hello friends,
I'm writing to you from spring in Istanbul - just a few days before local elections, where the streets are filled with flags of politicans' faces fluttering in the wind, and vans playing political songs on loudspeakers. I'm slowly, reluctantly un-hermiting from winter.
these days: I'm listening to Sacred Economics by Charles Eisenstein on audiobook, and recently watched WandaVision, which touched the abyss in me (I wrote about it here.)
in this letter, I'll share:
water my world - a donation philosophy
work with me - who I want to work with
I'll tell you my journey, years in 20 minutes
make art in the void: a brief manifesto
creative immersion deck - how I plan my days
energy studies - exploring this life resource
~
{💌 this is: my artist digest for March. I also send weekly letters called guide.notes}
🌿 water my world
I'm exploring the donation model as a philosophy -- a way of relating to my work in giving and recieving, in the spirit of a gift. water my world is the first opening of this channel. I write about my thinking around it here.
🪷 work with me
after many years without a services page, I finally reimagined my work with me page; and in the process, articulated the kinds of special, creative people I desire to work with. I also write about the process of reimagining my services page, and reinventing "sales."
🎙️ I'll tell you my journey
I distill years of my personal story into 20 minute podcast episodes. yes, I'm speaking calmly, but those years were like a series of existential crises. the last chapter of my story (2022-present day) is coming next Tuesday.
Listen on Apple Podcast
Listen on Spotify
2020-2022 | the wandering way of an artist hermit
traveling around the world in my homegrown artistic monastery-retreat
the wandering way of an artist hermit — kening zhu
living in the leaps and voids; the journey of finding my inexhaustible fuel for making art
2017-2019 | how do i survive as a creative and not hate myself
very, very unhappy years rolling on the floor of my apartment in NYC
how do I survive as a creative and not hate myself? — kening zhu
digesting the years of torturing myself with this question
2015-2017 | this is a one way road
quitting all my jobs and never looking back
this is a one way road — kening zhu
on quitting all my jobs and never looking back
1991-2014 | throwing away the iron rice bowl
my cultural blueprints, ivy league education, deciding to be a writer, and quitting my job as a good asian daughter.
throwing away the iron rice bowl — kening zhu
an episode about my inherited cultural blueprints, and beginning the journey
💡 make art in the void
a manifesto, superpower, and source of inexhaustible creative fuel.
make art in the void — kening zhu
share your work like no one cares.
👁️ how I work
a card deck for deep immersion
how I plan my days through tactile, modular mapping
my creative immersion deck: how I organize creative energy — kening zhu
a tactile system to help me travel through creative wormholes
a brief experiment in non-linear to-do lists
work experiments: colorable to-do cards — kening zhu
a visual tracking map of weekly projects
🗺️ energy studies
why study energy?
energy studies: an ongoing practice — kening zhu
inquiries into psychic energy as a deliberate practice
the web (not wheel) of life
the web of life: inner, world, material, immaterial — kening zhu
against the idea of balance. my alternative to the wheel of life.
how to check your energy meters
3 visualizations to measure your energy — kening zhu
why measure energy, and 3 models to experiment with
🦋 inspiration library
I have very strong, obsessive feelings about this show. it's a new, devastating favorite.
wandavision: alternate realities of love and grief — kening zhu
first impressions of an emotional experience without words
I loved Emma Stone's reflections on anxiety.
anxiety & comedy: emma stone and mark ruffalo - fresh air podcast — kening zhu
inspired questions on anxiety, channeling, and embodiment
I respond to an essay by Tara McMullin, about the social media matrix.
the red pill, blue pill of platform marketing - tara mcmullin — kening zhu
the lie and alternative to platforms
🔮 tarot work diaries
every week, I reflect on my artist/business life through using tarot as an intuitive guide. here's my most recent entry.
tarot work diary no. 8 | the hermit, six of swords, seven of swords — kening zhu
facing a journey of inner work
💌 guidenotes: weekly letters on the creative life
on Friday mornings, I write a letter called guide.notes - on the process of building a creative life on the internet wild -- with inspirations logs, fresh notes, and curations from 9 years of my archives.
I'd be happy to write you there. you can sign up here:
guide.notes ~ letters on growing a creative life
ongoing guides, notes, & tools for nurturing the creative life -- wellbeing, world-building, digital ecosystems, rituals, workshops, courses, and more.
🌼 that's all for this month, my friends.
I'm sending you a field of spring daisies from Yildiz park.
Luna says hi.
❤️ thank you so much for reading. write me back, anytime.
kening
