Digging deep, past your mask, to find your creative spark! 💥✨

My very first podcast interview with Zulu's Haus of Cats!

Want to skip the introduction? Listen here!

I have to admit, I was so nervous when Eli Trier first asked me to be on her podcast, Zuzu’s Haus of Cats, all about neurodivergent creative life, practice, and process.

Despite the fact that I record a (very, very) casual ramble podcast for subscribers here on Substack roughly every month, I do not consider myself very articulate, especially verbally. Sometimes I can only use hand gestures to communicate when I can’t find the right words. People often laugh and maybe feel a little uncomfortable when I make some sort of hand (or even whole-body) motion to attempt to describe something that really isn’t commonly expressed that way, and I’m always very thankful for the ones that seem to know what I’m trying to say.

Anyway, you could say I’m not really a natural when it comes to public speaking, so I almost turned down Eli’s very kind invitation.

But then I glanced up at the “100 No Thank You’s” poster I made earlier this year (courtesy of a phenomenal idea from KatieDraws) and remembered I had promised myself I’d put myself out there more this year.

So I did it anyway.

I care a lot about the kinds of things Eli wanted to talk about, and I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity—however scary—to discuss them.

Of course I wrote myself tons of notes and scripts before the recording, but on the day of tried my very hardest not to lean on them too much, and be in the moment.

It didn’t seem right to talk about unmasking while masking heavily, you know?

And Eli was so kind and enthusiastic, it made it so much easier.

To be fair, I haven’t heard it yet. I have no idea if I sound even remotely relaxed, BUT, I do remember we had a really great conversation talking about things I really, genuinely care deeply about:

• Creating your best work by digging deeply into your personal experience (especially pain)

• Why format is always less important that the story itself

• Creating art the same way you do therapy

• The importance of unmasking your neurodivergence in order to find the deepest stories you need to tell, that are truest to you

If you’re curious about any of those things (or just how well my not-reading-directly-from-a-script-went), give it a listen, and if you have a minute, leave Eli a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help others find it, too!

Give it a listen here!

✨Thank you so much for having me, Eli, and for the opportunity to be brave!