Words and images from the journals of Carole Watanabe

Part journal, part guide, part love letter to the creative life. In The Ecstatic Marriage of Life and Art, Carole opens her personal journals and shares the words and art that have carried her through a lifetime of making. Think of it as a survivor’s manual for the soul: a gentle guide to the quiet place where deeply personal happiness lives.

Page by page, it leads you toward and through what Carole calls the “Gate of Solace,” a doorway made of color, courage, and creative practice. Whether you paint, write, or simply long to live more beautifully, these pages invite you to give art the power of becoming your guide.

“Art is LOVE and persistence is the only practice that brings the incredible energy of love into form.”
— Carole Watanabe