A postcard from the craft table
Turning to stationery when stationary
Austin Kleon has some very valid points. One that rung true in the past week was about making a gift when you’re stuck. I’m guessing the ‘stuck-ness’ he refers to in Keep Going is that creative lull; not quite stuck-at-home-etc-because-pandemic.
And it seemed to work.
I spent, what seemed like a good amount of time, gluing; cutting out letterings on glittered foam and paper; and repurposing bits and pieces from the craft drawer—all with the user experience in mind. The process of making something for someone (emphasis on one person) reminded me of the possibility of delight in arts and crafts. A creative process, when creating for one, is free from the pressure of everyone.
Here’s something else I’ve been working on from the craft table over the weekend with every single Early Bird in mind:
P/S Let me know if you’d like to see more videos like these; from the craft table or perhaps something from the storygathering archives? Feel free to leave a comment below or reply to this email.
(Side note: I genuinely [and realistically] foresee that I’ll soon run out of new “places” to write these weekly postcards from other than ‘desk 1’, ‘makeshift desk 2’ and ‘abandoned makeshift desk 3’. But here we are, mid-August, making do; realising that we might actually hit the two-year mark in lockdown*.)
*Varying stages and restrictions of lockdown. And this article from TIME should bring anyone up to speed with things on the broader ground in Malaysia. While this post (from Gerai OA ‘Orang Asli [indigenous peoples] store’) succinctly encapsulates and reflects the local sentiment (‘rakyat’ = ‘the people’ / ‘citizens’ / ‘the public’).
This week, I’m
working on: more side plates
listening to: neighbours sneak in renovation work
Plates is an independent magazine that uses food as a conversation starter. If you have a friend who would value the introduction to alternative narratives in food culture, consider telling them about Plates. I would really appreciate the introduction. Thanks for being here. See you next week.