There is no excuse for how long it's taken for me to release the next episode . . . Or maybe there is! (The final revision stage of writing a book is a beast, at least for me in this instance.) Since then, the ideas contained within my book (out in December), have continued to develop and have unfurled into a new cache of inspirations and concepts for upcoming projects and offerings. I'll touch on that a bit in this episode to give a sense of where things are going for me, and what to expect in future episodes.

I started playing with some plastic-wrapped incense sticks around 15 minutes, and it makes weird crunchy noises, so that's what THAT is.

Also, side note: The website and contact info shared in the intro and outro of this episode already needs to be updated. I'll just list all of it here, whether it needed to be updated or not.

Insta: annalise_oatman

Therapist website: https://deeperwelltherapy.com

New racy business: https://www.daemonmusewoman.com

Michael Olivo is a cartoonist, curator, and designer, based in Rutherford, New Jersey. Besides self-publishing and appearing in various anthologies his comics have been published by Fantagraphics, Cold Cube Press, Tiny Splendor, and Sacred Prism. He also runs HARPY, a gallery and art advisory established in 2016, as well as co-owning Eternal Wealth, a design-build business focused on branding and the fabrication of art and interior spaces.

My conversation with Michael was spontaneous, intuitive and real, and left me with a lot of food for thought. I felt welcomed to consider the virtues of contrast, diversity and boldness in new ways, both in terms of the art-making process, and in terms of our experience of ourselves, other people and the world. I especially loved Michael's ideas about what it means to "grow a soul" and how integral a creative practice is to that process.

This week I spoke with artist and author, Sabrina Ward Harrison, the creator of five published art journals and deep, transformational, heartfelt workshops where she teaches her process for allowing visual artwork to flow from tender, honest writing and journaling. We talked about what keeps her vital in her work, and about the ways she assists others with liberating themselves using color and writing. Her new program, Full Color Life, is opening for enrollment this week (as it happens!) so I hope you'll check that out, and I hope you enjoy this week's very special episode and get as much out of the conversation as I did.

Since the very first recording of this podcast came in hot and spontaneous from the realm of inspiration, allow me to give credit where credit is due and elaborate on the purpose of this show, the stuff we'll be talking about, and with whom.