May is here. The garden is waking up, the light is staying longer, and my sketchbook has been out more than usual. Something feels different this month. I smell possibilities and good fortune.
For a long time, my creative life only got attention after everyone was asleep. The stolen hour was supposed to be enough. This year, I started paying more attention and noticed Maya likes to draw next to me. She’s eight, and so creative! (I know it’s hard to be objective here, but she is really good!). It made me realize I don’t have to wait until she falls asleep. Quiero crear con ella. I want to make things in front of her. With her. Together.
Again, not sure what’s happening some days, but something is definitely changing in me. In the garden and in my creative soul.
“Notice what you are inspired by. Notice who you admire. Our sources of inspiration are our guides. They take us towards our magic. They show us where to look to find our gifts. The inexplicable resonance we feel with people, places, things, and art is the universe winking at us, a flicker of our magic catching our eye.”
I came across this quote from Isabel on Substack this week. And I took it as a sign to create my May creative energy map.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been watching twenty-year-olds on social media romanticize their lives and build creative guides for themselves. Choosing a word for their month. I watched for a while before it hit me: yo también debería hacer esto. In my 40s, I deserve this too. You do too. Maybe more. So here we go!
The word for the month is… Wonder
I chose the word Wonder because wonder means staying curious about what I’m making, where I’m going, and who I’m still becoming.
I’ve been sharing in my notes that I’m building my portfolio as a children’s book illustrator. Wonder is the right word for that. Because that’s what picture books do. The best ones stop a child completely. Create a little space of pure attention right in the middle of an ordinary afternoon. I want more of that this month. Not just in what I’m making, but in how I move through May.
People I’m learning from
This month, I’m being more intentional about whose work I let into my creative space. Less scrolling, more following people who are making things and making them in a way I can learn from. A mix of Substack writers who think about creativity differently, and illustrators and authors whose work makes me want to pick up a pencil.
75 Solo Artist Dates to Try by Ayushi Thakkar— worth bookmarking for the whole year. I am going on my first solo artist date of the year tomorrow!
The Hyphen by Emma Gannon. All things about writing and creativity, doing work you love. She is one of the reasons I joined Substack. Waiting for her book A Creative Compass, to come out this summer
5 Creative Rituals You Can Actually Stick To by Irlanda Navarro — a Latina designer writing about creativity and identity.
Latinxs in Kid Lit — spotlights on Latinx illustrators of picture books. Research that feels like a rabbit hole in the best way.
Alyssa Reynoso-Morris - Award-winning children’s author and overall joyful human. She shares really great information for writers in the making, like me.
Places I’m visiting
I've been consumed by my nine-to-five in the last days of April. We took a short day trip to Boulder to visit my almost-20-year-old college daughter. Saw lots of tulips and we had fantastic weather. This month, I'm hoping I get to play tourist in Colorado and discover more of the surroundings. I've been particularly interested in popping by the Denver Botanic Gardens. I recommend a solo tourist day on the calendar to bring the good juju and buenas vibras to your life.
Other places that don’t require a plane ticket (or leaving the house)
Google Arts & Culture: Free access to 2,000+ museum collections. Zoom into brushstrokes. Spend an hour in the Uffizi without a ticket
Natural History Museum Virtual Museum: Free online access to one of the world’s great natural history collections
Your own camera roll. Find a trip you took without a sketchbook. Draw one photo from it, or write a post about it. I'm doing both for one of my next essays. Hint 🇫🇷
Your backyard, or the closest park. Picnic blanket, sketchbook. #pleinair
Small things, big imagination
May is a slow month for me on purpose. I’m learning to trust the small things.
Seeds & plants. Whatever is growing outside your window right now. Watch it without trying to fix it.
Picture books. A few I have in my pile: Islandborn by Junot Díaz, Gustavo the Shy Ghost by Flavia Z. Drago, Carmela Full of Wishes by Matt de la Peña, Plátanos Are Love by Alyssa Reynoso-Morris, Tía Fortuna’s New Home by Ruth Behar, and Where Are You From? by Yamile Saied Méndez
Your local farmer’s market. Not to buy. To look at color and what May actually grows
Sharing monthly with you because I feel like anyone could use some buenas vibras. Whether you are a mom or a creative in your 40s who makes things in small windows and finds magic in ordinary days, this is for you.
Nos vemos pronto.
Buenas vibras para mis almas creativas ✨
Adriana
Thank you so much for sharing this. We do deserve more creativity. Also thank you for mentioning me in your post. I appreciate you 🙏🏾😊
We need so much more wonder in our lives!! It's that place of unknowing, surprise, delight, serendipity, feeling our smallness in the vast universe... oh Adriana you really struck a chord here!