Ivana Bajic is a multimedia producer drawn to stories where nature, emotion, and human transformation intersect. Through surfing, she discovered the ocean not just as a place, but as a force of healing, grounding, and deep connection among women.

Author of Nature of Surf Women, creator of the podcast Nature of Surf Women - Waves of Women, and curator of surf and wellness retreats, Ivana is currently working on a documentary about surf therapy and the healing power of the ocean.

Among my favourite parts of our conversation was talking about the tremendous value of caring and community.

Learn more about Ivana and her broad scope of work on instagram @ivanabajic and @nature_of_surfwomen and online at natureofsurfwomen.com

Mark Connor is a boxing trainer and writer from Saint Paul, Minnesota. Hearing Mark read from his book, 'It's About Time (Millions of Copies Sold for Dad),' reminded me how precious it is to have the opportunity to listen to a writer read their words aloud.

As Mark says, 'God breaks my nose; I'll break his nose.' In other words, fight for what feels right.

And the idea that once your feet hit the ground, you have to keep the momentum going, whether it's running, writing, painting, playing music, however you want to express yourself - that speaks to me. We always have to start by getting the momentum going, by becoming the kind of person who does what we value most.

You can learn more about Mark on instagram @writingboxer and online at boxersandwritersmagazine.com. His book - It's About Time (Millions of Copies Sold for Dad)' - is available on Amazon.

I've called at least one other episode in this podcast an odd duck. I think this may be a much even odder duck. The theme is ruminations I guess on the fifth birthday of the Vulnerability in life and art podcast.

Colin Douglas lives in Las Vegas, a data analyst by training and a philosopher by nature. He's driven by ideas and a great curiosity about how people choose to live their lives in the general pursuit of happiness, or better yet, enduring peace, fulfillment, or purpose. Working a full-time job, he finds the time to share his insights and invites others to engage in the conversation.

Colin shares a great line: 'Thoughts disentangle themselves through the lips and the fingertips' (commonly attributed to Dawson Trotman). That's how I feel about this podcast.

Be sure to check out Colin's writing on substack @personalpeace

"Books transform and shape us," says Winnipeg-based book artist Debra Frances. What makes a book a book? And how are we shaped by what we experience through books?

Inspired after making a book to showcase her daughter's artwork, Debra now creates stunning pieces from natural materials like milkweed seedpods and driftwood, as well as her own handmade papers and dyes.

She teaches bookbinding classes and also leads a one-week retreat every summer on Malcolm Island, British Columbia (for which I'm on the list in August 2027 :-) And the project where she collaborated with a climate scientist to create a book to represent key aspects of the work, centering on storytelling, was fascinating to me.

Learn more about Debra and her work on instagram @debra_frances and online at debrafrances.com

Based in Kitchener-Waterloo Ontario, Bryn Gladding is a commercial photographer who works with developers, researchers, inventors, artists, and manufacturers, alongside pursuing his own personal projects. I found his insights and reflections into his personal projects in particular, from the perspective of his own vulnerability, very moving.

Bryn is as passionate about nurturing connections with people as making photographs of and for them. He embraces the opportunities that come with new technologies as they emerge, and at the same time he looks forward to a resurgence in our general appreciation and valuing of art and artists, maybe even especially handcrafted or at least human-directed work.

Check out Bryn's work on instagram @bryngladding as well as online at bryngladdingphotography.com

Photograph © Bryn Gladding Photography
Sculpture "Stratford War Memorial" Walter Seymour Allward (1919-1922)

This is a quick ramble about the learning field - designing courses and workshops - and sustaining dramatic tension in long-form fiction.

This was a fun coversation from a personal perspective, because I went to high school with Jackie Reeves, a painter who also does collage, installations, film, and animations.

Jackie grew up making art and exudes a lovely sense of calm confidence not only in her talent, but also in her choices to make art as child, teen, and adult. She has faith in her drawing hand, her painting hand. I did envy that a little, and I told her so. Did I follow through the right pigeonhole?

My mother, as she has listened to these conversations over time, has noticed when artists have grown up in families who've supported, or at least understood, artistic practice versus when they did not. It's in no sense a requirement, but may be a factor that influences the effort to invest in that practice.

We connected on the work one does for oneself compared to commercial work to meet the design needs of clients. Figuring out what we want to share from our own voice can be tricky. Jackie asks the question - beyond skill, what do we choose to create and why? It's not about knowing how, but knowing what.

Jackie shares that when she looks over her body of work, it's about claiming space, and female identity more broadly, of building up and breaking down. It's your "own past flooding in through you." And then we can let it be what it is. Let it sit and cook for a while.

For those really attentive to detail, near the beginning of our conversation Jackie refers to university and "CEGEP." In case you wondered, that's the Québec equivalent of junior college.

Check out @jackiereevesart on instagram and jackiereeves.com to learn more about her work.