Jim & Lynn Powers began Creative Catalyst with the core belief they call "win-win-win" or W3.  It is the idea that life and business works best when we are striving to give each participant in a relationship a "win" from each interaction or transaction.

Win Win Win
At Creative Catalyst it looks like this: Creative Catalyst Artists win by having their professional art instruction DVDs produced at minimal cost. We ask the artists to cover their travel expenses and come prepared. Upon their arrival, the artists are our guests. We provide food, lodging, and transportation during their 3-5 day stay. Artists receive royalties from all video sales. They also have access to their videos at wholesale prices for resale to their students. Creative Catalyst Artists and other instructors now have expanded opportunities to share their art expertise with students and receive fair pay for their work.

Students win by having access to art instruction by master artist/teachers at low prices. Students can now sample an artist's teaching before attending a live workshop, or take the teacher home with them on DVD or via download or streaming, to continue learning after a workshop. Students now have additional learning opportunities on the Creative Catalyst website through art shows, critiques, and classes.

We win by being able to pursue our dream of melding our technical and artistic talents in a venture we call Creative Catalyst Productions, fully utilizing our Oregon home and doing something useful and fun for other creative people.

Creative Catalyst Productions has an on-site studio set with professional digital cameras, lights, microphones, editing equipment, and a great guest room for the artist (and a spouse or other guest). We film over a 3-5 day period, which is hard work and intense fun. After the artist returns home, we complete the editing, graphics, and reproduction then deliver the finished product to the artist. It is our vision to develop a series of videos designed to address the issues and questions of serious, growing artists including aesthetics, design, motivation, content, creative impulse and survival.

Thank you for stopping by. We look forward to seeing you again soon. If you have any questions or require additional information, please let us know.

A Little History
 

In 1993, we worked with Jan & Bill Kunz to develop three watercolor art instruction videos with an independent production company. While the project was ultimately successful, we quickly realized that the high up-front cost of production, which took years to recover, would be a barrier to most artists. In addition, we learned that our independent producer lacked the artistic sensitivity to produce a video workshop that focused on what is important to artists and art students.

In 2001, with three children out of the nest, a comfortable home on three rural Oregon acres, and the desire to create an art education video business together, we developed a concept that we hope will benefit all concerned. Creative Catalyst Productions Art Instruction Videos emerged from our beliefs that:

• Most talented artists are underpaid and under-recognized.
• National artist seminars & classes provide exposure to many students who would like to continue their art education after class ends.
• Only a limited number of students can attend these art instruction workshop classes. Many more would like to learn from these artists but simply can't afford the time or cost.
• Learning from master artist books is one step toward larger exposure but is limited, by the nature of the medium, in communicating what serious teachers and students wish to teach and learn.

We decided there is a need for a place that brings together professional artists, technology, marketing and sweat equity for the mutual benefit of all concerned. Creative Catalyst Productions was born. Our original and main product is professional quality art teaching DVDs, beautifully packaged for top quality presentation and designed to provide students with an art learning experience second only to attending a live seminar. As technology expands the way artists learn and grow we are constantly exploring new ways to make creative art ideas accessible to our growing worldwide community.