my minimalist self portrait It’s my ten year anniversary of being diagnosed (ironically in October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month), with a Stage 3 breast cancer. Since then I’ve had more than 20 related surgeries and have lost my mom to a double whammy of colon and breast cancer. I don’t have many photos of myself from that time period, though there’s a scarf-clad me popping up in a slide during my TEDx talk, in which I discuss the healing effect of collaborative creativity.

Today is Vincent Van Gogh‘s birthday…and there are so many thoughts going through my head. Perhaps the most spot on thing I’ve ever learned from him is the concept of “active melancholy” – yes, that is what he called it and it’s just perfect to describe the sort of creative frenzy one can go into while one is in a very dark place. My most creative moments have been in these times and I’m sure I’ll have many more. It’s a mixed blessing, of course. Given that Vincent wrote so m

As some of you know, I was diagnosed with a pretty aggressive breast cancer when I was 35 and my daughter was just turning two. I went through multiple surgeries, chemo, radiation, (the usual) only to emerge and have my mother diagnosed with both breast and colon cancer, to which she eventually succumbed. (I talk about my experience and how creativity in particular got me through it in my TEDx talk). I was fortunate in many ways and of course still revel in the fact I’m alive

The other day was Henry Miller’s birthday, so I did my usual #threethirtysketchquote and drew him to post on my various social media accounts (it’s very therapeutic). These were the ones I chose… Great quotes, but come New Year’s Day I was perusing the Internet for some quotes on creativity (for yet another project) and lo and behold I chanced upon this nugget: “Paint what you want and die happy” I decided immediately that could apply to so many things in life, and I’d have t