A couple of weeks ago, I had the amazing opportunity to tell a story on The Moth Mainstage in NYC. The audience numbered more than 1,000 and the venue was The Great Hall at Cooper Union. Abraham Lincoln spoke there in the 1850s. Six months ago I would have never imagined I’d be there — now, I can’t wait to go back. There were five storytellers that evening and I was blessed to be on the same stage with these remarkable individuals. Ostensibly, the theme was Walking the Line: Stories of Balancing Acts. But actually, each story was about perseverance. [Read more…] about Perseverance
General Thoughts
Technophobe No More
I’m very comfortable performing in front of audiences but learning any kind of computer technology can bring me to tears. At best, I’m convinced I am going to break my computer; at worst, the entire Internet. Regardless, mistakes will be made. Bad mistakes.
Maybe it’s my age, maybe it’s my gender. I was raised that technology is a male thing, like grilling outdoors — women didn’t need to learn either one. So I’ve stayed stuck and dependent on others, missing countless opportunities to use new mediums, market my work, and even communicate with nieces and nephews (the eye rolling when I confessed I did not know how to text was extreme; now, it is our primary form of communication). [Read more…] about Technophobe No More
Books That Shake Things Up
Since I first posted this blog nearly two years ago, I’ve read so many more books that shake things up I thought it was time to add a few more. The first five on the list are the newest additions to a growing list of books that help me on this whacky, precarious, but fulfilling creative journey. I put Donald Miller’s book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, first because it is JUST THAT GOOD. He’s kind of like a female Anne Lamott — simultaneously irreverent and poignant.
This book selection helps me think out-of-the-box about my life and my work. The books are not just for artists — they get you thinking no matter what you do. Some are practical guides; some are memoirs of people courageously changing their own paths. All are good.