Here is what I have come to understand in the past several years, the culmination of two+ decades of inner work:
Doing my art(s) is how I change the world.
I do not need to [Read more…]
Read My Mind, Baby!
Here's where you'll find all my writings — articles on creativity, creative productivity, getting unstuck, being a passion pluralite, and more, and behind-the-scenes journal entries on the wonderful, messy, sometimes really hard reality of living a creative that so few ever actually share.
I have a lot of other blog feeds here that you might also be interested in, though:
Podcast – my weekly podcast, The Creative Sandbox Way™.
Animation – fun with stop-motion animation!
Art in Progress – works in progress (be a fly on the wall in my studio!)
Calligraphy – calligraphy videos, tips, and tutorials
Music Loops – audio experiments in being a one-woman band, using Loopy app
Project 3x5x365 – my year-long tiny-but-daily writing experiment
The Imperfectionist Manifesto
Ah, perfectionist paralysis — I know it well. It’s that belief that nothing I create is, or ever could be, good enough.
It’s what kept me NOT creating for decades.
And it’s epidemic!
If you’ve ever found yourself NOT creating, mired in resistance because your gremlins have convinced you that your writing/art/music/macaroni sculptures just weren’t good enough, this is for YOU. Read on…
Do you have a favorite musician, or writer or artist? Someone whose work touches you deeply, who moves and inspires you?
Maybe someone whose work got you through a tough time.
Or compelled you to think in a new way.
Or makes you smile as you pass it in the hall every day.
Or just jazzes you up when you need a little jazzing.
Now, let me ask you, how would your life be different – be lacking – without their creative contribution? [Read more…]
The “Why Do I Even Bother?” Gremlin, Spinner Dolphins, and the Point
One from the archives, originally published on 11/13/12. Given that “what’s the point?” is the number one reason I hear for creativity not having a bigger place in people’s lives, this one felt ripe for a revisit. Enjoy! xo,Melissa
Years ago, when I was still a fairly new calligrapher, a contingent from my south Bay Area calligraphy guild, Pacific Scribes, took a field trip to the San Francisco Public Library, where we were treated to a private viewing of several calligraphic treasures from the Harrison Collection.
(Richard Harrison was a local calligrapher, and a collector of calligraphy, who donated his entire collection to the library in 1963. The collection contains nearly 1,000 examples of modern calligraphy, including manuscripts, broadsides, handwritten books, fine prints, drawings and sketches.
Now anyone [Read more…]
6 Reasons Why You Should Share Your Work (BEFORE You Feel Ready!)
As a creativity instigator, my first objective is simply to get people creating, but there’s another key element to living a creative life, which I believe is equally important: sharing your work.
If we feel resistance to creating in the first place, for most of us the resistance to sharing what we create is about a zillion times stronger.
After all, it’s [Read more…]
Why Sucking At Meditation Rocks
From the archives! I talk about meditation a LOT, so it seemed like this post, originally published on August 2, 2012, was due for re-publication. In Your Big, Bold, Creative Life Academy meditation comes up in almost every class, because it is just such an astonishingly powerful tool to help lean into fear, avoid getting sucked into distractions, practice self-compassion, and so much more! I hope I inspire you to try it yourself, if you aren’t already a meditator. ~Melissa
I am a meditation moron.
I can’t [Read more…]
