I hope you are making your way well – thriving fabulously even – through Winter. [Seriously, though: brrrrrrr…] Or through Summer, northern hemisphere friends :)
As I mentioned to my [Tangerine Juice] eNews readers, I’m hardly on social media at the moment. And loving it! [<<< read that in Agent 86’s voice] I seem to catch comparisonitis quite readily, which doesn’t add any goodness towards a mentally healthy day!
I’m continuing to create art (including cards, prints and calendars), blog (like this very article), exhibit my art, and create & send the eNewsletter [click this to subscribe]. The latter of which has the latest news and pictures (art and life) for subscriber peeps – who also get 10% off when the calendars come out. Which is soon! … More on that below, but here’s a first peep at the covers:
Ideas, possibly intriguing
- I seem to be struggling more getting through the cold of Winter … maybe I’m aware of this more as I’m getting older [aren’t we all? It’s called ‘life’!]? Are you too? May and June have been so cold & gray here (South Australia). With such a blatantly seasonal business – ie. calendars! – they’re frequently my lowest income months, too. Last year (after years of exhibitions, almost a decade of calendar making and even more decades of life) the penny dropped that this IS what happens in Winter. Keeping that in mind, trusting it will pick up and get warmer – as it has always before – seems to help. There will be less cloudiness, more warmth and longer daylight hours… the easier seasons will be here soon. I guess while it’s here, maybe take advantage of the short days and enjoy longer sleeps? [How wonderful is a good sleep, right? Ha, definitely getting older…]
- WIth the deliberate step back from doom scrolling, I’m spending more time reading books – including Stolen Focus by Johann Hari. Have you read it? So good. Hari posits that it’s not just that we are getting looser with where we direct our own attention and how we care for ourselves as real live humans (there’s ways we can do better with that too, ie. sleep more) but also that the profferers of social media and devices are deliberately interrupting us so they can make money. [It’s their business model. It’s called ‘surveillance capitalism’, sounds yuck, right? We may need to activate for regulation on that in the near future.] Covid and isolation – and politicians! – have revealed to us just how our world is set up – do we truly want to progress to the logical conclusion of that? [I’m going with ‘no’.] With that pointed out, and this terrific book, I’ve unplugged somewhat. (I’m still watching and streaming some free-to-air TV.) It’s so great to find more time to read books!
- Geneen Roth writes on Women Food and God … that seems to be her shtick/topic under many titles. I’ve heard about her writing for years it feels like, and perhaps I’d thought it might be too academic for me, but her work is accessible, on point and funny too… She talks around how we can live good lives and respect the Universe’s beautiful makings (including ourselves) when we attend kindly to our bodies. Not to be obliged to serve old mental messaging or current cultural expectations (or what we think are expectations, though in reality maybe everyone is too busy with their own stuff to put anything on us!). Just to care for ourselves like we would someone we cared about… that’s intriguing to me. And obvious. And, why don’t we do that?
- My paintings are back from the framer, ready for my SALA (South Australian Living Artists) exhibition 2022. They will be hung at the venue in early August, and the launch is on Friday the 5th. Dates and other details are at the exhibition webpage: Pear Shaped. And other glimpses from a lock down studio.
Links, maybe of intrigue
Instead of throwing the odd link up on the socials, I’ve collected them to share with you here. Perhaps they will intrigue you as they did me:
- Independent MP Zali Steggall on how Australian Parliament has been and how it needs to change.
- One minute art history. What it says, as a video.
- Food for People progress. I have tears in my eyes…
- Underserved communities get funds from polluters payments in the US. Interesting and fair idea and it seems to be working.
- Famous artists solving homelessness issues in Germany
- Why an indigenous voice to Parliament?
- If you only listen to one, make it this one. (I think that’s how it was recommended to me. I kept the link tab open and finally listened. Worth it.) Beautiful, hopeful.
What are you reading (or listening to) at the moment?
Pre PS:
The next round of calendars are almost here! Click this to read more and pre-order yours!
As always, for a 10% off code on calendars, sign up for my eNewsletter, [Tangerine Juice] which wings its way from the heart of my studio direct to your inbox most months!
I’d better click Publish quickly, before there’s a whole new crop of fascinating listening to recommend!
Speak soon,
Meg :)