Vulnerability Hangover Stories: Part 2 – Noah Woods – Ep 79

Last week I started a conversation with my dear friend, artist, writer, and teacher Noah Woods that was so good we needed a second part! On this episode, Noah wraps up how he overcame the creative wall of perfectionism and shares a star-studded story about meeting his art idol, David Hockney.

Listen if you are interested in…

• Recapping Part 1 and the time Noah met his Art God [2:25]
• How Noah finally learned to make a mess [25:31]
• Overcoming obstacles on the art journey [31:56]
• Questions for Noah and final thoughts [41:15]

The moment you’ve been waiting for

One of the best things about art and life is that they constantly surprise us. Understandably, not every surprise feels welcome at the time. But when we embrace the journey instead of impatiently forcing the destination, we find that everything that happens along the way shapes us into who we were meant to be. The key is awareness. We have to notice the guideposts on the path. Noah had to say yes to nine Tibetan monks and countless other signs before he met David Hockney and had his breakthrough. The moment you’re waiting for is coming. Just keep showing up and keep saying YES!

Make a mess

After Noah’s life-changing lunch with David Hockney, he couldn’t help but see the symmetry in everything that had happened to him in a short amount of time. All of it was swimming around his mind in a loop. He couldn’t escape the words of Dwight Harmon and T.S. Elliot imploring this kid whose bedroom was way too clean growing up to finally make a mess. Equally inspired by the works of Kurt Schwitters, Noah dipped his toes into collage. He began tearing out pages of old yearbooks and music sheets from the early 1900s to use as the canvas for his newfound medium. He then had the opportunity to do a book jacket that was seen by over 75,000 art directors from around the world. The calls started pouring in for his work, and the rest is history.

May the conversation never end

The artist’s journey is an upwards crescendo. When we stay open and curious, the lessons we learn about our art and ourselves don’t really stop. We’ll be learning them until we take our last breath. And every time we learn something new, the work just gets better and better. As Noah put it, those who innately are artists constantly wonder what else is possible with their work. They are always asking questions and pushing the envelope to create more poignantly and authentically. Being an artist means we are ALWAYS learning, And being in community with artists means we are not only offering our questions but being improved by the questions of others. Noah and I have been having this conversation filled with questions for 40 years, and may that conversation never end. 

Resources & People Mentioned

• Vulnerability Hangover Stories: Part 1 – Noah Woods – Ep 78
• Kurt Schwitters (Artist)
• David Hockney (Artist)
• David Hockney By David Hockney (Book)
• The Art Spirit (Book)
• Wabi Sabi: Japanese Wisdom for a Perfectly Imperfect Life (Book)
• Journals (Book)
• Letters to a Young Poet (Book)

Connect with Noah Woods

• Follow Noah on Instagram 
• Visit Noah’s website 

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