Anti-Social Media

January is over! It was a tough one. I don’t like winter very much.

I woke up on the first of the month and got it into my head that I would challenge myself to abstain from alcohol for the entire month.

To be honest, I haven’t gone that long without a drink since… well, probably since I was 18.

And I did it! It wasn’t too difficult, but I stuck to it, and I’m planning to celebrate with Bailey’s in my coffee this morning.

I hoped that I would learn something from this experiment, but I’m not sure I have. I guess I figured out that I am perfectly capable of going without alcohol, but I also learned that I really do enjoy having a drink or two in the evenings. And it definitely helps me navigate social situations.

I was also a bit more of a hermit in January than I usually am, but that may have had more to do with the winter blues than the lack of booze, but who knows, maybe they are intertwined.

I also decided that since I was removing something from my life every day, that I would also try adding something daily. I signed up for Yoga With Adriene’s 30-day yoga challenge HOME and I loved it! So much so that I’m planning to keep going with her free monthly yoga calendar.

I already had a routine of morning yoga-ish stretches, but landing on the mat each morning in January with a dedicated video gave me an intention that I didn’t have before, and I look forward to continuing that practice.

I recently attended MAKER MAKER, “a monthly program of seriously small, after-hours art workshops” hosted by the Owens Art Gallery at Mount Allison University.

This month was DIY buttons and it was so much fun! My friend and I each made 3 buttons and I honestly felt like I could make hundreds.

These tiny visual statements are delightful. Wearable, transferable art!

I’ll definitely be watching for more MAKER MAKER workshops!

The camera on my iPhone 5s no longer takes good photos. But I cannot bring myself to replace my phone because of the camera, even though that’s one of its best features. So, bad pics I guess!

A thought:

Making art only for yourself is a selfish act. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! But if you keep it to yourself, if you never share it with anyone, it’s sort of masturbatory (again, nothing wrong with a little of that)! 😉

Which isn’t to say that you have to make your art for everyone. You don’t need to share it with the whole world. But you can if you want. I kind of like the idea of an art slut.

And if you only make art for money, well, I guess that makes you an art whore. Again, nothing wrong with that, if that’s what you choose, but there it is. Is there room for a bit of free love/art as well?

My question is: what change do you want to make in the world? For whom? Make your art for them, for that. Put your love into it. Be vulnerable, honest and as whole hearted as possible. That’s where the magic is.

And it’s OK to just make art for yourself sometimes. You deserve that love. And it’s OK to make art for money, you deserve that too!

Just something that occurred to me last night before bed.

Photo by Marsha Amanova in Barcelona, October 26, 2015

There’s something about the end of the year that gets me thinking about the past, planning for the future and trying to enjoy the present.

This year, I collected memories and photos from the past 12 months and made a Christmas letter, harkening back to the updates people used to send in their annual holiday greeting cards, updating friends and family with the big and small events of the year.

I used to love reading these, and I even created a few of my own back in the day. But those were different times.

The ubiquity of social media means that many families share their events as they are happening. As long as you are “friends” or subscribed to their updates, their news is fed to you in a steady stream.

I’ve had to opt out of this steady stream of information. It was too much for me to handle. But it doesn’t mean I don’t care about the people in my life who I don’t get to see or speak to regularly. And so, this year I made an attempt to reach out, say hello, let people know I’m thinking of them and share some of my news.

It was also a great exercise for me to go over the events of the past twelve months, review the photos I took (not nearly enough!), and think about what I wanted to share.

Which has led to me wanting to write more and make more things. Not just so that I can share them, but so I become more aware of my life, and of the ideas and events that are shaping me. And to increase my creative output on a regular basis.