A story of healing, transformation, and community—told one chapter at a time.

Eclosion: An Artist’s Path
to Power and Peace

Hi, I’m Carrie Ziegler—artist, speaker, and community catalyst. Eclosion is the memoir I never imagined I’d write… and now, I’m sharing it with you one chapter at a time on Substack.

This is the story of how I moved through addiction, trauma, and deep personal healing to become a proud mama and full-time Artist and Change Maker. Along the way, I share how collaborative art became not just my calling—but a way to shift hearts, move policy, and reimagine community.

What You’ll Find Inside:

Each chapter invites you into a piece of my story—and offers space for your own.

Alongside the memoir, I’m sharing art prompts, reflection questions, and creative invitations to help you engage with the material in a personal way. You’ll also have opportunities to help co-create an Artist Handbook and Resource Section that will follow the book.

This is more than a story. It’s a conversation. A co-creative process. A call to step into your power—through art, story, and connection.

The Journey Unfolds in Phases

Like the metamorphosis of a butterfly, Eclosion is structured in phases:

An Opening (Preface)
Poem: We Are the Imaginal Cells
Grounded

Trapped
Breaking Free
Escape

  • The Birdhouse

  • Love and Lies in Alaska

  • Borderlines

  • The Audacity of Art

  • A Chameleon’s Confession

Learning to Fly

  • Ecology meets Equity

  • Delphinia

  • A Necessary Failure

  • The Plastic Whale Project

  • Back to NoDak

  • The Power of Story

  • The Anatomy of Impact

  • Fear in the Face of Art

  • Where Everything is Music

  • Turning the Wheel

  • Love in the Islands

  • The Darkness Inside

Into the Chrysalis

  • Fragile Power

  • Wrapped in Darkness

  • Uncovering the Nest

  • Facing Fear

  • Emerging from Chrysalides

  • Unnamed Chapter (Former Prologue)

    Taking Flight

  • Becoming an Artist Mama

  • Change Starts here

  • Working in Community

  • Where Change Takes Root

  • Growing from the Ground Up

  • Making the Invisible Visible

  • Growth, Grace, and Social Justice

  • Art as a Tool for Community-wide Change

  • Trust

Back in the Chrysalis

  • Listen to your Body

  • Falling Apart

  • Running Away

  • Asking for Help

  • Grief in Color

  • Climate Grief

Eclosion

  • It doesn’t have to be so Hard

  • Running Towards

  • Acceptance

  • Forest of Grief, Seeds of Hope

  • Valuing yourself as an Artist

  • Balancing Act

  • Best Summer Ever!

Carried by the Wind

  • The Constellation of One

  • From personal Transformation to Cultural Metamorphosis

  • Art as a Global Connector

  • Filling the Creative Well

  • When Grief Comes

  • Integration

  • Claiming Artist, Claiming Self

  • Cultivating Growth

  • Living in Today

  • Integration

Migration

  • Systemic Resistance

  • Hope as Action

  • Ripples of Change

Return
Invitation to the Chrysalis Project

Each phase holds stories, lessons, and moments of transformation—not just mine, but ones that might feel familiar to you, too.

Let’s Grow Together

Subscribing is free, and when you join me on Substack, you’ll get:

  • Early access to Eclosion as it unfolds, one chapter at a time

  • Art prompts, journal reflections, and creative invitations

  • Opportunities to co-create the Artist Handbook and Resource Section that will follow the memoir

  • Be part of a growing community of artists, change makers, and creative humans

You’ll also find monthly reflective blog posts and extra insights here on my website after each weekly drop.