Nonfiction Writing
Personal Essay | Arts & Culture Journalism | Book
Personal Essay
Dream Home(less). Livina Press. Spring 2025. [Available in Print]
This personal essay explores a season of displacement, as my family faced transitional homelessness following a collapsed home purchase during a summer of historic flooding in the Midwest. Moving through instability and uncertainty, the piece reflects on resilience, impermanence, and the search for a sense of home.
Selected Arts & Culture Journalism
Paul Reed: A Retrospective. Art Focus. Winter 2026. [Read]
Explores the work of Paul Reed, a key figure in the Washington Color School, through the Oklahoma City Museum of Art’s 2026 exhibition. Featuring insights from guest curator David Gariff, the piece situates Reed’s work within the broader history of postwar American abstraction.
Wall Flowers: Pat Gordon’s Career-Spanning Retrospective. Art Focus. Fall 2025. [Read]
An analysis of Wall Flowers, a retrospective of Patrick Gordon at the Philbrook Museum of Art, focusing on the artist’s detailed still lifes and narrative approach to composition.
Artist Spotlight Interview: Jamie Nakagawa Boley. Aji Magazine. Spring 2023. *No longer in circulation.[Read]
This artist interview features painter and Fresno State professor Jamie Nakagawa Boley, exploring her creative process, sources of inspiration, and the influence of her heritage, including connections to Native American traditions. The conversation also examines her recent work, which reflects the shifting landscapes of central California.
Believing is Seeing: Artist Helen Fukuhara. Aji Magazine. Fall 2021. *No longer in circulation. [Read]
This interview with Helen Fukuhara explores her development as a visually impaired artist working in tactile media. The conversation considers her artistic approach, the influence of her father, watercolorist Henry Fukuhara, and the role of her musical training in shaping her work.
Review: Kiki Smith and Paper: The Body, the Muse, and the Spirit. Art Focus Oklahoma. Winter 2018. [Read]
Examines Kiki Smith and Paper: The Body, the Muse and the Spirit, an exhibition at the Oklahoma State University Museum of Art. Through a close reading of the exhibition’s thematic structure, the piece explores Smith’s engagement with the body, archetypal female figures, and spirituality, situating the work within broader concerns of narrative and personal mythology.
Corner: Lynn Basa’s Community Art Experience. School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Grad Journal. Summer 2016. [No longer in circulation]
This article examines the work of Chicago-based artist Lynn Basa, focusing on her engagement with public art and community-centered practice. The piece highlights her project Corner, an artist-run space that encouraged public participation and expanded access to creative experiences.
Book
(quiet, space). a place for rest, reflection, and creation. Bridging Press. 2021. [Available in Print]
*This book has been used as a research resource in the graduate program at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London.
Too often, we find ourselves pressured to suppress our creative work in favor of seemingly more practical pursuits, forcing perpetual productivity to the point of burnout. Instead, we truly need time to pause, reflect deeply, and allow ourselves opportunities to think innovatively and play creatively.
In (quiet, space). a place for rest, reflection, and creation., internationally-recognized artist, writer, and educator Erin Schalk shares her stories of navigating challenging life circumstances while making creative work. With her characteristic gentle demeanor, she also reminds us that our best art is often found between the cracks of our daily lives.
In this collection of poetry, images, and prompts, Schalk guides you toward making quiet time and space for your creative work, shares thoughts on how to begin if your ideas have run dry, and assists you with seeing the beauty and possibilities inherent in the world around you. In (quiet, space)., you will move through a series of themes designed for close looking and listening such as stillness, movement, fragmented self, innovation, and preserving hope.
In this text, you will find:
15 poetry fragments to build upon, using your own creative work and ideas,
15 images for quiet reflection, designed to help you refocus on what is most important,
30 thoughtful prompts for writing, personal journaling, and creative making,
Guidelines for where to begin, especially if you find yourself overwhelmed and unable to start,
A handful of encouraging mini-essays,
...and more.
Through (quiet, space), allow yourself the freedom to uncover long-buried ideas and insights. These can become the starting points for poems, short stories, drawings, paintings, personal essays, or whatever your preferred creative work happens to be.