Podcast Summary: Art + Audience, Ep. 29 – Is Leverage Your Art Worth It? Alumni Share Their Honest Results
Host: Stacie Bloomfield
Date: August 19, 2025
Featured Alumni Guests: Ashley Padgett, Kelsey Weigel, Laura (Laura 70 Design), Mabel (Mabel Tan Designs), Megan Stringfellow, Shirley (Quiet Lines Design), Tiffany Grimes
Episode Theme:
This episode features a panel discussion with alumni of Stacie Bloomfield’s “Leverage Your Art” course. The conversation centers on honest results from the course, challenges artists have faced, how they’ve grown their creative businesses, and the biggest “uh-oh” decisions they’ve made—and rebounded from.
Episode Overview
Stacie Bloomfield brings together alumni from her 8-week course, "Leverage Your Art", to answer burning questions from prospective students. The panel discusses the course’s applicability to various art forms, the realities of being an international artist, overcoming limiting beliefs, building confidence, and how the right artist community can be transformative for career growth.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Is "Leverage Your Art" Only for Illustrators or Digital Artists?
- Answer: No. The course provides frameworks and business tools applicable to all kinds of creatives—fine artists, potters, photographers, crafters, and more.
- Mabel: "I think it applies to any creative medium. People don't realize they don't need an agent to get their work out into the world... it applies to any niche that you decide to go on." [04:59]
- Megan: “Leverage really is like, like she said, it gives you like the toolbox you need... It’s for all creative people who want to make money with their art rather than, you know, just have it as a hobby.” [06:08, 07:22]
- Ashley: "I can't really think of a limit or a certain type of art that couldn't be used." [07:26]
- Kelsey: "Something might take you down an avenue you'd never even expect... that's a cool part about it." [08:14]
2. International Artists: Is Location a Barrier?
- Answer: No. The global nature of creative business means licensing and selling artwork internationally is accessible and often beneficial, thanks to currency exchange rates and new markets.
- Kelsey (Canada): "I have found I only have three contracts, but two of them are American companies and actually works in my favor because I get paid in American dollars." [10:47]
- Mabel (Australia): "There is no border. Your mind has no limits. You can license your work to any country... I have companies in US, Denmark, London, all licensing my work." [11:40]
- Laura (Canada): "Watching, Stacy, you go through copyright and taxes in the States just hinted at what I needed to pay attention to in Canada... it definitely helped out big time for me." [13:40]
- Ashley: “Probably 90% of the course is just international because of the concepts.” [14:40]
3. The Mindset Shift: Creating Confidence & New Avenues
- Takeaway: The heart of artistic growth is changing from asking, “Why won’t this work for me?” to, “How could this work for me?”
- Stacie: “What I see a lot is it’s almost a mindset shift that has to happen for all artists...” [09:19]
- Shirley: “For whatever reason, I needed permission to use artwork and reuse it in different formats… it’s just working smarter.” [17:44]
- Tiffany: “The course really helped me to hone in on my brand story, my elevator pitch... I just wouldn’t have had that confidence before this course.” [20:33]
4. Reusing & Repurposing Artwork: Working Smarter, Not Harder
- Strategy: Artists discuss “leveraging” previous work into new products or pitches, thus maximizing creative output.
- Shirley: “I had this idea that that was cheating... Really, it’s just working smarter.” [17:44]
- Stacie: “You’re allowed to do these things. Oh my gosh, life is better.” [19:30]
- Tiffany: “I had a greeting card that wasn’t really selling... I changed the colors and the copy, pitched it, and now they’re ordering 4,000 units. I didn’t have to make new art.” [21:30]
5. What If You Don’t Have a Large Body of Work?
- Reassurance: Beginners see the course as a launchpad. The community and assignments actually inspire more (and stronger) creative work.
- Laura: “I found a lot of inspiration through taking the course... I definitely created stronger artwork because of it.” [24:52]
- Kelsey: “Just being in the community makes you want to create… I had been a graphic designer until last year, never made a pattern before 2021. I made, like, so much work last year while doing the course.” [26:06]
- Tiffany: “The course did help me lean into my unique… creative formula.” [27:20]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- Kelsey, on International Work: “There are lots of benefits… I wouldn’t say it’s a barrier. Most of the surface designers I follow are international.” [10:47]
- Mabel, on Income Streams: “You could, like, so squeeze not just an artwork, but a licensing contract with a company and get so much out of it. It’s like the juice gets coming, man.” [32:52]
- Shirley, on Permission: “For whatever reason, I needed permission to use artwork and reuse it in different formats. I think I had this idea that that was cheating or being kind of a slacker and really it’s just working smarter.” [17:44]
- Tiffany, on Impact: “I can make more money and do less… I just don’t have the time to devote to creating the way I would like to. And so I think that this course is perfect for anyone who's making art in the fringes of their life.” [33:21]
- Laura, channeling Nike: “If you’re on the fence, do it. You can’t not do something because you’re scared, because growth and opportunity is on the other side of it.” [34:04]
- Ashley, on Breaking Family Patterns: “I realized that I come from a family of really, really creative women… but they also lived by the limiting belief that artists couldn’t make money… permission to let that shine as my own voice and my own story, and realize that I can actually make a living, like a really decent living.” [40:24]
- Stacie, on Community: “You come in wanting to learn about your business and grow your business, but you leave with a community... It’s so much more than that... some of my closest friends are people that I’ve only either hugged once or I hope to hug them once at some point.” [42:42]
Highlights by Timestamp
- 01:30–03:27: Alumni introductions
- 04:59–09:19: Broad applicability of the course, mindset shift for all creative mediums
- 10:47–16:34: International alumni discuss contracts, payments, copyright, and overcoming location barriers
- 17:44–22:09: Insights from product-based artists, reusing artwork, pitching, and gaining creative confidence
- 24:52–28:29: Addressing beginner concerns, the role of community, creative “formula,” and portfolio development
- 29:28–42:42: Alumni share “on the fence” advice, biggest takeaways, and transformational stories—from income leaps to breaking generational beliefs to building lifelong creative friendships
Closing Advice from Alumni
- Megan: “Do it… it felt very like before, there was just this nebulous idea of I’m an artist, and somehow that turns into money. I don’t know how, but having somebody that was like, hey, no, really, here’s how you can do it… everything you need and when you need it.” [29:28]
- Mabel: Shared a story of negotiating a licensing deal to also wholesale her own work, resulting in extra profit and new business opportunities. [30:35]
- Tiffany: “This course has just showed me I can make more money and do less. Perfect for anyone making art in the fringes of their life.” [33:21]
- Laura: “If you’re on the fence, do it… Growth and opportunity is on the other side of fear.” [34:04]
- Kelsey: “There isn’t really competition… the community does make us all stronger.”
- Shirley: “You have to believe in what you could see for yourself in the future… You will look back and go, why didn’t I take it?” [38:09]
- Ashley: “I can actually make a living, like a really decent living, from something that comes from my own heart and my own soul… The friendships that I have made in this community are... one of the most important things.” [40:24–42:39]
Final Thoughts
Stacie:
“You come in wanting to learn about your business and grow your business, but you leave with a community… you probably have more to offer than you realize… don’t wait, you know, if you can go for it. And I’m a big believer in jumping in and kind of figuring it out as you go.” [42:42]