Well, of course I LOVED this interview, Petya!! Firstly, this: "I like to read novels, especially those that explore the inner lives of women - women on the precipice of change, seeking solitude, making meaning out of life." YES. This is speaking to my own reading and writing life.
I also resonate with so much here (as you will know) on the midlife discoveries Janet is making, although I have not tried a new artistic strand (yet!) this has opened me to the possibility...I love that Janet has a journal "dedicated to topics I'm self-studying." What a gorgeous way to honour your own mind and development.
I thought you would love Janet, too! I wish we could go see her show opening this weekend! Take a look at her journaling post, I am starting a dedicated travel journal next week when I go on vacation after reading about Janet's.
OMG I have literally just finished reading her journal post and subscribed!! I love her ideas for splitting her journals and the self-study journal...it reminds me a lot of your own notebook keeping. I was thinking the same- what a wonderful thing it would be to see her show together.
I hope you are going to share some of your travel journals! I've been watching your YouTube videos and am inspired to start planning my own notebooks in a more enriching way :))
Petya I’ve been travel journaling for the past two years and as much as I love it, it also enables me to relive my travels long after I’ve come back just by flipping through the pages.
Do you have examples of your travel journals anywhere online we can see? I am really curious about it -- I imagine it being a combination of logging what we did, what we liked, personal reflections, book notes on what I am reading while I am there and maybe even some scraps of paper matter as a keepsake. I can't commit to creative journaling during my regular life but I think it would be fun to do a little bit of that during travel.
Unfortunately I have not shared it anywhere but it is exactly what you have mentioned - ticket stubs, postcards, hotel paper and the best thing I did was get a photo printer to print from my phone so I’ve liberally sprinkled pics of my travels along with all the collected paraphernalia. Since there are no rules to travel journaling you can pretty much do as you please:)
Tip - sip in a poem daily and take note of what is happening around you.
Reading Ritual - my book journal. Letting a week, or so pass, and then sitting down and reflecting. I love a first sentence/last sentence recording - I feel like when I look back my brain fills in so much of the book experience. Then taking the pause to record what quote really spoke to me in my commonplace journal. Side note: still thinking about my reading kinks! After reading Brandy Sour, it might be setting in hotels. The mix and interactions of the guests and staff. Going into The Feast soon.
I started to follow Janet because of her artwork, but now I want to explore more. I love to meet people that are also visual artists (I'm one myself), great creatives and book lovers. Furthermore, she's beautiful! From all the tips, I'm tempted to start tracking my readings in a physical notebook 🧐 that might be liberating!
I am so glad this interview resonated with you, too! I think that a creative mind is a mind that is geared towards paying attention and it makes sense to me that a visual artist would be a reader and vice versa. PLEASE PROMISE YOU WILL START KEEPING A PAPER LIST!!!
YES, I PROMISE! I read about it in one of your publications and my fingers are itching to start something like that. Not only the tracking notebook, but the commonplace notebook as well. I have plenty of notebooks, all of them filled with informations (ideas, drawings, paintings, poems, etc.). So that’s something I already did and want to recover.
I love this interview so much, Petya! I’m going to follow Janet, her artwork is gorgeous!
Committing to a reading journal and leaving Goodreads sounds like a monumental task! I do love the idea however, especially recording first sentences…I’ve been logging my books on Goodreads since 2015 and have just under 500 entries. Being retired though, I perhaps have no good excuse!
I know we are different ... so I don't imagine this would work for everyone. But I know that people who love paper, notebooks and have that archivist urge... it is a practice that is so simple and easy to maintain that is disproportionately satisfying given how little effort it takes.
What a lovely interview, thank you for sharing! As someone who bristles at most professional development/business books, I found this insight especially refreshing: "As a facilitator, people often ask me for book recommendations for business professionals. They are usually surprised when I say I don’t really like or recommend business-related books. I believe that to be a stronger leader, you should read literature written by people from all corners of the world. I once spent a year reading books by Iranian authors, and it was better than any business book on values or navigating change and transitions."
Her paintings are so lovely *Mary Oliver swoon* and I so appreciated learning about her take on morning pages. Completing The Artist's Way last year has encouraged me to follow my creative impulses this year, especially when it comes to writing.
As a person who works in business, I found that answer just so uncommon and insightful too! It's such a good recommendation, I really hope that people actually act on it.
One of my biggest lessons I am taking away from Janet is that creativity begets creativity. Once you start nourishing your mind and your soul, you feel the impact in all areas of your life. And, in a way, it almost doesn't matter what creative acts you engage in because more will naturally follow. What an amazing way to live!
Gorgeous!!! Another example that there is no such thing as starting late -- even though Janet started painting a year ago, she has a lifetime of experience to fuel her art... and, frankly, I think you can tell.
I recently started a pastel course! I’ve also become more and more consistent with journaling in the last few years, which honestly feels like it feeds my brain and creative practice. I’m aiming for creative writing but have so far been too intimidated to make much progress.
I also read in the "in between" times. Even if it is only for a few minutes, it's so important. Some times at work I take a 10 minute break and read a little. I guess it calms me down somehow.
I plan to write a little bit about this in my Thursday post but I didn't realize how much I was reading in the in between moments until I found myself in a busy period at work and at home, my in between moments got filled with work tasks and my reading suffered.
I loved how she does not recommend business books but novels instead. Like a boss! Big fan of Janet and how she includes books/readers among the subjects of her paintings.
What a gorgeous interview. Janet's art is luminous, as is her thinking. The practice of devoting time, in a cafe, to transfering resonant words and ideas from books to a commonplace journal is one I'll be putting in my calendar. I moved away from Good Reads earlier this year and started logging my 2025 reads in my notebook. I'm feeling inspired to choose an empty notebook and write all of the titles out, especially with little notes about what they meant to me when I read or re-read them. Transfering titles from my daily notebook to a dedicated reading notebook could be a reflective end of year practice. Thank you for sharing this interview — it is deeply resonant!
I am so excited for you!!! I don't think I've talked to anyone who made the transition away from GoodReads and didn't feel better as a reader because of it. I love to book journal too, here's my earlier essay about My Commonplace Journal if you are looking for more book-journaling ideas:
Thank you!! Yes! I love that piece. It may have been my introduction to your work. It helped me make the jump to investing in a beautiful Leuchtrum and getting serious about writing in it again 🤓 - lots of glorious quotes and musings in there now
Perfect 💕📚💕
Well, of course I LOVED this interview, Petya!! Firstly, this: "I like to read novels, especially those that explore the inner lives of women - women on the precipice of change, seeking solitude, making meaning out of life." YES. This is speaking to my own reading and writing life.
I also resonate with so much here (as you will know) on the midlife discoveries Janet is making, although I have not tried a new artistic strand (yet!) this has opened me to the possibility...I love that Janet has a journal "dedicated to topics I'm self-studying." What a gorgeous way to honour your own mind and development.
I thought you would love Janet, too! I wish we could go see her show opening this weekend! Take a look at her journaling post, I am starting a dedicated travel journal next week when I go on vacation after reading about Janet's.
OMG I have literally just finished reading her journal post and subscribed!! I love her ideas for splitting her journals and the self-study journal...it reminds me a lot of your own notebook keeping. I was thinking the same- what a wonderful thing it would be to see her show together.
I hope you are going to share some of your travel journals! I've been watching your YouTube videos and am inspired to start planning my own notebooks in a more enriching way :))
Petya I’ve been travel journaling for the past two years and as much as I love it, it also enables me to relive my travels long after I’ve come back just by flipping through the pages.
Do you have examples of your travel journals anywhere online we can see? I am really curious about it -- I imagine it being a combination of logging what we did, what we liked, personal reflections, book notes on what I am reading while I am there and maybe even some scraps of paper matter as a keepsake. I can't commit to creative journaling during my regular life but I think it would be fun to do a little bit of that during travel.
Unfortunately I have not shared it anywhere but it is exactly what you have mentioned - ticket stubs, postcards, hotel paper and the best thing I did was get a photo printer to print from my phone so I’ve liberally sprinkled pics of my travels along with all the collected paraphernalia. Since there are no rules to travel journaling you can pretty much do as you please:)
Sounds so so fun! Do you mind sharing your photo printer with me?
Here in the UK its this
Canon Zoemini 2 Printing Kit: Capture & Create Anywhere - Compact Portable Photo Printer - Bluetooth 5.0 - Fast USB-C Charging for On-the-Go Adventures, Navy Blue https://amzn.eu/d/iBzTKZo
But in the US it might be the Canon Ivy.
Canon Zoemini 2 Printing Kit: Capture & Create Anywhere - Compact Portable Photo Printer - Bluetooth 5.0 - Fast USB-C Charging for On-the-Go Adventures, Navy Blue https://amzn.eu/d/iBzTKZo
In the US it might be called Canon IVY
Tip - sip in a poem daily and take note of what is happening around you.
Reading Ritual - my book journal. Letting a week, or so pass, and then sitting down and reflecting. I love a first sentence/last sentence recording - I feel like when I look back my brain fills in so much of the book experience. Then taking the pause to record what quote really spoke to me in my commonplace journal. Side note: still thinking about my reading kinks! After reading Brandy Sour, it might be setting in hotels. The mix and interactions of the guests and staff. Going into The Feast soon.
HOTELS!!! How fun!
I do the first/last sentence in my book journal now too after you mentioned it a while back. I love doing it now too!
I started to follow Janet because of her artwork, but now I want to explore more. I love to meet people that are also visual artists (I'm one myself), great creatives and book lovers. Furthermore, she's beautiful! From all the tips, I'm tempted to start tracking my readings in a physical notebook 🧐 that might be liberating!
I am so glad this interview resonated with you, too! I think that a creative mind is a mind that is geared towards paying attention and it makes sense to me that a visual artist would be a reader and vice versa. PLEASE PROMISE YOU WILL START KEEPING A PAPER LIST!!!
YES, I PROMISE! I read about it in one of your publications and my fingers are itching to start something like that. Not only the tracking notebook, but the commonplace notebook as well. I have plenty of notebooks, all of them filled with informations (ideas, drawings, paintings, poems, etc.). So that’s something I already did and want to recover.
I love this interview so much, Petya! I’m going to follow Janet, her artwork is gorgeous!
Committing to a reading journal and leaving Goodreads sounds like a monumental task! I do love the idea however, especially recording first sentences…I’ve been logging my books on Goodreads since 2015 and have just under 500 entries. Being retired though, I perhaps have no good excuse!
I know we are different ... so I don't imagine this would work for everyone. But I know that people who love paper, notebooks and have that archivist urge... it is a practice that is so simple and easy to maintain that is disproportionately satisfying given how little effort it takes.
What a lovely interview, thank you for sharing! As someone who bristles at most professional development/business books, I found this insight especially refreshing: "As a facilitator, people often ask me for book recommendations for business professionals. They are usually surprised when I say I don’t really like or recommend business-related books. I believe that to be a stronger leader, you should read literature written by people from all corners of the world. I once spent a year reading books by Iranian authors, and it was better than any business book on values or navigating change and transitions."
Her paintings are so lovely *Mary Oliver swoon* and I so appreciated learning about her take on morning pages. Completing The Artist's Way last year has encouraged me to follow my creative impulses this year, especially when it comes to writing.
As a person who works in business, I found that answer just so uncommon and insightful too! It's such a good recommendation, I really hope that people actually act on it.
One of my biggest lessons I am taking away from Janet is that creativity begets creativity. Once you start nourishing your mind and your soul, you feel the impact in all areas of your life. And, in a way, it almost doesn't matter what creative acts you engage in because more will naturally follow. What an amazing way to live!
Oooh two of my favorite people on substack?! Had to comment on my excitement before reading!!
This note made me laugh. Thank you for reading us both! xo
oh my, these paintings. They’re so beautiful!
Gorgeous!!! Another example that there is no such thing as starting late -- even though Janet started painting a year ago, she has a lifetime of experience to fuel her art... and, frankly, I think you can tell.
Indeed! Like you said, it feels like it’s always been there. Just waiting to be discovered.
I recently started a pastel course! I’ve also become more and more consistent with journaling in the last few years, which honestly feels like it feeds my brain and creative practice. I’m aiming for creative writing but have so far been too intimidated to make much progress.
Every small thing that you to feed your soul COUNTS. I am so excited for you!
I also read in the "in between" times. Even if it is only for a few minutes, it's so important. Some times at work I take a 10 minute break and read a little. I guess it calms me down somehow.
I plan to write a little bit about this in my Thursday post but I didn't realize how much I was reading in the in between moments until I found myself in a busy period at work and at home, my in between moments got filled with work tasks and my reading suffered.
Talented people seem to have time for so many things. She sounds wonderful!
I thought the same when I read her responses. Her brain is just an open channel for ideas and beauty.
I loved how she does not recommend business books but novels instead. Like a boss! Big fan of Janet and how she includes books/readers among the subjects of her paintings.
I think a lot of people took note of that comment. So cool.
The worst advice I ever followed came from those books organizational consultants always recommend!
What a gorgeous interview. Janet's art is luminous, as is her thinking. The practice of devoting time, in a cafe, to transfering resonant words and ideas from books to a commonplace journal is one I'll be putting in my calendar. I moved away from Good Reads earlier this year and started logging my 2025 reads in my notebook. I'm feeling inspired to choose an empty notebook and write all of the titles out, especially with little notes about what they meant to me when I read or re-read them. Transfering titles from my daily notebook to a dedicated reading notebook could be a reflective end of year practice. Thank you for sharing this interview — it is deeply resonant!
I am so excited for you!!! I don't think I've talked to anyone who made the transition away from GoodReads and didn't feel better as a reader because of it. I love to book journal too, here's my earlier essay about My Commonplace Journal if you are looking for more book-journaling ideas:
https://petya.substack.com/p/issue-107-commonplace-journaling
Thank you!! Yes! I love that piece. It may have been my introduction to your work. It helped me make the jump to investing in a beautiful Leuchtrum and getting serious about writing in it again 🤓 - lots of glorious quotes and musings in there now
Where is that gorgeous sweater from?!
I will be sure to track this down with Janet. Other people DM-ed me about it too!!!
If it’s the gray one, it’s from Sezane. And thank you so much for reading
I got 6 DMs about the gray sweater, Janet!!!
lol, it’s actually as cozy as it looks. Highly recommend
Gorgeous paintings and a gorgeous person!
Beautiful work comes from beautiful souls. Could not agree more.
I want that blue smoking painting with all my heart. GORGEOUS.
Very cinematic, you can feel that room.
Thank you!