Make Your Mark

A conversation with Daryl Blank Hossack

Whenever I’m creatively blocked, I think of Daryl.

And if I’m lucky, she’ll meet me for a chai.

I’ll tell her what I’m struggling with and somehow, without fail, she’ll disarm me with some profound philosophical insight that subtly rearranges the way I see things. Or the way I see myself.

There is no one like Daryl.

She’s been teaching art for over thirty five years. She teaches four year olds and ninety four year olds. She’s taught me since I quit my job and started painting vegetables.

But Daryl doesn’t just teach art.

She teaches belief.

She has taught me to believe in myself. To be myself. To express myself.

And she lives what she teaches.

Daryl is unapologetically herself. As she says, “Who else would I be?”

She is an artist in the purest sense of the word. She paints, draws, weaves, writes, sews, moulds clay. She is always making her mark.

But she doesn’t exhibit her work. She doesn’t sell it. She doesn’t even share it. Because she doesn’t need anything from it.

Her art is sacred to her. An extension of her.

And I think there is so much to learn from that.

As I sit on the edge of expression myself, with all these things inside me that need to come out, I wanted to learn from Daryl how to get out of my own way. How to create freely, without needing permission or praise.

On Masterpiece this week, Daryl and I talk about quietening the inner critic, reconnecting with the artist inside you, and making your mark.

Listen now on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Would love to hear your thoughts!

JYK 🤍