Creativity Archives — EMMpress https://www.emmpress.com/category/creativity/ words and images for mindful humans Fri, 17 Jul 2026 16:11:52 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.4 https://www.emmpress.com/wp-content/uploads/cropped-Screenshot-2026-03-10-at-12.16.43-PM-32x32.png Creativity Archives — EMMpress https://www.emmpress.com/category/creativity/ 32 32 Creative Process: how accidents can become art https://www.emmpress.com/creative-process-accidents-as-art/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=creative-process-accidents-as-art Fri, 17 Jul 2026 11:35:17 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=18902 Bringing the unintentional into light by making art of findings. I enjoy altering standard practices in essay writing, so be warned if you find yourself frustrated while following…

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]]> Covering https://www.emmpress.com/covering/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=covering Sun, 21 Jun 2026 11:47:51 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=18472 I love the idea of covering. The grace of covering came for me over 20 years ago via a fisherman. Today, covering is at the core of how…

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]]> What I know about social storytelling online https://www.emmpress.com/what-i-know-about-social-storytelling-online/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-i-know-about-social-storytelling-online Thu, 11 Jun 2026 18:37:11 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=18339 Besides writing an actual story, you know, like a book or play, there are other ways you can tell rich stories using platforms built for social media. And…

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]]> Maker Feature: Toland Colorscope https://www.emmpress.com/colorscope-feature/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=colorscope-feature Sat, 23 May 2026 10:58:29 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=17846 Includes notes on creativity, ai, and inventing new languages with symbols. The Toland Colorscope system reflects an individual’s labor of love, and showcases people, color, astrology, metaphysics, history,…

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]]> What’s your best marketing plan? https://www.emmpress.com/whats-your-best-marketing-plan/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=whats-your-best-marketing-plan Tue, 31 Mar 2026 23:25:14 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=16993 Answer: the one you will actually do. No one needs to elaborate any more than this, but I will write like wild anyway because I’m a human who…

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]]> On making love, not war, and the silent majority https://www.emmpress.com/on-making-love-not-war/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=on-making-love-not-war Fri, 23 Jan 2026 11:29:06 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=15975 When I first heard Double Fantasy at 11, I knew I’d heard something new. A collaboration with two unique voices: one from the West, one from the East.…

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]]> A Visual Peace: Art as Alchemy https://www.emmpress.com/a-visual-peace-art-as-alchemy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-visual-peace-art-as-alchemy Fri, 02 Jan 2026 12:50:09 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=15324 Creative work is alchemy. It is an honest process, that sometimes culminates something that can touch the honest places in other people too. Art, music, poetry, and stories…

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]]> Ai Ai (for now) https://www.emmpress.com/ai-ai-for-now/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ai-ai-for-now Sat, 15 Nov 2025 13:42:55 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=14588 [Update 12/21/20255] I’ve stopped using AI as an administrative tool, because, it is has been more trouble than it has provided innovative solutions, AND it uses ridiculous amount…

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]]> One-Third School, Two-Thirds Sky https://www.emmpress.com/one-third-school-two-thirds-sky/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=one-third-school-two-thirds-sky Sat, 01 Nov 2025 15:56:09 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=14393 I’ve had so many things on my mind lately, and much of it related to the sky: blues, clouds, galaxies, light and dark matter, and accelerating expanses. And…

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]]> Road Songs, Libraries, and Hard Work Hassles https://www.emmpress.com/road-songs-libraries-and-hard-work-hassles/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=road-songs-libraries-and-hard-work-hassles Sat, 25 Oct 2025 15:22:12 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=14295 After dropping my 15 year old at drivers ed, I drove around listening to classic rock and landed at the library. Before I forget, Bob Seeger is an…

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]]> Here’s my story (and I’m not sticking to it) https://www.emmpress.com/heres-my-story-and-im-not-sticking-to-it/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=heres-my-story-and-im-not-sticking-to-it Wed, 22 Oct 2025 11:50:59 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=14214 I’ve been in between things for some time now. Like in my career. And it is glorious. I mean, literally glorious. Each day feels like an adventure, my…

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]]> recent visual work https://www.emmpress.com/recent-visual-work/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=recent-visual-work Sun, 28 Sep 2025 12:16:34 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=14101 Birth of VenusMarkup on photo AVMarkup on photo Visual Works © September 2025 Elizabeth Mullen Matteson | Contact for licensing.

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]]> Mapping: meeting what you need on the checkerboard of life – with art project https://www.emmpress.com/mapping-meeting-what-you-need-on-the-checkerboard-of-life/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mapping-meeting-what-you-need-on-the-checkerboard-of-life Thu, 25 Sep 2025 13:25:55 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=14070 On the checkerboard of life, the right thing is finding its way to you, as you are to it.~ My Mom Artwork: No Title by the author 2024…

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]]> Emergence ⟺ submergence https://www.emmpress.com/emergence-%e2%9f%ba-submergence/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=emergence-%25e2%259f%25ba-submergence Mon, 28 Jul 2025 12:45:46 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=13557 Acknowledging your submerged self, the media you choose to portray it, and The Beatles. Have your ever felt that you are emerging from something? If so, where are…

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]]> Sundials & Compasses https://www.emmpress.com/sundials-compasses/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sundials-compasses Sat, 19 Jul 2025 14:32:50 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=13532 Because my writing like this last post is often a long and complex weave of many ideas1 , I’m writing this short post as a palate cleanser. I…

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]]> Concise https://www.emmpress.com/concise/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=concise Sun, 13 Jul 2025 14:04:58 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=13488 I made a short 16mm film named Concise. It could be called an avant garde film and it was engrossing to make. I made it as a follow…

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]]> Becoming a writer https://www.emmpress.com/becoming-a-writer/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=becoming-a-writer Tue, 01 Jul 2025 19:35:42 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=13229 Play on words, Play with words: what do you want to know about you? My first poem, which I can recite by heart, woke me up. I wrote…

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]]> Process sans plans & perfection https://www.emmpress.com/process-over-perfection/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=process-over-perfection Wed, 25 Jun 2025 16:13:38 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=13170 [originally published in weekly newsletter] I feel at a loss of what to say here today, but my hands love to write, and I made a commitment to…

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]]> Feedback is free https://www.emmpress.com/feedback-is-free/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feedback-is-free Wed, 18 Jun 2025 09:40:07 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=13063 On a lovely 15 mile (!) hike with a good friend yesterday I learned about feedback. Specifically, that some folks seek it and some don’t. I do. I…

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]]> Dream On Drum Kit: What’s Your Rhythm? https://www.emmpress.com/dream-on-drum-kit-whats-your-rhythm/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=dream-on-drum-kit-whats-your-rhythm Tue, 17 Jun 2025 11:34:00 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=13081 Ever feel like you need a new timing or approach? One that hasn’t  been done quite yet? So, the other night I have this dream that I’m back…

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]]> Validation & Credentialing ~ Terms of Endearment for oddly-credentialed kin https://www.emmpress.com/validation-credentialing-terms-of-endearment-for-non-credentialed-kin/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=validation-credentialing-terms-of-endearment-for-non-credentialed-kin Tue, 10 Jun 2025 15:54:33 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=12982 I’ve been pondering the value of credentialing and validation for someone to get recognized for mastery in action, but have personally not chased either; preferring instead to practice…

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]]> Lady of a non-specific location https://www.emmpress.com/lady-of-a-non-specific-location/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lady-of-a-non-specific-location Mon, 09 Jun 2025 11:45:38 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=12846 Our most aligned vantage point exists in our own inner space. But if you also see yourself in part through others’ eyes things can get complicated. I think…

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]]> Nunsense https://www.emmpress.com/nunsense/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=nunsense Sat, 31 May 2025 12:30:35 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=12828 When I was 16, a defecting nun came to stay with us. She was young and full of verve and vigor. She had been running the church-y teenager…

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]]> making one’s own language https://www.emmpress.com/im-making-my-own-language/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=im-making-my-own-language Sun, 25 May 2025 10:51:04 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=12701 Correspondence, energy, and how to gain self-awareness through making your language, your way. Actually, I’m working on more of symbol set, but that’s semantics for you. This SymbolWorkTM…

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]]> Why I make my work freely available https://www.emmpress.com/why-i-make-my-work-publicly-available/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=why-i-make-my-work-publicly-available Sun, 11 May 2025 16:55:52 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=12129 plus a touch of fundraising I believe in the importance of public institutions, especially Public Libraries, Public Education, and Public Art. And I understand the value of artists…

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]]> Ma-stalgia: a term of endearment for ascendant generations https://www.emmpress.com/ma-stalgia-a-term-of-endearment/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ma-stalgia-a-term-of-endearment Sun, 04 May 2025 13:22:53 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=12048 Nostalgia as sign it’s time to reboot our childlike sense of self, and how being states help us cope with a heightened sense of responsibility. My brother sent…

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]]> an artist date: sketching with the masters https://www.emmpress.com/an-artist-date-sketching-with-the-masters/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=an-artist-date-sketching-with-the-masters Thu, 01 May 2025 21:01:51 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=11912 From April 25, the perfect date1. I’ve noticed recently how many of my favorite thinkers, artists, musicians, and philosophers spent/spend an good amount of time consuming literature, art…

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]]> self-censorship, free speech, and the powers of The People https://www.emmpress.com/self-censorship-free-speech-and-the-powers-of-societal-norms/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=self-censorship-free-speech-and-the-powers-of-societal-norms Fri, 25 Apr 2025 20:00:10 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=11667 What happens when the recently de-privileged1 try to recoup social power by authoritarianism, and what to do about it. No law can save you, if you don’t make…

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]]> On The Cutting Room Floor https://www.emmpress.com/on-the-cutting-room-floor/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=on-the-cutting-room-floor Fri, 11 Apr 2025 16:49:02 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=11547 This piece is titled “The Cutting Room” which is sooo META Here’s the story: The artwork was “done” and I submitted photos for a gallery show (the tan…

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]]> Channeling https://www.emmpress.com/channeling/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=channeling Wed, 02 Apr 2025 12:33:11 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=11305 Finding out your life has been running on a cacophony of ideas from everyone and everything you’ve ever heard, means you just woke up to your ability to…

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]]> Open Hope https://www.emmpress.com/open-hope/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=open-hope Fri, 21 Mar 2025 15:27:12 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=11127 Not everyone grew up with the privilege of taking Hope for granted. Hope is a thing of children, even in rough places. It’s a thing of the child…

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]]> Mythic Oranges, Waters, and WWII https://www.emmpress.com/mythic-oranges-waters-and-wwii/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mythic-oranges-waters-and-wwii Wed, 12 Mar 2025 17:06:13 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=11032 “Imagine That” Today’s art is in honor of an amazing painter and gentle man, Richard Fraenkel. He was my painting instructor in college. He told quiet stories. He…

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]]> Truth telling in little bits https://www.emmpress.com/truth-telling-in-little-symbol-bits/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=truth-telling-in-little-symbol-bits Sun, 02 Mar 2025 20:33:26 +0000 https://www.emmpress.com/?p=10789 Focus, the folly of first-ness, and how symbolic truth-telling connects us to our souls and each other. If any one artist works with the truth of their lives,…

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