I have a Patreon-only blog where I share all of my thoughts and in-depth explorations about the complex link between mental health and art. I try to share three posts per week and… Read More
Dressember is a movement to fight human trafficking. Each December, teams come together to raise money for the cause. They do so by committing to wearing a dress or tie every day of the mon… Read More
I was immediately curious when I found out that author Joanna J. Charnas had come out with a new book: A Movie Lover’s Search for Romance. I had reviewed her book about chronic illnes… Read More
When the libraries here closed back in March (and still haven’t really re-opened) my mom sent me a bunch of books from her personal library to satisfy my reading itch. I’ve been… Read More
This morning I was browsing around on Instagram and saw an ad for a Masterclass to learn how to become a reader for screenplays. I have previously researched how to become a reader for publ… Read More
Heather Gordon, Cat Brooks, Livia Demarchi in Low Hanging Fruit. Photo credit: Mario Parnell Photography
Intro: A Compelling Play
One of the things that I miss the most during the restricti… Read More
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash
I have intended to get back to posting here regularly for quite some time. I haven’t done that for myriad reasons but a lot of things have inspired m… Read More
There’s about to be a flamenco performance at the newly-renovated Presidio Theatre here in San Francisco. The performance looks powerful. The group performing it looks fascinating. And… Read More
This is a post about the intersection of writing, crafting, and depression in my life. It originally appeared on the Sibel Hodge blog as a guest post. It was intended to promote my then-new… Read More
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
My favorite feeling in the entire world is inspiration.
I love to be in love. I’m thrilled during days when I feel excitement. And I’ve even been… Read More
This was originally a guest post on the website Whip Up. I wrote it to promote my then-new book, Crochet Saved My Life. That was back in 2012. Since that post is no longer up on the original… Read More
I recently read the book Videocracy. There was so much rich stuff in there about collaboration. Here are some of the things I learned and thoughts I had while reading this book.
Videocracy:… Read More
A portion of the interview about this creative duo was originally published in Happily Hooked digital magazine.
Orange Barrel Industries is the collaborative art business of creative… Read More
This post originally appeared in 2007 on my old blog: Real Words for a Real Writer. It’s about my brief but memorable experience as a literacy volunteer.
When I was about eighteen, I s… Read More
The Artist as Culture Producer: Living and Sustaining a Creative Life is an essay collection edited by Sharon Louden in an effort to combat the stereotype that artists are working in studio… Read More
100 Years: Wisdom From Famous Writers on Every Year of Your Life is a book that has short quotations about every year of life from birth through age 100.
I flipped through it a few time… Read More
I’m continuing to dig through the archives of the old, sadly deleted, version of this blog. In doing so, I came across this musician interview with Heather Schmid.
She’s a global… Read More
Memoir quotes are often my favorite quotes. I really love reading memoirs. There is something so special about individual stories. In a memoir, the deeply personal becomes universal. We… Read More
This post is about two therapist memoir books. I originally published this as two separate posts, which I’ve combined and updated here.
The therapist memoir The Unsayable: The Hid… Read More
This is a book review of a dementia memoir. I originally published this review here on the blog in 2014. As I update what was lost in my blog transition, I found that I wanted to share this… Read More
Just Girls is a young adult LGBTQ novel that stands out to me as innovative and aware. Simultaneously, it touches on the topics that affect many teenagers as they enter the college scen… Read More
Did you know that there are some great books about walking? Walking is so powerful, yet people often overlook its value. Personally, I walk every day.
I went car-free when I moved to San Fra… Read More
This book review of the Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer is from the archives. I originally published in April 2015. I lost my posts for this site in an update problem and am slowly restoring… Read More
On January 1st, I read The Battle of Junk Mountain. I read 82 books last year, but I realized that very few of them were fiction. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that. I love non… Read More
Ellen Schinderman is a self-taught thread artist based in Hollywood, California. She doesn’t focus on the labels of being a “feminist artist” or a “fiber artist&rdquo&hell…Read More
Needle felting artist Weijue Wang is an emerging Chinese feminist artist. She was born an only female child to a family in China. Now she lives in San Francisco. Weijue is navigating differe… Read More
Photographer Danielle da Silva is a multi-lingual, multi-disciplinary artist and activist. Her art includes writing, photography, and filmmaking. Moreover, she is a public speaker, the… Read More
Whitney Turetzky is a self-taught visual artist whose mixed media work combines vintage photography, textiles and other ephemera with color block painting. Her pieces evoke powerful emotiona… Read More
Ms. Muse is a San Francisco artist who works in the unique mediums of Japanese Sumi ink and honey-based watercolor. She uses these mediums to paint “unapologetically girly” women… Read More
This interview was first published by Fempotential in early 2017. Since then I’ve had the opportunity to work with these great women in a number of ways. I’m thrilled to re-share… Read More
Michelle Anais Beaulieu-Morgan is a queer embroidery artist whose graduate studies emphasize visual and material culture. She is a mother in New Haven, Connecticut. In this beautiful intervi… Read More
Eva Lake is a multi-media artist who began making punk art zines and installations in the 1970s. She has been exhibiting her work in various forums for more than 30 years. Over the years she… Read More
Marley Myles, better known as Miss Marley, is a self-taught artist from New South Wales, Australia. Her work is inspired by fairy tales, mythology, and symbolism. She works across different… Read More
Maria Arseniuk is a Canadian artist who works at the intersection of feminism and fiber art. She sells her work under the name Femmebroidery. Maria was a Women’s Studies major. She beg… Read More
Meghan Bogden Shimek is a fiber artist and weaver. She uses textiles to explore themes of loss, discomfort, and healing. Her training is in traditional tapestry and Navajo weaving tech… Read More
Jasmin Singer is a vegan, lesbian, animal rights activist and author whose 2016 memoir Always Too Much and Never Enough shares her story of weight gain and loss on the path to understan… Read More
Celia Bernardo is the founder of CeliaB, a Spanish fashion brand that she created after spending a decade working with large brand names in fashion. She loves to travel and collects textile… Read More
Brooklyn-based Australian weaving artist Maryanne Moodie combines her innovative work in textile design with teaching fiber art workshops, curating weaving kits for beginners and autho… Read More
There is a saying in the rescue dog community that goes, “who rescued who?” My story with Katara isn’t quite like that but the sentiment holds. She has improved my life in… Read More
In 2012, I published a book called Crochet Saved My Life, in which I shared the stories of two dozen women who had used yarncrafting to heal and improve the symptoms of a diverse array of m… Read More
Diary of a Smart Chick is a blog that I started years ago. Through a series of web mistakes, the original content was lost, but that gives me the great opportunity to start anew Read More
Over on social media (Facebook particularly) women are sharing the hashtag #metoo if they have ever been impacted by sexual harassment / assault. At first, I wasn’t going to join in… Read More
I originally wrote this article for Rebelle Society, although it is no longer available on their site.
Depression came back. It walked right in through the front door while I was busy guard… Read More
I received a free copy of Real American: A Memoir in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Bold. Powerful. Authentic. Touching. Moving. Raw. Honest.
These are just a few o… Read More
In May 2017, innovative minds are coming together for a 48-hour round-the-clock event to “kickstart social good projects designed to improve our community, society and planet.”… Read More
It’s no secret that I love every show by Kat Robichaud and Misfit Cabaret since I’ve seen every performance they have done at Great Star Theater and always post about… Read More
SOULSKIN Dance has an upcoming San Francisco performance called SATIN & SWING that highlights the best of the 1920s flapper era while drawing connections with the period&rsquo&helli…Read More
Thrillpeddlers in Pearls Over Shanghai – 2009 Orig cast. / photo by Daniel Nicoletta
I remember when I first went to see Thrillpeddlers at The Hypnodrome, I had a tough time dec… Read More
I read some really great books in 2016!! My favorites included Phenomenal, Season of the Witch, The Beautiful Unseen, Big Magic, Cards for Brianna, American Zoo, Always Too Much & Never… Read More
Heather Schmid is a classically trained opera singer who has worked around the globe as not only a singer but also a television host, philanthropist and spokesperson. She recently rel… Read More
I went to a Fringe Festival play the first year that I lived here in San Francisco. I had met a potential date online, on Craigslist because it was used for it back then, and we met for a p… Read More
100 Years: Wisdom From Famous Writers on Every Year of Your Life is a book that has short quotations about every year of life from birth through age 100. I had flipped through it… Read More
I got Katara‘s DNA test down (Wisdom Panel 4.0) out of curiosity as to what it would say. Imagine my surprise when I opened the information packet for my 80+ pound dog and the first th… Read More
Carly Ozard is a cabaret singer originally from the Bay Area who is returning her for a one-night only performance of her new show, MORE SHIFT HAPPENS, on August 18th at Feinstein… Read More
Last week I went to a beautiful performance at The Great Star Theater, my favorite theater, to see Kat Robichaud and the Misfit Cabaret. I loved every moment of the Thursday night Whim… Read More
Compelling. That is the word that keeps coming to mind as I think of Low Hanging Fruit, the play I saw last night at Z Below that tells the stories of so many people through the characters… Read More
Just wanted to share this infographic from http://www.freeshippingcode.com/ showcasing some of the top fashion trends of the past 100 years along with tips for how to incorporate s… Read More
I’m excited to have the opportunity to see and review a play next month, and I thought I’d share a preview with you here from the press release for the event.
Low Hanging Fruit… Read More
I had written this awhile back for guest posting on another blog but it never got posted there so I thought I’d just go ahead and share it here:
Katara is a two-year old Tosa (Ja… Read More
Personal cash management is based upon simple concepts. To establish financial security, over the long term, income must balance with outgoing spending obligations. Operating in the black is… Read More
Today is the first day of a new year. Usually I find it to be a reflective time, a time to look back and assess and look forward and plan. But I was so immersed in today that I didn’t… Read More
Today’s post is a follow-up to my preview of the International Southeast Asian Film Festival. Last night I went to one of the feature films, The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Gnor. It… Read More
The International Southeast Asian Film Festival (I-SEA Film Fest) is happening in San Francisco this weekend (Friday, November 20 – Sunday, November 22) and I was lucky enough to… Read More
There is a good chance that if you know me then I’ve probably flaked out on plans with you. It might be that I just wouldn’t even make plans with you at all, or that I half-made… Read More
A year ago I saw a beautiful circus arts show called In The Tree of Smoke at a newly-reopened historic Chinatown venue called Great Star Theatre. It was a fabulous show and I’ve had m… Read More
Over the years, and especially recently, I’ve been offered the opportunity to participate in several podcast interviews about my work. I did do one of these several years back, when C… Read More
In June I wrote about Riding Full Circle Through Depression, sharing how five years after depression stole my sense of adventure from me I was able to return to a previous desire and go hor… Read More
The last post that I wrote here on this blog was about Riding Full Circle Through Depression with my sister, a post about how I felt, in a way, like I had conquered my own battle with depres… Read More
My sister was here last week to visit with me. It’s always so wonderful to have here. My siblings are my best friends and the only thing I’d change about life in San Francisco i… Read More
Lately I’ve become super interested in the use of animals, especially dogs, in counseling settings. It’s something that I’ve been developing as an interest for awhile and… Read More
One of the book assigned for my Clinical Relationship class this semester was The Unsayable: The Hidden Language of Trauma by Annie Rogers, PhD. I fell in love with the book, reading it… Read More
Every time that I go to the library I come home with dozens of books. I read most of them but there are always a couple that I don’t get to. This time around the two I didn’t rea… Read More
Recently I was at the library and picked up a copy of Tim Manley’s illustrated book Alice in Tumblr-land: And Other Fairy Tales for a New Generation. It’s a quick read and has so… Read More
Here’s the roundup of links to everything I blogged on Diary of a Smart Chick in March: My San Francisco Life Mom’s wonderful visit California Academy of Sciences Walt Disney Mus… Read More