Author: Christa Avampato

The short of it: Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day. The long of it: My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events. While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series. A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist. My company: I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media: • I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference; • I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable; • I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me. Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
creativity

This just in: Gil Batle renders his past in exquisitely carved ostrich eggs

Christa Avampato

“Art saves lives. I used to think that was corny, but it’s true. It saved mine.” ~Gil Batle, former prisoner and artist

If you ever wanted to see an elegant story, beautifully told and deeply felt, about how art saves people then this post is for you. Jane Pauley interviewed Gil Batle on CBS Sunday Morning and it’s one of the most incredible interviews I’ve ever seen. Gil Batle has struggled with drug addiction for most of his adult life, and he committed a series of crimes to support that habit. At age 53, he’s clean, free, and creating art that channels his painful past. He carves intricate scenes into ostrich eggs using a high speed dental drill that etches the scenes no deeper than 1/16 of an inch into the shell. If you’re in New York, his work is on display at the Ricco Maresca Gallery. If you’re not in New York, take a look at his work through the video below. You can also see his art at http://www.gilbatle.com/ and on Instagram at @gilbatle.

creativity

This just in: In 2016, may all the noise in you become music

Christa Avampato
May all the noise in your become music
May all the noise in your become music

“May all that has been reduced to noise in you, become music again.” ~David Teems

I’m off from work through January 3rd and decided to stay in D.C. to use the time to focus on defining my creative projects for the new year. I get tremendously excited about turning the page in the calendar, and I am absolutely ready to say hasta la vista to 2015. This was a rough one, maybe the roughest on record, in nearly every aspect of my life. It was a character building year to say the least. It was also a time of high creativity because I was forced into situations that required me to solve huge problems and conflicts.

2015 held a lot of noise for me, complex emotions swirling around in my head and heart. Rather than fighting them, I decided to use them. After all, the worst of circumstances serve as the seeds for the best art. The loudest noise can be transformed into the sweetest music. And that’s what 2016 is all about for me.

creativity

This just in: The art I made for my dog, Phineas, for Christmas

Christa Avampato

What do you get for the dog who has everything he needs? The same thing you get for people who have everything—art. I made this paper collage for Phineas to capture his philosophy on life. Merry Christmas, Phin!

Here’s the Phineas Way:

  • Join a parade whenever possible
  • Don’t be afraid to lead the way
  • A first snow is a very happy thing
  • Sometimes the best thing to do is sit and be quiet like a yogi
  • “How good can you feel?” is a question you should ask every day, and answer
  • Share something wonderful with everyone, always
  • Fall in love with as many things, and people, and animals, as possible
  • There’s cool stuff out on the edge
  • Be excited
  • Embrace the wild
  • You’re perfect just the way you are
  • Stay unique
  • Learn how to be a good copilot
  • You can never have too much joy
  • New York is my soul city, and always will be
  • Embrace tomorrow, no matter what happened today
  • Live color fully, in many different directions
  • Sing loud and proud like a bird
  • Be unstoppable
  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the greatest places in the world to hang around
  • I love snuggling; snuggling’s my favorite
  • I have one goal: to be the best dog ever. (And, for me, he absolutely is!)
creativity

This just in: Merry Christmas from Washington, D.C.

Christa Avampato

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas from the nation’s capital! Everything is calm and bright (and warm!) here, and I couldn’t be happier about this relaxed holiday season. I hope yours is equally wonderful!

creativity

This just in: My magazine articles on Serial, YouTube’s 10th anniversary, and Leonardo DiCaprio’s ecotourism venture in Belize are live

Christa Avampato

I’m very excited to share the magazine articles I wrote for Royal Media Partners earlier this year. The magazine went live this month and includes my pieces on the Serial podcast, Youtube’s 10th anniversary, and Leonardo DiCaprio’s ecotourism venture in Belize. I’m hoping to do more of this type of writing in 2016, and am very grateful to the editors at Royal Media Partners for offering me this opportunity.

Serial Addiction: Creators of This American Life Bring New Life to Radio Drama
Serial – 12-26-15 

Belize Gets the Hollywood Treatment: Leonardo DiCaprio Wants More Than an Oscar. He Wants to Save the World.
Leo Belize – 12-26-15

Ten Years In, YouTube is Still Going Strong
YouTube – 12-26-15

 

 

creativity

This just in: A peek inside the new Washington Post building

Christa Avampato

The Washington Post recently moved to a new office building and I got to take a tour of it yesterday. Its sparkle is fitting for such a storied media organization. Standing in the middle of the newsroom, I felt the very real sense that important work that shapes the world is happening there. It’s invigorating and inspiring. The Post put together a wonderful behind-the-scenes tour of the space that’s hosted by Martin Baron and Frederick Ryan. Have a look at the video below:

creativity

This just in: Be who you needed when you were younger

Christa Avampato
Make your history matter
Make your history matter

My friend, Pam, posted this photo yesterday and it really resonated with me. Our experience as children is somewhere being replicated in another child’s life. Maybe somewhere along the way we didn’t get everything we needed, and things were more difficult than we would have liked them to be. The great gift of being an adult is that we can make our history, good and bad, meaningful by showing up in the world and providing what we didn’t get to someone else.

creativity

This just in: Pay attention to what ignites a spark in you

Christa Avampato
Spark!
Spark!

On Friday night I ran a product testing session at work. The evening was filled with excitement and more than a little stress. Once the event was over, I realized a very important insight that will serve me well in 2016: As I seek out new opportunities, I want to be actively engaged in the learning process of others. I felt a spark light up in me when a student discovered something new, and that spark is something I have to honor and nurture.

creativity

This just in: A Christmas Carol and how art transforms tragedy into triumph

Christa Avampato
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol

I am so deeply committed to the arts in any form for one simple reason: it is the one vehicle we have to take any circumstance, be it joyful or tragic, and turn it into something that can inspire anyone who comes in contact with it. One of my favorite examples of this is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

Dickens’s tale makes him synonymous with Christmas. He grew up in dire circumstances, going to work in a factory at age 12 in order to support his family because his father had been jailed for debt. His early personal experience with poverty fueled his passion to use his writing to speak for people who couldn’t speak for themselves. Originally, he wanted to create a political pamphlet about poverty in Victorian England and instead decided to write A Christmas Carol because he felt it would have “20 times the impact of a political pamphlet.” He was right that it would have more impact. What he didn’t know is that it would remain in print for 172 years (and counting!), and become one of the most beloved texts and multi-media traditions of all-time.

So this Christmas, whether you’re listening to holiday music, reading a book like A Christmas Carol, or watching a holiday movie, let’s take a moment to recognize that the tough times we experience have the potential to be turned into something beautiful that could inspire people and help them persevere.

creativity

This just in: It’s time to grow

Christa Avampato
Grow
Grow

A few years ago, one of my yoga teacher training classmates choked up during her final presentation and wasn’t able to complete it the way she wanted to complete it. She got very upset (as anyone would!) and said she felt like a failure. Then our teacher, Jeffrey, said words I will never forget: this isn’t failure; this is growth. You might feel like things are falling down around you, and maybe they are. That’s certainly how I’ve felt this week. Jeffrey’s words rang in my ears yesterday, clear as a bell, like a gift from the Universe because that’s what they are and because they are exactly what I needed to hear.