The other day, my daughter came to spend some time with us after a particularly grueling semester of college. “Mom,” she said to me. “I’m just letting you know, for the first few days I’m home, all I’m going to do is sleep, read, and watch Netflix.” And that is exactly what she did. She...
Category: Artists/Creativity
Artist, Heal Thyself
Remember that old proverb, Physician, Heal Thyself? I know its literal meaning is to make sure before you try to correct others, you are not guilty of the same faults. But I think most of us interpret it another way . . . we take it to mean that sometimes those of us who should...
Find Yourself in Your Art
I recently watched the movie The Lady in The Van. It’s based on the true story of a writer, Alan Bennett, who allows a homeless woman to park her van in his driveway. In helping her, he learns a few lessons about himself. There is a line in the movie that stuck with me. Alan...
Cut Through the Confusion – My Self-Publishing Blueprint
We interrupt our regular program to bring you this important message . . . It’s finally here! After months of hard work, my Self-Publishing Blueprint is finally on the market. This product is the culmination of my 15 years of experience as a successful self-published author and self-publishing coach. It was designed to help you...
When Traveling, What Art Do You Seek Out?
I just returned from a two-week trip to Portugal and Spain. I know, lucky me! One of my favorite things about traveling is getting to appreciate all the history, architecture, art, crafts, culture, and food of a country or region. It’s funny, isn’t it, that when we travel–unless we’re swimming in the ocean or...
Do You Have the Right Mindset to Succeed?
I recently finished reading Mindset: the New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D. In it, she describes the differences between the “fixed mindset” and the “growth mindset.” The fixed mindset means that some people believe character, intelligence, creative ability, and talent are all fixed at birth. In the fixed mindset, you must avoid...
How To Banish Envy – Revisited
Once again, I have a video version of one of your favorite blog posts, “How to Banish Envy.” If you’ve ever felt stifled in your own work by your envy of another writer/artist, this one is for you. It’s okay. It happens to everyone. The key is to understand that no one can do the...
Are You Cool Enough to be an Artist/Writer?
Not long ago, my youngest daughter and I were talking about high school popularity. “But Mom, you weren’t cool in high school, right?” “Oh I was extremely cool,” I said. “It’s just that no one knew it.” See, from my point of view, being popular in high school (for most people) meant giving up part...
Getting Back to What You Love
When I was in junior high and high school, my teachers told me, “Teresa, you’re a very good writer. You should be an author someday.” And I took their advice happily. It’s all I ever really wanted to be. After my first novel came out, I started speaking about my book, and event coordinators told...
Hold On Arts Lovers, Here We Go Again
Are we seriously going down this road again? Are we seriously discussing again getting rid of the National Endowment for the Arts, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and The National Endowment for the Humanities? And do we seriously have to argue again for the value of supporting creativity and culture? Do we really need to...