Go Forth and Prosper!
I was mucking around in my hermit’s lair (my basement hehehe), addressing a letter to a buddy with a sticker inside. I carefully scrawled my buddy’s address in the center of the seemingly ordinary evelope, double and triple-checking to ensure that I had the address right. I block printed my name in the left hand corner and added a stamp to the opposite corner. I drew a little spiral on the outside of the envelope and sealed it with a simple lick of my tongue. Then, in a blast of inspiration, I thought to myself, “Wouldn’t this be better if I had a little magic spray that would hold my message of abundance for this sticker’s recipient?” I didn’t even need to answer the question before I was lost in preparations. Arcade Fire’s “We Used to Wait” played in my brain as I let myself amble down the rabbit hole of how fun it was to mail little bits of art out. “This sure was better than just sending an email,” I reflected to myself. That once simple letter had escaped the simple confines of the mundane to become a sacred little vessel of magic, for me and my friend.
I couldn’t get my little potion made at the apothecary until Friday when my friend would be working, so I was left waiting within my own imaginarium (my brain) until the appointed day. One of the most vexing things I navigated with my bike crash was unfulfilled orders. Yes, I know this sounds utterly ridiculous, but it’s true. I got two orders a month or so into my recovery, and I could not bring myself to be the tiny little woodland shrew of a shopkeeper that I imagine myself to be when sending out stickers. Heck, I couldn’t even bring myself to open up my orders tab on squarespace until after I was given a clean bill of health. The two folx waiting for their orders were so patient, kind-hearted and understanding, so you know what I did? I refunded their orders and sent them their stickers for free. OOOOOOoooo did that feel good! I forgot how good it is to send your art out to people for free (yes, I considered the stickers I made silly little pop art).
One of the most difficult things about capitalism is making it a requirement for people to buy your art in order to “possess” it. What a weird concept that anyone could own anything created as a result of the mysterious force of inspiration that we all draw on. And no, I am not talking about the muses. I am talking about the divine channel of inspiration that all of us creatively inclined folx prostrate ourselves before when inspiration strikes. I would rather than my mythological view of inspiration not have a side of gender binary-ism. I have always found it weird. In fact, much of the initial years of my creating was done via barter or just gift. I had already lost my love of sociology by making it into my “career,” so I was loathe to do that to my weaving as well. Gifting these little stickers out as been such a shot in the arm, returning me to those heady days when I was just sharing my art with whoever cared.
“Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm
Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm
Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm.”
That is the gift of not being a big-deal artist by any stretch of the imagination. You can just decide one day that capitalism can kick rocks and you aren’t gonna put certain aspects of your work through it. Is that surprising to me with getting stickers printed? I mean sort of, because it still costs about $100-150 dollars with my union printer to get my wee little sticker printed at their minimum. I didn’t think that the tactility and joy of sending stickers out via mail as gifts would be an appropriate ROI ( “Return on Investment”) for me for those stickers. I woulda thought that I would be more concerned with “making money” off of my idea. Turns out, I am too romantic and sappy to care about traditional ROIs. I am much more interested in wrapping myself and the world in a WEIRDLY WOVEN WEB of enchantment and protections than I am in being an Ecommerce person or influencer on the worldwide web. The tactility and joy of sending a sticker in the mail to a new friend was a priceless ROI that I didn’t even realize would draw me in. I am also glad to support my local union printer, Artist Proof Collective.
Ok, I have been thinking about this idea for so long. What do you think? It passes my own official “Grandpa Jimblers-Patented Giggle Test,” but would you let me send you one in the mail? lmao. That makes me laugh so hard to be like, “Ok, would you even let me send you this for free? hahaha
Friday finally came around, and I jumped on my bike to head over to the apothecary to visit with my friend and potioneer, Hannah Haddadi of Mourning Light Divination. I peddled my way over from East Denver, soaking in the last gasps of sun and heat after working in my hermit’s lair all morning. I was forthright, earnest, and direct in my directions for my potioneer: “Give me something that will help me and others blossom.” Naturally, this was the aim for my potion, because I wanted a spray that would convey my wish on all my friends that they find the omens they need to spiritually grow while out on their quests. Hannah put together the perfect mixture and we both enjoyed a wonderful moment letting the potion hang in the air after spraying it and wafting it in our directions. As a closing, Hannah asked me what I wanted to call it. I went into a regal power stance and exclaimed: “Go Forth and Prosper! We Bloomin!” I didn’t think there is anything more fitting that one could call such a spray that’s meant to get one back engaged in the process of rebirth.
There is something that takes the simple action of letter writing and gifting to the next level when you engage your fellow magical beings in the work. Contrary to the myths of our individualistic society that implores you to excel in every practice that one can fathom, I like to weave myself into that Weirdly Woven Web of my community to accomplish my aims. Many magical hands makes even more enchanted work than that done just by one magical being. By drawing on the unique skills and talents of my friends, I am able to make mundane acts into immersive, enchanted experiences. I think all the folks effected by Hurricane Helene can testify to the benefits of leaning on your community. But, mostly I am just excited to get the opportunity to bother my friends, chit-chat, and catch up on their happenings. That is half the fun of being in community anyhow, isnt it? I know it helps me feel like I belong in ways that I never found competing while growing up.
This whole section reads like the hard won wisdom of someone who has been through the trials and tribulations of a growing season and is now harvesting what they have learned. I am not surprised by this in the slightest as this was certainly the messaging that I got from Hannah’s weekly divination and my own personal card pull from Tonja Reichley’s Way of the Wild Oracle for the week. Not surprisingly, I pulled the Lughnasa card, which states:
“Celebrate the ripening of what you have been tending to throughout this season. celebrate the harvest of your efforts, nourished by the earth and the ancestors. You are harvesting the fruit of your labors. Celebrate!”
This is the same sort of energy that was pulled for my coven this week with the that Hannah talked about in her own weekly divination. Now is the time to sit back and realize as Hannah noted this week, “Hell yeah, I made it,” and begin the work of charting your next steps forward. Having taken steps to move forward after my crash, I certainly feel like I am back on the path that I was prior to that unlucky ER trip. Heck, I even feel like I am reaping a bit of the hard won wisdom of trying to monetize a bunch of my weaving and writing. And here I find myself back to a place of just wanting to share my little bit of hard-won wisdom and joy with the world. Its a good place to be after all that I have been through. I am glad I made it!
That idea of building magic in community and giving back is why I returned to fiber community by going to the Art Gym’s Fiber club this past week. You might remember back to my essay from June where I talked about wanting to build my local fiber infrastructure. In that piece, I lamented losing touch with my local Weaver’s guild
and talked about wanting to build a Weird Woven Web of my own. Well, it turns out that I don’t need to build that, because my local art space already has a Weird Woven Web! Better yet, I can just be a part of a community and not have to have any ownership over it. I can just be another person who is there to share my works in progress, skills, and little free stickers! Huzzah for community!
Are you in Denver? Do you wanna be a part of fiber club? Well, our next meeting is Tuesday November 5th, from 4:00 PM- 6:00PM at Art Gym Denver. You can RSVP for free (So Art Gym has a head count) here. I am RSVP’d and might just be bringing free fiber art stickers for folx who attend. hehe. But really, you should come!
Thanks for being here, friend. I appreciate you reading this far. Here is a sneak peak of my finished woven baby quilt for my new niece! I am so in love with it. It has really got me loving weaving right meow. I hope you are safe and sound where you are. If you have the means, please donate to help folx affected by hurricane helene or folx in Lebanon. Not that you need a reminder. But I would rather you donate to folx who need it than subscribe to my project.
Until next time dear reader,
James
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