pARTake, a newsletter about creative badassery by Maureen C. Berry

What can you expect? Why should you subscribe? Start here.

Maureen C. Berry, Artist, risk-taker, cancer warrior, creating joy through watercolors and writing, breathing blue in a sea of red. Kentucky.

Hi. Think of this page as What are you getting yourself into?

pARTake issues drop every third Sunday of the month. Previously, before April 2025, I shared Monthly Vibes every month, a curated list of good eats, great books, and inspiring art. At the end of each issue, I’ll still offer that in a shortened version called Three Good Things, which is like the inside track of who I am at heart. I’m transitioning to a more writing-focused newsletter. I’m revising another draft of my memoir after receiving a developmental edit, and well, that book isn’t going to write itself. pARTake will be the place where I explore the themes in my book in progress: how cancer was the catalyst for the incredible changes in my life as a creative badass; how, as a cookbook author, I couldn’t eat anymore; body dysmorphia; middle age/menopause; marital stressors; and how our bodies hold trauma. That feels like so much, yet I know many people can and will relate to it. But pARTake is not only writing about those things. I’ll also share photography (my first creative love) and watercolor art. I’ll also write about trees and drop poems. Occasionally, I’ll have watercolor art sale events, like this one.

Who am I?

I’m a young 63-year-old artist, risk-taker, and cancer-survivor who creates joy through watercolor art and writing. Many people know me from my cookbook, Salmon from Market to Plate, as well as its companion podcast and speaking/cooking program, Green Fish Blue Oceans. Additionally, I’m known for my two recent 2024 art exhibitions: "Wild African Adventures in Art" and "GIRL ON FIRE🔥" watercolor series. Primarily, my art focuses on nature, birds, and wildlife. I have a solo exhibition, Birds & Botanicals, featuring watercolor and mixed media, from August to October 2025 at the Owensboro Convention Center in Owensboro, Kentucky. I also manage an over-the-road trucking agency, which, as anyone knows, means full-time work, plus some.

Why Should You Subscribe?

If you’re into what a messy and imperfect creative lifestyle looks like while creating art, writing a memoir, working to pay the mortgage, managing ongoing medical debt, and battling an insidious disease, pARTake is the place for you. I work to inspire you and hope to help you lead with your heart in your work.

Other things you might like to know. Sometimes, I cuss. No sugar-coating that one. Also, there will be typos. I use a software editor, but we all know how that can sometimes go wrong. If I narrate my letters, note: I drop consonants (not intentionally), and you may even detect my Pittsburghese dialect or my British accent, which I honed for stage theater.

At the end of each issue of pARTake, I share a photo of Cooper, my wire fox terrier. You can also find Cooper prominent in Notes. Cooper rescued me in mid-2018 after Reagan, our previous wire fox, died suddenly. Incidentally and ironically, around the same time, I began to feel ill. In early 2019, I was diagnosed with stage 4 dedifferentiated liposarcoma, a rare soft tissue cancer of the fatty cells in my abdomen.

Want to chat privately? Reply to this letter for privacy, or drop a note publicly in the comments. I respond to everyone. All issues of pARTake are free. Or…

Paid Subscriptions

I also offer paid subscriptions to pARTake. $5 per month buys me a cup of coffee, or if you'd like, $35 per year, which helps me stay motivated and covers medical co-pays and medications. Two hundred eighty-five annual paid subscribers would mean my medical debt would be $0. What a dream that would be! But I am a dreamer! *winks

If you like my art style and are feeling generous, at the Founding level ($350), you get an art commission. Visit my website, maureencberry.com, to read my artist statement and see my art styles, or reply to this letter to discuss.

Thanks for being here. To learn more about me, head to my About page.

Maureen xo

Cooper enjoys rawhide sticks and chunks of mud on his beard.

Stay curious. Stay safe. Make an impact.