I open an email in response to a client’s gallery: “First of all, WOW. I am so stunned by this, and I am honestly so honored that you have made my image into art in this way.  These images moved me deeply, and I no longer have qualms about sharing some of them, because honestly, you are an artist and this is art… Second of all, {a recent difficult situation} led me to start making art for myself again (which is how I have always made sense of difficult situations in my life—I write through them). And now, I’m planning to devote myself to my own creative projects full-time, for at least the next six months. The work I wrote for myself during the past two weeks is the best writing I’ve done so far.  I say all this, because I want you to get the credit you deserve for being part of this creative transformation I’ve undergone. This experience changed me, and freed me from shame I had been carrying for years. Moving past my shame has allowed me to write with more honesty than I’ve ever ...