Kate Houlihan

Our global theme for April is PURPOSE. It was chosen by our Indianapolis chapter and illustrated by Jason Ratliff.  

Explore how we’re all reevaluating our purpose in these challenging times with the hashtag #CMpurpose & #CMATX. 

Just as every brand is saying in social media, “we’re all in this together.”

You are here. Being here means you are alive, that you exist, and the mere fact that you exist means you have purpose. “Purpose" does not have to be something grandiose. In fact, it can exist in all sizes and dimensions, separately, or even all at once. Author and coach Martha Beck once wrote, “The ‘track’ of your life’s purpose has a unique character. It often shows up as a sense of joy and lightness in the body […] It may also appear as fascination, a strong desire to pay attention to certain topics or phenomena. More than anything, it’s a sense that what we’re doing is meaningful.” Your purpose is made up of both the literal and the abstract, and its power is unmistakable. Those moments, memories, ideas, and conversations that you find yourself circling back to, with great fondness, make up the fabric of your purpose. What makes you light up inside? What brings you peace? What are the big ideas that bring meaning to your days? And what are the specific details about each of these feelings that you’re drawn to? However big or however small, draw your strength and inspiration from your purpose. Give yourself permission to approach your decisions with your purpose in mind. The more you do things in line with your purpose, the less you’ll default to what you’re conditioned to do. When in doubt, take the steps you need to follow the path of your own joy. This path is your purpose. 

You are here. Being here means you are alive, that you exist, and the mere fact that you exist means you have purpose.

“Purpose" does not have to be something grandiose. In fact, it can exist in all sizes and dimensions, separately, or even all at once.

Author and coach Martha Beck once wrote, “The ‘track’ of your life’s purpose has a unique character. It often shows up as a sense of joy and lightness in the body […] It may also appear as fascination, a strong desire to pay attention to certain topics or phenomena. More than anything, it’s a sense that what we’re doing is meaningful.”

Your purpose is made up of both the literal and the abstract, and its power is unmistakable. Those moments, memories, ideas, and conversations that you find yourself circling back to, with great fondness, make up the fabric of your purpose.

What makes you light up inside? What brings you peace? What are the big ideas that bring meaning to your days? And what are the specific details about each of these feelings that you’re drawn to?

However big or however small, draw your strength and inspiration from your purpose. Give yourself permission to approach your decisions with your purpose in mind. The more you do things in line with your purpose, the less you’ll default to what you’re conditioned to do.

When in doubt, take the steps you need to follow the path of your own joy. This path is your purpose.

If you are a creative professional, who lost their job or freelance income because of the Coronavirus pandemic, we have a resource to help. 

It is an easy and effective way for people who are hiring to find you. 

We call it The Creative Guild, but think it of as the online rolodex for creative people and the companies who love them. 

All you need to do is fill out or update your CreativeMornings profile here. Just be sure to click “For Hire” so you show up in search results:

There are also job openings posted - over 1,700 of them around the world!

If you need to hire someone, this is the easy way to search for creative talent who need work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

You can search individuals by skill set and location here. 

Your business can also create a company profile and post unlimited job openings. 

This global directory of creative companies, professionals, and jobs is a labor of love build by CreativeMornings to put more heart into connecting online.

Black-owned businesses to support in Austin

During the Q&A after Keisha Gillis’ talk on the theme of INVEST, someone asked how our community can find and support black-owned businesses. Keisha followed up to share these small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Go eat at these 15 black-owned restaurants in Austin.

And check out this list compiled by The Connector ATX: 

Bespoke Crochet  

The Brown Book Box 

Jaclor Cleaning 

Libation Station 

Tax Charm 

Krab Kingz Seafood 

Flo Code 

A.B.C. Photography 

Nature’s Hidden Treasures 

Gentrified Series

Poindexter Confections 

Hoover’s Cooking https://www.facebook.com/HooversCookingATX/

She’s Tees 

The Body Bar 

Divine Luxury Bath and Body 

Merida.B Bowties 

Queens Conquer 

Me & The Bees Lemonade 

Wine Sensations 

Melanated Marketplace 

Black Makers Market 

Women Who Werk 

Black Women in Austin 

Black Men in Business 

March’s global theme “IDENTITY” will be discussed by Tony Diaz.

Say thanks to our partner this month: Creative Circle

And cheers to our beverage partners: Rambler Sparkling Water & Cuvée Coffee

Out of an abundance of caution, we will meet *virtually* for the first time ever on Friday 3/13. Details here. 

Please use the hashtags #CMidentity & #CMATX to identify your insights. 

FEBRUARY MUGSHOTS

This month, we had a delightful conversation with Alexis Puchek. :)

Alexis Puchek
Designer. Mentor. Advocate. Leader.

Principal Director – frog
Adjunct Professor – ACC

What about yourself would you like to share with our community?

I’ve been with my wife since 2002; 17+ awesome years. We got married in 2012 and legally married in Texas in 2015; it’s been really interesting to be a part of the conversations and see the equal access we’re getting as queer people. We have one fur baby, the most beautiful cat you’ll ever meet (obvs) – her name is Tilda. She’s a ‘torbie’, a tortoiseshell tabby, that we rescued from Austin Pets Alive.

What inspires your creativity?

At the heart of it, it’s the people I work with. I get to work with really talented people who are inquisitive and thoughtful and intentional: who solve really difficult problems every day. Working in a consultancy, we have to work in different industries with different problems and needs in a finite amount of time, as opposed to working on our own product in and out. It’s really awesome the way that they can dive into the work using their own super powers to solve the problems, not only for the client’s need, but for customers (the end user), creating a solution that really balances the two. Just going to work every day lights me up and inspires me to keep coming back day after day.

I also teach at Austin Community College. I’ve been in this industry for 15+ years, and it’s really inspiring to teach and interact with people at the beginning of their careers who want to solve the problems of the world. I really enjoy being a part of their process and discovery.

How do you express your creativity?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot, and at my core, I am a creative problem solver. So, whether it’s rebuilding a record player or tinkering on our 1930’s house or learning new things to cook or bake – I just love to learn and try new things. My wife and I also love to travel and take in new foods and experiences. I really enjoy getting to figure out our travel plans to maximize fun and food and finding ways to connect with my wife. I geek out through organizational processes ;)I’m also a bird nerd, which basically means, I love birds and birding. It’s been really fun finding ways to build habitats and an environment at our house for the ecosystem here in Austin. Huge celebrations were had when we finally got the Monk Parakeets at our house. Also, becoming a Master Birder through the Travis Audubon Society is definitely on my bucket list. I’m already pretty good at identifying birds by their shape, size, color, and sound and I want to get more adept at that and be able to teach other people to do the same.

Whose work do you most appreciate and why?

I love, love, love the work that Knowbility does. It’s an organization that trains, educates, and evangelizes universal design principles specifically around accessibility. I had the absolute pleasure of working with John Slatin when I was in college – he co-wrote Maximum Accessibility and helped found Knowbility. He really helped me become a designer who doesn’t just think about myself or doesn’t just think about the needs of the client and what they’re telling me what to do or what they think they need to do. He helped me to consider the ways I design to bring access to all users, and how to work with people and not just design for them. It’s something that I’ve evangelized since those first days working with John. I think accessibility is an absolute necessity to the way we create products, services, systems, and solutions. You would think it would be a no brainer, but we all have bias and can internalize and think about solutions for ourselves and people who are similar to us. It’s really important to broaden our perspectives and not just solve problems for individuals, but actually co-create and collaborate with them to create the solutions that best solve their needs and desires.

Our global theme for March is IDENTITY, presented by our new Global Partner Basecamp! It was chosen by our Jakarta chapter and illustrated by Nadya Noor.

What makes you, you?

Your identity is made up of multitudes — the stories you carry, the music you love, the challenges you overcome, the books you read, the communities you’re a part of, and more. But your identity is a colorful blend of not only what you consume or create, but also the questions you ask and what you’re willing to learn.

In her CreativeMornings talk Lucy Bellwood shared, “When we box ourselves too tightly into a single identity or career path, we deprive ourselves of the nutrients necessary to remain connected to the world around us. We are lacking in vitamin curiosity.“

The things that make you unmistakably you are not just the eclectic edges, but the simple pillars, beliefs, and values that you simply can’t shake. What sort of spirit or energy do you bring to a room? How do you show up in the world? What are your pillars?

The most unique care and love you can give to your creative identity is to craft it with your own hands.

February’s global theme “INVEST will be discussed by Keisha Gillis.

Say thanks to our partner this month: Drumroll

Plus, our breakfast partner: Wheatsville Food Co-op

And cheers to our beverage partners: Rambler Sparkling Water & LeverCraft

Hosted at Open House on Friday, 2/21. Details here.

Please use the hashtags #CMinvest & #CMATX to make the conversation compound.

Let’s go on a field trip!
We’ve got three #CMfieldtrips planned for you this Friday 2/7.

WHO ARE YOU? A BIO WORKSHOP @ SPACES
Copywriter and brand builder, Liz Feezor, will help us create impactful, memorable bios that communicate our values, showcase our personalities, and attract the people we want to work with. RSVP

CRAFTING THE PERFECT CHEESE BOARD @ SPREAD & CO.
Making the perfect cheese board is an underrated skill every host needs. Rosemary Ewald of SPREAD & CO. will show us how and she’ll also talk about moooving (we couldn’t help it!) an online business to brick-and-mortar. RSVP

COFFEE ROASTING 101 WITH LEVERCRAFT
Join us at the LeverCraft Airstream at Open House Austin for a coffee lover’s FieldTrip! Eric Mann will give us a coffee primer and show us some roasting basics. His vintage espresso machine collection is worth the trip. RSVP

HUGS & HIGH FIVES TO OUR IN-KIND PARTNERS:

Rambler Sparkling Water & Chameleon Cold-Brew

WANT TO HOST A FIELDTRIP? APPLY HERE.

Want to be one of the first to find out about next month’s FieldTrips? You should subscribe to our newsletter. (Look for the “Austin Newsletter” signup button on the right hand side of the page.)

“HEY, WHAT A MINUTE, WHAT ARE FIELDTRIPS?”

#CMfieldtrips are a monthly series of small group discussions, tours, or workshops held to spread the creative magic happening around Austin. Space is limited to facilitate open conversation and new connections, so you must RSVP via our site to attend. Most of our FieldTrips are free, but we may ask for a suggested donation to cover materials for some of them.

(Each month, we give folks who were on the waitlist of our most recent talk a two-hour head start to register. And then they open up to the rest of our #CMATX community.)

Our global theme for February is INVEST. It was chosen by our Hong Kong chapter and illustrated by Bao Ho. 

Help the conversation compound with the hashtags #CMinvest & #CMATX

Every day we give our time, resources, and energy to the world through our decisions. We might read certain books, join a new community, or pick up a hobby. And whether we acknowledge it or not, every choice we make is an investment either for or against ourselves.

Wise investing requires patience and awareness. It’s an art that combines our knowledge from past experiences with future aspirations to inform where we’ll put our energy and our heart. To live a sustainable creative life requires us to say ‘yes’ to the choices that bring richness into our lives, even when it seems risky.

In the Investment Theory of Creativity psychologist Robert J. Sternberg discovered: “The greatest obstacle to creativity […] is not exactly strictures from others, but rather the limitations one places on one’s own thinking.”

Take this opportunity to diversify your dreams. Convert your doubts into positive currency and bet on yourself. Without a doubt, you’ll see a worthwhile return.

Justin Foster recently spoke about how creativity is the root of our soul and his struggle to identify himself as a creative person. He opened his talk by doing something he had never done before: reading a piece of his creative writing in public. He asked us to share it with y’all, so here it is.

Do You Really Think?
Justin Foster ©2020

Do you really think
all you’re here to do is sit in a pew
or a cubicle zoo?
Lay on the couch?
Drift through life?
Lie to your spouse
About who you really are?
Do you really think
God is found in a place
Other than your heart?
That there’s only one way,
And if you don’t follow it, you’re condemned?
That we’re to follow a book of rules?
Do you really think God thinks we’re fools?
Do you really think
Going to school gives you an education?
That it’s not just indoctrination?
To live someone else’s life
Pay your taxes
Buy shit you don’t need
Paint on a smile
Do you really think
If you thought for yourself,
You’d have the same friends?
Would they reject you, shame you
Talk about you behind their hands?
Call you lost, call you crazy
Because you’re not one of them?
You are here to do something great;
Something important,
something brave.
You are a whole human with a wild soul;
A work of cosmic art.
You are free.
You are no one’s slave.