Pluff mud … that is what this season has felt like. Sticky. Slow. Heavy. Hard to pull out of. And if you are an artist, you can probably imagine what walking through pluff mud does to your studio practice and creativity in general.

ANYONE relate??

So when I finally decided to get back to my creativity – any creativity, really – I decided to try out a new technique for my art journal. I often work in my art journal to kick-start my practice, loosen myself up, and have some unfettered, non-over-thinking fun before hitting the canvas. Mixed media is perfect for initiating my creativity, and one of the reasons I love it so much. Once you learn the basics, mixed media is so freeing, forgiving, and rewarding. You play, you build layer upon layer, you respond, you adjust. You cover what does not work and find beauty in what remains.

I also was filming as I went for my current SOUL Collective cohort. As I began to work on this new mixed media skill I’ve been itching to try, I think I expected the joy and the ease to show up on cue. I expected the fun of creating to arrive naturally, the way it usually does.

But this weekend, all I experienced was failure. Over and over again. I tried the same technique eleven times. Eleven. Or was it twelve?…

In the latest SOUL Collective cohort, we’re looking at Kingdom women in Scripture, not as distant Bible characters tucked neatly into ancient history, but as layered, complex, very human women whose stories still speak to us today. Their lives carry questions many of us still carry as women, creatives, leaders, mothers, daughters, friends, and followers of Jesus.   Questions like: Who am I after failure? Am I too late for the promise? Does God really see me? Will this wilderness last forever?
Can He still use me in my brokenness? Will He redeem my story or relegate it to the shadows as I often do? What does it mean to create from a healed and rooted identity?

A Threshold Moment

There are seasons when life feels like a long hallway. You keep walking, you keep showing up, and you’re wondering if anything is really changing.

And then… without much fanfare or a dramatic announcement, you realize you’ve reached a door. Not fully open. Not fully closed. Just enough light spilling through to know:  Something is shifting.

You Are Standing at the Edge of Something New

Recently I was preparing for the last SOUL Collective gathering…

I recently shared something with my SOUL Collective group that’s been stirring in my heart as we’ve been going through the book of Isaiah and mining Scripture for God’s promises. This session, we’d been spending time in Isaiah 43-50. And as I sat with these chapters, something different began to emerge. I started noticing the gifts God is giving His people. Not instructions. Not requirements. But rather, something we might otherwise overlook ... beautiful, precious gifts.

Over and over in these chapters, God speaks to His people in a way that feels deeply personal and generous. . . I began to sense that these weren’t just historical statements for Israel. They are living gifts from the heart of God for His people today. Especially for artists. Because artists often walk through seasons that feel uncertain. We wrestle with identity. We wrestle with creative drought. We wrestle with courage. We wrestle with wondering whether what we create actually matters. And right into those places, God says: “I have gifts for you.”

Monthly in my free Facebook community, Creative Café with Debra Hart Studio, I host a 90-minute Zoom call called "Café PRAY" where we come together to discuss a topic that Holy Spirit leads us in, often with an activation, and of course, prayer.

For our February gathering, in honor of this 'love month' we talked about some related thoughts, followed by encouragements. There’s something really special about this space when we gather as artists, creatives, whose hearts feel deeply. And the conversation is one that I think so many of us need… maybe more than we realize.

We talked about creating from a place of wholeness and love.

So often, as creatives, we don’t actually create from wholeness. We create from . . .

There’s something almost magical about turning the calendar, isn't there?

A new year invites the fresh, the new, the unknown (in a good way). Not unlike a wide-open canvas with just a few gentle pencil lines placed for guidance. It's the perfect time to consider new practices -- especially if we're feeling a bit stale or bored -- and to invite beauty and creativity back into our daily lives. Whether you’re an artist, a maker, or someone who is drawn to, loves or collects art, I thought I'd collect some of my favorite and more inspired ideas to help you welcome more creativity into your 2026! And it so happens that this year, that means "26" - one for every letter of the alphabet 😁

One of the things I regularly do in my SOUL Collective online community is to create and share a prophetic word for the beautiful group of artists and creatives I get to do life with. Usually I'll share it at the end of our Zoom calls, and then send a PDF to use in their personal time with the Lord. This week, I feel compelled to share this with you, the other lovelies that I get to do life with, if only on the page. 🩵

Enjoy this PROPHETIC WORD FOR YOU IN THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON

Camera roll dump: photos from the recent trip to Fort Scott, Kansas where my art exhibit is up at The Artificers gallery for several months 🩵 Less words, more photos this time. Because I think the best description will come through these photos that show the love, the fun, the beauty of the almost four days I got to spend with incredible people. I was so engaged ...

So much creative goodness sparking between Atlanta and the Kansas City area the past few months!

Katelynn McCoy, gallery manager for The Artificers, Fort Scott, KS, has been regularly promoting and sharing all the goodness and fun on social media for my and fellow Featured Artist Jim Simpson’s exhibition (up for the next several months). The girl’s a genius and a queen 🩵 👸

Enjoy this Insta journey through Katelynn’s posts on behalf of The Artificers, from the initial announcement in July 2025 to the Opening in September and beyond…

This July marked the five year anniversary of "Creative Cafe with Debra Hart Studio." This free online international community of creatives began in the summer of 2020 - smack dab in the middle of what's now known simply as 'The Pandemic,' or '2020' - you know the one.