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Our motivation. Our inspiration. Our muse.
What You’ll Find Here
This blog is an evolving reflection of a creative life. I write about:
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Art and the creative process — both digital and traditional
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The emotional landscape of change, grief, and healing
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Tips, tutorials, and practical tools for artists and makers
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Reflections on aging, adaptation, and starting again
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The philosophical questions that arise from both making art and simply being human
It’s not always neat, but it’s honest. It's not always planned, but it’s always real.
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How to Make a Gingham Pattern in Procreate
There’s something timeless about gingham. Follow along as I recreate this nostalgic pattern in Procreate — step by step — and turn a simple design into digital art with heart.
anartistslament
5 days ago3 min read
Holiday Echoes: When Tradition Leaves a Trace
Tradition isn’t just what we repeat — it’s what returns. Holiday Echoes is a collection of Christmas tree patterns inspired by rituals that change slightly every year, but never disappear.
anartistslament
Dec 29, 20253 min read
Silent Symphony: Finding Tranquility in Winter’s Embrace
Snow doesn’t just fall — it changes the sound of the world. “Silent Symphony” is a pattern inspired by that hush, the stillness that invites us to breathe and remember.
anartistslament
Dec 22, 20252 min read
Peppermint Joy: Candy Cane Art Inspired by Memory
Candy canes show up once a year, like old friends with striped scarves and peppermint breath. These four holiday designs came from remembering that sweetness — not just the taste, but the feeling of returning to something familiar.
anartistslament
Dec 15, 20253 min read
Gingerbread Memories: Holiday Patterns That Taste Like Home
Gingerbread is more than a cookie — it’s a memory: of waiting by the oven, of flour-dusted fingers, of laughter echoing from another room. These holiday patterns are my way of remembering the sweetness that built me.
anartistslament
Dec 8, 20253 min read
Relearning How to Shine
After years of helping others shine, I realized I’d forgotten how to tend my own light. This is the story of how I rediscovered joy, creativity, and the quiet art of glowing from within.
anartistslament
Dec 1, 20254 min read
What Are You? A Question That Follows Me
“What are you?”
It’s a question I’ve been asked my whole life — one that used to make me shrink, but now makes me smile. Because I finally know the answer.
anartistslament
Nov 24, 20253 min read
Square Peg, Round Hole: On Not Fitting In
I grew up between two worlds — too light for one, too dark for the other. For years I tried to fit, until I learned that belonging isn’t about shape, it’s about truth.
anartistslament
Nov 17, 20254 min read
Tempering My Fire
As a child, I spoke up without fear — until the world taught me that warmth must be rationed. Tempering My Fire is the story of learning when to hold my flame and when to let it burn freely again.
anartistslament
Nov 10, 20254 min read
The Story of a Second-Best Career
When a recruiter asked me, “So… what’s your story?”, I had no idea that question would lead to the next chapter of my life. This is a reflection on motherhood, teaching, loss, and rediscovering purpose — one “second-best” career at a time.
anartistslament
Nov 3, 20254 min read
A Southwest Farewell: Five Paintings for Mom and Dad
Art doesn’t erase grief, but it gives it form. These four canvases — born during my last month with my mom — became vessels of memory, carrying both my parents’ presence forward.
anartistslament
Oct 27, 20255 min read
AI: To Fear or Not To Fear – One Artist’s Perspective
Everywhere I look online, I see artists worried about AI “taking over.” Some are so convinced that it’s the death of creativity that they’ve sworn it off entirely. But my take? I see AI as just another tool—like a paintbrush, palette knife, or sketch pad.
anartistslament
Oct 20, 20253 min read
Seasons of Change: Notes from the Costa del Sol - Part 3 Daily Rhythms, Spanish Style
On the Costa del Sol, daily life is shaped by open windows, late dinners, local groceries, and chats with neighbors in the street. Life here isn’t managed — it’s savored.
anartistslament
Oct 13, 20253 min read
Seasons of Change: Notes from the Costa del Sol - Part 2 Learning to Live Like a Local
From walking everywhere to hanging laundry on the line, living on Spain’s Costa del Sol means more than a change of scenery — it’s a whole new rhythm of life.
anartistslament
Oct 6, 20253 min read
Seasons of Change: Notes from the Costa del Sol - Part 1 Autumn on the Calendar, Summer on the Beach
Sometimes the calendar says one thing, but life says another. Here on the Costa del Sol, autumn may have officially arrived, but the Mediterranean sun has its own idea.
anartistslament
Sep 29, 20253 min read
Pumpkins, Memory, and Making: From Cinderella to Sugar Skulls
I never set out to become a “pumpkin decorator.” Like many unexpected turns in my creative life, it began with my daughter and a drill team tradition.
anartistslament
Sep 22, 20255 min read
Color: More Than Meets the Eye Part Four: Color in Culture: How Language Shapes Our Palette
In Japanese, the word "ao" once covered both what we would call blue and green. A single word for two colors that, to many of us, feel very distinct. What does that say about how we see the world? It reminds us that the boundaries we draw between colors aren’t universal—they’re cultural, shaped as much by language as by the eye itself.
anartistslament
Sep 15, 20254 min read
Color: More Than Meets The Eye Part Three: What Makes a Color “Primary”?
In this third installment of Color: More Than Meets the Eye, we explore the shifting idea of “primaries” across RYB, RGB, and CMYK—and why the colors we call fundamental may not be as universal as we think.
anartistslament
Sep 1, 20254 min read
Color: More Than Meets The Eye Part Two: Color Names – Why Red Came First (And Cyan Came Later)
If you’ve ever wondered why some color names feel ancient and essential while others sound oddly modern or synthetic, you’re not alone.
anartistslament
Aug 18, 20253 min read
Color: More Than Meets The Eye Part One: Which Color Wheel Are You On?
Like many people, I grew up with what's known as the traditional color wheel—the one we're taught in grade school art classes. Red, yellow, and blue were considered the holy trinity of primary colors, and everything else could be mixed from them.
anartistslament
Aug 4, 20253 min read
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