I Chose the Great Adventure: An Origin Story

“Choose the great adventure of being brave and afraid at the exact same time.” – Brene Brown

I want to explain how being afraid and brave at the same time, helped me create something really important: the Art Adventures Deck. The set of art activities I have just produced and presented to the world.

The deck is an incredibly joyful achievement for me. But its origin story is terrifying.

Go back about two years. I was sitting in a salon chair while Kimberly cut my hair. It’s August 2024 and this was the final cut before my daughter Emma’s wedding – her destination wedding at a gorgeous resort in the Dominican Republic.

Sounds dreamy, right?

No. Not. At. All.

I have extreme aerophobia. I’m not alone. About 25 million other Americans are also afraid of flying. On every flight, I spend the entire time sure I’m about to die. The weeks leading up to the flight I remain in an internal dress rehearsal for the minutes I will spend hurtling to the earth while flames and screaming surround me.

What a fun place my imagination is.

But my stylist Kimbery understood. She is a fellow aerophobe. “You know what I do?” she said matter-of-factly, “I draw.”

Me and Kimberly (right) at her salon.

That hit me hard – but in a good way. I have drawn and painted my entire life. It makes me feel good – no matter how the finished product comes out. Drawing is meditative for me.

So, I brought a sketchbook and some black pens on that flight tom Punta Cana. Between the Xanax and the sketching, I felt a little bit better. I was still scared, but I was also centered. Putting ink onto paper allowed me to wrap myself in a protective bubble of focus. It kind of amazed me. I was not constantly thinking of death.

A year later I was on plane heading to California. With me was my sketchbook, a pouch of pens and colored markers, and a handful of homemade cards. On them were whimsical and contemplative art games I had made for myself along with small meditations. The Art Adventure cards were born.

After returning home, I kept making more and more of them.

I saw how they had brought me needed stillness during a stressful experience. But now, as I continued to draw using them, I was immersed in a calming energy. I was entering a flow state that allowed me to walk new, creative paths I had never explored before. I shared them with others who also enjoyed the way the exercises inspired their imagination and creativity.

I knew I had to share these cards – for the artists in us all.

Art can be beautiful – but it can also be fun.

Art can comfort our trembling hearts – but it can also lead us on new adventures.

If you are interested in ordering your own Art Adventures Deck, click the button below.