Talenthouse Blog

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I’ve been itching to write about inspiration for a while now, as it’s pretty crucial when it comes to creating, but it’s proven to be quite a task. Defining inspiration and it’s origins are difficult enough since each of us find it in various places; Is it spending time with friends? Is it from your favorite book? Is it looking at someone else’s life? Is it music? Is it trying new things? Is it the simple notion of wanting to be a better artist, or singer, or photographer, or producer etc or wanting a better life?

I visit one of my favorite websites, The Daily Motivator,  daily and one of the the topics of the day this week happened to be, can you guess it? Inspiration!

“Let life inspire you. No matter what happens, you can choose to be inspired by it.

If you make a mistake, let it inspire you to be more careful and diligent next time. When you’re having a great time, let it inspire you to create even more positive experiences.

Each time you see kindness, be inspired to pass it forward. If you encounter deception or injustice, feel inspired to raise your world above it.

Anything can inspire you when you choose to let it. You can even be inspired for no reason at all.

Be inspired by the big accomplishments and by the small, simple moments as well. An inspired life is a life that’s rich, and it’s a life you can choose no matter what.

If there’s a reason to be inspired or if there is not, be inspired. Bring your spirit fully to life, and raise your life to a higher, more enriching level.

– Ralph Marston”

I also stumbled upon a blog post by Chase Jarvis in regards to inspiration and creativity – “Is Inspiration Killing Creativity?” There are some great points worth checking out!

Some may say that inspiration comes from within. But what happens when that inspiration runs out? Where, then, do you find it? If this question isn’t easy for you to answer, I suggest taking a break from life’s chaos and figuring it out. It is so important to constantly challenge yourself and try new things. There’s so much waiting for all of us out there… inspiration is bound to come around.

When watching my usual nighttime television shows this week, I saw the new Colgate Wisps commercial and quickly realized that I knew the voice in the song. It didn’t click until seeing it again and I am so happy to announce that it is the voice of April Smith of April Smith and the Great Picture Show! Their song “Wow and Flutter” is used in the commercial and I’m so excited for her! It has to be a great feeling to have millions of TV viewers hearing your song time and time again. Check it out below!

Be sure to check out April Smith and the Great Picture Show on Talenthouse.  And in the words of April herself, “If you don’t have my latest album, you can get it HERE and have your very own make-out fest!”

The Art of Elysium is dedicated to enriching the lives of artists and critically ill children.  The Art of Elysium, a 501 (c) (3) organization founded in 1997, encourages working visual artists, actors, musicians, fashion designers, comedians, writers, and more to voluntarily dedicate their time and talent to children who are battling serious medical conditions.  Theye provide artistic workshops and support services throughout various pediatric hospitals in NYC.  The Art of Elysium believes that there is a powerful and mutual exchange of hope and appreciation that occurs when artists share their creativity with children in the hospital environment.  Please take a look at their website www.theartofelysium.org.  To get involved with The Art of Elysium in NYC please contact Rachel Glickman, Program Director-NYC, at rglickman@theartofelysium.org

Just a few days ago we launched a Creative Invite with Leonard Pospichal from Austria. Leonard has been discovered in the European Teenage Rockstar contest and is already highly respected in the music community, as a world-class guitarist, having shared the stage with some of Germany and Austria’s biggest stars, such as Christina Stürmer and Alkbottle.

The winner of this Creative Invite will be part of Leonard’s upcoming debut album, which is going to be released internationally on a major record label. We are looking for a unique and talented singer/rapper to collaborate with the ten-year-old prodigy.

We are also very excited to announce that we partnered with the German TV station ProSieben for this and future projects. The partnership with ProSieben is our first one with a major German network. ProSieben is featuring Leonard’s CI on their website and also across some of their shows.

Participants of this Creative Invite are asked to submit an MP3 file that showcases their vocal talent by either uploading a pre-recorded song or using the instrumental that Leonard provided.

Alternatively you are also welcome to record your performance via our current partners at TheStage.tv. They are the first live video portal where audience feedback determines whether a performer gets to remain on stage. The audio of your concert can be uploaded directly to Talenthouse – all you would have to do is go to TheStave.tv and show what you got!

Take your best song and upload it now!

Autumn Jewett has been a print and runway model for the last three years. She loves to model and always sticks to her three D’s when it comes to making it in the industry: determination, drive, and dedication. Along with her modeling career she has professional dance training in ballet, point, modern, tap, jazz, and hip-hop to name a few. Some of her biggest influences are Naomi Campbell, Janice Dickinson, and Tyra Banks.

Come see what Autumn Victoria Jewett is all about on Talenthouse at http://www.talenthouse.com/autumnj.

John Benko is a contemprorary artist new to the San Francisco Bay Area. He spent most of his life in Ohio attending art school at Kent State and opening his own screen printing and graphic design business. After almost 10 years he passed the company on to his brother. Now living on the West Coast he focuses most of his attention on his art.

After only living here for one year his work has been shown in over ten exhibitions and he has painted two murals in the city. His artwork is inspired by his children and he is influenced by music, 16th century art, and the Universe.

We congratulate John on being our second Featured Artist in Art this week and we encourage you to view some of his amazing artwork at http://http://talenthouse.com/johnbenko

At the end of October adidas and we here at Talenthouse started one of our most exciting Creative Invites. Designers around the world participated and submitted their designs for a pair of adidas iD2 goggles for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

We are still overwhelmed by the high quality of submissions and excited to start the voting today. One of the designs you can check out now over here will be worn by a British adidas eyewear sponsored athlete during in the 2010 Winter Olympics in a few weeks in Vancouver, Canada.

If you are one the these great designers head over to your submission page, vote and tell all your friends to help you out with votes.

Of course, everybody else is invited to browse through the submissions and pick a favorite, too.

This is a Talenthouse Premium contest. Each artist will receive a portion of the 20,000 USD equal to their share of total votes received. To help compensate the artists of Talenthouse and to maintain the authenticity of voting, there will be a charge per text message to your phone bill in addition to any regular carrier fees.

Remember, every vote will help the designer get compensated for their work. The more votes a designer receives, the higher their portion of the 20,000 USD they will receive.

Check out the designs now and vote for your favorite!

Over the past year, our team has been working tirelessly gearing up for the official launch of Talenthouse, which took place on Tuesday, June 30th.

Since we opened our doors on to the home for all artists – the response has been inspiring.

Artists involved in music, fashion, film, art and photography have been sharing with us how much they appreciate what Talenthouse brings to the creative community.

Some of the things people love about Talenthouse include:

• Content Player – The revolutionary new multimedia player that creates a professional way for artists to showcase their work and reach a global audience. Plus, artists love the fact that it’s so easy to embed on their favorite social networks (MySpace, Facebook, hi5, orkut, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.).
• Communication Tools – Being able to reach, support, connect and collaborate with artists in a whole new way.
• Artist Invites – Getting your work in front of some of the world’s most famous icons of film, fashion, music, art and photography. Our members can’t believe they can get involved in projects that include remixing a track for Boy George, composing a piece for the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, and joining Dan Cameron’s art project.

Talenthouse is built for artists and creative minds. As we grow, we continue looking to the community for direction.

If you have any suggestions how to make Talenthouse better, or encounter any bugs along the way, please contact us at support@talenthouse.com

Thanks again for being part of the world’s first all creative community and welcome home.