I have fallen in love with a magazine called Sprout – it is simply amazing. Amanda Fall is the genius behind it. It’s heartfelt. It’s passionate. It’s soul nurturing. It’s honest. It’s beautiful. It’s just what my spirit needed.

I am honored to be a contributor for this month’s issue, which is all about Creativity!

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I recently sat down with Amanda to chat about why she started such a great magazine, what makes her soul sing, and so much more! I felt her heart pouring out of the page, and it actually made me tear up a bit. I love it when someone realizes a dream that has been inside of them for so long. She’s such an inspiration to each of us who has wanted to take that leap and finally you just do it! And she is soaring! 🙂

How did you come up with the name?

I began blogging and running an Etsy shop in 2008 with the name Persistent Green—a heart-deep meaning for me, conjuring up thoughts of hope and determination and always turning back to the light. (Even before that, I’d named a piece of my artwork the same—a beautifully insistent little blade of grass, growing up and around a rusty nail.) Sprout seemed like a natural extension of that theme, honoring the way we all grow and bloom in our lives. I love the idea of cultivation, striving to nurture and nourish what matters most to us.

It’s very clear that Sprout Magazine is a labor of love for you. Has it always been your dream to do this? 

Sprout began as a sweet seedling in my preteen heart, although the vision looked more like handwritten and dot-matrix pages stapled and sent with love across the world. I was born with a love of words, and as a painfully shy and lonely little girl, I loved connecting with people I didn’t know through the written word. But I wasn’t quite ready for that magazine vision to take form yet.

Through college art and writing classes and ever since, I’ve felt the irresistible tug of a calling . . . to do SOMETHING . . . SOMEHOW, sharing art and writing together. Sharing the power of art and heart and soul. Over a year ago, Sprout resurfaced in my mind like a sweet lightning bolt of possibility. Old dot-matrix dreams were replaced by right-now digital possibility.

How did you bring your dream to life?

Bringing this dream to life took many piles of notes, cups of coffee, and reassurances to my sweetly timid mind. I decided one day to quit thinking and just begin—to tap into the soul-calling I knew this must be. However imperfectly, I needed to just BEGIN. Five issues later, I am blessed beyond belief to see threads of my life tying together in ways I never dreamed—and to hear time and again from readers who are uplifted and inspired. This is what I was born to do.

What puts Sprout in a league of its own? What are some surprises that we will find in each issue?

Bold color. Unabashed heart and soul. Deeply honest writing and art that zings straight to the gut, without ever being maudlin or self-serving. Each issue joyfully explores a soul-stirring theme, looking at it from every angle, filtering through the lens of art and poetry and prose and prompts and so much more. I am constantly surprised how alike we are—how deeply our hearts are connected with people across the globe. We all share so many of the same fears, tears, dreams, and hopes. Sprout gathers those fragile parts of ourselves and helps make them strong.

Surprises? Oh, so many! As I learn and grow and expand this Sprout dream, I’m always working on ways to keep fresh and exciting. The latest issue, Creativity (released 3/15), launched a new series called Community Garden. Each issue will feature three questions, with three amazing creatives highlighted. Then it’s YOUR turn—join us at Sprout’s Facebook forum to share your own answers. I’m so excited about this opportunity for us all to grow together.

Who is Sprout for?

You. Me. Sweet spirits who love and live and ache and yearn, certain that joy will come again. Beautiful brave souls who want to live with hearts wide open and eyes even wider, taking in all the grace surrounding us each and every day.

I adore your mission statement: Sprout strives to uplift and inspire by cultivating color, beauty, and meaning in our daily lives. This is such a beautiful way to look at the world. Any ideas for how we can do this in addition to reading Sprout?

Absolutely! Start to pay attention to your life—to the teeny, tiny details of every day that often slip by without our noticing. Surprise yourself with the beauty of the unseen. One of my favorite ways to do this is to snap pictures throughout the day (even with a simple camera phone): click, bloodred strawberries staining fingers. Click, light streaming through dirty windows. Click, blooming iridescent clouds of dish soap. It’s amazing what we look past every day. Once you start to look—and really see—it’s hard to quit!

I’m re-learning, too, how vital it is for me to be outside, even if only for a few moments. Gazing up at the sky, listening to wind in the trees, letting my gaze rest on something that doesn’t plug in or light up or flash is so peaceful. I always feel calmer, more centered, and in-perspective after a quick dose of sunshine (or even rain, splashing on upturned face).

How do you come up with the themes for each issue?

What returns to my heart, time and again? What do I see others struggling with or embracing? What can I pour my energy into for a full month? What quality or concept do I want to cultivate more deeply in my life? These are the questions I ask—and then I listen, letting ideas bubble to the surface.

In honor of this issue focusing on creativity, I would love to know how you nourish your own creativity?

Sprout is a huge outlet for my creativity—I adore gathering material, sifting through my own artwork and poetry and prose to see what would complement my guests’ material, then curating and shaping and tweaking until each issue is just “right.”

Beyond Sprout, though, I’ve recently rediscovered a love for visual journaling. When I was growing up, I scribbled madly in diaries—but after a certain point in my teens, I got sick of seeing my complaints and ruminations and pretty much dropped journaling. Words didn’t feel like enough anymore. I’m taking an online class right now that urges us to combine art with journaling—and ohhh boy, is it powerful. I now slap down clipped images and phrases from magazines, scribble with markers and watercolor crayons, let my thoughts spill out in whatever form feels right at the moment. What a relief. (If you want help doing this yourself, check out tutorials in Sprout: Creativity and samples from Lisa Sonora Beam’s visual journals—awesome stuff!)

What makes your soul sing?

Color. Fresh air. Connections, strung from my heart to another’s, spanning continents and generations and circumstances. Getting my hands messy with paint and ink and flour and dirt and the stuff of life. Drumbeats, thumping with my heart. Open spaces and big skies. Making something from nothing. Hearing divine whispers, insisting that we matter, that this life matters.

What sort of content catches your eye from potential contributors?

Anything from the heart and soul. Fearless exploration (or, rather, fear-facing). Thoughtful wonderings. Colorful, joyful, real submissions. I adore my contributors and am always thrilled to discover likeminded creators!

Anything else?

Jodi, thank you so much for having me here. Your questions were a delight. I’m so busy creating Sprout that I don’t often sit and think about questions like these! Thank you, too, for sharing your beautiful inspiration in this new issue of Sprout. Your soul definitely speaks my language!

To everyone else reading . . . never forget that YOUR voice deserves to be heard. You see the world in a way that nobody else can. Please have the courage to share that unique vision. Let’s join our voices in one gorgeous chorus!

If you need help finding creative confidence or want to celebrate the power of creativity in your own life, please see Sprout’s latest issue—60 pages of art, poetry, prose, tutorials for all skill levels, creative prompts, an interview with internationally known artist and writer Christine Mason Miller, and 18 other amazing guests (only $6). Let’s sing the song we were all born to sing!

Your voice deserves to be heard

Creativity is power. Expression. Courage. Insistent joy. The heartbeat of life. Divine impulse. The way you–only you–can see the world.

Join me (Amanda Fall) and 19 inspiring guest contributors as we cultivate creativity that saves, strengthens, and stretches our daily lives.

For years, I didn’t believe my voice was important or unique enough to share. Have you ever felt that way? Let this issue’s color and comfort wash over you, insisting that nobody can take your place in the world.

You are worthy. You are strong. You are brave. And your voice? It deserves to be heard.

No matter where you are in your creative journey, Sprout: Creativity comes right where you are and helps lift you higher. Joyful inspiration overflows these pages through poetry, artwork, tutorials, essays, prompts, and so much more.