Hi y’all,

It’s been a tough few weeks my friends. A heavy few weeks. My mind feels full and bit disorganized, so I’ve taken this as an opportunity to do something a little different. This month I’ve created a newsletter inspired entirely by an artist whose work I adore. Her beautiful pieces are full of nature and whimsey, some of them with just a bit of darkness mixed in too. You’ll find all of her links below, so please be sure to check her out!

I’ve also created a playlist just for the newsletter this month. Usually whatever I’m listening to very much mirrors what the images I’m sharing reflect, so I figured why not put them together on purpose. It’s a short little seven song list with a mood that matches the images I’ve included here.

I hope this letter finds you all well. The weather has turned ever so slightly cooler here, and though I usually love summer and lament its end I have to say the cool morning walks and earlier sunsets are actually a welcome change. And sometimes change can be just the best thing. Thanks so much to each of you for being here. And you know I love to hear from you, so write me back!

kg

INSPIRATION

If there’s any one thing I love about my artist friends it’s that they’re always keen to share other artists and inspiration. My friend Pete introduced me to the work of his friend Dolly Whitley a few years ago, and she’s definitely become one of my favorite artists to follow. Her beautiful piece Mother has been perhaps my favorite addition to my studio so far, but a recent self-portrait she posted left me speechless:

The portrait, obviously, is stunning on its own, but it was the words she posted alongside it that finished me off. Every single woman I know was taught and has wrestled at least a few of these; too many have carried the weight of them all. I was so moved by her post that it inspired me to create my own:

Women are taught these things from an early age; told to ignore our own voice, to listen instead to the voices outside of us to know what is right. A sweet friend recently shared with me a bookmark someone had given her with the quote, “a well read woman is a dangerous creature.” I think the same can be said for a woman who has learned to listen to her own voice, to trust her own body. A woman who fully rejects society’s ideas and expectations about her body, and instead embraces her own. A woman who knows she is not just a body. A woman who understands where her true worth lies, knows what she has to offer the world. She is a threat to the culture that has yet to understand, the society that chooses not to.

I’m not there yet. But I’m getting there.

A WALK THROUGH WOODS

AT THE MOMENT

LISTENING TO

If you like the playlist I created for this newsletter then you might also like Spotify’s list, Dark Academia Classical. It’s the perfect soundtrack for getting deep into your own thoughts and contemplations, a warm drink in your hand while you listen.

READING IN

I’m still working my way through - and can’t recommend enough - Elise Loehnen’s On Our Best Behavior. But for a little much needed levity I also picked up Pamela Druckerman’s There Are No Grown-Ups, which has been oh so enjoyable.

THINKING ABOUT

I find myself dipping in and out of poetry lately, and stumbling into poems I love, like this one by Joyce Sutphen with these beautiful words: “…I drag my body up / I set her on her feet / She shuffles, / hesitates, looks back. / She forgets whatever she was / She pretends to be human, / remembers the English words. // At evening, I wait / on my windowsill / horizon. My ship / sets out for the West. / I am air. I am fire…”

CRUSHING ON

Well Dolly, obviously. Be sure to check out her Etsy shop (personally I’m kind of obsessed with these tiny hand-painted coffins), and give her a follow on Instagram if you do that sort of thing.

That’s all for this month. Thanks again for reading!