Like Wallpaper In a Hurricane (Creative Play)

This is an adaptation of my weekly newsletter, Adventures Big & Small. If you want to receive emails like these, click here to subscribe.

I recently joined a creative gathering in San Francisco, where we practiced a process called “Polaroid transfer.” It involves dunking a perfectly good Polaroid in boiling water, peeling off the delicate surface layer, and then attempting to reapply it elsewhere.

This process feels somewhere between paint-by-numbers and brain surgery. Or maybe like trying to redecorate wallpaper in a hurricane.

Of course, what my incredible friend and mentor (Ashley Kaplan) was really offering by hosting this gathering wasn’t just technique. She was offering community.

And as our patience with the Polaroids thinned, we drifted to the edges. Conversations flowed about art, business, kids, the state of politics and our country. I brought along a 1950s film camera – a camera that’s equal parts stubborn and lovable – and took these photos.

Being surrounded by other creatives gave me the space and grace to experiment. To try and fail. To make a few images that surprised me (and more than a few that will never see the light of day).

That inspiration carried into a family session I’d recently given away. Because it was free, I gave myself permission to play — specifically to attempt double exposures. That means layering two images directly on the same piece of film. It’s permanent, risky, and often messy. But sometimes, the results hold a depth and storytelling power that feels greater than the parts.

What did I come away with? More failures than successes, but also a few pieces of art I loved — and the reminder that growth doesn’t happen without risk.

And that’s what I want to leave you with: as parents, as creatives, as people, it is hard to make space for risk and play and community. But it is essential.

The imperfect, messy, unexpected moments are often the ones that stay with us the longest. And the nurturing spaces that allow them are where we learn and grow and become better humans.