A kelp forest mermaid, Prime Meridian Unconference, solar power and Water as Technology Open Residency
+ thoughts on being an artist
Hi everyone, how are you?
I know my last newsletter may have been a bit overwhelming. This time I’m making it short and sweet!
Aries Season was a bit intense with a family death, and ill and struggling family members. I’m glad to be in Taurus season now. I’ve also been thinking a lot about forfeiting my artist life and dreams of travelling for a much more stable and secure life. I haven’t been able to find a part-time remote job, which is what will help me continue to live the way I want. I’ve always felt a deep tension between being rooted and mobile, and it’s actually not so easy for many people to travel around as a lifestyle. I’ve always wanted to live my life a certain way (read: I’ve always wanted to reclaim my time), that wasn’t understood or accepted by my grandparents and judged by other folks.
In some people’s eyes I’m a 30 year old who doesn’t have it together. But in my eyes, I’m so deep in my creative life and feel like I’m ‘on track' in many ways. People have different ideas of being alive, fulfilled, peace and success. I’ve done a lot of things that took so much courage and strength, but were never seen because it didn’t fit someone’s mold of success or what I should be doing with my time. In the end, if what I’m doing is not making money it should be sidelined or an after-thought. The logic is that we are made in the womb, born into the world and alive to make money, and if we aren’t centering our lives around money (because, you know, housing-food-water ect) you are punished in various ways. I’m also working through years of conditioning from religion and art/social justice circles around money being ‘bad’. Every day I wake up to spend time on my creative practice is a day of courage, renewal, trust and hope for me to continue doing what I’m doing.
I don’t make a lot of money (I definitely want to change this!) and currently live with my grandmother, so that’s proof for many folks that what I’m doing is not all that it’s cracked up to be. I actually long for my own living space, safety and security of all kinds, and financial independence/healthy interdependence. Relying on people has its pros and cons, and I personally feel there's not enough conversations about energetics at the intersection of community, collectivism and kinship.
Everything, most things. . . are energy.
I wonder what do I need to give up to get the things I mentioned above? What do I need to compromise or let go of? These questions are specific to my life, to 30 years of being alive that I can’t sum up here for it all to make sense.
Well . . . these are some thoughts on being an artist. . .
In other news, a lot of cool things are happening with my water art practice. I'm gearing up for 3-4 months of projects that I pray make it through, because at any moment, we can be taken from these things or things can get complicated — whether because of astrological weather, family and relationship happenings, finances, my health or something in general goes wrong. Ah. . . life.
I’m game for it all though, game to see what happens. I’ve always been a risk taker, always tried to see what's possible. I’m incorporating more of doing nothing, resting and gentleness into my life, because being game can also feel like a lot sometimes.
News and Updates:
I wrote a story that turned into a short animation! Check out “Wild Sun Catchers: an audio-visual experiment with algae worldmaking”. I wrote and narrated the story and Digital Arts/New Media and Sculpture artist Jennifer Parker animated it and added sound design.
++ check out a second piece I made called “Sun City": an audio-documentary” [Raw Cut] where I use my cellphone to document using a solar charger for the first time, while also sharing my thoughts about the relationship between algae and solar power, time travel, my misconceptions about the desert, and desire to learn solar power art and design skills. Please listen to this 52 minute, non-linear audio documentary at your own pace!
I’m still researching water and spacetime/temporalities with my Openlab Residency at UC Santa Cruz. Last weekend I had a chance to tune into the Prime Meridian Unconference organized by Vera List Center Fellow Rasheedah Phillips. All. I.can.say.is. WHOA!!! I’m going to make a video reflection as part of my residency and am writing it here to hold myself accountable!
Photo Credit: Cy X
I’m participating in Cy X’ “Water as Technology” Open Residency with CultureHub Monday, April 25 to Thursday, May 5, 2022. I cannot wait for this!! It is FREE and OPEN TO ALL. Please join us :)) Click the link to sign up. On Thursday, April 28 3:30pm PST/6:30pm EST I’ll be facilitating an activation called “Stories, Programming and the Eco-Celestial Water Body”. Super excited and nervous.
Check out what I have in my Water Library so far; I have a couple of paperback works and others are cataloged online. I’m hoping to have 1-2 Librarians-in-Residence this year. Let's see what happens!
Thank you for reading <3
Simone