Charuka Arora is a visual artist, designer and Founder of Arts To Hearts Project. She was born in the city of Taj, Agra. She is an Internationally recognised Artist Known for her hand-crafted Indian embellished collages & paintings. And, she currently works from Delhi & Agra, India.

Since 2016 she has been experimenting with Indian textiles, embellishments, images & surface embroideries. And, has been exhibiting her work both locally and internationally.

She has been featured in multiple blogs and publications, including create! magazine, candy floss magazine, Fad magazine, The Jealous Curator, visionary art collective, art mums united, Indian artists book of colour to name a few.

In this podcast, She shared what she has learned from creating podcast for 100 weeks.

• Charuka has shared how she overcame her fears and doubt and kept creating no matter what.
• Why is it important to believe in our dreams, and why should we keep striving for them?
• Why it’s important to know our limits but never settle for less?
• Why it’s important to know that life does not work as planned, and sometimes we have to go with the flow.
• Why it’s important to do what you want to do and not care what people will say?
• Why it’s essential to do something without caring about failures.

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Automated Transcript

00:00.85
charukaarora
Hey, you guys. Welcome welcome to the big country I am so excited and thrilled I can’t even believe you freezed here and I’m so excited to be celebrating this milestone with all of you because when I started this podcast. This was a milestone I had set in my mind I was too scared to even share it out loud that this is a number I wanted to reach even before I figured out what I’m doing before even deciding if I want to do it further of how I will make this a business if I have to how. But I manage things and like a hundred questions like you know things fall into your mind when you start something and I was like you know if I’m doing this I at least need to reach the Hundredth episode landmark to make sure that I’ve given my hundred percent and then take things forward from there. So a big congratulations to me and to you. It’s we freeed here and I am so so excited and I’m so thrilled that I get to share this journey with you. This podcast is just isn’t like something that I come and I show up. Is something that I really put my heart and soul into um I have literally like shed all parts of my life from personally away of my mother to talking about creves to resettling into different.

01:34.66
charukaarora
Lives that I’ve had and like anything and everything and it’s just not me I know all my guests have sharedd such parts of their lives their businesses so wonderfully and so honestly that I’m so grateful that this podcast has become such a great resource for. Any woman creative any creative who’s looking to find support who’s looking to grow while during their practice who also wants community like I’m just so so proud of what we’ve created together. So this celebration is just not me or the team. It’s. All of us and I truly truly mean that because I truly believe that anything that we do, um, it’s our audience. It’s the people that we made for that make it a success. It’s your trust into something that you put that makes it valuable. So thank you so much. I don’t care about how many numbers and like you know things like that all I care is even if 2 people show up every time even if 1 person decides to show up to listen to this podcast I would keep making it because. That’s just not a number that’s a human that’s a trust for me for this episode I thought I’ll share something special because it’s been It’s been hundred episodes hundred weeks of learnings hundred weeks of learnings with my wonderful guest with.

03:04.99
charukaarora
Ah conversations and things that I have learned through this podcast and I thought to share this in in um, in a spirit of celebration in retrospect of what I got out of this and I thought that I would share with this this with you.

03:29.73
charukaarora
Um, I think the biggest learning for me. Um, and just remove this part.

03:40.89
charukaarora
So I’m in this so in this episode I’m going to share 5 things that I have learned by interviewing all these amazing people on this podcast from sharing my own journey of creating and launching and. Doing this for over one hundred weeks now and the first thing I actually want to talk about is how um, we sometimes really underestimate. Ah a house. The first thing that I want to talk about is not. How important it is for us to believe in ourselves I think something that has come repetitively over and over again in our conversations in in any of these episodes that we’ve had so far has been how so many of us were scared to trust in ourselves. Worst can to trust in our products in our business in our art in our creativity. But when we did and we moved forward. Forward. It showed us. Um the potential it had had we not taken that effort had we. Given up on our fears on the impostor and really feel good like well really thought about like you know ha what if it I didn’t do by anything about it.

05:11.66
charukaarora
I’m really not made an effort to actually pursue and take an action on the idea that we’re thinking and working on. Um I remember this episode with Stewart and aby beautiful people. From shop dot canvas who’ve literally changed the way artists creative people are creating content video content with the beautiful canvas. It’s it’s a product I love I have it and I have the chance to have them on this episode. The episode number is um. 63 of season 2 and you know I remember stuet talking about how when they were thinking about the idea of canvas they were like you know they were okay, they were like you know maybe I sell 20 units or something he knew that he had potential in the idea. But. he was scared and he was like okay I may I may do this? Um I’m going to go after this but I’m going to maybe I just said 20 or maybe 30 and the day they launched and since then in the first month they had they had sold over ah Thousand or something and. I remember before I think just in the beginning of the pandemic they had like so many sold out like the moment they would add product. Um on their website. It would just go off the rack and like they were a small business.

06:40.99
charukaarora
And they thought that they were making something that they would sell like maybe 2030 or something like people may not invest so much in it or whatever they had and I’ll play a thread for the to show you? What do it and I we had to say but that got me thinking like you know sometimes we really don’t. Um, understand the potential of our ideas and we start discarding them and the imposter kicks in and then the fear kicks in but once we keep moving forward. Um sometimes miracles like these unexpected, beautiful things happen to us because we we never expect them. And we would never know what potential an idea has unless visually pursue it. So I’m going to take so I’m going to play this clip from this episode. Let’s have. Ah um, let’s listen to this and let’s hear whats to what and abbby had to say about this.

07:38.67
charukaarora
Um, shah you just please um, fine tune this episode a little bit because I’m I’m still mummering like here and that.

08:05.47
charukaarora
Amazing. Isn’t it. It’s just so so amazing that how amazing isn’t it. it’s just so surprising that it’s so easy for us to trust in other people. It’s just so easy for us to cheer for other people but the harder thing. To to cheer for ourselves to put that trust in ourselves that okay you know I’m going to do this and I’m going to sell a million pieces or something like that. But what if you do what if you. You think like if you put that trust in yourself and act from that. Please what can that do for you isn’t that just an amazing thought tell me what you think about it. Okay, so let’s move to our next point. Something that I know not only me a lot of us all us I know a lot of people who are listening to this episode are multi-passionate. They love to play it in more ways and I’ve said this again and again over and over um in a conversation. Ah, that I myself associate as a creator more than anything else and then not as designer podcaster creative entrepreneur. But for me being a creator is my prime identity because I want to I want to create so many things in my life like.

09:28.62
charukaarora
I would when I started this podcast. You know my biggest fear was oh my god I’m starting another project I don’t know where I would go from this does this mean like you know, um, another project on my plate and I have no clue why I’m doing this and how it’s going to help me and like all those. Things because I’ve always had this habit of I get an idea and then I want to pursue it and when I think it’s a great thing I personally think it’s a great thing. Um, the popular belief has always been like you know you need to be hyperfocused you work on 1 thing artists have also been always. In the past it would been advice you know niche down work in 1 style 1 medium things like that and I think it’s it’s a very tricky balance I think it’s entirely to each its own what you feel with what you’re creating and for me I really love to create in multiple. And by that I mean I want to make a film someday. You want to do um, an event maybe someday or there’s so much that I want to do I mean of course and I want to do more courses and like you know work with with people in workshops and like. Of course create art and I want to make sculptures and I want to have like exhibits and experience and tools and like my mind thinks creatively and when I see something and I’m like how do I use my skill and make this a creative project.

11:06.74
charukaarora
That’s how I work so when I started hearts to hearts. It’s always been a creative project for me. It’s a very big part of my own practice because that’s how I create and I remember this conversation with beautiful, amazing Juliana who’s just an outstanding woman. We had. Such an amazing conversation I remember and I remember she came out and she spoke about being multipassionate. Um the shame we have sometimes how confusing it feels to us and how we approach it sometimes and. Um, this is episode number 54 from season 1 by Juliana and I spoke about a lot of things she shared her journey of like you know how she has seasons and how she became like an in in caustic artist then she was an author she is an author actually. Then she has this beautiful podcast called flow. You should should hear on it because it’s just she creates in so many things like in so many ways that um, she creates in so many ways that it’s just so beautiful to see her creativity. And she in this episode like and in her conversation she she came out and she spoke about what she thinks and what goes in her mind and how she associates with her own identity.

12:36.34
charukaarora
As someone who creates in different forms and ways and be multi passionateate and like being a compulsive maker. Let’s listen to this Um, let me play this clipping for her end. You should hear yourself what she has to say let’s go.

13:17.96
charukaarora
Isn’t that beautiful I love her line when she says like you know life is not scripted. You know sometimes we make all of these stories in our mind like this is how my life needs to span out. This is how my career should look. This is how I should look and It’s not always that I got a huge huge shock when everything’s changed for me. Um, after covid my mom passed away and that was something that I’d never in my never in my dreams thought that this was this would become a reality for me and it shook. Every part of me and I learned this the hard wave and I’m still accepting this to be honest because we have always been taught like this is how certain things happen and your imagine our future as and not really imagine I think imagining is a good way creative way but planning and jotting down I think. It takes a bit a lot of fun and acceptance towards what is happening is sometimes in our control but not always and we need to trust in our lives and in our gods and universe and whatever we believe in worshiping and we have to let it go and just enjoy life as. Is and celebrate who we are and ah ourselves and whatever that means if you’re someone who wants to be hyperfocused if you’re someone who wants to create 10 things like I do and whatever that is just acceptance of self is something that I think is so important that we all.

14:51.59
charukaarora
Um, need to you know, maybe practice better and this is something that has come up again so much in our conversations in the podcast where you know we feel confused with what we wanted to eat a lot of us want to pray in more than one ways and then like you know I think it’s it’s. Such a beautiful thing that just.

15:17.79
charukaarora
So yeah I think Juliana said something so I yeah I think this was a wonderful learning for me also while talking to a wonderful guest on how they deal with their you know fears and them critics and. How they just deal with life and their identities let me know what you think do you are you a multipassion person. Do you have? um, do you feel lost sometimes because you like create too much or I am someone who’s high before because and like okay this is what I’m going to do. Tell me tell me what do you think.

16:24.28
charukaarora
Okay, this 1 okay number 3 and this one is really interesting. You know you’ve heard I’m sure you must have heard this like green you I’m sure you must have heard this like you know grasses always greener on the other side. And honestly I think this couldn’t be more true in today’s time we are all spending so much of our time so social media you know, creating content and all we trying to show or sell or you know you know we are in this place where a lot of us need. You know feel the pressure to be perfect all the time to project ourselves as experts or like you know all of those things and in that process I think it’s not something that only hurts the person who’s doing that because you know internally there’s a lot of people who say that you know. It’s exhausting. But it’s also something that sets um a very wrong precedence for people who are looking at it and I I think we all juggle with this whenever like I remember like any day I’m having a hard time I would scroll on Instagram and I I think I feel.

17:37.76
charukaarora
Even more like depressed because I would look at other people and I feel like oh my god this person has everything sorted and like you they’re doing so great and you know look at me. What am I doing and in that process I’ve also realized that even though. if I were that if I was at one I know that I’ve moved to 3 or 2 or whatever that is that I’ve grown grown in Puter ways I was working in but the moment I start seeing other people and what they are doing my truth becomes like negligible and i. Do not look at it anymore and all I look at is what they’ve done and my perspective shifts because I am then just comparing myself to them and in that comparison I always feel I’m I’ve not done enough because I’m always warming and looking up. For people who are doing pay better than me and that’s something I love but I also need to know that I look up to them and I do sort of great inspiration for me, but that’s their own life and what I see is just some part of it and some part of it that may not. Their entire life and that’s true for all of us a lot of us use our platforms and social media for our businesses for our work and we can’t put ourselves out there like all the time twenty four seven so of course what we see online is only the.

19:07.43
charukaarora
Glimpse of a life and not the entire life and knowing that we need to make sure that we’re never following in the trap of ah you know, comparing ourselves with others and always always looking within that. Okay, this is where I am this is where I need to be. And these judgments I think need to be from within our goals need to come from where our our ideas and dreams are not from what someone else wants to do and this I feel like I’ve also been in this trap a lot of times and it takes a lot of effort to go come out of it. And I remember in episode 57 season 2 with Aie who’s an amazing artist. She has like these amazing projects mural books and like she’s created um said a 6 pick business and we have a very interesting conversation and she. Talk about how we looked at um, other people’s lives and how it impacts who we are and what we become so I’m going to play this team and let’s hear what she had to say.

21:11.82
charukaarora
Um, okay, you’re going to love this one. Believe me number 4 letting our fears. Not.

21:35.45
charukaarora
Okay, you’re going to love this one here me out number 4 is getting over your fears 1 at time I know I know listen to me I’ve heard so many people like you know. Who reach out and they’re like oh I Love what you mean I Love a podcast and I want to start one I you know I Also want to be an artist or I want to do this or that like and I’m sure I’m I’ve also been there so many times. Um and you know want what’s even more interesting. A lot of time when hired from those people who um, a lot of them really do have great ideas that they could pursue.

22:53.68
charukaarora
Okay, I’ve got the fourth one for you and I’m sure you’ll really like this one because there’s nobody who’s not far this getting over our fears. We are. You know we’re all people creative people who love to make things and with niking launching creative things comes the fear of failing the fear of people the fear of judgment the fear of failure There’s so many things that come up like you know, like like anything that’s dark. There’s Li like when there is. The spark of creating something There’s also the fear of losing it like you know, being not good at it or being judged for it or being too vulnerable like so many things that come up I remember when I started this podcast my because fear was why would like. Why would someone listen to me what do I have to say or like you know people might make fun of me or what if I say something wrong or that was actually a big one because I am a person in it. You who love to ask questions and um I know I was. You know I was told and made fun of in in some time in past for this trait of mine because I would ask so many questions and I would take deeper and that was something that I felt ashamed for a very long time but only when I started this podcast.

24:24.90
charukaarora
Um, eventually I realized that something that I thought was like a weakness was actually a very big strength for me and it could it actually was one of the things that would have helped me back from starting this podcast but I was like you know I might as well. Ask those questions and let it be and figure out what it means then just not do it and I know like I’ve also had so many projects that I’ve worked and thought of but sometimes a few kicks in and I’m like you know I freeze in that moment and I can’t do it anymore. And I remember my conversation with Emily Mallet in episode number 94 of the season 2 where she recently launched her solo show which was outstanding. She did this all by herself with the help of her husband and she was also pregnant and like she’s this. I mean I was stunned this episode was actually one of my favorite because it was such a great dream. So for anyone in the coming years I know this such a like this is such an incredible episode because Emily really talked about her process of putting up like a so solution with few of that cake. Came in and like you know, think like um when you start a business like you come up with who’s going to buy my product where people are going to make fun of me if I don’t have sales if I start a course I will never have students or like things like that and.

25:58.93
charukaarora
But all those tearss are real but they are also not the end of the world I’ve had several of also things that I’ve done that products that I made in the past and nobody bought in the first instant and maybe somebody bought in the second instant but because I never kept on going. I will never know if somebody would have bought it later and that’s the thing. Um, we come with this idea that anything that we make it’s like either. It’s good or bad if someone’s in the first place have bought it or caught it It’s great if not. It’s it’s a failure but that’s not true. Anything takes time and effort and a lot of hit and trial for us to actually make it a success and I love my conversation with Emily in this episode because um, she spoke about a lot of things that come up for a lot of us when we’re trying to host events. A solution shows like you know what? if people don’t buy what if people don’t come and I am like an a full overthinker. So I know what goes inside my head and I know a lot of people do but what was surprising was how Emily approached to her that actually made us who like this. 3 carage areas. She did interactive installations. You did this fabulous show that you should definitely check out. So let’s go here what she has to say.

28:32.37
charukaarora
Um, okay.

28:37.18
charukaarora
Okay, exciting isn’t it. So we’ve learned and we’ve come okay, exciting isn’t it I love I love all my guests I love these conversations I can’t believe like. Done so many amazing things and had learned so much that I’m just looking back at all of these amazing conversations that I feel like oh my god how do I even put it in 5 like it took us a lot of effort to break all these episodes into 5 major chs and now I’m going to talk about. Last which is the craziest because a lot of us feel scared of it talking about fears. Yes, which is changed I remember this was a big one for me. You know when I started to take arts to hearts very seriously because at that point you know I was. But I was focusing on my art practice and you know I felt this and I’ll be 100 % honest like when I was here practicing and making the work and beaming the studio and just focusing on my art somewhere down in my heart I wasn’t feeling myself completely. Because I wasn’t this person that could see herself in the studio all by herself twenty four seven and I wanted to meet people I wanted to have conversations I wanted to create so much more and for for so for some time I check to sit in and then I didn’t.

30:10.47
charukaarora
It broke that picture of you know what I had seen myself and planned for myself like okay this is I want to become an artist and this is how I will become. So yeah when I started to shift some things and when I asked to had started and um I started to see myself in not one du. But. Multiple jewels and then things grew from there. It was a big change and change is hard and uncomfortable for a lot of us for me so I think for me I’m a person who who’s who takes time to access to changes. But once I add just I get into my trove very soon and fast and I like I get into my form but that whole transition period is very challenging and I’m an overthinker and I think so much and that’s kind of crazy because I know a lot of us like creating people are overthinkers. I am like I was stunned when Emily in in the previous I’d like Tobin said that she’s not because and I’m like isn’t that a blessing I would love that. But yeah change I think there’s a lot of pressure for artists when it comes to making work like um. If they’re making a certain kind of work if they’re doing something and suddenly they start experimenting even if like just not within our practice if you’re trying to do mortal wanting. There’s certain kind of shame associated with that because we feel like oh am I changing and I feel like sometimes change has has not been taken in a good life.

31:47.15
charukaarora
Versus I think changes always like um, okay, too fast too changing like too fast, but okay, so too many changes happening too fast maybe but evolution like change is a part of our process like we evolve into something and we change and. Grow and this is something that we all need to come to terms with who I was two years ago and who I am today I have changed and evolved like anything and I’m grateful for that. But it wasn’t easy. It was hard as hell because I’ve become this person that I didn’t plan for. My reality has become something I never plan for and it it gets hard but because I had to come to terms with it and I kind of started to get into it sometimes the transition is more not smooth. But I’m grateful for these experiences I’ve had artstro hearts the podcast. Being a multipass educat I I would do it all over again if you would ask me. So yeah I remember episode 87 of the season 2 with Claire who actually spoke about her career how she was so established for um, a known for a certain kind of work and when she started to shift. Things and how fuels came up and what she thought about it and this is something that we all feel scared of um and feel like oh my god if I’m doing this what if I shift things and how like nice people don’t recognize us anymore like things like that.

33:23.85
charukaarora
So this I feel is something that we only to come to dance with and we’ve been constantly speaking about this on the podcast that you know it’s okay to experiment. Um, it’s actually a good to experiment and we should do that. Not only in our practice in our careers in our lives we need to keep. Ideas open and be an open creative more than anything you know? Okay, so I’m going to play this clip from Clare. Let’s listen her.

34:19.40
charukaarora
Isn’t it beautiful I love ventlesss like you know when you change your hair and you make up in your clothes like we don’t look the way I look like you know we don’t look oh it’s like amazing isn’t it I love the place like. Isn’t amazing isn’t it. I love vley essays like you know um I mean like amazing isn’t it it’s it’s strange how we react and we behave as people like I love when class is like you know how. Ah, hair changes I make up changes our clothes change over the time and definitely I no longer feel like a person I was two years ago I don’t look like that I mean of course I look like myself but not exactly like that person I do just like that altogether or Manica has changed or things like that. And even when those changes are easier and we get bored. It’s it’s high time we accept that change is a part of all parts of our life and we need to be embracing that loving that and you know just learning from all of it. So okay, these were my top 5 for this hundred episode. This is what I have learned and I have put together with you for you this. What I have learned and put together for you if you’re a red learn listener I would love to know what has been your favorite memory of the outs tohats podcast.

35:44.90
charukaarora
If anything you want to celebrate this with us. Would you want to leave us a review can you leave us a review and share what’s your best memory of listening to this podcast or who’s your favorite guest and what what that you want to hear from us. Um in the coming episodes because. Believe me I’m not stopping here. That’s a lot more bigger wider intense conversations that you will hear from women from all around the world artists curators content creators. Um. Like I am going wild and I’m telling you you are on a wild journey with me so tell me what’s your favorite moment. What’s that you’ve learned through this podcast who’s your favorite guest tell us your memory. Let’s see this moment before we move forward and leave us it to you who share this in your stories and I will see you in the next step. So which will be 1 oh 1 thank you so much for joining me this is again your who’s childka and I’m sending your ba cut. Thank you so much for being here with us for hundred weeks and thank you for your continued support. Love you bye.