Let's begin with unraveling

or, welcome to this blog/newsletter

We begin with unraveling because the tangles within are what can distance us from a healthy, happy, creative life. Yet paradoxically, those tangles are the things that can give us substance, that inform our voices—they give us something to say. Without creative paradox, we would not have the creative vision, voice, insight and gifts that we currently have.

Who on earth am I? I’m Callie. I create things. I’m a writer: I turn words into novels and essays. An artist: I spin plants and pigments into art. A musician (at least, sometimes): I sound harp strings into music.

I’ve devoted myself to creativity: the beautiful, maddening, mystifying, joyous and occasionally out-and-out BONKERS world of creative expression.

(For the astrology geeks: Leo Sun • Gemini Moon • Libra Rising)

What the heck is this newsletter? I’m curious about the creative experience. How we “do” our creativity. I think maybe, if we talk about it, or at least if I talk about it, the hard parts and the sticky parts and the really amazing crying with joy parts, ALL THE PARTS, maybe I can somehow help you (and me) figure out this whole “living a creative life” thing.

Or at least I can hopefully entertain you for a few minutes.

What if… instead of talking about how to make money, or opt-in pages, or follower counts, we talked to each other about…the hard, blissful, messy tangle that is living a creative life? What if we let go of being our brands and let ourselves be about our humanity—the thing that makes this whole creativity gig possible?

Is there also a bit about spirituality? Yup, and all paths are welcome here. I don’t necessarily intend this to be “about” spirituality. But for me, creativity and spirit are inextricably linked, so I’ll be talking about it. My perspective is spiritual-but-not-religious; I love sacred sites, but am even more convinced that you’ll find all the spirit you need in the earth beneath your feet, right here.

TL;DR: If you’re into this perspective, cool, if not, also cool.

Welcome. Let’s do this thing.

“All that is tangled will be unravelled,” from St. Brigid’s well at Liscannor. I took this four years ago and just discovered it in my photos…months after I had decided on the name for this publication.