Forgive Me for Tooting My Own Horn, but Toot Toot.

Creative takeaways from the coolest stuff I found this week.

A digital collage I prompted called, “Kind of a Big Deal”

Hey friends! I was recently featured in a publication called ‘Design with AI.’ Read on to learn more about it and some other creative takeaways from this past week.

Design with AI:

I wrote a guest post on

Xinran Ma

’s publication Design with AI. It’s a deep dive into a passion project I completed with the assistance of AI—a case study of how I used large language models and text-to-image generative AI tools to aid in my very human creative process. If you’ve been curious about how the fascinating new field of artificial intelligence is going to disrupt… everything, this piece will at least give you insight into how one high school teacher who likes to write, make things, and fiddle with computers is using it.

I connected with Xinran after he read a piece I’d previously published on Substack called: Bleep Bloop: AI and Creativity. We exchanged a few messages on chat, and before long, I found that I had agreed to write a guest post for him.

As the piece that connected the two of us was only my third published on Substack, I was kind of surprised that:

1. Anyone read it (I guess I’m not just writing into the void after all)

2. It led to an opportunity to be featured on a publication with twice the number of subscribers that I have.

While Xinran shared with me that he was impressed by the project itself, he was even more impressed by the fact that I wasn’t a developer or professional designer. I was just some teacher who built this thing for fun.

Takeaway: if you’re suffering from imposter syndrome as you pursue your creative endeavor, it might help to shift your perspective. The fact that you work in finance AND paint abstract acrylics is the cool part, so stop procrastinating on the painting your brother commissioned you to complete… Bill!

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Cigar box guitars

Last week I mentioned that I recently rekindled an old hobby of mine—playing the guitar. What I didn’t mention is that I've also gotten into the hobby of building guitars, or more specifically cigar box guitars.

What’s a cigar box guitar? It’s a relic of the depression era when resources were tight, but the musical spirit was strong. Folks would make instruments out of whatever materials they had lying around: a broom stick, cigar box, and some baling wire for example.

Somehow I stumbled upon this weird corner of the internet, and I’ve enjoyed it so much! Each guitar I’ve built (nine so far) look and sound different. There’s a discovery in the process that only reveals itself upon completion. It’s incredibly rewarding to build something that I can actually hold and play—an experience I don’t get pushing pixels around the screen.

My first handful of guitars were quite frankly pretty rough, but I’ve gotten better with each successive build. By searching online, I’ve found a tribe of other like minded guitar nerds who’ve helped me hone my craft, and it’s become a hobby that brings me a lot of joy.

Takeaway: There’s almost no hobby too small that you can’t find thousands of other dorks just like you online. Share your work and find your tribe of weirdos.

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Casual Friday

In 1992, the Dockers® brand at Levi Strauss & Co created a trusty “Guide To Casual Business Wear,” and mailed the pamphlet to approximately 25,000 HR managers across the country which helped spur the adoption of casual Friday in the workplace.

Dockers didn’t invent the concept. Instead they poured gasoline on the embers of a tradition that originated in 1966 when the Hawaiian Fashion Guild attempted to boost the sales of Hawaiian shirts and dresses by introducing Aloha Fridays—a tradition which eventually crossed to the mainland.

By embracing, formalizing, and championing a trend, dockers helped stoke widespread change without needing to be the originator, and as one of the leading purveyors of casual attire, the HR guide propelled the company to great success.

Takeaway: Sometimes the genius of a creative act is about early recognition and amplification of an existing movement—harnessing its momentum rather than creating it from scratch.

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On writing fiction

I started writing fiction for the first time since second grade.

As a high school teacher with an undergraduate degree in history and social studies secondary education, and a masters degree in educational leadership with an additional 60 credit hours of coursework beyond that, it’s safe to say that I’ve written my fair share of essays.

I fancy myself somewhat of a wordsmith at this point, and I feel pretty comfortable behind a keyboard… when writing non-fiction.

But making something up about anyone, doing anything, for any reason from any perspective?

Sure, the act of writing looks the same for fiction and non-fiction, but it sure as hell doesn’t feel the same—like using a fork with your off hand.

It’s been fun though, and I can’t seem to get these characters out of my head.

I’m two pieces in on something that might become a serial or novela. I’m still not sure if I’m going to publish it, but it has been a great exercise in training a part of my brain that has gone underutilized since 1992.

Takeaway: Engaging in creative pursuits, even ones you’re not “good at,” can reawaken parts of yourself that may have gone dormant over the years.

Font of the week

The font of the week is… Poiret One. Another Google Font, Poiret One is sleek and simple with light geometric forms. It has stylish lines and graceful curves with just a hint of Art Deco influence.

Font: Poiret One

I’m currently using this font for the title of a work-in-progress video game called “Northbound” that I’ve been developing on and off for several years. It’s an infinite runner style game about a loon (the bird, not a crazy person) returning to his mating ground after flying south for the winter. The game also tells the story of estranged brothers reestablishing a relationship following the unexpected passing of their parents (heavy, I know).

One More Thing

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