Living by Making — Tim O'Neill

A weekly letter for makers

For makers in the middle chapters — when the work gets deeper and the pressure to perform gets louder.

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From the letter

"Making isn't something you squeeze in after life. It's how you metabolize it."

— Tim O'Neill, Issue 1

What this is

This isn't about output. It's about staying in relationship with your work.

Living by Making is a weekly letter for serious makers — painters, writers, woodworkers, photographers, fiber artists, and thoughtful makers of all kinds — who want to stay in their creative practice over the long arc of a life.

Not tutorials. Not growth hacks. Not motivation. Something quieter and more useful: clarity, permission, and companionship for the work that actually matters to you.

"The question I keep returning to isn't 'What should I make next?' — it's 'How, or who, do I want to be while I'm making?'"

— Tim O'Neill, Issue 1

Tim O'Neill is a lifelong artist, educator, and maker with four decades of experience. He writes from his studio in Nebraska about process, attention, aging, and what it means to keep making well for a long time — without burning out or losing yourself.

Who this is for

You'll feel at home here if—

You've been making for years

You have real skill, real taste, and real questions. You're not a beginner. You're not done. You're somewhere in the middle chapters.

You're tired of performing

The pressure to post, produce, and prove yourself has started to cost more than it returns. You want the work to matter more than the metrics.

Your old rhythms have shifted

Energy changes. Time changes. Life changes. Your creative practice needs to adapt — without disappearing.

You want depth, not hype

You can spot empty motivation from a distance. You'd rather have honest clarity about what's actually happening and why.

A taste

From the letter

Each issue arrives once a week. Here's a sample of what you'll find inside.

Living by Making

Tim O'Neill · Issue 2 · February 2026

At the Workbench

The part you keep skipping

There's a strange thing that happens when you start paying attention to how you work. You notice patterns. Small rituals. The things you do without thinking.

For years, I walked past the beginning. I'd open a sketchbook, feel the blankness, and immediately flip ahead to see if anything was already started. I told myself I was just checking. But really, I was avoiding the first mark.

That hesitation isn't laziness. It's your system protecting you from uncertainty. The blank page doesn't just ask for skill. It asks for commitment before you know where you're going.

Under the Surface

A tiredness that sleep won't fix

There's a kind of tiredness that has nothing to do with how much sleep you got. It shows up when you've been moving fast for too long. Making decisions without pause. Responding to everything that asks for your attention.

You can feel productive and depleted at the same time. This kind of tiredness doesn't fix itself with a weekend off. It needs something deeper — space to let your attention settle.

This isn't about output. It's about staying in relationship with your work.

You'll feel at home here if—

You've been making for years

You're tired of performing

Your old rhythms have shifted

You want depth, not hype

From the letter

Living by Making

Stay in the work.Stay in the life.

Stay in the work.
Stay in the life.