Leaning into the analogue process... The month of January felt filled with our weeklong New Year family camping and slowly settling back into our daily rhythm of homeschooling, BK, and the rainy season in the canyon..., plus expanding our BK world through a new lens. During a few pockets of slower holiday days between lots of shipping and more shipping with the team members, Frido and I started talking about what we might want to bring forward to BK through the new year in addition to what we are already offering. One of the ideas we started bouncing was the beginning of MOSS (a.k .a. "moment of stillness"). I have a vivid memory of starting the discussion while our family was in Joshua Tree in December. We felt so at peace when we were having a quiet analogue moment while being present in the desert. The iteration of a dialogue continued to unfold between me and Frido as we spent more time in nature at the beginning of January. A question we asked ourselves was, “What if we created a gentle drawing session as if Frido were sitting around a coffee table next to a friend, and he was sharing how to be in the moment and visualize the world with a pen and paper? No fancy notebook needed.” If you are interested, I wrote a little more about the way the MOSS project came about here. Having an idea for the project is one thing - actually building an entirely new platform to make the idea come to life is a whole other experience. I enjoy both aspects of a new adventure! If you are interested in joining our 5-week adventure of finding stillness in capturing everyday moments, you can browse our course here. Since this is our prototype season, we are offering it to our community as a gift. Our first episode will be launching on 2/9. I am always curious to read a story about how different individuals relate to various journals and diaries they finished filling. As days shifted darker, I used many of the long nights to read my old journals. I didn't get to read all of what I wrote in the past, but it wasn't really a race to complete. I got to about 2016 entries and felt done with them, so I decided to put them back into an old suitcase, which was returned to the shed. On the other hand, I have a number of friends who shredded and burned old notebooks and felt a sense of relief and growth from the experience. Ultimately, just as there is no rule on how to relate to an open canvas of a notebook, there is absolutely no rule on what to do with them afterward. Trina's interview with Chelsea reminded me of that. I also loved catching up on A.C.'s process of organizing their analogue supplies as a part of their fresh start in the new year. There is something satisfying in seeing those photos of the analogue cart that enables A.C. to create amazing artwork. Somehow, sharing and listening to stories about how each of us genuinely leans into the analogue process feels humbling and human to me right now. Perhaps listening to those stories is how I try to connect to people in a deeper way and get to know them a little more in this chaotic world that is now. Start small. A piece of paper and a pen. That's all you need to start filling the blank page... and see how the small action shifts your day. -wakako always a work in progress... Topanga // February 5th, 2024 |