I have always been mesmerized by art museums and galleries. Some paintings I'd breeze right by, but others just pulled me in. The only thing is, if anyone ever asked me about my favorite style, or artists that had influenced me, I didn't have a solid language for describing what I liked and why.

You know that feeling? When you just "like" a piece of art, but you don't really know why, and the conversation kind of ends there? Or someone else shows you a painting they love, and you don't know what to say because it doesn't interest you in the least?

I'm a certified introvert who always shuddered at the words "group project" in school and reveled in long days alone with my own ideas and work. Those solitary days are valuable - we all need different amounts of solitude. But before we bury our heads too deep in the sand, let's look at what we gain from social creating. And it doesn't have to be one of those annoying group projects to provide the benefits.

Creativity is less like following a step-by-step checklist and more like trying to efficiently find a bunch of needles in a bunch of different haystacks.

Some days you find three needles in ten minutes. Other days you spend hours digging through hay and come up empty-handed. And at the end of those empty days, you're left with that sinking feeling: "What did I actually DO today?"

Each expert brings their own philosophy, their own shortcuts, their own way of seeing. You get to cherry-pick the best from each and create your own approach. And because you’re creating your own approach, you’ll progress in your own way, develop a unique skill set, style and way of showing up and adding value to your world. Which feels really satisfying!

Do you catch yourself saying, "Time just flies by!" Or "Weren't the kids just in kindergarten—now they're graduating?? Mind-blowing!" Here's the thing: You're not imagining it. Time really does seem to speed up as we get older. But what if I told you there's actually a proven way to slow down your days and weeks so you can savor the moments of your life instead of just watching them blur past?

Here's what I learned the hard way after twenty years working with brain injury patients: your brain is a physical organ. It needs certain conditions to operate efficiently. You can only rationalize and procrastinate this fact for so long before it catches up with you. If you want your brain to do creative work—the kind that lights you up and makes you feel alive—you just have to take care of the body it lives in.

Today, we're talking about knowing when to cut our losses with the current year—to stop, put down the list, and just reflect. Give ourselves enough time and energy to set up for the weeks ahead. We need to build enthusiasm for 2026, but not let enthusiasm go it alone—let's bring along some left-brain rationality, please!

So I've been doing this thing for the past two days. A daily visualization of my best self. And before you roll your eyes and think "oh great, another woo-woo manifestation thing," hear me out. Because what showed up surprised the hell out of me. I didn't see myself on a beach with a margarita. I didn't see myself accepting an award or having a gallery opening at MOMA.

"So, what's your work about?"

I used to freeze when people asked me this. I'd fumble through descriptions of how I was trying to combine my love of ceramics with my obsession with color and self-expression, and then maybe tie in my science background and Mennonite maker heritage, and... – while the person's eyes glazed over. They didn't want an inventory of influences as I trailed off...they wanted to know what I was saying.

If you're tired of watching your creative goals slip through the cracks week after week, you need accountability. And there's no one-size-fits-all approach. Whether you're an introvert who needs deep one-on-one connection or someone who thrives in group energy, there's an accountability structure that fits your personality and budget.

Whether you're setting up an art studio, a home office, a writing nook, or just trying to make space for that guitar you swear you'll learn—most of us arrange our spaces backwards. We Pinterest our way into pretty corners that photograph well but don't actually support what we do - or we just go with the default of setting things down without a plan. But there's a better way that actually makes life easier.

You know that thing you've been wanting to get better at? The skill that's been on your "someday" list for months—or years?

Maybe it's finally playing that dusty ukulele you bought during the pandemic. Or going from beginner pottery student to confident artist who can make that dinner set you've been dreaming about.

Let me tell you how I first learned the value of a personal project 25 years ago, and how this concept is still helping me today.

My sister teaches in a Montessori classroom, and she recently told me something that stopped me in my tracks. One of her students had built a Jenga tower—you know, the game where you stack wooden blocks and then carefully remove them one by one until the whole thing comes crashing down. But this kid had just finished building it, and my sister was struck by how solid and sturdy it looked when all the pieces were intact. That's when it hit her: this is what our lives look like.

When I first got back into art, I was desperate for a specific plan to show me how to do it. I stumbled on Cameron's 12-week program in her famous classic book, The Artist's Way, and let me tell you, the Artist Date concept was both the hardest and most transformative part of the journey. Today I'm sharing why these solo creative adventures are like CrossFit for your right brain, plus some neuroscience background that explains why they actually work.

There's no single "right" way to make money as an artist. Your income equation will be unique to your situation, your art, your personality, and your life stage. The artists who thrive aren't necessarily the most talented—they're the ones who build sustainable systems that support both their creativity AND their bills.

Do you ever find yourself on a merry-go-round of great motivation towards your goals, with an epic plan…followed by several weeks of interruptions, distractions and dwindling energy?

Only to snap out of it with a new program, goal or plan…and then hit that familiar wall of inertia?

I love working with the dynamic tension between chaos and order in my abstract pieces. But even chaos needs structure, or it's just... well, a mess. This is why you might see an abstract piece and think, I could totally do that! And yet the masters have such a handle on composition that even though it seems to be simple forms, it keeps pulling your back in.

A photo of a finished pot is nice. But a reel showing the moment it collapsed on the wheel, your frustrated laugh, and then the successful version three attempts later? That's the stuff that makes people stop scrolling and think, I could do that! That's what captures what a static image never could.

Life is full. I get it. Between work deadlines, family obligations, and just keeping up with daily life, adding "more stuff" to your plate seems impossible. But here's what I know from my background in brain science and years of making and teaching art: creative time isn't another task to check off your list. It's actually the thing that makes everything else more manageable.

But then I remembered something my Dad, a psychologist, once told me about radical acceptance – this idea that real growth happens when we stop fighting our current reality and start working with it instead. So I sat down, opened that bag of porcelain, and committed to really learning what this temperamental, delicate clay could teach me.