I want to talk about online communities for a second, and what happens when they suddenly internally combust.
It’s been a strange time with all the changes that happened at Get Messy & within the community there, in response to some very badly-communicated changes to membership prices and, well, things people had bought that suddenly they didn’t own anymore.
I started art journaling during the 2020 lockdowns and I was not expecting that I’d get so invested in the warm, supportive community of ‘emotional women making art in little books’, that I met there (to quote one community member’s husband). When you get used to meeting up with all these wonderful people once a week, it gets to be part of who you are.
I haven’t found my footing yet but am taking a different tack: going back to bookbinding and book arts, with the word “mosaic” rattling around in my head. Other communities are surging in and blossoming now, but I don’t know how much of myself I’ll be giving anyone again.
That’s why I’ve thrown out all of my paper ephemera hoard at last - interested to see what I could possibly make with what’s left and what I have to hand, both inside me and inside my house.
I don’t know really if I’ll go looking for a sense of community in that way again. It was nice while it lasted, and I made myself vulnerable and soft with people there. However, the internet keeps revealing that under all the lovey-dovey words and empowering affirmations, it’s money that wins out every time.
So instead of community I’m going to stick to my word of the year (space), and seek the present moment as often as I remember.
Music helps with that:
So does handstitching and weaving.
Sometimes my favourite song by The Doors is Cars Hiss By My Window, which was created entirely during collaborative recording sessions in the studio. Three months later Jim Morrison was dead.
To me, this shows that the power of community is that people’s best sides come together and are all tangled up to create something special in that moment. It doesn’t mean the community or the moment has to last forever. It also dosen’t mean that if a community breaks down that it’s a failed community. Things serve their purpose and move on.
I’m moving on - into the present.
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Reminder: Fake Breakdown Crafts is open again and you can buy weavings, altered tins, and zines there. New products added in a slow-made, low key kind of way.
Love,
Jessica
It’s been such a sad state of affairs.
It’s like romantic love & friendships I suppose. People come into our lives and if we’re Securely Attached we’re able to let them go too. Not always easy when there’s been hurt, betrayal, distrust involved though. You’re doing right of course to move on your own path.
But like relationships, community is similar in that being burnt doesn’t mean we stop loving/joining - after a grieving/healing period.
I almost left this whole wider ‘community’ when I saw the ugly truths behind the scenes. Dishonesty & greed make me feel ill. But if I had left I would’ve missed out on meeting some truly good people.
I'm so sorry to hear this happened. Ugh.
Also, this feels real and true: "It doesn’t mean the community or the moment has to last forever. It also doesn’t mean that if a community breaks down that it’s a failed community. Things serve their purpose and move on."
You can say that again, sister.