JOYMONGERING

21 Days of Joy: a resilience practice

Jessica Lin invited other artists, including myself, to participate in Joymongering. We are noticing, creating, and sharing joy, as an activation to combat the work of the fearmongers and hatemongers. We are also encouraging our connections to join in (that’s you!)

Jessica created a guide, which you can follow as loosely or closely as you like. The point is JOY, go for it!

I wasn’t sure what the prompt list was yet, or what I would do in response, but I was like, “YES, SIGN ME UP. LET’S GO!” because if I have to hold despair in one hand, I need to hold something good in the other.

Here is how the prompts are working for me so far:

Day 1 - SAVOR:
I wrote, “I've been spending the week with family visiting me in Savannah. We've been enjoying being together in the sunshine and gorgeous weather. I've taken photos from our time, mixing paint and pixels, extending and exploring - savoring these moments.”

Day 2 - MUSIC:
It was a joy to watch this together because we have a deep familial appreciation for The Boss.

Also making an appearance in our conversations & listening were these:

My mom and I also went to the SCAD Museum of Art and experienced “Vox” by Jónsi. I wish they were selling the scent of it in the gift shop. I need it, to wear, to pipe into my home… I think it’s the notes of my soul. I can’t even explain anything about this work, other than it being deeply affective… I think sometimes the best art bypasses all our language.
My mom noted that many people wouldn’t settle into the piece, while we were truly enjoying the experience. It’s a good point to our topic of Joy - you have to remain open to it. I’m curious if people are able to be open to joy? Is experiencing joy too vulnerable sometimes?

Read about “Vox” and check it out if you get the chance to!

DAY 3 - WALK IN NATURE:

I combined a bunch of images taken on my phone with images of my paintings, using an algorithm I trained. I really enjoy being able to take different mediums and combine them in one image, creating intuitively and reflectively. Creating this way brings me so many sparks of joy 🖤✨. I’m not only diving deeper into experiences that I’ve documented to remember, but creating new beautiful things from their content…I don’t know what to call what happens here, but it kind of feels the same as when I’m listening to a podcast that is meaningful to me, while walking somewhere, and having that experience embed itself into the memory of a place.

DAY 4 - MOVE:
I had a busy week filled with inspiration, and this was my day to rest and move slowly. I reflected through writing and making images, thinking about motion and moving through memory.

More on Joymongering:

📌Marion Younan shared this, which I’ll be listening to this week:
https://brenebrown.com/podcast/accessing-joy-and-finding-connection-in-the-midst-of-struggle/#gallery

How do you feel about cultivating joy or enjoying things while in the midst of great despair and suffering? Why might you feel that way? Please share if you feel comfortable doing so 🖤

Future prompts: next up is smell, I’m on a mission to find the closest thing to the scent of “Vox”…

Join us in joymongering! Share your joys! Resist Fascism! Create energy for change!
🔥🖤✨ - Jen