Jozefien and Svea are fed up with misconceptions about artists and in this series, called CRUSHED VELVET because it sounds good even if it makes no sense, they're setting the record straight. There's more to life than making art. There is, for example, trauma, sexism, capitalism, haikus, and other funny things.

THIS EPISODE'S VELVETEEN RABBITS:
When you were depressed, did you make better art?
Would it be worth it to be an artist if it meant you were necessarily depressed?
Have you known happy artists?
How does the idea of the tortured artist affect people (artists and the poor schmucks who love them)?
With what can we replace the idea of the tortured artist?

And they'd love to hear your feedback and experiences. Let us know on Instagram, at email, through our website...

Look up Svea's 'How Poems Work' project: http://howpoemswork.blogspot.com/

Watch the documentary "The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman's Portrait Photography" on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/watch/80145699?tctx=0%2C1%2C%2C%2C%2C

Herman Van Rompuy is the former Belgian Prime Minister who writes haikus. This is the one he wrote in 2018 for the Engelenburcht in Tildonk, Belgium: "Als wapens zwijgen, hoor je in de stille tuin, de wind en de vogels".

Extremely Crushable Keats: “Do you not see how necessary a world of pains and troubles is to school an intelligence and make it a soul?”