The First Hurrah!

For August, I talk about my Army with Love bookmark, the struggle of getting back to creating and a few recommendations of the things I've enjoyed.

Newsletters have been all over my feed. It felt like they were the new Clubhouse. Now I’m not one to read articles that are self-help in nature, even if the self-help was in fact how to run your business better or guidance in freelancing that I very well needed. However, upon reading a few newsletters I was touched by how intimate and conversational they can be. So here we are.

First things first — August Shop Highlight:

Army with Love | BTS Enamel Metallic Bookmark

In 2019, I tried to get the phrase “Army with Love” take off with a sticker that I created for my shop. While it didn’t go far, it didn’t deter me either.
When it comes to fandom names, as “Army,” we're pretty up there. It is one cool title. But other than just being adorable representatives, this fandom is so much more — I’ve met and spoken to most of you because you took the time to appreciate me and my work. You gave me a chance. And that’s what Army does — They believe in people, they care for people and they help each other. We are indeed an Army with Love.

I say this for all my products, but truly the Army with Love bookmark was one I was anticipating a lot. One, I was using a new manufacturer, so my excitement was tinged with nervousness. Second, it was a new kind of product – a bookmark; I’d never made one before and I wasn’t sure if my shop had an audience for it. But here we are!

Click here to purchase this from my Etsy store.

Indian customers, please DM me on Instagram to place an order - @saljoonie
Indian customers who have subscribed to this newsletter will get free shipping through August.

Exclusive ETSY discount code for this month is: LOOKHERE
Enter the code at check-out for a 20% discount valid only through August.

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Getting Back To Art

In the month of May, I took to an unseemly case of Covid. From tales of the ill-fated disease, I knew that my body was about to be turned into mush. Little did I know that it wouldn’t spare my mind either.

Being sick made me question the point of doing anything, especially art.

The world is a stage and boy, is it competitive! Prior to Covid, I was already feeling extremely burnt out, with several thousand ideas in my head but worthlessness coursing through my veins. No matter how well I did, there was always something wrong, or someone better, or someone doing amazing who I thought didn’t deserve it. I wanted to be there — I wanted to be that person who was successful without much effort. Because this process of art-ing was hurting.

As I write this newsletter I still struggle with getting back to art.

Covid showed me how easy it was to let go of these ambitions. After all, if you’re fighting for your life, you’re fighting for survival, not popularity.

I know many of us are struggling to “get back to ….” different things, like I am with my art. You don’t have to have had Covid, to ask — what is the point? We’re stuck in this limbo, where we’d love to be creative and productive but have to keep mentally and physically well, deal with career or/and educational anxiety and put on a mask of sociability.

Many of us are simply going forwards because that is what functional human beings do.

I know that I can’t be the only one tied to this burn-out stake. I know a lot of us are questioning various aspects of our lives. And without a doubt, we all use some form of art as escapism.

Escapism is usually seen as a bad thing. Aren’t we so unforgiving to ourselves when we spend a little extra time (okay, 8 hours according to my screen time results) on social media? Sometimes I even fret when I sleep for a little bit longer. It doesn’t help that everything on the internet is a walking-talking signboard on “how you can do this better!”

Only a few days ago, I remember seeing the shops I follow scramble to make new products based on a new K-pop release. My mind automatically jumped to scolding myself for not being as proactive as they were.

But I no longer believe that. Now, I just try to watch a music video without decoding how to convert it into a pin.

Having been through an illness so existential, I’ve started to think there is some substance to YOLO. We deserve this vacuum where nothing harmful can touch us.

For August, I’m going to continue trying to not feel guilty when I indulge myself. If you’re going through something similar, then here’s what we do:

Take a glass of wine or a couple of pizza slices and watch your favourite show/movie. Re-read that manga saved in your browser tab, zoom in till you can trace each hand-drawn line. Save up a bazillion cat reels on Instagram and screw its algorithm. Better yet, go off the grid if you need to. Sleep, sleep, sleep and when you finally wake, consume the things you enjoy like it’s that cup of coffee without which you cannot go through the day.

It’s okay if you don’t feel like “art-ing” right now — we have time to pick ourselves up. A lot to do with “getting back” is about being able to guiltlessly love it even when you’re not creating it or being productive about it.

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What To …

Watch:
🍃 WandaVision 🍃
If you’re not a fan of superheroes, this may be a total miss. (On the other hand, if you’re a Marvel fan, you might’ve already watched this!) I took up WandaVision after gobbling up Loki every week that it aired.
In what I would deem is Marvel’s first, WandaVision deals with a woman’s grief in a way that’s most eclectic, but nonetheless relatable. What fascinated me about the show was how it was delivered – each episode was in the format of a different decade’s popular TV show, starting from the 60s. (Also it had Kat Dennings, hello?)
Also, check out:
🌟 If you’ve grown up reading Nancy Drew, CW has a spooky and well-written rendition of it. Catch up with it before Season 3 airs this fall.
🌟 Always wanted to start off with an adult animated series, but didn’t want to opt for the popular ones (Rick & Morty, BoJack Horseman, etc)? Try out Solar Opposites — four obtuse aliens who get stuck on Earth and must now adjust to mundane life. Easy watch, only 16 episodes in total, 20 minutes long.

Read:
🍃 Six of Crows Duology by Leigh Bardugo 🍃
No, I’ve not been reading as much as I should be. Despite that, this brilliant YA Fantasy series straight from a dear friend’s recommendation has won my heart a million times over. Plus, it’s a heist. You can never go wrong with a heist novel. Except… when the heist itself goes wron… fine, okay, no spoilers, geez.
And oh! You’ll also get to see the perfectly casted Kaz, Inej and Jesper in Netflix’s Shadow and Bones.
Here’s more:
🌟 This is one book I am dying to see be made into a movie — Dail A for Aunties.
🌟 Are we smarter than animals? A short read.
🌟 Here are a few activity sheets and printables from the creative mind of the late Eric Carle, children’s book author and illustrator.

Listen:
Say Something by Kylie Minogue
Love Goes by Sam Smith featuring Labrinth
Heat Waves by Glass Animals
Dancing On My Own by Robyn
(Courtesy of it being played in Never Have I Ever).

Cook:
🍃 Deviled Eggs à la sal 🍃
I don’t like eggs that much. Hence, I’m always looking for different ways to make them interesting + tasty, so that I do end up eating them. Deviled Eggs has been my latest one.

Method:
✦ Get your (4) eggs boiled, duh. Separate the yellows and cast away in a bowl.
✦ Now, into the bowl mix in 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 tablespoon mustard (Dijon, preferably), 1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, and MIX.
✦ I personally added in: 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper and pickled carrots, beetroots and olives, cut finely.
✦ Mix, mix, mix, till the paste is smooth.
✦ Remember your egg whites? It’s time to scope the paste into the whites. Use a spoon, no biggie.
✦ Being Indian, I garnished it with a little lime juice and chopped up coriander - couldn’t go wrong!

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….and that’s a wrap on Sunlight Uncut’s first newsletter!

If you haven’t already, make sure to share and subscribe.

I will see you again next month. Keep safe.
You have all my love,
sal.