Summer Minisode #1

Summer Minisode #1

Y’all, we made Brynn draw! This summer, we’re releasing a mini-episode each week. Each will be 20-30 minutes, with a creative challenge and a little bit of chit-chat. If you want to join in on the creative activity, grab a pencil and print out this worksheet [https://drive.google.com/file/d/170o73MIDHpRDp59tH6q_4NTGBy4_j6Kz/view?usp=drive_link]. (Or, just draw 12 circles on a piece of paper) The first couple of exercises this summer are inspired by the New York Times 2025 creative challenge. [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/well/creativity-drawing-art.html] We hope you’re having an excellent summer and that you’re finding some time to nurture your creative spirit between applying sunscreen and swatting mosquitos. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit notquitelosingit.substack.com [https://notquitelosingit.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Episode 12: Revisiting Goals & Looking Ahead

We did it! We made an entire season of Not Quite Losing It. A pretty impressive accomplishment considering 6 months ago we had no idea how to make a podcast. In this Season 1 finale of Not Quite Losing It, we revisit the goals we set for ourselves back in Episode 4, recorded a thousand years ago. We talk about the challenges of balancing projects with everyday life and the significance of small wins in maintaining motivation and positivity. Also, Brynn shares the ups and downs of launching her second book and Katie and Melissa end up last minute in VIP seats at a Weird Al concert. Finally, we talk about plans for season two. We’ve got a lot of ideas, including summer mini-sides and spinoff NQLI bookclub series. What would y’all like to see for Season 2? Do you have a favorite moment from Season 1? Let us know in the comments! Good Fight Spotlight: Joanne Kent, an Atlanta photographer and Melissa’s wonderful photography teacher. You can check out her work at JoannaKentAtlantaArt [https://www.etsy.com/shop/JoanneKentAtlantaArt#items]. She captures the beauty in both the urban and natural worlds and if you’re from Atlanta or Georgia, her work will particularly resonate. Leave Snack: Reflect on your own goals and don’t be sad if you haven’t made as much progress as you’d have liked. Instead, think about what you have accomplished and steps you have taken, even it’s tiny, baby steps. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit notquitelosingit.substack.com [https://notquitelosingit.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Episode 11: Our Creative Influences

This episode’s a fun one, especially if you’re a sucker for a little nostalgia. Listen for mentions of Ann M. Martin, Louis Sachar, and the great Kate Baer [https://substack.com/profile/27321460-kate-baer] (who is one of our creative-mom heroes), alongside our reminiscing about puff paint, severed hand props, and dads diving head first into the baptistry. We all can think of dozens of artists, writers, teachers, musicians who helped shape the kind of art we love and want to create, but y’all— the first people that came to our minds re: who taught us how to be creative? Our parents— even the ones who wouldn’t consider themselves creative. Lots to think about there. Maybe, just maybe, we’re all a little more creative than we think. Good Fight Spotlight: René Chandler of The Host Hacks: Budget-Friendly Design and Hacks for Midterm Rental Hosts [http://thehosthacks.com]. Even if you’re not in the process of renovating a basement to become a mid-term rental, you’ll enjoy following René’s progress and hearing her tips for decorating a space for beauty and durability. Go check her out on tiktok, pinterest, or instagram [https://www.instagram.com/the_host_hacks/]! Leave Snack: This week’s homework is to tell someone that their work has inspired you. It could be a friend or someone famous. Send them an email, DM, or social media tag. Don’t be afraid to be a fan-girl/boy/person. It’s cool to think something’s cool, and it’s cool to share your gratitude. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit notquitelosingit.substack.com [https://notquitelosingit.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Episode 10: Three Cheers for Creative Failures

Y’all, starting this week we have video! (Skip to 38 seconds if you want to see our smiling faces after the intro graphics!) This week, we’re talking about creative failures, and man… do we have some to share. Sometimes you have to laugh or cry, and this episode, we may have done a little of both as each of us revisited some of our most notable creative failures, from empty journals, to very earnest infant portraits, to melted wedding cakes. In the end, though, Katie said it best: “The real failure is never letting yourself get started because you're too afraid of being bad at something.” So let’s hear it for failures! Because that means you succeeded at trying a thing, and that is hard! GOOD FIGHT SPOTLIGHT: Go check out Mary Huggins of Mary Huggins Art [https://maryhuggins.com/] — she’s a landscape painter from Rome, Georgia, who started painting as personal catharsis to fill her own home with original art and turned it into a successful career. LEAVE SNACK: The homework this week is to make a brave attempt. Try something you might fail at, sign up for a class where you might be the worst in the room, or revisit a failure you've buried and ask whether it's worth trying again. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit notquitelosingit.substack.com [https://notquitelosingit.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Episode 9: Loneliness in Motherhood

Isn’t it wild how lonely you can feel, even when you’re never actually alone? Parenting can be so isolating. All three of us have gotten relief from that loneliness through different creative communities we’ve found (or created for ourselves): writing critique groups, pottery classes, twitter sub-cultures, text threads, and collaborating on this podcast. This week, our Good Fight Spotlight features our friend (and member of Melissa and Brynn’s former writing group), Christy Petterson, who has done a million creative things and has recently launched daytimemooncreativity.com [http://daytimemooncreativity.com]. She’s currently got registration open for some creativity workshops in the Atlanta area. She’s amazing, encouraging, and smart, and attending one of her workshops could help you make the creative connections we are advocating for in this episode. Go check her [https://www.instagram.com/daytimemooncreativity/] out! Leave snack: Connect with another adult human about art this week. Bronze = leave a comment or review; Silver = share your own creative goals with a friend; Gold = make an actual date (in-person or virtual) to create or talk about art together. You can do it! We believe in you! You’re not alone in this. <3 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit notquitelosingit.substack.com [https://notquitelosingit.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]