What I’m doing:
I had my first live podcast over on Instagram last Friday. You can watch it here, or give me a few days and I’ll be sharing the audio for those who prefer their podcasts as a listen-only type thing.
What I’ve learned:
You really don’t miss much if you drop in and out of social media.
Over the past couple of months I have tried my best to cut down my time on Instagram. I don’t really have any attachments to other social platforms although I’m experimenting with newness.tv. It’s Instagram that pulls me in and can have me scrolling for hours at a time. I’ll tell myself that finding inspiration and then going off and researching what I’ve seen is all part of my creative practice. But there are other times when I’m scrolling because I don’t want to miss out on so-and-so’s ‘content’ and genuinely want to support them or because I am feeling so sad and stressed at world events that I cannot drag my eyes away.
But lately I’ve tried to have cut-off times, especially when I’m spending time with my husband. I never want us to be the kind of family that sits there scrolling for entertainment each evening. However, it’s the days when I’m on my own that I can easily kill time on my phone. I’ll have several Lives I want to watch and there are some makeup artists who share their entire morning prep, so I can happily sit there and go through 30 Stories at a time. And then there are the people that I actually enjoy regular contact with - and Instagram is great for that; I love that I can have a friend in another country.
What I’ve learned from taking a break every now and then is;
The world still turns.
I am not really missing anything; everyone is still doing their thing.
No-one is missing me; because they have their own stuff to deal with.
Sometimes it’s good to ‘save up’ the content or information someone that inspires you has shared, because when you’re back online you can dedicate a piece of your time to catching up.
Real life happens in real time.
I don’t need to share everything with everyone.
In fact, I should probably share less. Which leads to my next point*
What I’m watching:
Probably way too much of Kelly Stamp’s YouTube channel. Honestly, I cannot remember how I found her, but it was a Sunday afternoon and I easily watched six of her videos back to back. Titles include: Rich Energy Money Habits for 2021, Frugal Living in NYC and My Date ‘forgot’ His Wallet. Actually that last one is kinda funny because Daniel forgot his wallet on date number three, or four… hmm.
Much of Kelly’s content is about living frugally or minimally so you can enjoy other things such as travel and good food, or advice on luxuriating in your own company and *not telling everyone your business.
Personality or tone-wise, I feel like Kelly fits in somewhere between comedian Dave Chappelle and Insta-famous Joanne the Scammer, and I think that’s why I find her so refreshing, because she isn’t coming from that know-it-all, bossy/fearful ‘coach’ arena. Instead she’s sharing things that have worked for her in her 24 years of being on the planet. Oh and she wields a spatula in each video; not sure what for but she’s bound to snag herself a kitchenware deal eventually.
Here is one of the videos I watched:
Minute Muse
This week’s Minute Muse is Melina Matsoukas, an American director of music videos for the likes of Lady Gaga, Kylie Minogue, Solange and Beyonce, TV shows that include the hit Insecure and movies such as 2019’s Queen & Slim. Melina is inspiring on so many levels but it was her visual style that first won me over. She has a very specific way of communicating visually and it’s already clear how she has gone on to influence other artists. Melina does not simply create imagery that satisfies the viewer for three minutes; she’s always out to provoke a reaction - I call it art over content, which is a subject I’m researching at the moment.
It’s this colourful and striking style that has won Melina two Grammys and several MTV Video Music Awards for Rihanna’s We Found Love and Beyonce’s iconic Formation video. It’s as if she is able to absorb multiple cultures, ideas and iconography and create her own version of the world, packed with retro references. That’s what had me so excited for her first movie, Queen & Slim - a film that blew me away and punched me in the gut, because Melina did not give it a Hollywood ending. I’m planning on watching it again on the projector, because the cinematography and colour grading are so beautiful; it’s the kind of film that you have to watch again, even though you know it’s going to hurt all over again.
Once I found Melina on social media, I also fell in love with her style. Colour is clearly her thing. I love how she plays with her hair, creating structures and shapes rather than simply styles, and her wardrobe is packed with Things I Want. For more information on Melina’s work check out her bio on https://prettybird.co/us/talent/creatives/melina-matsoukas/biography/.
To wind things up, I had to share one of my favourite videos directed by Melina; Snoop Dogg’s Sensual Seduction. Enjoy: