Welcome to Your Art Is A Spell, the podcast that ignites inspiring and transformative conversations about art as a magical practice. I'm your host, Edgar Fabián Frías—a multi-passionate artist, witch, therapist, and proud mutant shape-shifter. My art spells have reached audiences through social media, billboards, and skyscrapers and have even been placed on the surface of the moon! Join us as we explore how reclaiming your unique artistic voice and embracing bold creativity can transform your life and the world around you. Subscribe to the podcast and sign up for our newsletter at www.yourartisaspell.com to stay connected!
welcome your art is a spell and it will
change your life and the world around
you have you ever made something that felt like it
was more than just art like it was alive buzzing
with energy intention maybe even magic hi everyone
welcome or welcome back to Your Art Is A Spell
i'm your host Edgar Fabián Frías and today we're
diving deep into the very question at the heart
of this podcast what exactly is an art spell if
you're here chances are you already feel it that
art is more than just decoration or content
that it can shift energy open portals speak
across time and space and ultimately change the
world around us maybe you felt that spark before
when you've made something and something made you
back in this episode I'm going to unpack what art
spells are how they work and how you can start
to recognize and cast them in your own practice
we'll talk about the care intention and power that
fuels them and yes I'll even share a few stories
where art spells came true in the most unexpected
ways you may or may not remember from episode
1 of this podcast season but one of the first
encounters with an art spell happened when I was
young visiting LACMA i didn't have the language
for it at that time but that sense of confusion
and transformation that was magic confusion and
curiosity have always been powerful portals for
me they invite in transformation they unsettle
things to allow space for other possibilities
i think that that's where art spells begin in that
moment of not knowing but feeling deeply so here's
my working definition of an art spell an art spell
is a creative act infused with intention feeling
and care crafted to shift energy consciousness or
reality itself unlike traditional definitions of
art that emphasize beauty or technical skills an
art spell prioritizes impact it is a declaration
this is sacred this is meant to do something so
what makes something an art spell and not just
art it's all about intentionality when you make
an artwork with a specific emotional spiritual or
social intention when you're consciously working
to channel energy story or healing into form
you're making an art spell you don't need to
believe in magic in the traditional sense you
don't need crystals or candles or even an altar
what you do need is a belief in your art and in
yourself that is the most essential ingredient
of an art spell because at the heart of every
art spell is trust trust that your creative power
matters that your visions are valid that you're
in conversation with energies that go beyond the
material realm with guides and ancestors future
selves even with the land itself spells are not
just made they are felt they are collaborations
with unseen forces before we go any deeper if
this is resonating with you so far take a moment
to give this episode some love by channeling some
of your intention through a like by subscribing to
this podcast or to my YouTube channel and drop
a comment let me know what kind of art spells
you've been casting and let's build a space here
where art witches can find each other support each
other and help amplify each other's magic the more
we show up for one another the more power we bring
to what we're creating together let me share
a story a few years ago my friend Eva Aguila
invited me to do a residency at the Coaxial Arts
Foundation in downtown Los Angeles i collaborated
with an amazing artist and witch named Gabriela
Herstik on a flower spell for our queer trans kink
poly and ENM communities we created it as a sacred
offering not knowing where the spell was going to
land and just a few weeks later without planning
it I ended up getting invited to share an artwork
on top of the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco
during Pride and that's the thing about spells you
never really know where they're going to go and I
have to tell you that one of the most surreal and
powerful things that's happened with my spells
was that four of them were taken up to the moon
yes the literal actual moon i go into the full
story of how my art ended up on the moon in
episode one of this podcast and here's another
spell story of mine i used to share spells on
Instagram little pieces of writing born from
pain rage transformation and every single post
began with the line CN or content note this post
is a spell this became one of my longest running
series on my profile people would comment or DM
me saying "I needed your spell today i feel seen
i feel shifted." These spells were not viral just
for the sake of it these were echoes confirmations
proof that we are interconnected beyond the
physical art becomes a spell that stirs the soul
not just of the individual but of the collective
it moves us it wakes something up in us in a world
obsessed with capitalism productivity and
control art spells are revolutionary they
remind us that power is not something you buy
or something you earn it's something that you
remember that creativity is not a luxury it is a
birthright that your intuition your sensitivity
your weirdness your rage your grief your joy all
of them are holy they're sacred art spells let
us embody and imagine futures that don't exist
yet they connect us to ancestral memories they
whisper to us "You are not alone you are needed
your magic matters they say "Fuck the binary
[ __ ] the market [ __ ] the lie that says art
is only for the gifted or for the elite your
expression is sacred and your voice is a part of
that sacred spell." Okay so after talking about
spells so much now is your turn to learn how to
cast a spell ready to cast your own art spell
here's a simple prompt think of a feeling that's
visiting you right now it could be confusion rage
longing grief hope now give yourself 10 minutes to
make something in conversation with that feeling
don't worry about perfection just be honest let
the art feel the feeling with you if you can't
do that right now for whatever reason I want to
invite you to open up your calendar and schedule
an hour to do this later in the week that's a
spell too because every time you claim time for
your creativity you're reclaiming a piece of your
power and don't forget spells take time some echo
years later some spark immediate change some need
to germinate in the darkness and that's all a part
of the magic so what's the spell that I'm casting
i'm imagining a world that is queerer browner more
connected to the earth and to each other a world
where art is a portal and not a product where we
feed the soul before we feed the algorithm what
spell are you casting with your art and what if
it came true tomorrow let your art be a living
prayer let it echo in places you've never been
in timelines you've never touched and remember
even your quietest creations might be shaping
the world in ways you can't yet imagine and this
is something that I feel is really important to
talk about with art spells is they help us tune
into our inner fire our inner creativity our inner
eroticism our inner rage they help us feel
potentiality in moments that might feel
hopeless or helpless this is one of the reasons
why I started this podcast is that we are living
in a time when many people especially those
of us that are not cis straight white men are
feeling disempowered or are being told that
we are not powerful that we have limitations
on us and I want to remind you that your art is a
portal to invite you into a process where you get
to reclaim your sense of agency your sense of
power your sense of impact and for you to know
that you are not stuck within this decaying
corrosive system you're a part of a massive
change that is underway on this planet that is
one of the reasons I feel so much hope in this
world today is I know that I am a part of a web
of witches that are transforming this planet we
are the doulas that are here to witness the death
of this decaying patriarchal capitalist system and
we are the doulas that are here to welcome in
a remembering of the magic that exists on this
planet now I want to invite you if you have a
friend that could use these words of affirmation
this way of rethinking your art practice I want
to invite you to share this episode with them
cuz we need more of us highly sensitive creative
weirdos to step into our power we are needed more
than ever if you've also found this episode
useful I want to invite you to subscribe to
this podcast to sign up for my newsletter you
can find that by going to yourartisaspell.com
if you want to send me a voice note you can
send me one by going to speakpipe.com/youart
is a spell in the meantime I want to invite
you to take care of yourself and each other
and to not forget that your art is a spell and it
will change your life and the world around us bye