Alexander Nolan on making his circus cutouts in “Under the Big Top” at Cove Street Arts

In adulthood we put away childish things. But should we really?

On touching and being touched

Joerg Dressler on making "Wild Companions," on view at Alden Gallery through Aug. 20.

Painter Barbara Grad went to Mixit Print Studio to translate her vision to woodblock prints

How Marky Kauffmann made her chemigram "Black Sea Planets," now in the 12th International Exhibition at the Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts

Or, as Nietzsche wrote,“Ultimately, it is the desire, not the desired, that we love”

Beth Galston on crafting "Beech Columns" in "Natural Connections" at Washington Street Art Center

"Cutaway" at Brandeis's Kniznick Gallery considers boundaries and permeability

Anne Neely on painting "Best Clouds" after remission from cancer. Her show "Wonder of the Light" is at Elizabeth Moss Galleries in Portland through August 15.

Thoughts on the nation's 250th, taking out the trash, and letting people in

William Evertson on how he made "Consumed by the Never Was," on view in "Patchwork" at Florence Griswold Museum

Mark Cooper and Joel Janowitz strike a balance at Jane Deering Gallery

Her work was highly praised. Picasso and Brancusi were mentors. But she dropped out of the art world to paint her own vision.

Jackie Reeves on painting "Big Plans" in "Larger Than Life – Drawings in Time," her solo show at Provincetown Art Association and Museum

I was seduced by righteousness. Then it knocked the creative spark right out of me.

Suzi Grossman had a toxic relationship with Black Swallow-wort. Then they brought the weed into their studio.

Suara Welitoff at Anthony Greaney, Jennifer Liston Munson at Kingston Gallery, Dana Clancy at Alpha Gallery, and Crystalle Lacoutoure at Praise Shadows Art Gallery

Katrine Hildebrandt's devotional process making "Luminous Web," in "Unfurl" at Drive-By

Roberley Bell on crafting "Lipstick" for her show "Almost Knowing" at Cove Street Arts

Creativity hinges on play. Play hinges on personal agency. Both hinge on feeling safe enough in your own universe to break rules.

Barbara Ishikura on painting "QUEEN," on view in her LabCentral exhibition

Liz Alexander's show at Overlap helped lead me out of fear as my walls tumbled down

Safety — and its lack — is at the heart of Ileana Doble Hernandez’s work.

Elizabeth Alexander on crafting "and you didn't even know enough to be sorry," on view at Overlap Gallery in Newport.

The artist behind “Ahab’s Head: American Vengeance” at the New Bedford Whaling Museum sees “a whole new level of vengefulness” in Trump’s second term.

In her work and activism, Emily Sara is on a leading edge of artists calling disability a powerful generative force.

How patriarchy dies and individual sovereignty rises.

Sarah Meyers Brent and the explosive stuff of life in her works at Chase Young Gallery

Elena Peteva's works in charcoal convey loss, transformation, and resurrection all at once

Scott Tulay on constructing his drawing "Merge 07," on view in his solo show "Merge" at UMass Amherst's Olver Design Building Gallery

Softness starts in the body. Rigidity starts in the mind.

How Jodi Colella made her "Disobedient Doilies" in "Dangerously Close to Home" at Boston Sculptors Gallery

For Andrew Fish, making "Fire Pit" was an act of creation as release.

What messages does nature have for humans? Feel your way into "A Sentient Land" at Emerson Contemporary

Linda Pagani, who has work at MO Gallery, on crafting her "Traces (fleeting)" monoprints

What stories weave through the generations of your family?

On "Ritual Practice | Sacred Space" at the Beehive, and allowing things to come

A new year, a new start. Zainab Sumu, Julia Shepley, Jamaal Eversley, Adria Arch, and Matt Brackett share how they begin to create.

On seeing, and gently removing, the masks we wear with others

Prilla Smith Brackett on the path to making "Flight #9," on view in "The Long View #2" at Suffolk University Gallery

Haley Wood on making "Hawthorn 8," in her solo show at Abigail Ogilvy in Los Angeles

Art is a mirror. When what you find in it changes, so have you.

Ellen Shattuck Pierce on creating her doll "The Assholescent"

Donnell Patterson helped found New England Conservatory's Millennium Gospel Choir, which celebrates its 25th anniversary with a performance at the MFA next month.

Burned on a dating app, Marty Epp-Carter took to the studio

"Motherhood as Muse" at Concord Art turns a loving eye on what patriarchy fears