Spark Your Creative Coach

Today I celebrate another trip around the sun, and my heart is filled with gratitude. I not only do I celebrate my birthday but I also share it with my twin sister Sankofa Mixed Media Studio and younger brother Jonathan Burton (yes it is true!)🎉✨

As I reflect on this birthday, I am thankful for the opportunity to live a creative life and to help others do the same. Being a teacher artist and creativity coach has allowed me to witness the transformative power of creativity in so many lives—from older adults discovering new passions to artists reconnecting with their creative spark.

Each workshop, coaching session, conversation, and creative experience reminds me that it is never too late to create, grow, and bloom. I am grateful for every student, client, colleague, friend, and family member who has been part of this journey.

This year, I look forward to continuing to inspire creativity, encourage curiosity, and champion the belief that creativity is a gift we can nurture at every age.

Thank you for being part of my creative community and for supporting my mission to help others spark, reignite, and sustain their creativity.

Here's to another year of creating, learning, sharing, and blooming. 🌻🎨💜

✨Spark Your Creative Coach's Corner ✨

Check out today's coaching question and tips for this week. Because every creative journey comes with questions!

Whether you're rediscovering creativity at midlife, starting something new, or looking for ways to stay inspired, this series is for you.

Scroll left to see this week's question, tips and how you can get additional support on your creative journey.

DM me: What's a creative question you've been wrestling with lately?

One of the simplest ways to spark creativity is to become an observer.

Today, take a few moments to notice the world around you. Listen to the rhythm of conversations in a coffee shop, the sound of birds outside your window, or the hum of a busy street. Observe colors, patterns, textures, and the way light moves across a room.

These small details can become inspiration for a painting, poem, story, song, collage, or creative solution to a problem.

Creativity doesn't always begin with making something. Often, it begins with noticing something.

What is one sight and one sound you noticed today that you normally would have overlooked?

See where your observations lead your imagination.

I am thrilled to share that I will be participating in Maryland Citizens for the Arts (MCA) Maryland Arts Summit on Tuesday, June 16th!

I will be co-presenting with Aimee Olivo, Executive Director of Art Works Now on the topic "Creative Aging in Action: Strategies for Engaging Older Adults Through the Arts."

Our interactive workshop introduces arts organizations to the concept and value of creative aging programming and provides research-based insights into its benefits through the experience of Artworks Now. My portion of this presentation will be from the point of view of a Teacher Artist, which I have served in this capacity with AWN for three years.

Art Works Now (AWN) is a Hyattsville, Maryland based, 501 C3 non-profit organization learned through Lifetime Arts, Inc. and National Guild for Community Arts Education learned best practices for serving students who are 55 years of age and better. Based on this learning, they developed the Creative Aging Program (CAP), a free weekly sequential arts program designed to serve older adults (55+) seeking arts learning that connects them to a creative network of peers,
while also supporting their physical, mental, and emotional wellness.

The Maryland Arts Summit is a statewide conference presented by and for the Maryland arts sector, which includes, but is not limited to: Arts Advocates, Arts Educators & Teaching Artists, Independent Artists, Arts Organizations, Youth, Community Stakeholders, Arts, and Entertainment Districts, County Arts Agencies of Maryland, Public Artists, Boards of Directors, and Folklife Artists.

It is great opportunity to network, share the fantastic work that is being done across the state of Maryland, learn about communities different from your own, celebrate the accomplishments of what we as a sector have achieved, and more.

Join us!

Dates: June 16-17, 2026
Location: Prince Georges Community College Center for the Performing Arts, Largo, Maryland.

Registration ends June 9th..visit mdarts.org/summit

Introducing a New Weekly Series from Spark Your Creative: Coach's Corner ✨

Every creative journey comes with questions.

❓ What if I'm not talented enough? ❓ How do I find inspiration? ❓ Am I too old to start? ❓ What if no one likes my work?

The truth is that every artist, writer, musician, maker, and creative thinker encounters obstacles along the way. Sometimes all it takes is a little perspective, encouragement, and a practical next step to keep moving forward.

Starting this week, I'll be sharing a new installment of Coach's Corner—a weekly series designed to help you navigate common creative blocks, mindset challenges, and questions that arise on the creative path.

Whether you're rediscovering creativity at midlife, starting something new, or looking for ways to stay inspired, this series is for you.

💡 Each post will feature: A common creative question ; Practical tips and encouragement ✨ A reminder that you're not alone on the journey

Scroll left to see this week's debut question, tips and how you can get additional support on your creative journey.

DM me: What's a creative question you've been wrestling with lately?

Just a reminder of my special live conversation at 3 pm ET featuring abstract artist Alma Roberts to close out and Older Americans Month!

This inspiring discussion will explore what it means to begin — or return to — a creative life later in life and how creativity can become a powerful tool for wellness, self-expression, and joyful aging.

During our conversation, we’ll discuss:

-Starting a creative practice later in life
-Overcoming fear, perfectionism, and self-doubt
-The emotional and mental wellness benefits of creativity
-Why creativity matters as we age

And more!

Whether you already consider yourself creative or you’re simply curious about reigniting a spark within yourself, this event is for you.

TODAY @ 3:00 pm, ET

Streaming Live here & YouTube (links in the comments)

About Alma Roberts

Alma Roberts is a Baltimore-based, second generation abstract expressionist artist. At the age of 62, she literally picked up a paint brush and began producing what has been described as “fully formed, energetic abstract compositions” that belied the fact that she was at the time, new to the medium. Her works provide an insight into her viewpoints on life and the issues and forces that impact it.

Learn more about Alma at almaroberts.com.

We look forward to having you join the conversation on Sunday!

Happy Release Day!

Release Day is an annual 24 hour celebration where creative people collectively release a new project or work to the public. It is a partnership between two international online creativity communities, CreativeMornings and Creative Quest collaboration with Adobe.

During the month of May, these organizations presented a month-long program of practical tips, motivation and accountability to help you bring your project to life and release it in a meaningful way.

The observance is designed to move creatives and artists from procrastination, perfectionism, fear of rejection to an actual collective release deadline that we can share with other creatives around the world.

A few years ago, someone close to me suggested that I consider Substack for sharing not only my art but my poetry as well. I dismissed it at the time thinking that I could not add another social media like platform for all that I do, but recently I changed my mind about it.

And then I procrastinated. And a few internal messages nearly got the best of me. And after writing a few affirmations I learned about Release Day and made the project a priority.

Today I am launching SJBCreative.Substack.com which is where I will be sharing my art and poetry to the universe. I am aiming to share some art and accompanying poetry at least once a week. I will also be sharing some creative topics, musings and related content as well. It is a work in progress and I do not plan to enable paid subcriptions at this time.

I have just published A Knowing...an original poem accompanied by my artwork exploring faith during difficult times. Visit Sjbcreative.Substack.com and subscribe.

What creative project is waiting to be released to the world?

Hey hey....!

As part of
I signed up for co-hosted by CreativeMornings! The month long campaign encourages creatives to choose a project or goal to work on that needed to get completed with the support of others in the same boat.

Tomorrow, May 29th, I will unveil a new creative offering what I have procrastinating on for over a year.

Stay tuned!

We’re so excited to see what you release! Big thanks to Adobe for powering this motivating moment for all of us to share our passion projects.

To close out the celebration of and in honor of Older Americans Month, I’m excited to invite you to a special live conversation featuring abstract artist Alma Roberts.

This inspiring discussion will explore what it means to begin — or return to — a creative life later in life and how creativity can become a powerful tool for wellness, self-expression, and joyful aging.

Many people believe creativity belongs only to the young or professionally trained, but Alma’s journey reminds us that it’s never too late to explore your artistic voice, embrace curiosity, and create something meaningful.

During our conversation, we’ll discuss:

-Starting a creative practice later in life
-Overcoming fear, perfectionism, and self-doubt
-The emotional and mental wellness benefits of creativity
-Why creativity matters as we age

And more!

Whether you already consider yourself creative or you’re simply curious about reigniting a spark within yourself, this event is for you.

Sunday, May 31, 2026
3:00 pm, ET

Streaming Live on Spark Your Creative's Facebook & YouTube (links in the comments)

About Alma Roberts

Alma Roberts is a Baltimore-based, second generation abstract expressionist artist. At the age of 62, she literally picked up a paint brush and began producing what has been described as “fully formed, energetic abstract compositions” that belied the fact that she was at the time, new to the medium. Her works provide an insight into her viewpoints on life and the issues and forces that impact it.

Learn more about Alma at almaroberts.com.

We look forward to having you join the conversation on Sunday!