Welcome to my mental studio
You are standing in the middle of a studio in my mind. My creative playground. My hodgepodge of ideas. My messy zone. Imagine a light-filled room, with plenty of space for intention, opinions, understanding, and improvisation. Here, the floors are stained with ink spills, the walls splashed with evidence of paint gone wild, leaving behind an outline of where a canvas used to be.
An old brick keeps the door propped open and drop-ins are welcome anytime. You stop by every time you happen to be in the neighborhood. Despite the artistic chaos, I insist that you take off your shoes before you enter1, but otherwise, come as you are. I get you something to drink, you take a seat, and we catch up.
Welcome to my dreamspace.
I’ve had a longstanding dream of building my own home with an artist’s studio, but it feels so far from now, like an alternative reality. Then it hit me: maybe I don’t have to wait for the future, after all. Couldn’t I create a version of this space and experience the feeling that I crave, right now?
I put this newsletter together the very next day.
You are a perfectly-imperfect, unfinished, work of art.
Do you know that?
We are all in progress, evolving into the next version of ourselves. Even the most put-together, successful individuals are actively navigating their own path, courageously fumbling from one point to another, just like you and me.
We can’t be afraid of making a mess when trying to make something new. It’s all part of the creative process, especially the parts that we aren’t typically privy to witness.
And that’s where I want to focus, because to me, that’s the juiciest part of this lemon called Life. Together, we will explore the human experience to find the beauty in all of it — in the everyday mundane and the momentous miracles alike.
Milan Shimono is a creative space where we imagine: What would it be like to embrace the continuous works of art that we are?
Subscribe now, forward it to a like-minded friend, and I’ll see you in your inbox.
Let’s be unfinished together.
In light,
Milan
Removing your shoes before entering a home is a custom passed down to me through my Japanese heritage. Please and thank youuu. 🙏