Two girls heading home at the end of the day, Mile End, Montreal (section)

Stepping Out of Your Creative Comfort Zone

Expanding your skills by exploring an unfamiliar subject

In taking steps toward a goal, you will find that new steps reveal themselves to you, as you go. Sometimes they are simply next steps on the same path, other times they are a surprising new direction, a different perspective on your work, or an unexpected creative challenge. I share how to step out of your creative comfort zone, why it’s important to fill your toolbox with new skills, the importance of embracing mistakes, and how to incorporate your new skills into your unique creative style and voice.

Spiralling Upward: Finding the Motivation and Courage to Keep Going

How to keep going when doubts, fears, and wobbles take hold

Making big life changes can be very overwhelming. It can be hard to keep track of who you are and so easy to be afraid of all that you cannot see about where you are going… of all of the questions that don’t yet have answers. When you are in the thick of things, it can also feel as though you are not getting anywhere. It can feel as though you are working mightily, showing up the best you can each day, and still not moving any closer to your goals. It can be a struggle to stay motivated, remember why exactly you are trying so hard, and keep your vision for yourself and your work fresh. Take heart, you are not alone.

A More Manageable Way to Set Goals: Quarterly Summits

Increasing your chances of sustainable success by setting goals four times a year instead of just once in January

Setting smaller goals, more often, creates momentum that carries you forward. Each quarter is like a new year. You take stock, reset, and create new horizons. A quarterly pace allows you to pivot and adjust as you go while still having enough time and focus to achieve your goals. Setting goals each quarter gives a new burst of energy and allows you to set a smaller number of goals that are both more focussed, more manageable, and more likely to be accomplished.

A Year Without Alcohol: An Experiment in Creative Flow

How cutting alcohol changed my creative practice

Over the past several years, I have been looking carefully at all of my resources – time, energy, focus, money, and well-being, to name a few – and have been looking at how I can optimize each of them. Since I became unblocked and began making art regularly, I have found myself discovering just how important creative flow is to my life.

Avoiding Cliffs: What to do When Fears Are Holding You Back

Focussing your attention on the manageable next steps

We tend to get way ahead of ourselves—thinking many, many steps ahead or of worst-case scenarios. We attempt to protect ourselves by imagining all that can go wrong or of all the difficulties that can come our way. We stare at the biggest cliff we can find and then recoil back from it, justifying why we shouldn’t take action toward what we want if it will lead to that. So what to do?

Daily Painting & the Power of Routine

Using the power of routine to get back on track

The beginning of the summer marked a low point for me, and over the past few months, I have edged my way back to creating by making a routine for my weeks. It’s not an understatement to say the simple act of painting each morning and knowing how I planned to spend the rest of my day helped me to get back on solid ground.

Finding Mental Clarity in a Bustling World

Using word maps to help clear your mind and move past overwhelm

I came about these naturally, through necessity. They are simply diagrams where I write an area of concern, put a circle around it, and then begin adding everything I am thinking of related to that topic.

Creating a Daily Gratitude Practice

How to feel more grateful with just a one-minute commitment each day

Keep it simple and easy – Nearly three years ago, I began a daily gratitude practice and have been doing it ever since. I have found that the trick to sticking to it, is to create a very low barrier to actually doing it. Keep it super quick and easy to do – we’re talking one minute of your day.

Affordable Ways to Refill Your Creative Well

20+ low-cost ideas to fuel your creativity and feel inspired

After many times pushing past the point of creative health and finding myself burnt out or with no ideas/inspiration, I have learned to listen better to the warning signs. These are things that can help you to slow down, restore your energy and focus, and find new inspiration.