Petite Pleasures, Big Dreams: Jo Gamel on Daily Painting, Following Every Interest, and Showing Up for Your Most Ambitious Goals

Jo Gamel is back, and this conversation covers a lot of ground. A Philadelphia-based fine artist, gallery liaison, teaching artist, science fiction writer, and member of the music project Medal of Jupiter, Jo embodies what it looks like to follow genuine curiosity across disciplines without apology. In this episode, we get into her participation in the 100 Day Painting Challenge, how she built a consistent studio practice around a fully funded medical billing program, and what it actually takes to show up for your work when your schedule is packed.

Jo shares how she used block scheduling to protect her 5 a.m. studio hours, how pre-selecting a limited palette and 300 reference photos from her phone set her up for creative flow rather than decision fatigue, and how her miniature series became a portal into memory, travel, and her great-grandmother's immigration story. We also talk about the sensory, cafe-style exhibition she mounted at the Jane Gallery, the power of immersive art presentations, and why she believes every artist should be loudly celebrating their wins so others know what is possible.

Jo has shown at the Louvre during Paris+ Art Basel, Chelsea Old Town Hall during London Art Week, and the European Museum of Modern Art in Barcelona. This fall, she is directing the Arts League gallery for Collective Futures (a citywide Philadelphia collaboration, October 2 to 23, themed around Bohemia as a trans-historical state of mind), and she announces something she visualized years ago: she will be showing at the Stockholm Affordable Art Fair this September.

This one is full of practical insight, ancestral warmth, and a lot of encouragement to say the big dream out loud.

In this episode:

• What it means to be pluridisciplinary and why the old masters were too
• Building a block schedule that actually holds up during a demanding program
• How the 100 Day Painting Challenge became a meditation on petite pleasures and personal history
• Creating a fully immersive, sensory gallery experience on your own terms
• The role of community and mutual aid in a sustainable art career
• Why sharing your achievements is just as important as achieving them
• Jo's upcoming exhibitions in Philadelphia and Stockholm

Links and resources:

Join us on Substack: https://createmagazine.substack.com

Jo Gamel: www.jogamel.com

Jo on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jogamel/

Join the Create! Collective: https://createcollective.mykajabi.com/collective

Free Studio Workbook and Workshop: https://createmagazine.myflodesk.com/studio-party

100 Day Challenge Waitlist: https://createmagazine.myflodesk.com/challenge

Connect with Jo: www.jogamel.com

Past episode: https://createmagazine.substack.com/p/mixed-media-magic-embracing-a-multi-245