I'd Like to Explore This More

a spring playlist, green paint + major sketchbook play

ESSAY | I’d Like to Explore This More

I’m curious… would you say emotion fuels the fire of your creativity? Is it your joy or sadness that brings you to the blank page? Do you alchemize your anger or passion into beauty through your words?

I’ve noticed recently that when I create, I have to do so from a calm space. Sometimes I’m sitting in the coffee shop with a hot tea. Most of the time I’m on the corner of my couch basking in a sliver of sun, house empty. Once in a blue moon I’ll have a spark while doing the dishes or driving alone in my car.

Earlier today, without going too much into it, I felt so much anger. For a visual, picture Anger from the Disney movie Inside Out — yeah, like that. As I was doing my best to calm my body, I wondered if I could use these stormy emotions in my chest to drop something out onto the page. Anything. Can I process this through my art?

I sat down, grabbed my markers, opened my sketchbook and nothing. I felt electricity in my arms and yet my brain just couldn’t concentrate. Was I standing on the edge of a cliff and I just needed to dive in? Either way, I wasn’t able to make it happen. Not today, at least.

Now there have been times that I could easily write with emotion. Thinking about it now, I pinned it to a younger version of myself. I’d scribble out poems through tears and write essays with love flowing from my fingertips. It felt effortless and also very private.

Lately though, current me, struggles with this. Usually I start to clean when I’m feeling intense emotion, I can also exercise anxiety right out of my body but why can’t I create with it? What’s going on?

I’d like to explore this more. The part emotion plays behind the work I’m creating. It’s an awareness practice and one where curiosity needs to lead the way. I’m up for it.

If you have any thoughts around this, I’d love to hear them!

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ART | Photography, Poetry, Collage, Music, Documentaries & more

Although I’ve been on a huge podcast/class kick lately, when I actually sit down to make something, music is the only way to go. We had a couple of dreary days here in northern Minnesota and I was feeling quite nostalgic. I decided to put together a studio playlist for spring. Nostalgia 2025 is linked below, I would love to share it with you! This is what I’ve been listening to lately!

Featuring: Tori Amos, 10,000 Maniacs, The Beatles, Madonna, Joan Armatrading, Jason Mraz, Counting Crows, Elton John, Toad the Wet Sprocket, U2, Elvis Presley, The Wallflowers, Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, and Stevie Knicks.

You can find this playlist on Apple iTunes or else I made it on Spotify too!

If you were making a Nostalgia playlist for spring, what’s a song you’d put on it?

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LIFESTYLE | Kitchen, Home, DIY & more

You may know that we’ve been putting some much needed TLC into the home we purchased just about a year ago. It’s mostly things like painting and peeling wallpaper, lots of peeling wallpaper. I’ve chugged along really well but recently I find myself at a complete stand still.
I cannot for the life of me pick out a color to paint the kitchen.
For all of the other paint projects I’ve done, I simply brightened up the space with the warm white Greek Villa — light reflection — my fellow photographers will understand!
It’s time, however, to paint the kitchen and since everything else is so light and neutral I’d really like to do a color. Although I’ve had over a handful of swatches hanging in there, I can’t seem to make up my mind. I have narrowed it down to green. Do you have a favorite from this article? —> GREEN PAINT
Yes, blog, YOU CHOOSE, because if I have to it may just be another few months!

Sharing this without an image of the actual kitchen itself feels like I’ve created an impossible task, but really, what’s your favorite green? ><

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MANA STUDIO | Updates From My Studio

I’ve been doing some serious work in my sketchbook — making my way through, page by page, line by line, shape by shape every single day. I feel like the flood gates have opened and I’m pouring — drawing — flowing.
Just a month ago I couldn’t bring myself to create anything so this feels really good.
Freely creating without expectation, taking classes to play and get ideas. Being bad, surprising myself, discovering. It all feels really important.

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Thank you for reading Norden Morning. This publication is created without artificial anything - it’s me, an artist/mother in my late 30s living life and sharing about it from my favorite little corner of the couch.

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