Frederick Buechner said and wrote many things that touched my life deeply, but this quote remains my favorite. It has been pinned in my studio for years.
I often come back to the same wondering.
Can our gladness, the thing that lights us up and lifts our spirits, be of service in a weary world?
Can what brings us joy naturally, whether painting, encouraging others, or offering healing, become someone else’s small miracle, something they long for and need more of?
Yes. Yes and all the yeses.
When I think about how I have learned the good and meaningful things in life, it is often from people like Mr. Buechner, who shared their gladness generously. For him, it was writing. His words met my hungry heart again and again.
Right now, what lights me up is pulling back the curtain on what I’ve learned about making a creative life actually work. Not just the art making, but the tending, the sharing, the sustaining. I feel called to pass along what experience has taught me to other creatives who want their work to have roots and wings.
I sometimes look around and feel amazed that this has been my life for two decades. Two decades of paint, ideas, risks, friendships, and brave women showing up for their dreams. The circle of creative women I’ve gathered along the way is one of the great treasures of my life.
Loving my work and being surrounded by generosity has shaped my family, my community, and the way I walk through the world. It keeps widening the circle.
The new Marketing For Creatives course I recently announced grows from that place.
At its heart, this course is about building relationships around your work.
It’s about learning how to invite people into your creative world and watching a community grow that treasures what you create and is glad to support it.
The kind of support that nourishes both sides. Not transactional, but relational. And I think this is what Mr. Buechner was pointing to when he spoke of our deep gladness meeting the world’s deep hunger.
And it’s so clear the world is hungry right now. Hungry for beauty, for heart, for meaning. Your art, your offerings, your services carry those things.
