Christa Wells of ARTIST AND

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christa Wells of ARTIST AND.

Hi Christa, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
After several years of collaborating as songwriters and indie artists, fellow singer-songwriter Nicole Witt and I thought we’d enjoy creating intimate retreats where aspiring songwriters from around the United States–often isolated and discouraged–could find each other and have the opportunity to grow through mentorship and collaboration.

We called it ARTIST AND as a nod to all of us who live in the tension of being an artist AND mother/father/partner/neighbor/accountant/teacher/etc. So many talented artists in the world wear many hats and work in slim margins. We want to encourage those folks especially.

We started in 2014 and were amazed to see how much it meant to those who attended, and how deeply they bonded with one another. At the time our guests were all females who were passionate artists but also managing families and day jobs. They struggled to validate themselves as artists when they weren’t earning money from their art. These gatherings gave them the encouragement and affirmation they needed to keep exploring.

We hosted one or two gatherings per year and then began experimenting with online offerings such as virtual workshops and daily Instagram inspiration, and when Covid hit, we moved to host single-day songwriting retreats via Zoom and even hosted a three-day virtual conference called Artistandapalooza with guest speakers, guest performers, instruction, and cowriting and feedback sessions. This gave us the opportunity to include anyone who wanted to attend without concern for travel costs, gender, or numbers.

When our repeat customers expressed an interest in more advanced-level support, we responded by creating a Songwriters Mastermind in 2021, which ran for eight months and was an all-around success in terms of artist experience and growth. We worked personally with nine songwriters on expanding their mindsets, strengthening their craft, and reaching their own goals.

Now in 2022 we are running the Mastermind again but expanded it to include non-musical artists. These community members are writing screenplays, starting creative businesses, writing poetry and novels, in addition to our songwriters. We’ve added an additional session per month to go deeper into our limiting beliefs and connect as a community.

Also in 2021 we hosted two online summits and launched a new 12-week program called LIFESONG, which is a collaborative effort with master storyteller Johanna Middleton. LIFESONG gives non-musicians the rare opportunity to explore their life experiences and mindset through creativity and ultimately cowrite a song with Nicole and me–the song that sings the message they most need to hear. It was an incredibly moving journey (one woman said it was more helpful to her than therapy during that season), and we are excited to offer it again this year.

Nicole and I continue to do our individual creative work–writing songs, poetry books, recording, performing, podcasting–but we both find the work we do with ARTIST AND to be incredibly life-giving. We passionately believe in the good of humanity, despite evidence to the contrary. We believe in the power of vulnerability in a loving community. We believe in the extraordinary gifts every ordinary person has to offer and seek to help draw those out.

Artists are born leaders, and celebrity status is not required to be a world-changer. Even though daily writing prompts on Instagram, strangers are bearing compassionate witness to one another and becoming each other’s champions. We are becoming more responsible, more generous, and more connected to ourselves and to each other. It’s really gorgeous work to be part of–and an honor to facilitate and lead in this artist and space.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has been smooth in the sense that we’ve had a partnership, and we each bring very different strengths to Artist And. Nicole and I are both good listeners and lead with intuition. That means we don’t often make the mistake of forcing things to happen that aren’t natural.

However struggles are obviously always part of any good journey, and one challenge we faced for years is that we lived in different states (North Carolina and Tennesee), which made logistics tricky for our shared tours as well as artist and gatherings. We also both had young children (Christa had five and Nicole had two), so like the people we serve, we work on slim margins. Then I (Christa) lost my marriage and faced a number of related crises. Obviously, I wasn’t in the best mental or emotional space for a while.

On a practical business level, the biggest challenges have been learning how to effectively and authentically grow our community to a size that makes it easier to fill events and financially reflect the value of what we are offering folks. One of the greatest limiting beliefs artists carry around is that they are not worth being paid well or even investing in themselves.

Obviously, serving people who hesitate to invest in themselves can be a challenge when it comes to asking them to spend money on an offering. We believe, and have seen it proven, that we are truly creating a space where measurable growth and transformation happens–so telling that story well has been an ongoing growth journey for us.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Nicole Witt and I are both singer-songwriters but with very different backgrounds and areas of “genius.”

I was first known for writing hit songs for and with faith-based artists such as Point of Grace (Day by Day), Plumb (Need You Now, God Help Me), Natalie Grant (Held), and Ellie Holcomb (Red Sea Road). I was named GMA Songwriter of the Year in 2006. But I’m most proud of the work I’ve created and the community gathered around my own music. I’ve released a number of albums with no label, management, or booking help.

I’m especially fond of my albums Velveteen and Pacific, and two books of poetry and prose, which I created as I walked through the divorce and recovery. What sets me apart is the combination of my way of seeing the world and my way of saying what I see. People often write to tell me my lyrics have articulated deep truths they previously didn’t have words for.

Nicole is a celebrated Nashville songwriter who plays violin, guitar, and piano and currently performs with a group of americana/country artists named SIX ONE FIVE COLLECTIVE, which she envisioned and built herself. Nicole has been part of several successful bands in the past in addition to writing songs for a number of artists like George Strait, Lee Brice, Lauren Alaina, Ellie Holcomb, Mandisa etc. Nicole’s song “Trains I Missed” won the award for International Bluegrass Song of the Year, and she has an incredible knack for hearing the melody and shaping songs that take listeners on a journey. She has been writing and recording a new solo project called “Clear” and a Six One Five Collective project called “Coastin'” both releasing later in 2022 and early 2023.

In the context of our work with ARTIST AND, I lead in the areas of seeing where people are at internally and mentoring them towards greater freedom and confidence. Nicole takes the lead in the area of song-crafting instruction and feedback.

What does success mean to you?
I think I can speak for both of us when I say success is creating a life and work that are completely aligned with who we truly are.

It is a lifelong journey that includes using my gifts in service of joy (for myself and others), always listening and responding, staying the course, and allowing temporary failures to make us stronger and wiser.

Basically, I’m successful when I’m moving in the direction of my vision.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://artistand.org/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/artist.and?utm_medium=copy_link