One of the things I really enjoy doing is collaborating with other artists and creative folks. I know every artist is different in how they approach collaborations: some artists are really open to sharing and working together on a project, while other artists may want to have total control over their output. But I like learning from other creative people and seeing how they put things together, so I really enjoy collaborations.

One of the recent collaborations I’ve taken part in is the Human Acceptance Project with James, from Non Zero Sum Games. He liked an art project I made called “Human Acceptance”, which focused on accepting our humanity. We decided to work together, and he created a lovely page where other people can share their human acceptance projects, too!

This is one reason why I really enjoy collaborating with other people. I love to see other folks' take on my art and what they can do with it. As long as it's respectful towards the original purpose I have for the art, I really like seeing how people put their spin on it.

I've also been doing a fun collaboration, a "Mer May" project, with another artist (RosyDumplings). She invited us to send in our drawings of how we'd imagine mermaids! I think this will turn out beautifully, too. (I want to add that Rosy recently published the Mer May collaboration, with everyone's mermaids in the scene. It looks awesome!)

One of the things I figured out at the end of May was how to format my own e-books. I've relied on e-book converters such as Draft 2 Digital in the past, and while they do a very good job, I realized I need to know how to do it myself. It's a good skill to have as a writer! (Although I don’t think it’s necessary if you just like writing for a hobby.)

But I have to admit the initial process was really intimidating. I was reading all these articles, trying to figure out how to do it. Some of them, to be honest, made things sound even more complicated than they actually are.

I was kind of hoping I could work around formatting EPUB files, but I started seeing that EPUBS do have some advantages. Unlike a PDF, EPUB files are reflowable and can adapt to different screens. They're also really useful for people with e-readers or screen readers.

So, I set to work. At first, my converted EPUBS definitely did not look good. But I thought, "I have to keep practicing. Then I'll get better at it."

For many creative people, especially if you started making art, writings, music, or other things as a child, creativity has always been a part of you. But one interesting question to ask yourself is, “Where does creativity begin?”

I think we all have the capacity to be creative, but sometimes that trait gets trained out of us. We may not always feel encouraged to create; for example, creativity tends to fade if we grow up in an environment where getting the perfect answer for a test is more important, or if people in our lives dismiss or judge our creations. We may push away our creative side as “the real world” becomes the focus.

But one thing I’ve noticed in myself is that creativity is a part of my life I can’t let go. In one way or another, I always want to create something or use my imagination to invent new worlds and ideas. Whether it’s through writing a story or singing a song, I really love the creative process itself, whether people respond to it or not.

Even so, I did have the hope that I could share my work and publish it one day. I just wasn’t sure exactly how I would do it. I would plan things out, but I didn’t know when those plans would become a reality for sure.

It’s great to get in touch with you. I’m a creative artist who is on a journey of understanding the world around her, and I also get into research and other fields to satisfy my curiosity and desire to perceive life’s meaning. You can find some of my work at my website, the hub where I share most of what I’m working on: https://destinyhankerson.carrd.co/

I decided starting a newsletter would be a good idea, because I can directly contact you and share what I’m working on. The newsletter will be an experiment in a sense, a way for me to see how people would like to learn about what I’m doing along the way. It’ll also be a way for me to share my thoughts on different things I’m learning and experiencing as an artist. I want to explore the essence of creativity itself, too - why do we create, what draws us to making new things and experimenting, and other interesting questions!

Thanks for visiting the newsletter, and I hope you enjoy what I share. Some of my emails will include how I’m overcoming different challenges, how I’m using spirituality and dreams to inspire my art, and many other projects or avenues I explore.

Because I’m just getting started, you could look at this as a temporary experiment (although over time it could grow into a long-term project!). I just want to have fun with it and see where it could take us. Thanks for coming along with me!