Last year (or was it the year before?) my phrase of the year was “wholesome joy” and as a result I dove deep into the world of toys, dolls, and play as a method of exploration, seeing, and feeling. Play didn’t disregard depth or fear, but allowed an entry into experiences and feelings that I might otherwise avoid. This methodology continues and, freakishly, the doll collection grows.
I saw this incredible TikTok (no, seriously) about how Barbie was never the fashionista trendsetter, but a societal mirror. (As all sourcing on TikTok goes, I can’t remember who originally posted it. If you happen to know… I keep thinking it was .urrgghh on TikTok.)
Keep in mind, the capitalistic machine that is toy production would never make something that wasn’t going to sell or they didn’t believe would sell. A purchase is an investment decision, and something so personal like a doll enters the small hands and voraciously growing minds of children. That space is so precious. What, according to the toy aisle, do people want for their children, and by extension their future?
Conscientious play. Across the board, from social to environmental, toys that reflect care for people and the world are trending. According to the Toy Association Toy Trends Briefing for 2023, consumers value “toys that not only teach social responsibility, diversity, and sustainability, but are made by companies that engage in such practices behind the scenes.” From body and cultural diversity to sustainability, consumers want and are investing in good play.
Walk down any toy aisle, especially the doll aisle, and reflect on what it looked like in your own youth. Anecdotal, but I have never seen a more complex, reflective commercial simulacra. The tea leaves of toy consumption, weirdly, give me hope.
I believe more imaginative worlds, think SciFi, will find its way back to the toy aisle —à la G3 Monster High. Or I’m just trying to manifest a revival of Novi Stars.
In other doll news:
Bratz has a new playline out: Bratz Alwayz. In regular stores for regular prices. This is a big deal hopefully signaling the end of their mass produced reproductions which have varied in quality. There have been hints at a MyScene drop coming soon, Amazon links included, reviving their rivalry. (There’s a whole book about it.)
Anyway, this year I’m considering my new phrase for the year, a kind of guiding light, or maybe more like a laser pointer to occasionally chase. The word, savor, came to me on the bottom of my WiFi router, in the factory-set password, and I have been embracing it since. Savor. This year I will savor. There needs to be more, but I still have time to think on it. Something that captures embracing the magic and cinema of life. Like romanticizing life and practicing presence at the same time. Or is that savoring?
I can’t stop thinking about…
Laufey 🎶
Luna, Luna: “The world’s first art amusement park: rescued and on view for the first time in nearly four decades.”
People are supposedly getting back into CDs. I saw a wall-mounted CD player and actually saved it to order. What is wrong with me. I’ll just go to the thrift store. I still have all of my CDs from high school and I do want to listen to them. I also want to pick up a DVD player?! Physical media is back, baby!
Letterboxd. I’m actually going to watch so many movies this year. Long form media feels like R&R compared to the fast paced overstimulation of social media (TikTok).
What am I going to make in my new InstantPot? Please send me your favorite recipes!
Wintry Blend coffee from Trader Joes. I am new to Joes. Don’t judge, I’ve been busy never living near one, okay? The cold winter will be survivable thanks to oversized thrifted sweaters and Wintry Blend. I promise to invest in local coffee, let me have this for now!
Nintendo Switch accessories. I want to make a quilted case for my Switch. I’m sensing a GamerGirl era. I will always be obsessed with Tetris Battle.
I have to escape TikTok. Give me movies, video games, televisions series, and dare I say, books. I might actually read The Artist’s Way.
In the studio…
Since my truly magical residency at The Peter Bullough Foundation over the Summer, my art practice went on pause while I, to be blunt, found a job. Adjunct instructing is fulfilling in pretty incredible ways but definitely not in a financial and health insurance way. Thankful to have landed a new gig, which was a whole other journey. Roller coaster is an understatement. I found wonderful people along the way.
I am currently in the process of reorganizing, making my studio high efficiency…
I have too much stuff. Shelving has been ordered.
Not to be too woo woo, but does an art practice ever go on pause? Growth periods, and being alive, fuels any practice. I have relieved myself of the pressure of being a machine. I needed to and need to live more to make more. And I am feeling excitement on the horizon. Once I can see the floor.
Drop your letterboxed! Would love to follow you