JOMO - Why Am I Making This? Issue #26
Hey everyone,
It’s Julien! Artist + photographer + newsletter-writer. These titles are getting abstract, huh? This month, I think that I have finally begun to accept how truly and deeply burned out I am. (I know, I have literally been talking about this for over a year, so we’ll see in a few months how much I have actually “accepted it” and “rested”.)
Anyway, to deal with this problem - what I am trying to admit to myself is “true burnout” - I am attempting to embrace a concept that a friend from my pottery class coined: “JOMO”. The joy of missing out. I have been saying no to all kinds of things this month. Turning down potential photography clients because they’re too far away or because I simply have no energy. Deciding not to second shoot a cool wedding. Indefinitely postponing an informational chat about a local artist residency. Ignoring emails asking for participants in markets leading up to the holiday season. (Yes, unfortunately if you are a craftsperson who sells things, you tend to start thinking about holiday selling season in August...) In a kind of strange 180, I am going to do my very best to not take on any paid creative activities until 2023 at the earliest. Low-pressure creative activities only.
The concept of JOMO and only doing low-pressure creative things are reflected in a lot of 2022 newsletters by my favorite newsletter-writer, Haley Nahman. A few of my favorites:
- Your Lowest Potential
- What I’m Telling Myself
- Stupid Hobbies
- Anti-motivational Poster
- On Good Behavior
I read these when they were initially sent out, mostly through the beginning of the year, January and February. They resonated so much at that time that they sometimes brought a tear to my eye - but I guess I didn’t actually take them seriously in regards to my life because I’m only now (6-7 months later) doing anything about feeling so burned out. It’s hard to say no to opportunities when for years my goal was to become a semi-professional creative person, and in the last two years, I’ve started to have some success in that. All the time, people tell me not to work for free, ask me if I have an online shop, ask if I’m a professional artist, tell me I’m talented enough to be! I appreciate people’s support and belief in me more than I can possibly say. I just need to not let encouragement (internal or external) make me overzealous. I have to remember that I do actually have a full-time job taking up like 90%-110% of my brainpower.
One example of how I’m dialing myself back: I had begun to dread going to pottery class, feeling unsure of what to make, how I would sell it, all the work that would be involved. After resolving to do my best to stop burning myself out, I considered quitting pottery class for a while, but the idea of not seeing my friends in class every week bummed me out. So instead I decided that for the rest of the year I would only make things for MY OWN HOUSEHOLD USE or as GIFTS. Giving pottery gifts and using my own pottery for dinner/etc has been a joy this year so I figure why not expand the number of handmade-by-me plates/bowls/etc that I can use?? Here's some pictures of my own pottery drying next to the sink, proof that I have been using them.
Let’s see how things evolve. I have still been crocheting, but in the spirit of living my lowest potential, I have not tried to make up any crochet patterns on my own yet (although I’ve been thinking about it... don’t pressure yourself, Julien...) but I did make this critter in August as a birthday gift for a friend. (The pattern is from Animal Friends of Pica Pau 2).
Finally, I’ll leave you with a handful of summer film snapshots, which make the summer look purely joyful and idyllic. It has not felt that way - it’s a strange feeling to be struggling in beautiful places, but it's something I've done over and over. (Hi, Oxford.) Nevertheless I am thankful for the experiences in these photos.
Fingers crossed for a tolerable September!
Julien
PS. A few games of the month this month. Two video games; Citizen Sleeper, an indie game which has the narrative-board-game energy I have always dreamed of in a video game, and AI: The Somnium Files, a Japanese mystery/visual novel from the same writer who did the Zero Escape series, which are some of my favorites. I heard about both of these on Triple Click, obviously.
...And also two board games, new acquisitions in the Filip-Julien household. Azul, a fun mostly-abstract game with square tiles, and Cascadia, a hexagonal tile-laying game about ecology and animals of the Pacific Northwest.