I have been feeling like this lately, too! I don't know if it has to do with the flood of new people here (I am little overwhelmed by it to be honest), the political situation (why even bother to send out my words and photos into this terrible world?), my bully (whom I finally blocked here) or a mix of it all. But yes, you are not alone in this. I would be sad to see you go, but I would understand if you took a break. If you'd like to talk about it, feel free to write me.
Also, I love black-out poetry. It fascinates me because I always feel my subconsciousness is doing all the work. Sometimes, I am surprised by the results.
The idea combining these with photographs is amazing! Thank you for sharing!
I knew that your Substack has grown a lot, for good reasons, but I had no idea about the person who bullied you. WTH!
Seriously, it infuriates me.
I am glad you blocked him or her.
I experienced something like this only once before, but not here on Substack, and I hopefully never will.
I think numbers intimidate me, too. The more subscribers, the more likely it is to receive some online bullying, I think, the less open I want to be.
But, at the same time, I feel like I have gained some genuine friends here, and I also truly love sharing and reading other letters. It’s a dilemma we all have to face, I suppose. I will continue. So far, Substack is still a very positive and encouraging platform, but I think I can sometimes feel a bit cynical knowing what’s happened to many other platforms. I hope it can stay this way. Online bullies will always find a way tough. :(
And the political situation? Don’t get me started, but I want to believe that continuing to share matters especially because of all the horror…
Oh this takes me back to my blackout poetry days! I love what you've done with these, Manuela. And thanks for sharing those links. I have bookmarked them to read later :)
These are wonderful Manuela - I love the idea of erasing words from book pages and mixing them with multiple images...you have done this so well.
Sometimes we need a rest to help manage any overwhelm or loss of belief as well as refresh our creative souls, so do take that time out for your Self and your creativity. I allowed my own to build up so that I didn't post on social media nor share a blog post on my website for a year prior to joining Substack. The break did me good I feel, as finding the community here has re-enthused me creatively...although I have to admit all the interaction, whilst lovely, can still be overwhelming and so I know I'll be factoring short breaks when I need them, as well as posting just once every two weeks at most.
I do love the community here and I am going to continue, but I think you are right about taking breaks when we feel overwhelmed. It can get a lot and maybe I need to give myself more freedom. I can be quite the perfectionist…
Perfectionist I can resonate with - such a killer of creativity and creator of stress! I'm working on getting less hung up about being judged on my work now and not worrying about whether I've got something absolutely right - it's a tough nut to crack!😊
Oh, I love this, Manuela. So inspiring that I would like to try it myself. How beautiful to encounter these words and by the end, a poem emerges. Taking time away is good for the soul. We will be here waiting for you.
Truly Lovely Manuela! 💛 I think this is definitely a playful form of poetry-- to sift through a barrage of words to find your own poem hiding there on the page. Question: When you are looking at an entire page of text, how do you begin? Do you find a particular word or phrase that speaks to you?
Manuela, I hope you savor the time for a creative sabbatical. A mind & heart need rest--especially rest from all the input--especially from the noise of other minds and other hearts. It is a cacophony. It's too much to take in--even if it's beautiful-- and it can obscure your own voice.
And yes 100% I definitely feel this way sometimes. xo
I start at the beginning and actually read the words in order circling lightly every word that stands out. Then I go through it again and again, erasing and circling until I have found the words that fit and work together. Then I fully/permanently erase all the other words and the erase the pencil marks, so the chosen words stand out.
And, yes, short breaks are necessary for all of us. Thanks again!
This is such a fun idea!! And your results are so deep and moving..
This sort of project made me think of the whole "Newspaper Blackout" poetry that artists like Austin Kleon have done in the past but this time, with a different twist :-)
Yes. I have always loved Austin Kleon’s blackout poetry. I think it is just a different name for it. There are quite a few inspirations out there, but I am glad I received some concrete instruction. We will see where this goes!
I love these Manuela and you’ve made them look so beautiful! This reminds me of the cut-up method. I did some videos for YouTube where I used cut-ups as inspiration for images not sure if you ever saw them. Anyway, love this!
Such a wonderful technique, one that I wasn't familiar with. It kind of reminds me of the "magnetic poetry" that was popular in the 1990's. I always loved playing with a set of given words and seeing what sense I could make from them. I'm definitely going to give this a try. Thanks for the inspiration!!
I have been feeling like this lately, too! I don't know if it has to do with the flood of new people here (I am little overwhelmed by it to be honest), the political situation (why even bother to send out my words and photos into this terrible world?), my bully (whom I finally blocked here) or a mix of it all. But yes, you are not alone in this. I would be sad to see you go, but I would understand if you took a break. If you'd like to talk about it, feel free to write me.
Also, I love black-out poetry. It fascinates me because I always feel my subconsciousness is doing all the work. Sometimes, I am surprised by the results.
The idea combining these with photographs is amazing! Thank you for sharing!
I knew that your Substack has grown a lot, for good reasons, but I had no idea about the person who bullied you. WTH!
Seriously, it infuriates me.
I am glad you blocked him or her.
I experienced something like this only once before, but not here on Substack, and I hopefully never will.
I think numbers intimidate me, too. The more subscribers, the more likely it is to receive some online bullying, I think, the less open I want to be.
But, at the same time, I feel like I have gained some genuine friends here, and I also truly love sharing and reading other letters. It’s a dilemma we all have to face, I suppose. I will continue. So far, Substack is still a very positive and encouraging platform, but I think I can sometimes feel a bit cynical knowing what’s happened to many other platforms. I hope it can stay this way. Online bullies will always find a way tough. :(
And the political situation? Don’t get me started, but I want to believe that continuing to share matters especially because of all the horror…
Sending love to you, Susanne! 💛 Why would anyone ever bully you? My god. This world is broken in so many ways.
Thank you, Ann! ❤️
I think this is my favorite art to create. Love it!
Thanks so much!
Oh this takes me back to my blackout poetry days! I love what you've done with these, Manuela. And thanks for sharing those links. I have bookmarked them to read later :)
Thanks Conny! I would love to see some of your erasure poetry!
These are so beautiful.
Thank you!
Interesting! I hadn’t heard of this. Quite intriguing, actually… Looking forward to how you progress with your new, fun obsession!
Thanks! It is a fun process.
These are wonderful Manuela - I love the idea of erasing words from book pages and mixing them with multiple images...you have done this so well.
Sometimes we need a rest to help manage any overwhelm or loss of belief as well as refresh our creative souls, so do take that time out for your Self and your creativity. I allowed my own to build up so that I didn't post on social media nor share a blog post on my website for a year prior to joining Substack. The break did me good I feel, as finding the community here has re-enthused me creatively...although I have to admit all the interaction, whilst lovely, can still be overwhelming and so I know I'll be factoring short breaks when I need them, as well as posting just once every two weeks at most.
Thank you so much, Lin!
I do love the community here and I am going to continue, but I think you are right about taking breaks when we feel overwhelmed. It can get a lot and maybe I need to give myself more freedom. I can be quite the perfectionist…
Perfectionist I can resonate with - such a killer of creativity and creator of stress! I'm working on getting less hung up about being judged on my work now and not worrying about whether I've got something absolutely right - it's a tough nut to crack!😊
Oh, I love this, Manuela. So inspiring that I would like to try it myself. How beautiful to encounter these words and by the end, a poem emerges. Taking time away is good for the soul. We will be here waiting for you.
Thank you, Stella! I would love to see you try this. I think it could be wonderful to combine it with your collages, too.
Truly Lovely Manuela! 💛 I think this is definitely a playful form of poetry-- to sift through a barrage of words to find your own poem hiding there on the page. Question: When you are looking at an entire page of text, how do you begin? Do you find a particular word or phrase that speaks to you?
Manuela, I hope you savor the time for a creative sabbatical. A mind & heart need rest--especially rest from all the input--especially from the noise of other minds and other hearts. It is a cacophony. It's too much to take in--even if it's beautiful-- and it can obscure your own voice.
And yes 100% I definitely feel this way sometimes. xo
Thank you, Ann!
I start at the beginning and actually read the words in order circling lightly every word that stands out. Then I go through it again and again, erasing and circling until I have found the words that fit and work together. Then I fully/permanently erase all the other words and the erase the pencil marks, so the chosen words stand out.
And, yes, short breaks are necessary for all of us. Thanks again!
Lovely Manuela!
Thank you!
I love what you created!
Thank you, Christy!
This is such a fun idea!! And your results are so deep and moving..
This sort of project made me think of the whole "Newspaper Blackout" poetry that artists like Austin Kleon have done in the past but this time, with a different twist :-)
Yes. I have always loved Austin Kleon’s blackout poetry. I think it is just a different name for it. There are quite a few inspirations out there, but I am glad I received some concrete instruction. We will see where this goes!
These are wonderful, Manuela. Love the idea of erasure poetry and these have translated so well. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you!
I love these Manuela and you’ve made them look so beautiful! This reminds me of the cut-up method. I did some videos for YouTube where I used cut-ups as inspiration for images not sure if you ever saw them. Anyway, love this!
Thank you Natalie! Yes, I suppose the cut up method is similar. I don’t remember seeing it on YouTube, but I will look for it.
The cut up method is next on my experimentation list! :)
Awesome poems that look incredible, Manuela! Love these! 🤍
Thank you so much!
Such a wonderful technique, one that I wasn't familiar with. It kind of reminds me of the "magnetic poetry" that was popular in the 1990's. I always loved playing with a set of given words and seeing what sense I could make from them. I'm definitely going to give this a try. Thanks for the inspiration!!