More Joy Is Possible

08/26/2026

Michigan Birds: 🧡 Erica as the American Redstart

Sometimes finding your colors isn't about choosing something new.

Sometimes it's about noticing the colors you've been leaving clues about all along.

🧡

Erica is a changemaker, strategist, facilitator, improviser, adoptee advocate, community connector—and someone with incredibly sparkly energy.

She told me that as an adoptee, she'd spent much of her life feeling like a chameleon, adapting to the people around her while trying to understand who she was.

The American Redstart immediately resonated.

It's an animated little bird that flashes brilliant patches of color as it moves, stirring up the world around it.

That felt like Erica.

We dressed her in Raven Black and Pagoda Orange and photographed around Beachwood Retreats in Muskegon. As she relaxed into the session, the grin appeared, her movement got bigger, and the orange began flashing through all that black.

She came alive.

And then I started noticing something.

Pagoda Orange was already everywhere.

Little sparks of it appeared throughout the home Erica had designed. The color we'd been searching for was already woven into the environment she'd created around herself.

And when Erica smiled, I saw that same fire in her eyes.

Maybe we don't discover ourselves all at once.

Maybe we leave clues.

In our homes. Our clothes. The places we feel safe. The things that make us light up.

We just have to start noticing them.

🧡 What colors have you been leaving clues about?

🔗 Read the full story: https://morejoystudio.com/erica-as-the-american-redstart/

08/23/2026

Wild Zen Yoga has wrapped, and I'm still glowing in the aftermath.

There's a phrase I keep coming back to: collective effervescence — that electric feeling that happens when people gather and, for a little while, become part of something bigger than themselves.

This weekend, I watched a community heal together.

Through breath. Yoga. Movement. Sound bowls. Bodywork. Bare feet in the grass. Long embraces. Dancing. Rest.

And somewhere in the middle of all of that, I got to heal too.

I dressed people in color. I photographed their joy. I watched scarves catch the wind and bodies find their flow. I paused long enough to make little masterpieces in the middle of everything happening around me.

My friend Bee — who I photographed glowing in golden yellow last season — came along this year and brought her own Sparks of Joy. There was something beautiful about finding a rhythm as two artists working beside each other. She reminds me of that first rush I felt when I discovered what could happen when I started dashing color onto clothes.

When Bee gathered everyone around the dye tapestries, suddenly creativity became communal. We stood barefoot in the grass, watching colors collide and creations emerge. Different hands reached for different colors. Different instincts made different marks.

No two people moved quite the same way. And no two pieces could have been made by anyone else.

That's what I love about this process. Give people the same colors, the same tools and the same invitation to play — and their hands will still tell completely different stories.

I also snuck away with many more portraits for my Michigan bird collection. 🐦🌈 Keep an eye out in the weeks ahead.

There are so many more stories — and so much more joy — still to come.

08/16/2026

08/14/2026

Michigan Birds 💙 Winston as the Belted Kingfisher

Sometimes you choose a color before you understand why you need it.

Last summer, Winston spotted my Kingfisher-blue cable-knit sweater from Wild Yoga Fest. It was the middle of summer and a heavyweight cotton sweater made absolutely no sense.

He bought it anyway.

Over the next year, it became a staple. He wore it reading outside, walking through nature, and finding little pockets of peace. It made simple moments feel special, and the heavy cotton wrapped around him almost like a hug.

A year later, that color led us to his bird: the Belted Kingfisher.

💙

I've gotten to see Winston through ecstatic dance and mindful movement experiences around Grand Rapids. He has an ease in his body that I love watching—but he told me that comfort took time.

After some big life shifts, Winston needed new places to play. He found them through movement, yoga, breathwork, nature, and community.

We connected over that. We're both sober, and both of us have found something powerful in learning to inhabit our bodies differently.

The Belted Kingfisher felt right. It's a bird that can perch quietly beside the water, watching and waiting, and then suddenly commit—diving headfirst into the river.

Stillness and action. Grounding and play.

For our session, we explored Riverside Park at sunset. We walked through the river, skipped stones, played around the ducks, and followed the water until we found a little place tucked into the woods where sunlight poured through the trees. I asked him to notice the trees. He said he felt like a Hobbit. In a good way. 😂

At some point, we stopped posing and just started adventuring.

That's exactly what I want these clothes—and these portraits—to be about.

They're meant to be played in. Lived in. Taken into the woods. Worn until they carry stories of their own.

Sometimes we recognize the things that make us feel more like ourselves before we understand why.

Winston found his Kingfisher blue a year ago.

He's been growing into it ever since.

💙

What are you making room for?

08/10/2026

🦆 Michigan Birds: Jade as the Mallard 💚

Sometimes becoming yourself happens quietly.

And sometimes it arrives in emerald green with bright red hair.

When Jade chose the Mallard, the color connection was immediate—that brilliant emerald against her vibrant red hair. But the more I thought about it, the more the bird seemed to fit.

Mallards are incredibly adaptable. They make homes across changing landscapes. Even their plumage moves through seasons of transformation.

There’s something beautiful about a creature that reminds us our appearance—and our lives—were never meant to stay fixed.

Jade responded to my post looking for a creative roommate. My Dash-Dyed art caught her attention, and since moving in, I’ve loved watching her experiment with sewing, color, and finding the pigments and shapes that feel most like her.

At 26, Jade is becoming the woman she’s always wanted to be. She’s a trans woman, a former ecology and wildlife restoration student, and now a cosmetology student exploring her love of vibrant hair and nails at Jaded Hair and Nails.

Color looks good on her.

But even more than that—creating with color lights her up. ✨

For her portrait, we headed to Huff Park in the morning light. We wandered the wetland dressed in Brazil Nut brown, Cerulean blue, Emerald green, white, and yellow—the palette of a male Mallard.

And then we stumbled across a group removing invasive cattails and restoring the wetland. Jade had done similar work in college. So there she was, dressed as a Mallard, casually chatting about wetland restoration. Perfect. 😂

Then the wind picked up. Jade had been in color guard when she was younger, and when I handed her a long scarf, her body knew exactly what to do.

The fabric opened behind her like wings.
She held her head high.
She laughed.
She took flight.

These portraits keep reminding me that becoming doesn't happen all at once. We experiment. We change colors. We shed things. We discover what fits. And little by little, we become more recognizable to ourselves.

Jade is still becoming.

And from where I’m standing, she’s already taking flight.

🦆 Read the full post: https://morejoystudio.com/jade-as-the-mallard/

08/08/2026

Dancing + dashing is just better together. 🌈💃✨

I’ve already gotten to dye with some wonderful humans this morning at the Rewind x Breakaway Official Pre Party — and it turns out Dash-Dye gets even more joyful when there’s music playing and bodies moving. 🎧🌈

And we’re just getting started!

I’ll be here dyeing until 9 PM tonight, and thanks to Downtown Grand Rapids Inc., it’s all FREE!

🌈 Dash-Dye Breakaway merch
🌈 Rewind merch
🌈 OR bring a shirt from home to transform!

Plus there’s a Silent Disco, Kandi making, and food from Chef Streetchefshaw happening throughout the day.

Come find me, pick some colors, dance a little, and make something joyful. 💖

📍 17 Division Ave S
⏰ Today until 9 PM
💸 FREE!

Come dance + dash with MORE ∞ JOY. 🌈

08/04/2026

Michigan Birds: Ashley as the Eastern Meadowlark

Some birds don't need brilliant feathers to be noticed.

They simply sing.

The Eastern Meadowlark's bright, flute-like song carries across open fields—a reminder that hope often arrives quietly.

When Ashley chose the Eastern Meadowlark, it felt immediately right.

💛

I've known Ashley for nearly fifteen years. We first met at Doc Night, a weekly documentary group where her curiosity always stood out. Years later, we found each other again through Michigan's swing dance community. It felt like reconnecting with an old friend.

Today, Ashley is a massage therapist, helping people reconnect with their bodies and supporting their natural ability to heal. That gentle presence shines through in everything she does.

When we met at Grand Haven City Beach for her portrait, we were both carrying heartbreak.

Before I ever picked up my camera, we talked.

These sessions aren't just about taking pictures. They're about creating enough trust for someone to simply be themselves.

Ashley arrived with tears in her eyes.

She left dancing barefoot through the sand.

As the evening unfolded, I watched her smile return. The wind lifted her yellow scarves like wings, and for a moment, she truly became the Meadowlark.

✨

We built her look with bright yellows, warm Brazil Nut browns, and the Meadowlark's signature black "V."

Yellow reminds me that joy isn't something we wait for.

It's something we choose to practice—even after heartbreak.

Thank you, Ashley, for trusting me with this season of your life.

🕊️ Which Michigan bird would you choose to represent your story?

🔗 Follow the series at: https://morejoystudio.com/michigan-birds/

🔗 Read Ashley's story at: https://morejoystudio.com/ashley-as-the-eastern-meadowlark/

07/25/2026

Second floor of an old theater. Draped fabric against hundred-year-old walls. I built a rainbow and a field of grass, and one by one, people stepped inside.

Downstairs, Whitney's Zone of Authenticity filled the DAAC with music, movement, and permission to show up as yourself. Her invitation was simple but profound: authenticity isn't something you perform—it's something you uncover.

We carried that same idea upstairs.

As each person entered the portrait space, I asked one question:

"What do you feel like in this moment?"

Not who do you want to be. Not who have you always been. Who are you, right now?

Because every one of us is in a state of becoming.

The answers weren't always spoken. Sometimes they appeared in a lifted chin, relaxed shoulders, a laugh, a dance, or a song. McKenna arrived looking like Little Red Riding Hood and suddenly burst into song in front of my camera. Others quietly settled into their color before revealing themselves. There was no right way to show up.

What struck me most was how quickly color became permission. People didn't become someone else—they became more themselves.

That's the heart of my Michigan Birds portrait series. It isn't about dressing like a bird. It's about creating a space where people can discover the version of themselves that's been waiting to emerge.

Thank you, Whitney, for creating a community where authenticity could bloom, and for inviting us to add another layer to that experience through color and portraiture.

The community art show is up all month at the DAAC. Go wander. Go experience the work. You might discover a little more of yourself while you're there.

There's so much life left. 💜💛

More Joy Studio
MORE ∞ JOY
morejoystudio.com

07/22/2026

Join us for Community Art Show & Celebration with The Zone of Authenticity!

04/14/2026

💛 Michigan Birds: ZamZam as the American Goldfinch

Some birds feel like sunshine.

When ZamZam stepped into my studio, she slowly wandered through the colors — her hands brushing each shade until she turned and said, “I think I’m a yellow bird.”

And she was right. The American Goldfinch — bright, joyful, and a true symbol of spring.

ZamZam and I first met at Studio Cor3, but it wasn’t until a winter silent disco — twirling in the snow under the night sky — that I felt her energy fully. Her joy is effortless. Present. Real.

She’s 22, Sudanese, a Registered Behavior Technician working with children with autism, and studying Psychology and Economics — while also dreaming into a future of dance, modeling, and creative expression.

She’s in a season of becoming.

At East Paris Nature Park, wrapped in clear yellow and golden tones, she moved through the wetlands as the sun set — soft, radiant, and completely at peace in the space she returns to again and again.

The Goldfinch doesn’t hold onto winter. It transforms into a brighter shade.

And watching ZamZam in yellow… it felt like witnessing something bloom.

Read the full story:
https://morejoystudio.com/power-portraits/zamzam-as-the-american-goldfinch/⁠