Joymongering Updates
Sharing the joy of days 11 to 15
I’ve been engaged in being a #JOYMONGER with a crew of artists put together by Jessica Lin, for her 21 Days of Joy. It’s lovely and rebellious to focus on such a thing. Check out the other joymongers, and join us in noticing, cultivating, and sharing joy!
Here’s the full list of participating artists with websites, Instagram, & Facebook links:
Jessica Lin - IG: jessicalinphoto FB: JessicaLinPhoto
Mandy Armstrong // Mandala Design - IG: mandaladesigns FB: mandaladesigntoronto
Amy K Fitzgerald - IG: amy.k.fitzgerald.art FB: Amy K Fitzgerald Art
Sara Leger - IG: saralegerart FB: saralegerart
Jen Palmer - IG: jenpalmerart FB: jenpalmerart Substack: JenPalmer
Tanya Lyons - IG: tanyamlyons FB: tanya.lyons3
Zoey Zoric - IG: zoeyzoric FB: zoeyzoric.art
Catherine Winter // Sailorgirl - IG: sailorgirl_cw FB: SailorgirlJewelry
Marion Younan // Art We Wonderful - IG: artwewonderful FB: artwewonderfulbymarionyounan
Anna Whitmore - Anna Whitmore Original Art
Here’s the round-up of my reflections from days 11 - 15:
Day 11 - Blooms:
It’s camellia season! Growing up in the Northeastern US, I was not familiar with camellias. When we moved into this house, here in Savannah, it was during February, and the red and white colored blooms in the yard were stunning, and I have loved seeing them every year since. 🤩 While Savannah is in a subtropic climate that generally is alive year-round, the flowers still pop against the more subtle colors of the season. I’m always snapping pictures of all the colors and shapes in all the different light on our walks.
Photographing flowers has always brought me so much joy! When I was younger, my grandma - ever the green-thumbed gardener, would give me her SLR to use, wandering her wild “cottage garden”, photographing her flowers to finish up the roll of film. When I was done, I’d take the film to the post office for her, and we’d wait until they came back, with doubles. There is a special way of noticing that runs through my matrilineage, coming from my great-grandmother, Rose, but possibly originating further back than I know stories of. I didn’t realize until adulthood how this way of seeing is very different, and I treasure it so much. I enjoy being with my family and looking in wonder at the world, photographing beautiful details, appreciating nature, food, music… and sometimes, driving to the top of the mountain, just to keep seeing the sunset.
When I graduated from SCAD with my master’s in photography, it was meaningful that I got to have my grandma there too, walking around and noticing the beautiful blooms of the city. She is 90 now, and in a care home. We have boxes and boxes of her flower photography. I haven’t decided what all to do with them, besides the one album my mom and I are putting together, but those blooms influence me and my work always, symbolic of a way of seeing and being that is deep and spans generations. 🌺💖
Day 12 - Connect Virtually:
Virtual connection is so important! Camaraderie! Accessibility! Community!
This belief is why I am part of a global artist network called Rise & Repaint, have weekly video chats with friends, and run my group for artists called “Connection Chat” which meets every Wednesday!
Day 13 - Hug: Hugs and kisses happen in our house every day. It means a lot to me that it’s our normal, but I made sure to get in an extra long hug today 🤗
Day 14 - Movie:
The Monster Squad. I’m not entirely sure when the first time I watched this was, but I would have been 6 when it came out - so it’s in there with all the Carebears, Disney, JEM, Huggabunch, Popples, Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Brite, etc. I think even though this was about monsters, it was as much about friendship and underdogs as the rest of them. The adults and the cops don’t have a clue, and it’s up to a weird group of kids to save the world. Of course I gravitated toward that 🤷♀️
We always quoted Monster Squad. My mom would serve pie and joke, “Time is almost up, it’s your last chance for pie”. One of my favorite scenes in the movie, where the kids find out that “Scary German Guy” isn’t so scary, and it turns out he knows a lot about monsters. The glimpse of his tattooed numbers is probably the most actual frightening thing about this film.
Other favorite quotes include, “Wolfman’s got nards!” (Also the name of the 2018 documentary about the Monster Squad), “BOGUS”, “Eat up, EJ”, and “My name *click click* is Horace!”
I enjoyed this prompt, thinking about my favorite movies. Others on the top of my list are Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Heathers, Benny & Joon, Goonies, and Hackers. What are yours?
Day 15 - Walk with a Friend:
My daily dog walks with my husband are one of my favorite times of the day. We live in Savannah, and have a ton of really cool places to walk, but mostly, we walk through our East side neighborhood, because there is a park that’s a block away, perfect for daily strolls. It’s not one of Savannah’s glorious live oak laden paths, but a neat little park with young trees, lights at night, and benches to sit on. I appreciate that it’s there, and that my husband and I can stroll through with the dogs daily, discussing our day, our plans, and our ideas. We see hawks, blue birds, blue jays, cardinals, and the occasional buzzard, egret, or flock of coastal birds with curved beaks. There are often frogs hopping around, neighborhood people, and sometimes, when the ships are piled so high with cargo as they come past on the river, we can see them drifting by.
Next on the list of joymongering prompts is “be extra fancy” I’m not sure what that entails yet, so be on the lookout!
🖤✨ - Jen