A Resolution to Consider + YOUR BRAIN ON ART Book Giveaway

Essential biological reasons to slow down and prioritize creativity in 2026

It’s December 31. Hopefully, our hearts and bellies are full. And since our inboxes definitely are, let’s keep this short and sweet!

As I’ve made a promise to deprioritize the internet and prioritize deep (often secret) work, these posts will come once a month with a focus on helpful tools for deep reflection, book annotation, creative-muscle exercise + the Snail Mail Book Club info.

December Book Recipient

It’s time for someone to receive the annotated book of the month and read along “with” me!

If you’d like a chance to claim the December choice, YOUR BRAIN ON ART by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross, make sure you’re subscribed and can be the first to claim it in our subscriber chats. Paid subscribers get an early notification, and then anyone else can claim!

YOUR BRAIN ON ART Highlights

This text is a beautiful “kaleidoscope” compilation of so much research on neuroaesthetics (how the arts affect us).

It could help you with arts advocacy. As someone who has worked in the non-profit arts education world, it’s amazing to see scientific evidence for what many discuss only anecdotally or with limited data. In our arts ed grant programs, the data on student achievement was slow to collect. I could show grantmakers that the arts were helping students, but our programs were short and were often piloting new project ideas. This book, however, provides a wealth of supporting data.

It reminds you of your biology. To ignore the arts is to ignore our intricate human design. The bite-sized reminders might make you rethink your connection to aesthetics for mental and physical health. Adding a coloring practice, for example, isn’t just a hobby but something for your nervous system health.

Perhaps this thought might inspire a new resolution for your 2026.

“What if, instead of scrolling on your phone with your morning coffee, you spent twenty minutes drawing in a doodle diary, or creating your own mandala? You could black out words in the newspaper and create a found poem, or pick up your kid’s (or your!) LEGO bricks for free-form design, or Play-Doh to create something new. Take old clothes and make a memory blanket. Throughout your day you can pause and add a little bit of art and aesthetics into your life and see how it changes your mood. The list is endless and the results are immediate.” (p. 57)

It might turn you into an neuroarts influencer. Many people are unaware of the neuroaesthetic impact of the arts on their mental and physical health. (Unless we’re on a book deadline) much of life comes at us with urgency—when creative practice does not. Yet this doesn’t make visual arts, music, dance, or dramatic storytelling any less essential. You may be digging out the karaoke mics or hauling art supplies to the hang out—influencing the lives of those around you.

I’m also glad I could get another copy in time, because my local B&N said, “It’s been flying off the shelf this semester!”. . . which we realized mid-conversation was because of me and the three college classes I had reading this for a book study. Ha!

Anyway, I hope reading this will provide a renewed awareness for how serious the arts are in our lives—whether you receive the annotated copy or pull this forgotten book off your shelf.

That’s all for now! Until next year!

PARTY FAVORS TO TAKE ON YOUR WAY OUT…

Someone Sang It.

TILL THERE WAS YOU - The Beatles. In honor of Spotify telling us all how old our musical taste is, here’s a poetic choice from this inner 78-year-old.

“Then there was music

And wonderful roses

They tell me

In sweet, fragrant meadows

Of dawn and dew

There was love all around

But I never heard it singing

No, I never heard it at all

‘Til there was you.”

Someone Shared it.

I didn’t plan it for this post, but TED just shared their #1 Essential Talk of 2025 to be The case for making art when the world is on fire — Amie McNee

Someone Said it.

“Make just ONE SMALL TURN of the kaleidoscope aperture and your perception of the multifaceted picture changes, revealing something you’ve never seen before. And the possibilities are infinite.”

—YOUR BRAIN ON ART