In honor of Mother’s Day I wanted to release this episode early for everyone - not just for my Patreon subscribers. For this episode I was able to sit with my mom and ask her questions about her childhood, her experiences as a mother fostering creativity, what I was like as a kid, and how her participation in Al-Anon has positively effected her relationship to self. I’m so lucky to call her mom. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!

Marching Band Grand Nationals Video 

To Find an Al-Anon Meeting near you 

This week, I’m continuing my conversation with Artist and Researcher Helen Kim. We kick off the episode discussing her research partnership with Dr. Joyce Yip Green. In this art based research project, they seek understanding of the immigration experiences of Korean and Laotian Americans in order to amplify the stories of elderly immigrant populations and examine the mechanisms of silence. We talk about how words alone are often times not a sufficient way to capture true meaning and create a sense of belonging. We examine the expressiveness in silence and how important it is to become aware of love in its various forms.

The Think Farm 

PBS Interview with Ocean Vuong  

This week I spoke with artist, business owner, and researcher Helen Kim. I found our conversation incredibly nourishing and inspiring and with so much to cover, I broke this episode up into two parts. In part one I interweave her 9 minute art video “Go Back To Return Again” within the context of the interview. These are audio vignettes describing conspicuous events from her childhood growing up in Los Angeles. We also get into her accomplishments and set backs as an artist, her desire to tell what she calls “in-between” stories, and her love of connecting people through shared experiences.

Recent Iteration of Helen's Art Video:  Go Back to Return Again

Helen’s Art Portfolio

Helen's Branding Agency:  The Think Farm 

I had a fantastic conversation with organization psychologist, classical pianist, and professor Kristijan Civljak about identity, career changes later in life, and realizations around privilege.  What he brought up that really struck me was when actualizing the self, we can hold culturally dominant and minority identities at the same time. How we are perceived and how we identify can be wildly different, therefore we can experience privilege in certain areas while also seeing the world through a minority perspective.   Such a cool topic and a great conversation!

In this episode I speak with a friend and fellow creative Meygahn Hill of (Wh)orehaus Studios. Meyghan explains her military boarding school background as a midwest girl turned NYC model & actress, the incredible life events that lead to discovering her passion as a welder and designer in Los Angeles, and the dystopian landscape that descended on her studio and home (just as Covid hit) causing her to relocate to Colorado. 

Please visit Meyghan's company at the link below, and if you would like to support the End The Backlog Campaign (or to learn more) follow the link provided below.

(Wh)orehaus Studios  

End The Backlog Campaign 

This week, I'm honored to share the story of Shweta Aggarwal, a British Indian author who is currently writing her memoir “The Black Rose”.  As a six year old child living in India away from her parents, she developed a love for Bollywood films.  Her dreams of dancing in these films were cut short when she was shamed by an aunt for the darker color of her skin.  Shweta shares her first hand experiences with colorism and white supremacy and generously answers questions to help me better understand her experiences.

Anti-Racist Starter Pack

Starter Pack Created by: Tatum Dorrell, Matt Herndon, & Jourdan Dorrell

In this episode I chat with Lorri Barone. She has been accessing her creative core throughout this pandemic as she and her team secure life saving personal protective equipment (PPE) for front line workers in Oregon. We discuss the joys of coming together, the scam artists, the difficulties of leading as a woman in a male-dominated industry, and the consequences of implicit bias and racial inequities in professional settings. 

In this episode,  fashion designer and non-profit founder Ripley Rader and I discuss the importance of listening to the yes's to understand your unique offerings, how she identified a crisis of confidence among young women at an early age and how she is taking action to fight it, and how perfectionism has no place in the creative process.

In this episode, professional counselor Tessa Beukema (LCPC) and I discuss the importance of imagination when starting a new and challenging project, the pros and cons of instagram as it relates to self-diagnosing, and how using metaphor in therapy just hits different for clients.  Lots to unpack!

In this episode,  preschool owner and teacher Gisa Nico and I talk about the difficulties of keeping young kids engaged in distance learning, how failure is essential to growing your brain, and how books are a great starting point for difficult conversations. This chat helped me understand the ways in which the Covid-19 pandemic called on educators and parents to tap into their creative core.  You can access the Butterfly Garden Preschool YouTube Channel here to find the read alongs we talk about in the episode,  some Montessori tips and tricks, and other resources.