On Taking Shape
n°9: A snippet, and two ways to be in conversation with me
I’ve been observing the shape of things.
How a heart symbolizes the shape of love.
How a red balloon represents hope.
How the shape of one’s aura can shift and blur.
How a delightful interaction with your local barista is like a square of jello, freshly poked.
How anything related to money can become a massive, sun-blocking shape.
How our moods can bounce from flat to round and then flat again.
How a lover can transform into a steel container or a steel wall.
How the shape of our mindset can infinitely expand, or spontaneously combust.
How a shape can be repetitive or completely random.
We’re not talking about precise math here. Sorry, trapezoids. We’re talking about living texture. Blurry, explosive, color-changing, jiggly, flat. All are beautiful and welcome.
So, tell me, what shape are you today, at this moment?
My Current Shape
Dear, Studiomates,
The shape of my days is shifting, and I have less free time to be alone with my thoughts than before. And if I’m being honest (which I have no reason not to be, I’m in my own house) I’m confronting some deep sh*t. I can feel myself approaching another delightful “opportunity for growth”. And I want to face it, but like, also, I really don’t freaking want to.
It’s summertime and I’m on the beach and I’m being asked to shed the precious layers that have kept me toasty and warm in seasons past. Except I love my oversized coats. I love my matching wool scarf and toque. I love my clunky boots. “You can’t make me.”, I say to no one but myself.
But it’s 75° of perfection outside and I know that I would much rather soak up the sun directly on my skin. So I clutch my layers and sit in this struggle, voluntarily and reluctantly at the same time.
In the meantime, this, I can do. I can articulate these brief extracts for you as they flow through me. I can craft newsletters like this one, and be in conversation with you.
Two Ways to Be in Conversation with Me
Be my Studio Guest and record a podcast with me. If this piques your interest, reply to this email, even if you aren’t sure how or why. We’ll sort out the details together 💕
This is a fun new addition to the newsletter: You can send me an anonymous voice note with a question for me! What can you ask me about? Anything you’d like advice on. It can be around a part of your process that you’re stuck on, where you could use some inspiration, or where you’d like to try a new technique. I’ll respond at the tail end of an upcoming podcast! 🎤
Happy SMACK DAB IN MIDDLE OF THE YEAR, friends!
In light, and in my fur coat,
Milan
Today, I am the steam rising from a hot cup of tea, curling, free-forming, and evaporating. I like this little scene we're building here... a ball of yarn, a pencil & a cloud of vapor.
I am a green ball of yarn 💚🤔