Past Issues

Current Issue: Escape

It runs from July 12, 2018 to October 07, 2018  We are open to submissions until September 25, 2018

Issue #10: Cultivate (April 15, 2018 to July 11, 2018)

From the introduction: Among the many definitions of “cultivate” offered by Webster’s Dictionary are, “to develop or improve by education or training; train; refine,” “to promote the growth or development of (an art, science, etc.),” “to devote oneself to (an art, science, etc.),” and “to seek to promote or foster (friendship, love, etc.).”

Clearly, cultivation is a versatile concept, one that goes far beyond getting our hands dirty by planting seeds in soil and caring for the resultant sprouts, watching as they grow into flowers, trees, fruit, or vegetables.

And yet, that first, most basic association is no less valid than the abstract uses of the word. We cultivate our arts and sciences in much the same way that we cultivate soil. We foster the growth of our friendships (or, we should) with every bit as much care as we give to plants. We constantly reach, grow, hone, refine, perfect, and protect every aspect of our lives and ourselves.

Dig into every aspect of ==> Cultivate

Issue #9: Selfie (January 16, 2018 to April 14, 2018)

From the introduction: Is our culture’s obsession with The Selfie causing a generation of narcissists? Or is it simply the modern-day sign that we humans have always desired looking ourselves in the eye?

If you look at photographs from beginning of photography, you’ll see taking photos of oneself has often been a subject of choice. And what about the self-portraits of artists through the ages? What about the writers who publish their journals ala May Sarton? Is The Memoir a Selfie? Why are we called to explore our own story in a variety of ways and mediums?

How does self-portraiture open our eyes to our beauty and our flaws? Is all the “navel-gazing” of self-help and self-discovery and good old therapy pure silliness or a truly valuable way to grow as a human? How does it heal us?

How does exploring who we are at heart open us to creating from a space of realness and vulnerability? How does the brave task of self-refection and self-evaluation allow us to grow as creative beings as well as human beings? Does diving into self-exploration make us better makers, partners, parents, and lovers?

Is self-care selfish? Is self-care critical to being healthy mentally, physically, and emotionally? How does caring for ourselves – or letting self-care fall to the wayside – impact us as makers?

What happens when we completely re-invent ourselves? What is the path to destroy old versions of ourselves and emerge from the fire like a Phoenix? What does that do for us as artists, writers, and makers?

Is the desire to understand who we are and how we tick at the heart of everything we create?

Click here to dive into==> Selfie

Issue #8: Hope & Wonder (November 17, 2017 to January 15, 2018)

From the introduction: You see a rainbow emerging from a cloudy sky, and you can’t help but smile. You stop at the mailbox on your way home from work, and take a moment to consider what might be inside. A letter or card from a dear friend, maybe, or the latest issue of a favorite magazine. You catch a glimpse of your dog or cat, nose pressed to the window, waiting for you to come home – even though you’ve only been out for ten minutes.

You stand on the patio as a squall builds, and you let the mounting energy of the storm invigorate your heart, mind, and body. You spend more time in the kitchen, cooking amazing foods, laughing with your best friend, your partner, your parents, as you slice and dice and saute and stir. You wake in the middle of the night to silence, the magical hush of the season’s first snow.

You try to capture these feelings – hope and wonder – that exist hand in hand, and are so close to the surface as the holidays approach. Maybe something you overhear in a café or witness while shopping sparks a story. Perhaps there’s a poem waiting in the crackle of your fireplace or the pattering of rain on the roof. A child playing in the last of the autumn leaves might make a perfect photo, or inspire a memory of your own childhood, your cheeks rosy from playing in chilly air.

We invite you to explore it with us.

Click here to devour ==> Hope & Wonder

[hr]

Contributors to our  “Hope & Wonder” Issue:

[hr]

Æverett | Andi Cumbo-Floyd  | Becca Rowan  | Bella Cirovic  | Briana Saussy   | Christine Mason Miller  | Daryl Wood Gerber   | Debra Smouse | Jeanette McGurk  | Jeanie Croope   | Julie M Terrill  | Kolleen Harrison  | Melissa A. Bartell   | Patricia Wellingham-Jones  | Pat West |

Issue #7: Light & Shadow (August 21, 2017 to November 16, 2017)

Find the introduction:  You open your eyes to a sunny day, and notice that the light is changing along with the seasons. You change the way you’re standing in front of the mirror, letting the changes in light and shadow change the way your see yourself. You turn your back to the sun, and see the shadow you cast on the ground. You turn around, face into the glare, and your shadow disappears.

You wake in the middle of a moonlight night, see the shadows of tree branches on the blinds.  You unleash your imagination and let the branches become the limbs of strange beings from other worlds. You grow and change and come to realize that both light and shadows come in many flavors. You learn that light isn’t always ‘good’ and shadows aren’t always ‘bad,’ but that each gives dimension to the other.

You snap a photo, paint or draw a picture, write a scene, compose a song, and you find beauty in the contrast.

When we planned the calendar for this year’s themes, we had no idea we’d be launching this issue on the day when much of North America will be witnessing a solar eclipse. Still, it seems as though the universe was – is – in synch with us as we make the transition from summer toward fall (or from winter toward spring).

For me, light and shadow aren’t opposites, but companions. Without one the other has little meaning.

As makers, as creators, we explore both, we appreciate both. We use the shadows in our lives to give the light times more dimension, and we embrace the light when the shadows encroach too far, or seem too dark. Art, in all its forms, is full of, and formed by, this duality.

We invite you to explore it with us.

Click here to devour ==> Light & Shadow

[hr]

Contributors to our  “Light & Shadow” Issue:

[hr]

Æverett | A.R. Hadley  | Andi Cumbo-Floyd  | Becca Rowan  | Bella Cirovic  | Bernie Brown  | Briana Saussy   | Christine Mason Miller  | Daryl Wood Gerber   | Debra Smouse | Jeanette McGurk  | Jeanie Croope   | Joanna Powell Colbert  | Julie M Terrill  | Kelli May-Krenz  | Kerstin Martin  | Kolleen Harrison  | Lisa Zaran   | Melissa A. Bartell   | Patricia Wellingham-Jones  | Pat West |

Issue #6: Refresh & Restore (May 25, 2017 to August 20, 2017)

From the introduction:  A glass of sweet tea on a hundred degree day. A powerful embrace from an elementary school friend. A full day spent devouring a book. All different experiences, yet ways in which we refresh ourselves: physically, emotionally, mentally.

You go to yoga class. You go to church. You take a long walk. All different approaches to restoring ourselves in a physical and spiritual way.

You sit in silence for five minutes. You take the day just to be. You spend a weekend reveling in creativity. You take a week’s vacation to go on an adventure. You declare a sabbatical from social media, and spend several days completely unplugged. All purposeful choices to find balance in your world, to refresh your mind, and restore your soul.

Now that we’re adults, most of us don’t get the summer off (from school or anything else), so we must carve out ways to restore our own hunger. And there are so many demands on our time and attention – many of which are attractive choices – that we can so easily find ourselves in overwhelm.

Part of living a creative life is the understanding that we must refill our own wells in some way on a regular basis, otherwise, we find ourselves resentful of our own lives. Without the time or space to pursue our creative ways, we will burn out.

Our souls demand that we uphold the responsibility of using our gifts.

But what does Refresh & Restore mean when it comes to Creative Living? How do our own creative processes restore our very souls? How do other makers refresh their minds and the ways in which they create?

How do each of us tend our hearts and fuel our own creative spirits?

Click here to devour ==> Refresh & Restore

[hr]

Contributors to our  “Refresh & Restore” Issue:

[hr]

Æverett | A.R. Hadley  | Andi Cumbo-Floyd  | Becca Rowan  | Bella Cirovic  | Bernie Brown  | Briana Saussy   | Christine Mason Miller  | Daryl Wood Gerber   | Debra Smouse | Jeanette McGurk  | Jeanie Croope   | Joanna Powell Colbert  | Julie M Terrill  | Kelli May-Krenz  | Kerstin Martin  | Kolleen Harrison  | Lisa Zaran   | Melissa A. Bartell   | Patricia Wellingham-Jones  | Pat West | Paula JonesSue Ann Gleason

Issue #5: Routines & Rituals (February 26, 2017 to May 24, 2017)

From the introduction:Where do we draw the proverbial line that separates the mundane routines that govern our days from the deeper rituals that truly enhance our lives? Can a daily practice be both routine and ritual?

What about when a writer must use a favorite pen, a specific kind of paper, or listen to only music without lyrics in order to truly focus? Does the act of preparing one’s writing space for the day transcend routine and become ritual?

How about cooking? The act of nourishing ourselves and others may seem like a routine, especially when it’s associated with that perennial question, “What’s for dinner?” But isn’t there also a sort of ritual to be found in peeling, chopping, roasting, broiling, serving, and, most importantly, sharing the product of our labor?

Click here to devour ==> Routines & Rituals

[hr]

Contributors to our  “Routines & Rituals” Issue:

[hr]

Æverett | A.R. Hadley  | Andi Cumbo-Floyd  | Becca Rowan  | Bella Cirovic  | Bernie Brown  | Briana Saussy   | Christine Mason Miller  | Daryl Wood Gerber   | Debra Smouse | Jeanette McGurk  | Jeanie Croope   | Joanna Powell Colbert  | Julie M Terrill  | Kelli May-Krenz  | Kerstin Martin  | Kolleen Harrison  | Lisa Zaran   | Melissa A. Bartell   | Patricia Wellingham-Jones  | Pat West | Paula JonesSue Ann Gleason

Issue #4: Mystic or Magic (November 29, 2016 to February 25, 2017)

From the Introduction: We stand outdoors on a cold winter night, bathed in darkness with our very breath visible in front of us, and turn our eyes to the heavens. An infinite number of stars scatter overhead, stars that have hung in those heavens longer than modern science can determine. We are struck dumb with the mystery of all that is unexplainable. We feel the mystical power of our connection with every living being who, throughout eons, has stood upon their own ground and gazed upon those same stars.

This is Magic.

We come indoors and savor the warmth of our home, bend down to caress the soft fur of a beloved dog or cat who rubs against our cold ankles. The aroma of food we’ve cooked for dinner inspires a rumble of hunger in our stomachs, an instinctual response that ties us to every living creature of every species throughout time. We light a candle, mindful of the ease with which we can dispel darkness. We turn on some music, and let it run free in our imagination. We sit at table, admire the beauty of our plate or cup, and offer silent words of gratitude for food, shelter, water, and light.

This is Magic.

Click Here to Savor the Archives ==>  Issue #4: Mystic or Magic

Click here to devour ==> Mystic or Magic

[hr]

Contributors to our  “Mystic or Magic” Issue:

[hr]

Æverett | A.R. Hadley  | Andi Cumbo-Floyd  | Becca Rowan  | Bella Cirovic  | Bernie Brown  | Briana Saussy   | Christine Mason Miller  | Daryl Wood Gerber   | Debra Smouse | Jeanette McGurk  | Jeanie Croope   | Joanna Powell Colbert  | Julie M Terrill  | Kelli May-Krenz  | Kerstin Martin  | Kolleen Harrison  | Lisa Zaran   | Melissa A. Bartell   | Patricia Wellingham-Jones  | Pat West | Paula JonesSue Ann Gleason

Issue #3: Wisdom (September 01, 2016 to November 28, 2016)

From the introduction: You find a book that changes your life, giving you a perspective you didn’t have before the mcl_issue3words on the page seeped into your soul.

You attend a friend’s gallery opening, and witness the world seeing what you’ve always known about your lovely and wise confidante.

You re-read an old journal entry or blog post you, yourself, wrote, and discover just the right words of guidance or encouragement as you embark upon a new chapter of your life.

You flip open a magazine, and catch your breath at the combination of insight, beauty, and style in a single photograph.

You need advice, so you pick up the phone and call that friend. The one who will shoot straight, but do it in a kind and loving way.

Welcome to WISDOM, our 3rd issue.

Click Here to Savor the Archives ==>  Issue #3: Wisdom

Contributors to our  “Wisdom” Issue:

[hr]

Æverett | A.R. Hadley  | Andi Cumbo-Floyd  | Becca Rowan  | Bella Cirovic  | Bernie Brown  | Briana Saussy   | Christine Mason Miller  | Daryl Wood Gerber   | Debra Smouse | Jeanette McGurk  | Jeanie Croope   | Joanna Powell Colbert  | Julie M Terrill  | Kelli May-Krenz  | Kerstin Martin  | Kolleen Harrison  | Lisa Zaran   | Melissa A. Bartell   | Patricia Wellingham-Jones  | Pat West | Paula JonesSue Ann Gleason

Issue #2: Nourishment (June 04, 2016 to August 31, 2016)

From our introduction: “You come to the table of creation every day, hungry for the way it flavors your daily living. MCL_Issue2Like a rich spice, it brings a unique bouquet to every dish. It adds enticing aromas and textures that provide so much more than the minimum daily requirements.

Creative living nourishes us. It buffers the winds of change, soothes the stress of daily demands, and calms the wild beating of anxious hearts.

But creativity must also BE nourished. What feeds the fires of your creative expression? How does your creative life feed your soul? And how do you nourish your creative spirit, keep it alive and well so it grows stronger each day?

Welcome to NOURISHMENT, the second issue of Modern Creative Life. We’ll be exploring all the ways creativity nourishes us, and the ways we keep our creative fires fed.

Click Here to Savor the Archives ==>  Issue #2: Nourishment

Contributors to our  “Nourishment” Issue:

Æverett | A.R. Hadley  | Andi Cumbo-Floyd  | Becca Rowan  | Bella Cirovic  | Bernie Brown  | Briana Saussy   | Courtney Weber | Christine Mason Miller  | Daryl Wood Gerber   | Debra Smouse | Jeanette McGurk  | Jeanie Croope   | Kolleen Harrison  | Lisa Zaran   | Melissa C |  Melissa A. Bartell   | Patricia Wellingham-Jones  | Pat West | Paula Jones | Theresa Reed

[hr]

Issue #1: What’s Next? (March 8, 2016 to June 03, 2016)

From our introduction: “In many conversations and multiple emails (and letters) we talked about the kind of space MCL_Issue1we’d like in the future to celebrate other Makers. To pay homage to the choice to pursue our own creativity and forge a path forward for living a creative life.

Moreover, we asked the questions: How do we nurture our creative spark and stay afloat? How do we continue to make our art while still getting dinner on the table and keeping a roof over our heads? How do we go back to the page (or canvas) when we are feeling parched? We are all naturally curious about how people DO it. What is life is like behind closed doors those of us who must create?

For the first issue of Modern Creative Life, we chose the theme: “What’s Next?”. It’s a question I asked myself (and cherished advisers) after my book was published. It was a question I asked both out of excitement and fear. That question lies at the heart of every creative person: what IS next for my creative life? What deserves my time and attention?”

Click Here to Savor the Archives ==>  Issue #1: What’s Next?

Contributors to our  “What’s Next?” Issue:

ÆverettA.R. Hadley  | Andi Cumbo-Floyd  | Becca Rowan  | Bella Cirovic  | Bernie Brown  |Caroline Persson | Christine Mason Miller  | Daryl Wood Gerber  | David Lazarony  | Debra Smouse  |  Imelda Maguire  | Jeanette McGurk  | Jeanie Croope  |  Julie M Terrill  | Kerstin Martin  | Kolleen HarrisonKrista Davis | Melissa A. Bartell | Patricia Wellingham-Jones  | Pat West | Stephanie Estrin | Sue Ann Gleason Theresa Reed