May 7, 2026 • 42 mins
Today, I sit down with Michelle, a former coaching client, longtime art educator, and new author (Heart of Color: A Gentle Look at Vincent Van Gogh) to talk about what happens when you finally stop living inside the “box” of other people’s expectations and start building a life that has room for your real self.
If you are inspired by stories of creativity, courage, or starting over, this conversation is for you.
Subscribe for more conversations like this.
Share the episode with a friend who needs a nudge, and leave a review to help others find it too.
Get a copy of Michelle's book:
https://www.artful-spark.com/store
- The book will be available for purchase starting May 15.
- Connect on Instagram @artful.spark
- October 22, 2026 Celebrate Bloom Kindness Day: Check our website for ideas close to the date.
Learn more about Carla:
Website: https:/www.carlareeves.com/
Get The Differently Journal:
https://carlareeves.com/journal
Connect on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/differentlyco/
Connect on LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reevescarla/
Connect on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@differentlythepodcast
Go to https://carlareeves.com/free-class to get The Class schedule, sign up, and/or pass it on to a friend. Come hang out and learn with us for FREE!
Book a Complimentary Strategy Call with Carla: https://bookme.name/carlareeves/strategycall
- If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to share it with a friend.
- A free way to support our show is by leaving a five-star rating and review on your favorite podcast player. It’s a chance to tell us what you love about the show and it helps others discover it, too.
Thank you for listening!
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
A deep change in the way that we live requires a deep
change in the way that we think.
I'm Carla Reeves, and this isDifferently.
This episode really inspired me.
I literally just got donetalking with Michelle.
I had the opportunity toreconnect with her.
(00:20):
She was one of my clients backfrom 2012, like my early days of
coaching.
And to be able to follow up withher story and share it with you
makes my heart so happy.
Get ready to open your heart andmind.
Reflect on your own dreams, andmay her courage inspire yours.
(00:43):
Meet my friend, Michelle.
Welcome to Differently.
I have a very special guesttoday.
Michelle is joining me.
And Michelle and I, oh my gosh,Michelle, we I think we decided
we met in like 2012.
So we she's a past client anddear friend.
(01:03):
And I'm so excited to have you.
SPEAKER_00 (01:06):
Thank you, Carla.
I'm excited to be here today.
And yes, we um met in I think2012 when you were starting out.
And I was an art educator at aschool that had health fair.
And I stopped at your booth andjust love the idea of you being
a life coach.
Um, because I just don't reallylike the word therapist, but and
(01:26):
I love to write.
So uh the journey with you wasjust great.
And at that time of my life, um,the support and um wonderful
guidance you gave me was reallygreat, and how you um pointed
out things I probably wouldn'thave known that I was writing or
saying or doing, and it reallyum led me through that time in
my life.
(01:47):
So thank you for that.
SPEAKER_01 (01:48):
You're so welcome.
It's been such a joy.
And and I think we, I mean, Ithink we've reconnected a few
times.
Um, and then recently you show Ithink popped into a one of the
classes that I offer, and it wasso fun to see you again and
reconnect and discover that youwere publishing a children's
book, which you had talked aboutin our journey a long time ago,
(02:11):
and we'll we'll get to thatpart.
Um, but let's go back, paint alittle picture for people of
kind of where you were when wemet and like where you find
yourself in this moment.
SPEAKER_00 (02:24):
Yes.
Uh when I met you, I was umworking 10-hour days and I was
loving my job.
And I didn't have many adultconversations though, because I
taught children from the age offive to nine uh all day long.
And then I would stay in theclassroom.
And when I left the classroom, Iwas um not able to connect with
(02:47):
other adults, if you will.
It's not that I didn't havefriends, but everybody was busy,
and I found myself going homeand going to the grocery store
and not having much of afoundation outside of the
classroom.
And my gift is to teach, and Iloved it, and it did fill my
soul and my heart.
It was just the pieces outsideof the classroom and also with
(03:09):
my family at the time, my fatherand my brother.
Um, I was hoping to have a moreenriched relationship with them.
It just uh I was in some kind ofbox and how they perceived me,
and I was so um I was trying tochange that perspective, but at
the end of the day, I just hadto accept who they were and
(03:30):
accept who I was and moveforward from that.
And that journey actuallystrengthened me, which at first
it probably felt like I wasbeing weakened, but I wasn't,
and you pointed that out to mein such a gracious way, and it
led me to be brave and to cometo the idea that I could rip off
(03:52):
a big band-aid and move toWisconsin, where uh as a child I
had a foundation here.
My uncle lived here, and Ialways in the back of my mind
thought I could build myself uma community and or just have a
home to put some roots down.
When I lived in Arizona, I wasmoving all of the time and I was
(04:13):
never unpacking anything,literally.
And I love when you say unpackit.
So now I've unpacked everything.
SPEAKER_01 (04:21):
I love that.
Yeah, I still say that on mycoaching call.
I love you too, but I love it tounpack because there's always
things to unpack.
SPEAKER_00 (04:29):
Always unpacking.
And I have most things unpacked.
I do still have a few bins, butum, but I was able to When did
you move?
When did you move make that leapand move?
I right uh soon after uh COVID.
Um because I then at that timetoo I felt even more isolated
because everybody was isolated,and what kept me going was you
(04:53):
know, teaching, of course.
But then my life kind of flashedin front of me a little bit, and
I thought, oh my goodness, I umbetter get going.
And so I moved.
Um it came up pretty quickly.
I had an opportunity to have ahome here with a friend, and so
I thought I better try.
And and also I wanted to helpout um a friend too that was in
(05:15):
need and a uh not a biologicalfamily member, but um family.
And so I ended up thinking,okay, where's my purpose in life
right now?
I've I've been a teacher, I'vedone this, and I really wanted
to bring what I had in Arizonahere, but I couldn't do that.
But I at least I I thought Icould um have the dream of being
(05:38):
here uh come alive and see whatit would feel like because I
thought about it a lot, as youknow, and I moved in 22, and so
I've been here four yearsalready.
unknown (05:47):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (05:48):
I know so I want to go back to a couple things you
said that I think are soimportant.
One is you mentioned that youfelt like you were in a box,
like a box of how they perceivedyou.
Is that what you're talkingabout?
SPEAKER_00 (06:02):
Yeah, I mean, I guess we do that, everybody does
that, but um, in some shape orform, I suppose.
Um, but I I felt the box becauseI didn't spend enough time with
my um father and brother forthem to know me.
They they wanted to see me as aperson.
My father always wanted me me toget married, and you know, and
(06:22):
he thought that would be, youknow, the that would what would
be make me successful, I guess,and in his in his mind.
Um, although the funny thing isI'm a lot like him.
SPEAKER_01 (06:33):
Yeah, that happens too.
Right.
We discover that later.
SPEAKER_00 (06:38):
Yeah.
And I love the gifts he gave me.
I mean, he gave me um awonderful mind.
My mother gave me my beautifulheart.
And um, my brother and I, youknow, lived a lifestyle growing
up where we were surviving allthe time.
So we probably didn't have timeto become a brother and sister,
so to speak.
Um, which maybe is why we, youknow, had that in front of us
(07:00):
when we got older.
But I I guess the box was um,you know, this is Michelle, this
is what she does, and she laughsstrange, and I don't like when
she shrieks or yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (07:12):
Whatever it may be, or whatever it may be.
And and what you think it wasmay not be exactly what it was,
but I think that it's such agood point to bring up because
of what you said that we allfeel that in some way.
And I think especially with ourour roots and our family of
origin, um, I know going back tosee family, like even still,
(07:33):
like I don't think they reallyget what I do or like really who
I am now.
And um that's not uncommon thatit's I think it's hard for
people that shared that periodof time of life with us to see
us in a new way.
And I I read something that wastalking about genuine love, and
(07:53):
it said, excuse me, genuine loverequires concentration and
effort, and it takes time toknow people and like what a gift
it is, the people that we dohave in our life that take that
time to get to know you again,you know, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (08:14):
And I found that when I returned to Wisconsin
because uh many of my friendfamily, so to speak, um, I
hadn't seen all of the time.
I mean, we knew of each other,you know, from high school or
you know, even seventh grade,but uh I didn't have time with
them, you know, since thenbecause I had left.
And and when I came back, Istarted to spend time with them.
(08:36):
And then I also had theopportunity to get to know them
again and the qualities that youknow they have now as adults,
you know, as opposed to when wewere in uh younger, you know, in
high school.
And um, I would see them once ayear and I kept in touch with
them, and but I really didn'tknow them anymore, and they
didn't really know me anymore.
(08:56):
But now we've had these richexperiences together.
And a friend of mine said, youknow, if you hadn't come back to
Wisconsin, you wouldn't besitting here having this rich
experience with me right now.
SPEAKER_01 (09:06):
So yeah, it's so true.
Which brings me to the secondthing I wanted to go back to was
I do remember that you had thatdream in your heart and that you
like were on the fence for along time, you know, and and
this is another thing that I seeso often in my own life and in
conversations with clients.
Like we do sit on the fenceoften for years, you know,
(09:29):
debating whether to dosomething.
But you said like your lifeflashed before you and you made
that move.
What was, I mean, I'm sure therewere lots of things that went
into the catalyst, right?
It wasn't a one-time thing, butwhat was the sort of last piece
that took you over the fence?
SPEAKER_00 (09:48):
That's a great question.
Um the last piece that took meover the fence was imagining
myself in uh you know, 10 yearsdown the road and walking out of
my classroom and looking outsidethat door and going, okay, what
(10:08):
now?
And and looking out to alandscape that was more or less
empty, right?
Because I didn't see where Iwould be, what would I do, what
would I have.
I mean, I would have the richexperience of being in the
classroom, which I still hadloved all the way up till the
decision was made.
And um when I had to rip off theband-aid, it was very emotional
(10:33):
and um I experienced a lot ofgrief, but I um I had to be
brave.
I'm almost getting emotionalabout it.
Um, because I wanted to see umthe I wanted to see the
foundation I could possiblycreate for myself in a grounded
um environment.
And I knew that I needed that.
(10:55):
My soul was telling me that allof the time.
I was grounded in my job.
I loved it, and I probably wouldhave stayed it 20 more years,
but um, but just it was outsidethat door.
I um I couldn't see it anymore.
And the other um funny thing, Imean, uh God loved my landlord,
but he kept saying I was theperfect tenant, right?
(11:15):
And I he came into the kitchenone day and it was right after
the whole explosion of COVID.
And he said, Well, I'm gonnaraise your rent$500 because I
can't.
Wow.
Wow, okay.
That was like another nudge,like, okay, right, sometimes we
need those, right?
And then next year I could beanother$500, and you know, and I
(11:37):
just thought, my goodness.
Um, so yeah, I and so I put outliterally the bat signal, if you
want to call it that, to myfriends here.
And when that occurred, and Ithought, okay, if God wants me
to be in Wisconsin, thensomething will, you know, come
yeah, make way.
And and it did, and it was agreat opportunity.
(11:58):
And if I hadn't taken it, Iwouldn't be here today, and I
probably wouldn't be able to doit today.
I mean, it would wow, and that'sthe truth.
And albeit, I mean, when Iarrived, was there a lot of joy
and you know accelerated uhfeelings?
Yes, but was there grief?
Yes, yeah, yeah, just the lossof my previous life, um, not the
(12:22):
loss, but I decided to do it.
It wasn't necessarily loss, butit but I didn't, I wasn't um
prepared for that.
I wasn't prepared for the umfeelings of, oh my gosh, did I
make the right decision?
You know, did I make a mistake?
Did I let go of something Iloved and here I am?
And everything was new.
It regardless if I was back in aplace that I wanted to be for so
(12:46):
long, everything was new again.
Um, where I lived was new, youknow, the people around me was
new.
Um, my friends that I had formany years, it was new again.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (12:57):
So I find that those we moved um from our 25-year
home where we raised our kids acouple of years ago.
And I remember like after we hadgotten here, I was like doing
some, I was repotting a plant.
And um as I took that old theplant from its old pot into the
(13:18):
new soil, it just like I got howI was feeling.
Like that's how I felt, like itwas uncomfortable and I was all
exposed, but I was in a new pot.
And like there was also like anuh um it it woke up my life in
so many ways.
And I think that is important torepot yourself.
SPEAKER_00 (13:42):
That is so amazing that you said that because I uh
I think it was it's been twoyears.
So a couple of years ago, I hadthe opportunity to plant some
trees, and I thought on the sideof the house where there was no
fence and it was kind ofexposed.
So I thought, ooh, um, you know,I'll go pick some trees out.
And it was so interestingbecause just to even choose a
(14:04):
tree, right?
Well, what tree would you like?
And yes, you know, so these umwonderful landscapers came to
plant the trees, and I will tellyou the overwhelming feeling of
seeing these trees being plantedinto the ground, and all of a
sudden I felt so elated.
I think I I finally two yearslater was like, Oh my gosh, you
(14:27):
know, I have some roots.
Look at these roots that are inthe trees that I chose.
And I um I actually named eachtree after one of my elders,
like my grandmother and myfather, and my mother.
I love that, and my uncles.
And um, and it all was inspiredbecause I I had lost a tree in a
snowstorm, and so that one hadto go.
(14:48):
And I thought, well, I'llreplace that tree.
Okay, well, why not get somemore trees?
SPEAKER_01 (14:53):
I love that so much.
The the trees and the roots.
Yeah, sometimes we want to rushthat process, you know, but it's
it wouldn't be the same had wenot taken the time to grow the
roots, and that's beautiful.
So this has also led you on anew journey and another leap.
So I would love for you to sharewith us about that.
SPEAKER_00 (15:16):
Yes.
Um, well, that I'm I think thisopportunity of being here, I
haven't been in the classroomnecessarily, uh obviously as
much as I was in Arizona.
And I always had a dream aboutbeing a children's book author.
And I've had it since fourthgrade, I think.
unknown (15:35):
Wow.
SPEAKER_00 (15:36):
And and that's the truth.
And I can remember the day whenthat was um sparked literally um
in my soul.
And um my mother tell us aboutthat.
Yeah, the spark.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (15:50):
Yeah, my mother And also you were an art teacher.
I don't know if you've saidthat, but I just want the
listener to know like you werean art teacher, right?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (16:00):
And that started spontaneously too.
But um, I I feel that my journeyhas been um very fluid in that
regard.
Uh, but in fourth grade, um, mymother and my brother and I, we
would uh jump in the car and wetraveled a lot and um went coast
to coast, and uh she knew that Iloved to write.
And so she took me to one of theyou know, campy kind of
(16:23):
drugstores that you know thathad little bits and pieces, and
there I found a journal.
And I thought, oh, and it wasone of those with a lock and key
and everything.
But um, I remember it was abunch of little flowers and my
favorite color purple, and andit had lines in it.
And I felt so special to be ableto write in this journal.
And I literally would just writeabout my day, right?
I woke up at eight o'clock andyeah, and mom and I are gonna go
(16:48):
drive to California now, or youknow.
So that started it, and then andand then and she always
encouraged me to write.
And I have so many um bins andbins of journals, but um, and
that was amazing because Ireally needed to write.
And uh my um intention was tobecome a children's book author
(17:11):
because this a friend of mineactually said one day, just out
of the blue, Well, I'm writing abook.
And I thought, oh, what's that?
You know, and you know, mygrandmother always read me
children's books, and I alwayswould imagine the pictures and
um, you know, and the words.
And and my aunt Lillian was anEnglish teacher, so she
encouraged me to write.
And I always thought, somedayI'm gonna write a children's
(17:34):
book, and I know it's gonna comealive, and I just don't know
when it is.
Well, one day in my beautifulhome in Wisconsin, I was looking
out the window, and my neighborgrows these 20-foot sunflowers.
unknown (17:46):
They're really tall.
SPEAKER_01 (17:47):
Love those.
SPEAKER_00 (17:48):
It was yeah, late summer, and I peeked out the
window, and suddenly what cameto me was a title for a book
called The Last Sun or TheTallest Sunflower.
And I wanted to write it aboutVincent Van Gogh because he
loves sunflowers.
So I saw the flower and I wentand I wrote this framework for
the children's book, and thatwas in uh 2024.
(18:11):
And I had it in my, you know,um, in my laptop, and I'd
written it, and I thoughtsomeday I'm gonna find somebody
to illustrate it because Ididn't want to illustrate it
myself, even though I probablycould have, but I wanted my
words to be in their purest formand then have somebody else
possibly interpret them and youknow, collaborate with them.
Uh, so it sat on my computer fortwo years, and then um I just
(18:37):
like you, just how we um keptmeeting up on your podcast, I
had a friend who's an artist inArizona sending out her um
weekly blogs and our monthlyblogs, and she said, I'm gonna
illustrate a children's book.
Um, I'm gonna try it becauseshe's a painter.
And I thought, oh, I'll writeher.
And that was uh in 2025, justlast year in the summer.
(19:00):
So I reached out to her.
I said, I have a children'sbook, would you like to
illustrate it?
And she said, Oh my gosh, thatwould be a great project.
And I and she goes, Well, let'stalk on this day.
Well, it turns out our firstconversation on the phone was on
the day that um the book isabout Vincent Van Gogh.
It was on the day that he hadpassed away that we first spoke.
unknown (19:19):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (19:20):
Like you just realized that after.
No, she said, Do you know thatthis is the day that he passed
away?
Oh my gosh.
And I thought, oh my gosh, youknow, and then at the end of the
conversation, she said, Well,actually, I'm gonna be in
Chicago in a couple of weeks.
Why don't we meet at the ArtInstitute?
And I thought, that's only anhour and a half for me.
So we met at the Art Instituteand um in Chicago, and there's a
(19:47):
portrait, um, a self-portrait ofVincent Van Gogh there.
So we took a picture ofourselves in front of the
self-portrait, and then I alsobought her um a magnet of that
portrait to give her to takehome to, you know, yeah, to
start our journey.
And it was amazing.
We got to have lunch and we gotto talk about um the project,
and that's where the seed wasplanted, and then uh we got
(20:11):
everything organized and thenstarted to meet.
Um and our ideas were you knowin sync, and she I let her run
with it and interpret my words,and it turned out to be a really
beautiful book.
And the other um interestingthing, the title, which was
originally the tallestsunflower, um, I think I told
you this when you're doingsomething silly like washing
(20:32):
dishes, sometimes ideas come in.
Yes.
I'm washing the dishes, and allof a sudden, heart of color came
into my mind.
And I I told um the illustratorthat I said, you know, I had
this other thought.
And then that prompted um thecover art and it prompted um to
have a heart on every singlepage that the children could
(20:53):
find.
And so we ended up calling it umheart of color a gentle look at
Vincent Van Gogh.
unknown (21:00):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (21:01):
Oh my gosh, Michelle, when you just said
that, like heart of color, myfriend, that is you.
Like that's when I think of you,like that is you, and she's you
guys can't see her, but she'ssitting in front of me with a
beautiful coral scarf today.
And like that, that is you.
And I'm so glad that you'reputting this out into the world
(21:24):
and that you didn't give up andthat you nurtured and cultivated
that dream in your heart for along time, and we have to do
that because nobody else has cansee that, only you.
Yeah, thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (21:40):
Thank you so much.
I'm I'm that's means so much tome, and it's exactly it.
I didn't give up.
And there were many times when Ithought, you know, this isn't
enough, or oh, that was that'sthe kindest thing you could ever
say.
Thank you so much.
Um it's just true.
It's just true.
Why that maybe God said, Hey,that add heart of color as the
(22:05):
title.
Oh, and you know, that is it'sso connected to everything,
isn't it?
Um, yeah.
I um my my one thing going backto my dear father, he said one
day, just out of the blue, hesaid, You have your mother's
heart.
Oh and her heart was um amazingand colorful.
(22:30):
Yeah, exactly.
It really was.
And in the dedication, I honoredthat.
Um because it began with her andum and her ability to just have
joy no matter what was going on.
SPEAKER_01 (22:44):
Yeah, that's beautiful.
Wow.
Woo! That surprised me.
SPEAKER_00 (22:51):
Surprised me too.
Thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (22:54):
Um so share a little bit about the story because I
know that that I think you hadshared with me, like you taught
about Van Gogh for a lot ofyears.
You taught children and you sawsomething, and something that
something inspired your story.
(23:14):
And of course, we want people togo get a copy.
Yes, of course.
And we'll share that later.
SPEAKER_00 (23:20):
Okay.
Yes, I uh being an art educatorfor 22 years, I decided to teach
um art history, but I simplifiedthe stories about the artists
for the children to have a moreum clear understanding and also
to make it more fun for them.
And every time I uh talked aboutVincent Van Gogh, I mentioned
(23:44):
how amazing that it was that hepainted 800 paintings in only 10
years and that he, you know,painted every single day and um
and that he didn't feel wellsometimes.
And you know, and they wouldn'tbe very curious because they
didn't know much about him.
Well, then uh they would go homeand somebody would say, Oh,
that's the guy that cut his earoff.
(24:06):
And you know, of course that'snot what I would tell them.
And then they would come in theclassroom and be very proud of
themselves that they knewsomething about him.
And I thought that was reallyunfortunate, um, not because you
know they were told that, butjust that um this amazing
painter that we um honor today,and you know, his work is in
(24:26):
museums and it's all over um,you know, magnets for if you
will, and journals and hisimages are everywhere.
And why not have his the imageof him be also beautiful, like
his paintings?
And why can't we um let go ofyou know whatever he was feeling
or whatever happened in hislife?
And it goes back to again uhbeing in that box, like the
(24:49):
perceptions we have of, oh yeah,I know that, and that's all you
know.
Um, and you have to allowyourself to say, is that true?
And can we let that go?
Or is that all?
Right.
Is that all?
And it's so multifaceted.
And then it prompted me becauseI was teaching it in the
classroom.
I decided to take a little tour,a solo tour to places in France
(25:13):
where he painted.
And I wanted to get closer towhat I didn't know that you
traveled on your research.
Yeah, I did.
Well, this was um beautiful, butbut yeah, it was the beginning
of the journey, right?
And the foundation for what Ihave now um about his story, and
it was a wonderful um journey.
(25:35):
I met people along the way, andand it opened up my own eyes
just to see the physicallandscapes and the physical
places.
So I went to the place uh whichthey called um in the history
books.
If somebody's listening and oh,well, you know, she doesn't know
anything about him like that hestayed in a quote unquote
(25:58):
asylum.
But when I went there, it wasthe most beautiful prepare I'd
ever seen.
It didn't look like an asylum atall.
Wow.
Uh the tour guide even said thatat the time when he was there,
the nuns um didn't feel that hewas harmful at all.
And they would just let himwander the grounds in the
daytime and let him paintbecause they knew that he needed
(26:19):
to paint.
And literally all around thegrounds, there were um areas
that still looked like that hejust stood there and painted it
because you know, the trees andhow he painted the trees, and
you could just see the way thathe um saw that and saw nature
and perceived nature, and umthat was the most profound um
(26:42):
stop, really, um, that I foundin that tour.
And then I went to um the placewhere the night cafe that he
painted was, and that's stillthere.
And I sat in one of the chairsand um and said, Here's you,
Bango.
Wow.
Yeah.
And you know, and then you're ontrains in France, and you know,
(27:04):
it was a time when thesunflowers were all blooming,
and I just imagined, you know,what it must have been like, and
and how he must have been outthere in one of the pages of my
book.
I have him painting in asunflower field from morning
till night, and um, and how warmit must have been, or you know,
yeah.
But he had the motivation to dothat.
SPEAKER_01 (27:25):
So and then you told me about right, how he had was a
writer and that part of hislife.
SPEAKER_00 (27:32):
Oh my goodness, yeah.
I went to um an exhibition inNew York at the library, and
there were cases and cases andcases of letters to Theo, his
brother, and they werebeautifully written and penning,
and they had sketches and verydetailed writing.
Um, and I just thought, youknow, it he must have it was a
form of journaling uh for himand to record what he was seeing
(27:56):
and what he was feeling.
And he wrote so many that one ofthe postmen um in a village he
lived in um, you know,befriended him and Van Gogh
painted a portrait of him.
I love that because they saweach other often.
And if you think about that, Imean, this is you know, the
(28:17):
1800s, and that he was writingthat many letters, and uh that
Theo was his um, you know, hisconduit for his um life and
describing his life.
And again, they were sobeautifully written, and I just
remember the penmanship and thathe was right, you know, drawing
sketches there too.
Um yeah, so it's just that is sobeautiful.
(28:40):
Isn't it?
I I know I just and because Ithink um again, like the reason
I write too, I mean, sometimesyou don't see you know actual
people and he didn't have a lotof friends in his life,
unfortunately.
Um, but he knew that he couldwrite to his brother, and thank
goodness he had that person inhis life.
SPEAKER_01 (28:58):
Yeah, and the connection that was made with
the postman, like I just thinkthat's such a reminder of the
little um not so little, maybe,but those connections in our
life that maybe we don't eventhink about that we're making,
you know, that are a part of youknow, that every day or however
frequently he was sending thoseletters.
(29:19):
How beautiful.
SPEAKER_00 (29:20):
Yes, very beautiful.
And in our lives today, I mean,how simple is that, right?
Just to see the simplicity ofum, you know, oftentimes we put
people on these big pedestals.
Oh, you know, they're doing thisand they're so successful in
this and that.
And and you forget about thejust the groundwork of life,
right?
Yeah, people that, you know, ummight be your server at a
(29:44):
restaurant, or um, you know, theum the person at the post
office, literally.
SPEAKER_01 (29:51):
Yeah, or I see Bob walking his dog almost every
day.
You know what I mean?
It's just like a little passing,a little exchange um that you
just don't know how much thatmatters to us or to the other
person, or you just don't knowwhat you're building.
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (30:08):
Yeah, and or hope to you to you someday for whatever
reason.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (30:14):
Wow, I think that's so I I mean, I think I already
know the answer to this, but I Ijust there's where are you in
the story?
And I think you've kind ofalready said it a little bit.
Yeah.
Where do you find yourself inhis story?
And that's for the listener too.
SPEAKER_00 (30:36):
Yes.
Well, if you're listening, whereI find myself in the story, I
think it's um his courage andperseverance, regardless of
whatever social paradigm thatcould have been in his lifetime
and even now, uh, that hecontinued to paint even when he
(31:00):
didn't feel well.
And, you know, I haven't feltvery well many times, you know.
Yeah.
This big adjustment in my lifeand being here in Wisconsin and
making that big change and notbeing in my comfort zone
anymore.
And um the reinvention of mylife is in the story because I
(31:22):
stayed with it and I followedthrough.
Um, I'm a little bit of a freespirit, and sometimes I, you
know, have ideas, and I always Ialways say, and I always said,
um, oh my gosh, I have all theseideas, but I don't know how to
get them out there.
And and finally all of thethings, you know, hooked
together.
(31:43):
And uh Van Gogh had no idea thathis paintings were gonna, you
know, be everywhere in you know,this present day, but he
continued and he persevered, andthank goodness he did.
And I think that's the biggestpart in the story.
It's really about um overcominglimitations um and stepping out
(32:05):
of your box.
And um, I really want listenersto know that this book is really
truly about also kindness andcompassion and empathy um to see
outside of the parameters ofwhat is physically in front of
you or what is presented.
Uh, it could, you know, it goesfurther than that.
(32:27):
So beautiful.
SPEAKER_01 (32:29):
Well, and you have an opportunity where you're
gonna be back here and readingyour story.
So share about that.
SPEAKER_00 (32:37):
Yes, I'm really excited.
I'm so grateful andappreciative.
I reached out to the school thatI uh was a teacher at for 14
years, and I told theadministrator, I said, you know,
this story was really planted inthe classroom here, and I would
love to share it with you.
And so I'm going to be a guestauthor, and I'll be reading to
(33:00):
roughly 110 children for thelaunch of the book.
And I'm so excited because it'sin an environment that I'm uh
attached to and comfortablewith, and I love the community,
and so I'm going to be a guestauthor, and I'll be reading it
on April uh 27th.
It's coming up.
And I'm hoping that what willcome out of it, that the fresh
(33:24):
look at Vincent Van Gogh and thestory will be um again planted
and presented to these wonderfulchildren.
And the color illustrations Ithink are really beautiful, and
I think they'll really enjoy.
Um, on each page, there's ayellow heart they have to find.
And the book is small, but I'mgoing to be projecting it as
(33:46):
well.
And then after the um story isread, uh, we're gonna do an art
project where everybody's gonnadraw their own unique sunflower
and then put that on thelibrary.
I love that.
Oh, it's gonna be really great.
Uh, and so when I, you know, I'mdone for the day, you still have
a reminder that I was there andthat the sunflowers will be on
(34:06):
on the library window.
I have so much support there.
And the librarian is reallykind.
And I I remember her, of course.
I worked with her, and so we'vebeen going back and forth and um
collaborating and making surethat all the details are
covered.
And um, yeah, I'm just uh reallygreat.
SPEAKER_01 (34:23):
Beautiful celebration and kind of full
circle moment to do this.
Oh my gosh, that is sobeautiful.
SPEAKER_00 (34:32):
Yes, um, it is full circle.
It is so exciting, and I lovethe community.
I mean, there's many people thatstill work there that I worked
with, so I just thrilled to beable to bring the gift that I
can bring and um share it.
SPEAKER_01 (34:49):
Is that something that you'll be able to take to
other schools?
SPEAKER_00 (34:55):
Yes, I hope so.
Um, I'll be reaching out.
I have that um as part of thejourney to get the book out and
um call other schools toencourage uh the it's not
necessarily characterdevelopment, but it is in a way.
It's a message about kindnessand empathy.
And um I also uh have a bookmarkthat says Bloom Kindness.
(35:21):
And so I'm hoping that um onOctober 22nd, which is actually
the celebration of color day,and I just to um maybe have uh
celebrations, you know, um atschools where everybody could,
you know, bring a yellow flower,uh, give it to somebody, or um
(35:44):
have some kind of a moment wherethey are kind to somebody that
they wouldn't speak tootherwise.
Or wow.
SPEAKER_01 (35:50):
So this is a movement, Michelle.
Yeah, yeah.
If you're listening, yeah, ifyou're listening and you have
any connections to schools orthings like that, like reach out
to Michelle and let's supporther journey.
That is so beautiful, my friend.
I'm excited.
I didn't know that part, yeah.
And I didn't know the part aboutthe sunflower art project that
(36:14):
follows.
SPEAKER_00 (36:15):
Yeah, I I just thought it would be really fun
for them because I love drawingsunflowers.
It's a little bit uh about thattoo.
But um, yeah, it gives them theopportunity to be an artist as
well.
SPEAKER_01 (36:29):
Um, you know, since I am speaking about an artist
and well, and it's also a storyof creativity and following your
dreams and courage and takingrisk because that's your story.
SPEAKER_00 (36:42):
Exactly.
You know, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And I do have a piece in thebook that says, um, in the
introduction, it says, um, it isvery brave to be an artist, and
it's also very brave to be kind.
Oh, yes, I love that part.
It's so true.
(37:02):
Yeah, I used to share that withthe children in the classroom.
I said, I know that you know,sometimes they would feel
worried about to make a mark onthe paper.
And I said, you know, it'sreally brave to be an artist,
and it's okay.
And every part of what you'regonna do on that paper is part
of you.
It's not, you know, I can guideyou, but you don't have to make
the perfect heart, or you don'thave to draw the perfect
(37:25):
sunflower, it's about you, andthat's you know, exactly what
every artist is.
That's why we have art andthat's why we have creativity.
SPEAKER_01 (37:34):
Wow.
My husband started painting.
I didn't know this was in himthe last couple of years.
And I've learned so much justhearing him talk about his
process because he talks abouthow he's had to learn to play
again, like how hard it is tostart.
And he talks about just throwingpaint.
And when I'm struggling in mybusiness or something, he'll
(37:56):
just say, Stop thinking aboutit, just go throw paint.
And like it is hard, but it isyeah, it is, it's been so
inspiring and it's helped me inmany, many ways.
So I'm Michelle, I'm so honoredto share your story and your
book um as it's launching andjust to see this journey,
(38:20):
friend.
Oh my gosh, that you've taken.
It's an honor to witness.
SPEAKER_00 (38:25):
Oh, thank you.
It's an honor to be here,really.
I really appreciate you.
And um, and I what a wonderfulstory about your husband.
And I was uh listening tosomebody yesterday, and they
said, you know, don't let mejust make sure, no matter what
happens, keep your childishinnocence, your childlike
(38:46):
innocence, and isn't that justtrue?
To keep your childlike and umnot to forget that.
And I think that's why I connectwith children because often it's
a little more childlike than Iam adult-like.
SPEAKER_01 (39:01):
I love that so much.
It's so true.
We can they help us remembertoo.
Yeah, absolutely.
Okay, so as we close, I have onemore question for you, which is
what does differently mean toyou?
SPEAKER_00 (39:20):
Yes, uh I thought about this a lot, and I think um
differently is it's about beingdifferent, right?
I um and not to be afraid to bea little bit different.
And um the the uniqueness thatwe each have.
(39:40):
I mean, there's obviously we allhave well, not all, but you
know, it's it's the physical umperson that we are, but then
there's the uniqueness businessthat's inside of you, right?
I like that.
And to be different is we'reborn different.
Everybody's born different andum just a little bit different.
(40:01):
And it's okay.
Um you don't have to close thatoff, and you don't have to, you
know, um just go with the crowdor um have to be with a crowd.
It can be okay to releaseyourself and allow your gifts to
come forward, and whatever thosegifts are, they're gonna
naturally be different.
(40:23):
So I love being and it's nevertoo late, yeah.
And I don't actively try to bedifferent, like, oh well, I'm
gonna, you know, color my hairpurple today, and you know,
because I want to be different.
It's although I've had purplehair before, but but I um I just
know that um my differences aremy gifts.
(40:43):
That's what God gave me, and umthat's that's really it.
That's you know, our differencesare seeing the world differently
is um is what I was born with.
That's my soul.
SPEAKER_01 (40:59):
What a perfect note to end on, friend.
I thank you so much for sharingyour story and please tell
everybody where they can go geta copy of your beautiful book.
SPEAKER_00 (41:09):
Yes, it's going to be um as of May for or no, May
7th, excuse me.
Uh, you can find my book onartful art f u l-spark.com.
And it is my website that hasalso um teaching videos on it.
And the book is also going to beon there where you can purchase
it and then it will be sent toyou directly.
SPEAKER_01 (41:30):
Beautiful.
Go get a copy of Michelle'sbook.
Michelle, thank you so much.
My heart is full from thisconversation, and I hope yours
is too.
Um, and those of you listening,I hope that um I just I just
know that this conversation hadto have touched you in some way.
So thank you, Michelle, from thebottom of my heart, and I'm so
(41:52):
excited about this for you.
I can't wait to see where itgoes, and maybe you'll be coming
back and sharing more stories.
SPEAKER_00 (41:58):
Oh, absolutely.
I have many more.
SPEAKER_01 (42:02):
I can't wait.
SPEAKER_00 (42:04):
Thank you, Carla, from the bottom of my heart, and
my heart is full as well.
And you are just a wonderfulhuman being, and I'm so grateful
that you believed in me to behere today.
Thank you so much.
You're so welcome.
SPEAKER_01 (42:16):
Have a beautiful day, everyone.
Hey, thanks for listening allthe way to the end.
Before you move on with yourday, pause and capture one
thought or takeaway that stoodout to you.
Write it down so it doesn't getlost in the noise.
And if you're ready to godeeper, come join me in my free
(42:38):
monthly class, conversation andguided writing to help you see
things differently and moveforward with clarity.
Save your spot carlareeves.comforward slash free class.
A deep change in the way that we live requires a deep
change in the way that we think.
I'm Carla Reeves, and this isDifferently.
This episode really inspired me.
I literally just got donetalking with Michelle.
I had the opportunity toreconnect with her.
(00:20):
She was one of my clients backfrom 2012, like my early days of
coaching.
And to be able to follow up withher story and share it with you
makes my heart so happy.
Get ready to open your heart andmind.
Reflect on your own dreams, andmay her courage inspire yours.
(00:43):
Meet my friend, Michelle.
Welcome to Differently.
I have a very special guesttoday.
Michelle is joining me.
And Michelle and I, oh my gosh,Michelle, we I think we decided
we met in like 2012.
So we she's a past client anddear friend.
(01:03):
And I'm so excited to have you.
SPEAKER_00 (01:06):
Thank you, Carla.
I'm excited to be here today.
And yes, we um met in I think2012 when you were starting out.
And I was an art educator at aschool that had health fair.
And I stopped at your booth andjust love the idea of you being
a life coach.
Um, because I just don't reallylike the word therapist, but and
(01:26):
I love to write.
So uh the journey with you wasjust great.
And at that time of my life, um,the support and um wonderful
guidance you gave me was reallygreat, and how you um pointed
out things I probably wouldn'thave known that I was writing or
saying or doing, and it reallyum led me through that time in
my life.
(01:47):
So thank you for that.
SPEAKER_01 (01:48):
You're so welcome.
It's been such a joy.
And and I think we, I mean, Ithink we've reconnected a few
times.
Um, and then recently you show Ithink popped into a one of the
classes that I offer, and it wasso fun to see you again and
reconnect and discover that youwere publishing a children's
book, which you had talked aboutin our journey a long time ago,
(02:11):
and we'll we'll get to thatpart.
Um, but let's go back, paint alittle picture for people of
kind of where you were when wemet and like where you find
yourself in this moment.
SPEAKER_00 (02:24):
Yes.
Uh when I met you, I was umworking 10-hour days and I was
loving my job.
And I didn't have many adultconversations though, because I
taught children from the age offive to nine uh all day long.
And then I would stay in theclassroom.
And when I left the classroom, Iwas um not able to connect with
(02:47):
other adults, if you will.
It's not that I didn't havefriends, but everybody was busy,
and I found myself going homeand going to the grocery store
and not having much of afoundation outside of the
classroom.
And my gift is to teach, and Iloved it, and it did fill my
soul and my heart.
It was just the pieces outsideof the classroom and also with
(03:09):
my family at the time, my fatherand my brother.
Um, I was hoping to have a moreenriched relationship with them.
It just uh I was in some kind ofbox and how they perceived me,
and I was so um I was trying tochange that perspective, but at
the end of the day, I just hadto accept who they were and
(03:30):
accept who I was and moveforward from that.
And that journey actuallystrengthened me, which at first
it probably felt like I wasbeing weakened, but I wasn't,
and you pointed that out to mein such a gracious way, and it
led me to be brave and to cometo the idea that I could rip off
(03:52):
a big band-aid and move toWisconsin, where uh as a child I
had a foundation here.
My uncle lived here, and Ialways in the back of my mind
thought I could build myself uma community and or just have a
home to put some roots down.
When I lived in Arizona, I wasmoving all of the time and I was
(04:13):
never unpacking anything,literally.
And I love when you say unpackit.
So now I've unpacked everything.
SPEAKER_01 (04:21):
I love that.
Yeah, I still say that on mycoaching call.
I love you too, but I love it tounpack because there's always
things to unpack.
SPEAKER_00 (04:29):
Always unpacking.
And I have most things unpacked.
I do still have a few bins, butum, but I was able to When did
you move?
When did you move make that leapand move?
I right uh soon after uh COVID.
Um because I then at that timetoo I felt even more isolated
because everybody was isolated,and what kept me going was you
(04:53):
know, teaching, of course.
But then my life kind of flashedin front of me a little bit, and
I thought, oh my goodness, I umbetter get going.
And so I moved.
Um it came up pretty quickly.
I had an opportunity to have ahome here with a friend, and so
I thought I better try.
And and also I wanted to helpout um a friend too that was in
(05:15):
need and a uh not a biologicalfamily member, but um family.
And so I ended up thinking,okay, where's my purpose in life
right now?
I've I've been a teacher, I'vedone this, and I really wanted
to bring what I had in Arizonahere, but I couldn't do that.
But I at least I I thought Icould um have the dream of being
(05:38):
here uh come alive and see whatit would feel like because I
thought about it a lot, as youknow, and I moved in 22, and so
I've been here four yearsalready.
unknown (05:47):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (05:48):
I know so I want to go back to a couple things you
said that I think are soimportant.
One is you mentioned that youfelt like you were in a box,
like a box of how they perceivedyou.
Is that what you're talkingabout?
SPEAKER_00 (06:02):
Yeah, I mean, I guess we do that, everybody does
that, but um, in some shape orform, I suppose.
Um, but I I felt the box becauseI didn't spend enough time with
my um father and brother forthem to know me.
They they wanted to see me as aperson.
My father always wanted me me toget married, and you know, and
(06:22):
he thought that would be, youknow, the that would what would
be make me successful, I guess,and in his in his mind.
Um, although the funny thing isI'm a lot like him.
SPEAKER_01 (06:33):
Yeah, that happens too.
Right.
We discover that later.
SPEAKER_00 (06:38):
Yeah.
And I love the gifts he gave me.
I mean, he gave me um awonderful mind.
My mother gave me my beautifulheart.
And um, my brother and I, youknow, lived a lifestyle growing
up where we were surviving allthe time.
So we probably didn't have timeto become a brother and sister,
so to speak.
Um, which maybe is why we, youknow, had that in front of us
(07:00):
when we got older.
But I I guess the box was um,you know, this is Michelle, this
is what she does, and she laughsstrange, and I don't like when
she shrieks or yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (07:12):
Whatever it may be, or whatever it may be.
And and what you think it wasmay not be exactly what it was,
but I think that it's such agood point to bring up because
of what you said that we allfeel that in some way.
And I think especially with ourour roots and our family of
origin, um, I know going back tosee family, like even still,
(07:33):
like I don't think they reallyget what I do or like really who
I am now.
And um that's not uncommon thatit's I think it's hard for
people that shared that periodof time of life with us to see
us in a new way.
And I I read something that wastalking about genuine love, and
(07:53):
it said, excuse me, genuine loverequires concentration and
effort, and it takes time toknow people and like what a gift
it is, the people that we dohave in our life that take that
time to get to know you again,you know, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (08:14):
And I found that when I returned to Wisconsin
because uh many of my friendfamily, so to speak, um, I
hadn't seen all of the time.
I mean, we knew of each other,you know, from high school or
you know, even seventh grade,but uh I didn't have time with
them, you know, since thenbecause I had left.
And and when I came back, Istarted to spend time with them.
(08:36):
And then I also had theopportunity to get to know them
again and the qualities that youknow they have now as adults,
you know, as opposed to when wewere in uh younger, you know, in
high school.
And um, I would see them once ayear and I kept in touch with
them, and but I really didn'tknow them anymore, and they
didn't really know me anymore.
(08:56):
But now we've had these richexperiences together.
And a friend of mine said, youknow, if you hadn't come back to
Wisconsin, you wouldn't besitting here having this rich
experience with me right now.
SPEAKER_01 (09:06):
So yeah, it's so true.
Which brings me to the secondthing I wanted to go back to was
I do remember that you had thatdream in your heart and that you
like were on the fence for along time, you know, and and
this is another thing that I seeso often in my own life and in
conversations with clients.
Like we do sit on the fenceoften for years, you know,
(09:29):
debating whether to dosomething.
But you said like your lifeflashed before you and you made
that move.
What was, I mean, I'm sure therewere lots of things that went
into the catalyst, right?
It wasn't a one-time thing, butwhat was the sort of last piece
that took you over the fence?
SPEAKER_00 (09:48):
That's a great question.
Um the last piece that took meover the fence was imagining
myself in uh you know, 10 yearsdown the road and walking out of
my classroom and looking outsidethat door and going, okay, what
(10:08):
now?
And and looking out to alandscape that was more or less
empty, right?
Because I didn't see where Iwould be, what would I do, what
would I have.
I mean, I would have the richexperience of being in the
classroom, which I still hadloved all the way up till the
decision was made.
And um when I had to rip off theband-aid, it was very emotional
(10:33):
and um I experienced a lot ofgrief, but I um I had to be
brave.
I'm almost getting emotionalabout it.
Um, because I wanted to see umthe I wanted to see the
foundation I could possiblycreate for myself in a grounded
um environment.
And I knew that I needed that.
(10:55):
My soul was telling me that allof the time.
I was grounded in my job.
I loved it, and I probably wouldhave stayed it 20 more years,
but um, but just it was outsidethat door.
I um I couldn't see it anymore.
And the other um funny thing, Imean, uh God loved my landlord,
but he kept saying I was theperfect tenant, right?
(11:15):
And I he came into the kitchenone day and it was right after
the whole explosion of COVID.
And he said, Well, I'm gonnaraise your rent$500 because I
can't.
Wow.
Wow, okay.
That was like another nudge,like, okay, right, sometimes we
need those, right?
And then next year I could beanother$500, and you know, and I
(11:37):
just thought, my goodness.
Um, so yeah, I and so I put outliterally the bat signal, if you
want to call it that, to myfriends here.
And when that occurred, and Ithought, okay, if God wants me
to be in Wisconsin, thensomething will, you know, come
yeah, make way.
And and it did, and it was agreat opportunity.
(11:58):
And if I hadn't taken it, Iwouldn't be here today, and I
probably wouldn't be able to doit today.
I mean, it would wow, and that'sthe truth.
And albeit, I mean, when Iarrived, was there a lot of joy
and you know accelerated uhfeelings?
Yes, but was there grief?
Yes, yeah, yeah, just the lossof my previous life, um, not the
(12:22):
loss, but I decided to do it.
It wasn't necessarily loss, butit but I didn't, I wasn't um
prepared for that.
I wasn't prepared for the umfeelings of, oh my gosh, did I
make the right decision?
You know, did I make a mistake?
Did I let go of something Iloved and here I am?
And everything was new.
It regardless if I was back in aplace that I wanted to be for so
(12:46):
long, everything was new again.
Um, where I lived was new, youknow, the people around me was
new.
Um, my friends that I had formany years, it was new again.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (12:57):
So I find that those we moved um from our 25-year
home where we raised our kids acouple of years ago.
And I remember like after we hadgotten here, I was like doing
some, I was repotting a plant.
And um as I took that old theplant from its old pot into the
(13:18):
new soil, it just like I got howI was feeling.
Like that's how I felt, like itwas uncomfortable and I was all
exposed, but I was in a new pot.
And like there was also like anuh um it it woke up my life in
so many ways.
And I think that is important torepot yourself.
SPEAKER_00 (13:42):
That is so amazing that you said that because I uh
I think it was it's been twoyears.
So a couple of years ago, I hadthe opportunity to plant some
trees, and I thought on the sideof the house where there was no
fence and it was kind ofexposed.
So I thought, ooh, um, you know,I'll go pick some trees out.
And it was so interestingbecause just to even choose a
(14:04):
tree, right?
Well, what tree would you like?
And yes, you know, so these umwonderful landscapers came to
plant the trees, and I will tellyou the overwhelming feeling of
seeing these trees being plantedinto the ground, and all of a
sudden I felt so elated.
I think I I finally two yearslater was like, Oh my gosh, you
(14:27):
know, I have some roots.
Look at these roots that are inthe trees that I chose.
And I um I actually named eachtree after one of my elders,
like my grandmother and myfather, and my mother.
I love that, and my uncles.
And um, and it all was inspiredbecause I I had lost a tree in a
snowstorm, and so that one hadto go.
(14:48):
And I thought, well, I'llreplace that tree.
Okay, well, why not get somemore trees?
SPEAKER_01 (14:53):
I love that so much.
The the trees and the roots.
Yeah, sometimes we want to rushthat process, you know, but it's
it wouldn't be the same had wenot taken the time to grow the
roots, and that's beautiful.
So this has also led you on anew journey and another leap.
So I would love for you to sharewith us about that.
SPEAKER_00 (15:16):
Yes.
Um, well, that I'm I think thisopportunity of being here, I
haven't been in the classroomnecessarily, uh obviously as
much as I was in Arizona.
And I always had a dream aboutbeing a children's book author.
And I've had it since fourthgrade, I think.
unknown (15:35):
Wow.
SPEAKER_00 (15:36):
And and that's the truth.
And I can remember the day whenthat was um sparked literally um
in my soul.
And um my mother tell us aboutthat.
Yeah, the spark.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (15:50):
Yeah, my mother And also you were an art teacher.
I don't know if you've saidthat, but I just want the
listener to know like you werean art teacher, right?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (16:00):
And that started spontaneously too.
But um, I I feel that my journeyhas been um very fluid in that
regard.
Uh, but in fourth grade, um, mymother and my brother and I, we
would uh jump in the car and wetraveled a lot and um went coast
to coast, and uh she knew that Iloved to write.
And so she took me to one of theyou know, campy kind of
(16:23):
drugstores that you know thathad little bits and pieces, and
there I found a journal.
And I thought, oh, and it wasone of those with a lock and key
and everything.
But um, I remember it was abunch of little flowers and my
favorite color purple, and andit had lines in it.
And I felt so special to be ableto write in this journal.
And I literally would just writeabout my day, right?
I woke up at eight o'clock andyeah, and mom and I are gonna go
(16:48):
drive to California now, or youknow.
So that started it, and then andand then and she always
encouraged me to write.
And I have so many um bins andbins of journals, but um, and
that was amazing because Ireally needed to write.
And uh my um intention was tobecome a children's book author
(17:11):
because this a friend of mineactually said one day, just out
of the blue, Well, I'm writing abook.
And I thought, oh, what's that?
You know, and you know, mygrandmother always read me
children's books, and I alwayswould imagine the pictures and
um, you know, and the words.
And and my aunt Lillian was anEnglish teacher, so she
encouraged me to write.
And I always thought, somedayI'm gonna write a children's
(17:34):
book, and I know it's gonna comealive, and I just don't know
when it is.
Well, one day in my beautifulhome in Wisconsin, I was looking
out the window, and my neighborgrows these 20-foot sunflowers.
unknown (17:46):
They're really tall.
SPEAKER_01 (17:47):
Love those.
SPEAKER_00 (17:48):
It was yeah, late summer, and I peeked out the
window, and suddenly what cameto me was a title for a book
called The Last Sun or TheTallest Sunflower.
And I wanted to write it aboutVincent Van Gogh because he
loves sunflowers.
So I saw the flower and I wentand I wrote this framework for
the children's book, and thatwas in uh 2024.
(18:11):
And I had it in my, you know,um, in my laptop, and I'd
written it, and I thoughtsomeday I'm gonna find somebody
to illustrate it because Ididn't want to illustrate it
myself, even though I probablycould have, but I wanted my
words to be in their purest formand then have somebody else
possibly interpret them and youknow, collaborate with them.
Uh, so it sat on my computer fortwo years, and then um I just
(18:37):
like you, just how we um keptmeeting up on your podcast, I
had a friend who's an artist inArizona sending out her um
weekly blogs and our monthlyblogs, and she said, I'm gonna
illustrate a children's book.
Um, I'm gonna try it becauseshe's a painter.
And I thought, oh, I'll writeher.
And that was uh in 2025, justlast year in the summer.
(19:00):
So I reached out to her.
I said, I have a children'sbook, would you like to
illustrate it?
And she said, Oh my gosh, thatwould be a great project.
And I and she goes, Well, let'stalk on this day.
Well, it turns out our firstconversation on the phone was on
the day that um the book isabout Vincent Van Gogh.
It was on the day that he hadpassed away that we first spoke.
unknown (19:19):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (19:20):
Like you just realized that after.
No, she said, Do you know thatthis is the day that he passed
away?
Oh my gosh.
And I thought, oh my gosh, youknow, and then at the end of the
conversation, she said, Well,actually, I'm gonna be in
Chicago in a couple of weeks.
Why don't we meet at the ArtInstitute?
And I thought, that's only anhour and a half for me.
So we met at the Art Instituteand um in Chicago, and there's a
(19:47):
portrait, um, a self-portrait ofVincent Van Gogh there.
So we took a picture ofourselves in front of the
self-portrait, and then I alsobought her um a magnet of that
portrait to give her to takehome to, you know, yeah, to
start our journey.
And it was amazing.
We got to have lunch and we gotto talk about um the project,
and that's where the seed wasplanted, and then uh we got
(20:11):
everything organized and thenstarted to meet.
Um and our ideas were you knowin sync, and she I let her run
with it and interpret my words,and it turned out to be a really
beautiful book.
And the other um interestingthing, the title, which was
originally the tallestsunflower, um, I think I told
you this when you're doingsomething silly like washing
(20:32):
dishes, sometimes ideas come in.
Yes.
I'm washing the dishes, and allof a sudden, heart of color came
into my mind.
And I I told um the illustratorthat I said, you know, I had
this other thought.
And then that prompted um thecover art and it prompted um to
have a heart on every singlepage that the children could
(20:53):
find.
And so we ended up calling it umheart of color a gentle look at
Vincent Van Gogh.
unknown (21:00):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (21:01):
Oh my gosh, Michelle, when you just said
that, like heart of color, myfriend, that is you.
Like that's when I think of you,like that is you, and she's you
guys can't see her, but she'ssitting in front of me with a
beautiful coral scarf today.
And like that, that is you.
And I'm so glad that you'reputting this out into the world
(21:24):
and that you didn't give up andthat you nurtured and cultivated
that dream in your heart for along time, and we have to do
that because nobody else has cansee that, only you.
Yeah, thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (21:40):
Thank you so much.
I'm I'm that's means so much tome, and it's exactly it.
I didn't give up.
And there were many times when Ithought, you know, this isn't
enough, or oh, that was that'sthe kindest thing you could ever
say.
Thank you so much.
Um it's just true.
It's just true.
Why that maybe God said, Hey,that add heart of color as the
(22:05):
title.
Oh, and you know, that is it'sso connected to everything,
isn't it?
Um, yeah.
I um my my one thing going backto my dear father, he said one
day, just out of the blue, hesaid, You have your mother's
heart.
Oh and her heart was um amazingand colorful.
(22:30):
Yeah, exactly.
It really was.
And in the dedication, I honoredthat.
Um because it began with her andum and her ability to just have
joy no matter what was going on.
SPEAKER_01 (22:44):
Yeah, that's beautiful.
Wow.
Woo! That surprised me.
SPEAKER_00 (22:51):
Surprised me too.
Thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (22:54):
Um so share a little bit about the story because I
know that that I think you hadshared with me, like you taught
about Van Gogh for a lot ofyears.
You taught children and you sawsomething, and something that
something inspired your story.
(23:14):
And of course, we want people togo get a copy.
Yes, of course.
And we'll share that later.
SPEAKER_00 (23:20):
Okay.
Yes, I uh being an art educatorfor 22 years, I decided to teach
um art history, but I simplifiedthe stories about the artists
for the children to have a moreum clear understanding and also
to make it more fun for them.
And every time I uh talked aboutVincent Van Gogh, I mentioned
(23:44):
how amazing that it was that hepainted 800 paintings in only 10
years and that he, you know,painted every single day and um
and that he didn't feel wellsometimes.
And you know, and they wouldn'tbe very curious because they
didn't know much about him.
Well, then uh they would go homeand somebody would say, Oh,
that's the guy that cut his earoff.
(24:06):
And you know, of course that'snot what I would tell them.
And then they would come in theclassroom and be very proud of
themselves that they knewsomething about him.
And I thought that was reallyunfortunate, um, not because you
know they were told that, butjust that um this amazing
painter that we um honor today,and you know, his work is in
(24:26):
museums and it's all over um,you know, magnets for if you
will, and journals and hisimages are everywhere.
And why not have his the imageof him be also beautiful, like
his paintings?
And why can't we um let go ofyou know whatever he was feeling
or whatever happened in hislife?
And it goes back to again uhbeing in that box, like the
(24:49):
perceptions we have of, oh yeah,I know that, and that's all you
know.
Um, and you have to allowyourself to say, is that true?
And can we let that go?
Or is that all?
Right.
Is that all?
And it's so multifaceted.
And then it prompted me becauseI was teaching it in the
classroom.
I decided to take a little tour,a solo tour to places in France
(25:13):
where he painted.
And I wanted to get closer towhat I didn't know that you
traveled on your research.
Yeah, I did.
Well, this was um beautiful, butbut yeah, it was the beginning
of the journey, right?
And the foundation for what Ihave now um about his story, and
it was a wonderful um journey.
(25:35):
I met people along the way, andand it opened up my own eyes
just to see the physicallandscapes and the physical
places.
So I went to the place uh whichthey called um in the history
books.
If somebody's listening and oh,well, you know, she doesn't know
anything about him like that hestayed in a quote unquote
(25:58):
asylum.
But when I went there, it wasthe most beautiful prepare I'd
ever seen.
It didn't look like an asylum atall.
Wow.
Uh the tour guide even said thatat the time when he was there,
the nuns um didn't feel that hewas harmful at all.
And they would just let himwander the grounds in the
daytime and let him paintbecause they knew that he needed
(26:19):
to paint.
And literally all around thegrounds, there were um areas
that still looked like that hejust stood there and painted it
because you know, the trees andhow he painted the trees, and
you could just see the way thathe um saw that and saw nature
and perceived nature, and umthat was the most profound um
(26:42):
stop, really, um, that I foundin that tour.
And then I went to um the placewhere the night cafe that he
painted was, and that's stillthere.
And I sat in one of the chairsand um and said, Here's you,
Bango.
Wow.
Yeah.
And you know, and then you're ontrains in France, and you know,
(27:04):
it was a time when thesunflowers were all blooming,
and I just imagined, you know,what it must have been like, and
and how he must have been outthere in one of the pages of my
book.
I have him painting in asunflower field from morning
till night, and um, and how warmit must have been, or you know,
yeah.
But he had the motivation to dothat.
SPEAKER_01 (27:25):
So and then you told me about right, how he had was a
writer and that part of hislife.
SPEAKER_00 (27:32):
Oh my goodness, yeah.
I went to um an exhibition inNew York at the library, and
there were cases and cases andcases of letters to Theo, his
brother, and they werebeautifully written and penning,
and they had sketches and verydetailed writing.
Um, and I just thought, youknow, it he must have it was a
form of journaling uh for himand to record what he was seeing
(27:56):
and what he was feeling.
And he wrote so many that one ofthe postmen um in a village he
lived in um, you know,befriended him and Van Gogh
painted a portrait of him.
I love that because they saweach other often.
And if you think about that, Imean, this is you know, the
(28:17):
1800s, and that he was writingthat many letters, and uh that
Theo was his um, you know, hisconduit for his um life and
describing his life.
And again, they were sobeautifully written, and I just
remember the penmanship and thathe was right, you know, drawing
sketches there too.
Um yeah, so it's just that is sobeautiful.
(28:40):
Isn't it?
I I know I just and because Ithink um again, like the reason
I write too, I mean, sometimesyou don't see you know actual
people and he didn't have a lotof friends in his life,
unfortunately.
Um, but he knew that he couldwrite to his brother, and thank
goodness he had that person inhis life.
SPEAKER_01 (28:58):
Yeah, and the connection that was made with
the postman, like I just thinkthat's such a reminder of the
little um not so little, maybe,but those connections in our
life that maybe we don't eventhink about that we're making,
you know, that are a part of youknow, that every day or however
frequently he was sending thoseletters.
(29:19):
How beautiful.
SPEAKER_00 (29:20):
Yes, very beautiful.
And in our lives today, I mean,how simple is that, right?
Just to see the simplicity ofum, you know, oftentimes we put
people on these big pedestals.
Oh, you know, they're doing thisand they're so successful in
this and that.
And and you forget about thejust the groundwork of life,
right?
Yeah, people that, you know, ummight be your server at a
(29:44):
restaurant, or um, you know, theum the person at the post
office, literally.
SPEAKER_01 (29:51):
Yeah, or I see Bob walking his dog almost every
day.
You know what I mean?
It's just like a little passing,a little exchange um that you
just don't know how much thatmatters to us or to the other
person, or you just don't knowwhat you're building.
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (30:08):
Yeah, and or hope to you to you someday for whatever
reason.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (30:14):
Wow, I think that's so I I mean, I think I already
know the answer to this, but I Ijust there's where are you in
the story?
And I think you've kind ofalready said it a little bit.
Yeah.
Where do you find yourself inhis story?
And that's for the listener too.
SPEAKER_00 (30:36):
Yes.
Well, if you're listening, whereI find myself in the story, I
think it's um his courage andperseverance, regardless of
whatever social paradigm thatcould have been in his lifetime
and even now, uh, that hecontinued to paint even when he
(31:00):
didn't feel well.
And, you know, I haven't feltvery well many times, you know.
Yeah.
This big adjustment in my lifeand being here in Wisconsin and
making that big change and notbeing in my comfort zone
anymore.
And um the reinvention of mylife is in the story because I
(31:22):
stayed with it and I followedthrough.
Um, I'm a little bit of a freespirit, and sometimes I, you
know, have ideas, and I always Ialways say, and I always said,
um, oh my gosh, I have all theseideas, but I don't know how to
get them out there.
And and finally all of thethings, you know, hooked
together.
(31:43):
And uh Van Gogh had no idea thathis paintings were gonna, you
know, be everywhere in you know,this present day, but he
continued and he persevered, andthank goodness he did.
And I think that's the biggestpart in the story.
It's really about um overcominglimitations um and stepping out
(32:05):
of your box.
And um, I really want listenersto know that this book is really
truly about also kindness andcompassion and empathy um to see
outside of the parameters ofwhat is physically in front of
you or what is presented.
Uh, it could, you know, it goesfurther than that.
(32:27):
So beautiful.
SPEAKER_01 (32:29):
Well, and you have an opportunity where you're
gonna be back here and readingyour story.
So share about that.
SPEAKER_00 (32:37):
Yes, I'm really excited.
I'm so grateful andappreciative.
I reached out to the school thatI uh was a teacher at for 14
years, and I told theadministrator, I said, you know,
this story was really planted inthe classroom here, and I would
love to share it with you.
And so I'm going to be a guestauthor, and I'll be reading to
(33:00):
roughly 110 children for thelaunch of the book.
And I'm so excited because it'sin an environment that I'm uh
attached to and comfortablewith, and I love the community,
and so I'm going to be a guestauthor, and I'll be reading it
on April uh 27th.
It's coming up.
And I'm hoping that what willcome out of it, that the fresh
(33:24):
look at Vincent Van Gogh and thestory will be um again planted
and presented to these wonderfulchildren.
And the color illustrations Ithink are really beautiful, and
I think they'll really enjoy.
Um, on each page, there's ayellow heart they have to find.
And the book is small, but I'mgoing to be projecting it as
(33:46):
well.
And then after the um story isread, uh, we're gonna do an art
project where everybody's gonnadraw their own unique sunflower
and then put that on thelibrary.
I love that.
Oh, it's gonna be really great.
Uh, and so when I, you know, I'mdone for the day, you still have
a reminder that I was there andthat the sunflowers will be on
(34:06):
on the library window.
I have so much support there.
And the librarian is reallykind.
And I I remember her, of course.
I worked with her, and so we'vebeen going back and forth and um
collaborating and making surethat all the details are
covered.
And um, yeah, I'm just uh reallygreat.
SPEAKER_01 (34:23):
Beautiful celebration and kind of full
circle moment to do this.
Oh my gosh, that is sobeautiful.
SPEAKER_00 (34:32):
Yes, um, it is full circle.
It is so exciting, and I lovethe community.
I mean, there's many people thatstill work there that I worked
with, so I just thrilled to beable to bring the gift that I
can bring and um share it.
SPEAKER_01 (34:49):
Is that something that you'll be able to take to
other schools?
SPEAKER_00 (34:55):
Yes, I hope so.
Um, I'll be reaching out.
I have that um as part of thejourney to get the book out and
um call other schools toencourage uh the it's not
necessarily characterdevelopment, but it is in a way.
It's a message about kindnessand empathy.
And um I also uh have a bookmarkthat says Bloom Kindness.
(35:21):
And so I'm hoping that um onOctober 22nd, which is actually
the celebration of color day,and I just to um maybe have uh
celebrations, you know, um atschools where everybody could,
you know, bring a yellow flower,uh, give it to somebody, or um
(35:44):
have some kind of a moment wherethey are kind to somebody that
they wouldn't speak tootherwise.
Or wow.
SPEAKER_01 (35:50):
So this is a movement, Michelle.
Yeah, yeah.
If you're listening, yeah, ifyou're listening and you have
any connections to schools orthings like that, like reach out
to Michelle and let's supporther journey.
That is so beautiful, my friend.
I'm excited.
I didn't know that part, yeah.
And I didn't know the part aboutthe sunflower art project that
(36:14):
follows.
SPEAKER_00 (36:15):
Yeah, I I just thought it would be really fun
for them because I love drawingsunflowers.
It's a little bit uh about thattoo.
But um, yeah, it gives them theopportunity to be an artist as
well.
SPEAKER_01 (36:29):
Um, you know, since I am speaking about an artist
and well, and it's also a storyof creativity and following your
dreams and courage and takingrisk because that's your story.
SPEAKER_00 (36:42):
Exactly.
You know, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And I do have a piece in thebook that says, um, in the
introduction, it says, um, it isvery brave to be an artist, and
it's also very brave to be kind.
Oh, yes, I love that part.
It's so true.
(37:02):
Yeah, I used to share that withthe children in the classroom.
I said, I know that you know,sometimes they would feel
worried about to make a mark onthe paper.
And I said, you know, it'sreally brave to be an artist,
and it's okay.
And every part of what you'regonna do on that paper is part
of you.
It's not, you know, I can guideyou, but you don't have to make
the perfect heart, or you don'thave to draw the perfect
(37:25):
sunflower, it's about you, andthat's you know, exactly what
every artist is.
That's why we have art andthat's why we have creativity.
SPEAKER_01 (37:34):
Wow.
My husband started painting.
I didn't know this was in himthe last couple of years.
And I've learned so much justhearing him talk about his
process because he talks abouthow he's had to learn to play
again, like how hard it is tostart.
And he talks about just throwingpaint.
And when I'm struggling in mybusiness or something, he'll
(37:56):
just say, Stop thinking aboutit, just go throw paint.
And like it is hard, but it isyeah, it is, it's been so
inspiring and it's helped me inmany, many ways.
So I'm Michelle, I'm so honoredto share your story and your
book um as it's launching andjust to see this journey,
(38:20):
friend.
Oh my gosh, that you've taken.
It's an honor to witness.
SPEAKER_00 (38:25):
Oh, thank you.
It's an honor to be here,really.
I really appreciate you.
And um, and I what a wonderfulstory about your husband.
And I was uh listening tosomebody yesterday, and they
said, you know, don't let mejust make sure, no matter what
happens, keep your childishinnocence, your childlike
(38:46):
innocence, and isn't that justtrue?
To keep your childlike and umnot to forget that.
And I think that's why I connectwith children because often it's
a little more childlike than Iam adult-like.
SPEAKER_01 (39:01):
I love that so much.
It's so true.
We can they help us remembertoo.
Yeah, absolutely.
Okay, so as we close, I have onemore question for you, which is
what does differently mean toyou?
SPEAKER_00 (39:20):
Yes, uh I thought about this a lot, and I think um
differently is it's about beingdifferent, right?
I um and not to be afraid to bea little bit different.
And um the the uniqueness thatwe each have.
(39:40):
I mean, there's obviously we allhave well, not all, but you
know, it's it's the physical umperson that we are, but then
there's the uniqueness businessthat's inside of you, right?
I like that.
And to be different is we'reborn different.
Everybody's born different andum just a little bit different.
(40:01):
And it's okay.
Um you don't have to close thatoff, and you don't have to, you
know, um just go with the crowdor um have to be with a crowd.
It can be okay to releaseyourself and allow your gifts to
come forward, and whatever thosegifts are, they're gonna
naturally be different.
(40:23):
So I love being and it's nevertoo late, yeah.
And I don't actively try to bedifferent, like, oh well, I'm
gonna, you know, color my hairpurple today, and you know,
because I want to be different.
It's although I've had purplehair before, but but I um I just
know that um my differences aremy gifts.
(40:43):
That's what God gave me, and umthat's that's really it.
That's you know, our differencesare seeing the world differently
is um is what I was born with.
That's my soul.
SPEAKER_01 (40:59):
What a perfect note to end on, friend.
I thank you so much for sharingyour story and please tell
everybody where they can go geta copy of your beautiful book.
SPEAKER_00 (41:09):
Yes, it's going to be um as of May for or no, May
7th, excuse me.
Uh, you can find my book onartful art f u l-spark.com.
And it is my website that hasalso um teaching videos on it.
And the book is also going to beon there where you can purchase
it and then it will be sent toyou directly.
SPEAKER_01 (41:30):
Beautiful.
Go get a copy of Michelle'sbook.
Michelle, thank you so much.
My heart is full from thisconversation, and I hope yours
is too.
Um, and those of you listening,I hope that um I just I just
know that this conversation hadto have touched you in some way.
So thank you, Michelle, from thebottom of my heart, and I'm so
(41:52):
excited about this for you.
I can't wait to see where itgoes, and maybe you'll be coming
back and sharing more stories.
SPEAKER_00 (41:58):
Oh, absolutely.
I have many more.
SPEAKER_01 (42:02):
I can't wait.
SPEAKER_00 (42:04):
Thank you, Carla, from the bottom of my heart, and
my heart is full as well.
And you are just a wonderfulhuman being, and I'm so grateful
that you believed in me to behere today.
Thank you so much.
You're so welcome.
SPEAKER_01 (42:16):
Have a beautiful day, everyone.
Hey, thanks for listening allthe way to the end.
Before you move on with yourday, pause and capture one
thought or takeaway that stoodout to you.
Write it down so it doesn't getlost in the noise.
And if you're ready to godeeper, come join me in my free
(42:38):
monthly class, conversation andguided writing to help you see
things differently and moveforward with clarity.
Save your spot carlareeves.comforward slash free class.
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Bleep! with Ana Navarro
Fear thrives in silence and confusion. Ana Navarro rejects both. Her voice is an antidote to today’s chaos. Her new podcast, Bleep! with Ana Navarro, takes on today’s most pressing issues with the voices most connected to it: decision-makers, political leaders, cultural shapers, and people on the frontlines of the story. The conversations acknowledge the emotions we all feel—despair, sadness, fear— but emerge with knowledge, perspective, and hope. The belief is simple: fearless dialogue can transform fear into courage, and courage into change. When fear dominates the headlines, this show digs deeper. Because information, debate, and conversation don’t just ease fear, they give us power to shape the future.
Hey Jonas!
Hey Jonas! The official Jonas Brothers podcast. Hosted by Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas. It’s the Jonas Brothers you know... musicians, actors, and well, yes, brothers. Now, they’re sharing another side of themselves in the playful, intimate, and irreverent way only they can. Spend time with the Jonas Brothers here and stay a little bit longer for deep conversations like never before.