Rebloom: A Talk about Creative Courage
I didn’t set out to become “the kindness token lady” or the woman with a birdhouse of handmade gratitude outside her home. I set out to survive—then to notice—then to practice. And somewhere along the way, that practice turned me back into an artist.
Today, a conversation I’ve long hoped for is out in the world. I joined Lori Siebert and Jamie Jamison on the ReBloom Podcast—the show that kept me company on hill climbs and long walks while I rebuilt my life in slow, analog ways.
Here’s the backstory and why this episode matters.
At 19, I sat in front of a panel of celebrated creatives who flipped through my portfolio and told me I had no originality. I went home, packed up my brushes, and let someone else’s certainty become my silence.
It took decades—and a toddler’s paint-slicked belly laugh on our hardwood floor—to return me to making. On August 2, 2024, I did something small but seismic: I said out loud, “I am an artist.”
Not because I’d earned a credential or hit a follower count, but because the work I was doing—quiet, consistent, and wildly human—finally felt like mine.
What we talk about in the episode
Swimming against the current in Silicon Valley: choosing presence over hustle, conversation over content.
The RIPPLE Practice™ (Reflect → Identify → Play → Personalize → Let go → Embrace): a simple way to begin, keep going, and—crucially—give it away.
From privacy to visibility: how years of hiding turned into a public, permission-giving practice.
Little tokens, big ripples: why a handmade card handed to a barista can shift a day (and sometimes a life).
Parenting as repair: refusing to pass down what hurt me; building a home where creativity is normal and kindness is active.
Redefining success: impact as an emotional signature, not a metric.
Lori said our conversation felt special. Jamie told me she had goosebumps. I think it landed because we didn’t decorate the hard parts—we went through them.
If you’ve ever been told you’re “not original,” “too much,” or “not enough,” this one’s for you.
It’s not a tidy pivot story. It’s a trail of small choices: closing the apps, picking up paint, handing a stranger a thank-you, and letting that gesture teach you who you are.
PS: What I’m still smiling about
After eighteen months of being a listener, I got to sit inside the ReBloom conversation—one that celebrates people who rebuild life against the grain. I never expected to be one of them. But here we are: less performance, more participation. Less content, more connection.
Come listen and tell me what stirred for you. Then go make a ripple.
