Creative Souls are multidimensional beings with many talents. They dive deep within their core and connect with the source of their souls, to become creators of their own path. They bring inspiration, assisting many in their journey, lighting the way for those in need. Creative Souls heal through their dreams and art.
We often search for and do things that can help us feel happy, and sometimes the feeling doesn’t last long, but every day we can find reasons to smile if we give it a chance. Creative Soul Logan is a cheer creator, and he is sharing the elixir of happiness through songs that carry an important message, setting us up for a joyful experience.
Logan is a Musician, Motivator, and Hypeman, from Maui, Hawaii, living on the Big Island. He’s also a Jiu-Jitsu professor, runs an academy for children, and dedicates time to teaching music to kids at local schools. Logan plays drums and ukulele and enjoys playing with words and freestyling on the spot.
He can be considered a modern-day troubadour, with the ability to observe a room full of people, feel their vibes, listen to what each person has to say, and within minutes, Logan can throw down a freestyle folky rap that would leave anyone stunt. The flow of his words has a way of threading parts of our souls with an enriched message, adding humor, sweetness to the heart, and a connection like no other.
Throughout his life, Logan dabbled with music and after college, he drifted from his passion, but eventually, he reconnected with it. “Those times were pivotal steps in learning strength in life to embrace music,” Logan recalls the difficulties throughout his journey of letting go of what no longer served him, embracing the person he wanted to become, and living up to his life’s purpose.
As a Jiu-Jitsu professor and a continuous student, Logan has built strong self-discipline on the mat and in his life in general, helping him become a better son, service member, and community member activist. Both music and Jiu-Jitsu allow him to be in a floating state of mind and keep him in a good balance.
For over 10 years, Logan has been volunteering with the Brotman Family at the Hawaii Songwriting Festival on the Big Island of Hawaii. He’s been playing a big part in the program, inspiring him to appreciate his talents as a musician.
Logan started the Project Happy Chair, online and in person, with a sign that reads ‘IF YOU WANT CHEER, SIT HERE’, inviting people to take a seat and be courageous to receive cheer free of charge. Logan asks two simple, yet open-ended questions: What do you do? and, What is your favorite? How the person answers them, helps him discover parts of them to improvise a cheering song.
“It’s the struggle and pain in our lives that connect us,” Logan explains that he tries to honor people with his songs, making them feel better no matter what they have gone or are going through. He loves that he gets to meet someone for the first time, learn about them, and heal them with music.
Project Happy Chair has allowed Logan to connect with people from Egypt, Canada, Saudi Arabia, England, and Chile, impacting their lives in the humblest ways. Even if it’s done virtually, we can feel the cheerful energy transmitting through the screen, taking us to a phenomenal level of happiness.
“I’m grateful to be in the developmental stage of my life and be a source of joy for others,” Logan keeps defining and giving shape to his discipline and self-improving, constantly trying to learn and do better, and sharing his gifts with others in an empowering and estimable way.
We can certainly use a good cheer to remind us what happiness feels like. No matter where we are located in the world, Logan is making sure that it becomes a reality, creating a memorable moment to lighten our days.
“We are so similar, and I’m here to help and bring cheer.” – Logan
When our talents are as profound as the vastness of the universe, we may shy away from such greatness. Yet, it doesn’t stop existing. It simply waits patiently for us to be ready to reveal its brightness. Creative Soul, Elaine Heveron, has emerged from her shell revealing the most precious pearl, shining her creative light, and weaving the tapestry of the human experience with the vastness of her artistic expression.
Elaine is a poet, photographer, and a friend, from Rochester, NY. She resides in Florida with her soulmate-husband, a writer, poet, and photographer, Louis ‘Lou’ Faber, and with their more human-than-cat companion, Teri.
She started writing stories in 7th grade, using writing as a way to “talk to someone”. Growing up with six siblings, Elaine found journals to be her confidant and to listen to her emotional dilemmas. She enjoyed creating stories and making words rhyme, but it wasn’t something she pursued as a priority in her early days.
“Are they paying you?” We get questioned a lot as artists,” expresses Elaine, understanding the painful road that artists walk upon, especially when being questioned repeatedly. It took Elaine some time to embrace the writer within, but she didn’t hold onto self-doubt for long. She has accomplished her visions and her entire life is a living prose.
In 2000, at 52, Elaine tested the waters of self-publishing and became an author with her chapbook, Standing Room Only in My Heart, in conjunction with Groose River Press. In 2006, Elaine submitted some of her work to Plain View Press, who took an interest in her work, and a manuscript later, in 2007, Email to Cleveland was published. In 2010, Plain View Press published her second full-length book of poems, Not Every Woman Swooned, celebrating with book release parties and readings at Open Mics around Rochester and one in New York City. Elaine has received high accolades from readers expressing how much they enjoy her books and even how her poems made more than a few shed a tear or laugh out loud.
It was years before Elaine published another book. “I tossed any poems I wrote into a folder entitled, Manuscript 2011, but didn’t have publishing at the forefront of my mind again for years,” Elaine shares her process of getting back into publishing.”One day, after reading an article in Tricycle Magazine, about how people in hospice know exactly what they need to do before their life is over, I asked myself if I only had a year to live, what would I want to accomplish? My inner voice replied with a question, “Hello?! Your writing?” She was surprised, still not feeling like “that good” of a writer, yet she found the courage to dive into the folder, editing and organizing her work of over a decade, bringing to life Notes From Paradise.
Plain View Press was once again delighted with Elaine’s new work, and even though they were not accepting any new manuscripts, in September 2023 they published Notes From Paradise.
In Notes From Paradise, Elaine shares her life’s anecdotes, describing details of her most intimate moments, reliving her first date with Lou, going into her spiritual journey, and so much more that will keep you turning page after page, filling your chest with raw feelings of joy, nostalgia, sympathy, and hope.
“This is what I live for, to connect with people,” smiles Elaine, feeling passionate to inspire others through her books to own their creative talents. She focuses on writing about love, life, loss, dreams, connections, magical moments, and friendship.
Alongside Lou, Elaine has traveled to some unique writing workshops at Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY, Block Island Poetry workshops in Rhode Island, and participated in writing workshops in Taos, New Mexico, and Ireland. “On Saturdays on Zoom, we write from visual prompts, shared group words, and timed 10-minute writing exercises,” Elaine explains how they have been part of the Taos workshop writing group, Imaginative Storm, with writing teachers and poets they studied with in the past, Allegra Huston and James Nave.
As a photographer, Elaine brings back memories of when her dad got her a camera when she was 9. She started taking pictures of anything and everything, which stayed with her throughout her adolescence and adulthood. “There’s so much beauty to capture,” Elaine admires the fauna and flora through the lens, capturing the most intimate moments of nature; a solitary Blue Heron patiently waiting for its prey; the dance of the Ibises as they claim branches on a dry tree; an alligator playing statue… Elaine has the touch to bring out the magical colors within one still moment in time.
We are made of light, and Elaine found a way to allow her vastness to shine through, caressing the world with healing words of love. Elaine is now breathing art with a creative flow that enriches and inspires everyone she encounters, and the world is a better place because of her.
“Pay attention to the moment. Don’t miss it. This moment”. – Elaine Heveron
Elaine is also an occasional crafter, from her unique series, Palm Frond People, created by painting cartoonish faces on fallen palm fronds with metallic paint, to designing eye-catching jewelry pieces from Pongamia pods.
Lou and Elaine met in 2000. Both of them were working at Xerox when a childhood friend of Elaine’s and a co-worker of Lou’s introduced them. “Lou’s and my shared love of Writing poetry was part of the reason I was willing to go out with him.” As their life grew together, and they traveled to some unique writing workshops, she felt ready and connected to herself and her dreams, and it became clear to her what she had to do to fulfill her passions.
At times, we need to prioritize our responsibilities and relationships over our creative dreams, and it may feel as if a light has gone out and a part of us is missing. Then, come other times when we are ready to replace, remake, restart, and go after our biggest passions with all we have. Creative Soul, Christina, has walked the artist road, sacrificing her desires to nurture other parts of her life, but ultimately, being reunited with her dreams, filling the world with creative love.
Christina Thomas Taylor is an artist, music producer, songwriter, and composer from Boston, under the pen name Octoberture. Her love for music began when she was just a child, begging her mom for piano lessons and instantaneously becoming best friends with this majestic instrument. “It heard all of my sad stories,” Christina shares how she became intimate with the piano, learning classical music in the process. She was also part of her school’s chorus and vocal jazz ensemble, and at the age of 22 after learning the guitar the songwriter in her was born.
Christina is also now in an acoustic duo band, North Woods, with her friend Sherry Aviles, playing at local venues with several tracks available to stream everywhere.
Music stretched her senses as a songwriter and she knew it would be an important part of her life’s journey, but love and family awaited her and after meeting her husband, Christina explains with a soft smile that she became too happy to write any songs, although she continued to play on her own. 20 years passed, kids, different jobs, and other life changes put her music career on pause. Christina took on painting and fixing up old houses, theater, poetry, photography, and dancing, and she even started a few businesses along the way. Christina loves doing anything that allows her to express her creativity freely.
After starting to play music again with friends in a band called Blue Amber she started writing songs again. This group eventually whittled down to North Woods. When the pandemic hit and her plans to open a business seemed unfeasible, she learned that there may be a career in music after all, joining a music academy and learning about the music business and music production. “Music feeds my soul more than anything else. It has taken over my life now”. Christina shares that even though she ventured on different paths, she has now solidified her career as a musician and she’s working arduously to make her dreams come true.
As a Music Producer, Christina’s potential has expanded greatly. “My goal in life was always to make the world a more beautiful place in everything I do, but now with music production I have upped my game. I want to create magic!” She describes how music production allows her to bring music to life the way she has always heard in her head, making listeners feel as if they are part of the journey with her unique sounds. ”I want to take listeners to a different place, a different immersive world that we can travel through together”. She finds her writing inspiration in the natural world, in psychology and the mind, the nature of reality, and relationships.
In just 2 ½ years, Christina has released over 23 songs solo and with talented collaborators from all over the world, all produced by her in her tiny home studio. Her genre is hard to define but tends to fall into the categories of chamber pop and indie pop being haunting and atmospheric as well as some songs that are fun and quirky. Among the many beautiful songs in her catalog are the spooky “You Can’t Hide” featuring rapper TY Avery, “Secrets,” one of her favorites in which she uses samples of her vocals to create instruments, and “Snow & Fire,” written during the lowest point of the pandemic, with a twist of optimism, finding a spark in the fire within us all.
Christina’s main focus is the world of music synchronization (T.V. and film), focusing the first two years post-COVID on building her catalog, learning production and honing in on her sound, and in the last year, she’s been pitching music for briefs for film, T.V., commercials, video games, and more. She’s also studying to become a Master Engineer, and she has been collaborating with other musicians, digging deep into songwriting, and creating new sounds that people haven’t heard before.
Bewitching anyone with her curious and allegoric melodies, Christina is an example that even if we steer away from our true passions, in due time, we get reconnected with our life force. Once we do, the rays of light appear and we can start creating real magic, as Christina has been doing hand in hand with her greatest love, music.
“Dig deep within yourself to find that creativity you know you have .. we can use it for everything. Think outside the box and go back to the openness you had when you were a child. Be as bold as you can dare to be… allowing that creativity – to go even further.” – Christina Taylor
“Inside Out” – “It is a song inspired by the magical worlds of shows like Legion and Arcane where people enter a strange new world or perhaps an altered reality.” – Christina
Some people are like bamboo trees, bringing balance to our environment and serving positively in numerous ways. Creative Soul, Eddie Kopp, is such a bamboo to boast about, and he’s here to add invaluable resources to the creative world and make us all feel wonderstruck by his ingenuity.
Eddie Kopp is the Founder, Director, and Editor of Sugarshack Sessions.
Eddie found his love for music in the drums. In elementary and middle school, he was part of the school band but his most desired musical instrument was never available, so he had to opt for the trumpet or the horn. When he got to high school, the situation with the drums was the same prompting him to drop out of the school band altogether. To make his dream come true, Eddie saved money and bought his first set of drums, and taught himself how to play them.
Throughout high school and college, Eddie joined garage bands landing with one that almost took them to the stars, but unfortunately, the band was dissolved. He then dropped out of college and joined the military for 6 years (Thank you for your service, Eddie!), playing with bands here and there, balancing his love for music and life’s responsibilities. Eddie is currently the drummer for Sprout, a local Alternative Reggae Rock band, he joined in 2021.
Videography and Photography are Eddie’s second passions. He started venturing into shooting professional videos for skateboarding films, real estate commercials, weddings, and more. Just as a music band had requested Eddie to shoot a music video for them, Eddie was unpacking boxes in his new home in Bonita Springs, Florida.
Eddie thought it was a good idea to shoot the music video on the wood deck of his home, the “Sugarshack,” as Eddie and his friends named it, a 1940s cozy spot in perfect harmony with the flora and fauna of the town. As the camera captured the band playing and the ocean breeze danced around the jamming tunes, with the sun softly caressing the deck, Eddie had an Eureka moment that was about to change his life forever.
Since the era of MTV Unplugged, Eddie had a fascination for live music shows. With such a perfect setting, the right skills, and an undeniable hunger for self-actualization, Eddie gave birth to Sugarshack Sessions.
Uniting his love for filmmaking and music, and an entrepreneurial spirit bursting with great ideas, Eddie, together with four of his friends, put together an offering to give music bands the opportunity to play at the “Sugarshack”, for free, receiving in return top-notch music videos, and the chance to get exposed to their growing community. They started with local musicians, and since 2014, they have been consistent with their vision, officially incorporated in 2017.
“It was a nice way to share great content with musicians,” Eddie is glad he decided to turn his home into a creative space for musicians to share their music. Sugarshack Sessions is the first of its kind in the state of Florida, and it has made a positive impact not only on the music community but on Bonita Springs, a must-visit spot.
Sugarshack Sessions offers an array of options for artists to benefit from, including professional conceptual development, video and audio production, photography, graphic design, and creative and production services. They currently have different departments such as Sugarshack Records, and Sugarshack Music Channel, a membership YouTube channel to access videos before they go live. They also offer their innovative and newly added, Sugarshack Experience.
Over 2700 people are on the waiting list to attend the Sugarshack Experience, a golden opportunity to visit Eddie’s house and experience firsthand a special transcendental mist. It is a way for fans to hang out with their favorite band or discover new ones. They get to witness the production process, have a healthy meal, enjoy the open bar, and simply be encapsulated in the magic of it all. People fly from all over the world to join the Sugarshack Experience, and Eddie and his team are curating something special to give their guests and musicians the best accommodations.
Since their inception, musicians have been stopping by for the day and hitting the road right after their Sessions. Now, Sugarshack has partnered with Shangri-La Springs, a holistic and historical resort located in the heart of Bonita Springs. The resort’s amenities include an organic spa, garden, and restaurant, and Sugarshack provides a golf cart shuttle to and from the resort.
Currently, Eddie’s focus is on the Sugarshack Music Channel, publishing riveting music videos 5 days a week. The next chapter for Sugarshack Sessions includes a Music Venue with a capacity of about a thousand to host concerts, and it will include restaurants, retail stores, and much more.
Eddie is fascinated at how it all has turned out. It wasn’t just about having the right soil to grow, but also the right attitude, attention, and determination to prosper, and Eddie has persevered through obstacles and sacrifices. He now has a team of 11 and growing, and he’s grateful to be providing a way of life for his crew and family, as well as a safe space for artists to be discovered and have a memorable experience.
It takes several years for a bamboo tree to break ground before shooting upwards, and Eddie’s unstoppable creative force keeps growing at the speed of light. He has become a field of infinite possibilities with a commendable heart, helping others grow as well, irradiating the true meaning of doing good things with good people for good reasons.
“Follow your heart and follow your soul. Dig deep to find out what you want to do to contribute to making the world a better place. Find what makes you happy and through sacrifices, remain consistent.” – Eddie Kopp
FUN FACT – You know right away it’s a Sugarshack music video when you hear the distinctive intro instrumental. Here’s a fun fact about the track: “I recorded that 3-chord diddy on my iPhone when putting the first episode together. I wanted the series to have a TV feel with that recurring intro that gets stuck in your head. I’m a drummer and those 3-chords were all I really knew on the guitar. We still use that original recording, the same one since day 1.” – Eddie Kopp
When we merge with our dreams, we can break molds and reinvent the way things are done and perceived. Mr. Wilson is revolutionizing the misconceptions around teaching and Street Art, introducing this movement in his classroom at John A. Ferguson Senior High and into the school system, harmonizing this relationship with the colors of his creative soul.
Mr. Wilson is a multimedia artist and an art teacher (he prefers Art Coach) with over 25 years of experience, currently teaching at John A. Ferguson Senior High, in Miami, Florida. He’s the founder of Elevate, a nonprofit organization that bridges street art and schools in challenging communities. He’s bringing Wynwood West into the schools, focusing on beautifying the school- campus with hopes that the students see, feel, and experience street art right in their halls.
Homestead Middle SchoolBrew Pub
One of his favorite classes in elementary school was art. He used to draw soldiers, superheroes, and war zones, and at the age of 11, the hip-hop and break-dancing culture inspired him to pick up the spray-paint can. Soon thereafter he was executing murals throughout West-Miami. Art became his competitive sport, but it was still just a hobby. It wasn’t until his senior year in high school when he took an AP Art class that his true passion for art was ignited. “I wasn’t the most talented, but I was determined to outwork everyone.” Mr. Wilson remembers honing on new work ethic and focusing on fulfilling an artistic path for himself, going above and beyond, and working diligently to achieve his goals.
“In a very short period of time, art became incredibly important for me,” smiles Mr. Wilson sharing that at age 17, he was helping classmates with concepts/ideas in his art class, realizing he was digging the “teaching thing” and by 20, he was a substitute teacher and there was no looking back.
He attended FIU (Florida International University) and earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts (in sculpture). By age 26, he was a full-time DCPS employee, teaching at Tucker Elementary School in Coconut Grove, Miami. After teaching at the elementary level for 2 years, he quickly carved the path to high school. Mr. Wilson wants students to be creative beyond any media, and he’s constantly on the move, making sure he accommodates all of them. Alumnus often reach out to him thanking him for his lessons and for opening their eyes to the healing power found in art.
For some time, Mr. Wilson hid the fact that he was an art teacher due to stigmas around being an educator among artists in the professional art world. But art is his passion. It is who he is. “Cut me open, I’m going to bleed -colors,” Mr. Wilson expresses that he now embraces the name and his role as an educator. “I’m Mr. Wilson in the classroom and on the streets!”
Elevate broke ground in 2022 with Homestead Middle School, beautifying the space with 13 murals and counting: receiving appreciation from the students and staff members alike.
Children’s Home Society helped with the funding of materials, which helped him launch the project. Six months later, artists from around the country have participated, including Renda Writer, Marcos Conde, Alvin Surreal, and many more. Homestead Walls as he now calls it, represents the largest outdoor gallery in the DCPS South Region.
Mr. Wilson expresses his excitement in regard to continuing his efforts at Homestead Middle School. The next phase of the project involves hiring the current muralists to teach students in the afterschool program. This will “truly elevate the level of appreciation for the arts -for the entire student body.”
Mr. Wilson aims to adopt more schools every year. You can stay up to date with all things Elevate by going to his website: elevateartsfoundation.com
Amongst the many impactful projects, Mr. Wilson has been commissioned to do some impressive murals at several locations in Miami, including Lincoln’s Beard Brewery and Strange Beast as well as at John A. Ferguson, where he currently teaches. In addition, one of Mr. Wilson’s biggest claims to fame is the curation of The Union Wall, at Lincoln’s Beard Brewing. It is an incredible project that features over 47 South Florida artists.
Wouldn’t it be great if art were the priority in our education system? Thanks to Mr. Wilson, schools are seeing how positive and transformational art is, especially Street Art. Teenagers who are in need of support and guidance are finding hope that they can do better if they give it a chance. Mr. Wilson is here to give them that chance and help Elevate their souls, cracking open their colors and inspiring them to #makearthappen.
“Can’t make it happen with your hands clean. Put the phone down and make art happen.” – Mr. Wilson
Lori Moilov is a Poet, Musician, Singer-songwriter, Producer, Mixer, and Rapper, based in L.A. She’s a published author and host of the Limitless Creativity podcast. Her former stage name is BEEZEE, changing it to LUV to connect more with her name, Moilov – highlighting LOVE as the essential element in life and in all we are and do.
Through her podcast, Limitless Creativity, Lori supports other artists and their ideas, and she wants us to feel encouraged by their heartfelt stories. Covering topics such as mental health, and healing tools like EFT, the episodes include an A-list of successful creatives such as Claudia Cagan, Alexander Seyum, and Becky Kekula, to mention a few, sharing the ups and downs that have shaped them as artists.
Another big passion of Lori is poetry, publishing her first book of poems, Glitter Out, available at Barnes & Noble. Lori took it upon herself to write one poem a day for 100 days based on the different experiences and encounters she had during those days, including one inspired by songwriter Diane Warren.
Lori has the most incredible anecdotes about her journey as a Creative Soul, particularly about how she got started in her music career. “You gotta hear her rap,” Lori’s friend Phoenix suggested at a party bragging all about Lori’s beautiful and distinctive pitch full of enthusiastic vibes. Someone threw a beatbox leading the way for Lori to rap on the spot and make love to the words that made everyone join in the groove. Once she tapped into that part of her soul, the musician in her began to flourish and she went on to record her first single, #Honey, released on July 4, 2013. Currently, Lori is focusing on remixing and mastering her 2022 catalog, which includes 22 of her singles. She’s also going to be releasing new songs including, So Fresh and So Lit, available to stream everywhere.
Lori attended Westlake Recording Studios Crē8 Music Academy to learn how to produce music, and she has been doing it for over a decade. Since the pandemic, Lori started to learn about sync opportunities, taking workshops such as Sync Secrets with Ash, to shape her songs for film, and TV music licensing opportunities.
Most recently, Lori was endorsed by Audeze; she currently uses the LCD-5 headphones, a great opportunity to help level up the production of her songs.
She also got into the New Media Film Festival for her song “Kindness,” a song about how important it is to be kind to each other. It was inspired by the isolation that many went through during the pandemic, but getting messages from friends who kept checking in on her showed how valuable kindness is. She adds that ”being kind is vital. One simple act of kindness can have a ripple effect in our lives, and I’m grateful to return that kindness to others.”
LUV line is her brand’s clothing line, motivating us to spark the whole world with our ideas, while wearing the coolest and coziest apparel with a variety of options from hoodies, and t-shirts, to caps.
Lori is an outstanding creative entrepreneur and artist, and everything she has put forth has added so much positivity and beauty to our world, and there’s much more to come. In any way she expresses her creativity, Lori can make us feel engaged, heard, and seen, and she can make us laugh and cry – in a good way – reminding us that we are made of Love and we are undeniably Limitless.
M is a music producer, beatmaker, and music writer, exploring different genres and charming everyone’s hearts with amazing music.
M also edits the most impressive videos that take us into realms of neon colors and transcendental inspiration. We can be captivated by the music videos on M’s Instagram, helping the viewer understand the emotions within the songs in their own way.
M has always been keen to learn something new and enjoys connecting with other creatives. M is eager to keep making music that can make a difference in someone’s life and impact the world in a positive and loving way.
There’s no denying that music can bring us together in the most magical ways and M’s music is connecting us at a soul level, inviting us to enjoy the present moment with the colors and sounds that our lives are made of.
“I want to prove that music has no limits and music has the potential to communicate with everyone in this universe or with the universe itself!!….” – M.
No one sees us until we see ourselves, and we may need to face the shifts of the ocean and realize that in the midst of grueling moments, we ought to believe in our hearts unconditionally, first and foremost. Creative Soul, Sarah Bethany, is a starlight who didn’t let the ordeals she endured dictate her story. With her musical talents, she’s filling the world with a glorious symphony that caresses our souls with healing love and light.
Sarah Bethany is an artist and musician. She’s a prolific songwriter, producer, and composer, and her vocals are A-ve Ma-ri-a extraordinary. Though she can play any genre, her style is Jazz, Blues, and Soulful, with delicate lyrics that touch the heart as an ointment needed to soothe the pain. Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, she moved to St. Louis when she was 7 years old. She currently lives in Hawaii with her loving family, surrounded by nature’s benevolence.
In the early years of her life, Sarah Bethany watched her father devote time to learn to play the piano just as her curiosity began to grow. “It was an instantaneous magical connection…me and the piano,” she remembers becoming interested in this elegant instrument that produced such melancholic sounds.
A love story began between Sarah Bethany and the piano, learning all she could about music throughout her childhood. When the dark night of the soul downed on her teenage years, Sarah Bethany felt confused about her vision of music, focusing on school and trying to figure out what to do to survive in this fast-moving world where making money is a priority. She went off to ride new waves, attending the University of Kansas for Architectural Engineering, but after one semester, she realized that career was not her calling. Feeling even more lost and not knowing what to do, she quit school altogether and started working as a housekeeper at a nursing home.
Sarah Bethany was no longer holding the keyboards in her hands, instead, she was holding a toilet brush that kept her busy and nauseated. “I gotta figure things out soon because this ain’t it,” she pondered as she scrubbed and scrubbed, having a sudden awakening that motivated her to pursue her creative dreams once and for all.
As a love story that is meant to be, Sarah Bethany and the piano found their way back to each other at the nursing home. Just steps from her, a piano stood still awaiting revival. The sparks were ignited and she started playing piano for the people at the facility, and that’s all she needed to do to be reminded of what she is made of, music.
“Music is my place. This is who I am,” Sarah Bethany declared after experiencing the joy and gratitude from everyone at the nursing home. She promptly went to pursue a music career and started to prepare herself for the next steps to entering music school. She attended the University of Missouri Kansas City Conservatory of Music, focusing on piano performance and music composition, gaining a Bachelor of Arts in Music. Yet, she wasn’t aware of her superpower – her voice.
For some time, she lived in a cabin in a forest in Big Sur, California surrounded by redwood trees. It was there amongst the majestic trees that their energy activated her vocal cords, when she started to sing Amazing Graze, surprising herself with the beauty and high-vibration flow of her voice. Although she didn’t think of herself as a singer, she couldn’t deny the vitality of her vocals, and her relationship with music started to flourish more and more, even writing her own songs.
Sarah Bethany put a pause on her creative dreams to make some others come true, as a wife and a mother. Time went on and when her daughter was 5, Sarah Bethany got a divorce that catapulted her into poverty, living as a single parent through the roughest of circumstances.
“In unbelievable life situations, you need to express your emotions and sometimes the worst moments make you feel the most vulnerable and they open you up to honesty…” Sarah Bethany recalls living in little shacks with no plumbing system, using any natural resources she could find to help her and her daughter survive. It was then, she started writing music from the heart, actualizing the songwriter in her.
As her life continued to spiral, Sarah Bethany crashed hard at the bottom. “My soul needed for my life to fall apart to make me whole again,” she explains. Desolation and frustration are subtle descriptions of the painful memories from those days. Sarah Bethany is an admirable woman, whose determination and love for her daughter gave her the courage to face her ordeals and rise above the impossible.
It wasn’t long before she met an angel who changed her life, Michael Suprenant, a professional drummer, producer, and sound engineer, and her life partner. They started to make music together, manifesting their goals, and building their recording studio. Riding a new wave into the music world, they founded Mana Music & Media, a music production and boutique library.
Sarah Bethany started to gain trust in her talents becoming her authentic self. Her husband, Michael, helped broaden her horizons, introducing her to the music scene on the Big Island and getting her to play in various bands of all genres from Brazilian, and Reggae, to Jazz. She also became a member of the house band at Hawaii’s Songwriting Festival. Sarah Bethany was busy with music and her repertoire grew, but she couldn’t see what her partner saw in her, a raw diamond waiting to show its brilliance.
2020 pumped the breaks and all of her performances were canceled and she had nothing left but herself and the piano, giving her the chance to tune to the music she carries within. With a clear focus, Sarah Bethany started to write and record her own songs. In 2021, she started to release music and attended music conferences like Durango, putting herself out there little by little, getting positive feedback, not all there to launch herself as a solo artist, but her path was getting brighter, and bigger.
Sync Secrets with Ash opened the doors to a realm of music she was born to be a part of. Taking the workshop empowered her as a musician, giving her the tools to learn about the music business and how to monetize and earn an income with her songs. She polished herself and got ready to pitch her music, getting her first placements on TV shows such as “The Game” on Paramount and “Sacrifice” on BET+. Most recently, she got a placement on the ABC drama show, “The Company You Keep,” writing and recording the song for the opening scene.
Her love story with the piano has become a fairy tail for the books, and the anchor that kept her sinking was no longer a part of her story. Doors are now swinging open for Sarah Bethany, collaborating with other professionals she admires and releasing singles such as Speak Easy, Prayer Song, and O Holy Night, available to stream on all platforms.
Sarah Bethany went through passages that could’ve made her give up on life and turn her back on the possibilities that are found in between the layers of pain. Her Creative Soul flows through the vast waters of life, inspiring us to stay strong as we flow with the current of our journeys, ready to believe in every part of our being, because we are not just mere waves, we are the entire ocean.
There is no denying that we all leave this earth eventually, but things are different when we are given a specific timeline, counting down the days until our last breath. What would we do with our time if that were the case? Would we go down a spiral of desolation or would we gear up to climb up the rocky mountain with a courageous heart? Creative Soul, Jos McLaren, has the irrevocable certainty that God holds the true calendar of her life, and she is here to make every single second count, filling the world with songs that elate the heart with heavenly notes.
Jos McLaren is a musician and singer-songwriter from Leeds, U.K. She knew music was going to be her main language at an early age, going to church singing worship music, and being inspired by her mother, a pianist, and guitarist. In high school, she joined the school chorus, attended competitions, wrote songs, and recorded music with the school.
Alas, at the age of 41, Jos was diagnosed with stage 2 cancer, and 5 months later, it was found to have spread to 2 vertebrae, giving her, according to the doctor, only a couple of years to live. “Only God can call me home,” Jos wouldn’t accept her doctor’s diagnosis. She felt it was not God’s plan for her life to end yet as she still had so much to do.
In the midst of the turbulence, dealing with emotional pain and overcoming fears, Jos gave birth to a song where she poured out her honest feelings. Dying to Live was born to awaken hope, love, and light. It is her attestation that no matter what anyone can predict for our future, we hold in our hearts our true compass and Jos’s is pointing toward the North Star.
Not sure what to do with the song, Jos was advised by a friend to create a social media account to share her music, and as she did some research she found out about a songwriting conference at Abbey Road Studios in London. She took a leap of faith and submitted an application without even having the song ready to share. Jos was selected and without telling anyone, she went off to the conference. On the way, she wrote the second verse of Dying to Live and recorded a rough demo that night in her hotel room.
For Jos, hearing the panelists share their wisdom was amazing. “If I got to sit on the front row I was going to be courageous and ask a question,” Jos had made a deal with God the day before, and guess what? Part way through the session the panelists asked to take a couple of questions and this was her opportunity. Till then, she hadn’t shared about her health with anyone at the conference, and her question was fair: What to do with a song when you literally were given an expiration date by a doctor? Jos received helpful advice from the panel and God had an unexpected gift for her.
After the session, Mariela Silva, another conference delegate, approached Jos and asked Jos to send the song to her boyfriend, Liam Narrie. Liam is a music producer and engineer, who trained at Abbey Road Institute. After hearing the rough demo Liam invited Jos to record it in London.
Mariela, together with Liam, surprised Jos in unbelievable ways and even had her blindfolded as a driver took her to a mystery destination in London. Jos couldn’t believe her eyes as she stepped onto the ground where The Beatles had walked, and she was about to do that and more. Inside one of the studios at Abbey Road, there were some musicians. As Jos approached, she could hear her song being dressed with the sound of drums, strings, and keyboards… her soul was overjoyed as God winked at her.
Her dreams began to blossom and on the two-year anniversary of the terminal diagnosis that she was given, she threw a party to celebrate her triumph, and on the following day, she went to a songwriters retreat in Spain, as part of The Songwriting Academy. There, Jos met her soul tribe, including Keahi Rozet, Kelly Jett, Kathleen Schobel, Farzana Khan, and Kathi Fran. She started writing songs with them, understanding each other, coming from different backgrounds, races, and cultures, and sharing the love of music. “It’s not all about your thoughts with co-writing. It’s about adding each other’s touch. It’s like hanging out with friends,” Jos loves spending time with her soul family and they visit each other from one continent to the next. Music, love, and a lot of laughs keep the group growing strong and bright.
In January of 2023, they met again at the Drill Down Level Up music conference in Sandestin, Florida. She was given the opportunity to perform her song Dying to Live, blowing everyone away. Learning about sync, Jos has started working with music supervisors to try and place her songs in TV and film, and she continues to expand her field of blooming daffodils, creating music from the heart, and channeling the grace of God through her voice and presence.
Filled with confidence and knowing well how valuable time is, she started reaching out to cancer charities to help promote their work through using her song. She wants to make sure people become aware of these services such as makeup, skincare, and yoga for cancer patients, so they can improve their well-being. Jos’ story has been published in a regional newspaper and various radio stations have played her song. Though she’s not interested in fame, she’s excited that her song is reaching others and uplifting them.
Jos will soon be releasing an EP, which Liam Narrie will produce, including “The One Thing I Would Do.” Jos wrote this song, inspired by her nephews, about how spending time with the people you love is the most treasured thing.
“It’s all God,” Jos declares, a stage 4 breast cancer survivor who is using her skills as a nurse to do her injections at home, which has helped her tremendously in maintaining her holistic care… However, Jos has also received negative remarks because she’s not bald and doesn’t look unwell, but instead she has the biggest smile, and the brightest eyes, with the most positive words of advice and delicious cookies and chocolates to share.
No, no one would ever know that Jos deals with cancer every day of her life. She’s not here to make us sob with a sad tale or use her story to gain anything in return. Her joy is genuine and she’s an example that our faith should be bigger than our problems.
What ends our lives is not necessarily sentenced by an illness but by our attitude towards it. Jos’s conviction surpasses any diagnosis and criticism, and she’s encouraging us to trust in the undeniable ability of miracles to enter our lives. Jos is not only an example that we can move mountains if our faith is as big as a mustard seed. She’s an inspiration that dreams do come true if we put our hearts into it and trust in our mission. She is light, and she is love… Jos is the essence of God on earth.
Dustin Maximillian King is a Hip-Hop/Trap Producer from Canada best known as MillionKing Music.
Encouraged by his parents, Dustin started playing the piano at a young age. In junior high, he taught himself guitar, and in the University, he picked on music production and has been producing for about 5 years.
Dustin is currently creating beats for placements on TV, films, commercials, and so forth. He’s collaborating with other artists, excited to keep making music and sharing it with the world.
Among some of his upbeat tracks are King Tut, Seasons, and Don’t Stop.
“Don’t worry. It gets better than you can ever imagine,” Dustin encourages us to not allow the things we need to address to go unnoticed. To move forward with our creative dreams and make them a reality through hard work and a dedicated heart.
