Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday to my blog! Thank you sincerely, dear reader, for tuning in to my silly thoughts here over the past two years. It really makes me feel a certain kind of special when I hear about how my writing resonates with you, whether you’re chatting me up on the socials, in my comments, or IRL.
Today I want to share, here, how blogging has resonated with me too.
I started writing on PinkSpace as a way to externalize thoughts about my little sexy gay life and the many, many games I make and play that get stuck in my head. The thoughts explode like fireworks and land on the page as critical reflections on play, queerness, desire, ritual, disability, and the future — among many other things. In the past I have had trouble communicating these thoughts, especially when doing so required me to package them in neat little finished projects. Something about this blog’s format has clicked with me in a way I hadn’t fully anticipated. Here I can allow my thoughts to breathe and coalesce until they just barely take shape, then let them lie. Here it feels easy.
PinkSpace has become a kind of multifunctional tool for me over the past two years. It has served as a living record of reflections, giving me the space to socially process silly and serious experiences alike. It’s allowed me to revisit and build upon ideas, which slowly brings large and elusive projects like Opera Eterna into view. It’s also been a way for me to literally share my thoughts; I find myself not-infrequently referencing my own writing in conversations and sometimes sheepishly sending over the link to an old post after a long chat. The list goes on.
I’m extremely proud of my work on PinkSpace, and I’m happy to know it has been special for some of you, too.
Planting Many Seeds
Blogging here over the past two years has been a labour of love. I’ve been lucky enough to devote some of my time to it as my practice, generally, has been supported by the BC Arts Council through a pair of phenomenal mentorships with my friends Jay White and Alex Roberts.
Back in 2021 I struck out from an office job to a full-time artistic practice, which has been a wonderful challenge to take on. Jay and Alex have been my eternal cheerleaders throughout, pushing me onward as I do my best to carve out a work ethic and creative niche that supports my specific cognitive needs. It has been a wild journey but has resulted in some incredible projects, like this blog. I can pretty confidently say that despite the challenges, this move has had a deeply positive impact on my life — particularly on my psychological well-being.
Now, at the end of these mentorships, I’m exploring new sources of funding, new projects, and new ways to support my practice in the new year. As a result, you are probably going to see me trying on a lot of new hats. Most of these will not grow into sustainable projects (and I love that for them), but somewhere among the seeds I hope to help something new blossom. Whatever takes root will naturally take more of my attention, but I look forward to talking about the journey candidly here.
I am also planting one such seed with you today.
PinkSpace is now on Patreon
In celebration of my blog’s second birthday, you can now directly support PinkSpace on Patreon. With your support — even at the low tier — I will be able to buy myself a cup of coffee each month. This provides me with the precious stimulants necessary for blogging. The more coffee you buy me, the more I write, like a little lab rat performing tasks for treats. It’s a symbiotic arrangement.
As a small token of gratitude, all patrons will get 🤯 exclusive access 🤯 to audio read-throughs of my most popular posts and regular Love Letters. These will be sweet, simple, and casual letters to you, telling you what I’m working on every week or so, and provide some light commentary on my posts after they drop (including some ideas that were left out of the final edit). The first Love Letter is available right now, so go check it out!
If you love what I do and want to help me put more time toward PinkSpace, consider supporting me at my high tier. As long as your backing is active, you will ALSO get your name included in a special thanks section at the bottom of each new post.
Finally you can also just follow me on Patreon for FREE(!!!) to get notified whenever a new post drops. This is a great way to support my work without spending a dime.
I will talk more about my goals, plans, and thoughts on the Patreon next week in a new blog post, so stay tuned!
In the meantime, join me in wishing PinkSpace a happy birthday!!! 🎂
