Little dear
Shake me awake, plus a lowkey gathering
On my walk to lunch, this older gentleman blasted funk music on the empty streets, right outside of a donut shop. As the only pedestrian, I had a feeling, Oh, he’s going to ask me something. Every step forward, the music got louder.
“Let me see you move!” he shouted with a warm, excited smile.
There was an unseen tug— something definitely took over me. Awkwardly, I rolled my arms like an old-fashioned person, spun, and did a quick one-two-step. He cheered me on. I laughed and went on to pick up my burger.
All the swirly chaos has kind of put me in this “out-of-body” experience. Like an IDGAF-my-body-will-do-what-it-wants. Maybe it’s more of an embodied kind of way. Instead of crying from the stress and pressures of life, my body just wants to let the mind pause and shake me into a whole being. Like humming/vagal toning at the bustling art book fair.
Were you that child who watched The Sound of Music and then ran outside to sing “Do Re Mi” into open air? My family had just migrated from the Philippines, staying with my aunt on her farm in rural New York. This was the late 90s. She was strict about TV— we could only watch after 7 p.m. if the adults weren’t already watching. There were other rules too, and I broke one: I got in trouble taking ice cream from the freezer without permission.
I was that child. Playfully dramatic, imaginative, needing to pretend. Out in those meadows I once watched a whole herd of deer prance across the far edge of the field, and I thought, of course.
In a restricted, disciplined life, I find the whimsical. I must.
After the LA Art Book Fair
I just want to say thank you for coming by my booth. It’s a fun time to meet and chat with new people and connect with artists, no matter how much of an introvert I am. I also gotta thank NG for feeding me and holding it down when I wandered around the fair for bit. And lastly, my neighbor, Trece Ojos, for the inspo and wonderful conversations.
There were over 12,000 visits. If we’ve connected, feel free to reach out (you can respond directly to this email). I’m still going through my inbox.
You’re invited to this free, lowkey gathering!
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What’s next
A vodcast idea has been quietly collecting dust since 2024. I need to upload the remaining Memoriver Radio archives online. There might be a get-together in August (a sort of show-and-tell of your own art work—maybe a casual, intimate art show—I’m still thinking). I want to hike more. Camp again. I’m working on the second edition of Mountains. I’m joining a radio station (reviving an audio garden). Picking up the “day in the life of a friend” documentary. Resume the “archiving as ritual” guide. Stationery, calendar, and postcard-pack projects??? I really want to put together an in-person activity for materializing and archiving memory and attention. Idk if all of this will happen, but I even wrote a longer list from the burst of excitement.
I feel encouraged by the big change in my weekly schedule— to hypothesize and do hands-on creative research again. I just feel like I’m emerging out of a shell and into something else, and idk what that is. I might just dance again on the street.
Sincerely,
Stepfanie