jen give to her younger self about embracing uniqueness?
19:52–22:36
8
How can listeners apply the ‘little pebbles of joy’ concept to improve the world?
22:36–47:30
Speakers
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