Maybe art is the vehicle through which we can be evangelists for our own message… That’s what we’re all doing—every artist, every writer, every poet—we’re all just trying to share our view of the world. Not to gain followers or bring people into our camp, but just to prove to ourselves that what we believe matters on a grander scale.

The complete table of contents for the March 2024 issue of Blank Spaces magazine.

I bought my first house when I was 24. It wasn’t because I was financially wise, it was because in 2004 there was a collective eagerness to help young people get into the market, and in a brief period where the down payment requirement was 0%, I dove in.

The complete table of contents for the March 2023 issue of Blank Spaces magazine.

We did it. We have survived the first two months of 2022 even though survival feels a little bit like being stuck: stuck in the uncertainly of a world on the brink of wanting to return to normal but also terrified of what that means.

The complete table of contents for the March 2022 issue of Blank Spaces magazine.

We’re ticking up to the one year mark of living beneath the direct shadow of a global pandemic. We were so naive, back in those early days of 2020, thinking it would pass us over in a week or two. There was a real sense of solidarity: people banging pots for healthcare workers, online concerts, handmade thank you posters. Gas dropped to a price I hadn’t seen since I was a child, everyone made bread, the world slowed down to try and heal itself.

The complete table of contents for the March 2021 issue of Blank Spaces magazine.

I have dreams. Most of them are much bigger than me, but I’m not afraid of them. By keeping such things to yourself, the chance of them seeing the light of day is slim. By saying what we want out loud, we give the universe a chance to answer.

The complete table of contents for the March 2020 issue of Blank Spaces.

Years ago, a conversation with my husband about our personal passions went a long way towards helping us better understand one another. That discussion taught us to make space in our relationship to pursue those things, ultimately resulting in both of us being happier. I would even go so far to say Blank Spaces wouldn’t exist without that conversation.

The complete table of contents for the March 2019 issue of Blank Spaces.

If you’re anything like me, winter has a way of beating you down. We romanticize memories of summer and lament the long months using snowman and crying face emojis. In true Canadian spirit, we leave our footprints in the snow, wrap our mittened hands around a Tim Horton’s cup, and increase our forearm muscles as we tackle the ice on our cars each morning. And, on the days when the mercury dips so low our furnaces and wood stoves can’t keep up, we sit in our   offices donning toques, scarves, and wool sweaters, repeating the life-giving mantra: this too shall pass.

The complete table of contents for the March 2018 issue of Blank Spaces.

My daughter came home from school a few months ago singing Humble and Kind. It’s a beautiful song written by folk singer-songwriter Lori McKenna, and made famous by Tim McGraw.