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Jan 29, 2023Liked by Cathy Cullis

Thanks so much for the instructions on mono printing. I am going to give it a try. I also have been struggling with quantity and quality of social media I consume, it is a slippery slope. Today I start a 60 day fast, so I appreciate getting a weekly update via email like this to savor until the next installment. It keeps me out of the fray of Instagram. Your work is so comforting to me. Thank you for writing these Sunday posts.

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Jan 31, 2023Liked by Cathy Cullis

I, too, am struggling with the ability to stay connected through Instagram. The capitalist world we inhabit values profit above all, which is a concept I cannot embrace. I wouldn’t mind paying a small user fee if it meant autonomy from the algorithm but that apparently isn’t profitable enough. The result is that I ‘m less and less visible on the platform.

January has been an Odyssey that began on the 3rd and continues. What was intended as a four day trip to California to see family ended up including devastating storms, impassable roads, watching the forest come down around my mother in law’s house and a tree coming down on the house causing extensive damage as half of the kitchen wield was glass that shattered and brought the storm inside. No help could reach us due to dozens and dozens of trees down on the road. At this point it was decided that my poor 94 year old MIL could no longer remain in her home. Tree removal services, a construction contractor, moving company, insurance claims, retirement center search, legal arrangements, real estate agents... all these were our start to 2023. And yet... we were kept safe from harm, friends came to help, services lined up exactly when needed, and we found a beautiful place only 10 minutes from us for my mother in law. She and her cat are now near us in Colorado where we can spend time with them daily. Through all of this my faith in humanity is restored. We do come together in times of need and this is a beautiful thing!

I especially love your photo of your sketchbooks and the idea that diverse ‘neighbors’ create conversations on the page! Exactly! 💚🤍🖤

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I’ve realised that I don’t know what I want from social media anymore. I used to like Instagram when it was all about the photos, I’m not good with words and don’t always want to have to tell a story anyway, but if I post a photo without saying anything it gets no interest. Recently it has been holiday photos to keep a few in one place instead of having to trawl through my photo library.

I spend my days making patchwork quilts, embroidery, knitting, reading, listening to audiobooks, playing the guitar, going to concerts, visiting galleries and museums and when the ME isn’t too bad, gardening and walking. However I never post any photos of this, apart from the occasional gig photo. I enjoy following artists on Instagram and seeing what they are creating but that doesn’t really seem too much like social media and I wish there was somewhere like Instagram just for artists. Most of the time I feel empty after scrolling, like when I don’t feel up to cooking and have spent the day snacking on junk. I want to keep the connection with the artists I follow, and I realise that this is the only connection I could have with them, but I still crave something more meaningful.

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