• Blog posts,  Soul Road

    A note to late arriving artist/makers-to-be

    For those who come late to creative pursuits, know that you may be a while in becoming consumed by the ravenous hunger to make. The years of accumulated cruft from living a “muggles” life take time to dissolve. At first, your vision will be blurry. Practice. Jump off a few cliffs. Pick yourself up and practice some more. Be willing to do a few crazy things that you are sure can’t be for you. Practice things you have never done before. This is training for the life ahead. Ask “Why not?” List your reasons, and then consider which are based only in fear. Then ignore those and practice some more.…

  • Blog posts

    Time. Quiet. Depth.

    Soul beauty takes time to appreciate and to create. It needs space, and quiet, to bloom in our sense and for visitors to connect with. It needs to get beneath the surface distractions and noise of life. It awakens those bits of us that too often languish in the depths, overwhelmed by the barrage of a modern, urban day. We so easily push for the sake of Others. What if We push for what we value just as strongly for once?

  • Blog posts

    “The Teacher” Series

    My latest series of wall spirits is inspired by a wonderful mentor I had when I started this latest stage of my journey: Tory Hughes. I talked about the inspiration and guidance she provided across several posts a few years ago, and the role it played in my development, so it seemed appropriate to reflect on those ideas now five years later and after her relatively sudden passing recently. She was a very big advocate of exploring ideas in series, and this developing series is in her honor. I began with one piece, “The Teacher“, expecting it to be a standalone Soul Friend. The woven fabric in this body was…

  • Blog posts,  Featured posts,  Soul Road

    Uncomfortable? Look for the learning opportunity

    I came across a TedX talk yesterday that made me uncomfortable. The talk was by Ashley Graham, and was titled “Plus size? More like my size“, and I expected some variation on the positive body image themes that I had heard in the past. The part that made me uncomfortable came right at the start, as she faced a full length mirror on stage and spoke to her reflection, ending with the statement “I love you.” I tried to imagine saying that to myself, feeling like it should be easier as I have come to know myself and live this creative, authentically me, life as an artist. But I found…

  • Blog posts,  Soul Road

    Journeys on the Soul Roads

    As our 5th year in the studio comes to a close and we embark on the next, it has been a time for many reflections and some very satisfying upgrades in several areas. 1. First and foremost, I will be able to focus far more on my Art | Stories with a reduction in my tech consulting work. I strongly support the work of WARM and will continue to provide backend support for them, but have handed over the Newsletter to the very capable Vanessa Merry and am more than happy to let the growing Board handle more of their social media and exhibition details going forward. 2. My first…