There’s a strange and beautiful dichotomy we live with as artists: the joy of creation and connection exists right alongside the weight of fear and uncertainty. In one moment, we find ourselves uplifted by the communal magic of making art together: messy tables, shared tools, open studios, and in the next, we’re reckoning with the real challenges facing our communities: lost grant funding, restricted access, and the ongoing fight for equity and visibility. These tensions don’t cancel each other out. They coexist, and in that space, we find both struggle and strength. Many of us are also quietly battling the inner voice of impostor syndrome—questioning whether we belong, whether our work matters. Let me remind you: the act of creating, of returning to the work again and again, is the proof. Repetition isn’t stagnation—it’s how we learn, how we grow, how we honor process over perfection.