In this episode of Your Creative Midlife, I'm at my favorite place on Nantucket, which is not the beach. It's the Take It or Leave It shed at the Nantucket dump. know. Beautiful Nantucket, and I want to talk about the dump.

But I have found some real treasures there, and I'm not the only one — ask anybody who goes and they'll tell you what they found. It's the things people are done with that are still perfectly good and should be passed along. Everything is free. I call it gifts of the sea.

For a collage artist, it's a supply closet. I have used some of book illustrations in recent collages I made at the Artists Association of Nantucket.

Here’s a summary of what I found recently:

• Traveling With the Birds (1933)
• Fifty Famous Stories Retold · Grosset & Dunlap serials
• The Silent Meow (1964)

Sometimes I get a funny feeling that certain books are meant for me to find. This has happened more than once. This all goes to show that you can find artistic inspiration in unexpected places.

Thanks so much, and happy searching. I hope you find something that makes you happy.

Links:

Take-It-or-Leave It Shed on Nantucket: https://www.nantucket-ma.gov/2072/Take-It-or-Leave-It

Artists Association of Nantucket https://www.nantucketarts.org/

Suzanne Keating, Nantucket Astrologer https://www.pathwaysofthesoulack.com/

Please rate and review on Apple Podcasts. And see more about Betsy Bush and her guests at www.yourcreativemidlife.com. Are you on your own artistic or creative journey? We want to know about you! Please contact us through the website. Dare to follow your muse!

What happens when you sign up for something you might turn out to be bad at? In this episode of Your Creative Midlife, I'm exploring embroidery on Nantucket, in its different forms. It's the part of this island the influencers aren't telling you about.

What I didn't expect was how much this experience would end up being about limits. I learned that I am not good at everything (and how to be ok with that).

In This Episode You'll Learn

→ On being a beginner in midlife

→ The history of The Nantucket School of Needlery

→ The legacy of Erica Wilson, the Julia Child of needlework

→ The surprising health benefits of participating in the arts

→ Richard Saja's avant-garde needlework

If you’re interested in learning about needlework and how to manage a creative project when you meet your limit, this episode is for you.

Chapters

00:00 – Introduction and needlekeep

02:38 – RIchard Saja and avant-garde toile

04:47 – Erica Wilson, the Julia Child of Needlework

06:00 – The Nantucket School of Needlery

08:00 – Sip and Stitch at Erica Wilson

09:20 – The story of Nantucket’s Airport code, why it is ACK

10:30 – Resources from the 1800 House

Learn More About Needlework

• Listen to The GAM episode on needlework https://thenantucketgam.podbean.com/e/11/

• Visit Erica Wilson’s store for a class on Nantucket https://ericawilson.com/pages/60years

- Connect with Richard Saja

• https://www.instagram.com/richardsaja/

About Your Creative Midlife

Your Creative Midlife is a podcast and YouTube channel hosted by Betsy Bush, featuring inspiring conversations with artists, writers, musicians, filmmakers, and makers who discovered new creative paths after 50. Whether you're retired, an empty nester, or simply ready to explore a new passion, you'll find practical advice, encouragement, and real stories that prove it's never too late to create.

🌐 Website: https://www.yourcreativemidlife.com

📩 Share Your Creative Story: https://www.yourcreativemidlife.com/contact

Please rate and review on Apple Podcasts. And see more about Betsy Bush and her guests at www.yourcreativemidlife.com. Are you on your own artistic or creative journey? We want to know about you! Please contact us through the website. Dare to follow your muse!

I’m sharing the results of a collage workshop I took at the Visual Arts Center of the Artists Association of Nantucket, one of the island's major art centers. As a budding collage artist, this was an amazing experience, and it really gave me a chance to do a deep dive for four days in a row with a great instructor and great classmates.

I talk about the different techniques I used in each collage and how I’m discovering the value of process over getting a finished product.

Here are my takeaways:

1. It really is about process over product. If you focus on having something "worthy" to bring home to show people, the experience is less fun.

2. Use materials that you already have (my favorite stop is the Nantucket Dump -- more on this later)

3. Collage is really problem solving; not everything on the canvas has to be paper (you can also use paint).

4. Making art every day is exhausting; so much respect for the professionals.

I hope you've had a summer that's been productive, relaxing, and maybe you've tried something different, maybe you've taken up something new, some ex exploration or some play, because that's what we need to be doing to stay healthy and happy as we continue our creative midlives.

Links:

Learn more about the Artists Association of Nantucket: https://www.nantucketarts.org/

Please rate and review on Apple Podcasts. And see more about Betsy Bush and her guests at www.yourcreativemidlife.com. Are you on your own artistic or creative journey? We want to know about you! Please contact us through the website. Dare to follow your muse!