Conventional business wisdom would have me specialize and become known for a certain thing, a recognizable product or style. The lady who makes ____.

Nope. I will not. I will continue to do all the things, and add more when I feel like it. Also, now that I’m 60, I’m done apologizing for it! 😂

At the few craft/art shows I participate in each year, I’ll have about a dozen different things on offer: mosaics, greeting cards, art prints, jewelry, some ceramics maybe, some kind of fabric art. Paintings. My “doodle books.” (I’m sure I’ve forgotten a few categories.)

And guess what always happens? I sell a couple of each. Not a bunch of one thing, because my customers apparently don’t specialize, either. 🥳

So this is how we’re gonna keep doing it.

(It’s also how I forgot to list “mosaics” on the above flyer. 🙃)

Pretty soon I’ll send you photos of specific things I’ll have for sale, but for now you can check out my online shop to get an idea.

I hope you’ll mark your calendar and come say hello! The sale will be in my happy place, my NE Portland backyard studio. Here’s a portrait of her at dawn:

Would you like to invite a friend to our cozy pop-up sale? Please do! The more the merrier.

Can’t wait to offer you a mug of warm cider,-Pam

P.S. Did you mark your calendar yet? Saturday, Dec. 6th from 11:00 am - 4:00 pm. See you then!

Your vote is not a Valentine; you aren’t confessing your love for the candidate.It’s a chess move for the world you want to live in.— Rebecca Solnit

Dear Braveling,

Are you also losing sleep over the upcoming election? Last night was rough 😵‍💫, but it strengthened my resolve to record today’s podcast episode. In it, I share three stories that illustrate both the importance of this presidential election, and why I’m voting for Kamala Harris.

The stories I tell are about:

* An innocent question from a South American high school student in 2017 that stopped me in my tracks;

* A 1963 pregnancy gone very much awry;

* A news clip I heard last week, and how it relates to the way I teach drawing.

The episode is a 20-minute listen. Afterwards, I’d love to hear your thoughts, and even engage respectfully with those who might take issue with my comments.

If you’ve been lulled into wondering Why all the drama around democracy this year? or Why do people take Trump’s words so seriously? He doesn’t really mean it! then I especially encourage you to have a listen.

Most importantly, my fellow Americans, please vote! ✅

Tuesday, November 5th is right around the corner. Make your plan, so it doesn’t sneak past you unawares. (Note to inexperienced voters: It’s not like the SAT test where you get dinged for leaving answers blank. You’re allowed to only mark your choices for the things and people you feel informed or care about, and turn in an incomplete ballot.)

Let’s keep shaping this country we call home into a place where we are free to be our truest selves, to hold our leaders accountable, and to co-create a healthier future for generations to come.

In solidarity and love,Pam

Lots happening around town and online in the coming weeks:

👉🏽 I’ll be dancing and singing (tho not at the same time) in a flamenco show on Saturday, November 2nd at 7 pm, in SE Portland. It’s a free event and I’d love to see you there! Click here for more info.

👉🏽 Our next monthly Doodle Your Way Out of Stuckness workshop is Sunday, November 10th from 12:30 - 2:30 at Cafe Eleven. Veterans attend for free this month, and there’s also a discount when you sign up for either two workshops or two people. Click here for info and registration.

👉🏽 On Sunday, November 10th from 5:30 - 9-ish pm I’ll be hosting a traveling storyteller from New Hampshire in my studio. Will we be celebrating or mourning the recently-held election?? Either way, coming together to share food & drink and hear stories of our shared humanity will be medicine. Mark your calendars now! Potluck supper to kick off the evening 🥘; potential dance party to close. 🎶🕺🏼

👉🏽 My new book is coming soon! Save 💰 when you pre-order your copies of Dear Beautiful Human, a gentle guide for stepping deeper into that precious life of yours. Like its predecessor, I’ve been lovingly hand-writing and drawing Dear Beautiful Human, leaving lots of space for you to add your own notes and doodles. The trust-me-you’re-gonna-love-it pricing 😉 expires after Sunday, November 17th. Pre-order yours today! (I expect to ship the books to you in early December.)

So, I brought back the podcast. 🎧🙌🏽 Not only that, I recorded today’s episode and then did not listen to it before publishing it. 😬 I thought I might chicken out if I did.

Why? Well, in it I get personal. And political. Growing up is today’s theme, as in how do we take responsibility for our lives, both as individuals and as citizens? Then, because bravely creating together is what we do, I closed with what being a grown-up looks like in terms of our creative paths.

Scroll back up top and have a listen, then let me know what comes up for you in the comments. The podcast is also available on Spotify.

With love and so much compassion for wherever you are in your journey, because I’ve probably been somewhere similar,-Pam

P.S. To quickly double-check your voter registration status, click here.

P.P.S. There are a few spots remaining in this 3-week drawing class that starts on October 2nd. Why not share this flyer with a friend and sign up together? Yes, you are qualified. 😉

Today’s episode of the Making Soul Podcast will not interest you if you’ve clicked into the track of your life and everything just goes swimmingly as planned. Such a person won’t be able to relate to my story.

If you run a creative business and totally know what you’re doing, you can skip this one, too. (Also, who are you??)

However, you may find my words helpful if:😬 you think you’re the only one who gets muddled and overwhelmed;😬 you imagine that working for yourself is all rainbows and unicorns;😬 you’re a close follower of my work and have been wondering why I’m off-schedule lately;😬 you have creative aspirations and want a peek inside the brain of someone who has been making a living this way for lots of years.

Yes, today I’m dishing on the stuckish and confused place I’m in right now, which is ironic for a person who literally wrote a book called Doodle Your Way Out of Stuckness. Point taken—I’ll start doodling more. 🤓📖🖍 Also, I’ve enlisted help, and I’ll tell you a bit about that in the episode, too.

Mostly, I aim to be transparent about what creativity-centered living is like, so that you might join me in going deeper into your own precious life. So now scroll back up top and enjoy the 22-minute listen. 🎧

Befuddled, but still making Soul 🤪✨,Pam

P.S. It might be weird to ask for your vote of confidence while describing the professional awkwardness I’m currently experiencing. Still, if you appreciate honesty and have gotten a creative boost from my work (and/or an occasional chuckle or new viewpoint to consider), it would mean a lot to me if you considered upgrading to a paid subscription, if and only if it’s financially feasible for you. And yes, I’m still working out what added benefits will come to those who do, but I think you’ll like it, whatever it ends up being. 😊🙏🏽

Today’s episode, published just after the full “snow moon”, 🌝 is an invitation to see the truth of what is in front of us.

Listen if:

👁 you’re interested in learning to draw ✍🏽👁 you crave a more balanced society ⚖️👁 your feminine spirit ever feels crushed 🔨

Then you get to decide what to shed. What beliefs are no longer serving you?

So go ahead and scroll back up to the top, hit the play button, have a listen, then let me know what you think.

With big love and a life-giving imagination 🤩,Pam

📷 Photos: The images above are some of my drawings of portraits at the Portland Art Museum. In this episode I talk a bit about the class I teach that meets there.

Episode Notes: I refer to and recommend two books in this episode. They are:1. Goddesses In Older Women: Archetypes in Women Over Fifty; [with this awesome second subtitle] Becoming a Juicy Crone, by Jean Shinoda Bolen2. The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future, by Riane Eisler

Fun Fact: Since I’m often recommending books to you, and I like to support indie book stores, I created an affiliate page on Bookshop.org. It currently has three book lists for your perusal, with the headings📚 For Artists and Aspiring Creatives📚 For Unpacking Patriarchy and Racism in the U.S.📚 Soulful, Witchy, and MysticalYes, I will receive maybe a dollar or some cents when you order from my affiliate link, so there’s that. But also, it was a super interesting and fun process to choose the books I most wanted you to know about, and to organize them into lists. My one rule for myself is that I have to have finished the book before I can add it to a list. (So The Chalice & the Blade is not there yet. I’m only 50 pages in.)Did You Know? Hey, did you know that you can listen to the Making Soul Podcast, and its predecessor, the Accidental Muralist Podcast, both on Apple Podcasts? It’s true! (I tried putting Making Soul on Spotify, but reached a dead end. Maybe someday…)

Did you also know that YOU could start a podcast, for free, without investing in fancy recording devices or knowing how to start a podcast, but simply because you have a yearning to share something with others? I can attest that this is also true. ✨

I spent a few decades playing the “I’m not creative” game myself, but now that gig is up.

Enter: Episode 2 of the Making Soul Podcast

Note: If you are determined to stay stuck in your false “uncreativehood”, then you will NOT want to listen to today’s episode of the Making Soul Podcast. That’s because in it, I offer some words of encouragement that I give to my art students on the first (and sometimes, every subsequent) day of class.

I also dream aloud about how inspiring and constructive a place our world could be if we each just harnessed one or two percent more of our capacity for imagination. Think of the problems we could solve! Imagine the beauty we could create!

But again, DON’T LISTEN if you’re happy staying stuck in your rut. 🫠 The choice is entirely up to you.

If you’re a brave soul who does decide to listen, I’d love to know how my words and thoughts land with you. 🤔 Do tell in the comments below, or by sending me an email.

With 💖 for our collective creative health,-Pam

It’s that time when thoughts turn to New Years resolutions, but I’m suggesting a different take:

What if you’re already exactly where you need to be?What if your life is full of magic and wonder, and all you need to do is… notice it?

Have a listen, then tell me what your life inventory revealed to you, that you might have forgotten. 🤓✍🏽

In the episode, I mention (and recommend) these books:Four Thousand Weeks, by Oliver BurkemanHow to Do Nothing, by Jenny Odell

You might also appreciate my friend Stephanie’s Substack: What Magic?

Thanks for being here, and for being just the way you are.Here’s to more you-ness in 2024,-Pam