The market at the end of September is fast approaching. I've been crocheting little things. I'm still not that excited about it. But it's something to do. And hopefully, a little money to make. 

Part of me is curious to see how it goes. And the other part of me is convinced I won't sell anything this time. That part is always there, but it's more present this time. Hence my lack of excitement.

There were some changes at my studio. Well, kind of. But I now have to somewhat share the space and I'm not happy about that.

My mind has been full and the creativity is having a hard time coming through. It's been hard to sit and settle down and sort through thoughts and ideas. Even just writing a post has been hard. 

*sigh*

I've been considering getting that "Artist" label out of the trash. I mean, putting it there didn't help much, did it? Taking the pressure off didn't result in more creations. Which means, the label isn't really the problem. (We all know that I'm the problem)

It's fine. This year has been slow. And grey. And numbing. And then it got really bright and really intense all of a sudden (yep, I'm definitely blaming the eclipse in that one ahah). I might be a bit dazed still lol

September is fast approaching, along with the yearly market I like to do. I'm still not super excited about it, to be honest. I ended up not making much for it. I'm not very confident, but we'll see. 
I still have time to make a few more things. More little mushroom guys, probably.

I may or may not take a break from the blog. I like keeping the schedule, but if it's a struggle to come up with anything to say, then it doesn't make much sense to force it, right? I don't know. Haven't decided yet.

I don't know anything anymore. Life is good and the sun is shining, but I'm still lost. The future is promising but uncertain. I'm not all doom and gloom anymore, but I still haven't found my place, still haven't reached solid ground. 

Oh no. It's Thursday again already! ... Welp! Schedule change, people! I now post on Thursdays! Apparently. Ahah 

I wanted to go back to the mini collages, cause it's been a while, and they're so fun to make. But it seems I'm rusty.  

I found the birds and immediately wanted to used them, but then struggled a lot with finding something to put in the background. Finally found this image and it felt right. I wanted to add something more, but maybe these are good as is, simple.

Other than that... I haven't been doing much at all these past few days, ahah. But life is good =)

And those baby albums I was asked to make are finally taking shape. But that's not something I'll share here. So, why do I keep bringing them up? .... good question. 

Uh oh. I started writing this, opened another tab, went to do something else, the whole afternoon went by and I forgot this here waiting to be finished. Welcome to my life lately ahahah

See you next week. Probably. 

Sylvie of the Two Left Feet

Oh, and I forgot to post Sylvie here. Oops.

Here she is!

She loves to dance, but we all know she has two left feet.

Wow. I'm late. All it takes is one small thing going slightly wrong in the morning and there goes the day. And before I know it, there goes the week as well. 

Anyway! I have something I want to talk about this time:
Content warnings. Filters to hide content. In the context of art!

I think people have become way too sensitive. They can't see anything that deviates a little from what they're used to without getting upset and angry and throwing the responsibility at the artist. 

Here's the thing, art is supposed to make you feel something. And often that something is uncomfortable. It's suppose to make you stop and think and reevaluate. 

What's the saying? "Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable." 

Some art is done with the purpose of causing a pleasant reaction. My art, for instance. But most of the time, art is political in some way (which is to say, it expresses an opinion) and intends to have an impact. Art that doesn't cause an impact will not be remembered for long. 

And hiding every thing that makes you uncomfortable will not help you or make your life easier. The more comfortable and "safe" you are, the less flexible you'll be and the more easily you will be disturbed. A bit of discomfort helps you build resistance, tolerance and it widens your horizons and your ability to think.

I'm not saying you should constantly throw yourself into uncomfortable situations in all aspect of life. What I saying is, art is a great way to experience a bit of discomfort in a safe way. 

So, next time you see some art you don't like, ask yourself what about it disturbs you? Why? 

Personally, I like the art that causes some discomfort. I find it interesting. I like it when it's dark and weird. You probably wouldn't guess it looking at what I like to make, right? Although, I'll admit, I'm more drawn to the weird than the dark. *That* you could have probably guessed, ahah

But I find it really annoying when something is marked as "sensitive" and it's just... a bloody nose, or someone smoking. Or an artistic nude that doesn't even show anything. Come on! And it's self-imposed censorship, which really baffles me. For fuck's sake, you're an artist, be rebellious! Be defiant! You're supposed to break the walls of the established, expected and proper!

That being said, we all know platforms online have Terms of Service, and when you accept to be in one, you have to respect the ToS. I just think everything is taken to the extreme and unreasonable these days. And falling into excessive censorship isn't good for anyone. Allowing censorship is opening the door to more and more censorship until you're barely allowed to breathe. And it's just another way of unloading your critical thinking, allowing someone (or something) else to do it for you. Much like with AI.

Honestly, soon we'll be living in the Grey Plains of Boring, filled with Sanitized Sands and the Constant Breeze of Same. Very comfortable. Devoid of any sparks of life.

Is that where you want to be?

Hi! Sorry I'm late. Sunday was socializing day, and you know how it is... the next day the brain wanted a break.

But hey look! I made a little guy! (Pattern from here)

I want to make more. I'd love to make a big one with chunky yarn, but I don't have much of it, and don't really want to buy more. And to be honest, I don't love working with it. So.... maybe I'll double the pattern?

But I also love making tiny things (even if my hands don't). So I don't know. September is fast approaching and I want to make more things, but I'm still not sure what. I might be feeling a bit more inspired now, but I'm still not at full enthusiasm. 

I desperately want to get back to collage, especially my Inner Worlds. The art block is real, though. Every time I try, nothing comes out and it's so frustrating! 

At least those baby albums I was asked to make are done now. Well, graphically done. I still need to print them and put them together. That will be another struggle, but I'm somewhat looking forward to it. I feel like I've taken way too long with them already and honestly just want to be done. 

I often wonder what's the point of this blog, these posts. I'm not saying anything of substance or interest. At least, not usually. Certainly not lately. But it is nice to see that I've been consistent, that I've persisted with this. Or maybe it just shows that I'm stubborn. 

To be honest I've been feeing terribly lost this year. I see no direction to follow. No option seems good, or worth it, or enticing at all. There's no spark anywhere. 

Welp. On that happy note... see you next week!

My morning routine used to be getting up early, getting to the café, writing a bit on my journal, or just putting down ideas to paper, figure out my day, you know that kind of thing. 

These days I'm getting up later and feeling like I'm always running to catch up on everything. 

It also doesn't help that the first thing I do now is check up on Vivi's radio and my chat friends. And then sometimes end up just chatting away the morning. But I can't regret that when I've actually made some new friends recently! Feels nice.

And this Sunday it's crochet club day again. More socializing! Yay!

That baby album (it's actually 3, and I'm trying to make them all slightly different) is also coming along. Very slowly, but I think I've passed that slump of resistance I had at first. Things are flowing now. I still have to decide on how to put it all together in the end, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

I've also been trying to get back to collage, but nothing is coming out, nothing feels right or exciting, no sparks of joy or inspiration on that road. I'm sure it will come back at some point, but at the moment that well is dry and I'm a bit sad about it.

Ok, I tried leaving this for the next day to see if I magically came up with something else to say and close this post in a nice way. Guess what. No dice. Ahah

See you next week. Hopefully with something to show. -_-'