This was a fun coversation from a personal perspective, because I went to high school with Jackie Reeves, a painter who also does collage, installations, film, and animations.

Jackie grew up making art and exudes a lovely sense of calm confidence not only in her talent, but also in her choices to make art as child, teen, and adult. She has faith in her drawing hand, her painting hand. I did envy that a little, and I told her so. Did I follow through the right pigeonhole?

My mother, as she has listened to these conversations over time, has noticed when artists have grown up in families who've supported, or at least understood, artistic practice versus when they did not. It's in no sense a requirement, but may be a factor that influences the effort to invest in that practice.

We connected on the work one does for oneself compared to commercial work to meet the design needs of clients. Figuring out what we want to share from our own voice can be tricky. Jackie asks the question - beyond skill, what do we choose to create and why? It's not about knowing how, but knowing what.

Jackie shares that when she looks over her body of work, it's about claiming space, and female identity more broadly, of building up and breaking down. It's your "own past flooding in through you." And then we can let it be what it is. Let it sit and cook for a while.

For those really attentive to detail, near the beginning of our conversation Jackie refers to university and "CEGEP." In case you wondered, that's the Québec equivalent of junior college.

Check out @jackiereevesart on instagram and jackiereeves.com to learn more about her work.

I had the opportunity to speak with Laura Tafe about her collage work, which I find bright and bold. She also works as a pathologist and has been able to reintegrate artistic practice into her life as an adult, with a spirit of intentionality and a desire to express different aspects of herself, both to herself and to others.

Laura talks about the role of art, creativity, and self-expression in her leading a fully realized life. Paper - through its textures as well as acts of cutting out pieces - is her preferred medium for showing physical bodies and parts in motion and expressing a range of emotions.

She shows courage not only in putting her work out in the world, but in exploring language for speaking about what her practice and pieces might mean, as she builds communities with others.

When you have a chance, go take a look through Laura's work on instagram @imogene.awe

This is my second conversation with Stefan Lorenzutti, a poet who runs the independent press Bored Wolves in collaboration with his partner Joanna Osiewicz-Lorenzutti.

Stefan and I were messaging a few months back and he shared that it had been a challenging year, and how responses from when we last talked would no longer be quite the same.

So in a way we talked about many of the same big picture questions, but this time with a focus on what it means to publish 50 books in 50 months; interacting with respect, trust, grace, and forgiveness; and appreciation of the details and stories behind process.

To learn more about Stefan and his journeys through poetry and publishing, check out episode 83 of this podcast as well as boredwolves.com and @boredwolves on instagram.

One might think that by my fifth year of doing this podcast, I'd remember to introduce the guest at the beginning of the episode! Sadly, I did not in this case.

So, this is my conversation with Liv Wickedly, a multidimensional artist and creative who loves jumping in to try new things, a woman after my own heart.

We talk about art as intentional self-expression, through whatever medium feels right, which has personal value regardless of how it may be 'liked.' Reaction and feedback from others, however it may align with your own feelings and intentions, are always better than ambivalence.

And we talk about vulnerability as raw or tender moments of being seen, or even seeing oneself, when we aren't feeling so certain or clear about what we're sharing of ourselves.

To learn more about Liv and her work, you can explore livwickedly.com as well as her profile on instagram @livwickedly

For more information about the Gene Keys, you can listen to episodes 115 and 117, my conversations with Elijah Parker, or visit genekeys.com

And check out Babe Philosophy, the podcast Liv hosts with best friend Meli Wolf, which is 'a podcast where questions matter more than answers, where liminal spaces are revered, and where magic is practical.'

In this episode, I talk about what surfing means to me. It's a challenge on many different levels. Most importantly, it is teaching me what the real challenge is, in my relationship to the ocean, control, and lessons still to learn.

Be sure to check out the book Nature of Surf Women @nature_of_surfwomen written by Ivana Bajic @ivanabajic with photography by Gabriela Tellez and audio recordings by Martyn Stewart. I also highly recommend the podcast of the same name.

And if you find yourself in LA and want to learn to surf, you can get in touch with Heather Alley of Soul Surf Sessions @soulsurfsessionsla

This is my first episode - and probably my first conversation ever - with an action actor (which is today's term for the profession I would've referred to as stuntman). Jon Schmidt fell into the work after time in the Peace Corps and then completing his MBA, when the job overseas that he had accepted fell through.

Jon explains how in the beginning of his career, he worried that saying no to a role might mean he'd never work again. I connected with that, though I work in a completely different field. Overpromising on performance is actually the greater risk; learning to undersell (or at least, promise from a realistic perspective) leads to trust, more opportunity, and a stronger network.

He also shares some of his insights into education, writing, and AI - again, points that fall close to home for me as a learning designer and writer.

And then in the final moments of our conversation, we talk about about the purpose in making yourself vulnerable, throwing yourself out into the world in front of others, and giving something your all. Are you striving for failure or for success?

I'll leave you with a question. What's your no-go fly zone? I don't know why, but that image really caught at my heart as a metaphor for discovering and accepting our limits, of any kind. Because it's doesn't always have to be about pushing beyond limits; sometimes, it's about working creatively within them.

You can follow Jon Schmidt on instagram @thejingleheimer and check out his past work on IMDB at https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6869567/

Amy Horowitz is a freelance photographer based in New York City who takes portraits of young adults in and around Washington Square Park, looking for the softness under the shell and documenting today's generation in tumultuous times, in moments of connection. Here's the core message of her work - and I really like how she says it:

I was brought up in a different way...but people are how they are...we're all the same.

The message is deceptively simple of course. Her photographs, on the other hand, tell deep stories about people, identities, self-expression, and navigating turbulent times. Because life is messy sometimes.

You can learn more about Amy and her work at amyhorowitzphotography.com and on instagram @dont_smile_nyc.

And be sure to check out her book, which you can find by searching for "Walk in the Park? Amy Horowitz"

This is another one of those odd duck little episodes. I pulled a snippet out of my conversation with Tim Tamashiro where he walked me through the process of identifying my ikigai. I felt a bit awkward when I became the subject of our discussion, and that feeling encouraged me to look more closely at what we talked about.

So, there are two parts to this episode. First, Tim is helping me figure out my ikigai. And then the follow up is my reflection on where we landed and where I might go from there.

If you're curious, give this process a try. Exploring your ikigai is a way of articulating who you are and what matters to you most. Ask yourself these four questions: what do you love to do, what are you good at, what does the world need, and how do you want to be rewarded? If you want more detail on the process, you can watch Tim's TEDx talk about ikigai on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk-PcJS2QaU .

And please note, the Canadian guitarist whose name I couldn't remember is Donna Grantis, who played with Prince in his band 3rdeyegirl.

Tim Tamashiro is a speaker, singer, radio and podcast host, and author of How To Ikigai, a book that helps people discover their ikigai, or life's purpose. His own ikigai is "to delight."

Tim talks about how mental health crises during the covid pandemic led him to therapy and Buddhist practice, the role of manifestation in his life, and his passion for ikigai which is a combination of four factors: what you love to do, what you're good at, what the world needs, and what you can be rewarded for.

The ultimate goal is self-actualization and in the episode that will follow this one, Tim will walk me through the process of uncovering my own ikigai.

Tim has actually written two books about ikigai, How to Ikigai: Lessons for Finding Happiness and Living Your Life's Purpose and Golden Ikigai: Unlock Japanese Secrets to a Life of Purpose and Joy After 50.

You can watch Tim's TEDx talk about ikigai on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk-PcJS2QaU. He hosts Sufferless with a Part-time Monk, a mindfulness and mental wellness podcast that helps people navigate modern life with more peace and purpose, and you can also follow Tim on instagram @timtamashiro

In this episode, I talk about what it means to me to make choices about where to put my time and energy - and really trying to feel into those choices, as well as think logically about pros and cons, so I can open space in my life for doing what matters most to me.