In this monthly newsletter: getting inspired by your teenage art, Charles Bradley Silent Sunday, Creative Sunday back Sept. 13th!

I’m currently in my childhood home in Northeastern Ohio which is basically an archive of my old art and ideas.

So much can be gleaned from all childhood art, but there is something especially interesting about our teenage years, when we have more agency and identity setting in. While taste and style evolves, so much carries through from that era.

In my teenage years, the creative endeavors no one had to ask me to do or assign to me, and that I would lose myself in were:

• playing guitar

• sewing

• making jewelry

• photography

• fiber arts (see below)

• drawing (see below)

• journaling (eek)

• a brief stint writing poetry (eeeeeeeek x 10000000)

• does incessantly rearranging my room count?

At school, my favorite art elective was “Fiber Arts.” The official program shut down my sophomore year, but the school still had a bunch of the supplies and let me sit off to the side of another class and weave baskets and tapestries.

I found these drawings in an old journal and immediately remembered feeling so relaxed making them:

My mom says sewing was the first activity she saw me get totally immersed in. I always kept it simple, partly because my style only required rectangles and squares sewn together to become clothes. The baggier the better; no zippers or curves allowed.

This shirt style easily evolved into aprons and tote bags later in life.

One of my favorite parts of sewing has always been curating fabrics. It helped having an interior designer mother with a stocked cabinet of samples I could rummage through at will. When I went to San Francisco for the first time when I was 18 years old, top of my list was going to Mendel’s Far-Out Fabrics in the Upper Haight. Fabric stores are still some of my favorite places to be.

Then there’s music.

Music has been foundational in my life since I was born. I started playing the guitar my sophomore year of high school, buying my first guitar from my uncle. My dad also played so I had been surrounded by guitars my whole life. He played so much Bob Dylan when I was growing up that when I heard Dylan on the radio in second grade, I thought someone had stolen my dad’s song.

My friend Melissa and I were a guitar duo in high school. A LOT of the boys I hung out with played too, but their unabashed confidence honestly made it pretty overwhelming for me at times (being a teenage girl playing guitar is a newsletter for another time). I took up banjo for a few years too. My college friend Colin and I took lessons together in Portland. He stuck with it as you can see here with his band Toughcats. I lost interest in the instrument, but it unlocked a whole world of open tuning on the guitar for me.

I have less visual artifacts of my teenage music playing days, but here is a playlist I made called Teenage Guitar of songs I played (or tried to play). It’s full of Bob Dylan, Lenny Kravitz, Ben Harper, Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Sinead O’Connor, Mazzy Star, Tracy Chapman, The Beatles, Bob Marley, Bela Fleck, and an homage to the year I spent trying to accurately learn The Girl from Ipanema. I still love all of these songs.

In my rummaging, I also found this in an old journal, which I assume was a list of things that were important to me:

My list today wouldn’t be that different.

This walk down memory lane reminded me how much I love textiles, nice markers, and making stuff with my hands. It also inspired me to revisit some of my favorite old songs on guitar.

What comes up for you when you reflect on your teenage art?

What did you lose yourself in?

What do you remember making for the first time and thinking, ‘THIS IS IT’?

What did you make because you wanted to, not because it was assigned?

These are clues to your current and future creative self.

Aug 9th Silent (Creative) Sunday

Reminder I will not be hosting a Creative Sunday at Gold Palm in August. Instead we are encouraging everyone to attend Silent Sunday at Bar Shiru, the Bay Area's first hi-fi vinyl listening bar. Silent Sunday is an incredibly relaxing and inspiring experience where no talking is allowed while an album is played in its entirety.

August 9th, is one of my all-time favorites: Charles Bradley’s Changes (2016)

Come read, write, draw, knit, ponder, and take in the music in this acoustically and aesthetically beautiful space. Nothing messy (no paint, markers, etc) or noisy (obviously). 

Silent Sunday is free, open to the general public, and is 21+. No need to buy a ticket.

3:30pm - door open for Creative Sunday attendees
4:000pm - doors open to general public 
4:30pm - album starts

Creative Sundays are back September 13th with Eiko Nishida!

Our next Creative Sunday is Sunday, September 13th @ 2:00-4:30pm. Come work on your projects, tinker with the art supplies I provide, read a book (I bring a bunch to share too), relax, get inspired, and hang out with creative people.

Reserve your spot here!

Our September 13th featured artist, Eiko Nishida, will be offering one-on-one portfolio reviews and “Need New Ideas.” 

Whether you’re considering art school or want feedback on your professional portfolio, Eiko is here to offer guidance. Or simply ask a question you’ve been pondering by yourself—from what’s a menu for dinner to should I move on? Eiko has been doing social practice called “Need New Ideas?” in the East Bay, and on Sunday, September 13th she brings the platform to Creative Sunday.

Eiko is a site-specific installation artist, who has also worked in graphic design and print media. She also facilitates events that inspire dialogue, community connection, and reflective learning, and coaches artists applying to art school—including portfolio reviews. Eiko is currently in Artist in Residency at the Kala Art Institute in Berkeley. You can learn more about Eiko at eikonishida.work and follow her on IG @eiko_cooltiger.

Email me to sign up to talk with Eiko; impromptu spots will likely be available too.

As always, Creative Sundays are self-guided time for you to do what inspires you. It’s consistently one of my favorite days of the month and I can’t wait to be back in September!

Fall Virtual Creativity Workshop Cohort

My next virtual Creative Passion Project Workshops cohort will be September through December!

Cohorts are small (six people max) and meet twice a month to discuss the highs and lows of our creative projects, creativity overall, and get feedback on work-in-progress (yes, everyone shares). It’s accountability, support and inspiration all in one.

Email me if you’re interested in hearing more and joining the waitlist (first dibs go to current workshop participants).

Thank you for reading my newsletter! I enjoyed writing it. If you enjoyed reading it, please share with your creative people. And remember, making art is good for you.

Happy Summer,

Kate