The Inner Dive

introduction to this story: followthepaint.substack.com/p/episode-8-three-turns-of-the-novel gallery of selected art: esthersharp.com/gallery video channel: youtube.com/@inksmudgestudio Get full access to Follow the Paint at followthepaint.substack.com/subscribe

An audio log to mark the completion of my novella . Visual version of this episode available at Ink Smudge Studio Intro music: “Bright Waking Moon” by Ethan Sharp, full song and album available here You can subscribe to my written field notes on Substack and find more of my work at esthersharp.com Three Turns of the River available Fall 2025 Get full access to Follow the Paint at followthepaint.su...

In this piece I share readings by and about Mary Oliver. Mary is one of the portraits in my personal pantheon, available now as part of the Art-chetype Series in my shop . The music at the beginning of this episode is Bright Waking Moon, written and composed by my brother, Ethan Sharp, and used with his permission. You can find the full song and buy the whole album (The Kith: A Lunar Calendar) ins...

In this double dive, Emma and I swim through our usual wide range of waters, including the limiting effects of metrics, where our true resources are (accessible to all), and the medicine of basking in blessings (not just counting them). We also dissect my ongoing break from Instagram and how social media can affect our creative output and sense of self approval—AND how it doesn’t have to. This cal...

The first double dive of this year was actually recorded last year—we trust it’s on wizard’s time, and is arriving precisely when it means to. Join us for what Emma calls, “An open-ended conversation on what it means to be a creator.” Hey Tony! We’re toning here! In this episode… + the one wrong thing + an economy of feeling tones + no gatekeepers, no gates + blessings of dissatisfaction + how we...

Emma Liles (the birch to my doug fir) returns for our monthly double dive, and true to the impromptu pottery theme, we begin with blobby lumps and develop them into various useful or pretty pieces. HIGHLIGHTS: * the yinward turn * we discover a new mutual interest that sparked the same insight * I rave about a pottery show (and the crying featured on it) * the orange hand towel aka the wisdom of t...

In this solo dive, I discuss the new format (2x/month), announce my recurring guest/cohost, and then tell you the epic back story of my longtime novel, including… * finding my voice in a river * quilting the pieces together in England * “hard-won holiday attention” * how I took a 3/4 win and made it into a loss * how Now Me sees Past Me * writing a life raft * no one had crowned me * how The Frenc...

In this episode I chat with my one-time schoolmate and longtime pal, the talented singer-songwriter Travis Shipley. Amongst many other things, we talk about… * what it’s like to pull songs from the void (and sometimes lose them back to it) * moving on from younger eras of our work when our perspectives change * the narratives we create about ourselves and then operate from * the glee of improv com...

Imagine Hermione Granger had a devout Buddhist phase before diving whole-heartedly into herbology, and you might have a pretty good idea of my guest this week. EMMA LILES is a writer, musician, herbalist, essence cocreator, devotee of wild nature, tent dweller, and forager who has learned to trust nature, the body, and her own ability to focus implicitly—this is what she loves to share with others...

In which I am joined by Marisa Hurst and Meredith Harvey, AKA my writing group, AKA Emm Bucks. We talk about the short story we wrote together (that’s getting PUBLISHED!), get very confused about numbers and time (#notamathgroup), and figure out what would really help all of our novels (a trip to Italy, obviously). Meredith also explains the salient salty details of a zombie flick and we agree to...

In which I reunite with my longtime friend/frequent collaborator for our usual brand of cackling conversation. We manage to get real about several topics--including what we like about getting older, letting go of “blending in,” and how we’ve helped each other through our creative blocks--all while reliving the most unhinged moments from our previous podcast, bantering about the bots of John Q Inst...

In which I talk with my first-ever guest about how her novel-in-progress has developed with her + a hilariously wide range of other topics. As Lauren says, "this story has everything." Find the podcast on Instagram and Facebook @theinnerdive Find me on Instagram and Facebook @followthepaint Subscribe to my newsletter Shop my art and other work via my website Get full access to Follow the Paint at...

In which I reveal my plans for the podcast and share some insights I received on the road (thank you, dog vomit??). Get full access to Follow the Paint at followthepaint.substack.com/subscribe

In which I magically relieve my migraine by recapping my writing routine and giving a book update. (This is not medical advice, but Joseph Campbell and I both encourage you to follow your bliss.) Underscored in places by dog ASMR, sorry/you're welcome? Get full access to Follow the Paint at followthepaint.substack.com/subscribe