We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Puck a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Puck, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
The biggest risk I have taken is one that I take over and over again, and it is the risk to either lean into the discomfort I feel or to retreat and shrink into my comfort zone. This is the sole risk that I face down time and time again. It is really the only one that exists, everything else is merely an iteration of that main dilemma.
There is a famous quote by AnaÏs Nin that really encapsulates this thought so beautifully, “And the day came where the risk to remain in a tight bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
How has that played out in my life? Well – it’s looked like leaving a stable career in IT to run away with the circus (literally), to literally choose the most authentic expression of self I can conceive of by pursuing gender-affirming health care, by “coming out” to my dad as trans at 30 despite having had known that about myself since I was a child, leaving my incredible community and support system to run further headlong into the fore and pursue my circus career thousand plus miles from what was familiar and for all intents and purposes, my home.
How has that worked out for me? Well, I can say with absolutely certainty that my relationships are solid. I have the kind of people in my life that are right – the ones who are not only supportive but also the level of intimacy and vulnerability that exists in every single one of my close relationships is remarkable and it just keeps getting better. I can also say with certainty that my life has not been at all dull nor boring, that would be the real tragedy.
Puck, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m a multi-disciplinary artist. I was raised as a musician, I love to write poetry, and started painting as a kid. That turned into drama classes and theater involvement, and being trained in the darkroom with photography. In addition to the wide variety of interests I have synesthesia and I use it to paint what I hear.
To date I have created work as a variety and specialty performer (drag, burlesque, and am a professional circus artist), photographer, musician, singer, writer, and since 2020 am getting more into shooting and editing video, and animation. I have always come back to painting, acrylic on canvas, with the synesthesia paintings I love to work with oil pastels on aluminum substrates, and more recently have been mostly working in digital format with Procreate.
If having such a wide breadth of interests and synesthesia on top of that did not already kind of set me apart on its own, I am a gifted “seer” and have often channeled messages for the recipients of my synesthesia paintings (not every one, just those I had consent to). Those paintings are a really fun experiment in playing with the powers of being in a quantum reality.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
The list is long and growing, but I would highly suggest that “Limitless,” by Jim Kwik and “The Wisdom of Crowds,” by James Surowiecki be on everyone’s list to read.
Before those – Kabbalistic texts and “A Course in Miracles,” really set me up on a journey of a lifetime.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Yes – you wouldn’t believe me if I told you, so I’m just going to have to show you.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.spacefaeriestudios.com
- Instagram: @spacefaeriestudios
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/spacefaeriestudios