Creative Play Newsletter – Commit to Creativity
Six months ago I wrote about an article by David Brooks in which he introduced the idea of a second mountain in life, the one of meaning and purpose that an individual begins to ascend when they understand that the first mountain of achievement and financial reward is not the …
Read More
New Lecture – “Let’s Play!”
Last week, I presented at the New England Quilt Museum‘s Meet the Teachers Day, but I was also there wearing my second hat as part of the programming committee for my guild (the Rising Star Quilters). I talked with a few other program chairs about the challenges we face filling …
Read More
#HappierLaborDay
I have been listening to a podcast lately called “Side Hustle School” (still trying to find the magic bullet that will allow me to have an income from doing what I love, but alas, I think quilting is going to have to go back to being a side hustle). In …
Read More
Creative Play Newsletter – New Beginnings
In last month’s newsletter, I discussed how to bring on spring after suffering through the dark time of a creative winter. I wrote about beginning new projects and the process for getting started. I missed the connection at the time, but that turns out to have been a very appropriate …
Read More
Creative Play Newsletter – Bringing on Spring
Last month I wrote about the seasons of creativity and discussed how normal it is to go through cycles of active creation and rest. But, if you find yourself in a creative winter like I do right now, how do you bring on the creative spring? Start a new project! …
Read More
Creative Play Newsletter – Seasons of Creativity
It wasn’t that long ago that we humans lived according to the seasons. Here in North America, we aired out our houses and planted in the spring; worked hard through the summer, sometimes taking siestas from the hot midday sun; we reaped what we had sown in the fall and …
Read More
Creative Play Newsletter – How to Be Inspired
Image by silviarita from Pixabay I have spent a lot of the past month talking about inspiration. As part of my trunk show lecture, which I delivered to several guilds this month, I talk about my first experience with receiving inspiration from some external, somewhat mystical source and how that …
Read More
Creative Play Newsletter – The Second Mountain
Image by kimura2 from Pixabay Life works in mysterious ways. I had already planned a different topic for this newsletter, but I decided to postpone my mailing when I realized that you’d just heard from me. So, I postponed my writing too and that gave me time to read David …
Read More
Creative Play Newsletter – Your Creativity Journey
I have been thinking a lot about my own creativity journey lately. Whenever I think about it, I imagine it as an epic journey, like Cheryl Strayed hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (see Wild). Though I am never going to actually hoist a huge pack to my back and set …
Read More
Creative Play Newsletter – What Do You Love?
There’s a lot of focus today on whom you love, but it’s a great day to also think about WHAT you love. Understanding what you love (and equally important, what you DON’T love) is a key part of unlocking your voice as an artist. Knowing what you love is also …
Read More