tinyletter #9 | picking up the pieces
Hello, hope you've managed to tide over the blood moon lunar eclipse. To say that this period was intense is an understatement. When I read the cards for the eclipse, it was an array of warnings about the emotional turmoil we were about to go through, and of the recognition of where to put our energies into. I'm definitely still feeling the after-effects of the eclipse, of learning what to expel from my life, and what to have more patience for. With that in mind, November will be me slowly picking up the pieces that I abandoned before.
How was the eclipse for you?
I wasn't able to reply individually, but I would like to say thank you to everyone who messaged after the last newsletter, for your kind words and support. It really meant a lot to have your understanding and that these moments of grief are universal even though it doesn't feel like it in real life. Thank you.
*I update my readings each month on my Tarot-specific Instagram according to your horoscope: sun, moon and rising signs apply*
Updates / What I've Been Up To
October went by quicker than I expected, though isn't that the case for most months these past couple of years? I almost felt like I was just riding the waves of whatever had to be done:
I ended up doing two Sundays of tarot readings at Current Plans this past month as a way to both activate the exhibition which uses witches and witchcraft as a window into examining female labour. It was actually a lot of fun being holed up in Ysabelle's Witch House Residency (a wooden hut with a quilted exterior) which was also smack in the middle of the entire space. It was empowering to occupy such a space and yet it didn't make me self-conscious because I couldn't really see what was going on outside of the little house.
I also met a lot of wonderful people during the readings –– including Oscar Ho, who is such a force in the promotion, education and reformation of the arts field in Hong Kong –– that I'm usually too shy to say hi to.
Closed my first solo show which despite being open to the public for a total of four Saturdays (they're literally closed on all other days) managed to sell most of the paintings, so I'd say it was a success :P It was also just really nice to be able to meet friends that I haven't seen in ages and clients during the course of the exhibition.
Alisan Fine Arts and I donated one of my largest watercolour pieces to Asia Art Archive's fundraiser auction this year. It ended up being sold at nearly double its high estimate. I actually hadn't expected it to do well because the painting had difficulty finding a home last year due to visible nudity. I'm really glad that it finally found a place to belong.
Though it feels like I haven't done much painting this month, I just realised that I actually picked up more commission works than usual this month; including a cider label for Neonotic! Cider (that recently got awarded Best Cider in Asia by Asia Brewers Network) and a tarot card commission -- both to be unveiled later, but I haven't felt this good about commissioned pieces in a long time and it might have piqued my interest in taking on more commission jobs now :P
I also had the time of my life dressing up for Halloween this year; it was an entire week of make-up and headpieces, and I also managed to rope in my coworkers to put up a Halloween display at the library too.
I've also packed and mailed out nearly one-third of the Lenormand decks so it's good progress for me, my fingers are crossed that I get everything out by the end of this month.
Things I'm Obsessed With
With everything that happened in the last few months, I'm learning to recognise that I have time for rest and recreation and to not feel that working and churning out new projects is the only way to live and prove my value as a person. On that note, here are things I've been enjoying lately:
Oni: Thunder God's Tale –– A four-part 3D stop-motion hybrid animation by Tonko House that is available on Netflix has to be one of the best animations I've seen in a while. The production value, the plot, the message, and the character designs made me binge through the entire series in one go. Everything was simple to understand, beautiful to look at, and yet managed to slowly draw out the subtlety of the story that makes storytelling wonderful. Now I just want to have an entire toy set of every single 'kami' that was featured in the show.
Hairy Crabs –– It's almost quintessential to have a hairy crab or two (also known as Chinese Mitten Crab) in fall if you live in Hong Kong; the creamy almost buttery roe and milt (because my family prefers male crabs over the female ones) is a delicacy in Chinese cuisine. However due to the crabs' "cooling" nature (referencing Chinese Traditional Medicine) and my family's similarly "cooling" body types, it's been nearly a decade since we last had crabs but we decided to break that this year –– and I'm so glad we did.
Pumpkin Carving –– A patron gifted me a large American carving pumpkin this Halloween when she found out that I had never carved one before despite my love for the holiday. I was actually quite nervous to try and carve it (I failed my high school visual arts class because of my lack of talent in carving anything) but with a collaborative effort by my coworkers Gabi, Lydia, and I, we managed to create a very cute cartoony jack o'lantern that was on display at work for about two days :P
I also went on my first-ever night junk (such a Hong Kong thing) with my coworkers and I guess I forgot how calming the sea was. Made me question a lot of life choices haha.
I don't have much planned this November because I'm planning on a bit of rest, revamping things (really want to try and maximize the different features of different platforms I'm currently on), and packing my grandma's apartment as well as doing some spring cleaning and inventory.
But I hope you have a good month.
Lots of love,
Charlotte