A Flexible Office Hello 👋
Hello Common Shapes listeners. 🔸 I wanted to pop in with a little mini-episode to check in between seasons and share a few updates. Take a few minutes to...
The pleasure of learning
Photo by Kayla Powers, Cedar North, March 2024If I may say something so bold I’d like to tell you, I love to work. I love to work because writing and making...
Free to read : the experiment ends
How I feel when my newsletter is free every MondayFor the last 2+ months I have put most of my Monday newsletters behind the paywall in an experiment that I...
Undoing in hibernation
On Valentine’s Day I woke up early and took the pieces of the quilt I am working on to the beach. I laid them out piece by piece while the rock hunters...
Introducing Cody
Photo by Jade Forrest MarksHello and a blessed Monday to all of you. After years of using it as a nickname I have officially changed my name to Cody and...
In the brambles of action
Monday Monday is a reader supported newsletter that comes out every week for paid subscribers. Today’s installment is free for all subscribers. Enjoy....
SOLSTICE SUPER SALE
Barbara and Michael Leisgen, 1973Dearest readersI come with great news, the greatest news I remember every single year.THE LIGHT RETURNS! WE STOOD AT THE...
No Spectacle
Still from At a Glimpse of a Boundary, short film by Dylan McLaughlin with music by Emily A. SpragueIt’s raining today and I’ve been deep in my copy of...
Into the Mystic
Photo by Cody SellsDearest readers,I wanted to share a shift for my weekly newsletter as you’ve known it for the last seven years, which is that it will no...
Cultivating Creative Seasons with Jacqueline Suskin
This week on Common Shapes podcast, I’m deep in conversation with poet, teacher, and my dear friend, Jacqueline Suskin.Jacqueline is a poet and educator who...
Editing as dedication to unknowing
Photo by Chloe Sells, Winter 2022 East BayMy house is surrounded by trees and in the summer this provides a sheltered cocoon. While I am pretty close to the...
The Value of Sharing Our Story
Dropping in at the end of the week to invite you to Writing the Personal, my three week class that starts TOMORROW to bring the poetic, personal, and...
How to Tell the Truth with Fariha Róisín
This week on Common Shapes podcast, I’m joined by my dear friend Fariha Róisín for a conversation at the intersections of writing, politics, care, and...
Painting the fire place
Yesterday I did not protect my Monday as I am known to do. I enjoyed my day, filled with new friendships and walks and being supportive of other artists, but...
The Importance of the Personal Essay
I’ve been writing personal essays for over a decade, and I believe that my personal essay practice allowed me to leave social media.So in today’s episode, I...
Waking up at 5:30am to write
Photo by Ellen Rutt, me standing in front of Lake Michigan at Christmas Cove wearing a hat that says CeramicsIn the past week I have woken up five out of...
Leaving Instagram or Exiting the Portal of the Validation Loop
Welcome to season two of Common Shapes! Since last season, I took a big step in my life and logged out of Instagram for good.So in this episode, I’m going to...
Writing the Personal
Photo by John HansonI didn’t leave Instagram and tumble downwards into a void of nothingness. I left Instagram with an email list I’d been building for...
Channeling new ideas
Ellen Rutt with painted shape in the meadow in Northport, end of Summer 2022My daily ritual is to get in the sauna and do my morning pages. Sometimes this...
The effort it takes to begin
Dropping in mid week to invite you to Flexible Office, my digital co-working space that begins tomorrow November 2 with a Visioning Session to help map out...