It’s the one year anniversary to this newsletter project! I’m so grateful you have joined me here. Thank you. I believe connection and creativity are the best salve we have in a threatening world. In an effort to create a writing practice I have also really enjoyed the connection I have deepened with myself and my community through the process. It really is like I’m writing letters to my friends which I have loved. Especially in a time where our attention spans are quickly shrinking and people are posting less and less meaningful content about their life on social media, I want to believe words are still important and a beautiful way for us to imagine and build toward the kind of lives and world we want. So, thank you for being a part of this with me. I love it when I get replies from you all, it truly makes my day.

My friend Morgan Lynch opened a Book Cafe in downtown Spokane in January. It’s a niche bookstore in that they only stock certain genres…sci-fi, fantasy and mystery. I’m a cynic when it comes to small business ownership. Just flat out terrified when I hear a friend of mine wants to open any sort of brick and mortar anything. I am not afraid to tell them they shouldn’t do the thing they have in mind unless they want to ruin their life.

We won’t get too far into my complex theorizing about the trap of small business ownership. I believe capitalism sucks people into it through over-romanticized montages from movies and commercials showing capable creative people and their friends turning a run down, derelict space into a shiny new community oriented business. A rad logo and smiling people all around high-fiving proving to us that with a little hard work and spit shine, you can make an amazing, inspiring, thrilling thing! That part isn’t untrue I guess. But they don’t tell you about what it’s like to show up to work every day as a business owner. The hidden expenses, the challenging relational dynamics of being a boss, the never ending rising cost of labor in a liberal state that keeps voting to increase minimum wage. The complexity of navigating razor thin profit margins and cash flow. The montage is cute. The rest is not impossible… but the romanticization hides the reality that it’s a challenge not many personality types are cut out for.

Morgan and I have been friends for over a decade. We worked in advertising together and we share a love of gardening and music. She is a super bright, organized, efficient, imaginative, passionate nerd. When she first shared the idea with me of Jupiter’s Eye, it was after years of conversations of what was going to come next in her life. I had moved on from the agency we worked at together to focus on my own art and she was dreaming of something different too. I knew immediately Morgan would be a perfect business owner. She loves numbers and spreadsheets and tracking information and patterns and doing everything really well on a budget. An equal parts expert of creativity and productivity. The final result of the dream is so cute and cozy. It’s giving Star’s Hollow.

Here’s the coolest part. People really needed this bookstore. It’s so clear as day. They are drawn to the whimsy, the adventure, the stories. Let’s get real, we all need a little escape right now and people always need a new fun place to be together.

I personally have been caught off guard by how much I needed to see that something like this would be supported organically. The hype is real for this Book Cafe. It’s provided my little jaded heart with a renewed hope in ideas and dreams which I’ve realized are really really hard things for me right now. I’ve always been a realist, but the experiences I’ve been through the last 3 years have squelched my ability to use my imagination in positive ways. I’m so grateful my friend took this big risk and made something meaningful to her and to us. I hope you go check it out if you are in Spokane. 

https://www.jupiterseyebookcafe.com/

I spent 5 days in Mexico City this past month. I’ve been wanting to go for a long time, I had only heard great things and my affinity for Mexican Folk Art pulled me. It’s also the most affordable major international city to get to from where I live. So, a short trip isn’t too difficult because the flights aren’t long and the time change is only 2 hours. I totally recommend it. 

My Spanish used to be better, but other than the language barrier, I felt at home in a certain way there. I don’t like winter, I don’t like minimalism, and I don’t understand why people don’t paint their houses bright colors. The Museo de Arte Popular was my number one destination in the city. It is a museum that preserves and promotes the history of Mexican folk art. I love the organic flow of the art. It’s almost as if it sprouted directly out of the landscape, which I learned at this museum is such a rich part of the tradition of craftspeople and folk artists throughout history there. Ecology and place are central to the work from the imagery to the materials used. 

As an artist one of the biggest challenges in life is discovering your voice. Taste has such a big part to play in that and for me, growing up in a conservative northern mid-sized city I have often felt like my taste was wrong. I’ve always loved color, sparkle, extra…and I’ve never really been into straight lines or things that look perfect. I started hand drawing type in design school before that was a widely celebrated thing because I legitimately just didn’t think fonts looked good on the screen. I still really struggle when working with fonts in my design work. It’s like I’m allergic to consistency. My point here is, this trip offered me a moment that made me feel ok as myself.

I’ve never needed permission to make the art I want to make. I love that about art. There truly are no rules (if you ask me). But I do think we subconsciously have ways that we hold ourselves back. It’s normal and human to want to fit in. We see things that go viral, we see other people who have success, we grow up in certain cultures, we have friends who like certain things, mainstream culture adopts certain trends…and on and on. 

Here’s some of the guidance I’m trying to offer myself lately. Maybe it will help in your creative journey… 

Creating to go viral, striving to be liked by the masses, playing popularity contests…these all lead to lifeless, homogeneous, meaningless, hollow work. We know this. Widely liked art can be incredibly creative but that is typically not the pretext for the making of that art. There is usually a deeper thing aching to be said or shown or expressed. 

Making something meaningful to you and to your community leads to curiosity, learning and connection. Let it be imperfect. Let it not make sense. Let it be mis-understood. If it means something to you, there is a 100% chance it will mean something to someone else.

Outside of artistic inspiration, CDMX was also just such a fun city to explore. The restaurants and bars are world renowned, the people are so chill and I met lots of other U.S. travelers. It’s very walkable and full of beautiful parks. I will definitely be going back.

I titled this newsletter Walking in Wonder because I just finished this book of the same title by John O’Donahue. It was published posthumously and basically is just a transcript of a bunch of his radio interviews put into a collection. John O’Donahue was an irish poet, author, priest and celtic spiritualist. His writings and interviews have been a companion and guide to me as someone who was raised in evangelical christian culture and is always on a journey of figuring out what I believe about religion, God and spirituality. I love John’s view of nature, beauty, mysticism, animism and how he guides and encourages the reader to have ease and wonder in your spiritual life. He says religion should be a coming home to the un-damaged version of yourself. The version of you that isn’t hurt or scarred by the world or life. And connecting with yourself there.

I wanted to leave you with a quote that I’ve been rolling around in my mind and soul from a section of the book about aging and end of life. He talks a lot about eternity and the belief that there is something much bigger and less boxed in than this temporal existence we face daily.

“Time is eternity living dangerously.”

I had to sit with that for a while. I still kind of am. But what I’ve realized is it gives me so much relief and thrill. I think about how short it is, being here in these bodies and in these homes and in these communities. How much I race…to get to the next thing, the next task the next week. Resting in the idea of eternity taking a chance here and now…living dangerously through the time we have makes me grateful for this moment. I can take a deep breath and believe that not only is this not all there is, but I don’t have to feel pressure to make the most of it. I can just actually revel in the chance. The opportunity to be here and now. The tasks and things and days are the result of that chance not the reason for it.

If you are looking for an entry point to John O’Donahue’s work, I highly recommend this podcast episode. I have listened to it many times and always feel encouraged and appreciative of his words.

Starting market season early this year! I’ll be at Renegade in San Francisco March 29th and 30th. Check out details here and send your friends my way!

Here’s a little playlist of some of my favorite songs lately.

Thank you for reading. Bye!

Karli