Some Things Need a System. Some Things Need Surrender.
Hi Friend! 💖
Last week I wrote about trying to find my flow again.
This week, I finally stopped thinking so much about painting...
and actually painted.
Not planning.
Not mapping out a collection.
Not deciding what Realm everything belonged in.
Not worrying about whether I was doing it “right.”
Just playing.
And honestly?
That felt really good.
I Wanted to Remember the Magic
For the last couple of years, most of my creative energy has gone toward face paint, henna, hair tinsel, Sparkles, events, inventory, signage, systems, and approximately 4,782 entrepreneurial decisions. 😂
Before that?
I was painting constantly.
Sunflowers.
Jellyfish.
Eyeballs.
Mushrooms.
Abstracts.
I was sharing creation videos, teaching classes, experimenting with mediums, and building real momentum around the artwork.
Then life shifted.
The event side of my business got louder.
The paintings got quieter.
And I kept thinking:
I’ll get back to it when I have more room.
More time.
More bandwidth.
Then a year went by.
And another.
And lately I’ve been thinking:
Okay. I don’t want any more years to go by.
I miss this part of myself.
So I went back into the studio with one goal:
Stop overthinking. Play with the pretty colors.
Apparently My Brain Wanted Halloween
I thought I was going to make jellyfish.
That is not what happened. 😂
Instead, I started reaching for oranges, purples, magentas, darker colors, shimmer...
and suddenly everything had this spooky little fall energy.
So I followed it.
Some of my old paints were too thick.
Some were too thin.
Some had mica powders and mystery mediums mixed into them that I honestly don’t remember anymore.
And instead of fixing everything first, I got curious.
What happens if I use it anyway?
What if the weird consistency makes something cooler?
What if a strange paint reaction reveals something I never would have planned?
That is the part of painting I’ve missed.
The mystery.
The experimentation.
The complete lack of concern for what you’re “supposed” to do.
And then, naturally, the experiments escalated.
What happens if I spray purple glitter around the edges of this painting?
Maybe that’s something I should start doing all the time.
😂
Then I sprinkled glow-in-the-dark glitter onto another one because apparently I needed to know what that would do too.
Good idea?
Bad idea?
Who knows?
That’s the fun part.
Some of these little paintings came out darker than I expected, so now I keep staring at them thinking:
Do these need glitter sunbeams shooting through the darkness?
Honestly?
That sounds pretty perfect to me.
We shall see. 😂
This Is the Part I’ve Been Missing
Years ago, when life felt incredibly heavy, color gave me somewhere to look.
Sparkle gave me a tiny flicker.
Curiosity gave my brain somewhere else to go.
Painting let me become a big kid again.
I could stop solving problems for a minute and just ask:
What happens if I mix this with that?
What if I spin it?
What if I add glitter?
What if I do the thing I’m probably not supposed to do?
That kind of play became part of how I moved through hard seasons.
And now I’m realizing I still need it.
Not because I’m in the same place I was then.
But because creativity opens something inside me that business systems never will.
Some Things Need a System
Meanwhile, my practical brain has been busy too.
I created my new fall design board for Highland Orchards because after more than a decade of painting there, I know what people want.
The shuttle comes.
Another wave of families arrives.
The line fills.
And the easier I can make the choices, the faster I can paint and the happier everybody is.
I’m thinking about Sparkles the same way.
Do I really need thirty-one separate Sparkle choices?
Probably not. 😂
I already know which combinations people love.
So I’m simplifying into Brookie Blends.
Less decision fatigue.
Less mental clutter.
More room for connection.
And more room in my brain for paint.
And Some Things Need Surrender
I had also spent part of the week preparing for a busy outdoor weekend.
Printing labels.
Refilling stock.
Refreshing tired-looking signs.
Getting everything ready.
And then the weather changed the plan.
Rain.
A weekend I had been counting on suddenly disappeared.
Of course my brain had opinions about that.
But I kept coming back to this:
I cannot control the weather.
I can prepare.
I can work hard.
I can build better systems.
But there are still things outside my hands.
And I don’t want anxiety stealing the same creative energy I’m finally trying to reclaim.
So instead of spiraling over something I couldn’t change...
I rested.
And I kept coming back to the balance:
Some things need a system.
Some things need surrender.
So I’m Letting the Paint Babies Leave the Nest
The other thing I’m practicing right now is sharing the art before I talk myself out of it.
I made a handful of little experimental originals this week.
They’re weird.
Colorful.
Spooky.
Sparkly.
One-of-one.
And instead of hiding them until I have a perfectly polished collection...
I’m putting them out into the world.
My tiny 4-inch glow-in-the-dark Joy Bombs are $25.
The small Paint Babies are $40.
And some of the larger little gems are $80.
That’s it.
No giant pricing spiral.
No overthinking.
Just:
I made this.
Maybe it makes your heart happy.
If it does, you can take it home.
And every Paint Baby that finds a home helps me move one step closer toward getting into a climate-controlled studio this winter, where I can keep painting without worrying about Pennsylvania going from warm and beautiful to absolutely freezing overnight. 😂
✨ SHOP THE PAINT BABIES → https://brookezook.com/products/september-paint-babies-collection-recalibrate-and-paint
Little Art for Everyday Encouragement
I’m also bringing my motivational magnets more intentionally into the Sparkleverse.
These are something I’ve already been making, selling, testing, and sometimes giving away when I meet somebody who just seems like they need a little encouragement.
They’re 4 × 6 art prints inside magnetic sleeves, paired with Scripture or simple words that might be exactly what someone needs that day.
Something for a refrigerator.
A school locker.
A college dorm.
Something that quietly says:
I love you.
I believe in you.
God is with you.
You’ve got this.
They’re $12 each or two for $20.
Scripture I’m Carrying This Week
This week I keep coming back to Philippians 4:6–8.
Bring the anxiety to God.
Pray.
Give thanks.
Receive His peace.
And then pay attention to what you’re allowing your mind to dwell on.
That feels very relevant right now.
Because I can stare at the weekend that didn’t happen.
I can worry about winter.
Money.
Space.
Business.
All the things.
Or I can acknowledge what’s real...
do the next wise thing...
and turn my attention back toward what is beautiful.
Right now?
That looks like purple paint.
Mica powder.
Glow-in-the-dark glitter.
A handful of little Paint Babies waiting to find their people.
And an artist remembering how much she loves to play.
Systemize what I can.
Surrender what I can’t.
And keep making beautiful things in the middle.
Where to Find Me This Weekend ✨
And if you’d rather see some of this colorful chaos in person, come find me this weekend!
📍Friday night — High School Home Football Game
I’ll be set up doing my usual mix of face paint, henna, hair tinsel, sparkle and colorful fun under the Friday night lights.
📍Saturday — Private Company Picnic
I’ll be providing free services for the guests at a company picnic, so this one isn’t open to the public — but I’ll still be out there making people sparkle. 💖
📍Sunday — Highland Orchards
Back at Highland doing my thing!
And this week I’m planning to bring more of Artist Brookie with me too:
Paint Babies.
Motivational Magnets.
Original art.
So if you’re coming through Highland, stop by, say hi, get sparkled, and come see what I’ve been making.
Some things are just better when you can see the glitter in person. 😂✨
With pretty colors in front of me and peace on purpose,
Brookie ✨
