Category: Creating

It’s Up to You…

My dad has been going through the file cabinets downstairs and today he handed me a file to toss or keep up in my room. They’re my old dental records—mostly bills and letters from my root canal and later orthodontics treatment.

I found a gem in that folder, though:

It’s a large booklet from my old orthodontist, which we probably received circa 2001. I don’t recall ever seeing it before, but the illustrations and text were entertaining enough that I wanted to share it here. Enjoy!

Finally, here’s the back cover:

And now that it’s documented here, I’ll be cutting up the illustrations for snail mail fun!

Creatives I’ve Supported in 2017

This year something that’s been on my mind more and more is how to support the creatives in my life and those whose work I’m a fan of. While you’ll see below that such loyalty is not limited to monetary support, I’ve been more aware of my purchasing power as well.

I’m getting a little better at checking Etsy when looking for a particular item/gift, rather than heading straight to Amazon (though Amazon is still very much a habit), and this fall I’ve been buying all of my painting supplies from a local art shop in Flagstaff.

It’s important for me to support the values I believe in—not just when it’s convenient for me. This means taking a closer look at my smaller, everyday actions—including purchases—and evaluating how well they align with my values. If we encourage and help the people who are bringing more kindness, creativity, and truth into the world, their impact will expand exponentially.

As I reflect on my year and this particular topic, the people below continue to pop up. I’m excited to share their work with you—because obviously I think they’re really cool people doing great things—but I’m also including some of my interactions with them. The purpose of sharing these is not to pat myself on the back, but rather to provide concrete ideas/examples of what support can look like.

Creatives I’ve Supported in 2017

Josh Lonsdale – Venice Walking Tour

Venice Walking Tour

While staying in Venice, I saw an event on Couchsurfing for a free walking tour, hosted by Josh. I’ve gone on many walking tours throughout my years of travel, but this was hands-down the best. Picture the Bill Bryson of walking tours. Josh was incredibly well spoken and pointed out such interesting details and nuggets of history that he had my full attention for the entire three hours. What a joy to experience that tour!

Surprisingly enough, this was only the second time he’d given the tour. Ever. He was trying it out via Couchsurfing to see if it’s something he could charge for, down the line. He accepted tips at the end, so I gave much more than I tip at “regular” walking tours. Then I gave him encouraging spoken words, assuring him that he could totally make a living doing this—the quality is superb.

When I got back to my hostel, I felt propelled to push him along even more, so I sent a message via Couchsurfing with some positive testimony, which he later used to advertise future walking tour events.

Kim Dinan – “The Yellow Envelope”

Kim Dinan - The Yellow Envelope

I’ve been a long-time reader of Kim’s blog, So Many Places, and thus a long-time fan of Kim. Naturally, then, I pre-ordered her book “The Yellow Envelope” late last year before it was released this April.

A few days after returning to the states this spring, I attended her book signing event at Barnes and Noble in Madison. I recommend the book to others and share her Yellow Envelope project on my site.

Meg Kissack – Couragemakers/That Hummingbird Life

Epic Shit Sessions - That Hummingbird Life

I hope you’ve heard me talk about The Couragemakers Podcast before, as it’s been a favorite of mine this year. To help support Meg’s fantastic podcast, I left a positive review on iTunes earlier in the year and often shared episodes via Twitter when I was active on the platform.

Since I align so well with her values and approaches, I also hired Meg as a mentor/coach for two of her “Epic Shit” session offerings: “Get Shit Rolling” (a brainstorming session for multi-passionate creatives) and “Get Shit Done” (an email accountability/encouragement experience). The (tangible) result? This very site! It was an even better experience than I could have imagined, and you can bet I provided feedback and testimony for this amazing Couragemaker.

Luke Thering – Musical Creations

Luke is my younger brother, a wonderful human being who plays piano (incredibly well) and composes (also incredibly well), among other actions. In past years I’ve supported him on Kickstarter and attended performances. What comes to mind right away for this past year was sharing two of his fun videos with others:

  • “Fire Sale” – Any “Arrested Development” fans out there should check this one out!
  • “My Best Friend” – In this video, Luke adds accompaniment to Key and Peele’s “best friend” comedy sketch

And while we’re on the topic, here’s a one-minute wintertime video that always brings a smile to my face:

Candace Rose Rardon – Moment Sketchers

Moment Sketchers

Another woman I’ve mentioned a lot this year is Candace Rose Rardon and her Moment Sketchers community (to which I belong). I support her by commenting on blog posts, sharing the community with others (writing about it, talking about it, inviting others to join me for the monthly sketch weekends), and encouraging fellow community members via Instagram comments.

James Hansen – FOUL The Webseries

A friend from high school is creating a webseries called “FOUL,” which he is funding thanks to Kickstarter. I was happy to contribute to the campaign when it was live.

 

Genevieve Lacombe – Atelier Art Postal

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaPsqCNAbhq/?taken-by=rebeccathering

Genevieve Lacombe, a fellow Moment Sketcher, opened her Etsy shop this fall: Atelier Art Postal. I had lots of fun ordering and sending out the adorable postcards seen above. I left positive feedback on her Etsy page and shared the postcards on Instagram too.

Alexandra Franzen – “You’re Going to Survive”Alex Franzen You're Going to Survive

One of my favorite writers/humans/heroes, Alexandra Franzen, released a book this month: “You’re Going to Survive: True stories about adversity, rejection, defeat, terrible bosses, online trolls, 1-star Yelp reviews, and other soul-crushing experiences―and how to get through it”

I pre-ordered the book when she first announced it (the book just arrived a few days ago!) and I’ll be recommending it to anyone in need of her uplifting message.

Nicole Antoinette – Real Talk Radio

Real Talk Radio with Nicole Antoinette

A podcast I’ve fallen in love with these past few months is Real Talk Radio with Nicole Antoinette. She’s real-life friends with Alexandra Franzen (above), which is how I first learned of the podcast.

After listening to only a few episodes, it was an easy decision to make a pledge on Nicole’s Patreon page to help keep the podcast running.

Street Musicians/Poets/Bloggers

While traveling around Italy this spring, I tipped street musicians after enjoying their songs, and one afternoon in Bologna I “bought” a poem from an Italian street poet.

Online interactions with Matt Maldre reminded me how important it is to leave a comment on all blog posts I read—which I now try to do.

Celebrating Support Received

This year I’ve also been on the receiving end of such support. From a monetary view, I received $7 in tips from two people via Paypal donation (which I’d added to my Oh No She Madridn’t blog a few years ago—these are the first donations ever received) and I sold six copies of my Korean Food/Restaurant Guide on Gumroad. (Hooray!)

Just a few days ago this new blog received its first comment (thank you Eva!), and that’s definitely something to celebrate.

I have a folder on my desktop where I keep screenshots of tweets, emails, and other encouraging words from friends and fellow humans. I added several clips to this folder throughout the year and I’m grateful to everyone who contributed.

I appreciate the friends and family who came to the Trains on Main reception this summer, and all of the supportive words I’ve received—while travel sketching, speaking at the library, chatting with friends, via snail mail, etc.

How to Support Creatives in Your Life

As we move into the new year, I’ll keep an even closer eye out for ways to support the creatives I value. Remember, there are many ways to support creatives in your life—no matter how new/far they are on the journey. Here’s a starter list:

  • Comment on a blog post / Instagram post
  • Write a letter/email of encouragement
  • Recommend an encouraging book/post/podcast/community to your creative friend
  • Share one of their articles/creations/event info. on social media or by email
  • Send a gratitude or fan letter (here’s how to write a six-minute fan letter—see #1)
  • Support their Kickstarter
  • Pledge to support them via Patreon
  • Make a Paypal donation
  • Purchase one of their creations—for yourself or to give as a gift
  • Attend their shows/performances
  • Leave a positive review / offer testimony

 


Who do you support? How do you support creatives in your life? (Any more ideas I can add to this list?)

Trains on Main [Application & Creation Process]

While in Madrid in April, I happened to see an article in my hometown’s newspaper, which announced the deadline for their Trains on Main public art project had been extended to April 30. As I read more about the project and application requirements, I knew I had to apply. This was a perfect leap for me—doing something before you feel ready. I had just a pinch of impostor feelings, but knew fully that I was enough for this challenge and excitedly applied. (The bullet under “Artist Eligibility” which read “Previous public art experience is not necessary; all who are interested are encouraged to apply” very much played a role in giving myself the all-clear.)

Here’s what each artist would have to work with—a steel train made by our local Endres Manufacturing Company:

Artists would be given a $200 grant for the project and were completely free to choose materials, style, theme—no limits there.

Application Process

Applicants had to write a proposal for their train, explaining what they would do and why, and how they would weatherproof it. Which meant that in order to apply, I had to have some sort of idea as to how I’d transform this train into a piece of art. (Hello creativity challenge! This is why I’ve been building that muscle all year…)

Since I’d been thinking more and more about human connection, unplugging, and humanity (the fact that we’re all imperfect) the past three months—especially with all of my travel sketching and the memorable moments with locals that resulted from making art in public—I decided to propose something exploring those themes.

I pulled out what has since become my “brainstorming”/catch-all notebook, and sketched two different sides to a train.


I wanted one side (above) to be the messy/human side, vibrant and in motion. I’d use four different symbols of life/humanity for the wheels, and feature two people talking to one another on the train body. I wanted to incorporate a notebook somehow, which people could take off the train and write in. I planned to use string art on this side, like I’d done for the WI plaque I had made years earlier.

On the opposite side (below), I wanted to represent how technology can sometimes be divisive and prevent us from marveling at the natural world and celebrating our flaws. I wanted it to be sleek and black/white on fabric (to represent a curtain), featuring social media icons on the wheels and two people looking at their phones on the train body.

This is how it began!

I danced around the room when I found out my application had been accepted. A train would be waiting for me at Endres when I got back to the states, and a check would be sent in the mail.

The Creation Process

The Monday after I got back, I drove to Endres and picked up my train. It was heavier than I’d expected, and I had no idea how to “start.”

Some point after getting the actual train, I made another sketch:

Then I biked to Ace Hardware in town (the first of many such trips) and got a black anti-rust spray to coat the train—the only thing I knew I should do. (Tip: When you’re not sure how to tackle a huge project, just do what lies clearly at hand.)

Days later I took advantage of having my mom’s car for an evening and left home a bit earlier to stop at Savers (a secondhand store) and Michaels (a craft store) in search of materials for the train. Without a clear idea in mind, I walked through every aisle in Savers, and in the end bought the following:

  • a white sheet (for the “fabric” side of train)
  • two mugs (for flowers, with plans to break the mugs and fix them with gold—kintsugi)
  • a farm toothbrush holder (which I planned to repurpose as a pen holder for the notebook element)
  • plastic canvas circles (saw a pack of 60 for $3 and thought I could use four for the wheels)
  • various bags of yarn (for the wheels—later I learned I should have checked out grandma’s yarn stash in the basement first!)
  • a set of clips for a shower curtain (thinking I could use them to hang the fabric on the technology side)

From Michaels I got a few bottles of outdoor acrylic paint: a large tube of teal (a favorite color of mine), yellow, blue, white, black, and grey; a sponge brush; and a pack of 10 iron-on paper sheets.

With these new materials, I now had more to do lying clearly at hand. I’d work on the yarn wheels whenever I was watching Netflix, and brought one to an art night with friends and another on a 2-hour car ride with Grandma.

I went to town with the teal, covering one side of the train in one of my favorite colors:

At some point I decided to ditch the idea of doing string art on this side, which would have required attaching something like small nails around the entire perimeter of the train—to loop the thread around.

Bit by bit I began designing the iron-on images on the computer, and luckily remembered to reverse all images before printing each time.

 

 

Mistakes were plenty—there was lots of measuring of the fabric and then test-printing on thin graph paper to make sure sizing was right. I learned that I shouldn’t necessarily iron on each part once it was printed—that the random order I was going in didn’t make for the easiest ironing. Sometimes I had already-ironed-on areas very close to something I was ironing on, so I had to be very careful with where the iron was touching (and was more strategic about when/where I ironed on parts at a atime).
A flap of the paper accidentally got folded over as I was ironing on this wheel, below, for example:

During Waunakee’s Garage Sale weekend I got a few other random items for the train: a small bird figurine, gold nail polish (for the mugs), and a tiny container of spring meadow confetti-type particles (bright green with colored specks, which I thought I could use for grass on the colorful side).

As I was walking our neighbor’s dog the week after, when big items were still at the curb for pick-up, I spotted an indoor birdhouse decoration, with a fence, duck, and lights attached. I sized it up (during which the dog peed on this birdhouse base!) and then had an idea: This could house the notebook! I picked it up and carried it home, dog on leash in the other hand.

Back in the garage I took off the fence, duck, and lights, washed off the base in the backyard, then popped off one side of the roof so I could later add hinges. I had another Michaels run in here, where I got purple, orange, and green acrylic; and gorilla glue. Then once I got the hinges screwed in, I started to paint.

 

I used the gorilla glue to attach the yarn wheels to the train, doing one at a time and stacking books on top (with a plastic bag in between) for a tight seal.

I accidentally glued a paper towel to the first wheel I attached, the rain/water wheel on the right. I removed what I could of the paper towel and left the rest. After all, this side was all about embracing our imperfections, right?

The last main part for this side (excluding the base + birdhouse) involved selecting a quote—which ended up being two—and writing them on the train’s body. I used Copic markers to do so, which wrote on top of the acrylic really well, but later proved to be troublesome when I learned they’re alcohol-based, and would melt away when covered in epoxy (or many other protective sprays).

The fabric side progressed bit by bit. Designing the body was probably the most time consuming, as I’d take screenshots from sites like Buzzfeed and insert each headline into Pages, where I made all of the train images.

 

When picking my friend Liz’s brain about weatherproofing at one of our art nights in May (she did this very art project the past two years), she suggested I ask the organizer to put me in touch with the two people who had fabric on their barns last year (Barns on Main). I did, and those two women both got back to me with helpful advice, both suggesting I use epoxy to seal it.

On my final weekend, when I was getting ready to epoxy everything, cutting the fabric proved surprising and frustrating: The lines I’d been following on the fabric did not line up very well at all with the actual cut out. Whoops.

I’m not sure if the fabric changed a bit as it got ironed out, or if I simply hadn’t been exact enough when I drew the train outline onto the fabric back at the beginning, but there were some big discrepancies. I’d get the wheels and back wagon to line up on the right, then everything was way, way off on the left.

But I had to make it work as it was, so I trimmed into the design in many parts, using a spray to attach the fabric at different points as I went, and then pulling and trimming the fabric section by section to make it cover the train outline.

After covering it with epoxy, I was a bit disappointed to see that the fabric absorbed the liquid in some areas, but others remained white, giving it a splotchy look. You could also no longer read many of the headlines that had been in grey, which had originally given the train body a shaded, 3D look on the fabric, but the effect was completely lost when I covered it in epoxy.

After that had dried for three days (yeah, THREE days!) I first sprayed the colorful side with a clear coat before I got to work on the base of the statue. For that protective layer, Ace had recommended one spray which would work with the Copic markers. Before spraying the whole thing, I’d prepared a test on the bottom of the train (while the epoxy was drying) with acrylic + Copic markers. When I sprayed this area with the spray I’d purchased, the marker began to dissolve! Noooo! It was clear enough yet that you could still see what I’d written, but this is not what I’d expected to happen.
I was running out of time, briefly considered going back to Ace and trying to return the spray, then debated not protecting this side with anything, but ultimately I decided to risk it. I reasoned that if the spray dissolved the text, maybe there would be a neat messy feel to the quotes. And to my utter surprise (and delight), when I sprayed the train body outside, the Copic markers did not dissolve as they had in my test area. Phew!

Then it was right on to the base. This involved painting the base green and attaching the mug, birdhouse, and later the bird with gorilla glue. I’d bought a plant from the outdoor greenhouse in town (by Waunabowl), on my most recent run to Ace Hardware. I’d asked the man for something that could fit in a coffee mug that would grow without much care. This particular flower loves the sun and should keep blooming all summer, he told me.

 

 

 

 

Once that had all dried, I sponged on a brighter shade of green and sprinkled on that “spring meadows” confetti paper dust onto the wet paint. Finally, I finished off the grass by hot gluing some green marbles to the bottom—something I’d seen lying around the house which I thought would add more dimension to the piece.

And then, the moment of truth: The final epoxy layer.

 

I was worried the green confetti bits would float over to the black “technology” side, so I dumped epoxy on the black side first, so it might flow in the other direction. Success!

After the base dried (another three days later), I prepared the notebook for the birdhouse and called it good!

>>> You can see the completed train here.

Trains on Main [The Natural Thing to Do]

If you’re curious to see the behind-the-scenes process of how this art project was made (including the scribbles on paper that started it all), check out this post first.

If you’re ready to see the final piece, carry on!

“The Natural Thing to Do”

Here is my finished train, titled “The Natural Thing to Do,” accompanied by a walkthrough of the meaning it holds for me.

I chose the themes of humanity, connection, and unplugging because they’ve been on my mind most frequently this year, and seemed a worthy conversation for our Waunakee community.

 

The glossy “technology” side represents the curtain that we often hide behind, shielding the world from seeing our broken bits, and sharing just a polished version of what goes right.

Today technology is often used as a way to escape the more difficult human emotions or everyday moments of slight discomfort, rather than sitting with them in silence and feeling fully.

If we’re not careful and attentive, click-bait headlines and addictive technology can prevent us from marveling at the natural world, celebrating our flaws, and experiencing beautiful moments of connection with other human beings.

To contrast, the colorful “human” side of my train serves as a reminder that behind every shiny website, single tweet, and face in a crowd, we are all works in progress with messy pasts and presents.

Nothing is black and white; it’s all so much more complicated than it may appear. And yet that’s what makes human life so beautiful.

When we can be vulnerable and share the things we often hide from, setting aside our shields to show up as our true selves, that’s an incredible opportunity for meaningful connection.

Furthermore, knowing that all human lives are works in progress, messy, flawed, and complex—this calls for daily patience, kindness, and compassion towards all others. As the H. Jackson Brown Jr. quote goes, “Remember that everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something, and has lost something.”

I aimed to captured this idea with two different quotes on my train, the first flowing nicely into the second.

The flowers serve as a reminder that we’re all growing and a part of nature, and I used the Japanese art of Kintsugi for the mug. (Kintsugi involves repairing broken pottery with gold, often making pieces more beautiful than before they were broken—a great metaphor for life.)

Finally, the birdhouse offers a waist-high safekeeping for a notebook, which invites viewers to share moments of human connection and their vulnerabilities—a chance to connect and dare greatly right here in our community.

Public Reception

The trains were due on Friday, June 2 at the Chamber of Commerce. With the birdhouse attached, though, I thought my train would be too tall to sit up in a vehicle. I didn’t want to risk the birdhouse falling off by tipping it sideways, so a wagon seemed to be the ideal mode of transportation. My Grandma lent me hers, so I loaded it up and walked it through town that Thursday, on my way to the Chamber of Commerce.

The following Thursday was a public reception, where all eight trains were on display, and their artists each took turns telling a bit about the inspiration behind it.
Photo Credit: Mom
Photo Credit: Mom
Photo Credit: Mom
Photo Credit: Mom
Photo Credit: Carly / Hannah
Thank you to everyone who was able to come out that evening (shoutout to those not pictured but in attendance: Mom, Dad, Julie, Abby, Carly), and to all who have encouraged my creativity, individuality, and growth—you’re all over the globe and across the internet.
And of course, a big thank you to everyone who made this project possible: Kristina, the Waunakee Area Chamber of Commerce, Endres Manufacturing Co. Foundation, the Village of Waunakee, and all people supporting the arts in our community.
Abby and I went back to check out the trains after dinner, and distant rain brought about a stellar double rainbow in the background!
It was especially fun to see all of the other trains that day—such a variety of materials, themes, and inspirations:
 

All trains can be seen at the Chamber of Commerce in Waunakee, WI from now until mid-September, 2017. They will be auctioned off at Wauktoberfest this fall.