The composer Leonard Bernstein would complain sometimes about being dry and blocked. During those times, he’d sit for long hours at the piano and just improvise–strum chords or try a sequence of notes. And then suddenly, he would find one chord or note that “hit.” That one note suggested the next. Bernstein said that the…
Albert Einstein sought beauty in his scientific theories. For him, a theory needed to be not only useful but also elegant. He believed that a truly beautiful theory could explain something complex in a simple and graceful way. Einstein famously said, “When the solution is simple, God is answering.” This idea wasn’t just a passing…
When I wrote the art book Sky’s the Limit, I spent hours interviewing the gifted artist Nancy Cawdrey. Nancy’s work is extraordinary, and her artistic process inspires me. She emphasized how much training she’d received and how it shaped her craft. But then there’s the women of Gee’s Bend. The Gee’s Bend quilters challenge the…
Back in the early 2000s, before social media was an industry, I knew a woman named Carol who maintained a huge social network. And much like today’s social media, it involved constantly relaying her sexy vacations and all the fun she was having in her life. I was in a group with Carol and one…
One of the deep issues in my life has been crumbling in the face of bullies. And even, crumbling in the face of aggressive people. Maybe it’s the “awe-shucks” Iowa farm girl community I was raised in. But for whatever reason, bullying “mean girl” energy takes me straight back to my first trip away from…
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