Your Creative Push
026: You ARE special and you ARE allowed to do this (Gwenn Seemel Part 1)
17 Feb 2016
Gwenn is a full-time artist, portraitist, and free-culture advocate. Her beautiful, unique portraits as well as all of her other work is intentionally free from copyright. Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/gwennseemel In this episode, Gwenn discusses: -How her personal, creative, and professional life merge all into one. -The pros and cons of separating your personal and creative life. -Her battle with endometriosis and the story behind “Crime Against Nature.” -How things like homosexuality within nature are much more prevalent than is reported scientifically, and how things like dressing flamboyantly, not having offspring, and having multiple sexual partners can be connected to animals. -The origins of her decision to free all of her work from copyright. -How creativity and copyright go hand in hand. -How she got over the question of “am I special enough and why do I think I am allowed to do this?” and how focusing on portraiture helped her to put that specialness onto them. -The importance of showing your work and connecting with other people, because it adds responsibility and accountability. -Art can be self-expression or communication, and the differences between the two types of people, and how she tries to move between those two things. -How marketing can be a creative outlet. -One of her first creative moments and how a compliment from her brother (during intergalactic travels) really inspired her. -How sometimes all it takes is just that ONE compliment from someone who gets it to keep you going. -What it is like to make a portrait for someone and then give it to them. Quotes: “The work is what’s valuable to the world and it should be done in the best way possible.” “I am the only one who can do it anyway, so I might as well completely release it into the world and have it be used.” “Creativity is about taking elements from the world around you and from inside of you and mixing that all up and making something of it.” “Anytime you take risks, you’re going to have this crippling self-doubt sometimes.” Resources mentioned: “Crime Against Nature” Creative Commons Zoobiquity: The Astonishing Connection Between Human and Animal Health by Barbara Natterson-Horowitz & Kathryn Bowers What It Is by Lynda Barry Free Culture: The Nature and Future of Creativity by Lawrence Lessig “Rip, A Remix Manifesto” (movie) All About Love by Bell Hooks Give And Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam Grant The Myth of Choice: Personal Responsibility in a World of Limits by Kent Greenfield Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights by Kenji Yoshino Connect with Gwenn: Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Uncopyright / Patreon
No persons identified in this episode.
This episode hasn't been transcribed yet
Help us prioritize this episode for transcription by upvoting it.
Popular episodes get transcribed faster
Other recent transcribed episodes
Transcribed and ready to explore now
SpaceX Said to Pursue 2026 IPO
10 Dec 2025
Bloomberg Tech
Don’t Call It a Comeback
10 Dec 2025
Motley Fool Money
Japan Claims AGI, Pentagon Adopts Gemini, and MIT Designs New Medicines
10 Dec 2025
The Daily AI Show
Eric Larsen on the emergence and potential of AI in healthcare
10 Dec 2025
McKinsey on Healthcare
What it will take for AI to scale (energy, compute, talent)
10 Dec 2025
Azeem Azhar's Exponential View
Reducing Burnout and Boosting Revenue in ASCs
10 Dec 2025
Becker’s Healthcare -- Spine and Orthopedic Podcast