Lately, I’ve been really NOT feeling good or positive when I login to Facebook or Instagram. Aside from being entirely over it with Meta as a company, I just don’t enjoy the forcefed doomscrolling like I used to you know? But, like many of you other industrious humans, I find it a little important to the furthering of a persons’ business. And since all the weirdness with social media in general began, that’s all I hear now; “I hate Meta but what can I do? I own a business. I’m an artist. This is the only way I can talk to some people. What about another platform?”
I am also victim to this particular circumstance. The whole not being in love with something that feels “necessary” or, I guess, “forced” might be a feeling more than just a few of us feel these days. I dont know about you but I feel like social media as a whole has turned into the ghost towns of the wild west. Nothing is real, everything feels fake, even though you know that once it was real…. it hasn’t been anything but off in a while. But you still keep going, you still keep paying.
So I thought to myself, “self… it might be time to return to ‘the blog’ instead of just mindlessly posting to the great data farmer.” I miss true engagement. I miss having more space to say what I need to say and show my art without fear of having Facebook take it and transform it into their own kind of weird commodity. I dont like how people I love and care about have learned to weaponize messenger but expect phone calls from me. As my dear friend Chrystall says, “phone works both ways, baby.” And so does Messenger. You hide, I also hide.
It’s becoming a tool for communication that thrives on the extinction of other tools of communication, and that feels off and like something you wouldn’t find me participating in. Now, I’m not so delusional in thinking that blogging instead of Facebook-ing is going to resolve anything outside my personal desire to limit my time on Meta to 90 seconds a day. But, like, I’ll be real with you… That’s all I want right now. I just don’t want to be friends with Meta anymore.
So here is where I share with you now. I’ll post the link to my various “socials”, but I’m not going to upload anything. You get to click and read now if you want to see the art. And if you don’t, then nothing between us will likely change. I doubt you looked at my stuff on Facesucks either.
SO! ANYWAY!
This little watercolor was one of those rare commissions I sometimes take, overwork and then grieve having to give to the client. Prints will not be available as I typically don’t make prints of commissioned work, but isn’t she CUTE! Reminds me of spring… can you tell I’m so done with winter? Thank you so much new friends that commissioned the work, it means a lot to me.
I love you all, I really do. But I don’t love Social Media. I think it’s messing with what we used to have, you and me… and I liked what we used to have. Let’s go back there.
Kel