Create. Caffeinate. Celebrate.

The July CreativeMornings Santa Fe gathering brought more than 70 attendees together at the Center for Contemporary Arts (CCA) for a morning brimming with connection, coffee, and powerful conversation. Guests mingled over coffee from CrashMurderBusiness and breakfast treats from Chocolate Maven, filling the gallery with an energetic, friendly buzz.

Before her talk, speaker Ash Steele, artist, educator, and founder of Obtain Creative, kicked things off with a lively icebreaker that quickly set the tone for the morning. Attendees paired up to share:

• A quick tip or skill they’ve learned,
• A life-shaping lesson, or
• The best social rule they’ve ever learned.

The exercise was so engaging that it was hard to bring the room back together.

In her talk, Mentorship in the Margins, Ash shared her personal journey from an unconventional childhood to red carpet interviews in Los Angeles, leadership roles in tech startups, and ultimately founding her own creative agency. Through deeply personal stories — including lessons from her late mother, formative experiences with her first professional mentor, and reflections from her current team — Ash reframed mentorship as a circle rather than a ladder. She reminded us that we are always both a learner and a teacher, and that mentorship can be a form of social power that builds communities rather than controls them.

The Q&A sparked thoughtful dialogue about how mentorship can be inclusive, reciprocal, and transformative. To close, Ash offered a giveaway of a free consultation with Obtain Creative, which went home with Lauren Hardage of Albuquerque.

This was our third event in our new home at CCA, and the space continues to shine as a hub for creativity and connection. Between the fresh ideas, the generous sharing, and the laughter over coffee, it was a morning that embodied the CreativeMornings spirit — everyone is creative, and everyone is welcome.

What are our events like? CreativeMornings is about community and inspiration. Come for both! Doors open at 8:30am, and we’ll have coffee, and a light breakfast ready for you. Coffee time is great for meeting the other CreativeMornings attendees. The talk will start at 8:55 followed by Q&A. We like giving hugs and high-fives.Check out our Flickr albums to catch the vibe… or come see for yourself at our next event!

No one is born with all the knowledge and skills they’ll need to thrive in life. That’s why kids go to school. But we shouldn’t stop learning once we graduate. We need to find new teachers.

A mentor doesn’t have to be an expert or the top of their field. Just someone who’s been there and done that before. Someone to show you the way and offer a bit of advice and encouragement. Ideally, they’re willing to make introductions and mention your name when you’re not in the room.

Being a mentor is considered a way of giving back. But mentors get just as much out of the relationship, if not more. Beyond the satisfaction of helping, mentors also learn from their mentees. From a fresh way of looking at established practices to tackling new problems with a beginner’s mind.

So, ask for help. We all could use a guide as we climb. Find your mentors and be a mentor in return. Your plans for growth are more likely to succeed if they include lifting others up as you rise.Our theme for July was chosen by our Glasgow chapter in Scotland, illustrated by Molly Hankinson, and is presented by Adobe.  

In June, we cranked up the volume with the global theme of PUNK, exploring the spirit of creative rebellion, authenticity, and nonconformity. Our featured speaker, Bud “Wizzo” Weeks—tattoo artist, podcast host, and unapologetic Star Wars nerd—shared his take on what it really means to be punk: showing up as yourself, pushing against the norm, and creating without permission.

The morning was full of wild energy and rebellious joy—complete with pizza for breakfast, temporary tattoos, and yes… even a Stormtrooper made an appearance. Attendees came dressed in their most punked-out looks, fists flew in the air for our “OI!” icebreaker, and the room buzzed with bold ideas and big-hearted community.

Scroll through the photos below to relive the moment—and remember: Your creativity is rebellion.

Our theme for June is PUNK. It was chosen by our Bologna chapter in Italy and illustrated by Cristina Portolano. 

🎸The description for this month’s theme is written in the style of lyrics to a punk rock song. If you know a band that wants to put them to music, we’ll feature their cover song of our punk rock anthem on the CreativeMornings blog and social. 🎵

Does the system feel broken 

Staring at our screens

Not hearing the screams

Wake up wake up wake up

We’re not meant to go it alone 

Find your people lift them up

Do what you can with what you got

Wake up wake up wake up

Your creativity can save you

What you gonna make

What you gonna change

Wake up wake up wake up
🎸🎵🧷

April Cleveland, Artistic and Executive Director of The Exodus Ensemble, lit up the room on May 16th with a powerful and deeply personal talk. She drew a vivid line between her ten-year-old, theater-obsessed self and the visionary artist she is today—an artist who helped land Exodus on the cover of American Theatre Magazine. “I am looking for transcendence,” she told us. “Boredom is too commonplace in theater today.”

April shared how she and her ensemble are rewriting the rules, crafting immersive performances that challenge convention while welcoming audiences into bold, intimate experiences. It’s theater as you’ve never felt it before—radical, up close, and alive.

April doesn’t just make art—she demands something from it. And her story challenged us to do the same: to remember our childhood passions, dive headfirst into our obsessions, and keep the flame of creativity burning. Step into your own revival. Know yourself. Renew yourself. Huge thanks to April and the Exodus Ensemble for sharing their unforgettable authenticity and creative fire with us!

We also opened the floor to our community for :30 Second Pitches and wow did you deliver! Special thanks to Baked & Brew and CrashMurderBusiness for the fabulous breakfast spread and to all of our amazing partners who make our events so great.

What is the event like? CreativeMornings is about community and inspiration. Come for both! Doors open at 8:30am, and we’ll have coffee, and a light breakfast ready for you. Coffee time is great for meeting the other CreativeMornings attendees. The talk will start at 8:55 followed by Q&A. We like giving hugs and high-fives.Check out our Flickr albums to catch the vibe… or come see for yourself at our next event!

Our theme for May is REVIVAL. It was chosen by our Fort Worth chapter in Texas and illustrated by Mariell Guzman.

“Everything old is new again” sums up the revivals that bubble up throughout culture. Clothing styles, art movements, and all kinds of things come back into fashion decades after their original popularity waned. It’s a useful paradigm. Take something old, dust it off, and adapt it to suit the present moment. 

But are there really no original ideas left? Has everything been done? Does it matter? New context adds new meaning. You can recycle whatever you want, just make it your own. Lots of things from the past are worth saving from obscurity. 

What we need is a few more revivals. 

A revival of empathy and understanding. 

Kindness and caring.

A revival of handwritten notes and holding open doors for strangers. 

Let’s pursue hobbies and join clubs instead of optimizing and monetizing every hour. 

Bring back boredom and curiosity. 

It’s time for a revival of the golden rule. 

It’s up to you to distill the best of the past and create a better future.

This month marks a full year since our official chapter relaunch!

Join us on April 18th! We’ll have cake, fun surprises, and plenty of gratitude for everyone who has made this first year so special. Don’t miss this chance to celebrate with us and be prepared to share something for us to celebrate about you!

Our theme for April is CROSSROADS. It was chosen by our Wroclaw chapter in Poland, illustrated by Joanna Gniady, and is presented by Adobe. 

We all reach turning points in life that change the course of our destiny. Should you break up or give your relationship another chance? Accept that job offer or strike out on your own? 

What’s the best way to go? Continue straight ahead? Or turn left? When you’re faced with a crucial decision, there’s no map that shows where the consequences lead. And sometimes, you only recognize a crossroads when you see it in the rearview mirror. 

No wonder that in folklore and mythology, crossroads represent a gateway between our mortal coil and the supernatural realm. An in-between place of transition, where worlds collide, and anything can happen next. 

Legend has it that the greatest blues guitarist in the world, Robert Johnson, met the devil at the crossroads of two dirt roads at midnight and struck a bargain to trade his everlasting soul for masterful skill. But there was no deal with the devil. In reality, he practiced like hell.

So, how do you decide which way to go next? Just pick what feels right. Because there’s no wrong choice. Only different journeys to where you’re meant to be.

Our theme for March is PARALLEL. It was chosen by our Kuala Lumpur chapter in Malaysia and illustrated by OLI.

Like train tracks receding into the distance, our lives eventually reach the end of the line. And for a large part of our journey, most people tend to live parallel lives. We go to school, hang out with friends, get jobs, and take care of our families.

Just look out the window at the home or office across the street. We exist side by side with strangers. Always keeping the same distance of anonymity between us – even though we have so much in common. All of us are trying to build a better life for ourselves and our loved ones.

Of course, we are not carbon copies. The differences make our lives our own. Her black coffee. His energy drink. Their chamomile tea. So, we may never see eye to eye. After all, mathematics proves that parallel lines never meet.

But unlike those train tracks, our paths don’t run in straight lines. We can meet someone new at every turn. Look someone in the eye and smile. Reach across that gap between us and make a connection.

We may be living parallel lives. But we don’t have to go through them alone.

Our theme for February is LAYERS. It was chosen by our Lausanne chapter in Switzerland and illustrated by Catherine Olivia Pearson.

Simplicity provides clarity, but layers give our work a richer complexity and depth. 

Musicians fuse melodies, harmonies, and rhythms to create more dynamic compositions. While other artists use a juxtaposition of colors, textures, images or materials for greater visual impact. The creative magic happens when those choices conjure different interpretations and emotions. 

Because people have layers too. Just like a collage is created by overlapping layers of found materials, we pile up experiences that form our beliefs and reactions. 

The cliché “beauty is only skin deep” means that a pleasant appearance does not guarantee a virtuous character. We are a mess of competing emotions and personality traits. So how we act to the outside world doesn’t always reflect how we feel inside. We make polite chit chat when it takes vulnerable conversations to form meaningful connections. 

Surface level pleasantries and superficial decoration have their place. But it is the layers that give life meaning. We must peel them away to discover our deeper truths.