01. Where to find inspiration outside of the Internet
6 ways of searching for beauty offline!
How’s winter treating you this year? I hope you are easing into these cold months and that you get a chance to slow down a bit. In my case, every year winter means that is time to go home, spend the holidays with my family and bask under the sun. This year though, will be the first time that I will not visit my family back home since I moved away 3 years ago. This decision makes sense for me and my partner logically, still, it hurts to be away from our loved ones during this season. I have spent a lot of time thinking a lot about what home really means. Is home a place or a feeling?
To cure the blues a little bit, my partner and I will go to Vancouver Island to spend Christmas week in a little cabin in the woods next to the beach. I remember watching The Holiday when I was younger and thinking that one day I would love to spend a holiday in a cabin just like that, surrounded by snowy views. Well, this year the universe will make my wish true! And I am planning to go full Cameron Diaz here and do an online detox during my stay, reading my books, and drinking a little mocktail by the fire.
Today I am sharing with you six ways that help me find inspiration, outside the internet, for when life feels too flat. Please let me know if you find this useful and please share with me your favorite ways of finding inspo in the real world!
Nature
Ok, a bit obvious but number one on the list! Any time I feel creatively blocked, or overwhelmed by life in general, even a simple walk to the park helps me. The texture of the flowers in spring, the movement of the waves in the ocean, or the bright colors of a sunset often leave me feeling very inspired and grateful to be alive. One thing that made my walks even more fun was the Look Up feature on my iPhone, which helps you identify, plants or flowers. I used a lot this year to identify the names of new mushrooms I encountered in the forest. And what is even cooler is that you don’t necessarily have to search for them right away. I would capture the plants I am curious about during my walk, and then back home I search for them so that I am allowing myself to be more present on my walk.
Children’s books
My categories here are a bit random, but bear with me! This fall I got Invisible Things by Andy J Pizza and Sophie Miller. It was on my wishlist since my friend Valeria introduced me to Andy’s work and I am so excited to go through it! As adults, our day-to-day requires us to process lots of data and be highly analytical. It is so nice to go through a book that mainly tells you a story through beautiful illustrations and doodles, letting your imagination fly. Make a trip to your local library, bookstore, or thrift store, pick a children’s book, and see what sparks your mind and soul!
Print Media
I bought the November issue of Vogue this year, mainly because Billie was on the cover. I haven’t read it completely, but I will during my time at the cabin during Christmas. Before the Internet, my mom used to buy me all the issues of the Barbie magazine and I loved going through the advice columns, the Barbie and Friends photoshoots, and the short stories on it. I would spend afternoons making collages and ‘mood boards’. I think there is something special about holding a physical copy of a magazine and romanticizing the moment of sitting down and going through it calmly vs scrolling online.
Your favorite’s folder
I decided that this year most of the images on my mood boards will be ones I take instead of sourcing them via Pinterest. The favorites folder in our phone is a great place to find inspiration during this exercise. When doing these vision boards is very easy to compare ourselves to others that we think have a perfect life, but I think we should honor what we already have. Of course, there is nothing wrong with looking for inspiration on social media, but remember always that you are your own muse :)
Art shows
Going to exhibitions or art shows is a great way to support our local community and discover new artists. A few weeks ago, I visited Lucky Comics here in Vancouver and checked out Zoe Si’s, OKAY exhibition. I loved Zoe’s way of capturing mundane moments and turning them into fun cartoons that are sincere and very relatable.
Workshops and classes
Learning new things is one of the main ways I keep myself inspired and curious! I attented a riso workshop at Monikerpress studio this fall and alotugh the technique is not as easy as one might think and it takes practice to understand it, I did have a lot of fun learning the process of printing in riso.
Thank you so much for reading one more issue of Apartamento 710, if you enjoyed this letter please considering sharing it with your loved ones. <3
Lovely suggestions- one way I get inspiration is through reading books and watching films. I love finding a new movie suggestion on Letterboxd that takes me away with beautiful imagery and abstract messages about life. We have an old theatre here that shows old films and it’s so fun! I mostly love abstract and surrealistic art, books and films that aren’t very clear but leave room for you to find your own messages in them. I def need to get back into printed media and collaging! Thanks for the suggestions.
love this! I found some old magazines I collected as a teenager and it was so nice getting inspiration from it!