My first solo Driveway Gallery, age 5

(This was originally posted as a newsletter Dec 2021)

This is me. For real.

I actually had a toy cash register and a handful of paintings I was selling at age 5. I was positive someone would come and try to bargain with me and I’d take no less than $5.

We lived way out in the county, not even in city limits, deep in the foothills of a mountain edge neighborhood with property large enough for horses, in a cul-de-sac, and had a really long driveway. (What are the chances you'd find my driveway gallery?)

But I was out there!

I’m still out there.

Actually I’m out here, now. Still doing my thing. And thank goodness I can reach you while you’re in your driveway now instead having to find me in mine.

When I was in 4th grade, the class was given a blank piece of paper with a single wavy line drawn across from one edge to another. About 95% of the class turned it into a fat cat with the points being the tops of imperfect ears. It was like a sneaky social experiment or idea phenomenon that once a single person saw a cat then everyone else could only see a cat at that point. Then the idea slowly spread across the classroom. (Oh the power of the first person, what an influencer!).

There might have been a few mountain interpretations, if I recall correctly.

I, however, saw the face of a man wearing a hat. I always looked at exercises like this with interest. It was a challenge to see it from all different angles, turning the paper in different directions trying to figure out the quirkiness from what appears to be obvious at first glance. I was pretty proud of that A+. But more than that, I felt an energy in my gut that guided me to turn the page in a different direction. And I listened to that gut feeling. I encourage others to do the same.

Thinking out of the box, going in another direction, and turning the paper upside down can be exciting, exhilarating, liberating, and lonely! Creatives often experience life in a wavy line that vibrates to a different beat. (If you want to know more, you should definitely check out my free Creative Personality Self-Care Guide.

So maybe you are a Creative, maybe you just love being around interesting people, or maybe you aspire to bring out your own creativity.

However you found yourself here, I'm grateful.

Thank you for supporting all the creative small businesses who have put out their baby rocking chairs and cash registers willing to extend their creative spirits to make the world a little more colorful. Sometimes when everyone else is drawing cats, creatives are drawing faces with hats (including a feather in the cap, too!) or a bird instead. Your support means more than you know.

Check out today’s version of my online driveway store!