๐ three years in istanbul -end
{๐ this is: my artist digest for August. I also send Friday letters (resuming next week) called guide.notes}
dear friends,
the end of summer in Istanbul always reminds me of how I felt, three years ago, when I arrived here for the first time. I had been traveling for two years, but it wasnโt until Istanbul (sweaty-standing for two hours with a big backpack, on a crowded metrobus from Sabiha Airport to the city center) that I realized I finally felt lost. this made me feel alive.
six weeks later, when I left, I wrote: falling in love with Istanbul feels like falling down a staircase. I spent that autumn alone on the greek islands, then, in December, I decided to come back โ on an intuitive gamble that, just maybe, I could make a home here.
did I know, back then, that Iโd meet my future dog (and partner) here? did I know what Istanbul would do to me โ with its gifts of inciting constant overwhelm, suffocation, bafflement, fury, coziness, and even ease, alternatingly revealed, over time? certainly not. these days, I feel so much reverence and gratitude for what Istanbul has been for me: a watery vessel of chaotic stabilities and strange comforts; a home of deep integration for all the fragments within, in continual, stirring motion.
I hope your end of summer is alluring and restorative, wherever you are.
this month, Iโm sharing:
reopening my website creation course, house on the webs
three years of art I made about istanbul (a selection)
process guides on art, business, and creative energy
5 podcast episodes from botanical studies of internet magic
a website & visual brand I designed for/with Sebene Selassie โค๏ธ
& more
~
๐ณ house on the webs - registration open!
house on the webs is my 7 day creative course for building a website world of your own. after years of hibernation, Iโm slowly rebirthing this course from the ground up (you can read about my process here). for the month of September, Iโll be offering a moon bird gift of 15% off the self-guided course.
Explore the course introduction + Day 0 for free
โค๏ธ THREE YEARS IN ISTANBUL
a curated collection of art I made about Istanbul
istanbul is made up of hills & holes
first feelings upon arriving
istanbul hills and holes โ kening zhu
istanbul is a collection of hills and holes where you not entirely sure if you are the top of a hill or at the bottom of a hole if you want to live or if you want to die or both
istanbul is a dark smudge on my heart
the view from the greek islands
istanbul is a dark smudge on my heart โ kening zhu
istanbul is a dark smudge on my heart: non-erasable. these days, i soak in the blue sea on a greek island, remembering how istanbul was blue at times, but not blue - istanbul was also shades of black.
the feeling of flying (moving) to istanbul
i drew this on the plane back
the feeling of flying to istanbul โ kening zhu
i drew this on the plane from amsterdam to istanbul - the feeling of entering a place with enough magnetism to pull the fragmented pieces of me together
istanbul courtyard: winter
winter alone at an airbnb
istanbul courtyard, winter โ kening zhu
the view from my bedroom this month - an apartment where iโll spend christmas and new years alone with a black cat.
a portrait of infinite departures
the next spring, chinese new years
a portrait of infinite departures โ kening zhu
today is chinese new years and i donโt feel a thing - only passing shadows of an ancient melancholy.
getting around istanbul traffic
feelings of suffocation
getting around istanbul traffic โ kening zhu
this red dot is me : traveling from my home on top of a hill to catch the dolmuล
taksim square, winter snow
shiny snow in taksim square
taksim square in winter snow โ kening zhu
yesterday i went to taksim square and i didnโt hate it (for about 1 minute).
living at the bottom of the well
looking up the well, like a frog
living at the bottom of a well โ kening zhu
this animation came out today because iโve been thinking of how istanbul, as a city, feels like living in the bottom of a well
all the simit at the bottom of the bosphorous
i drew this mildly annoyed
all the simit at the bottom of the bosphorous โ kening zhu
why people like to throw simit (turkish sesame bagels) at seagulls on ferry rides?
istanbul travel deck: hagia sophia
an ongoing project of travel cards
hagia sophia | istanbul travel deck, card no. 3 โ kening zhu
if I had to choose one touristy place to visit in istanbul, it would be this.
๐บ๏ธ GUIDES: ART, BUSINESS & PROCESS
feeling safe in creative work & business
learning to prioritize safety
feeling safe in creative work & business โ kening zhu
safety as a feeling to prioritize & cultivate
business as honoring creative energy
focusing on energy, not labor
business as honoring your creative energy โ kening zhu
my new business ethos and guiding principle
build a labyrinth, not a funnel
a slow alternative to the gravity of marketing funnels
build a labyrinth, not a funnel โ kening zhu
a slow, nourishing alternative to traditional marketing
the three rhythms of the creative process
against linear consistency
the three rhythms of the creative process โ kening zhu
dancing with creative energy is moving between rhythms
my morning ritual stone dial
how i move through my morning ritual
my morning ritual stone dial โ kening zhu
a tactile system to hold evolving routines
rebirthing house on the webs
notes on process for creating a course
rebirthing house on the webs โ kening zhu
intentions and creative process
๐ธ RECENT CREATIONS
things I made recently~
drawing the emperor tarot card
a tarot gift for my friend amelia hruby
drawing the emperor tarot: rich, inspiring yang authority โ kening zhu
drawing the archetype of masculine authority
snake & moon study
the first snake in my new sketchbook
snake and moon study & starting a sketchbook โ kening zhu
the start of a new sketchbook
a website & brand for Sebene Selassie
I had a most inspiring, expansive collaboration with Sebene Selassie (writer, teacher, and speaker on paradox, possibility, and so much more) in reimagining her website, branding, and visual graphics together.
you can explore her profoundly wise, illuminative, moonly newsletter, Ancestors to Elements, and browse her course offerings here.
๐๏ธ PODCAST EPISODES
Iโd be lying if I said that podcasting isnโt one of the most time-consuming things Iโve ever committed to, but speaking also feels like such potent magic.
make art for no audience
make art for no audience โ kening zhu
letting go of the pressure to build an audience
the internet as a creative practice
the internet as a creative practice โ kening zhu
on inhabiting yourself on the internet
sharing your work as creative release
sharing your work as creative release โ kening zhu
transforming your relationship to sharing your work
the joy of missing out on platforms
the joy of missing out on platforms โ kening zhu
a vision of alternative possibilities for art & business, off-platform
your website is not a brochure
your website is not a brochure โ kening zhu
a case for digital world-building
๐ guidenotes: weekly letters on the creative life
on most Friday mornings, I write a leisurely letter called guide.notes โ on the process of building a creative life on the internet wild โ with new guides, inspirations logs, fresh notes, and curations from 9 years of my archives.
I'd be happy to write you there.
๐บ๏ธ guide.notes
a weekly letter on creative alchemy, delivered on fridays.
๐ชท thank you for reading
youโve reached the end!
wishing you a soft weekend,
๐ชผ kening
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๐ฎ this is my artist digest for august. get weekly letters here.
๐ find me on my podcast: botanical studies of internet magic
๐๏ธ explore my website creation course: house on the webs
๐ชท inquire about working with me: advising, mentorships, creation services
๐ง send me a gift. water my world