“...we have the strength then to face terror and death, even to laugh and make fun of being alive, and after that even to make more music and writing and dancing.” —Janet Frame, in a letter from an asylum to a friend.

Vitamin C! Nº 21, Part 2 of 2

In the same letter, Jane Frame prefaced the above with: "We are such sad small people, standing, each alone in a circle, trying to forget that death and terror are near. But if...” 

Especially during this period, it's striking to read.

Learn more about this extraordinary woman who was able to rise above her life's horrors and injustices to believe, hope, and make so generously.  Francesca Wade wrote about her in "Quarantine Reads: Faces in the Water," in The Paris Review.

May such stories be a wind at your back.
 

You received Part 1 of this newsletter a short while back. It was a mini-essay about creative paralysis in quarantine, mourning, and acceptance. This, Part 2, brings you the rest of what you normally get—updates about my design work, personal creative projects, plus a miscellany of recommendations.
 

Survey results

• Almost half of you expressed a desire to receive the newsletter once a month. The rest were a mix wanting more frequently or semi/quarterly. So, a bit all over the place.
• 60% of you enjoy ruminations and reflections, mini essays, most.
• Patreon was suggested multiple times as an option to explore for creative content subscription. Good idea.
• The upper bound for what folks thought would be appropriate to pay for what I write was $10/month if I wrote more frequently. The lower bound was $5 (considered "a bargain," by 44% of you).

This was an interesting exercise. One thing I may do right away is break up the newsletters into two parts on the regular, which is what I’m doing with this newsletter. That increases frequency without redundancy (part 1 would be essay, part 2, updates and recommendations). Let's try it out. In any case, shouldn't be a crazy shift given the current cadence.

Feel free to unsubscribe at any time, and as always, happy to hear feedback (or simply a hello) from you.
 

Fruits of Labor

I had a pretty intense Q1 with a client where I had to baseline a design system and spec out an app in 6 weeks (by myself!)—which was fun but exhausting—so I wasn't doing much hand-drawn animation.
 

Client work remains heavy but manageable, so I'm starting to think about getting back into animation. I'm up and down these days on the productivity front; it's taking a bit. I'm sure some of you can relate.

Anyway: before my unexpected hiatus, “1 second a day" turned into "5 seconds a week" for a 1 minute-long animation project. You can faux-concatenate the 5 second increments I've been sharing by scrolling backwards with sound on, in my Instagram feed. It's kind of fun because if you time it right you can get a sense for the thing as a whole. Sometimes I do share it in one long piece via Stories but when I'm done I'll put the finalized 1 minute-long animation up on Vimeo. I have about 15 seconds remaining to animate, I think.

And as I shared in Part 1 of this newsletter, I've been exploring collage for the first time. I got introduced to it through Able Parris, amazing artist and wonderful friend, who has been leading a #collageretreat on Instagram and Twitch. It's fantasically cathartic...and so relaxing to be making something as a beginner again.
 

Lastly, I've been cooking a lot. I had a surprisingly wonderful quarantine birthday. I baked myself a cake. Friends from all over organized and sent me a digital care package which I burst into tears upon receiving. I felt loved. I really am someone who can't complain for anything.
 

Recommended Daily Intake

• Chocolate mug cake. In a pinch, you know?
• Dalgona coffee mousse. Goes well with cake!
• Wanna learn Korean cooking? Maangchi is hilarious and so lovable. A bit more conventional but still delicious: Korean Bapsang.
• Passionfruit frosting for quarantine bakes.
• I've been in the mood for moody and this playlist hits the spot. If you like David Lynch and the soundscapes he tends to put together for his work, you'll love it.
• Running out of paper towels? UNpaper towels to the rescue! These are wonderful, and wonderful for the planet.
• Yogis like Kassandra will engage you for a quick 10 minute leisurely stretch every morning. This pandemic has also brought me back in touch with Deborah Lee, my favourite Vinyasa yogi from a lifetime ago.
• If you're having trouble sleeping, I've been appreciating sleepcasts like "Rainday antiques" on the Headspace app. They provide a free trial but it's really worth supporting them if you can.
• Cauliflower soup: easy, hearty, comforting, clean—especially for late night cravings.
• SmartSweets: sugar cravings without (most of) the sugar.