“I have no idea what another writer feels when they’re writing. I don’t know if, like me, they’re walking down the street thinking they’ve got all these yummy treats for dinner—a bag full of delicious antipasto and stuff—and just as you’re ready to eat you suddenly get this thing, this idea, and instead of eating you grab your iPad or your pencil and run away to another room while everyone else fills their plates. It is what is is. You recognize the message when you start to receive it and you drop what you’re doing.“
Handpicked Happening: “It’s okay to have some help.”
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Animation by Tin Kadoic
"It's okay to have some help," says Femsplain founder Amber Discko. That's why she created Aloe, an online community focused on self-care. She's launched a Kickstarter project to turn Aloe into an app that will send "gentle self-care reminders from yourself." Below, Amber recommends some soul-soothing books, videos, and Twitter bots, and shares her own self-care strategies.
What does "self-care" mean to you?
Self-care is taking steps to maintain physical, mental, and emotional health. For me, self-care is disconnecting from the internet and doing activities that don't stress me out — things that are soul-fulfilling or relaxing, like cooking soup or taking a bath in the morning.
What is the Aloe community? How does the app build on it?
The Aloe community exists on Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr. We share daily self-care reminders with our followers, things like remembering to have a sip of water or to have a snack around lunchtime. The Aloe app will do the same thing by sending these gentle reminders to your phone, making it easier for you to stay on top of your self-care tasks.
What is Internet Self-Care Day, and how can people get involved?
International Self-Care Day was on July 24, but we're proposing a separate holiday on August 21 that takes the spirit of self-care online. Join us in celebrating Internet Self-Care Day by sharing your self-care routines and tips using the hashtag #ISCD17.
You can also tune into Aloe's Internet Self-Care Day live stream on August 21 at 8 pm EDT for a lesson from a self-care specialist, a group meditation session, and more.
“People are so afraid to make a mistake. I get that people want to do everything right, but you’ve got to be willing to take chances. Everyone makes mistakes. Entire albums are mistakes sometimes. Sometimes you have to make that mistake in order to get to the next thing. And you can’t be everybody’s favorite band, you can’t be everybody’s best friend. You just you can’t win all the time.”
—Beth Ditto on recognizing your own talents (via @thecreativeindependent)
“I might not know through experience what it’s like creating in a repressive regime, but I’ve seen its effects—for a long time art was stripped of its voice and its power. Now, a sense of creative freedom is exploding.
There are so many bands, and bands being formed. There are brilliant bedroom producers with dope ideas, filmmakers getting their ideas out there. We’re making so many different sounds, incorporating sounds that we like from here, from Kenya, or traditional instruments but also being very in touch with what’s going on around the world.”
Handpicked Happening: Beasts of Balance
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“Kill your darlings.” “Sweat the details.” And: “If playing [the game] feels like you're taking a math exam, it's probably too complicated.” These are the unwritten creative mantras of Sensible Object, the studio behind the hybrid digital-tabletop game Beasts of Balance. (You can back the new expansion right here.) Below, they share a few projects they love, and some indie games you should be playing.
We’ll take you on a journey from the cathedral altar deep into the vaults of the Kremlin itself. Hopefully, this is a journey that you’ll only have to make once in your life.
In 2012, members of the Russian punk collective Pussy Riot were sentenced to prison for staging a protest performance inside a Moscow cathedral. As of this week, you can support their project to share their experience in a visceral, immersive work of political theater.
Handpicked Happening: Got a Girl Crush
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Issue 6 cover design by Loveis Wise
Got a Girl Crush is a blog and annual print magazine featuring interviews with women of all ages, races, and backgrounds. "We feature the badass accomplishments of women in the hopes of inspiring others to do the same," say editors Meg Wachter and Amanda Stosz. Now through July 30, they're funding their sixth print issue.
Here, Meg and Amanda share what's on their radar — but first, a quick Q&A. What should everyone know about Got a Girl Crush? We met working as photo retouchers and have both worked in the media industry for nearly a decade. After having constant moral issues with contributing to unrealistic body image standards for women, we've decided to leave behind what we don't believe in. What creative tool or resource has been the most useful to Got a Girl Crush? This year, our greatest inspiration has been a coalition of all-female independent publishers based here in Brooklyn, currently called Untitled Feminist Media Empire — a.k.a. The Mag Mob. All of us have different strengths to bring to the table, and collectively we have big plans for the future. Stay tuned! Who would your dream collaboration be with? Michelle Obama. Björk. Amy Goodman. Kathleen Hanna. Solange.
“To truly feel alive on the planet — to grow and learn — you have to move outside of your comfort zone. You have to be experimental.“ —designers Peter Dunham and Linnea Gits
“I firmly believe in that John Cage quote: “Begin anywhere.” It seems so simple on the surface, but it’s the only mode of thinking that helps me get started and work through the blocks.” —graphic designer Safwat Saleem
Working On It: Cristy C. Road’s Next World Tarot
With The Next World Tarot, Cristy C. Road reimagines the ancient practice of tarot card reading as a vehicle for social justice. The illustrated cards tell stories about “smashing systematic oppression, owning our truth, and being accountable to the people and places that support us.”
Over 500 backers helped bring the project to life in 2015. Recently, Road shared some of the final designs for The Next World Tarot in a project update. Read on to learn more about her process and see some of the final designs.
“Being creative, making things, figuring yourself out—that’s never a waste of time.” —Beach House (via The Creative Independent)
“The fun is in the learning.” —Liz and Sarah Downey, founders of Two Tumbleweeds
“Design with purpose. Each decision, whether design or materials, should be self-evidently justified.” —Bibliotheca designer Adam Lewis Greene
“Don’t worry about it not being perfect. Perfectionism can easily turn into procrastination. I think it's better to get an idea out there, and then make improvements based on the needs and wants of the people using it.” —Kelly Angood, creator of the Videre DIY pinhole camera
“Our best mode of thinking is doing. When we're stuck, we try to do something physical — paddle, walk, or climb.” —Oru Kayak designer Anton Willis
“Keep working nights and weekends. Keep dreaming to make this your day job.” —Candylab Toys designer Vlad Dragusin