writing and drawing ways to a better world
the spine at the center of all my studies
The curious power of healing dreams Author and psychologist Marc Ian Barasch studied dreams for fifteen years before he wrote Healing Dreams: Exploring the Dreams That Can Transform Your Life. We can deduce the breadth…Continue Reading
There’s little doubt I would not be here today without art in various forms. It made my mother’s life bearable after her husband’s death when she was about 22. She attempted suicide then, long before…Continue Reading
Responsible communicators use language carefully to make meaning transparent and present facts and ideas with as little bias as possible. They avoid ambivalent and emotionally loaded terms in favor of clarity and directness. Sometimes though,…Continue Reading
Pre Gender Paradise I’m a little kid with no awareness of what gender is or that it even exists. I’m just pure beingness, oblivious to my gender assignment, living life to the fullest as I…Continue Reading
Biological sex, gender, and sexual orientation are three separate concepts that are sometimes confused in discussions of gender. Biological sex – or just sex – refers to the chromosomal and physical structures that make us…Continue Reading
A teenager captured in the wild, bathed in the blue glow of an unseen screen.
In this time of predominance of electronic devices, parents and caregivers must be mindful about our screen time decisions for children. Studies have already shown effects from copious access to on-screen entertainment that give reason…Continue Reading
Terry Crews Portrait by Gage Skidmore
I am thrilled by what Terry Crews does as a famous and manly man to bring awareness to misogyny and encourage mutual respect. On The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, he made some beautifully direct…Continue Reading
Storm clouds and shimmering rays of light over the San Francisco Bay, photo by Paprika Clark, 2018.
Naomi Epel refers to herself as a “literary escort” as she shares virtually verbatim conversations with writers about their dreams and how they affect the creative process in her book Writers Dreaming (3). I confess, I…Continue Reading
Eight men pushing the Towhee tiny house on wheels into place on a residential plot in Malibu California. Photo by Paprika Clark, 2011.
This is a round up of several of the most pithy but powerful bits of guidance I use as touchstones when I’m feeling stuck, gathered from many sources. Be meticulous with your word. Don’t take…Continue Reading
I had an interesting conversation the other day around the intersection of feminism, patriarchy, and sex work. It’s complicated of course, and feelings run strong, for me and others. For the first time there was…Continue Reading
This is me, fighting depression. Just kidding, it's actually a picture I took of a lion statue in The Grand Bohemian Hotel in Asheville, North Carolina.
I’ve said more than once I don’t have any trouble writing, in fact if anything I write too many words. What I only say to a select few is… what I write usually (almost always) diverges from what I’m “supposed to” be working on.
How to Model a Positive Approach to Daily Life For Kids The world will always present lots of potentially negative experiences, but many of our unhappy moments are relatively minor temporary circumstances where the effect…Continue Reading
Paprika Clark sits on the battery storage bench on the front porch of the first tiny house built by her company, Bungalow to Go. Photo by Dylan Pankow.
The RealTimeRealTiny blog was my way of sharing the process of building one tiny house. This one tiny house represents the beginning of a diverse sustainable entrepreneurial venture with a vision, long-term goals, and infinitely…Continue Reading
In an average day our kids are exposed to hundreds of messages, and a great number of them come from our popular culture; song lyrics, tabloid gossip, semi-adult cartoons, movies, and music videos. I don’t…Continue Reading