Wake Up Excited! Gemma O’Brien on Neuroaesthetics, Flow States, and Trusting Creative Intuition
Brad Frost welcomes Sydney-based artist and designer Gemma O’Brien to Wake Up Excited to discuss her work in murals, lettering, and calligraphy and her recent move to London to study at the intersection of art and neuroscience. Gemma shares what she learned shifting from “thinking like an artist” to “thinking like a scientist,” including the rigor of statistics and research, and describes her flow-state study with artists, where self-reported intuition in the creative process significantly predicted flow even after controlling for expertise. They explore how to foster flow through attention, intrinsic motivation, goals, and challenge-skill balance, plus the healing power of the arts, stepping outside comfort zones, collaboration, and optimism as a learned superpower.
Chapters:
- 00:00 Introduction
- 02:20 Neuroaesthetics Leap
- 03:31 Thesis Crunch Time
- 05:47 Artist Workflow Reset
- 09:09 Science Learning Curve
- 12:37 Studying Flow And Intuition
- 20:40 Why Art Moves Us
- 25:37 Arts Therapy And Healing
- 34:38 Optimism As Superpower
- 38:32 Helping Without Burning Out
- 42:04 Strengths Gratitude Daily Practice
- 45:56 Beginner Mind And Discomfort
- 51:55 Collaboration Ego And Delegation
- 01:00:57 Flow State Conditions And Attention
- 01:07:54 Intrinsic Motivation
- 1:12:07 Music Playlists
- 01:15:07 Wrap Up Links