The Future I Stopped Pretending Not to Want
I thought that, when I retired, stepping away from goals and schedules would bring peace. Instead, I discovered restlessness, distraction, and a loss of meaning. This week I reflect on how I found my way back in 2025—not to obligation, but to making, learning, and respecting my real nature.
The Illustrators Who Raised Me
These past weeks of gratitude led me back to the illustrators whose pages first opened worlds for me. This post is a small thank-you to the hands that helped form my creative life.
September at the threshold
September is a threshold month; still hot and humid, yet shadows stretch longer and the leaves begin to turn. I’ve been feeling its melancholy this year: mourning missed summers, grieving family losses, and noticing how time races on. Yet in that same melancholy, I’ve found fuel for reflection, writing, and creating.
Every Fall Begins Like a Story
September brings stories, mishaps, and new beginnings—lost zines, moody computers, and plans for a bard’s wagon at Zine Fest.
In Praise of the Story-seeker’s Gremlin
A playful ode to creative chaos, mysterious glitches, and the mischievous gremlin who shows up just when you think everything’s under control.
Making Waves
Making Waves explores life’s stages through six illustrated messages—pleas, regrets, and acceptance—drawing inspiration from Zen’s empty boat parable and the idea that we are the boats, always moving, always changing. The zine ends with a space for your own message, inviting you to join the journey and pass it along to someone else who might need it.
The myth of the perfect creative space
This week’s zine didn’t make the deadline, but real life did. While catching my breath, I found myself pondering the YouTube myth of the perfect studio—and why creativity thrives in messy, real-life corners instead.
When Coffee and Computers Conspire
Half‑caff mornings mean more time for journaling, art, and apparently talking to my laptop when it stages a dramatic shutdown. Between cold coffee runs to the microwave and a machine dreaming of retirement in Florida, it’s a wonder I get anything done. But hey, I call it a win. Sort of.
The secret power of mini-projects
Sometimes the secret to finishing creative work isn’t more time or more discipline — it’s thinking smaller. Here’s why mini projects have helped me finish more in two months than I did in the last two years.
Barking at monsters
Dogs bark at rabbits. I bark at Elementor. A funny look at creative chaos, Barkyard Security, and how overreaction might just be our default setting.
The Return of the Studio
Studio Second Street is back — and this time, it belongs. A story about creative integration, purpose, and how one milk glass chicken still holds magic.
Sometimes It’s Just a Good Week (and That’s Enough)
A quiet week of porch-sitting, birdsong, and unexpected studio satisfaction. Zines are blooming, pastels are cooperating, and the dust layer has been vanquished (with a dish rag from the 1980s, no less). Sometimes, it’s good to pause and celebrate the small, quiet victories.
Back from Break: Notes from the Sun, Salt, and Story Fog
After a long-awaited creative break, I’m rethinking how I use Substack and WordPress—and reflecting on how artists can adapt in the age of AI. Less polish, more play. More zines. More voice. A travel sketch and a quiet shift in direction.
The Only Way Out Is Through: Zen, Art, and Doing It Yourself
A personal reflection on how Zen philosophy influences my creative process. I explore beginner’s mind, letting go of perfection, and why doing your own work—your own way—is the only real path to growth in art, writing, and life.
The books that shaped how I see the world
Books shape us. If I could If I could sit down with all the younger versions of me, and give her the books that would change her life, all in one worn-out backpack, I would. Because the truth is, each one holds a piece of who I am. Today, I’m sending letters to my younger self with all the reasons why her book choices were good ones.
My adventure writing a sci-fi murder mystery
Turning spaceships and chocolate into a murder mystery has been a wild ride—but Aliki’s adventure is just getting started.
Navigating the future of illustration (and my own)
I fell off the illustration bandwagon this week while working on a novel. But I did manage some drawing practice, learning “Weight Drawing,” and had a realization while reading Heller’s The Education of an Illustrator about how AI is just another evolution in the industry, much like photography and digital tools were.
Overcoming little struggles and rediscovering how tech can be good
This week’s progress in my Illustration Quest came with some challenges, like tackling flash pose drawing and rethinking my routine.
The start of a new journey
When I retired, I thought I’d finally dive into art, but despite tutorials and new supplies, I felt stuck. I realized I needed guidance, not just inspiration. So, I’m creating a self-taught course to grow my skills. Follow along as I document my journey and share insights for fellow creatives!
SketchAwesome: a new sketchbook habit?
I’ve given up on an online business. But there’s one thing I’d like to do: make sketching a daily habit. SketchAwesome might help with that!