YES I HAVE STRONG OPINIONS ABOUT SOY MILK. I'm so pissed it has fallen out of favor. Soy milk is the best. A lot of coffee shops don't even carry it anymore, and I can't find it at my local grocery store either. The anti-soy milk campaign has got to stop!!! 10 years ago it was everywhere and now it's... nowhere?! What happened???
My daughter likes the sweetness. I like unsweetened soy because I think it has a really nice nutty naturally sweetness! I like coconut fine too but it is a totally different consistency. Not made for the same thing.
This takes me back to about a million years ago (the ‘90s) when some of my dad’s friends had a food co-op and he would take me and my sister there for soy milkshakes. Mmm those soy milkshakes.
I love this! Your advice for your students is perfect. I tell mine that we'll take a photo of their work if it is unfinished on the due date, and they can still reflect on the process.
A random question...how much time do you think you spend on your drawings and writings a week? I'm currently spending zero time drawing illustrations, but only because I feel frustrated that they don't end up looking how I want. I need to release that and just draw!
Maria, that’s great advice! I’m going to borrow it!
I draw at night after my daughter is asleep, every night if I can manage it. As Joann (above) commented, the perfect is the enemy of the good — and I hope you’ll draw for the joy of it as much as you can. My drawings right now are in a real ugly duckling phase, which they have been in before. I am annoyed with them. But I know that the way out of this stage is through, and pretty soon my drawings will be something new, that I’ll like so much more than anything I’ve done before.
One of my friends repairs sewing machines as her current job. She also sews & quilts. She is an amazing human.
My other comment (take it as you will from a self professed perfectionist), some [art] projects will not be perfect or near perfect but done is better. It’s always a weighing of now me vs future me.
I agree with you Joann! I’ve written many a post about that, too — so maybe a new one is on its way! You practice to practice; there’s no perfect, or everything is perfect. Land the plane, finish the project, etc. All of this at once! Thanks for bringing it up.
Also// your friend is a minor celebrity of my heart. Please let her know.
CONGRATULATIONS ON THE NEW BOOK I CAN'T WAIT TO READ IT AND ALSO I WILL WAIT AND DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING I CAN READ IN THE MEANTIME WHILE WAITING OH HOW ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER THANK YOU FOR THAT ALSO!
Congrats on the book!! Love this advice for your students. I try to tell mine a similar thing (re: writing not art, though). Something like, "Remember that writing will be messy, and when it's messy and unfinished, it's often doing something special, because you're wrestling with big ideas that don't fit neatly into language and don't always come together on a perfect schedule. And that's okay!" I do have to give grades, but I also get to grade on process/drafts and not just the final product, so there's some nice "room" to let projects breathe and not be perfect in the end.
On the soy milk topic, we do rice milk. My son can't digest dairy, and we tried all the nondairy-milks when he was younger. He preferred rice as a toddler, so that's what we've stayed with. Oatmilk is my personal favorite. I had no idea soy was falling out of favor...I hate it when vegan/vegetarian staples start changing/disappearing!
Omg I forgot about rice milk. My favorite early vegan drink. Thank you for reminding me! And I love the advice you give to your students too. Thank you for sharing it!
Hi Sophie! I adore your newsletter so much. I just gifted a subscription to a friend because I think she'd love it just as much. I wanted to gift her the physical mail-level subscription but Substack limits it to $50. Can I venmo or otherwise send you more and provide her address so she gets the delightful mail, too? Thanks for sharing your gifts with the world. I get a little thrill every time I see your newsletter hit my inbox and a big thrill when I check the mail and find something among the junk and bills.
Congrats on getting your new book into publishing! (That sounds kind of silly but I don’t know the terminology but I don’t think it matters :-) )
I have recently rediscovered soy milk and it’s currently my favorite non dairy milk. So smooth! So far, in New Zealand, the soy milk supply seems stable, I hope it does not fall out of fashion here any time soon.
Sophie, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the advice you gave your students. (And yes I think you do need to brush some dust off your shoulders 😂). Thank you for sharing your excellent advice. I also love:
The bowerbird is done with the bower when he is done with the bower. Maybe he stops when he stops enjoying the process. Who’s to say?
AND
You deserve to enjoy the parts of your life that matter the most to you.
AND
What they really need to do is look at a pond. Unfortunately, it’s quite likely they’re not going to do that. But you can reply that you aren’t free right now. You are sorry. You will be free next week.
AND
Write yourself a note about what you’re looking forward to doing next, then go take a shower and make yourself a bowl of soup to eat while you look out the window.
AND
You can and should allow your work to be bad. We call this, “Flirting with the work.” Giving a project a lot of room to be bad is part of the way that get to move through it slowly and enjoy it.
AND
Most things in life are not an emergency.
AND
you must admit that there are a few basic bitch things that you love about the autumn.
AND
You just carve it to carve it, and then you put it outside, because you do, because there’s a child around, who cares how old they are; and you are alive, and every day aren’t you searching for ways to stay grounded in that single, bright, amazing truth?
You are so hilarious, and I love soaking up the wisdom in your writing, and I love the way your personality shines through your writing style. Thank you!
And congratulations! So excited for your new book!!
I absolutely need a print. I also need to know the secret to free shipping to Canada because the platform really wants me to pay $22.50
Can't wait for this book!
Put in my address (1828 w chase Chicago Il 60626) and then email me or write in the comment prompt your real address.
YES I HAVE STRONG OPINIONS ABOUT SOY MILK. I'm so pissed it has fallen out of favor. Soy milk is the best. A lot of coffee shops don't even carry it anymore, and I can't find it at my local grocery store either. The anti-soy milk campaign has got to stop!!! 10 years ago it was everywhere and now it's... nowhere?! What happened???
Soy milk is pretty high on my list but it tends to be more sweetened than almond which is my current favorite. Anything but coconut is livable.
My daughter likes the sweetness. I like unsweetened soy because I think it has a really nice nutty naturally sweetness! I like coconut fine too but it is a totally different consistency. Not made for the same thing.
Right?!?!? Thank you. This is validating.
This takes me back to about a million years ago (the ‘90s) when some of my dad’s friends had a food co-op and he would take me and my sister there for soy milkshakes. Mmm those soy milkshakes.
I love this! Your advice for your students is perfect. I tell mine that we'll take a photo of their work if it is unfinished on the due date, and they can still reflect on the process.
A random question...how much time do you think you spend on your drawings and writings a week? I'm currently spending zero time drawing illustrations, but only because I feel frustrated that they don't end up looking how I want. I need to release that and just draw!
Maria, that’s great advice! I’m going to borrow it!
I draw at night after my daughter is asleep, every night if I can manage it. As Joann (above) commented, the perfect is the enemy of the good — and I hope you’ll draw for the joy of it as much as you can. My drawings right now are in a real ugly duckling phase, which they have been in before. I am annoyed with them. But I know that the way out of this stage is through, and pretty soon my drawings will be something new, that I’ll like so much more than anything I’ve done before.
Now off I go to stalk your work!
I suspected the answer might be that simple. 😆
I don't have much of my art out there anymore, most of it is on Instagram when I do post it!
One of my friends repairs sewing machines as her current job. She also sews & quilts. She is an amazing human.
My other comment (take it as you will from a self professed perfectionist), some [art] projects will not be perfect or near perfect but done is better. It’s always a weighing of now me vs future me.
I agree with you Joann! I’ve written many a post about that, too — so maybe a new one is on its way! You practice to practice; there’s no perfect, or everything is perfect. Land the plane, finish the project, etc. All of this at once! Thanks for bringing it up.
Also// your friend is a minor celebrity of my heart. Please let her know.
dear sophie,
CONGRATULATIONS ON THE NEW BOOK I CAN'T WAIT TO READ IT AND ALSO I WILL WAIT AND DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING I CAN READ IN THE MEANTIME WHILE WAITING OH HOW ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER THANK YOU FOR THAT ALSO!
love
myq
Thanks Myq! Always terrifying to be taking on a huge project but knowing you are out there to read it does help.
Congratulations on the new book, Sophie!!!
Thank you!
Congrats on the book!! Love this advice for your students. I try to tell mine a similar thing (re: writing not art, though). Something like, "Remember that writing will be messy, and when it's messy and unfinished, it's often doing something special, because you're wrestling with big ideas that don't fit neatly into language and don't always come together on a perfect schedule. And that's okay!" I do have to give grades, but I also get to grade on process/drafts and not just the final product, so there's some nice "room" to let projects breathe and not be perfect in the end.
On the soy milk topic, we do rice milk. My son can't digest dairy, and we tried all the nondairy-milks when he was younger. He preferred rice as a toddler, so that's what we've stayed with. Oatmilk is my personal favorite. I had no idea soy was falling out of favor...I hate it when vegan/vegetarian staples start changing/disappearing!
Omg I forgot about rice milk. My favorite early vegan drink. Thank you for reminding me! And I love the advice you give to your students too. Thank you for sharing it!
Hi Sophie! I adore your newsletter so much. I just gifted a subscription to a friend because I think she'd love it just as much. I wanted to gift her the physical mail-level subscription but Substack limits it to $50. Can I venmo or otherwise send you more and provide her address so she gets the delightful mail, too? Thanks for sharing your gifts with the world. I get a little thrill every time I see your newsletter hit my inbox and a big thrill when I check the mail and find something among the junk and bills.
Hi Terra!
Thank you so much — for the kindness and also for the gift subscription!
Can you email me at sophielucidojohnson@gmail.com so we can figure out how to get your friend mail?
Love!
Congrats on getting your new book into publishing! (That sounds kind of silly but I don’t know the terminology but I don’t think it matters :-) )
I have recently rediscovered soy milk and it’s currently my favorite non dairy milk. So smooth! So far, in New Zealand, the soy milk supply seems stable, I hope it does not fall out of fashion here any time soon.
I am excited to try out the drawing class!
All terminology for publishing is made up, so yours is perfect. I’m glad you’re on the soy milk boat with me!
Sophie, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the advice you gave your students. (And yes I think you do need to brush some dust off your shoulders 😂). Thank you for sharing your excellent advice. I also love:
The bowerbird is done with the bower when he is done with the bower. Maybe he stops when he stops enjoying the process. Who’s to say?
AND
You deserve to enjoy the parts of your life that matter the most to you.
AND
What they really need to do is look at a pond. Unfortunately, it’s quite likely they’re not going to do that. But you can reply that you aren’t free right now. You are sorry. You will be free next week.
AND
Write yourself a note about what you’re looking forward to doing next, then go take a shower and make yourself a bowl of soup to eat while you look out the window.
AND
You can and should allow your work to be bad. We call this, “Flirting with the work.” Giving a project a lot of room to be bad is part of the way that get to move through it slowly and enjoy it.
AND
Most things in life are not an emergency.
AND
you must admit that there are a few basic bitch things that you love about the autumn.
AND
You just carve it to carve it, and then you put it outside, because you do, because there’s a child around, who cares how old they are; and you are alive, and every day aren’t you searching for ways to stay grounded in that single, bright, amazing truth?
You are so hilarious, and I love soaking up the wisdom in your writing, and I love the way your personality shines through your writing style. Thank you!
And congratulations! So excited for your new book!!
Thanks for being a pull quote machine! That is such a huge gift; it requires attention and care. I so appreciate you.