Episode 025 - Crystal Tiehen

In this episode, I welcome Crystal Tiehen! Crystal is an intuitive health and wellness coach, as well as an artist who refinishes and repurposes furniture. She shares how art has played an important role in her life and journey from a difficult past to a healthy and vibrant future. (Fun fact: the cover image for this episode is of one of the pieces of furniture that Crystal refinished!) 

 

Get in touch with Crystal Tiehen: www.crystalineyourjourney.com | www.crystalineyourlife.com | https://www.facebook.com/Crystaline-Your-Life-100378194657490/ | https://www.facebook.com/Crystal-Tiehen-Coaching-472918096439001/ | www.instagram.com/crystalineyourlife 

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Episode 25 - Crystal Tiehen

Lindsey Dinneen: Hello, and welcome to Artfully Told, where we share true stories about meaningful encounters with art.

[00:00:07] Krista: I think artists help people have different perspectives on every aspect of life.

[00:00:14] Roman: All I can do is put my part out into the world.

[00:00:16] Elizabeth: It doesn't have to be perfect the first time. It doesn't have to be perfect ever really. I mean, as long as you, and you're enjoying doing it and you're trying your best, that can be good enough.

[00:00:24] Elna: Art is something that you can experience with your senses and that you just experiences as so beautiful.

[00:00:32] Lindsey Dinneen: Hello, and welcome back to another episode of Artfully Told. I'm your host, Lindsey, and I am so very delighted to have as my guest today, the absolutely lovely Cyrstal Tiehen, and she is the founder and creator and coach behind Crystaline Your Journey, which is a fabulous name based on your name, my dear. I love it. But thank you so much for being here today, Crystal. I'm so excited to have you.

[00:01:01] Crystal Tiehen: Thank you so much for having me. This is, this is a lot of fun and it's, and it's an honor.

[00:01:07]Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, absolutely. Well, I would love if you would share just a little bit about yourself and maybe your involvement in art.

[00:01:15] Crystal Tiehen: Yes, absolutely. You know, I live the entrepreneurial life. Crystaline Your Journey was very intuitively called to me, if you will. And I am an Intuitive Wellness Coach, so I help people access emotional and spiritual freedom through an intuitive and spiritual approach. But that's not all I do. So, you know, very interestingly enough, art, if you will, creativity, is such a huge component to really choosing change because it is a choice and allowing transformation. And so what I chose to do, for my creative outlet, and what I encourage many of my clients as well is finding a creative outlet, but we'll talk a little bit about kind of a branch of Crystaline Your Journey that's Crystaline Your Life. That is my furniture art company. And I own an online franchise where I've partnered with a liquid wood technology that creates ease for design and repurposing and transforming furniture. 

[00:02:30] Lindsey Dinneen: So cool. So how'd you get started in that and what are some of your favorite pieces that you've worked on?

[00:02:38] Crystal Tiehen: Yeah, absolutely. You know, this is just kind of something that I kind of had a passion for. I've been doing it for about 10 years and without getting like too sappy, all of us have had different, you know, lived a different life, walked a different journey. And, you know, 10 years ago I was in a very, very different space. I was in a toxic relationship and abusive relationship, and what furniture art was for me in that time of my journey, and in that season of my journey was meditation before I even really knew what meditation was. You know, using a paintbrush, watching the paint change a piece was--it's transformative. It actually brings tears to my eyes right now that I think about it, because it led me, it let me be just me in that moment and not having to answer to anything else that was going on in my life. So very powerful space to be in. And I didn't even realize the relevancy of it to be perfectly honest. And I mean, sometimes it would take, sometimes it would take a month for me to get a piece finished, just because, if there was an altercation or if there was a conflict that happened in my home life, you know, I'd go downstairs and I'd sit with my paintbrush and sometimes I wouldn't even paint. So it was, it was therapeutic. I found therapy. Yeah. Yes.

[00:04:17] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. And then, you know, that's an incredible story and thank you for sharing that, but then what's so neat to hear too, is that now you're doing this for other people, you're transforming something that they might not adore as much anymore--it doesn't match or whatever--and then you're giving them a new experience with something too, which is really cool.

[00:04:42] Crystal Tiehen: It's like, it lights me up. It lights me up to be able to, if you can imagine it, I can create it or I can show you how to create it. That's another beautiful aspect of choosing this as a creative outlet is this is something that I engage in, and practice in on a very regular basis. And so to share that with others, to share something that lights me up is an expression of myself. And I think it's so important that we express ourselves because when we suppress our expression, that's when fear can set in. That's when doubt, that's when worry, you know, you don't have fun. You know, we forget how to have fun. We forget to have joy in our experience and our process. So, yes. Thank you for, thank you for speaking to that because it's, it's an absolute joy to be able to be a part of that for people.

[00:05:39] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. What a unique gift that you have and can share! I just love that. Yeah. Well, and so, yeah, and so what kinds of art, obviously you've done a lot of painting and things like that, but what other kinds of art have you explored over your life so far?

[00:05:58] Crystal Tiehen: Wow. That's, that's a very interesting question. I mean, I have not done much in regards to like painting like on canvas and that sort of thing, but, you know, I really remember like getting into, I really enjoy coloring or even drawing mandalas. Like, that's always been something that I've enjoyed doing. Anytime I had a birthday or anything like that, that's what people would buy me. They buy me those mandalas that you can color in and create patterns with and mandalas are circular and speak to, you know, things always moving in time and not necessarily on a straight trajectory. And so, very powerful symbolism there that again, throughout my life I didn't know the significance of, so I've always been highly interested in that. I always remember my mom would take me to Creative Candles. I feel like that was very much a creative outlet as well when I was younger. So I don't know if you grew up in Kansas City, but Creative Candles used to be like this thing for like kids growing up in the eighties and we would go down, they would give you white candles and you got to dip them in all kinds of different colors of waxes and all kinds of stuff. And so that was always a lot of fun. That was definitely something that is brought to mind when it comes to the artistic view.

[00:07:32] And, I've always enjoyed coloring. The shading of it, being able to create dimension, dynamic-ism, if that's even a word. I do, I do remember I won a contest when there used to be Miners in Brookside. I don't know if anybody remembers that store, but it was a grocery store and it was called Miners and they had a contest to win a scooter. And it was a coloring contest. I entered it and I won. So I was 17 years old. I was young. I was really young, but I always enjoyed it. And I even enjoyed a little bit of drawing. I'm not so good with freehand, as much as like being able to look at something and recreate it. Thanks for asking.

[00:08:24] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, of course. Yeah. I'm always so curious because I know most of us have at least dabbled in a few different forms before maybe settling on one that really speaks to you, but that's so fun.

[00:08:37] Crystal Tiehen: It is.

[00:08:38] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah.

[00:08:38] Crystal Tiehen: And I love your, I love your creative outlet and, and how you shine for people as well!

[00:08:45] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, well, thank you. I appreciate that. Yeah. So in your coaching, you talked before a little bit about being an intuitive coach and health and wellness and all that. How does art play a role into how you coach or, or does it play a role in, in any of that?

[00:09:03] Crystal Tiehen: Oh, absolutely. There's--depending upon where people are at in their journey, and what they're opening up to, what they're tuning into--that we're, we're such multifaceted beings. So we really have very many different facets of ourselves. And when someone is, is kind of stuck, or doesn't feel like they know how to pick their style or has questions about really being able to tune into the transformative process. Furniture art is something that I teach, I coach and really show that it can be therapy. You can really move through your emotions and open up to things that need to be seen in order to create transformation not only inwardly. But of course, you know, you're learning a skill set to create outwardly as well and let that expression come into reality.

[00:10:03] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. And do you find that the clients that you work with are open to expressing themselves through art or is it sometimes a struggle depending on whether they feel like they can do it or not?

[00:10:15] Crystal Tiehen: Oh, it's definitely very interesting to watch how--you know, I, I work with the psyche and I've been intuitively studying this stuff and frequencies and vibration and really just an energetic approach. And when we are faced with doing something that is, we don't know how to do, it can be, it can be very challenging. And, it really is incredibly supportive to have someone to hold that space for you because you sometimes go back into, you know, get triggered and go back into spaces where things like this might have happened to you earlier on in your childhood and that sort of thing. So it really can be emotionally transformative.

[00:11:09]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. And so, you know, as you think back over either working with clients or your own experiences, are there any particular stories that really pop out to you as being, Wow. This is a moment to remember as having had an interaction with art and just how that kind of made a difference to you or your clients or anything like that?

[00:11:37] Crystal Tiehen: Yeah. I have an intuitive design therapy program that, you can find it crystalineyourlife.com, but I also work with the overall understanding of emotional intelligence and emotional maturity and spiritual connection. And I think probably the strongest, most beautiful results or side effect, if you will, with art and connecting art and self is really being able to tune into your higher self, tune into that higher version of who you are to become. Being able to, you know, see yourself limitless, being able to, to use your imagination in ways that you didn't know you had the capability of doing so. I don't have any necessarily anything specific to say to what a client experienced, because it really is different for every single one of us and our journeys, but being able to hold space for ourselves and for each other, that's really what's going to evolve us as humans and as beings.

[00:12:58]Lindsey Dinneen:  Yeah, absolutely. And so do you have any upcoming projects that you're particularly excited about or that you're working on as far as either the furniture side of things or your own projects and things?

[00:13:15] Crystal Tiehen: I mean, I'm always, you know, shaking and moving and grooving. I have quite a few projects that I've been doing that I'm going to be updating my gallery with. My gallery is on my website. And there is, I'm in process, it's still being kind of worked out with everything, you know, that we have been challenged with with COVID and stuff like that. But hopefully I'll be doing some classes here soon, collaborating, doing some classes for the liquid wood technology that I sell and that I promote. It's absolutely amazing because it literally will virtually turn any surface into wood, any hard surface into wood. And so you can stain it. You can grain it. There's so many different ways and combinations of using the different colors and the different stains. I mean, it's just, for me, it's like limitless. I, I just throw stuff on there and see what happens. And it always comes out very beautiful, but nothing to say that is specifically in place currently with dates or anything of that nature, but definitely a lot in the world.

[00:14:27]Lindsey Dinneen: Excellent. Excellent. And so are there any,  I know this is probably a difficult one to answer, but what is your favorite or maybe favorite couple of pieces that you've ever worked on that brought you even more joy because they were special in some way?

[00:14:45] Crystal Tiehen: Yeah, absolutely. One of them is a piece that I totally need to redo again, because it was one of my very first pieces. And it's probably been about 10 years since I've touched it, but it's, it's a two piece,  I think it's kind of like an armoire. It doesn't have the doors on it. It's just open. It's like what you would put in a dining room, like a shelving unit. That piece was probably the very first piece that that really showed me, "Wow, Crystal, this is, this is something significant. This is something that you've transformed and is now you can put into your home and feel good about it." Back then, there wasn't a lot for me to feel good about. So, so being able to, you know, find and allow something to let me feel good, was very powerful. So now I have what, so it's a two piece hutch, if you will, without doors on it. And one of the taller of the pieces sits in my Retique It room, which is liquid wood technology that I carry. And I have, I have all my Retique It stuff displayed on it and looking beautiful. And I have Retique It all throughout my house. And then the other part is in the room where my dogs stay and it has all my plants on it. So that's probably, that's probably the piece that brought me peace, if you will.

[00:16:19] Lindsey Dinneen: I love that. Well, I think you also touched on something really important and that is that, you know, at a time in your life when you said there wasn't a lot to feel good about to be able to have this outlet to help get you through and to feel proud of something that you created that's beautiful, that's yours. I mean, there is, that's not just an isolated thing, although I think you have just a really powerful story, but I mean, in general, that's the power of the arts, I think.

[00:16:52] Crystal Tiehen: Absolutely. I think you said that very beautifully. I think that's why it's so important to have a creative outlet.

[00:17:00] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, because there are seasons of life--I mean, gosh, especially now where it's tough and having something that you can do that brings you that joy is just so important. So. That's so cool.

[00:17:15] Crystal Tiehen: Thank you! Yeah, you know, and it's also brought me through to, you know, all, all of the, you know, steps that I have taken on this journey, spiritually, emotionally, but also creatively. And, you know, being able to connect with the CEO of this product that I now am partnered with and get to be involved in, in all the creativity of it. I mean, we have, we have product that comes out on our line on a regular basis. I mean, I have customized colors and there's so many things that are in play and that really give me that permission. I give myself the permission to play, to have fun, to feel creative. And when I don't win, when I'm down on myself, when I start feeling depression, because even though I'm a coach, that still can creep in every once in a while. Because I live in a, a lot of uncertainty, like a lot of us do, especially these days. And so when I am feeling that I know exactly what I can do to, to pull myself out of it, to relieve myself, to show myself self-love

[00:18:40] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Beautifully, beautifully worded there. So if you were to give somebody advice, maybe somebody who would be interested in starting something like what you're doing just for fun, you know, on the side, is there anything in particular that stands out to you as, as a takeaway that you would say, "Well absolutely make sure blah, blah, blah."

[00:19:04] Crystal Tiehen: Yeah. Let me think about that. I mean, I think it's important. Okay. I think it's important to be intuned and aligned and feel empowered through the inspiration that you choose. There's so much influence out there, so much influence, and it really depends on where you're at in your journey. So really, who do you listen to, and who do you pay attention to, and who do you choose to give your money to? And, you know, in order to really be able to engage and, trying this out, you know, and that choice to, to explore being creative. So I think the advice would be--really be aligned and tuned in to who is giving you that inspiration and what you're going to do with that inspiration.

[00:20:02] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. I love that. That's great advice. Thank you for sharing that. All right. Well, I do have three questions that I love to ask my guests, if you're okay with that.

[00:20:12] Crystal Tiehen: Well, of course!

[00:20:15] Lindsey Dinneen: Okay, perfect. So the first one is how do you personally define art or what is art to you?

[00:20:22] Crystal Tiehen: Art is a creative outlet. It's an emotional support. It's, it's a way to give ourselves permission to be a child to bring fun into our life, to not have to be so serious all the time and, and really be able to explore that childlike facet of ourselves. And even if it's not childlike, just being able to, to bring something that only you have created into this world. That's what art is.

[00:21:02]  Lindsey Dinneen: I love that, great answer. All right. And what do you think is the most important role of an artist?

[00:21:10]Crystal Tiehen: You know, it's interesting because I wouldn't even call it a role. I believe we are all artists because we are all co-creators. This is a belief system that I, I choose to really lean into is that we are all co-creators. And so having it as a role is something to say, I'm going to prioritize this. I'm going to prioritize the fact that I have the capability to be creative. I have the capability to be an artist and, and really being able to open up those doors for anyone that is willing to embrace it.

[00:21:55] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. Okay. And then my final question, and I'll explain my terms a little bit is, do you think that art should be inclusive or exclusive, and inclusive refers to an artist to incorporate some kind of context behind what they share with the world. So whether that's as simple as a title or it's some history behind it, or kind of just basically context. Versus exclusive referring to an artist who creates their work, puts it out there and leaves it entirely to the interpretation of its audience.

[00:22:37] Crystal Tiehen: Hm. I'm gonna, I'm gonna tune into this one real quick. This is a deeper question. I think that our love for art is a lost art and there is a connectivity to loving oneself and creativity and choosing to embrace what art is here to be, what art has, is gifted us to be. So for it to be inclusive or exclusive, it is, I think it is up to the soul. I think it is up to the soul and when we can release any, any necessarily specific identification, it being inclusive or exclusive is when we can really support the artist for exactly who they're choosing to be.

[00:23:38]Lindsey Dinneen: Very nice. Thank you for that. That's a different perspective than I've heard before, and I absolutely love hearing different perspectives. So thank you for that. All right. Well, if anyone wants to follow your journey or connect with you, is there a way for them to do that?

[00:23:56] Crystal Tiehen: Absolutely. I have many different ways, but crystalineyourjourney--that's crystaline with one L-- crystalineyourjourney.com is my intuitive coaching site. And then crystalineyourlife.com is my online website, where you can find all the paints, all the liquid wood, all the fun stuff that will let you start kind of playing around and seeing what is part of your journey. And then you can find me on social media. I'm on Facebook, under Crystal Tiehen Coaching, but I'm also very present, just with Crystal Tiehen. So you can always find me there as well. And then on Instagram is @crystalineyourlife. 

[00:24:40]Lindsey Dinneen: Perfect. Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate that. And I would definitely encourage our listeners to check out her websites. I have gotten to see some pictures of the furniture that she's created and it's stunning. It's so much fun to see creativity. Yeah. And the beauty of what all that. So definitely go check that out no matter what. And, if you need any intuitive coaching or any  furniture that just might need a fresh face, Crystal is definitely your girl.

[00:25:18] Crystal Tiehen: Thank you. Thank you. Yes, I do custom work. So like I said originally, if you can imagine it, we can create it. So, it's always a good thing to spice things up, to freshen things up, to clear energy.

[00:25:34] Lindsey Dinneen: Yes, definitely. All right. Well, thank you so much, Crystal, for being with us today and thank you, especially for sharing art with the world. I think that when you're willing to do that, that you really do make the world a better, more beautiful, more inclusive place. So thank you for sharing your art. I really do appreciate it. And thank you for being here.

[00:25:59] Crystal Tiehen: Yes. Thank you for having me. It's truly, like I said, it's really was an honor and, I really appreciate it.

[00:26:06] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, of course. So much fun to talk with you. Well, if you are feeling as inspired as I am, I would love if our listeners would just share this episode with a friend or two, and thank you so much for listening as well, and we will catch you next time.

[00:26:25]If you have a story to share with us, we would love that so much. And I hope your day has been Artfully Told.

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