The Art Of Being

The Art of Being in Conversation

Conversations About Creativity and Mindfulness

We are all creative beings, but how often do you tap into your creativity? Do you often feel as though you have forgotten how to be creative? What would it look like to create with intention? 

In April and May of 2020, we created a short series on IGTV called The Art of Being in Quarantine. It was an effort to bring more creativity into our lives during the onset of the pandemic, as we contemplated what it means to be a human during difficult times. We found that by intentionally making space for creativity in our weeks, we were able to show up more fully in our lives. The prompts are intended to be playful and straightforward, 10-15 minute activities, for you to engage your creative being. 

We wanted to expand this beyond ourselves, so started the monthly series, The Art of Being in Conversation. These conversations are about creating with intention. Each month we will be talking to a featured guest about what it means to them to be creative. Every conversation will dive into that person’s story and creative process and will end with a prompt or activity that you, as the listener, can experiment with to tap into your own creative being. 

If you try out any of the prompts, please tag us on Instagram @artofbeingexperience or use the hashtag #TheArtOfBeingInConversation, so that we can see your creations!

 

Caroline Glover

 
 
Caroline Headshot.JPG

In Conversation with Chef and Restaurateur, Caroline Glover

 
 

Caroline Glover founded Annette in the fall of 2016, which she named after her feisty and brilliant Great Aunt Netsie, a novelist and short-story writer who lived in small-town Texas. Caroline is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. She is currently a semi-finalist for a 2020 James Beard Award in the "Best Chef, Mountain" category. She has received this honor for three years running: In 2018 and 2019, she was a semi-finalist in the "Best Chef, Southwest" category, and in 2018 Annette was a semi-finalist in the "Best New Restaurant" category. Also, in 2019, Caroline was named one of the best new chefs in America by Food and Wine magazine. Annette has been on 5280 magazine's list of Denver's 25 best restaurants each year since it opened and was awarded Bon Appétit magazine's 50 Best New Restaurants in the Country in 2017.

Quite simply, Caroline is a force! She started by working in other restaurants as a sous chef and on farms in Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Colorado. These combined experiences and the creativity that Caroline brought with each step led her to open Annette. We get to dive into how she views her creativity, the intentionality that she brings to all that she does, how the pandemic affected Caroline's work and her being, and how she considers and reflects on all of it.

 
“We learned a lot during the pandemic and a lot of it is yes, we are hospitality but at the same time we have to take care of ourselves because restaurants were so vulnerable when this happened. A lot of restaurants didn’t have money saved up. So yes, it has been interesting to see how people are coming back to normal when a lot of things have changed; a lot of us learned things and now we are adapting and we are not going to go back.”
— Caroline Glover
 

In conversation…

  • Caroline talks with us about how she has learned not to force her creativity. She has learned through life experiences that it is better to jump into and embrace creativity when you feel it versus trying to make it happen at a designated time.

  • She also shares how a visit to the farmer's market can be the inspiration she needs to spark an idea for a recipe or menu addition. Two vegetables sitting next to each other can be the impetus to a new creative idea. She reminds us that inspiration can be subtle and simple.

  • We dive into how the pandemic impacted Annette, how she and her staff pivoted to meet all of its challenges and demands. Additionally, we discuss what it taught her about community, how she wants to be as we enter into the next phase of life since the pandemic hit, and what self-care looks like throughout all of that.

  • Caroline's devotion and intentionality around community is a big part of who she is and what she wishes for Annette. We talk with her about how her creativity is an integral part of building, sustaining, and considering your community when you own a restaurant.

  • Her Aunt Netsie taught her, through example, what it means to have a voice, own your opinions, and speak your mind - all while keeping kindness at the center. She talks with us about how she learned how to do that for herself and why it is a grounding principle in running her restaurant.

Have a listen - you will be both inspired and hungry afterward! 

 
“I’m still learning. I think that when you are a person that thrives on chaos, when you don’t have it, it’s like I’m very high. I can go, go go. Or if I don’t have the chaos, I feel easily depressed. If there is quiet and silence, and I’m not needed somewhere, that’s a very hard emotional struggle for me and to just to be okay with it. So then I stress through it, and then it’s like that was not restful at all. So, I run every morning. I do acupuncture every single week. I’ve been doing that for the last two years and that has made a very huge difference for me.”
— Caroline Glover
 
 

WATCH THE VIDEO

music: Beach, musician: Jeff Kaale

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO

music: Beach, musician: Jeff Kaale

 
“Having an opinion, having a voice was really important to me, but I didn’t really use it until I felt comfortable enough. I went through kitchens for a long time being very quiet and just working as hard as I could. I felt like I was one person in the kitchen and a different person outside the kitchen, and I am now learning how to marry those two.

I think opening my own restaurant really opened a floodgate for me. I was like, ‘Oh my God, I have all these ideas, all these opinions. I’m ready to put them into play!’ But a lot of that got squashed when I worked in other places...I think just feeling good about having an idea or an opinion and not second guessing it is a really important strength to have.”
— Caroline Glover 
 

THE CREATIVE PROMPT FROM CAROLINE:

Scramble an egg!  

  • Add a fresh herb into it or something that’s not usually in it.

  • Toast a piece of toast.

  • Sit down and really enjoy it! 

  • Be intentional about really enjoying the whole entire process of making it. 

  • The idea is to grab something random out of the fridge and then something that you are really familiar with, and by combining those two together you can spark creativity! 

 
Angela CravenThe Art of Being in Conversation