Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Christa Wells. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Christa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
One of the greatest gifts my parents gave me was the confidence to use my imagination as a tool of resilience. My Dad was an officer in the army which meant frequent relocations with four kids and a grandmother in the household. Sometimes we were in a house, other times in an apartment–west coast to east coast and even overseas. Now that I’m an adult and a parent, I understand how incredibly challenging it must have been to make all the decisions and forge new connections, not to mention simply unpacking again and again and re-arranging furniture and decor.
Every time we faced a move, they’d tell us what they knew of the new community and help us get excited about the adventures we’d have. I absolutely credit that creative optimism with my ability to carve a unique path for myself in the arts that not only brings me joy but also provides for my family.
I always tell artists when times are tough: If you are creative, you are uniquely equipped to create a way!
My parents modeled this creative resilience, and it’s one of the qualities I’m most grateful to have inherited.
Christa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Sure! I am a songwriter, recording artist, poet, artist mentor, and podcaster based in Nashville. I’ll also be teaching songwriting at the college level this spring, which I’m excited about. My Instagram bio now describes me as a ‘Creative Communicator,’ which feels most true.
The aspect of music-making that stole my heart and kept it was songwriting. As a lonely teenager I stumbled into writing lyrics and melody on the piano as a way of creating companionship with myself. It gave me a way to channel my emotions. From that point on, I knew I really wanted to make a vocation in music. I studied English Education and Music Industry in college and worked random jobs while continuing to practice writing and sharing my songs quietly in my community.
Within a few years I began cowriting with a friend who had landed a record deal, and she cut a couple of our songs. She and her husband then started pitching my songs to other artists, and amazingly, my first outside cut went to #1. Several years later another of my songs became a career-making song for an artist named Natalie Grant and earned me the GMA Songwriter of the Year award. But I didn’t have enough cuts to satisfy the itch to be heard or to share the less mainstream songs I love to write. I excel at writing lyrics that poignantly articulate real life experiences and emotions, and people tend to resonate deeply with my songs if they resonate at all. So I faced long-standing performance anxiety and began to share my own music.
In 2006 I released an independent album with my sister, Mandy, and in 2009 began releasing solo projects and touring with my fellow songwriter Nicole Witt. From that point on, most of my creative energy was directed to sharing my own music which led into leading songwriting retreats and workshops with Nicole.
Today I continue to release projects I’m very proud of and have built a boutique artist community called Artist And. We have just finished leading our second 9-month long Creative Mastermind + Songwriters Community to phenomenal reviews. We’ve resumed in-person songwriting retreats in addition to the online gatherings that grew during the pandemic.
What I’m most proud of is the way I’ve been able to help connect people with their passion and with one another, especially curious creative types. Artist And isn’t just about the coaching and encouragement Nicole and I offer; it’s really about the community people find through our gatherings and even our Instagram presence. Real friendships and collaborations are born, drawing people out of isolation and into relationship, and that makes my heart soar.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
What changes everything for an artist is to have a tribe that is genuinely in the for the long-haul with them. That means when we find a piece that affects us, we slow down and get the artist’s name. We reach out and thank them for their work. We share it with our friends and go hunting for their other work. We send $25 or buy merch or join their Patreon. We follow them on social platforms and engage.
Basically, if we want to have the music and the films, etc, in our lives, we will understand that art saves us, and that we as consumers also save the art by loving our artists.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
I was impacted beautifully by Seth Godin’s book Tribes, in which he demonstrates that none of us needs to be a celebrity in order to create a thriving business. We just need a tribe of committed listeners (in my case) that genuinely cares about the work and reliably shows up to enjoy and share what you’re making. That was hugely encouraging to me as an independent artist. His book Linchpin also encouraged me to see everything we offer as part of the art, the work. For example, when we post on Instagram, is it just a “job” to sell people something? Or can it be an extension of our creative expression with the same heart and loving purpose?
Start With Why by Simon Sinek is another great one for artists and entrepreneurs. I found it so essential that I introduced mission statements into our Mastermind curriculum. If you know why you’re doing a thing–literally any thing–all the subsequent choices become easier, including choosing which types of critical feedback are relevant to the work.
Finally, another book I intend to re-read is poet David Whyte’s lesser known book Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as Pilgrimage, which inspired me to consider the spiritual and philosophical aspects of what calls us to set out in our chosen field and what we can expect to encounter and experience along the winding road. It’s beautiful, of course, because everything David Whyte says or writes is beautiful! But it’s also grounded and helpful.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.christawellsmusic.com
- Instagram: @christawellsmusic
- Facebook: @ChristaWellsMusic
- Twitter: @christawells
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/christawellsmusic
Image Credits
Sofia Wells