Kimberly O'Connor

writer & teacher

Category: Uncategorized

  • The Artist’s Way Week 11

    Here we are, nearly done with The Artist’s Way! I love week 11, “Recovering a Sense of Autonomy.” It’s all about being true to yourself, especially your inner child/artist self, and about putting that self first. I’ve been getting a lot of messages about putting myself first from various sources…

  • The Artist’s Way Week 10

    Hello! It’s time to consider week 10, titled “Recovering a Sense of Self-Protection.” There’s tons of good stuff in this chapter, as always, but to me the biggest, most important takeaway from the chapter is this: Don’t Clean Your House. Photo by eleonora on Unsplash That’s right: don’t clean your…

  • The Artist’s Way Week 9

    Hello! I wanted to acknowledge that my “weekly” emails about The Artist’s Way have become bi-weekly (at best). Life! I hope their slowness is an example of how we can give attention to the things we want to create even if it’s not quite up to par with our original…

  • The Artist’s Way Week 8

    Photo by Dustin Humes on Unsplash Week 8 is all about strength. Cameron writes, “One of the most difficult tasks an artist must face is a primal one: artistic survival.” She continues, “All artist’s must learn the art of surviving loss: loss of hope, loss of face, loss of money,…

  • The Artist’s Way Week 7

    Hello! I’m back to look at week 7, “Recovering a Sense of Connection.” The part I want to take a closer look at this week is about inspiration, and it’s summed up on the chapter’s very first page: “Art is not about thinking something up. It’s about getting something down.”…

  • Reading and Book Release at UMD next week!

    Next week, I’ll be returning to my alma matter UMD-College Park for a book release and reading with some fellow alumni! If you’re in the area, I’d love to see you there.

  • The Artist’s Way Weeks 5 & 6: Getting Unstuck

    Hello! How are you? I’ve been stuck: stuck in a snowstorm; stuck in mid-semester grades, tasks, and the sense that I could have done it all better; stuck in the challenges of parenting a middle schooler at the end of 8th grade, which in itself is a time of being…

  • Coming up soon: Poetry for Beginners- An Introduction to Writing and Appreciating the Craft

    I’m teaching this poetry workshop with Denver Public Library in April and May. Check it out!

  • The Artist’s Way Week 4

    Week 4 of The Artist’s Way begins by asking us to consider what it is we are truly feeling. Cameron interrogates what it means to feel “okay.” Think about how often we answer, when asked how we are, I’m okay. “Okay is a blanket word for most of us,” Cameron…

  • The Artist’s Way Week 3

    Hello! I’m pushing the boundaries of “week 3” here, but it was a long weekend. Speaking of boundaries: maybe you’ve found yourself thinking about them during week 3, which is all about “recovering a sense of power.” I decided to write about boundaries this week to think about how boundaries…