The other day an adult student shared she got to a point in the session where she didn't need to copy what was in front of her, but rather she could trust her gut to complete the painting in the way it needed to develop. She saw that she intuitively wanted a different mood, a set of imagined details, a version that differed from outer reality but felt more aligned with her inner world. That's where my struggle lies every single time. Fighting my adherence to rules and perfection versus giving...

I have a friend who takes four showers a day just to get a different perspective on whatever challenge he’s facing. I’ve always loved that idea because painting creates a very similar effect for me. When I paint, the brain becomes so occupied with color, composition, movement, and problem-solving that something else begins to loosen in the background. Thoughts shift. Problems reorganize themselves. Solutions appear from angles I couldn’t access before. I was reminded of this at a conference...

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and I keep coming back to one question: what actually makes us feel safe? Sometimes healing doesn’t look like rest. Sometimes it looks like giving yourself permission to make mistakes. Sometimes the moves are barely visible, affected by overarching anxiety, scattered thoughts, or a certain inexplicable unease. And yet, even a bit of time in a space where it feels safe to fail, to pick yourself up, and to learn from your low points is absolutely essential....