The Unexpected: I‘m learning so much from art-making this year, and my biggest epiphanies are surprisingly, not of the technical kind. I’ve been drawing and painting in some capacity as a creative solopreneur for almost 5 years but the lightbulbs that have popped up since I stepped into my calling early this year has been nothing short of a grand fireworks show! …
The Timelessness of Enchantment
Two weekends ago we celebrated my niece’ 5th birthday in a beautiful cabin overlooking the breathtaking pacific ocean in Big Sur, whales splashing away in the distance. The setting was the epitome of enchantment itself for us adults, though not yet perceivable by the younger ones. My niece and nephew both live an old-fashioned childhood, thanks to determined parents, practically …
Unleashing The Artist Within
A little note: for the most part details in this post addresses the visual artist, although the overall concept applies to artists from other genres. My dear readers, this is an impromptu post I wrote as a response to a beautiful and touching message I recently received from a young woman still in college who wrote to tell me she …
The Concluding Story of a Little Metal Box
My darling imagineer, 2 weeks ago I asked this curious little question: Can I transform how a simple, ordinary metal tin is perceived by narrating different {visual} stories for it? The answer? Well, it blew my mind off like a celebration champagne bottle cork. Not only was it the most fun I’ve had with a creative challenge yet, the kind …
Story of a Little Metal Box
Do you remember that moment in front of the mirror just before you rouge your cheeks with a pinch of crimson gel, or press a soft chocolate-brown pencil to your eyes? You know, that few fleeting seconds where you wonder how a few dabs here and a stroke or two there can entirely transform the way the world perceives you? …
Enter The Story Parlor
To all my curious kittens and imagineers, I recently embarked on a brand new charetteering project I created as a gift to you, the grand opening of The Story Parlor, a (virtual at the moment) tea +converstation room about your biggest {brand} storytelling blind spots and pains. Pop over for a visit here to find out what this surprise project …
Hoops, A Wishing Chair and The Storybook Tree
Something’s a-brewing here in the tree-studio…but I can’t say much more than it sails my balloons (I promise I will share more later)! However I can share this: the 30-Day Sketch Challenge (albeit a little drawn out) Round 2 ‘Imagine…’ is in full swing, more than halfway through. For the next 12 sketches, I will be imagining some magical spaces for …
Beyond the Ego: A Meeting of Minds
Since I left the architectural world to be the captain of my own dreamship, the one thing I missed the most is the creative meeting of minds with other designers and experts. To sit at a large rough-hewn, hand-crafted salvage wood table, tracing papers spread out, markers and pencils strewn about, hair mussed, sleeves pushed up, the air vibrating with …
Elegant Imperfection: YOUR Design, Hand-Crafted.
My most beloved readers, this is a post I’ve been wanting to write for a long time-to share with you the single, most important value guiding my work as an artist and designer-the concept of elegant imperfection. Wabi Sabi (the philosophy behind Japanese traditional beauty): “Wabi Sabi is a beauty of things imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. It is a beauty …
Your Unique Bridge Piece-Making the Connection
“In a handmade or boutique business, we are not growing our ‘lists’ but rather, building KINSHIPS. Every encounter is a kinship we are trying to foster, because somewhere in there, our souls touch.” A boutique handmade or creative biz is a special treat. A luxury. A lifestyle choice. It’s personal, unique, heart-centered and full of love. In the mission keywords …