Healing and connection through the creative process

Everything good comes from the garden within

peacock: our brightest light comes from within

Like me, you’re a creative person.

Your creativity is fed by your many life experiences.

You keep your hands and mind busy—making soap, practicing energy work, knitting, writing, playing the violin, gardening, cooking, and/or any of a million beautiful means of self-expression.

Your heart composes a song that must be released into the night.

But, sometimes, the song is trapped.

It’s easy to blame work, your partner, the kids… but more often than not, you get in your own way.

You long to tap into your own inner treasure and make something beautiful and healing to share with those who will be delighted by it.

But, you often feel paralyzed with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and straight-up fear. I hear you! I am you.

Welcome to my world

Hi, I’m Pennie.

Imagine we’re meeting on my back porch for a cool glass of lemonade. I’m in Louisiana, so we can assume it’s hot and muggy and the ceiling fan is softly whirring overhead.

Don’t mind the mess!

I’ve always been in the middle of a dozen projects—gardening and canning, jewelry and mosaics, sewing and costume-making, whipping up cookies and lotions, photo shooting and Photoshopping—the evidence of which can be seen in corners and on shelves, from the kitchen to the garden and all around us.

Making stuff is how I’m wired.

My creative time is primarily spent writing (blog posts, essays, fiction, and poetry), but I also garden, cook, bake, sew, take photos, make prints, and (much) more.

I’ve often struggled with making enough time for my passions, or knowing what to focus on, or what exactly my creative process is. Hell, I’ve struggled with lots of things.

But I’ve come to trust my creative process and challenge myself to let it flow.

It’s all interconnected and it’s all about healing and community.

I offer many of my creations freely here! Please wander around and see what resonates with you.

I hope you find something that brings you closer to yourself—and also inspires you to connect and create.

Your creativity matters.

Your imagery absolutely blew me away. For some of us, it brings back memories of a similar time – our parents, or other loved ones. For others, your posts will be a roadmap for understanding. Thank you for continuing to share your journey

Alana Mautone

There’s a lot here! Where do I begin?

Here is an annotated mini-TOC to help you get started.

About – My story, about the site, and my personal influences

My Creations – Collection of essays, stories, poems, recipes, and multimedia projects organized into these categories:

    • Essays: a wide range of topics but primarily focused on themes of family, relationships, creativity, and loss.
    • Alzheimer’s Essays: my mom’s experience with Alzheimer’s and my own processing of her decline and passing
    • Stories and Poems
    • Recipes: food recipes and also DIY lotions and potions
    • Garden Glass Words: multimedia photo poems

Contact A huge part of my efforts here are about connection. So please reach out! I’d love to hear your thoughts, feedback, questions, and ideas

Coming Soon!

  • Retreat Center – The Inner Garden, a retreat center for creatives in Washington Parish, LA. Website to come later this year–subscribe to my newsletter for updates.
  • Betterlands Store – My Etsy shop! Here you’ll find a regularly updated collection of prints and more.
  • Beyond Scylla – My series of sci-fi / women’s fiction novels.