I always start my emails with a stark, “Hello!”
You can (try to) pry the overused exclamation point from my withered, millennial hands. We write like we speak after years of learning to type on AOL Instant Messenger (MonroeStreet05 was my first internet handle.) We text instead of call, we emoji react :), we want to livejournal and blog after therapy because we’re adults now and we can do both.
“Why this, why now”
, Substack asks. Well! Because!… I want to connect (I’ve always wanted to connect); I want a place to share my art; I want a good motivator to put computer pen to computer paper; and honestly, tumblr wasn’t cutting it. Instagram became a slow drain on my soul and to be utterly transparent, I still pop onto my second (photography) Instagram to enter giveaways and follow artists that inspire my photography work. I just don’t want to surf through my friends’ lives interspersed with memes and trauma (cause all the internet ends up being is memes and trauma.) I want to explore art and creation without seeing ads perfectly curated for my desires and wallet.
Putting the commune in community.
I love Google Search’s meaning of commune: a group of families or single people who live and work together sharing possessions and responsibilities: join a commune. “She left her husband to join a women's commune.”
I don’t want you to leave your husband (unless he truly sucks, then I fully support that), but my goal here is to create a review called “A Week’s Worth.” It will look into a week’s worth of art creation: poetry written, photos taken, hands worked. What does a week’s worth of my art exploration look like and from there, hopefully ask the right questions and prompts that inspire you to infuse artwork into your week.
I’ve been a part of many online communities over the last few years, all making me proud to be the person I am today. I hope this online commune can be a group of casual artists, taking time each day to stretch our muscles and inspire each other to show up in art when we can. It’s like a workout class but for your artistry.
My current art projects:
Since January 2023, I’ve been working on a self portrait series that lines up with the Major Arcana of the tarot. Last month’s self portrait was “The Passenger // Wheel of Fortune.”
I’m literally *two* portraits away from completion (satisfied sigh) on the Major Arcana and then will move into working on the Minor Arcana. I’ll include previous self portraits in my weekly review to get you up to speed if you’re interested and hopefully inspire reflection on how you would craft an image of yourself in the perimeters of the Major Arcana.
I also like to explore poetry daily, inspired by the mundane magic of daily life, the everlasting rage of world events, and the pure joy and grief of a soul experiencing humanity.
When I find the energy, I try to quilt, I try to plant, I try to rearrange the entire living room until I’m a new person.
It’s so not serious, ya know?
My girlfriends and I have had monthly craft nights the last few months. We show up and fiddle around with something, sometimes feeling successful, sometimes just getting to act like a kid while processing adult life. I’m not looking for much more than that, ya know? Hang out if that’s what you’re looking for too.
So excited to receive weekly inspiration in my inbox!