This year, it’s really simple: I’m grateful for all the art in my life. The art I produce, the art you produce, the art we love, and the art that challenges us. The art that spurs conversation and the art that settles the soul. The art that comes from our hands and our voices, but...
Category: Artists/Creativity
What Should You Tell Your Younger Self?
This week I attended a networking event in which a local business owner was given an award. The host of the evening, Nancy, conducted a short interview with the winner, whose name was Trish. One of questions Nancy asked was, “What would you go back and tell your younger self?” Trish gave a long pause....
Being the Best
The other day, I experienced a little disappointment in my business. A contest I expected to place in, and didn’t. It wasn’t a big deal, really, but for some reason, it got me down. In trying to figure out why I felt so bad, I had a realization. I told my husband, “When I was...
How to Doodle Your Way Out of Stress
I heard reference to a study that said many of us spend 70-80% of our waking hours stressing about something. We stress about our jobs, our families, our health, our friendships, traffic, the environment, climate change, gun violence, world conflicts, upcoming elections, and so much more. And there is no longer a cultural attitude toward...
That Is Not My Art, And That’s Okay
It’s almost Halloween, my least favorite holiday of the year. It’s not the dressing up in costumes or the handing out candy or the parties that bother me, it’s the dark, scary, ugly, gory images and stories, and the fascination with evil and cruelty they sometimes encourage. I’ve always been easily scared. I can’t even...
Have You Filled Your Tank Lately?
The other day, a group of writer friends and I were talking. It seems for weeks now, none of us have felt very motivated. We’re not behaving like our usual prolific, proactive, hard-working selves. That’s not to say we’re missing deadlines or shrugging off obligations – Heaven forbid – but we haven’t felt especially ambitious...
Complaining Is Getting Me Nowhere
I recently finished reading Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself by Dr. Joe Dispenza. It took me a few months to get through it because I was determined not to rush the learning. In the book, Dr. Joe covers so much information it would be difficult to summarize it here. But one thing he encourages...
The Art of Loneliness
I’ve been feeling lonely lately, ever since I got back from six weeks in Ireland with my husband. Not that kind of lonely. I have plenty of friends and a family that loves me and lots to do. This is a different kind of lonely, and it took me a while to put a finger...
It Just Feels Right
I’ve spent the past three weeks spinning my wheels. There were three projects I wanted to start. Each of them felt equally important and ambitious. It seemed crazy to start all three at once. Current thinking tells us that multitasking isn’t effective. Plus, there is the business side to consider: the sooner I complete a...
How Do You Identify?
Recently, I heard a new author speak about his book. He casually mentioned he was a Black/Latino writer. As he continued his story, I pieced together that his father was Puerto Rican and his mother was black. I asked him afterward if he identified as black or Latino. He said both. He said as a...