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Happy Sunday, creator! This week’s newsletter is shorter than our past editions — we’re combining the weekly creativity affirmation with what we’re creating at the club. Because what good is an affirmation without proof it works?
Onward — and don’t forget your bevvy! ☕️
🌈 ICYMI: Recap of this week’s prompts
🎧 Soundful Sunday (November 16) — The soulful sounds of Rodrigo y Gabriela, Mexican flamenco guitar duo extraordinaire
🎨 Maker Monday (November 17) — Learn how to make frybread with this simple recipe from Navajo Grandma
🖼️ Artistic Tuesday (November 18) — Meet Benjamin Haldane, Tsimshian photographer, musician, merchant, and civil servant based in Metlakatla, Alaska
🌿 Worldly Wednesday (November 19) — One woman’s unique craft: Lorene Drywater’s buffalo grass dolls
📘 Lit Thursday (November 20) — Uktena & Thunder: a traditional Cherokee story, told by Robert Lewis, Cherokee National Treasure
🕌 Framework Friday (November 21) — Marvel at ancient Olmec colossal heads, crafted 3,000 years ago by the ancestors of today’s Indigenous peoples of Tabasco and Veracruz
🎭 Spectacle Saturday (November 22) — Watch a traditional Hawai’ian hula dance, complete with song and pu'ili bamboo “rhythm” sticks
🗓️ Coming right up! A peek at this week’s prompts
🎧 Soundful Sunday (November 23) — Delight in the musically realistic sounds of Sakha nature-singing by Snow Raven
🎨 Maker Monday (November 24) — A closer look at traditional Inuit tattoos
🖼️ Artistic Tuesday (November 25) — Exploring Painted Bluff, home to 100+ ancient Indigenous cave paintings, in what’s now Alabama
🌿 Worldly Wednesday (November 26) — Inca water terraces: an ingenious water management method
📘 Lit Thursday (November 27) — Listen to Grant Bulltail tell the Crow story of the Little People who hold up the earth
🕌 Framework Friday (November 28) — The story of Dr. Arthur Parker, Seneca historian who rescued ~50 Indigenous artifacts from a New York Capitol fire while wielding the generations-old tomahawk he’d inherited
🎭 Spectacle Saturday (November 29) — Mystery prompt! I’m torn between 2, and haven’t decided which I’ll share yet… stay tuned!
💝 Your affirmation for the weekend
I choose to fall in love with the process and not the end result.
I’ve been repeating this one to myself (through gritted teeth) while redesigning Joyful Creators Club’s website this week.
Copy, design, structure — I dug deep into all of it.
I’ve been laser-focused on just getting it done so I can move on to the next stage. I’ve challenged myself to sprint through “tiny tweaks” to fill up that progress bar.
One day, about mid-week, I sat down to work when what I call a “starbeam” hit me.
“Little Mel” would be in awe at what I’ve built. Running her own indie creative biz? This was literally her dream!
I imagined her peering over my shoulder, asking me what I’m doing, the light shining in her eyes as she recognizes some of my code from her own MySpace page.
I broke down, y’all. I wept tears of joy, pride, gratitude.
Reconnecting with my inner child like that reminded me of so many different truths — notably that denying ourselves joy until the thing is finished (especially when we replace joy with frustration) is actually harmful to our emotional health.
To riff off an old adage, a park wasn’t built in a day. (We imagine Joyful Creators Club to be a huge national park, with museums, games rooms, and more.)
Though they take a lot of practice, giving yourself grace and allowing yourself to indulge in joy are key parts of the process, not extra stuff that’s nice to have.
🎁 Goodies for club members
What’d you think of the shorter format? We’d love to hear your thoughts! Your feedback helps us improve the newsletter to make it relevant and useful for you.
Until next weekend — stay crafty!
Mel
Founder, Joyful Creators Club
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Joyful Creators Club aims to be an ethical, equitable, and accessible business. We take care to spotlight creations from artists who are marginalized, and we don’t allow generative AI creations anywhere in our community — 100% human-crafted only, always. For more, please read our club’s ethos.