Dear Daughters: Four Things
Dear Daughters, "There are four things in this life that will change you. Love, music, art, and loss. The first three will keep you wild and full of passion. May you allow the last to make you brave." ~Erin van Vuren I saw that quote the other day and I fell in love...
Dear Daughters: Change Makers and Vision Questers
Dear Daughters, I had plans to sit down with a cup of tea and write to you yesterday, but an unexpected vet visit with Angus followed by a pretty substantial headache derailed my plans. So, this is this week's Things I Want My Daughters to Know Thursday...
Stories From the Studio: Choose Kind
We just wrapped up our "Wonder"-themed series in the studio. It was an 8-week session that incorporated concepts from R.J. Palacio's book (and movie) Wonder. We didn't spend a lot of time recapping what happened with Auggie and his friends, but what we DID...
Dear Daughters: Experiences Over Things
Dear Daughters, We were away last week and I chose to not write TO you because I was busy enjoying time WITH you. That time away was actually the catalyst for today's post. During the time when I would typically be sitting down to write this,...
Stories From the Studio: Knowing When Enough Is Enough
Yesterday was the last class in the current after-school series for my Monday girls. We were wrapping up our 8-week, Wonder-themed artistic exploration with a special project. The girls were tasked with creating a 5x7 alcohol ink abstract on Yupo paper,...
Dear Daughters: Your Pain is My Pain
Dear daughters, Your pain is my pain. It's part of the complex mother-daughter bond. It's an unwritten contract between us. Your pain is my pain and I seem to be in a lot of pain these days. Brenna, you are hurt again. Your back. Again. You haven't made it through...
Can You Even BE a Man If You Aren’t Violent?
I am known for the empowering art-based programs I run for girls and women, but I have had boys' programs on the brain a LOT lately. Ever since I started the Self Esteem Through Art program, I have been trying to gather enough boys to host regular boys' programs in my...
Dear Daughters: Pack Light, Fly High
Dear Daughters, I would love to write to you about how the world has lost its damn mind, or my thoughts on guns in schools, or how our current president is a glorified toddler, but I simply don't have it in me right now. I am still collecting my thoughts after another...
Dear Daughters: On Remembering
We had a death in the family this week. That got me thinking about the frailty of life, legacies, and the ways in which we remember the ones we have lost. I have no way of knowing how much you will...
Dear Daughters: Tending Your Needs
Most days, I know it can be incomprehensible to think of me as anything other than your mother. After all, that has been the nexus of our relationship since the beginning of your time on earth. But I am, and have always been, so much more than just your mother, with...
Dear Daughters: Simple Pleasures and Lost Arts
Dear Daughters, It’s a new month in a relatively new year and I am launching this new initiative on my blog called Things I Want My Daughters to Know Thursdays. I’m not entirely sure why I am starting this weekly endeavor—part of me has been feeling a strong pull to...
The Ebb and Flow of January
Hello all! I don't know about you, but I have a weird relationship with the month of January—always have, probably always will. On one hand, I have the TV commercials, magazine covers, billboards, and all types of gurus screaming at me to LOSE WEIGHT, BUY THE WRINKLE...