Painting Your Path

Creative care can start with one small act of curiosity. In this episode of Painting Your Path , I speak with Creative Care Summit facilitators, Casey Muze and Precious Burger, about how creativity, play, rhythm, and breath can help us reconnect with ourselves. Casey shares how his work in mental health, music therapy, and trauma care informs his focus on cadence, breath, and rhythm, including a s...

What do rusty nails, handmade kittens, and a community art fair have in common? Meet SukiMoonPie, mixed-media artist, creative force, and co-founder of ALTA Arts Collective. In this episode of Painting Your Path , Suki shares her wonderfully unconventional artistic journey, the unlikely beginnings of ALTA Arts Collective, and how a shared love of art has helped bring people together in Altadena. O...

Leah Ferrazzani, founder of Ferrazzani’s in Altadena, joins me for a thoughtful conversation about food, creativity, and the connections that make a community feel like home. Together, we talk about finding a path that makes room for both work and life, the meaning of serving others, and how neighbors can support local businesses as Altadena rebuilds. Listen in for a warm, honest conversation abou...

What’s the idea you keep coming back to? Maybe it’s written in more than one notebook. 😂 Maybe you’ve talked about it for years. Maybe you keep telling yourself, “Someday…” Here’s what I’ve been thinking about lately: Some of the most meaningful things in my life started much smaller than what they eventually became. And I definitely didn’t know where they were going when I began. In this episode...

This season is dedicated to Eaton Fire Survivors, caregivers, and the community groups supporting Altadena and Pasadena. Even though Michelle isn’t from my area, her mentorship has been a steady, grounding presence as I’ve navigated my vocal condition, the grief of losing my dad, and the impact of the fire on my community. In this conversation with abstract artist and mentor Michelle Armas, we exp...

In this episode of Painting Your Path, I  sit down with award-winning arts educator, photographer, and advocate Gayle Nicholls-Ali. Gayle shares her 33-year love story with Altadena, how her creative path evolved from oil painting and graphic design into photography, and how the Eaton Fire changed everything—destroying her home, studio, and a beloved collection of cameras. From that devastation, G...

In this episode, I sit down with Reshma Syed, co‑founder of Amanah Senior Living, a six‑resident senior care home in Altadena, CA. We talk about how a lifelong commitment to service, family, and community turned into a calling to care for older adults. If you’ve ever wondered what “good” elder care can look like, or you’re navigating care for an aging parent or loved one, this conversation will sp...

What if clarity isn’t about finding a brand-new idea? What if it’s about finally paying attention to the one that keeps coming back? In this episode of Painting Your Path , I’m sharing a realization I’ve been having lately about some of the things I’m creating: from my Movement + Meditative Art sessions to the new Painting Your Path membership. Sometimes the ideas we brush off as too small, too si...

What If Joy Was the Strategy? Have you ever looked around your life and realized you’ve become really good at efforting? Working harder. Trying harder. Healing harder. Achieving more. But somewhere along the way… you forgot what brings you joy. In this solo episode, I’m reflecting on the launch of the new Painting Your Path™ membership and something unexpected that emerged from reading every membe...

In this episode of Painting Your Path, I sit down with two dear friends: filmmaker/musician Owen Dara and actor/writer Jessica Lancaster to talk about building a creative life in Altadena, making their own films, and how surviving the recent fire has reshaped their sense of home, gratitude, and art. Tune in for a heartfelt conversation about community, resilience, and saying yes to inspiration eve...

What if the life you want is simpler than you have allowed yourself to believe? In this episode of Painting Your Path, I share the deeply personal story behind my new Painting Your Path™ membership. I reflect on my own years of chasing credentials, professional accomplishments, and the next milestone, only to discover that today’s big achievement often becomes tomorrow’s business as usual. At this...

Welcome back to the Painting Your Path™ podcast. I’m your host, Clarissa Castillo‑Ramsey. Today you’re getting a special behind‑the‑scenes peek at something very close to my heart: The Becoming Experience. If you’ve ever felt like life is moving way too fast, like you’re juggling all the roles and still wondering where you fit into the picture, this episode is for you. I’m joined by two incredible...

What if the thing you’re holding back is the very thing that could create connection? In this episode of Painting Your Path , I reflect on a recent art fair experience that reminded me of something we often forget: visibility isn’t about seeking attention. It’s about allowing ourselves to be seen. Whether it’s a creative project, a dream you’ve been postponing, a conversation you’ve been avoiding,...

What if wellbeing wasn’t only about what we consume—but also about what we practice? In this solo episode of Painting Your Path™, I explore the growing movement of Social Prescribing and why activities like movement, creativity, and community are becoming recognized as powerful tools for supporting mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing. Drawing from my own experiences navigating grief, spasmod...

We’re halfway through the year. Maybe you’re exactly where you hoped you’d be. Or maybe life happened. In this solo episode, Clarissa shares a candid reflection on feeling a bit disconnected from parts of her work, the pull of family and community responsibilities, and what she’s learning about finding her way back without judgment or hustle. If you’ve been feeling stuck, distracted, or like you’v...

We’re almost halfway through the year. So…how’s it going? For real. Good? Great? Not quite where you want to be yet? In this solo episode, I’m reflecting on the space between what we imagined for ourselves at the beginning of the year, and what life is actually teaching us now. This conversation is about purpose, creativity, resiliency, redirection, and learning how to listen without abandoning yo...

What happens when you keep postponing yourself? In this solo episode, I’m talking about perfectionism, fear, overthinking, waiting for the “right time,” and the quiet ways people abandon what matters most to them. This conversation is for anyone who knows there’s something inside of them asking to be expressed… creatively or otherwise. Because maybe the issue isn’t that you don’t know what you wan...

In this episode of Painting Your Path , I reflect on a question many of us quietly carry — When did I stop knowing what I want?  While I was in Texas, I found myself sitting with this more deeply, thinking about how women are often taught to be polite, accommodating, and small, and how that conditioning can pull us away from our own desires, creative voice, and sense of self. I share my own journe...

If you’ve been telling yourself “I’ll start soon”… this episode is for you. I found myself saying those exact words again recently. Not in a big, dramatic way—but in the quiet, everyday kind of way that keeps things just far enough out of reach. In this solo episode, I share an unexpected moment from a simple scribble art exercise that made me realize what was really underneath my resistance to st...

In this episode, I sit down with Alexander AD: artist, designer, photographer, chef, and filmmaker whose work in Altadena has quietly shaped how the community remembers and reimagines life after the fires. We explore: Alexander’s journey from corporate VP to full-time creative How growing up with strict expectations led him back to art The role of resilience, curiosity, and intention in his work H...

In this episode, I’m doing something a little uncomfortable… I’m speaking anyway. Lately, my spasmodic dysphonia has been giving me trouble and I also can’t let it get me down… If you’ve ever felt like you needed to “fix” something about yourself before you could fully show up: your voice, your confidence, your clarity, this conversation is for you. Today also happens to be World Voice Day, and I’...

In this episode of Painting Your Path™ I sit down with Courage: actor, activist, and community organizer to explore what it means to find home, rebuild after devastation, and keep showing up for your community. Courage shares how an unexpected Facebook ad, a cross-town bus ride, and a deep sense of grief led them from downtown LA to Altadena, where they discovered the kind of small-town community...

This episode is a real-time check-in. Not the polished version. The honest one. As we close out the first quarter of the year and step into spring, it’s a natural moment to pause and ask: Am I actually doing the things that matter to me? In this solo episode, I’m reflecting on: what I followed through on—and what I didn’t how easy it is to disconnect from the things that bring us back to ourselves...

Spring is here. It’s the perfect time for renewal and planting seeds for the year. But nothing changes or grows unless you do something about it. In this episode, I’m talking about what renewal actually requires (hint: it’s not waiting for the perfect time), and why so many of us stay stuck even when we feel the pull to move. If you’ve been circling an idea, second-guessing yourself, or telling yo...

In this episode of Painting Your Path™, I sit down with Nadia Paredes: art therapist, former president of the American Art Therapy Association, immigrant, mom, and community mental health leader with Project HOPE.   After losing her son’s school in the Eaton fire, Nadia’s personal and professional worlds collided, leading her back into disaster mental health and community care. She shares how art,...