guide.notes 21 | useful & beautiful
dear earthly friends,
sending you a brief note this week, from the middle of a migraine -- and a week of too much world. an old friend I knew from many lives ago arrived and I've been showing her around Istanbul, which can often feel like wandering inside a marvelous headache...
inspiration log this week
a poem: the true love by david whyte. listening to this poem moved me so deeply. a poet i've loved for a long time, whose book and poem the house of belonging brought me deep comfort in dark times.
a practice: lynda barry's daily diaries. someone told me about her 4 min quadrant journaling practice years ago, and I rediscovered/remembered it a few days ago -- as a tool for learning how to see -- the rich details of your own life!
an app: cocoonweaver I've been using this app for a few weeks to record audio notes to myself - and really enjoy it, from its poetic interface to its organization and transcription capabilities.
a place: boutique stores in istanbul. last sunday I spent the afternoon wandering around little boutique stores, feeling the urge to buy everything; a deep desire to collect beautiful, useful things that make me feel something -- beautiful, empowered, transported, refreshed, special, energized, soothed, luxurious?
then I realized: actually, I want parts of my website to feel like a handmade boutique store, filled with beautiful things to discover, pick up, and hold -- which give you pleasure just to touch, and invites you to buy -- like treating yourself to something special. this is what I mean by: useful & beautiful. I want to make things that are both.
thought & drew this week
this week I worked on a few more drawings for the summer diaries series (close to finishing for the season), and wondering what project I'll do for fall. I've been thinking about the importance of a daily visual practice -- (for many years now, I've had a daily writing practice) but the visual practice feels like engaging a completely different part of my brain, and it was fun just to dream about, like having a creative visual wishlist, of sorts.
intentions for my visual practice — kening zhu
a creative wishlist; embracing the dichotomy of expansion & collection
diving into lemonade days — kening zhu
summer diaries no. 6
all the flavors of ice cream i am giving myself — kening zhu
summer diaries. no 7
friends, it's only 9:33pm Istanbul time, and I'm off to an early bedtime tonight. I'm eager to finish my two big projects -- podcast & new website (!) by the end of the month. you shall be the first to know. next week, I'll be sending an artist digest with a retrospective of things I made this summer. I'll write to you again there <3
sending you the last summery dreamy sheep,
kening
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this is guide.notes 21, a weekly letter on making art and building a digital jungle / museum / boutique shop, for strange & committed introverts.