February Stars
Macro moments of magic lighting up dark skies.
My dearest friend,
How are you? It’s all rather a mixed bag isn’t it? Spring on the way, lighter than it has been since early autumn and the promise of more light yet to come (here in the Northern Hemisphere anyway) but on the flip side, everyone seems to be at some sort of war or on the brink of it and politics is failing (even more so than usual). Mortgage rates feel like a roulette wheel of misfortune and everything is so expensive right now it feels like “THEY” are just trying to figure out how to charge for the air we breathe.
But, there is finally sunlight. And days so gloriously illuminated that colour has started to appear again.
The grey filter that has drifted over everything these previous months has been occasionally lifted of late, even the road in front of us on an early doors trip over to Manchester took on a glorious blue tone the other day. So, there’s that. Because you have to enjoy the little things, right? And there is total joy in realising the magic that surrounds us in the macro. Small little things that feel like impossible miracles, gifts that illuminate the path we are on given by the generosity of the universe, just when we need them.
I have been working on something for quite some time now. It has taken on many forms in a fluid kind of state over the past 12 months, figuring what it might become. I think it’s almost there / here / somewhere. I’m calling it Sweet Tea in the Summer and it’ll be story / narrative / discussion / crafting with a Taylor Swift undertone that morphed into a folkore / archaic crafts something. Yet to finesse the explanation but I feel in my bones that this is where things are meant to be at right now for me and after a couple of years drifting at sea, it is a beautiful lightly inhabited island on the horizon (I saw Cast Away - a deserted island is not really the dream). I’m genuinely excited to share it with you. That kind of chilly tingle that feels a bit like an electrical fizz inside you that comes at rare moments of right-ness and excitement. The above is early stages imagery for it and gives a hint of the flavour of things to come.
Rambling through London on a leisurely stroll from Euston to Drury Lane for a theatre thing last week (Much Ado About Nothing - surprisingly good but that’s a story for another time) we managed to stumble upon a tarot exhibition at The Warburg Institute. I have been drawn to tarot illustration for a while now, inexplicably so and to find this completely randomly felt like a confirmation that I’m on the right path, some sort of ironically cosmic sign. Well worth a visit if you are in the area and they also do some enticing online talks too that I’m excited to have found as someone not particularly local to London.
I found this book store that was closed, but the most straight out of a movie looking book store I have ever seen. I’m almost surprised at the lack of serial killer book sales assistants / luck-dragon sightings or princesses from story realms in need of help. They too have some intriguing sounding online classes, that I honestly might be too scared to try for fear of taking the metaphorical stopper off a bottle that I can’t re-lid.
Friends Steve and Jo have an exhibition at the Barbican Library. It was chock full of brilliant heartfelt art that I struggle to explain. Art should be like that sometimes I think, you connect with it but can’t explain it. My perception would be entirely different to yours anyway, a sign of good art.
If you can’t make it before their last day on Wednesday (short notice, I know) then give them a look online, and buy some of their art. We joke that we have the worlds smallest Steve Chapman gallery above our stairs and it brings us joy every day.
My main Christmas gift from A. finally turned up (after being hunted from all over the world after a cancellation, being sold out almost everywhere and other shenanigans). It was worth the wait. There are CD’s, Vinyls, maps, photos, notes. All of the paper components have been matched to the exact paper Einaudi made his initial sketches on and it is a (ex) graphic designers dream as well as being a powerfully joyful thing to delve into. It has inspired my own creative ideas and deepened a project I’ve been working on too. It feels like a box of treasure, a creative concept that’s been drifting around my brain for a while. Inspiration gifted from the gods. Or my husband and a musician I’ve never met.
Thank you for making it this far. It’s been a busy couple of weeks and I wanted to share the good things in hopes that you might find joy in them too. I’m back to sleeping like a Disney Princess or a frat boy (not sure which is more accurate but basically sleeping ‘til lunch most days) as a result of all of the activity. One day I’ll figure a balance. Maybe.
I’m working on writing ad hoc little narratives over on Notes in case you missed my last posting Noted. I hope you’ll like them. It feels good to be creatively writing.
Tell me of the joyful things you’ve been up to, big or small.
V.V x
Still with me? I love writing letters, but even more I love getting them back. What macro moments of magic have sought you out lately? Drop me a message below or directly. It’s not quite a letter back, but I’d love it all the same.
If you know someone who would enjoy this post, please do pass it on.