Welcome Back to the Creative Hump Newsletter:

The "We’re Not Candy" Edition of Creative Hump

Hey there, fellow art enthusiasts and mental health warriors! It's been a hot minute since I last graced your inboxes. Or should I say, it's been… 🎵 five hundred twenty-five thousand and six hundred minutes? 🎵 How are you Umm… sure that it’s been a year?

Where Have I Been?

Well, let's just say I've been on an extended "creative retreat." By "creative retreat," I mean I've been pulling my frozen shoulders and dead ass off the couch and into a gym, and (snap, crackling, pop!) stretching my tech neck and limbs out and back into shape. It’s finally time to emerge from my cocoon of carbs and binge-watched cartoons, and I’m ready to butter you up with some artsy goodness.

New Year, New Me? More Like New Year, Same Mess

As we dive into 2025 (yes, it's been THAT long), I figured we'd start with a bang and cover both January AND February. Because nothing says "I'm back on track" like cramming two months' worth of content into one newsletter, am I right? Okay, no. But if I overwhelm you any more than our current administration has, I apologize for myself. You are still to be congratulated on your ability to absorb all of this, and bounce back from all of it!

When the going gets rough, I bake Cookies

You are welcome to choose to accept my cookies, or reject them. I love tech talk, but I know most people don’t. So I’ll keep this brief- I’m on the fence about whether or not to actually provide cookies for my website. I understand that it’s the law in California to allow people to accept or deny the banner. But I’d rather have real cookies than virtual ones.

If we’re offering permissions for cookies, why not offer a recipe instead so people can have the real thing on their own time with as many substitutions as they want?

What's New at Creative Hump?

1. Monthly Newsletters: Yes, you read that right. I'm committing to monthly newsletters. I hope this will be a relief to those people that would otherwise get my rambling and random emails!

2. Annual Online Meeting: Mark your calendars for Saturday September 13th at 3pm! We're having an annual online meetup where we will be making holiday cards complete with homemade stickers and catching up. Eventbrite link!

3. New Resources: I’ve been busy loading my creative hump website with new Amazon affiliate links, mostly of people that I know, but with a few that I don’t but love from afar. It’s a way to help bring some real world support to my community at large while giving you a chance to give back and possibly find something you love, too.

Productivity Tip of the Month

Try the "Collection Technique"! One of the things that has been keeping me from efficiency and productivity is being a closeted cluttering hoarder of things. I’ve since been learning to cull a mindful awareness of my physical boundaries, and learn what motivates me to keep working. I am closing in on a few goals this year, and one of them is to finally watch all the movies we have collected over the decade me and my partner have been together, providing a quick review for appropriate social media spaces. Music has also been a great tool for me with physically getting myself up off and running. It’s helpful to have earplugs and “dance” to what no one else near can hear. Bad Bunny sorter, anyone?

Closing Thoughts

Remember, fellow creatives, whether you're wanting to move to another country or feeling like you're barely holding it together, you're not alone. We're all in this beautiful, messy, artistic journey together.

This “We’re Not Candy” is an 80s popular culture reference for those of you in my age group, when our government gave us the the same kind of double sided messaging that is still happening now with our identity and civil rights. Let’s not ignore that there are going to be problems no matter what we label it, and that we cannot hide things under a mat just because we couldn’t handle the conversation. Stay creative.

Your eternally optimistic (but clickable) artist-in-residence,
Sandra Cheese

P.S. If you are able to help someone who really needs it, don’t just smile and wave. Conspire with a friend to help out if you are afraid to do it alone. And please let me know if I can have the honor of being that friend to support you. Our work is never just about the money or the time no matter how close it is to tax season.