Mostly, I remember Christmas Eve at my mom’s parents’ place, their little house lost in the middle of all those rolling hills and farmers’ fields. It was a small, cozy house, alone in the valley, a light on those dark Christmas Eve nights. We always arrived with hugs and shouts of “Merry Christmas!”, Grandpa looking at us with his lopsided, mischievous grin, and Grandma’s round face kind and beaming Continue reading “Finding Light on the Darkest of Days”
I turned 44 today.
Outside, the open areas are covered with snow, and because it’s a Sunday, and because there’s a pandemic, the streets are quiet and empty. Light spills in through the window, gray skies glaring off of white, rowhouse roofs and the stark, distant lines of leafless trees.
I’m feeling hopeful today, with the new year ahead. Continue reading “Some Thoughts on Turning 44”
Today we get to speak with painter and artist Freiman Stoltzfus about growing up as an artist within the Amish community, the role is mother played in his life work, and the relationship between creativity and grief. Maile is especially fascinated by a term he uses, creative recovery, in describing how we can rediscover our creativity, even later in life.
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As always, there are a few ways to listen: click the play button in the image above, go to our webpage to hear this and all of our other episodes, or head on over to Apple podcasts or Spotify!
If you enjoy the podcast and would like to see it continue, and if you’d like exclusive access to Maile’s writing and other bonus material (including the one where we talk about our very favorite book of 2020), please join our Patreon community at the $5 / month level HERE.
And keep writing!
Shawn and Maile talk about the dynamic and life-giving force that change can be in your creative life. So, change it up! They also talk about the various ways their creative lives are changing in 2021–Maile is teaching a writing class! Shawn is writing a screen play! Join them as they talk about the good and tough of making changes to your creative life.
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As always, there are a few ways to listen: click the play button in the image above, go to our webpage to hear this and all of our other episodes, or head on over to Apple podcasts or Spotify!
If you enjoy the podcast and would like to see it continue, and if you’d like exclusive access to Maile’s writing and other bonus material (including the one where we talk about our very favorite book of 2020), please join our Patreon community at the $5 / month level HERE.
And keep writing!
Melanie Dale talks about writing horror, parenting books, becoming a zombie on The Walking Dead (no, really), and her journey into special needs parenting. We reflect on the first time we met (in a careening minivan) and how the creative life is always taking us in the directions we least expect.
Check out her new book here: Calm the H*ck Down.
As always, there are a few ways to listen: click the play button in the image above, go to our webpage to hear this and all of our other episodes, or head on over to Apple podcasts or Spotify!
If you enjoy the podcast and would like to see it continue, and if you’d like exclusive access to Maile’s writing and other bonus material (including the one where we talk about our very favorite book of 2020), please join our Patreon community at the $5 / month level HERE.
And keep writing!
Maile and Shawn talk about their own self-limiting beliefs and how those things have kept them from trying and creating new things. Do you have beliefs about yourself that are limiting? Are you measuring who you can become by your past?
And they talk about a new way forward, a creative path that allows for creativity, innovation, and, most importantly, hope.
As always, there are a few ways to listen: click the play button in the image above, go to our webpage to hear this and all of our other episodes, or head on over to Apple podcasts or Spotify!
If you enjoy the podcast and would like to see it continue, and if you’d like exclusive access to Maile’s writing and other bonus material (including the one where we talk about our very favorite book of 2020), please consider joining our Patreon community at the $5 / month level HERE.
And keep writing!
