"Our deeds still travel with us from afar, and what we have been makes us what we are." —George Eliot 🌸 This quote was on the front of the journal I had when I first went to Chile, over 20 years ago, on the University of California's Education Abroad program. ❤️ I spent hours with that journal, looking at the picture of Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot was her pen name), and thinking about the choices she must have made, and the choices I was making. 📖 I know this quote by heart, and it has popped into my mind many times over the years, as a friend to help me remember who I've been and to remind me that who I choose to be now affects who I will be later. 🌱 I give it to you as a gift. ☀️ May it bring you happiness as you reflect on who you have been, and may it bring you motivation to focus on what matters as you choose who to be now. 💖 #quotes #inspiration #stayInspired #motivation #rememberWhyYouStarted #youCanDoIt #quotestagram #AnswerTheCallToCreate #YourWritingMatters #KeikoOLeary #GeorgeEliot #MaryAnnEvans #publicDomanQuotes #nostalgia #thinkingAboutYourWholeLife #creativeLife #writingLife #artistLife #liveYourArt #liveAsAProtagonist #chooseWhatMatters https://www.instagram.com/p/CmuXf_3PUpz/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

“There’s no Christmas without electrocution.” —Sergio 🎄 My husband said this last year, and I made art out of it. ✨ Apart from the literal truth of getting zapped by Christmas lights, I feel like there’s a metaphorical truth here. 🔌 He comes from a family of electricians. Years ago, when my sister asked him if he’s ever gotten electrocuted before, he said “Yes, many times.” ⚡️ I’m reaching for the meaning, but I can’t quite grasp it. 💡 In any case, this is a good fact for fiction. 😃📚 #factForFiction #AnswerTheCallToCeate #ChristmasLights #amWriting #metaphor #metaphorical #writingPrompt #quotes #quotestagram #inspiration #creativeLife #writingLife #artistLife #liveYourArt #liveAsAProtagonist #CreativityMatters #ReleaseYourWork #ShowYourWork #CreativeProductivity #KeikoOLeary #create #creative #creativity #productivity #handLettering #calligraphyLettering #calligraphersOfInstagram #letteringLove #postcard #letteringAddict https://www.instagram.com/p/CmpAjX1ODfB/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

I just got back from Ireland, a country where there’s poetry painted on the buildings, framed on the walls, even printed on the doorknob hangers in hotels. 💖☘️ Here’s a lovely mural in Sligo of Yeats’ poem “The Song of Wandering Aengus.” 🌿 #poetry #PoetryInTheWild #IrelandPoetry #poemsOnBuildings #poetryMural #WBYeatsPoetry #TheSongOfWanderingAengus #YeatsPoetry #Sligo #Sligeach #KeikoOLeary #AnswerTheCallToCreate (presso Sligeach, Sligo, Ireland) https://www.instagram.com/p/ChByo4PuCDQ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Please join us on Wednesday 9/22 for writing inspiration! Link in bio. Prolific Writers Cafe: How Do I Get Inspiration to Write? (Sept 21, 10 am PT, 1 pm ET) Free with membership. Event Description: Many writing projects are stalled waiting for a muse to sit on your shoulder to make you write your book. But what if that muse never comes? How will you gather up the inspiration you need to keep writing? Meet inspired writers and authors Keiko O’Leary and Stefanie Dumont at Prolific Writers Cafe to learn how to tap into writing inspiration to finish your book. You may discover that opening up to your inner writer will allow you to call in inspiration instead of waiting for it to find you. Register at http://ProlificWriters.Life/events Or use the link in my bio. #OnlineLiveEvent #RealHumanConversation #GetUnstuck #StayInspired #KeikoOLeary #AnswerTheCallToCreate #ProlificWritersLife @ProlificWriters @conscious_carefree https://www.instagram.com/p/Citz-yDLHq5/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

My book comes out August 9! 📕 Here are actual photos of a real, physical copy. 🌿 You can order your own physical copy or ebook at https://books2read.com/your-writing-matters (Link in bio) 🌸 #YourWritingMatters #KeikoOLeary #AnswerTheCallToCreate #WritersOfInstagram #writers #writersCommunity #writersBlock #writersblocksucks #bynr #writingInspiration #bookstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/Cg2stSoPAwS/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

I’ve been writing the names of friends I love and miss. Experimenting with adding extra black and white ink to color lettering. . . . #handlettering #name #love #calligraphy #lettering #brushpen #brushlettering #AnswerTheCallToCreate #KeikoOLeary #create #creative #creativity #sanjose #shoplocal #bayarea #bayareaartist #california #southbay #siliconvalley #siliconvalleyart #siliconvalleyartist #sanjoseart #sanjoseartist #bayareaart #campbell #california https://www.instagram.com/keikooleary/p/BvIuxdTnbTp/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1noh6v0cv503t

Yay! I registered for Silicon Valley Open Studios. Here’s one of my featured art pieces. “Our words must seem to be inevitable.” —W.B. Yeats . . . #AnswerTheCallToCreate #calligraphy #handlettering #Yeats #KeikoOLeary #create #creative #creativity #sanjose #shoplocal #bayarea #bayareaartist #california #southbay #siliconvalley #siliconvalleyart #siliconvalleyartist #sanjoseart #sanjoseartist #bayareaart #campbell #california #svos #siliconvalleyopenstudios #lettering #art #artistsoninstagram #artist #calligraphy #calligrapher #calligraphyart #calligraphyartist #calligraphyaddict #freehand #writing #writer https://www.instagram.com/p/BsEfD9Nnnjh/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=2h3q4d1heh3v

Book of Shadows title page time lapse. . . . #timelapseart #timelapse #timelapselettering #lettering #art #artistsoninstagram #artist #calligraphy #calligraphyvideo #calligrapher #calligraphyart #calligraphyartist #calligraphyaddict #handlettering #freehand #AnswerTheCallToCreate #KeikoOLeary #create #creative #creativity #sakura #pigma #pigmamicron #pigmamicronpn #sepia #bookofshadows #journal #journaling

¡Feliz Santa Ana! ❤️ . . . #handlettering #lettering #calligraphy #iLoveLetters #iHeartLetters #AnswerTheCallToCreate #KeikoOLeary #create #creative #creativity #sanjose #shoplocal #bayarea #bayareaartist #california #southbay #siliconvalley #siliconvalleyart #siliconvalleyartist #sanjoseart #sanjoseartist #bayareaart #campbell https://www.instagram.com/p/B0ZvouIhYIE/?igshid=ac25maj5l4up

Amanda, thank you for your encouraging email. 💖 . . . #timelapseart #timelapse #timelapselettering #lettering #art #artistsoninstagram #artist #calligraphy #calligraphyvideo #calligrapher #calligraphyart #calligraphyartist #calligraphyaddict #handlettering #freehand #AnswerTheCallToCreate #KeikoOLeary #create #creative #creativity #amanda #namecalligraphy https://www.instagram.com/keikooleary/p/BvVaWsCHJ_M/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=7iyczr53escd

Sharon made real progress at our session today. Yay! . . . #writing #keepwriting #AnswerTheCallToCreate #MakeRealProgress #KeikoOLeary #create #creative #creativity #sanjose #shoplocal #bayarea #bayareaartist #california #southbay #siliconvalley #siliconvalleyart #siliconvalleyartist #sanjoseart #sanjoseartist #bayareaart #campbell #california https://www.instagram.com/p/BtZySXij7F9/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=q06k5qhtclhe

I’m so excited to facilitate this Creative Entrepreneur group at A Work of Heart! One hour a week can make you 7 times more likely to succeed. Are you in the South Bay? Want to join us? Message me for details. . . . #AnswerTheCallToCreate #KeikoOLeary #create #creative #creativity #sanjose #shoplocal #bayarea #bayareaartist #california #southbay #siliconvalley #siliconvalleyart #siliconvalleyartist #sanjoseart #sanjoseartist #bayareaart #campbell #california #creativebusiness #maker #aworkofheart #aworkofheartstudio https://www.instagram.com/p/Brn42geHFuE/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1wlee7hb24s8h

If you look closely, you can see a sparkle of dew. . . . #AnswerTheCallToCreate #KeikoOLeary #create #creative #creativity #sanjose #shoplocal #bayarea #bayareaartist #california #southbay #siliconvalley #siliconvalleyart #siliconvalleyartist #sanjoseart #sanjoseartist #bayareaart #campbell #california #writingprompts #writingprompt #naturephotography #naturephoto #naturephotos #plant #plants #plantsofinstagram #plantsmakepeoplehappy https://www.instagram.com/p/BriTnjqnl-f/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=temi3arvb7kj

Tree buds in December. . . . #AnswerTheCallToCreate #naturephotography #nature #writingprompts #writing #prompts #KeikoOLeary #create #creative #creativity #sanjose #shoplocal #bayarea #bayareaartist #california #southbay #siliconvalley #siliconvalleyart #siliconvalleyartist #sanjoseart #sanjoseartist #bayareaart #campbell #california https://www.instagram.com/p/Brft812nOz9/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=jxofq8ecif5u

I can’t wait to see what Debra Dixon has to say about The Wizard of Oz. I just re-watched that movie, and it makes no sense! But it SEEMS to make sense. So, just as an optical illusion can help us understand how vision works, I’m betting this “story illusion” can help us understand how story works. . . . #writing #keepwriting #fiction #writersofinstagram #write #writer #fictionwriter #goalmotivationconflict #amreading #bookstagram #book #books #reading #readersunite #righttolibrary #nonfiction #howto #howtowrite #AnswerTheCallToCreate #KeikoOLeary #create #creative #creativity #sanjose #bayarea #bayareaartist #california #southbay #siliconvalley #siliconvalleyart #bayareawriter #siliconvalleyartist #sanjoseart #sanjoseartist #bayareaart #campbell https://www.instagram.com/p/BnNygoXFHqB/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=e3peq7a4h9xr

Happy Mother’s Day! . . . #flowers #naturephotography #happymothersday #pink #pinkflowers #photography https://www.instagram.com/keikooleary/p/BxX9WoVhZF6/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=wqt15lda3p8f