It has been a minute...

Not sure if anyone is following this old blog, but ... mission accomplished. I got back (checks notes) six years ago. It was the best decision I ever made to go on a mission. Someday, when I get around to it, I'll post my homecoming talk.

But other than that, I won't be posting here anymore. I'll just be leaving it up for posterity's sake. 

If you want to know more about what I'm up to, this is where I'm writing now. I also posted this over at the blog that I used in college. Head over there to read the whole thing.

FASHIONABLY OUT OF FASHION

Hey, friends! It has been a while, hasn't it? Did you miss me?

I realize I haven't posted here for some time, but I want you to know I am still writing — just not here. My Blogger bio said, "Loves art. Loves fashion. Loves writing. Loves traveling. Trying to combine them into a career." I may have not combined all of those things into a career, but I have figured out a lot since the last time I posted here. 

• First off, as much as I still love sewing, fashion and clothing, I no longer want to go into fashion design. 
• I still love art, but being an artist almost sounds more painful than just enjoying it. 
• I love traveling... but Covid and being an adult kind of got in the way of that, didn't it?

I recently lost my job (story about it here), and it gave me a lot of time to think about what I really want to do with my life. I had always enjoyed writing and recently found a platform that I really enjoy working on. I also realized I wanted more flexibility with my own life and to have more decision-making power over my future. After a great deal of thought and prayer, I decided it might be time to take the plunge and become a freelancer — an idea I had already considered for a few years. 

I actually started a new publication called The Charrette which you can read more about here. 

WHAT IS A CHARRETTE?

Historically, the word “charrette,” meaning "cart," was used by the École des Beaux-Arts in France. It referred to the student's method of working late into the night before their initial projects and drafts were due and a cart would come around and pick them up. Later, their professors would go on to give them critiques and feedback. 

In today's terminology, you usually see a "design charrette" in civil engineering or at design agencies. In this process, they get a group of a few people with different specialties (for example, an engineer, a designer, a marketer, etc.) to problem solve and come up with a solution that no one of them could have devised on their own. 

The Charrette's motto is, "Where art, history, politics, & public opinion meet." I guess I wasn't finding a way to roll all my passions into one career, so I had to take charge and do that myself. 

SO, KATHLEEN — WHAT DO YOU WRITE ABOUT NOWADAYS?

I'm still working on finding my perfect niche, but I love exploring the interlocking connections between history, art and modern life. Having spent probably too much of my career in social media, I realize that so many of us have lost touch with reality. I feel that art and history have a lot to teach us in the way of empathy and can create important context for our lives. 

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BEST THINGS YOU HAVE WRITTEN RECENTLY?

Before I set off on this journey, I actually worked for a performing arts organization, and I wrote some pretty great things for them like this piece and this piece. I also created a few great videos for them that challenged my writing skills like this one and this one.

Before I left, I got the rights to publish an interview I did with Steven Osbourne, an incredible Scottish pianist and interpreter of Sergei Rachmaninoff. I will probably try and continue to include more artist interviews in the future, but for now, I have a few other projects I want to work on. 

I also republished the piece "The Black Dog: How to Talk about Suicide" on The Charrette. I made some much-needed updates. The meat of the piece is very much the same, but I have changed so much, that I needed to share the lessons I learned as I grew over the last four years.

LET ME TELL YOU WHAT I'M MOST EXCITED ABOUT...

Read the rest over at These Elements of Style

I would love it if you followed me at The Charrette and subscribed. Sign up below, and keep up with my writing.