dear magical seashell-seeking friends,
~this is guide.notes 12, a weekly email on caring for, and channeling -- your creative spirit/essence/patronus to roam free on the wilderness of the internet-universe.~
let's begin with
an invitation to rest
I received this notice in the psychic-mail the other morning. I wonder if you need one, too?
head static FM: am I doing enough?
you could say this is the main reason we don't rest. I call it: head static FM. why does this question sets you up for failure? I write about it here.
visual play camp | see your world differently
this is a fun (can't believe i'm using this word) new creative course I'm excited to teach/guide/create -- as well as do all the creative assignments, alongside you. it'll be:
- 8 weeks long, started end of July
- 8 creative assignments + written feedback
- take it your way -- DIY, small-groups, or 1:1 guided with me
true to my projector style, the idea came to me when an internet stranger emailed me (she found me on google) asking me to help her with her visual skills. this is what I created for her.
I imagine that this will feel like:
- creative experiments to exercise your intuitive eye, in different mediums
- observational field work to help you notice and make art from your life
- skill strengthening & inspiration for the elements of visual language
- a deep process to develop your creative flow & confidence, and general unblocking!
artist child / business adult
this week all my guests left, and I've been finding myself hermiting alone in this sauna heat (thank god for one working AC!), in a state of deep and intense creative-spiritual integration. this sounds dramatic, I know. hear me out.
for the longest time, I struggled so hard between being an artist and doing the things that made me consistent money (web design and branding)-- and somehow resisting/resenting this relationship, like my left hand hating my right hand (that fed it).
my artist self was like a playful, rebellious, moody, serious child -- and my designer/client-facing self "the responsible, professional, business adult" -- who brought home the dough. we wanted to fire her (this responsible adult, that is), but she paid for stuff, (so we felt dependent) and to top it off, she guilted us for being too dreamy, dramatic, impractical... spending too much time drawing or making things with no monetary, "productive" value.
it took me so long to realize -- my "business adult" was saying those things because she was feeling unfulfilled. she slaved away for clients, and protected my artist child from taking responsibility for making money, because she didn't believe that she could. she wanted art-making to stay private, because to be private meant that it would be safe.
I compartmentalized for years. without even realizing it, I was playing out these culturally conditioned roles (caretaker + child) within my own psyche. in doing so, I felt drained. I resented being the caretaker. and my artist-child was unable to grow, and evolve.
recently -- these last weeks and months, as I feel tectonic plates move within my psyche, I've been deconstructing and shedding these roles I didn't even know I had in the first place. I'm asking myself the questions of:
- what if my artist child and business adult could be integrated -- in one whole person? what would that look like?
- what if business/money/marketing/sales/entrepreneurship -- could feel more like creative play?
- what if art and creative play could be transmuted into business -- something that serves -- while still maintaining its freedom and integrity?
these are all questions I didn't even think to ask, before. but asking them now is opening so many doors in my mind -- to corridors I didn't even know I had. I'm discovering, processing, and living the answers. I will write again to share whatever I discover, soon.
what about you?
how are your artist-child/business-adult relating these days? click to let me know!
thank you for reading!
btw, here are your responses to my last question, "how do you like my text-minimalist email?" thank you for your flexibilities :)
I love seeing your clicks! it's a strange, oddly warm feeling, like watching fireflies light up in the distance. your digital presence in the dark <3
wishing you lots of rest. until next week,
kening
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your support feeds my ecosystem. thank you for any amount you'd like to give ♡
