Bloom Where You Are Planted

Cherry blossoms raining down on a street in Burnaby, April 10, 2025. © Jenn Lin

No matter where you go in Vancouver during the Spring, there’s beauty everywhere you look. Maybe it’s a random patch of tulips along the side of the road, or the look of lush cherry blossom trees in full bloom. Within a week, the first wave of blossoms are blown away by the wind and brought down by rain, but by mid-to-late April there’s a second wave of even pinker blossoms that will burst onto the scene. The days are longer and the sun shines warmer. After 3 months of dark winter weather, the change couldn’t be more appreciated.

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10 Books to Inspire Your Inner Artist, Find Your Flow, and Fly Like This Eagle

Here’s a list of 10 of my favourite books. These are the books I return to whenever I need a reminder on how to make magic. If you’re like me and you like visual art, stand-up comedy, tennis, and psychology, this list is for you! PS—if you buy any of the books via the links below, I might get a commission ;)

Art Matters by Neil Gaiman & illustrated by Chris Riddell – Just in case you need a reminder that your imagination can change the world—PICK UP THIS BOOK! I love, love, love Neil Gaiman and his speech on making good art… whenever I feel lost about what direction I should take with my art, I think about whether it takes me closer or farther away from “the mountain.”

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