ORBmaker

Instagram used to be a quiet, controlled and revitalising space for me. Not anymore. It’s noisy, in so many ways. I find I avoid using social media more and more, as we’re all treated like consumers and not community citizens. FFS even my phone autocorrected citizen to chickens.
I remember being told that to build engagement on this account I had to do particular things that took me away from making, and that’s never been what I’m here for. The trend for makers using timelapses was the beginning. Frantic movement again and again. Sudden bursts of loud music even when my phone was on silent.
Taking photos is part of who I am. Having a platform to share them was lovely. Having a place to absorb what other people are seeing and making was also lovely. But I struggle so much with uncontrolled and unstructured noise that I have pulled back from this space.
A long caption is also contributing to the noise. 🤷
I am on holiday at my childhood home and have marvelled at how much I need the quiet to down regulate and simply exist. I had forgotten.
I’m hand quilting on the deck as the sun streams over the mountain behind the house. I can hear the water on the beach, magpies, kookaburras, currawongs and some smaller birds.
…and now Dad has started up the chainsaw. 😂 Even paradise needs maintenance, apparently.

A few years ago I tore up an atlas to make bunting from the map pages.
Then I made more bunting from the scraps.
Then I made garland from the scraps.
Then I put it away.
On the weekend I started cutting circles from the leftover pages of charts and indexes and other long-expired data and stories.
Tonight I pulled out some ten year old paint pens and started to play.
The garland is hanging in my lounge.
I don’t know where this is going but I don’t care.