I don't have much, but I have a roof over my head, and that's something others don't. It was instilled in me not to complain because of this. As I grow and advance in years, I learn to practice life with more intention. Essentially because I'm not financially stable and also because why do we give in to buying things we don't enjoy using or having? Does what I purchase make me feel good? Will it be timeless to me? I have the urge or rather the desire to be more conscious of what I am buying and who I am buying from. Where is my money going? What impact is the item making on the world or someone's livelihood? I've learned to focalize on trying to make conscious purchasing. It is more rewarding to me when I buy something handmade. I know an artist put thought and energy into making it. Buy from friends and friends of their friends. Support your distant friends' mom's bake sale(?!?). Buy a vessel, commission a friend to make something you want in their style. Shoutout your friend's brand, buy a shirt from them. Share a post, show a rich uncle your broke friend's art pieces. I know I could personally use any shoutouts. I love showing people my drawings and sketchbooks. These are pieces of me that I have made tangible to outlast my body here on earth.
I sometimes struggle to make things and not see a growth of income come from it. I have boxes of ceramics that I've made, that haven't sold. It is a beautiful feeling when something you made ends up in the hands of someone else. My good friend VJ bought a mini nomster I made during quarantine, I gave him a Celestine crystal with it, one of a few I carry with me always. It means more to me than he might ever know. To me that energy transference is powerful. I create things to live, it is how I can communicate to the world. The energy that I put into a piece is special, my hours, my processes are personal. It is made with love, with an intent to live on in this world. One day the right words of what ceramics truly means to me will form beautifully into swift sentences.
I hope to fill however long my life will be with treasures that hold special places in my heart.
Here is a list of people, artist, owners, creatives, makers of things— in my life.