Join me in the way-back machine for the origin story of my newsletter, Impulses: Inspiration for Creatives. February 2001 was a big month for me. I left my job at the local cooking school. This was the last job I will ever hold. I took a trip to Paris with my friend Carl. The city […]
Impulses
Design your own writing curriculum
Back to school time! Are you like me, with fond memories of school supply shopping? Do you love the fresh slate of a new class or semester? It’s hard to rally that focus on our own, but it’s possible. You don’t have to get all fancy or formal. Just focused. Below you’ll find the inquiries […]
A heroine for all, a model for writers
A couple of weeks ago, I went to a movie that energized me like few others. Pieces I Am is a documentary about the novelist Toni Morrison. I saw it again last night, and got even more from it. I googled Toni after I got home and discovered that she is 88. Wow, I thought. […]
Forcing rarely works
Clients often tell me: “I need to just sit down and write.” This sounds reasonable, right? I mean, just DO IT! But there’s something sort of punitive about this. The feeling I get is like being told to sit down and shut up. Be quiet. Toe the line. Maybe it’s all my formative years in […]
Are You up for the 100 Day Project Challenge?
It’s that time again, the 100 Day Project! The 100 Day Project is a free community project inspired by Elle Luna. There’s no need to sign up, nothing to join. It starts April 3rd, and all that is required is to do something every day for 100 days. You could write daily for 15 minutes […]
Travel like an artist
I lead a workshop in Paris and elsewhere called Capture the Wow. Unlike tours or classes that teach you how to paint or draw, Capture the Wow is a playful invitation to become unabashedly receptive to the delights that surround us every single day, whether at home or away. Basically, I help people lure out […]
Design your summer creative residency
Last year at this time I was in Paris, happily ensconced in my apartment with my pal Carl. Engrossed in my self-designed artist residency, the focus of my days was spent making commissioned paintings, exploring new creative avenues and wandering Paris, taking in all the inspiration there. This was one of the best periods of […]
When to surrender a creative project
Last summer, while teaching my Capture the Wow class, I had the idea to do a series of cups… 365 of them. I figured, I draw a lot of cups, why not go ALL IN. Unfortunately for me, when I get an idea I often jump into action right away. I went for it. Cups […]
Simple meditation tool for more creativity
Last year, I began teaching a new class that brought me back to the origin of my life as an artist. Drawing as Meditation had such a powerful impact, and yet it was so simple. My students showed me that there is a great hunger to slow down, savor, and feel more attuned creatively. It’s […]
Travel with your inner artist leading the way
When I lead my Capture the Wow retreats in Paris, we don’t travel in the usual ‘see that’ and ‘buy this’ way. Instead, we seek to experience ourselves and the world in new ways. Our goal is to bring our creativity to the surface. But it’s more than that. Over many years leading this retreat, I noticed […]