I’ve been thinking about critique for years. About encouragement. About ego. About growth. This series is my attempt to put language around what actually helps us become better creatives.

The Practice of Becoming implies this is ongoing. Not mastery. Not arrival. Not “ten steps to excellence.” It suggests a workshop that never closes, lights left on, tools within reach. I want this to be an ongoing practice in my life.

This series explores what helps us grow as creatives. Not just technically, but internally. I’m less interested in perfect answers and more interested in better questions.

My current goal is simple, show up. Daily. Whether that’s painting, going on a photo shoot, editing images, using photographs in mixed media work, writing here, or taking a class that stretches me. Showing up is “the practice.”

I’m sharing this with our group because I believe the quality of our conversations shapes the quality of our work. We’ve chosen the creative life. My hope is that this series helps us grow more confident in our collective voice and more thoughtful in how we respond to one another. And that it encourages us to stay the course.

Because I’m both a chef and a visual creative, I understand something instinctively: flavor develops through refinement. You adjust. Taste. Adjust again. Recipes become what they are through small improvements over time. Art works the same way.

Critique is not judgment. It’s seasoning.

Too much salt overwhelms.
None at all, leaves things flat.
Measured attention brings depth.

What I hope to build here is a shared language for our collective. Once that language exists, critique becomes less personal and more purposeful. That’s when confidence and thoughtfulness rise together. And that’s when a group stops being a gathering and becomes a studio. Even if we’re scattered around the world.

A collective pursuing a creative path. The path isn’t straight and it isn’t finished. It’s practiced. Let’s keep walking it — together.